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Gamespot says XBox Live is garbage compared to PS+ and should be dumped next gen

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I trained with one of Evo's organizers years before Evo existed. I know all about how it is run.

As for the "come at me bro" comment, it's probably the first time I ever used it on the internet. It was a way of me saying that when it comes to discussions high level competition in the genre, I know what I'm talking about and am ready to back up what I posted. I don't know who alkemyst is.
 
I have an Xbox 360, don't really play games on it much anymore, never do any online gaming with it. So I obviously don't have XBL Gold.

However I would like to use Amazon Instant, YouTube, and Netflix on this console. However the thought of paying a subscription to access another subscription sounds so silly. These apps should be part of the free XBL Silver.

I'll most likely switch to PS next generation, assuming Sony doesn't change their business model and start charging for more stuff too (think I heard a rumor it might happen).

PS, to the guy that got 14 months of XBL Gold for $25, let me know how. I might tolerate that.
 
What's to stop Sony from setting up something similar though. It generates a billion/year revenue, they'd kind of be stupid to not start charging and pin a few more people into subscribing. Especially now since Sony as a whole could really use that money.
 
XBL can be had for $40 8 months of the year. $45-50 the rest. The $3.50 I spend per month for it is well worth it. Plus all my non PC gaming friends game on X360 and it's got a great interface for connecting and chatting with friends.

Smartglass is actually really cool as well. And works great.
 
saratoga172 said:
XBL can be had for $40 8 months of the year. $45-50 the rest. The $3.50 I spend per month for it is well worth it. Plus all my non PC gaming friends game on X360 and it's got a great interface for connecting and chatting with friends.

Smartglass is actually really cool as well. And works great.
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This. Its cheap enough to where if I don't play online for a few weeks I dont feel like I've lost anything. Its the price eating fast food one less time a month.

Smartglass is pretty neat, I downloaded the android app a few weeks ago.
 
I wonder how many clueless people jumped on the $99 Xbox with the 2 year 14.99 a month Live deal. I'm not very good with math, but a $99 console + spending $360 on live instead of $199 + $80-100 for 2 years of live doesn't seem like it's worth it. I somehow imagine Microsoft made a killing here.
 
I think for the most part XBL is ok but honestly why should you need to pay Microsoft $60/year(or even $20/year for that matter) to use Netflix which you already pay a monthly fee for? It's free on every device with a Netflix app. Other things like this really irk me. XBL has no added value beyond playing online so I guess they disguise being able to use these services if you subscribe as "added bonus"?

Aikouka said:
I'm not the biggest fan of having to pay for the online service, but I will admit that XBOX Live works pretty darn well from what I've seen. It's also implemented fairly well into the OS. One of my biggest problems with Sony is that the entire experience on the PS3 feels disjointed. For example, I turned my PS3 on to play a movie the other night, and I saw that there was a sale on games. I selected that thing to open the Playstation Store, and it probably took around 20-30 seconds for the store to actually be usable. That's pathetic. It's even worse that I had to then find the sale that I originally selected to view because the store didn't automatically navigate to it upon opening.

I've complained about this in another thread, and I will reiterate it here, Sony is just incapable of designing a good user experience. Although, Microsoft isn't exactly winning any brownie points with me for Windows 8's start screen. 😛
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You can usually scroll over to the little floating boxes and select something that PSN is trying to give you information about and select it under the Playstation store icon under the games menu on your XMB.
 
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Fingolfin269 said:
I have both consoles and prefer XBL. Not even close.

And please stop saying $60/yr for Gold.
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That is the asking price. Sales and other things aren't the point. Microsoft charges $60/year if you subscribe through your console.

It's not wrong. Just like saying that Far Cry 3 costs $49.99 on PC is not wrong even if there are sales you can wait for.

You don't have to pay that and yeah you can usually find a deal somewhere, but for most people it's $60/year or buy a card through amazon and save $10. I don't know many people who honsetly hunt down subscription cards online. Most people either just subscribe through the console or run down to walmart or target and grab a card from the rack.

It'd be a little like saying "quit telling people Gas is $3.49/gallon" when you found a gas card deal from the supermarket that gave you 5 gallons free.
 
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What's bizarre is how some people feel paying $40 for XBL due to a sale somewhere is somehow a legitimate defense point. I don't care if the price is $100 a year or $20 a year - paying the console maker an annual fee just so I can fully enjoy games or movie streaming services I already paid for is ridiculous, especially when online play and Netflix is free on every other device known to man.

