A change to Xbox Live?

[alongx]

I'm surprised nobody else posted this yet:
http://www.gamesarefun.com/news.php?newsid=4844

Now, it seems a full list of Xbox 360 specs and Xbox Live details has been leaked. This list comes from a thread on the Team Xbox forums (the thread has since been deleted), and the TXB poster originally got it from another un-named forum.


2 types of Xbox Live:
Xbox Live Silver (no subscription required)
Xbox Live Gold (subscription benefits)

Features for Gold service
(S) Also for Silver
(O) Also for Offline

- Seamless transition to Xbox Live account from Xbox to Xbox 360
- Access to MMOs (additional fees may apply) (S)
- Free Xbox Live weekends (S)
- Multiplayer online gameplay
- Avatar for gamer profile(S)(O)
- Motto for gamer profile (S)(O)
- Personalized look for Xbox System Guide (S)(O)
- Offline achievments (S)(O)
- Online achievements (S)
- Access to other players' Gamer cards via Live (S)
- Cumulative gamer score (S)(O)
- Location/language profile (S)(O)
- Reputation (S)
- Enahnced matchmaking using above
- Skill level matchmaking
- Gameplay style profile (casual, competitive, etc.)
- Recent players list (S)
- Free and premium download game content(S)
- Free and premium downloadable movies, music, tv (S)
- Downloadable demos/trailers (S)
- Microtransactions (S)
- Custom playlist in every game (S)(O)
- Play music from portable devices (S)(O)
- View images from digital camera (S)(O)
- Strem media from Windows XP (S)(O)
- Interactive screen savers (S)(O)
- Track info for CDs (S) (O)
- Communication with voice, video or text (S)

Free Xbox Live "Silver"? Seems too good to be true.
Also, the XB360 specs were listed...and they seem pretty nice indeed. All I need now is a price...

[greendc27]

So what does this mean for anyone who is already paying for live, are they considered gold?

[Fox5]

Wait, free Xbox Live weekends is listed as a silver feature, while multiplayer online gameplay is listed as a gold....to me this sounds like silver will only be able to play on weekends, while gold entitles you to the whole week.

[mykevermin]

So what does this mean for anyone who is already paying for live, are they considered gold?

That's the rumor.

[epobirs]

The heroinware approach. Free doses on the weekends in hopes of creating pathetic junkies who will pay dearly for a fix without waiting for Friday night to come around.

This does correspond to something I'd been wondering about. Certain aspects that Microsoft was hoping to pormote and the methodology I suspect will be used for backwards compatibility make having an online conenction for updates very important. So making certain services free ala Windows Update and Messenger are part of the package. The trick is making it all pay off in the long run.

[jam3582]

any one have any idea what happens to current subscribers ?

[SpottedNigel]

They get carried over and turned into gold members

[mcwilliams132]

I always thought that a certain amount of access to Xbox live should be free.

If I buy a game that has downloadable content or patches - I should be able to connect and download it (and purchase premium content if nessasary).

Although this remains to be seen, it's a good idea.