Free 360 content now coming to Silver members a week late
by Justin McElroy 
{ Dec 5th 2007 at 10:50AM }
You read that right, Gold members: Your newest perk is that Silver members are getting hosed. We'll give you a moment to luxuriate in the exclusivity. Making it even sweeter, Silver members will still be able to see the content, it will just be undownloadable, a status signified by a red circle with a line through it. We Gold members will be pushing to have that symbol replaced with a picture of Bill Gates giving you the finger.
[Via X3F]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
MADWARRICK @ Feb 1st 2008 10:03PM
Do like me i have sold my 360 and went BACK to the PS3 I'M NOT PAYING TO PLAY ONLINE
eMAx @ Dec 5th 2007 10:55AM
So microsoft wants to make people pay for the gold service so they can get free content on time? So they are giving even less to the people that dont pay....
Looks like someone in Microsoft's marketing department has a few high quality Doctorate Degrees.
"extreme sarcasm"
David @ Dec 5th 2007 11:16AM
woh, woh there buddy. That was some pretty extreme sarcasm.
Jerk Face @ Dec 5th 2007 11:22AM
That sarcasm was so extreme that I just crapped my pants.
Marty @ Dec 5th 2007 11:22AM
Man, if you're gonna make the first comment, at least make it a good one.
Stupidiot @ Dec 5th 2007 11:50AM
No one here seems to see the point of this at all. It seems to me that the perk of this isn't that you get content before other people, it's that you can download it faster because their content servers are under less stress, due to the fact that silver members can't download it. I'm not saying this is necessarily a good thing, it's just not as bad as everyone seems to think it is, as if Microsoft is just removing features from people who don't want to pay.
borland502 (SDF - Macross Ring) @ Dec 5th 2007 12:25PM
"...as if Microsoft is just removing features from people who don't want to pay."
Somehow, I doubt that point escaped their notice as well. Just because one reason is decent, doesn't mean you don't have ulterior motives.
Pay or be gimped...you don't want to be gimped do you Timmy? Do YOU?!?
TrenchyC @ Dec 5th 2007 1:45PM
I swear they had already been doing this. I heard something about this many moons ago.
why not the LS2/LS7? @ Dec 5th 2007 1:45PM
Stupidiot:
If that was the point, there's no reason MS couldn't program their servers to dole out bandwidth to gold users first, and then silver users as available.
But in actuality the point is dumb-down the silver service so more people pay MS for their $50/year "premium" service.
xXFenixKnightXx @ Dec 5th 2007 10:59AM
Well its about time!! The Gerstmann thing is great and all but this is classic Joystiq flamebate =) Welcome back!!
gonk @ Dec 5th 2007 11:11AM
hehe yeah
why doesn't microsoft just remove ads on the blades for gold members
sounds a lot better to me
pwnetheus @ Dec 5th 2007 11:20AM
You know, I've never understood that. I pay $50 a year and I still have to look at ads on my 360. You'd think maybe they would have it so that if you let them fill up your menus with ads, you wouldn't have to pay for Gold.
FOXHOUND @ Dec 5th 2007 11:21AM
I like the idea about the ads.
Of course, I also like the idea about a Bill Gates icon too.
"We Gold members will be pushing to have that symbol replaced with a picture of Bill Gates giving you the finger." = Windows VISTA
Stupidiot @ Dec 5th 2007 11:56AM
I never used to care about the blade ads so much, since they tended to stick to Xbox related stuff like peripherals, games and content available on the marketplace, but since I started seeing adverts for the Die Hard DVD plastered everywhere I've been pretty pissed off. I definitely shouldn't have to pay for Xbox Live and have corporate advertising shoved down my throat.
Sloar @ Dec 5th 2007 12:49PM
Just like I shouldn't have to look at ads since I pay for cable! I shouldn't see ads in my newspaper and magazine subscriptions either. Why do you expect Live to be any different?