Why brag about paying half price for a crap sandwich when the main point is, it is still a crap sandwich? Of course, if you like XBL for other stuff (like playing with buddies also on the service, etc.) then at least there is SOME value in that. But paying yearly primarily to play or stream otherwise free activities online is highway robbery and needs to completely disappear next gen.
 
cmdrdredd said:
You can usually scroll over to the little floating boxes and select something that PSN is trying to give you information about and select it under the Playstation store icon under the games menu on your XMB.
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I did select the floating box for the sale, but it just put me at the store's main menu. 🙁
 
Ravynmagi said:
I have an Xbox 360, don't really play games on it much anymore, never do any online gaming with it. So I obviously don't have XBL Gold.

However I would like to use Amazon Instant, YouTube, and Netflix on this console. However the thought of paying a subscription to access another subscription sounds so silly. These apps should be part of the free XBL Silver.

I'll most likely switch to PS next generation, assuming Sony doesn't change their business model and start charging for more stuff too (think I heard a rumor it might happen).

PS, to the guy that got 14 months of XBL Gold for $25, let me know how. I might tolerate that.
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every year my XBL is about to expire Microsoft sends me a new deal which are always below $30.
 
arredondo said:
What's bizarre is how some people feel paying $40 for XBL due to a sale somewhere is somehow a legitimate defense point. I don't care if the price is $100 a year or $20 a year - paying the console maker an annual fee just so I can fully enjoy games or movie streaming services I already paid for is ridiculous, especially when online play and Netflix is free on every other device known to man.

Why brag about paying half price for a crap sandwich when the main point is, it is still a crap sandwich? Of course, if you like XBL for other stuff (like playing with buddies also on the service, etc.) then at least there is SOME value in that. But paying yearly primarily to play or stream otherwise free activities online is highway robbery and needs to completely disappear next gen.
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If you are paying for XBL to only use Netflix or any other online streaming service, you're doing it wrong. Just about any device now comes with a Netflix app, so whining about not being able to use your XBox to stream online movies doesn't make sense. Truth of the matter is, people pay for a polished and well integrated online experience. Not to only watch Netflix movies. Again, if that is what you're doing, you're doing it wrong.

The fact of the matter is, the PSN is horrible compared to XBL. It's just like someone else said, disjointed. Invite system is all over the place, with some games even requiring you to create even ANOTHER online ID (ie. MGS4, WTF?!). Another downside to a free service is any yahoo can create MULTIPLE ID's which pretty much renders the block function useless. I had a guy online brag that he had over 20 online ID's he goes through. At least with XBL, if you want to change your ID, MS makes you jump through some hoops, which in my opinion is a good thing.

As a whole, XBL is just a much better experience. Now if Sony offered the same features for free, I can understand the argument. But for now, they don't. And that is why people pay for XBL, because MS's "competition" doesn't really offer a competitive product, it's just a cheaper product.
 
i have both and TBH both suck, yet one costs money

i prefer the XMB over the MS interface even with it being slow as dirt, at least it doesnt have adds. it IMO is just easier to navigate, i cant stand the tiles. XBL offers nothing over PSN that is worth any money IMO.
 
You guys talk like PSN is the only other game in town, what about Steam?

XBL sub cost is ludicrous. Netflix requires a sub..... why? I understand it is available almost everywhere, why should *anyone* need to pay a MS tax to watch a service they pay for over an internet connection they pay for on the console they paid for? Some of the "premium" community gaming options may be one thing, but forcing me to view their ads and then charging me money to do it?

Steam doesn't give me nearly as much grief, neither does PSN although obviously it doesn't have all the functionality.
 
One of my major problems with PSN is how slow everything is. I just downloaded the Dust 514 beta with a code that came with my PS3, and went to start the game and it tells me the update is going to take almost 600 minutes to complete. That is crazy! Why can't they just give you the updated version of the game when you download it?
 
love these arguments.. the election is over.. pissing on your competition just to piss on them is for those guys. The PSN did blow quite hard when it was released (its as far as i can tell pretty much the same as live now).. and both systems USE the same connections (if you live in LA you go through the same line out to Seattle.. if that is where the game server is) location of servers or your opponent is the only factor for speed.

