Microsoft discusses Xbox Live pricing

The oft debated issue of Xbox Live pricing has arisen once again, only this time it’s being tackled by Microsoft employees in the form of Microsoft’s Gamerscore Blog. Will the age old question “Sony’s is free, how come Xbox Live isn’t?” be answered once and for all?

Not really

“There are bandwidth costs, there are things that go above and beyond”, said Chris Paladino of the Xbox Community Team. “I think it goes back to this unified system. We have to have voice communication, text and voice communication, now we’re doing cross-platform. There’s Marketplace, there are demos, and all these things don’t just mystically hover around that you can pull them out of the ether.”

Microsoft PR manager Michael Wolf chimed in to add that “you get what you pay for” and that satisfaction levels with Xbox Live have been very high. He also made a comparison between Live and Cable television, noting that he pays 100 bucks a month for cable and spends more time on Live which only costs 50$ a year. Even so, their reasoning seems a little suspect. Bandwidth costs are understandable, but it’s hard to see how text communication is driving the price of Xbox Live. The fact remains that there is no significant counterpoint to Xbox Live. The Playstation Network is free, but doesn’t deliver a fraction of what you get with Live. Until there is a free counterpoint to Live, cost arguments are more or less moot. It’s up to the consumer to decide if his 50$ a year is justified or not. Is your’s?

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