Xbox Live Gold has had its price cut to $39.99 in North America and £34.99 in Europe for a 12 month subscription.
The discount's for a "limited time" says Microsoft, and is available to all current and new free Silver subscribers.
In its statement, MS said it's "currently running a promotion in-dash that gives Silver members a special opportunity to upgrade to the full benefits of Gold membership at a reduced price for a limited time."
When we jumped on the e-mail Microsoft UK had nothing to share on when the offer will conclude. Better get in quick then if you're a Silver member.
If it comes to the UK, that's great news. Although it's a pain for those of us that have just had our subscription renewed (do we get a rebate or maybe an extra couple of months added?).
Forgive me for saying by anyone who was paying full price for live gold needs there head examined. Many online retailers were selling the cards for £35 to begin with and there's plenty of places that will email the code for £30 if you look hard enough. Bit of a nonstory this.
I just logged on to Xbox live via PC. My subscription has expired and ive been offered a new subscription for £34.99! For God's sake you can get a 13 month subscription for less elsewhere. Why don't Microsoft make it a little bit sweeter. £29.99.
I resent paying this enough as it is. The yanks are getting it for the equivalent of £25 quid. Why the disparity. Its not like Microsoft can blame the cost of production.
If you sign up to Microsoft's Expert Zone can get all sorts of free stuff. I got the Wireless Adaptor, 12 Month Gold Membership and 2100 Microsoft points all for a fiver each. You do have to complete alot of rubbish quizes though.
Just google xbox Live subscriptions i got a 13 month one for £28. If you signed up for a discount one i think they just stick it on the end of your current subscription so you'd get next years for less.
Here in the US, most of the major retailers have recently put the 12+1 card on sale for $29.99 which is almost half off ($49.99).
I think MS is going to drop the price of XBL Gold in the near future.
It's a tricky one this - but, I hope you're right.
On one hand, you have the fact that there is this constant revenue stream for MS - on the other, there is the fact that the competition provides a similar service for free...as those competing services get closer to the quality of Live, they have to start considering dropping the price.
It really wouldn't surprise me if the standard price did drop considerably - if the RRP was something like £25, imagine how much the likes of Jaspar1675 would sell it for....
You can get it cheaper than that if you surf around.
This is cheaper than Jasper1675. Good find Voodoo.
Just goes to show what a mockery this price drop is though, eh? When nigh on every post says that get it cheaper than that already.
Microsoft should either slash the price in half, which pee's off everyone that's just renewed (like myself), or just end the subscription cost entirely, and refund those in MS points to those that have lots of time left.
lmao if i wanted to buy Gold i'd pay £27sh on ebay for 13 months!
I think live is getting worse, i used to love it but to download new demo's you need to pay the subscription or wait 7 - 8 days if your silver and stuff. Demo's are supposed to sell their software lol Just seems their limiting the purpose of a silver account every month. Wish it was free cause it's annoying buying full priced games and being limited to half of it on Xbox and it's rare you get bots and stuff to play with (Bless gears 2 lol)
Well, having both a 360 and a PS3 I happily pay for Xbox live as i think the service is head and shoulders above PSN and well worth the money.
There's always a fanboy who gets defensive and turns this around into a format war argument. No one is saying that LIVE features are bad, just that for some of us, we would rather not pay so much. Maybe you are one of those people who just have to ask and your daddy and he farts out money from his bum, but not all of us are that lucky.
Forgive me for saying by anyone who was paying full price for live gold needs there head examined. Many online retailers were selling the cards for £35 to begin with and there's plenty of places that will email the code for £30 if you look hard enough. Bit of a nonstory this.
Never mind £30 even. I bought 13 months for £22.50 off Ebay. I later got an email from Ebay saying they had banned the guy from selling on there for violating their terms and conditions. I think that's because he was only providing codes - no hard copy.
Yeah that's another thing tho too this is difficult times too for money and when you eventually get money to yourself and live equals the price or depending where you get it exeeds the price of a brand new game and i know what i would rather have.
If they insist on charging us i'd rather they charge £19.99 for a year cause you can get the same experience for free on PC and argubaly the same on PSN for free also.
Unless Sony add Cross Game Invites and Chats (only thing missing that live has got) then i don't think MS will consider a change in xbox live price plan which is a shame i do like Xbox Live to.
Forgive me for saying by anyone who was paying full price for live gold needs there head examined. Many online retailers were selling the cards for £35 to begin with and there's plenty of places that will email the code for £30 if you look hard enough. Bit of a nonstory this.
Never mind £30 even. I bought 13 months for £22.50 off Ebay. I later got an email from Ebay saying they had banned the guy from selling on there for violating their terms and conditions. I think that's because he was only providing codes - no hard copy.
wow that's a great deal! and Was it a Classified Ad? or something like that cause am sure if they put the biddin delivery thingy on classified then technically they can get away with just selling the codes via email.
