Xbox Live Gold Price Increase 11/1 - Subscription Deals Inside

[quote name='distgfx']

Silver - Basic online play, one week wait for everything, no voice chat, no text messages, etc.

Gold - Everything above and more

I could live with my description of a silver member, as long as I get to play online. :cool:[/QUOTE]
No communication just completely destroys the point of online play IMO.
 
[quote name='Master Troll']No communication just completely destroys the point of online play IMO.[/QUOTE]

I always thought the point of online play was just to play against smarter opponents, unless you're playing with friends of course.
 
The way I'm figuring this is, I'm just going to wait for those 12 month cards to drop even lower on wal-mart and amazon. They'll get new cards that have the correct price by november and those will be obsolete with the wrong price on it. And then when they are at a price I'm happy with, buy a couple so I've had my fill of Gears 3 and Reach Around if I ever get it.
 
[quote name='defmonkey05']The way I'm figuring this is, I'm just going to wait for those 12 month cards to drop even lower on wal-mart and amazon. They'll get new cards that have the correct price by november and those will be obsolete with the wrong price on it. And then when they are at a price I'm happy with, buy a couple so I've had my fill of Gears 3 and Reach Around if I ever get it.[/QUOTE]

At least when Microsoft fucks us in the :booty:, they have the common courtesy to give us Reach Around.

;)
 
[quote name='prence']Almost all of those posts took place prior to Microsoft mentioning a price increase.[/QUOTE]

I'm actually surprised that people are now posting in that thread that they do want tiers after what people said a few months ago. That extra $10 seems to be the tipping point given that most people are not really getting anything to offset the increase. More people have joined those who have always wanted tiers because they don't use the prior "added value" features. In the future this number will grow even larger as they add more superfluous features that appeal to less people.

[quote name='arcane93']
(As a side note, it has continually amazed me that Microsoft thinks they can charge me money to access someone else's content -- not one of those features is content from Microsoft, the only thing that Microsoft does is act as a gateway. [/QUOTE]
Kind of like Windows... This is the same company that raised disc-based games from $50 to $60 and pushed DLC down people's throats.

[quote name='arcane93']
So congratulations, Microsoft. Not only have you made me realize that I don't really need or want to continue to pay for your subscription service, you've driven more of my game purchases over to the PS3 as well. Unless you come up with something to truly amaze me, rather than just continuing to try to charge me for access to other people's content (which I can access for free elsewhere), I won't be renewing when my current subscription runs out.[/QUOTE]

:applause:. Maybe there is still some hope for free online play via consoles next gen.

[quote name='hostyl1'].[/QUOTE]
Exactly. Live is just people paying money for online and so they don't have to hook their PC up to a TV. I'd rather spend a few dollars on a cable.
 
[quote name='SonictheHedgehog1337']At least when Microsoft fucks us in the :booty:, they have the common courtesy to give us Reach Around.

;)[/QUOTE]
credit must be given for your not adding the "had my fill of" somewhere in there.:applause:
 
[quote name='sageridder']credit must be given for your not adding the "had my fill of" somewhere in there.:applause:[/QUOTE]

ewwwwwww :whistle2:&

lol:lol:


Also give me credit for not embedding a pic of goatse to further illustrate my point. :puke:
 
[quote name='Retom7']Seriously folks? It's $.83 a month... one cup of coffee every 2 or 3 months is all you have to sacrifice.

Look at the increase of game titles over the years to the sitting pretty price of $60 where now, $50 is the "sale" price. Complain to M$, not CAG, but I guarantee you, prices will not change. This is more fodder for the PS3 vs. Xbox 360 argument, but nobody gives a shit about that argument anymore either. If you don't want to renew, don't renew. It won't change anything, but at least you'll save face and stick to your guns.[/QUOTE]

It's $.83 cents for 1 product you buy. How much is it if was for all products and services you pay for in life? Justifying raises in one because it's cheaper than a completely unrelated item is the same as justifying them all. You can't say wtf my cable bill got raised by 20% if you're going to defend MS for doing the same thing, especially if your cable company was using that money to secure timed exclusive content (COD:BO map packs) that doesn't appeal to you in order to get more subscribers and profit off of your back.

