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how the F did we just accept paying for online on consoles?

Mezati99

Mezati99

Banned
Feb 6, 2019
969
Planet Earth
it bothers me no one is bothered with it, can somebody explain it to me? how did we go from free online to paying for it without any kind of backlash? even goddamn Nintendo got away with it and now we're stuck paying for console online for all time.

shouldn't we demand free online next gen?
 
0451

0451

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,190
Canada
They give you free games and/or other benefits and start scaling them back slowly. Pretty hard to justify now.
 
Freezasaurus

Freezasaurus

Member
Oct 25, 2017
56,942
This was a time before microtransactions really took hold. They got us before we even knew what was happening.
 
MarcelRguez

MarcelRguez

Member
Nov 7, 2018
2,418
You have my pitchfork, but that genie isn't getting back into the bottle any time soon. Just don't pay for it.
 

Deleted member 2791

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
19,054
People are trying to find a singular scapegoat to defend their favourite company and will try to say it's Microsoft's fault, but it's just an extension of the service monetization movement that is spreading all over the tech industry. It was going to happen at one point or the other.
 
Trigonometrize

Trigonometrize

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
5,143
Nintendo's price is reasonable. I'm currently unsubscribed from PS+ and will not resubscribe until a good month of games hits despite wanting to play some games online.

shrug
 
Kleegamefan

Kleegamefan

User requested ban
Banned
Dec 16, 2017
980
So the 1080p/stereo version of Stadia next year will have totally free online. Just saying
 

Deleted member 36578

Dec 21, 2017
26,561
Passing Assassin said:
People are trying to find a singular scapegoat to defend their favourite company and will try to say it's Microsoft's fault, but it's just an extension of the service monetization movement that is spreading all over the tech industry. It was going to happen at one point or the other.
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If Microsoft didn't start it who do you think would've?
 
AgentStrange

AgentStrange

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,515
Mezati99 said:
shouldn't we demand free online next gen?
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ctjjihuftvdxlfz7aw1u.jpg
 
ShinUltramanJ

ShinUltramanJ

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,949
I've seen people defend it, so the hardware makers won that one. I especially dislike how they lock features like Cloud saving to it, to sell subscriptions.
 
Admiral Woofington

Admiral Woofington

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
14,892
How did it happen? It happened because the OG Xbox had Xbox Live which was miles ahead of any other console and a main selling point. The other console makers didnt really the infrastructure or the titles that could remotely compare. And Xbox Live had a fee from the get go. Sony and Nintendo eventually caught on that if you deliver the solid service you can get away with it because the alternative in the consumer's mind is having a worst service.

The only way you can 'demand' to not pay for it is to play your multiplayer games on PC. Which for the most part I do. It is what it is. I dont have the energy to be bothered by it at this point.
 
Jegriva

Jegriva

Banned
Sep 23, 2019
5,519
O jesus, every couple always the same thread. We do because running servers ain't free.
 
Glio

Glio

Member
Oct 27, 2017
24,480
Spain
Xbox 360 was the console where the online game reached the masses of the mainstram player (Yeah, I know that Xbox and PS2 had online and that the PC had been playing online for a long time. Even so, 360 was the turning point).
 
Magnet_Man

Magnet_Man

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,029
"Those severs cost money. Paying for online means better performance!"

Any day now...
 
defaltoption

defaltoption

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
11,482
Austin
Not like you could do much regardless of whose fault it is, the platform is up to the platform holder, why do you think devs and pubs don't complain about the 30% console makers charge vs steam, it just is what it is, don't like it move to a platform that has what you want, again why pc has 5,000 launchers. Thats why competition is usually good.
 
FluxWaveZ

FluxWaveZ

Persona Central
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
10,887
Passing Assassin said:
People are trying to find a singular scapegoat to defend their favourite company and will try to say it's Microsoft's fault, but it's just an extension of the service monetization movement that is spreading all over the tech industry. It was going to happen at one point or the other.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
With how MS nickle-and-dimed certain essential parts of their system in the 360 era like with the separate, custom HDDs, or having to pay for a separate dongle just to use wifi, it probably would have been them no matter what.
 
Mauricio_Magus

Mauricio_Magus

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,988
I don't accept it, at all.

PC gaming is the way to go, and when it comes to Nintendo and Sony just play single player stuff.
 