13 months 28.99 elsewhere online, this is not a good deal M$oft but then again not a lot of your extras are, I'm looking at you extortionately priced HDD's, Wireless adaptors.
So What is PSN has free online service.... so what!! If it was not for XBox Live in the first place Sony would not have a clue when it comes to running an online service ok!!
I choose to pay for XBox Live cause you have to pay for it SIMPLE!
Jeezzzz You fanboys in your moms basements make me giggle!!!!
i dont mind paying the yearly subscription for a premium service, the partychat alone is worth it to me, me and my mates always use it when ever playing on psn or kart on the wii....
Well, having both a 360 and a PS3 I happily pay for Xbox live as i think the service is head and shoulders above PSN and well worth the money.
There's always a fanboy who gets defensive and turns this around into a format war argument. No one is saying that LIVE features are bad, just that for some of us, we would rather not pay so much. Maybe you are one of those people who just have to ask and your daddy and he farts out money from his bum, but not all of us are that lucky.
i dont consider that fanboyism, its just fact, hes not lie-ing at all, just expressing that live is a better service which it is, it shouldnt even be a discussion as to which is better, when psn is as good as live then they ought to start at least thinking about making live free, but until then it is a premium service compared to psn so they can and will charge for it, id love everything in life to be free but it just isnt....
Well, having both a 360 and a PS3 I happily pay for Xbox live as i think the service is head and shoulders above PSN and well worth the money.
There's always a fanboy who gets defensive and turns this around into a format war argument. No one is saying that LIVE features are bad, just that for some of us, we would rather not pay so much. Maybe you are one of those people who just have to ask and your daddy and he farts out money from his bum, but not all of us are that lucky.
i dont consider that fanboyism, its just fact, hes not lie-ing at all, just expressing that live is a better service which it is, it shouldnt even be a discussion as to which is better, when psn is as good as live then they ought to start at least thinking about making live free, but until then it is a premium service compared to psn so they can and will charge for it, id love everything in life to be free but it just isnt....
keep telling yourself that mate. after a while it will become true.
money well spent!!!
who else are you gonna arse lick?
free rimming! just express how much you enjoy paying for xbox live servers.
Well, having both a 360 and a PS3 I happily pay for Xbox live as i think the service is head and shoulders above PSN and well worth the money.
There's always a fanboy who gets defensive and turns this around into a format war argument. No one is saying that LIVE features are bad, just that for some of us, we would rather not pay so much. Maybe you are one of those people who just have to ask and your daddy and he farts out money from his bum, but not all of us are that lucky.
i dont consider that fanboyism, its just fact, hes not lie-ing at all, just expressing that live is a better service which it is, it shouldnt even be a discussion as to which is better, when psn is as good as live then they ought to start at least thinking about making live free, but until then it is a premium service compared to psn so they can and will charge for it, id love everything in life to be free but it just isnt....
keep telling yourself that mate. after a while it will become true.
money well spent!!!
tell me what psn does that live doesnt and vice versa???
Look--there are few quality games; it just happens that 95% of them are 3rd party titles that are on the 360 as well and have superior network play and features.
And let's not forget that gaming media and social information (read: Qore) does cost $20/yr., while that is included with XBL.
Having said that, Sony is making strides to match what Microsoft is doing, but they're still a couple of years off at best. And unless Microsoft plans to squander their online console gaming lead, they've likely got a plan to up the ante once Sony does finally encroach on their territory.
you do you feel the need to defend a paid-for service?
insecure about wasting your money on it?
trust me it ISNT head and shoulders above psn.
played all night on KZ2 and not a jot of lag.
Why do you care so much? Honest question, as you seem very happy with your PS3, rightly so, so why does the cost of Live subs bother you so?
what have i said about live subs?
it was others gushing over it. pay attention.
You’ve said that people are ‘insecure about wasting your money on it’, is that not commenting on it?
no. its commenting on a happy customer. stop your straw grabbing and PAY ATTENTION!!!
its the gushing i hate. the best thing about the 360 is an optional paid-for service. says it all.
No it’s not, it’s you saying that you think it’s a waste of money. So it bothers you a lot, I have seen you many times having a go at people commenting on PS3 threads, and you saying back that you’re never in 360 threads, and yet here you are, having a little moan. So again, why does it bother you so much? Just let it out, it will be cathartic, you’ll like it.
you do you feel the need to defend a paid-for service?
insecure about wasting your money on it?
trust me it ISNT head and shoulders above psn.
played all night on KZ2 and not a jot of lag.
Why do you care so much? Honest question, as you seem very happy with your PS3, rightly so, so why does the cost of Live subs bother you so?
what have i said about live subs?
it was others gushing over it. pay attention.