[quote name='arcane93']Wrong. Playstation Plus is an entirely different feature set. Online play is still free. Netflix is still free.

Honestly? I won't pay for Playstation Plus in its current state either; it's still not really worth it to me. However, I do feel like Sony is doing everything right with it that Microsoft is doing wrong with Live. For their subscription price, Sony is offering access to things like free games and additional exclusive content, while keeping basic services free. Microsoft is charging for basic services, without offering any real exclusive incentives.

Will Playstation Plus remain that way? Hard to say. Unfortunately, the more of this crap that Microsoft gets away with, the more that Sony and other manufacturers might decide to try themselves in the future.[/QUOTE]
You really hit the nail on the head! People should take Sony and MS out of the equation and just read this sentence about 2 hypothetical companies in any industry. It really points things in perspective... One company offers basic services free and only charges for exclusive benefits while the other is charging for basic services without offering any exclusive benefits.

[quote name='Master Troll']No communication just completely destroys the point of online play IMO.[/QUOTE]

Wasn't that way before this generation or that way on other consoles right now. I actually prefer not hearing people talk about nonsense, play music, threaten to kill you, throw expletives, or deal with some kiddies. That detracts from the experience in most games. There is some games that need chat but I would rather not play them and have the rest of the games experience elevated.
 
[quote name='SonictheHedgehog1337']ewwwwwww :whistle2:&

lol:lol:


Also give me credit for not embedding a pic of goatse to further illustrate my point. :puke:[/QUOTE]
lol got fooled into googleing that when reading a story about a new claddagh ring design never again :whistle2:#
 
a pick your own package wouldn't be bad, but they would never price it fairly and subsidize the other features on the back of the masses.
 
[quote name='sageridder']lol got fooled into googleing that when reading a story about a new claddagh ring design never again :whistle2:#[/QUOTE]

LOL, okay okay I won't try to trick u anymore. All I have left to say is that I'd rather be Kids in a Sandbox or I'd rather be tubgirl than give Microsoft another $10 to play online games. ;)
 
[quote name='SonictheHedgehog1337']LOL, okay okay I won't try to trick u anymore. All I have left to say is that I'd rather be Kids in a Sandbox or I'd rather be tubgirl than give Microsoft another $10 to play online games. ;)[/QUOTE]
agreed, and It's probably kinda bad I know what those are as well lol
 
[quote name='J7.']It's $.83 cents for 1 product you buy. How much is it if was for all products and services you pay for in life? Justifying raises in one because it's cheaper than a completely unrelated item is the same as justifying them all. You can't say wtf my cable bill got raised by 20% if you're going to defend MS for doing the same thing, especially if your cable company was using that money to secure timed exclusive content (COD:BO map packs) that doesn't appeal to you in order to get more subscribers and profit off of your back.


[/QUOTE]

I agree. I'm willing to play an extra .83 cents a month to get the COD:BO map packs on time because I'm a huge fan of call of duty.

It's a shame I'm not a huge fan of facebook, twitter, Kinect, etc and I don't have netflix.

Comcast ups my cable bill 10 or 15 bucks for no reason every couple months, so I honestly don't care too much about $10 a year.


[quote name='sageridder']agreed, and It's probably kinda bad I know what those are as well lol[/QUOTE]

You sir, are a well experienced traveler and connoisseur of the internet and I salute you.:applause: Now I'm off to go practice Ridin' Spinnaz.
 
[quote name='distgfx']I always thought the point of online play was just to play against smarter opponents, unless you're playing with friends of course.[/QUOTE]
Yeah when I hop on a multiplayer game 98% of times its with friends. But you can still utilize communication when playing MW2, Halo, etc.
 
