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Xbox Live Silver Accounts Now Wait a Week For Demos

Posted by Zonk on from the yet-another-monthly-fee dept.

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."

5 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. Not new by MeanMF · · Score: 5, Informative

    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.

  2. Translation by Sentry21 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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. In other words, 'We divided XBL into Silver and Gold, but Gold wasn't worth the money, so instead of adding value to Gold, we're stripping it from Silver.
    1. Re:Translation by RandoX · · Score: 5, Funny

      This reminds me of something... Where was it that allowed paying members to see the content earlier? I can't remember.

    2. Re:Translation by Seumas · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Major Nelson is full of shit.

      Adding a delay to Silver members is providing "additional value" to Gold members? How so? As a Gold member, I get games on release day right now. With this change, I *still* get games on release day.

      There is no value added to the gold account. The only change in value is some being stripped from the Silver accounts. If he were being honest, he'd have said "This is not mean to annoy users, but to provide INCENTIVE to subscribe to gold accounts".

      Additional value would be free downloadable content or discounts on the games for gold members.

  3. JUST LIKE SLASHDOT!!!! by MBraynard · · Score: 5, Funny
    Non-payers have to wait extra long to see news stories that were old when the subscribers got to see them.

    You guys are right - M$ doesn't innovate, it steals ideas from others, now including Commodore Burito!