It's not like it stops your game to tell you about the new Die Hard movie or anything.
gonk @ Dec 5th 2007 12:58PM
you know, i've never liked seeing ads on cable
i guess that's why i always change the channel at commercial breaks
Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Dec 5th 2007 2:47PM
I know you're trying to be sarcastic, sloar, but the point is absolutley correct. I (used to) pay 50 dollars a month for BASIC ANALOG cable. If the content on all the channels is already paid for, what the hell is that 50 dollars covering? Paychecks for the guy to come out and flip a switch in a locked box in my front yard?
Same with magazine subscriptions. It doesn't cost a company 10 bucks a month to print their magazine on crappy paper.
And if the cost of the magazine or the channels is so much more than the subscription cost, why charge a subscription at all? If the cost of 1 TV channel is 100 dollars a month (to the company), what good is my 1 dollar a month in paying that off?
Way too damn much commercialism in media, these days.
Shockgamer @ Dec 5th 2007 3:41PM
I was lucky; I didn't get any ads on my 360 dashboard until the fall update. Now all the gray boxes get ads in them, although the banners are still empty. I guess it's only a matter of time until they put something in those too.
Stupidiot @ Dec 5th 2007 3:56PM
The reason I don't want to see adverts on Xbox Live is because I'm paying for a service that's offered for free in other cases. Do I need to pay a membership fee to play online games on PC (apart from those with dedicated servers offered by the game's publisher) or even on PS3? And excuse me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe Microsoft actually runs any dedicated game servers for Xbox Live games. Microsoft can either leave the price of Xbox Live as it is (which incidentally is too high) and remove all of the blade adverts, or they can fill it up with as many (non-intrusive) adverts as they like, and make the service free.
JPN @ Dec 5th 2007 11:03AM
I've never really been able to keep track of what I get as a Gold member versus a silver member anyway....maybe I should cancel??
NATO_Duke @ Dec 5th 2007 11:27AM
Online play for one thing - so if you dont need that, then cancel. I think you knew that though.
Anywho, now when I download demos I can smile knowing some poor child is crying because he saw a circle with a red line as he tried to download the demo of Need For Speed 17 or Shrek Volleyball. Yes Jr - you have been denied that 30 seconds of pleasure in your life.
No, actually, this "perk" is kinda weak. Just lower the price of Gold already.
rv @ Dec 5th 2007 11:32AM
Online fucking play- aka the only real reason anyone should subscribe to gold. Seriously, if you have silver, buy 1 less game per year. Live is worth it.
Noshino @ Dec 5th 2007 11:57AM
I seriously didn't know that Online play was a privilege nowadays, more so for the second generation that pushed online gaming as its main feature....
Penguin Warlord @ Dec 5th 2007 4:44PM
You guys do realize that WoW costs $140 (CAN) a year for the cheapest subscription. Xbox Live is only 60. That's less than half for all your games. And guess what, the reason that Xbox Live is leaps and bounds ahead of the ocmpetition is that they have money to invest in new high quality servers and the like.
Although this does suck for silver members.
hotnutz @ Dec 5th 2007 8:04PM
Yeah but WoW doesn't throw advertising in your face like XBL does. You know come to think of it, I quite enjoy the advertising free environment of XMB.
I play the 360 at friends places but would never buy one (my friends keep teasing me that they are going to buy me one as a gift but I keep telling them I would donate it to some kid) nor would I pay for the XBL service.
I'm guess I'm just too used to having it for free on the PC, PS3 and Wii (though the Wii doesn't have a lot of momentum in that area yet - I can't see them making the decision to create a upper/lower class system in the online world.)
I know Microsoft keeps on saying it's about "choices" but it isn't even a choice on any other system out there. Every other service is free and they are catching up to Microsoft quickly plus they are more flexible in terms of giving content away for free and sharing with others. How can people defend that kind of framework? Its really quite stunning to me...
Sure someone will come along and say "yeah but the XBL service is sensational"... I agree it's great but it has LONG way to go. Seriously, I don't think I can play one online game on there without hearing the N word used in casual conversation. I hear it once in a while on the PS3 but nothing like XBL - totally different culture I think.
