We have all heard of the multi billion dollar company Microsoft. In fact, if you are reading this, then you are probably using one of their most popular products, Microsoft Windows. So, why, may I ask, must a multi- billion dollar company such as Microsoft charge customers that support them by buying xBoxes and xBox 360s to be premium members of xBox Live? All of the other gaming systems, such as the Sony Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii, make their online gaming programs free, but Microsoft continues to charge. While Microsoft does have a free version of xBox Live, the free service does not support online gameplay, which is the main feature of xBox Live.
Sony's Playstation 3's online service is completely free and supports online play, as does the Nintendo Wii's online service. Yet Microsoft still continues to charge for xBox Live Gold. The question Microsoft should be asking is: are we going to lose our gaming customers to Sony and Nintendo if we continue to charge?
In the previous generation of gaming consoles, the xBox had undeniably better graphics than the other systems, but the Playstation 3's graphics are considered better than the xBox 360's by many sources. The only leg up xBox had on the Playstation was xBox-only games such as Bungie's Halo series, but with the Halo series over, and Bungie no longer bonded together with Microsoft, will future Bungie games be released for the Playstation 3 as well?
Most third-party videogame designers want to sell as many copies of their game as possible to increase profits, so why would they release their games exclusively on the xBox? Although many users of xBox Live consider it better than Sony's or Nintendo's online programs, is it so much better that people are going to stop buying gas so they can play videogames? I doubt it. So, being a big Microsoft and Bill Gates fan myself, I think Microsoft needs to make xBox Live Gold free to all users of the service.
