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."

Comments

Watch...

[darkhitman]

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both peacefully and violently, it will surely take decades of slow progress and bloody riots before the segregation is repealed.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.