For as long as Microsoft has charged $49.99 a year for Xbox Live Gold subscription, we’ve seen people saying it should be free.

I’ve had a few discussions with non-Xbox Live gaming friends who think Microsoft is being greedy by charging. Don Reisinger at CNET news is among the latest to complain:

So what does Microsoft need to do to right the ship and really turn things around? Announce that all Xbox Live memberships will be free and all gamers can play online without a hitch. It’s radical, for sure, but it’s the best move Microsoft can make right now.

The "best move Microsoft can make" … really?

And turn what things around anyway? Sales results in relation to Xbox Live tell a mixed story at best. The link Mr. Reisinger provides to Gamespot as evidence of sales slumps offers the following quote: "While Microsoft roundly thumped Sony in software sales." Huh?

Just recently the Xbox 360 bested the PS3 in Japan in weekly sales for the first time ever. Again, looking at the Gamespot link, the system sales for the PS3 and Xbox 360 are about the same with the Nintendo DS and Wii way ahead of both systems.

What about hot games like Soul Calibur IV? The Xbox 360 sold 218,900 while the PS3 sold 155,800. What was the #1 selling game? Not Wii Fit, surprisingly, which clocked in at #2 with 369,600, it was NCAA Football 09 for, you guessed it Don, Xbox 360. The PS3 version sold 242,500.

These numbers between the PS3 and Xbox 360 from an Xbox Live standpoint would mean more if there were an equal number of systems in circulation. As it stands, one can’t say that more of the same game was sold on the PS3 because gamers could use network play for free. I don’t know if/when the PS3 sales will catch up as they are still sluggish for a system that offers something the Xbox 360 doesn’t: built-in Blu-ray player and better hardware durability.

No, they aren’t "basically the same" online gaming experience
Mr. Reisinger needs to go back and spend more time comparing and evaluating the game libraries with networked gameplay for each of the three systems and revisit what he wrote. He couldn’t be any more wrong about them being "basically the same."

We own all three game systems (3 working Xbox 360s 1 working Xbox 360 Elite, 1 Wii, 1 PS3) and the Wii from a networked gaming experience is easily the worst, very little in the way of being able to play networked games with your friends. The Mii system, although typical Nintendo cutesy comes up short. I am puzzled why Nintendo hasn’t stepped up their network play games strategy. They could kick both Sony and Microsoft’s butts — if only they’d try harder.

The Wii needs more game titles with network play. They are slowly adding more networked game titles, but if you follow the history they didn’t see online network gameplay as that important, and their lackluster networked game library shows this weakness. The Wii didn’t get the hit game Rock Band until recently and last time I checked you couldn’t buy individual Rock Band songs through the Wii network. You can do that on both the Xbox 360 and PS3. Basically the same as the Xbox 360 and PS3? No way.

The Playstation Network, also free, is definitely gaining ground on Xbox Live, but there are still too few games that offer networked gameplay and they need more classic arcade ports. My favorite shooter on the PS3 is the gorgeous game, Super Stardust HD. If you have a PS3 and don’t have this game, stop reading and go buy it now. Sony released a $4.99 upgrade for the game recently, but we still can’t play co-op over the network. Major bummer.

At the same time, the PS3 does have some really fun games that are network playable. Their network strategy is a lot better than the Wii. I also like the fact that they built in a web browser and use it effectively throughout their system. My biggest complaints with the Playstation Store are inventory and to a lesser degree organization. I’m hopeful when HOME hits this will creatively solve the organization part, but games are still coming a little too slowly. More great games = more players = stronger network.

And where are all the cool old school arcade titles? In the Xbox Live Arcade. It’s one of the major differences for Xbox Live over the other two. The Wii store allows buying old NES, SNES, N-64, NEO-GEO, Sega, etc games and you can get a few arcade titles like Q-bert, Sprint and Joust in the Playstation store, but one only has to surf the Xbox Live Arcade library for 30 seconds to realize how much deeper and broader the Xbox Live Arcade titles are comparatively. No competition.

On the Xbox 360, although I don’t have an accurate count, there seems to be hundreds of games, including the aforementioned diverse lineup of arcade games that allow networked play with voice chat. It’s more the exception, than the rule, that an Xbox 360 version of a game does not come with some sort of networked play or at the least an active leaderboard. And the Xbox Live blade is a much better UI than the Wii and I like it better than the Playstation Store which sends me through too many submenus. I don’t want to click forever to find out what games I don’t already own.

Some of the comparisons I made between the networks are admittedly subjective, but the body of evidence suggests that there is no way these three networks are basically the same. I didn’t follow

How Microsoft could make Xbox Gold more valuable
In our household of five we currently have *4* Xbox Live Gold subscriptions and sure, I’d love to have that extra $200 a year, but I’d rather see the Gold membership give us more perks for the paid memberships than going completely free with heavier ad saturation.

Give Gold Members added perks like the following:

• one free arcade game a month or quarter as part of my Gold subscription and/or a certain number of free Microsoft points so I can spend them on songs from Zune Marketplace, arcade games, whatever
• free Creators Club, none of that $99 a year extra garbage
• HD video rentals at the same price as standard definition. And offer a 1080p option, I can get those through DISH, why can’t I get them through Xbox Live?
• the ability to turn off and/or customize blade advertisements. The Xbox Live blade has gotten increasingly worse with ads. Sure, they are targeted mostly to promoting content available in Xbox Live and I can understand the need for ads with the free Silver membership, but I’m getting more annoyed by them as a Gold subscriber
• let us have a freaking web browser! This should be free to both silver and gold level, but if they want to give additional perks to Gold, then maybe it could be a more powerful web browser that is integrated with special features for some games.

The Xbox Live Silver subscription has always been free, but gamers quickly learn that for online networked play you need a Gold subscription.

Silver should have free networked gameplay
Being able to play with as many friends as you can, the global arcade if you will, is the best part of online gaming. Comparing scores is alright, but being able to play co-op with a friend across the globe and kick butt on the videogame bad guys is where the real fun is at.

In that spirit, I actually agree with Don and Alfred at Zune Max that Microsoft should make online networked play free for Silver members. I still very much disagree that they should completely do away with the paid Gold subscriptions. It’s not a bad model to charge for subscriptions. Just make sure the paid subscription has worthwhile features. I think Microsoft could stand tweaking the Gold subscription a bit and would definitely deal a blow to the PS3 if they made online networked play free for Silver members. Will they? Time will tell.

Did this post make you go hmm?

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