Microsoft agrees: GOLD > Silver

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Xbox live subscribers to the GOLD standard will be able to download demos at a non-inflationary 1:1 rate with their currently announced release dates.

Runaway Xbox live subscribers to the "freely minted" Silver standard are reaping what they sowed at an exorbitant 7:1 time increase over Gold.

Gold stays the same, while Silver runs rampant--videogames mirror life once more.

[CajoleJuice]

The amount of outrage at this over at GAF is...not surprising at all. I don't see what the big deal is.

[demi]

let's laugh at the poors itt

hahahahaha, i'm sure enjoying this Culdcept Demo! it fuckin rocks! hey anyone want to play some COD4 later?

[CajoleJuice]

I can't wait for that DMC4 demo. Man, that is gonna rock so hard.

[drohne]

microsoft locking free stuff behind an absurd subscription fee

xbots defending this subscription fee in some variant on the stockholm syndrome

what else is new

[CajoleJuice]

It's a dick move, but I guess being a Gold member makes me just not care.

But if I was a person who didn't pay for Gold, I don't think I'd really give a shit either.

[demi]

Gold members had a chance to get Culdcept Saga demo on OXM, but majority didn't. Quit cryin, poor.

[drohne]

it isn't a big deal, but it is another reminder that we're paying $50 a year for a total non-service

it's a stick rather than a carrot -- 'we'll take this away if you don't subscribe'

i guess it's the sort of thing you can get away with when you're the only viable console

[demi]

i really don't see the big deal. it's the kind of thing only forum goers complain about. how long have we had this argument by now?

[Smooth Groove]

it isn't a big deal, but it is another reminder that we're paying $50 a year for a total non-service

it's a stick rather than a carrot -- 'we'll take this away if you don't subscribe'

i guess it's the sort of thing you can get away with when you're the only viable console

You got it.  Blame Sony for its incompetence.  

[CajoleJuice]

it isn't a big deal, but it is another reminder that we're paying $50 a year for a total non-service

it's a stick rather than a carrot -- 'we'll take this away if you don't subscribe'

i guess it's the sort of thing you can get away with when you're the only viable console

Sums it up pretty damn well.

[brawndolicious]

does this mean they have to wait a week now?

I think silver members would be happier if the demos didn't show up on XBL until they could download them (it checks which sort of member you are when you check what demos there are) but that's probably too much more server work.

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

I just couldn't care any less about this.

[Cormacaroni]

I just couldn't care any less about this.

there is one irritating wrinkle - those of us who get around regioning on demos by using Silver accounts now have to wait, even if our real account is Gold. but typically my backlog of actual games is so big now that i never play demos anyway so still don't really care. yes it's a pathetic, petty move to justify a product that shouldn't otherwise exist at this point but whatever. if this is the best they've got, Gold WILL eventually die. 

[demi]

i love the argument that people cant afford 50 a year, haha

be real now

"i got no problem spending $600 for one item, or heck, this $2000 HDTV wasn't an issue, but $50 every 365 days? we've got issues now."

[MCD]

Remove the fucking ADs for gold users plz.

[BlueTsunami]

Remove the fucking ADs for gold users plz.

Why? When Microsoft can have their cake AND shove it up their butthole?

[Cormacaroni]

Remove the fucking ADs for gold users plz.

just to play devil's advocate - you still have to see ads when you read a paper, or watch cable tv, or watch a DVD, all of which you pay for. It would be nice but you know it isn't going to happen. Few enough people will complain 'cause we're all just bombarded with ads to the point where we haven't the energy to protest anymore.

[demi]

The ads aren't intrusive or even a big deal - just another thing to complain about

[MCD]

The problem is that there is no ads in the PS3 XMB, it's crystal clean.

while the 360 dash is ugly with these huge boxed ads.

someone tell MS stop thinking of business for a sec plz.

[Cormacaroni]

The problem is that there is no ads in the PS3 XMB, it's crystal clean.

while the 360 dash is ugly with these huge boxed ads.

someone tell MS stop thinking of business for a sec plz.

What would they advertise? :p

...though i take your point. The Japanese 360 dash is rendered hideous by ads for the fucking Idolmaster and BD animes...if the ads were for something i remotely cared about i wouldn't object at all.

[MCD]

lol Home, who gives a shit about that?

but seriously, competition is good! Sony should get their shit together and pressure them more.

sadly, it won't happen anytime soon.

[CajoleJuice]

Having said that, the overall trend seems to be moving towards Gold being more than just multiplayer rights, and a separate level of service altogether. Perhaps they should make peer-to-peer multiplayer available to silver over the long-run, and have server-based multiplayer restricted to gold?

I like this.

[drohne]

even if ps3 somehow recovers or wii somehow becomes a legitimate game console, microsoft's going to keep charging for xbl. this was supposed to be their profit generation, hardware malfunctions have put a kink in those plans, and xbl is money for nothing

[MCD]

Currently, this money is worth it.

but if in the long run Sony made a better job with their XMB in game shit, then MS need a better plan!

as for servers, you can already do that in Xbox Live, see EA games.

developers like Capcom or Epic are just lazy and don't want to pay or something.

[TVC15]

I said it should have been this way from the start.  It doesn't happen so much now, but it used to be that when a big demo or whatever released, the XBL servers would slow to a crawl, and this measure would be the easiest way to improve bandwidth throughput.

So yeah, sucks for Silvers, but it should have been this way since day one.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I said it should have been this way from the start.  It doesn't happen so much now, but it used to be that when a big demo or whatever released, the XBL servers would slow to a crawl, and this measure would be the easiest way to improve bandwidth throughput.

So yeah, sucks for Silvers, but it should have been this way since day one.

really, though, are Silvers even human?

[brawndolicious]

Having said that, the overall trend seems to be moving towards Gold being more than just multiplayer rights, and a separate level of service altogether. Perhaps they should make peer-to-peer multiplayer available to silver over the long-run, and have server-based multiplayer restricted to gold?

well that might not work because of ranked games.  it would make more sense to restrict silver members to weekends for multiplayer.  free server play is too much (since XBL also supports ANY game a third-party wants to put online) but I think if they restricted the silver members to weekends (and didn't do any other bullshit involving demos), everybody would be happy and there would still be about the same percentage of gold members.