[quote name='SonictheHedgehog1337']I agree. I'm willing to play an extra .83 cents a month to get the COD:BO map packs on time because I'm a huge fan of call of duty.

It's a shame I'm not a huge fan of facebook, twitter, Kinect, etc and I don't have netflix.

Comcast ups my cable bill 10 or 15 bucks for no reason every couple months, so I honestly don't care too much about $10 a year.
.[/QUOTE]

I think you misread my post?
 
I'll care when all my 48 hr codes run out from that tropicana twister promo a few years back. Personally I was thinking that they should be doing the opposite and making it more affordable for everyone, then again they seem to be focused on all the wrong things lately like NXE, avatars, and kinect.
 
Just to let all the drama queens know...
256px-Kefka_Hate.png
 
[quote name='J7.']I think you misread my post?[/QUOTE]

I think i did, haha. I think the point I was eventually trying to get to was that we're all cheap ass gamers here and we will hopefully always find some sort of deal where we will pay less than $59.99. :D
 
wasn't everyone saying to price xbl a little higher, so that we wouldn't have to pay subscriptions fees for games like mw2? looks to me like that's what they're doing. It's only $10 more, and we can get them $10 cheaper right now so it isn't like it's the end of the world. however if microsoft is upping thee price to pocket the money, then poop -.-
 
[quote name='DeathBringer']So where's the deal, nice discussion BTW.[/QUOTE]

I remember seeing this thread originally in the Xbox 360 area. I don't understand, as well, why it was moved since it is not a deal.

Good luck dreaming the tier system that will never happen.
Free Online for Xbox will not occur.
Free Online next gen will not exist (for either Sony or Microsoft).
All the people complaining will be online playing Gears of War 3 or Halo Reach next year via re-subscribing, even after all the smack talk. 0-2% realistically will kill their accounts at the end of the term.
For the small percentage moving over to PS3, enjoy the subpar FREE online experience... the atrocious matchmaking, non-communication online experience.

[quote name='J7']Wasn't that way before this generation or that way on other consoles right now. I actually prefer not hearing people talk about nonsense, play music, threaten to kill you, throw expletives, or deal with some kiddies. That detracts from the experience in most games. There is some games that need chat but I would rather not play them and have the rest of the games experience elevated. [/QUOTE]
Your experience is far from mine... maybe it is because I don't play competitive Call of Duty or Halo online. Every other game I have played (check my gamer tag) I have never had an issue with what you describe. For example: In Battlefield, the unit with mics always clean up on units without mics due to being able to call out targets.
 
A lot of the people who complain about voice chat are antisocial anyway, from my experience. People with good social skills who like communicating with others while playing don't usually make such complaints. Not that you never run into any jerks on Live, but the good experiences far outweigh the bad. Plus you can always mute troublesome people.
 
I don't ever play games on Live, but I use my gold subscription for Netflix all the time. I'm super excited about ESPN3 coming to it in November. That's a reason in itself for me to keep renewing...
 
[quote name='eastx']A lot of the people who complain about voice chat are antisocial anyway, from my experience. People with good social skills who like communicating with others while playing don't usually make such complaints. Not that you never run into any jerks on Live, but the good experiences far outweigh the bad. Plus you can always mute troublesome people.[/QUOTE]

Hah, no. You either run into team mates that stay in the back not playing or stay in the back camping or who don't listen in objective based games instead deciding shouting obscenities is the better option. (Any game with 1 life spawn systems) Also people blaring their music at 100 decibels.

That said, I usually stay in Party chat with friends so it doesn't bother me. I renewed only because of Gears 3.(Love the hell out of that game) After that I'm going Silver.
 