LIVE has way more users.. so when picking games (and server locations) you have many more choices.. hence more options should equal better options.. Of course this is a double edged sword.. from my time on live 75% of all users are 5-8 years old and just learned a new cuzz word and repeat it non stop so you cant hear the game ever.. PSN games.. crickits chirp.. you hear the game, but get no voice communications from others.. one has to much , other has to little.

as for the pay part.. once offers nothing , one offers games.. you decide. I have both.. IF i based it on amount of players LIVE would win.. if I based it on value PSN would win.
 
BenSkywalker said:
You guys talk like PSN is the only other game in town, what about Steam?

XBL sub cost is ludicrous. Netflix requires a sub..... why? I understand it is available almost everywhere, why should *anyone* need to pay a MS tax to watch a service they pay for over an internet connection they pay for on the console they paid for? Some of the "premium" community gaming options may be one thing, but forcing me to view their ads and then charging me money to do it?

Steam doesn't give me nearly as much grief, neither does PSN although obviously it doesn't have all the functionality.
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Since this is a console forum, I was limiting the comparison between consoles. If you get into Steam, you get into a console vs PC discussion there, and that's a whole new can of worms.

As for paying to use Netflix, I agree MS should let you use it for free, but quite honestly I just don't think it's a big deal, mainly because you can just use another device in your household that already has it. You can argue principal, but practically speaking, it's almost a moot argument. I think people just like to bring that up to whine about having to pay for XBL. If you don't want to pay for it, get a PS3, or a BD player, or an Apple TV or your TV that most likely has it too. I just think it's a stupid thing to complain about. Before when Netflix wasn't everywhere, I think it was a valid argument. Now, it's just about pointless.

As for the interface, I actually like Sony's XBM better. It's not cluttered with ads, very minimalistic and easy to navigate.
 
I can't comment on PSN as I've never used it, but I really like the UFC & ESPN apps on XBL. I haven't tried many others, but I'm a huge UFC fan and would probably pay $40 a year just for that + the ESPN one. They're both very polished with a lot of cool stuff. I'm assuming there are at least a few other apps I would like that I haven't found yet.
 
QueBert said:
I can't comment on PSN as I've never used it, but I really like the UFC & ESPN apps on XBL. I haven't tried many others, but I'm a huge UFC fan and would probably pay $40 a year just for that + the ESPN one. They're both very polished with a lot of cool stuff. I'm assuming there are at least a few other apps I would like that I haven't found yet.
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I have been using the HBO go app, and really like it. I missed out on a few shows that my friends all love, so I am catching up on the old seasons. I stopped using the ESPN app because it seemed like they showed less highlights and just talked about the game outcomes.
 
arredondo said:
What's bizarre is how some people feel paying $40 for XBL due to a sale somewhere is somehow a legitimate defense point. I don't care if the price is $100 a year or $20 a year - paying the console maker an annual fee just so I can fully enjoy games or movie streaming services I already paid for is ridiculous, especially when online play and Netflix is free on every other device known to man.

Why brag about paying half price for a crap sandwich when the main point is, it is still a crap sandwich? Of course, if you like XBL for other stuff (like playing with buddies also on the service, etc.) then at least there is SOME value in that. But paying yearly primarily to play or stream otherwise free activities online is highway robbery and needs to completely disappear next gen.
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i'd rather pay half price for a crap sandwich than get an inedible one for free.

i don't use netflix and never have so i don't care about that feature.

it's nice to have disposable income where $3.50/month for a service that is superior to any other service out there doesn't effect your daily life. apparently 30+ million people all feel this way.
 
tfinch2 said:
I gave PS3 a try, around the time BLOPS came out. Then PSN went out for what, more than a month? You get what you pay for...

And who pays $60 a year for XBL? It is always on sale for around $40 a year.
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You get what you pay for? WTF? They took it down in response to a hack and improved it, it was up for year on end before and after that.

So what do you get for your money? Dedicated servers? No. F2P MMOs? No. Ad-less desktop? No. Free games? No. Free services like Netflix, Hulu+? No.
 
This will turn into a dumb debate. At the end of the day, the people who love XBL will point to its strengths, while the people that hate it will point out that PSN is free.
 
American Gunner said:
This will turn into a dumb debate. At the end of the day, the people who love XBL will point to its strengths, while the people that hate it will point out that PSN is free.
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thing is too, the topic of the thread is about ps+ compared to xbl, and ps+ cost money just like xbl does, yet this thread turned into a psn vs xbl thread.
 
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