Walnut

Walnut

One Winged Slayer
Member
Nov 2, 2017
876
Austin, TX
Microsoft started it by trying to provide a more robust service for their console in exchange for a fee and kept refining it/never dropped it

Sony has free online and then decided they could make some cash by forcing it and using their ps+ subscription games as a Trojan horse. The PS4 was the real turning point for this imo. If Sony hadn't gotten greedy Microsoft would have had to drop it eventually and Nintendo wouldn't have followed suit
 
StringM

StringM

Member
Feb 7, 2019
33
User Warned: Platform warring
when u think about this just remember that there's actually people that pay microsoft to use their gaming platfroms
 
Hentailover

Hentailover

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,416
Moscow
I didn't. You dragged me into this future kicking and screaming. I fight back by mostly avoiding doing so, by focusing on single player or playing on PC, but I have to make exceptions here and there, unfortunately.
 
defaltoption

defaltoption

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
11,482
Austin
Passing Assassin said:
People are trying to find a singular scapegoat to defend their favourite company and will try to say it's Microsoft's fault, but it's just an extension of the service monetization movement that is spreading all over the tech industry. It was going to happen at one point or the other.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yup really doesn't matter who shot the guy first if you all shot him. Who was first makes no difference.
 
Tagyhag

Tagyhag

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,448
It's easy to blame the company or the closed nature of the consoles, but I honestly see it as its users not fighting hard back enough, myself included.

Microsoft completely shifted its early stance with the X1 due to backlash. Had that same backlash been there for any of the 3 companies when it came to paid online, we wouldn't be in this position.

Again, the open nature of the PC helped make it easier for PC gamers to refuse to pay MS for online, but the backlash was still there. Had PC gamers accepted it in the same way console users did, I bet even Steam would cost money now (They would all probably give you games like the other subs but still).
 
BasilZero

BasilZero

Member
Oct 25, 2017
36,331
Omni
Its easy to trick people into paying for something that was free.


Look at the mess with DLC and Microtransactions.


I havent paid for any online MP and probably never will.
 
thecaseace

thecaseace

Member
May 1, 2018
3,214
The same way we accept paying monthly for music, TV, games and Films we don't know.

I'm aware online play has been free but the subscription is part of a well trodden model (Microsoft weren't the first to invent this).
 

reKon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,695
It was Microsoft and there will be people in this thread going through mental gymnastics trying to explain why me and others are wrong about this assessment.
 
Klaphat

Klaphat

Banned
Dec 18, 2017
751
It seemed fair enough to pay for a service that was better than the standard back then, it's just that the standard now is way higher so it doesn't seem fair anymore. That's why we now get free games. Unfortunately it's very hard to reverse the decision and go back to free online.
 
jett

jett

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
44,647
Because Microsoft swindled people into believing they were paying for something.

Look at this guy
Brokenlynx said:
The same way we accept paying monthly for music, TV, games and Films we don't know.

I'm aware online play has been free but the subscription is part of a well trodden model (Microsoft weren't the first to invent this).
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P2P costs Microsoft (and Sony/Nintendo) essentially nothing. Before they started including monthly games, people were getting nothing for their money in return. It's a scam.

Sony is probably the worst of the three, what with them ending online services after only a few years.
 
nsilvias

nsilvias

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,676
something about paying for good servers.
i dont doubt all the licensing fees platform holders charge on every game sold could easily pay for this tho.
 
Bjones

Bjones

Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,622
Do you just for online play though?

If it wasn't for an actual SERVICE you would have things like EA only friends list and UBI soft only friends list. Per game Dev created matchmaking .
You would have games randomly support cloud saves and cloud syncs.

I mean this isn't a new conversation.
 
Unicorn

Unicorn

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 29, 2017
9,506
There was backlash, but that's how these things work. They soften us up and make it easier to swallow by war of attrition...
 
NinjaScooter

NinjaScooter

Member
Oct 25, 2017
54,061
Because the cost is negligible for most people. Most people ain't starting a boycott or jumping on a soap box over $5 a month.
 
lvl 99 Pixel

lvl 99 Pixel

Member
Oct 25, 2017
44,607
Jegriva said:
O jesus, every couple always the same thread. We do because running servers ain't free.
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I know you're joking, but if its not p2p then its the individual games hosting the servers which is why its always been (and continues to be) free on PC.
I think the only PC games ive ever paid a subscription for were MMO's
 
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