[quote name='J7.']It's $.83 cents for 1 product you buy. How much is it if was for all products and services you pay for in life? Justifying raises in one because it's cheaper than a completely unrelated item is the same as justifying them all. You can't say wtf my cable bill got raised by 20% if you're going to defend MS for doing the same thing, especially if your cable company was using that money to secure timed exclusive content (COD:BO map packs) that doesn't appeal to you in order to get more subscribers and profit off of your back.[/QUOTE]

You can take it as justifying every increase in fees out there if you want, but I don't know if that's exactly what I was saying. There are certainly price gougers out there that take advantage of times, markets, and individuals, and I don't think it's right. However, I suppose it's justified in that it's a service you are not required to use. The justification isn't required on their part. They don't have to provide you with any additional features or explain in detail WHY they are doing it. They are charging what they feel is the appropriate price for using their services. The US functions in such a way that businesses can set their own prices for goods and services. Competition works in such a way that they generally keep others in check on their prices or product offerings. M$ either feels that the price is necessary, their services are of higher value than the competition, or the desire for their product is higher than the competitions.

I take every product and service I use case by case. I was a smoker. Prices went up to $10 a pack. I am not a smoker now. Cable was 99.99 for the first year I had it. It went to $140 after that. I cancelled all additional services I didn't use or feel I used enough and now the bill is $120. Some increases are justified to me and others are not. I am not under this assumption that every increase has to come with more perks or better service. If you don't like the price, don't pay it. Justification not required.
 
[quote name='eastx']A lot of the people who complain about voice chat are antisocial anyway, from my experience. People with good social skills who like communicating with others while playing don't usually make such complaints. Not that you never run into any jerks on Live, but the good experiences far outweigh the bad. Plus you can always mute troublesome people.[/QUOTE]

OT - but I love having communications with people. That's one thing that sold me on the original Xbox was having the microphone. I never understood why PS2 never got into it. Other than Socom, I had no other options. Socom was awesome though...
 
[quote name='HaLLuZiNaTiOnZ']Hah, no. You either run into team mates that stay in the back not playing or stay in the back camping or who don't listen in objective based games instead deciding shouting obscenities is the better option. (Any game with 1 life spawn systems) Also people blaring their music at 100 decibels.
[/QUOTE]

Not true actually. Unless you only compare chating on MW2 or Halo games, most players online are actual chatty or nice and not overly bad people to talk to. I have had great communication and team coordination with strangers in all sorts of games like Monday Night Combat, Blur, Frontlines, Viva Pinata, Left 4 Dead, Section 8, Bioshock 2, Marvel vs Capcom 2, I could keep going.

I usually find it that a big percentage of players just want to play and have fun without resorting to any vulgar language or doing incorrect things in game, problem is the worst of the worst always seem to frequent those two games I mentioned early and one bad experience usually won't counter 10 good ones in our minds.
 
I have a question that may have already been addressed, but I am far too lazy to look for it so... Renewing your membership on your Xbox 360 for the promotional $39.99 states:

"Your card will be charged for renewal only at the end of your current subscription term."

Which leads me to believe that you would only be charged the $40 after your membership expires... even if it expires in 2083 and the price has increased to $1999.99/yr. Is this true, or is my dyslexia playing mean tricks with me? If this is the case, I wouldn't mind doing it just for cheap insurance.
 
[quote name='Kush']I have a question that may have already been addressed, but I am far too lazy to look for it so... Renewing your membership on your Xbox 360 for the promotional $39.99 states:

"Your card will be charged for renewal only at the end of your current subscription term."

Which leads me to believe that you would only be charged the $40 after your membership expires.[/QUOTE]
They state that after it expires that you will be renewed at the current annual rate..which will be $59.99 as of November 1st.
 
[quote name='lordopus99']I remember seeing this thread originally in the Xbox 360 area. I don't understand, as well, why it was moved since it is not a deal.[/QUOTE]Yeah. Is it really a deal if it's the same price everywhere? It's just another chance to post some associate links and cash in on the "I better buy some cards before the price is raised to $60" fear.
 
