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Xbox Live Silver Accounts Now Wait a Week For Demos
1up notes a change in the way that Xbox Live Silver-level (free) memberships work. Now folks that don't pay will have to wait an additional week to get game demos. Microsoft's Xbox representative Major Nelson assures us it's not meant to 'annoy' users of the service, but to provide additional value to Gold subscribers. "When people talk about features they'd like to see added to an Xbox Live Gold subscription, dedicated servers, expanded buddy lists or separate bandwidth pipes for popular downloads are first to mind. Instead of adding features to the Gold experience, however, they're "enhancing" Gold subscriptions by continuing a practice started last summer of stripping Silver members of features and making them Gold-only."
Now my perceived value of $4.99 a month is justified! Take that cheap asses!
They've had this policy in place for over a year. The change is that now silver accounts can see the content in the list even though they can't download it yet. If they try to download it, they get a message explaining the situation. Before the update, the content just wouldn't show up in their list at all.
You guys are right - M$ doesn't innovate, it steals ideas from others, now including Commodore Burito!
"Instead of adding features to the Gold experience, however, they're "enhancing" Gold subscriptions by continuing a practice started last summer of stripping Silver members of features and making them Gold-only."" Making the standard package worse and then charging more for the same content in premium, where does this sound familiar... oh right. Viva la Xbox live network neutrality!
assures us it's not meant to 'annoy' users of the service, but to provide additional value to Gold subscribers
I was reading the major nelson site about this yesterday after reading tycho's post at PA about it.
It annoys me that value is being considered as a zero sum game. To enhance the value of gold memberships, they do so not by adding value to it, but detracting value from the free version.
And isn't the point of demos to produce interest in sales of new games, thereby increasing MS's licensing revenue? How exactly does this help increase their bottom line? I wouldn't expect anyone to upgrade for this reason alone, especially as it's done in poor taste.
I'm an Xbox Live Silver Account user and quite honestly, I don't have a problem with this. Were I a Gold Account user, I would probably want as much value for my dollar as possible, even if it was something as simple as adding advanced downloads. It's not as if Silver Accounts will never get the opportunity to download the demos.
Those who believe the Internet is private,
find their privates are on the Internet.
I can appreciate that Gold subscriptions have leveled off and that Microsoft, like any company, needs to generate money to justify service. The right thing to do is enhance Gold service to offer real and compelling features that would make someone happy with Silver jump up to gold. But what happened is Microsoft made Silver just suck a bit more without adding anything to Gold. Not only are you irritating Silver users, you've slighted Gold users who wonder why they are spending $50 a year and only getting "less encumbered" as a service instead of new and meaningful services.
Thanks a bunch Microsoft.
"but to provide additional value to Gold subscribers"
The problem is that no actual value was added. A gold subscripion pre-update is exactly the same as one post-update. No features were added, and nothing was changed. Demos are available at the same time they were before.
Adding value typically requires adding something that wasn't there previously.
(Not that gold actually is a value to begin with. "For only the cost of a game a year, you can actually use the multiplayer part of the games you bought! As opposed to PC and PS3 players, who can use that part without paying anything extra...")
-- "So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated." - Bill Gates
Typical Microsoft practices, giving you crack always turns into selling you crack.
First off, think practically about this: demos are the video game equivalent of commercials - their sole reason for existence is to entice players to purchase the retail version of a game. This is like telling terrestrial TV viewers that if they want to see commercials then they're going to have to pony up for cable. The practical difference is that most viewers would rather not see commercials, and most players actively seek out demos, but the fact that this limits the scope of advertising remains constant.
M$ is not an organization of geniuses. If they were even reasonably intelligent, they would know that this isn't a viable way to try to scrape some revenue out of the enormous money pit that XBOX Live has become.
I think spending real money for leasing software (which is what anyone who spends any money on Live is doing) is plainly idiotic. It's roughly equivalent of rent-to-own and paycheck advance businesses in terms of ripping off consumers.