You’ve said that people are ‘insecure about wasting your money on it’, is that not commenting on it?
no. its commenting on a happy customer. stop your straw grabbing and PAY ATTENTION!!!
its the gushing i hate. the best thing about the 360 is an optional paid-for service. says it all.
No it’s not, it’s you saying that you think it’s a waste of money. So it bothers you a lot, I have seen you many times having a go at people commenting on PS3 threads, and you saying back that you’re never in 360 threads, and yet here you are, having a little moan. So again, why does it bother you so much? Just let it out, it will be cathartic, you’ll like it.
is this how you chat all the ladies up conker.
Sorry i couldn't resist. It was that or a pedophile joke. I decided to take the high ground.
We both know grasshopper is the only one trying to justify paying £300+ for the PS3, when you can play identical versions of 90% of its games on a 360 which currently costs half the price.
Also, I don’t think anyone should have to justify an entertainment purchase, if you get a lot of use from it, which I’m hazarding a wild guess that most people here play their consoles a lot, and can afford it, then there is no justification needed.
That goes both ways as well! Like Rodney King said, can’t we all just get along?
We both know grasshopper is the only one trying to justify paying £300+ for the PS3, when you can play identical versions of 90% of its games on a 360 which currently costs half the price.
But him paying a premium for a quality product like the PS3 is completely different to paying a premium for a quality online service like XBox Live. Completely different.
We both know grasshopper is the only one trying to justify paying £300+ for the PS3, when you can play identical versions of 90% of its games on a 360 which currently costs half the price.
But him paying a premium for a quality product like the PS3 is completely different to paying a premium for a quality online service like XBox Live. Completely different.
Yes totally different!
Conker shine on you crazy diamond! i like your style!
Today i will mostly be ending my sentences with exclamation marks!
Well, having both a 360 and a PS3 I happily pay for Xbox live as i think the service is head and shoulders above PSN and well worth the money.
There's always a fanboy who gets defensive and turns this around into a format war argument. No one is saying that LIVE features are bad, just that for some of us, we would rather not pay so much. Maybe you are one of those people who just have to ask and your daddy and he farts out money from his bum, but not all of us are that lucky.
i dont consider that fanboyism, its just fact, hes not lie-ing at all, just expressing that live is a better service which it is, it shouldnt even be a discussion as to which is better, when psn is as good as live then they ought to start at least thinking about making live free, but until then it is a premium service compared to psn so they can and will charge for it, id love everything in life to be free but it just isnt....
keep telling yourself that mate. after a while it will become true.
money well spent!!!
who else are you gonna arse lick?
free rimming! just express how much you enjoy paying for xbox live servers.
bottomlick?? im not bottomlicking anyone lol, just stating a fact. so anyway, ill ask you again as you seem to have missed my last post, what makes psn better than xbox live for gaming online and vice versa??? here, ill make a start for you-
1. psn is free 2. you have to pay for the premium xbox live service.
tell me what psn does that live doesnt and vice versa???
Can't send voice messages on PSN. Can't do cross game invites. Can't view all the games that friends have - only trophies. Can't do party chat. Inadequate profiles on PSN - Live is more social like Facebook or BEBO. That's just off the top of my head.
Having said that, I'm glad PSN doesn't charge seeing as I'm already paying for LIVE. One is enough!
Also @STD_Asshopper - I thought you never come onto Xbox related threads, so what are you doing here?
People are questioning if this price cut is due to a new PSN update that will make the PSN much better and maybe better than live. Thing is, Live has led the way for a better PSN, and PSN has probably helped to reduce the price live, so basically we are all benefitting from the competition between the two.
http://www.n4g.com/ps3/News-289151.aspx
Maybe bull, but it would make sense in a price cut from live.
As was highlighted in an earlier post, me and my friends often use the party chat on xbox live when using our ps3's (which to be honest isn't that often) this is simply because the voice chat on psn is pants, killzone is ruined for me on psn because of all the non standard headsets that vary massively in quality.
It is not quite as simple as that. Xbox live is a better service by quite some way but it costs money, where as the PSN service is not as good but it is free. Swings and Roundabouts.
tell me what psn does that live doesnt and vice versa???
Can't send voice messages on PSN. Can't do cross game invites. Can't view all the games that friends have - only trophies. Can't do party chat. Inadequate profiles on PSN - Live is more social like Facebook or BEBO. That's just off the top of my head.
Having said that, I'm glad PSN doesn't charge seeing as I'm already paying for LIVE. One is enough!
Also @STD_Asshopper - I thought you never come onto Xbox related threads, so what are you doing here?
are you some form of reprobate?
he said stuff PSN does that XBL doesnt. not the other way around.
if you werent too busy flooding your panties with joy maybe you'd have realised that.