Well, I'm sure i didn't change the minds of people like Fernando or people in the MS camp but I'm really at a loss at how people accept the whole charge for every single thing and accept it because they have the choice to either buy it or not. That's a great concept but when it used to be free it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
Hurray for Valve for sticking it to MS in the PC world and coming out with a FREE community service that kicks the whole XBL/Games for Windows concept. I seriously don't need that whole Silver/Gold shit in the PC world. It would be enough to turn me off online gaming.
Hmm how I end this rant? Guess I'll say, enjoy your night and enjoy the avalanche of good games we got this year.
rigby @ Dec 5th 2007 11:07AM
@ eMax:
this is what it should be. people pay for a Gold subscription for a reason, to have priority on content and online stuff and exclusive stuff.. or what is the purpose in paying ??
LilCo187 @ Dec 5th 2007 11:10AM
that's the point Rigby, there IS no purpose in paying for online access on a damn videogame console. 2 out of 3 experts agree. It's just stupid, and ppl paying this fee are tards.
Moffka @ Dec 5th 2007 11:11AM
So I'm paying $50 a year for demos and trailers one week before everyone else? Bravo MS.
Marty @ Dec 5th 2007 11:30AM
Well, you also get to actually play against people with your Gold account... but I guess that's just a really small detail. Complaining about receiving demos and other extra content before non-paying members, while completely ignoring the main perk of the service, seems to be the intelligent choice here.
rv @ Dec 5th 2007 11:34AM
Exactly. Don't talk shit if you don't know what you're talking about. You can't play online with xbl silver.
RazorD @ Dec 5th 2007 11:04AM
This has been going on with a bunch of content for months.. Why is it such huge news now?
FidliousWong @ Dec 5th 2007 11:08AM
Because NOW it's integrated with the dashboard. Before, it just wouldn't show up. Now it shows up but with a friendly, "why you suck. Pay to be cool" message.
LilCo187 @ Dec 5th 2007 11:08AM
lol god Microsoft is retarded..... I applaude Sony and Nintendo for their free efforts.
NATO_Duke @ Dec 5th 2007 11:31AM
Hey jackass, way to make friends. You call those of us who use Live “tards”, and then follow with MS being “retarded”.
So, how are those vocabulary lessons working out? Obviously you have learned the word retarded and its abbreviated forms - time to move on to advanced English for 7 year olds.
Marty @ Dec 5th 2007 11:32AM
What's to applaud? Both Nintendo and Sony have a very crummy online experience compared to Xbox Live. You get what you pay for!
LilCo187 @ Dec 5th 2007 11:53AM
Honestly you guys can't feel good forking over that cash for a monthly subscription to play games online. Sure it's service is unrivaled....until it is rivaled, for free. We'll see who's singin the same tune on that day....
And no, outside of paying for online services for a video game console, I'm sure Live gold owners are swell ppl. Marty, wipe your tears away and take it easy on your keyboard when you reply to me son.
Noshino @ Dec 5th 2007 11:59AM
"You get what you pay for!"
YES! ADs FTW!
Marty @ Dec 5th 2007 12:11PM
I used to feel the same LilCo... but when I finally picked up an Xbox about a year ago, it came with a trial for Live, and I gave it a run. It's really quite nice, and I like how easy they make it to find people to play with, get new content for games, etc. Being able to chat via text or voice, send pictures, etc. is also cool. In the end, it only comes out to be about $4 a month, and that's really not un-affordable.
I'm a PC gamer as well though, and on that front, I think I like the games as they are now - with a server browser that's free for anyone to use (a la Half-Life 2 / CS:Source / TF2 / etc.). With the Xbox though, it's always been like that, and it's nice having things centralized. Consoles should be like that - ready to go out of the box. No need to worry about the little things.
h0mi @ Dec 5th 2007 12:41PM
"Sure it's service is unrivaled....until it is rivaled, for free. We'll see who's singin the same tune on that day...."