[quote name='Thrinn']Yeah. Is it really a deal if it's the same price everywhere? It's just another chance to post some associate links and cash in on the "I better buy some cards before the price is raised to $60" fear.[/QUOTE]

CAG has an app for that (sorry about being cheezy) called "Official Microsoft Point Cards & Xbox Live Subscription Sales Thread".
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=248984

Again, still don't understand why the discussion was moved into the deals forum..
 
first off im not going to read the previous 18 pages.

Why the worry? I've always scored these 1year live cards via CAG through buy.com, ebay daily deals, amazon,etc... @ $30 each. I've never paid more than $30 for my 1year subscriptions.

I stocked up on these cards (usually limit 3). So just wait for the next Black Friday sale, dailydeal,etc.. Then score them at whatever the potential new marketprice is. Why the big outcry?
We are cheap-ass gamers after all right?
 
[quote name='Kush']I have a question that may have already been addressed, but I am far too lazy to look for it so... Renewing your membership on your Xbox 360 for the promotional $39.99 states:

"Your card will be charged for renewal only at the end of your current subscription term."

Which leads me to believe that you would only be charged the $40 after your membership expires... even if it expires in 2083 and the price has increased to $1999.99/yr. Is this true, or is my dyslexia playing mean tricks with me? If this is the case, I wouldn't mind doing it just for cheap insurance.[/QUOTE]

I took advantage of this deal a few days back, before I noticed the price increase. I got the confirmation today that I will be charged $39.99 on 2/11/2011.
 
[quote name='ncc1701p']first off im not going to read the previous 18 pages.

Why the worry?[/quote]The previous 18 pages explain the big outcry.

[quote name='ncc1701p']I've never paid more than $30 for my 1year subscriptions.

I stocked up on these cards (usually limit 3). So just wait for the next Black Friday sale, dailydeal,etc.. Then score them at whatever the potential new marketprice is. Why the big outcry?[/QUOTE]The problem with this line of thought has also been addressed previously in this thread, and reiterated as well.
 
[quote name='oiskaio']I took advantage of this deal a few days back, before I noticed the price increase. I got the confirmation today that I will be charged $39.99 on 2/11/2011.[/QUOTE]

Now that a couple of days has passed and my outrage has gone down a bit, I will probably bite on this if I dont find a better price. It says this offer is valid until 10/31/10. My current one expires in January and i'll take a wait and see attitude after next year.

I figure that you can find sales from 29.99-39.99 now, so the sale prices should increase to be around 39.99-49.99
 
[quote name='Thrinn']The previous 18 pages explain the big outcry.

The problem with this line of thought has also been addressed previously in this thread, and reiterated as well.[/QUOTE]


Im sure it was I just didn't want to go back reading.. so for everyone else.. stock up! :bouncy:
 
I found a 1 month XBL card stuffed in a box while I was cleaning my desk today. Added it to my account and noticed they had a "Add 1 Month for $1" promo, screw it, just 1 buck. So far it's a good day, 2 months more of XBL for $1.

Count me as one who's not mad at the change in price. It sucks, but I can cut down my excessive tobacco or caffiene habits. I'm excited for ESPN (yes i have a computer, tv, cable sports package and all in glorious HD) and to see what Kinect brings.
 
[quote name='Apostle22']Now that a couple of days has passed and my outrage has gone down a bit, I will probably bite on this if I dont find a better price. It says this offer is valid until 10/31/10. My current one expires in January and i'll take a wait and see attitude after next year.

I figure that you can find sales from 29.99-39.99 now, so the sale prices should increase to be around 39.99-49.99[/QUOTE]


Yeah, I figured with the price increase and all that the "deals" would likely go up about $5-$10 too. I have 5 months to put $40 in my bank account this way ( shouldn't be too hard :lol: ), and I don't have to worry about renewing it come Feb.

To me it was just worth the ease of applying it now and getting charged in Feburary, instead of hanging out in a points/live card thread.
 