This thread was always going to descend into farce.
The fact of the matter is that XBL is a paid subscription service that generates MS probably over $400million every year. They will not give this up.
PSN is a free service and Sony make no money from it, Sony have introduced this Qore thing, which is a paid subscription service. Do you really think that in 2/3 years time they wont want all of their customers paying for this service.
Bottom line is that Gaming is a business and they all want our money not our friendship, like some on here believe (yes grasshopper, im looking at you).
Can you not see the vice versa part? Do you need help understanding what it means?
And before you come back and say that VirtualCrack didn't list pros and cons for both systems, I'd like to remind you that the question was aimed at you and I don't remember you ever having a good word to saying about Live.
svd_grasshopper, can I just ask, and don't go on a verbal attack and call me things as I get upset easily, but what would you do if Sony announced that it was going to start charging to use their online service, but that this would be softened by extra functionality which required a subscriber investment to fund its development and maintenance, would you pay?
I know it's a different argument as Microsoft charged for XBox Live from the start compared to Sony starting to charge for a free service, but what would you do?
Keep your principles and not bother playing, or search out the cheapest subscription deal, pay for it and continue playing on the PS3 with your mates?
Both machines and their equivalent online services can have issues but if your comfortable with your choice it shouldn't make a difference to you personally what other people do with their money.
Sit back and laugh quietly to your yourself, knowing you've made the right choice for you.
Then we can stop turning these forums into massive argument zones, its making me very upset, so much so I can't sleep at night anymore from worrying that we can't all get along
tell me what psn does that live doesnt and vice versa???
Can't send voice messages on PSN. Can't do cross game invites. Can't view all the games that friends have - only trophies. Can't do party chat. Inadequate profiles on PSN - Live is more social like Facebook or BEBO. That's just off the top of my head.
Having said that, I'm glad PSN doesn't charge seeing as I'm already paying for LIVE. One is enough!
Also @STD_Asshopper - I thought you never come onto Xbox related threads, so what are you doing here?
are you some form of reprobate?
he said stuff PSN does that XBL doesnt. not the other way around.
You have delved back in with aplomb I see, but have still yet to answer my questions above, please refer to them above and have a little think about it, then come back with a well formed articulate answer so we can give you a cupcake and call you a good boy.
People are questioning if this price cut is due to a new PSN update that will make the PSN much better and maybe better than live. Thing is, Live has led the way for a better PSN, and PSN has probably helped to reduce the price live, so basically we are all benefitting from the competition between the two.
http://www.n4g.com/ps3/News-289151.aspx
Maybe bull, but it would make sense in a price cut from live.
I don't really get that article. It's badly written for starters, but seems to be written purely from the point of speculation from a bunch of fake pics! That's not a go at you barca, just why would someone do that on their website, it's not like it's a forum post or some kid's myspace page!
For my £26 (or whatever people pay) all I expected was to be able to play online, with the minimum of lag, down time and quick downloads. The features weren't really that important. Although I don't bother with chat apart from playing gmes with friends and even then I dont bother a lot of the time. The Party thing is cool though.
I would imagine that the majority of the money spent by MS on Live is on server upkeep, hosting, bandwidth etc (apart from some peer to peer play, which does annoy me as I've paid for a faster, more reliable service). An update won't change that, no matter how clever!
From what I've heard (and this is not from experience), downloading on the PS3 is a lot slower than Live (mine goes as fast as my cable can take and I've heard some multiple hour horror stories about PSN games). However, if the games play the same, with the same or no lag, you can add friends etc, PSN would be fine for me and I would resent the Live subs a little more.
That said, Live vs PSN didn't even enter my head when choosing what console to buy, I knew Live would cost. Last May the PS3 was lacking in games and was way too expensive.
Christ I've rambled on. Don't have a trucker's cigarette before posting - you ramble and constantly have to correct your spelling. Not even spelling, actually typing in the wrong words!
so what was the versa? the not paying for PSN part.
thats a good balance.
i started the list off for you before.... now again... do you need us to fill in the rest of the blanks???
i enjoy the fact psn is free but i dont pretend its as good as xbox live for gaming online, why do you????
and i take it you like listening to the awful bleeps and clicks from other gamers headsets and all the languages you dont understand when you're playing games online. its like being in a madhouse on killzone2 until i mute all the players in my lobby (all 30 of them!!) ~(and yes i set it to 'my region', but that includes all of europe), but of course, you want to listen to all that theyre saying in languages you cant understand, what a racket!!! ... of course psn is head and shoulders above live
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and it's rare you get bots and stuff to play with (Bless gears 2 lol)
Was it a Classified Ad? or something like that cause am sure if they put the biddin delivery thingy on classified then technically they can get away with just selling the codes via email.
SAME OLD S***!