That day isn't today, and it's probably not going to happen till 2009 at the earliest.
A Pissed-off English Gamer @ Dec 5th 2007 12:48PM
Oh, centralised how Battle.net is centralised. And free. Come on, Microsoft's online service would be making a profit on the ads and DLC alone. They don't need to charge monthly for online play. No one does, unless it's something which requires a genuinely large amount of cash to run with few opportunities for advertisements, such as an MMO.
Game prices are high enough as it is nowadays, without the need to ram extra charges down our throats. And as for maps and extra content on games costing money on top of the gold membership cost, what the hll? How would you feel if you were paying for an MMORPG, then suddenly they brought out a new dungeon that you had to pay to download. It would be a total piss take, wouldn't it? I could understand charging for maps if playing them online (in the case of Halo maps) didn't already cost money, but shouldn't things like that come as an added perk with the fact that you're already paying them money?
Zeus the God @ Dec 5th 2007 4:27PM
That "cash"? I could hardly call 50 bucks for 13 months "cash". That equates to, what, $3.85 cents a month? If you can't afford that, then you shouldn't be playing video games.
Oh, and LilCo, Sony's attempt is a feeble and useless one so far. Until Home comes out and can actually show something decent that isn't already done better on a 360, then it will continue to be so. Nintendo, well... I haven't played online with a Wii, so I wouldn't quite know, but I can't expect it to be all that great.
wickedpheonix @ Dec 5th 2007 11:09AM
couldn't care less really. Got gold this weekend and loving it. Truth is, if you play online there really is no better service with matchmaking no matter what console you play on.
If you don't however, and if you just use your 360 for things like movie downloads and the like, then yes this a good screwover for something that doesn't make sense for $50 a year. This does limit the appeal of the 360 to people who aren't gaming I think - not because the 360's media capabilities are any less, but because the 360 is marketed as a video game system while the PS3 is marketed more as a media player (no surprises). MS telling its media users screw-you isn't going to help it in the long run, and isn't going to gain any gaming folks from the PS3 in place of those media folks that it's going to lose.
Burritoclock @ Dec 5th 2007 11:10AM
Well you can't play online with a silver... did you all forget this.
Anyway cool, continue to punish the cheap bastards, I still wish they would add a platnium account with added perks, I'd be there in a second..
voodoomage @ Dec 5th 2007 11:14AM
Burrito, wadda ya want ... nekkid Bill Gates them with your platinum account...
Jerk Face @ Dec 5th 2007 11:26AM
@Burritoclock
LOL
I was wondering when someone was going to bring up that obvious point. Everyone's all, "OMG WHY SHOULD I PAY FOR GOLD ITS TEH SAME THING BUT ONE WEEK LATER LOL!!!11"
Well, yeah, except you can't PLAY FUCKING GAMES ONLINE WHICH IS THE WHOLE POINT OF A LIVE ACCOUNT. Geniuses.
-xFenixKnightx- @ Dec 5th 2007 11:35AM
+1
Jedijoe9 @ Dec 5th 2007 11:11AM
I don't see the big deal about this. There is a paid service and a free service. The free service isn't very good to encourage the paid service.
If you aren't willing to pay, deal with getting your content a week later. It's the same stuff.
booticon @ Dec 5th 2007 11:16AM
This is the way it should be. Besides, it's not like Silver members are getting screwed *completely* out of free stuff.
But you won't see me complaining if that's what they did.
AirIntake @ Dec 5th 2007 11:17AM
I'm a Gold user, but I think that Silver should be able to do everything that Gold can with the exception of playing online. I was quite pissed off when my friend couldn't update his NHL 2008 rosters because he only had a Silver account. Delayed demo downloads for Silver users is just stupid. It's a free demo, let everybody try it.
Game Artist @ Dec 5th 2007 11:23AM
FWIW- demo downloads use alot of bandwidth. Bandwidth isn't free. Free downloads for silver users are being subsidized by gold users.