So funny so funny,
back in the day bro of the $30 sales and walmart bing cashback
really just earlier this year or later last year ha can't remember
with those powers combined because thats what cag is all about stacking
I bought like 24 and still have about 14 haha haha if my cam wasn't dead
I'd take some pics
 
Has anyone at M$ given an "official" explanation for the price hike? Without one, we're left to fall back on the general group consensus that this is to offset the costs of adding Netflix, Twitter, Last.FM, ESPN, and Kinect. I was discussing Monday's kerfuffle with my wife and she said,

"So they're making you shell out a 20% rate hike annually to pay for extended services for everyone that you and lots of others don't want, need, use, or maybe even have access to? You know if the government did the same sort of thing like by tacking on another ten cents per gallon of gas tax to build a Vikings stadium or even fix some fucking bridges before another one falls down and attributed it to inflation, you'd have Glenn Beck type people at their chalkboards whipping the tea party into a frothing frenzy and chanting SOCIALISM. But since it's a megacorporation, the reaction is probably 'that's capitalism -- yeeha! God bless America!'"

Maybe not 100% analogous, but I thought it was funny and worth sharing.
 
This is depressing I didn't buy a card a while back when I was thinking about it and they were cheaper. Eh I ordered a Live 12 month messenger gold pack from Amazon for 44 bucks, I figured why pay 43 for just a sub when I could get another headset, chat pad, PGR4 and a sub for a dollar more.

Plus I had a 38 dollar gift card balance so it only cost me 10 out of pocket. Then I'll probably just renew at 39.99 through my 360.

Pretty lame they are raising the price, it's not like this is insurance we are talking about, I don't use netflix, I have a PC and a Netbook so I don't need Facebook, I don't use twitter nor ESPN anything and I occasionally use Last.FM which is always free anyway.
 
[quote name='Salmonday']Has anyone at M$ given an "official" explanation for the price hike?[/QUOTE]
[quote name='Major Nelson']Since launching Xbox LIVE in 2002 we have continually added more content and entertainment experiences for our members, while keeping the price the same.[/quote]:bs:
Granted, most of this content that they have "continually added" comes from third parties like Netflix, Facebook, and Last.fm. It's bad enough that I pay money for P2P gaming. I'd like to see how Major Nelson justifies services that are freely available through a web browser justifies an additional $10 a year; if only for a good laugh.
 
[quote name='hustletron']Pretty lame they are raising the price, it's not like this is insurance we are talking about, I don't use netflix, I have a PC and a Netbook so I don't need Facebook, I don't use twitter nor ESPN anything and I occasionally use Last.FM which is always free anyway.[/QUOTE]

That would be sort of funny if an Xbox Live subscription was like insurance.

"There have been six incidents of players on your friends list who called others 'noobs' and swore excessively before turning on their own teammates. Your premium is going up $25 because of this."
 
This thread kinda blows. It says "Details Inside", but there's really no details as to why it's increasing. We already have a deal thread for these cards.
I'm still hoping they'll release some different types of subscription plans, like a plan for people who don't give a shit about facebook, ESPN, Kinect, getting MW2 maps a month earlier than PS3, etc.
 
The discussion about the Gold subscription increase should've been left in the 360 forum. There's already a thread for Gold and Points card deals.
 
[quote name='Salmonday']

"So they're making you shell out a 20% rate hike annually to pay for extended services for everyone that you and lots of others don't want, need, use, or maybe even have access to? You know if the government did the same sort of thing like by tacking on another ten cents per gallon of gas tax to build a Vikings stadium or even fix some fucking bridges before another one falls down and attributed it to inflation, you'd have Glenn Beck type people at their chalkboards whipping the tea party into a frothing frenzy and chanting SOCIALISM. But since it's a megacorporation, the reaction is probably 'that's capitalism -- yeeha! God bless America!'"

Maybe not 100% analogous, but I thought it was funny and worth sharing.[/QUOTE]

the difference being they're not MAKING you do anything. its not paying taxes, its video games....
 
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