There is a link, unfortunately the article was pure speculation to begin with. It was an author at a magazine basically saying "Well, the PS3 online service is free.... So the 360 will probably be too." And it's not even someone I've heard of. Heck, I'm completely unfamiliar with the magazine they work for! lol.

So it's basically pure speculation, no better than you or I giving our take on the industry.

ekard = viego,nice try bud. I did however like your analogy of calling your boss an idiot though. So if you were my boss......you are an idiot, and I quit! Try firing me now foo!

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That is pretty interesting stuff about MSLive - Free doesn't mean it is better. Live -Silver for 360 is free, and you still can download almost everything you want points for. PS3 still requires you to buy services when online. To think PS3 online is completely free is like thinking Women are just for men to...well you get the picture.

If you want the good stuff in life, you have to pay for it.

Rivex, I couldn't have said it better. Sony is still dancing around the same "We have everything they do" claim; but everytime an interviewer calls them on it... They stop talking. If Sony really does get their act together on that claim, and truly match all of Live's services for free, then M$ will have to rethink their pricing system.

So, for once, I'm rooting Sony on to hurry up and make good with inter-game logins and buddylists, achievements, free and premium downloads, real voice in ALL games, the works. As soon as they do; things may get better on my end, as a 360 owner.

i payed 50 for 13 months from gamestop for live

That was before 'Gold' came about, and that was because you used it in conjunction with one of the popular 30 day trials back then. The fifty dollar bit doesn't surprise me at all.

But it's gone UP since then. Which is why I'm so quick to doubt M$ plans on going free any time soon.

No my friend , Xbox gold has not gone up ever, but if you see he 60 dollar kit its because it comes with acc. so if you dont want them then you can get the reasonable 50 dollar for one year of service and some stores like gamestop have a sale were you get a one month free =] just to clarify that up with you

Hmmm, the price is different where you are. I was working in a gamestop when the switch occurred. Previously you could get one year with a game/headset for $60, or just the one year card for $50; then when we got all the 360 stuff in, pre-launch, they started shipping the new 'gold cards' which were sixty without anything included, and seventy for the ones that came with a headset and a point card for downloads.

We even had our regional M$ rep in trying to give us scripting for how to explain to the customer that it was suddenly going to be more expensive, rofl.

What area are you in, I'm honestly curious?

live in ne ohio bought it around feb 2007 13 months for 50$

New York , 50 for a new subscription card , were are you in , im guessing canada

San Diego. If you can still find an old school live card, it runs fifty here... And M$ will honor it, but not the new ones.

Very interesting.

yeah , werid

Very much so... I'm almost wondering if that was a temporary thing during the first month or so of launch, since they could get away with it easier... I haven't checked since I quite that job a couple months after the launch.

I don't imagine it being different in the same country, even if we are on opposing sides of the country; I'm going to lean more towards temporary price-hikes, seeing as I wouldn't put it past M$ to do that during initial launch.

Yeah i was at walmart today and bestbuy last week and chekced gamestop website they are all 50 for a standard 1 month xbox360 card and more for the kit

yes i live in philadelphia and the 1 year card is 50.00 anywhere

Easiest way to pay for live is simply go to your account info on your xbox and pay for it right there. Fitty bones, no more, no less and no bs "extra" crap to go with it.

Best online game service available in the world. If anyone can prove there is another service better I'd like to hear about it.

I won't argue there... I love their online connectivity.

Ironically, as much as I talk them up on here, I am not subscribed, because I'm really upset with them over a large billing discrepancy.

Fortunately, that has nothing to do with the service though. I recommend them for a lot of people; I'm just still pissed about the way they handle the error that they caused.

Originally posted by psyantist:

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Easiest way to pay for live is simply go to your account info on your xbox and pay for it right there. Fitty bones, no more, no less and no bs "extra" crap to go with it.

Best online game service available in the world. If anyone can prove there is another service better I'd like to hear about it.

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Funny thing abotu that PC games have been free online since forever sure MS needed to charge for it at the start but tis time to create a full featured free service,what they offer is nice but its not worth me paying for it because I rarely use it.

Me, Im fine with the way things are in the online community but the PC gamers should have a choice to have free online service that makes it so that they can only game with other PC's and like a $20 or $30 one were you play everyone you want

Originally posted by handsom:

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I won't argue there... I love their online connectivity.

Ironically, as much as I talk them up on here, I am not subscribed, because I'm really upset with them over a large billing discrepancy.

Fortunately, that has nothing to do with the service though. I recommend them for a lot of people; I'm just still pissed about the way they handle the error that they caused.

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if you got the moeny and are want to play online yes it is a good service.

Originally posted by starchy:

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Me, Im fine with the way things are in the online community but the PC gamers should have a choice to have free online service that makes it so that they can only game with other PC's and like a $20 or $30 one were you play everyone you want

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they have the stats and skill ranking they should just let PC and Xbx gamers play with other its kinda silly to keep blocking it like they have been.

LIVE needs a solid free account system,if I want to use it all I would use it for is MPing with friends I know or for a MMO I have to pay monthly for,they way it now they want you to pay to get it then pay have the extra crap you don't really want or need in the first place..

I wish they would one step further and make more premium accounts,I would not mind paying 12 a month for LIVE and 2 MMOs of my choice(of cores I would need to buy said MMO's) or offer a sports setup where you can do the same but get 2 or 3 of whoever subscription based MP sport game.

Gamedome is rotting because they wont spice it up and mix and match.

Zippy... You're going to love what I have to say next:

Shadowrun is set to be the first inter-system game between 360 and pc. There are supposed to be many after that. I almost have to wonder if we won't see Halo 3 on the pc much quicker than Halo's transition, simply because the inter-system play would allow them to get what may be the biggest market available. With something like that, you could almost face off with Blizzard's online WoW numbers, lol.

But yeah, there are games coming down the pipe, and they're not all that far off.

Originally posted by handsom:

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Zippy... You're going to love what I have to say next:

Shadowrun is set to be the first inter-system game between 360 and pc. There are supposed to be many after that. I almost have to wonder if we won't see Halo 3 on the pc much quicker than Halo's transition, simply because the inter-system play would allow them to get what may be the biggest market available. With something like that, you could almost face off with Blizzard's online WoW numbers, lol.

But yeah, there are games coming down the pipe, and they're not all that far off.

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ya I know about that,its abotu time,however from what I have seen of the game they cant make up their mind,RPG/FPS/SP/MP/blah/blah its about time tho the skill system would force most player to play in their own skill group.

The ironic thing though; is that it's a useless gesture from M$ at this point. The connection will only be plausible through 360 and a *VISTA* based pc. No xp users on there, what a shame, because I intend to Vista somewhere in the neighborhood of oh, say, never.

Originally posted by handsom:

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The ironic thing though; is that it's a useless gesture from M$ at this point. The connection will only be plausible through 360 and a *VISTA* based pc. No xp users on there, what a shame, because I intend to Vista somewhere in the neighborhood of oh, say, never.

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We will be upgrading in 2-4 years,upgrading to what I dunno,but vista will only be a option when they fix it.

If by fix it, you mean, pull all the BS that they're actually bragging about right now, like the 'piracy protection' that stops you from running most independent software, killing system resources, needing per-cpu product keys, and forcing DRM and a dial-home device onto your computer... Then sure I'll think about it.

In the meantime though, the Linux OS on my secondary pc is just looking better and better...