But if you are of the mindset that consumers exist to be taken advantage of, it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to see a better way. If you want to add value to entice people to get XBOX Live Gold, start giving them something YOU actually think is worth something, Microsoft, not pointing out that they still have some zero-value feature that you took away from other users.
Give Gold members Microsoft Points free when they get achievements and leave the Silver members with just their Achievement points. Or alternatively allow Gold members to simply accrue points when they renew their subscriptions. The worst possible outcome is that the subscribers take the free stuff and don't buy anything else so you haven't made any money beyond the subscription fee, but by the same token it costs you exactly nothing to give them this stuff for free, so it's a wash. On the other hand, if you get them to open their wallets to "rent" just one arcade title that they couldn't quite afford with the free points then you'll have gained real money for the same nothing, and potentially hooked them on the idea of downloaded content.
You could also invent a new more expensive "Platinum" membership tier that worked like cell phone service where you're allotted a certain number of points every month and have to pay extra for anything above that.
Personally I think software-as-a-service and pay-for-download is the most evil thing any corporation ever thought up. It is a completely one-sided arrangement and all of the advantage goes to the corporation, not the consumer. With physical product there is more cost to the corporation, but the consumer is given with a persistent and non-volatile representation of the software. With digital product, the corporation saves the cost of manufacture - a savings that is rarely apparent in digital download pricing - and the customer is given a volatile representation of the software on a device that the corporation can order to alter, destroy, or disable without the customer's consent. In the event of failure of that device, the customer is completely at the mercy of the corporation to replace the lost software. I would like to see the entire thing go down in flames; so please please please, ignore my advice, Microsoft.
as someone stated, if i am a silver user, i now have more incentive to upgrade to gold. the fact that it is a sleazy way to add 'value' to the premium account is irrelevant, if it gets more money. its not going to have an effect on software sales, because if a demo comes out well before the game is available, even if you lose a week you will still finish it before the game comes out. it only adds additional bragging rights to the gold members, and impatient silver members will upgrade. i already own an xbox, and its not decreasing the value of software i purchase, so it really can't cause a loss of profit off of silver members. here's what M$ is missing - dirty tactics like this may prevent people from buying an xbox at all. thats the only part of the market that they could lose sales from due to this. i might look at this as a pc gamer and decide to go with a ps3 now that it has been brought to my attention how underhanded these guys are.
wrong...
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
This is simply the first step, you see, as Microsoft makes clear the order of things.
As their dominance and power spreads, they'll soon be installing two water fountains in public places: one for Silver accounts, and for Gold. The bathrooms and movie theaters, too, will be segregated based upon one's Xbox Live Status. And, if a Gold user wishes to sit on a full bus, a Silver user will be required to give up their seat for him.
Of course, it won't stop there: as the idea of "separate but unequal" facilities for paying and non-paying customers spreads, it will eventually reach the polls. Yes, Silver members will be required to pay a poll microtax in order to vote. However, to protect Gold members from this tax, a Grandfather Clause will be passed, which will let one vote if their Grandfather paid for his Xbox Live Account.
Although the Silver users will protest, both peacefully and violently, it will surely take decades of slow progress and bloody riots before the segregation is repealed. And, even then, Account Class-ism will pervade society at its deepest levels. We have a dark future to look forward to.
Tell me something...it's still "We, the people"... right?
.. oh here's a tasty little morsel hot off the grill, and it's available
...to gold members! sign up now!
OK! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
Yes they are putting it in terms that show it in the beast light, but the terminology is valid. Think of it in reverse. Let's say you sign up for a year of X-Box Live Gold and pay in advance. Now let's say that Microsoft decides to give all the benefits of X-Box Live Gold to Silver members. Is that "Gold" membership now more valuable, less valuable, or the same value? You're getting all the same things you had before... Would a 12 month subscription be worth $49.99 to a new X-Box owner? What's the value when you could get everything for free?
I'm not sure if you are saying the parent is "wrong" or the link is wrong...in either case I agree.
Famous Last Words: "hmm...wikipedia says it's edible"
So... Not only do I have better graphics, better sound, better movies and better games (albeit fewer of the latter available), my free online experience I now also have better free online service. And this is news how?