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I think I know something that could make a difference for Xbox Live. I propose a new payment plan for the service be put into place. One that is more flexible to customers that don't spend much time playing online multiplayer, but who also want to when they find those few moments in life that allow it.
Currently Microsoft offers a Gold membership for $50/year, $8/1 month and $20/3 months. When you break down the yearly subscription you see that the value is really $4.17/month. So let's just say $5.
Now let's look at the different demographics and the hours they may spend playing online:
* 17 and under --> Play Time: ~30-50 hours per week
* 18-25 --> Play Time: 20-40 hours (depending on where they are in life)
* 26 and older --> Play Time: unpredictable - guestimate that most only get 5-10 hours/week of total play time with online game time limited due to family (can't always play a game that can't be paused) - things come up.
The average age for a gamer is 30 (according to the ESA).
For everyone in the 17-25 age range, $50/year isn't so bad. Even the $8/month card every now and then seems okay...sort of.
But for the "average gamer", the cost doesn't seem justified. Microsoft seems to only be targeting the younger audience with it's online efforts.
In my case, I don't play many online games. Over the 2 years of Gold that I subscribed to, I possibly played an average of 2 hours/month (with some months of a lot of online and some months of none at all).
Why would I want to pay during the months that I am not playing? Also, why would I want to pay $8 to try out an online game only to find out I don't like it?
I propose that a new payment system be devised that is more flexible for people in my situation. So back to the $5/month...
Create the following plans:
* $0.25/day (~$7.75/month) - This will provide motivation for Silver members to try out a Gold membership. You can also get rid of the free month of Gold if you really want.
* $1.50/week (~$6+/month) - providing people the ability to pay a small price for more time online.
Both of these plans would bring in new customers and would also provide Microsoft with profits that they are not earning from members like me who have stopped paying for Gold because we do not play online enough to justify it.
Also consider the fact that we must purchase MS points in the bundles of 500 points (minimum) at a cost of $6.25. So, we can then get 25 days of gaming out of that, but we get to decide when we use those online hours instead of being forced to play within dates set by Microsoft.
As it stands now, I believe Microsoft is ignoring these demographics and potential customers. Adjusting XBL to be more flexible for people with busy on-the-go lives will make it more attractive to those who have not "Jumped In."
Please Microsoft. Help me out. I would enjoy supporting XBL if it fit my needs. Right now its just not working out.
Last week my wife brought me the Walmart sale add and pointed out to me that they were offering $100 gift card with the purchase of a PS3. She suggested that it would be a good idea to invest in the PS3 right now with this deal. We needed to get grocieries and would easily be spending $100 on food. This definitely validated the sale as a deal because we get groceries from Walmart anyway and that meant that the PS3 was costing only $300 (+ tax and 2 yr service agreement [$28.88 US]). After plenty of debating and missing the original sale deadline, I finally went a made the purchase.
Now I can finally make posts and comment on the PS3 from experience as a customer who owns the device. This also means I no longer have any current-gen consoles to look forward to getting since I now own all three of them. It's both sad and exciting at the same time.
What made me decide that the PS3 was a good purchasing decision?
Blu-Ray - I decided that Blu-ray was something that I definitely wanted. I don't see my PS3 as a movie player, but I do see it as a function of the console that I will use a lot.
Wireless Internet Built-in - A lot of the hardcore Xbox Live junkies out there will argue that wireless is not good enough for online gaming. I agree that there are limitations and additional frustrations to having a wireless connection, but I disagree that it is not good enough for online gaming. I have a great connection at my house and wireless runs what appears to run at similar speeds as compared to my wired devices with no interference (except when my wireless surround speaker is on in the background). I found this feature exciting since I didn't want to drop the $100 on the wireless add-on for my Xbox360.
Exclusive Games - Heavenly Sword, Ratchet & Clank, Drakes Fortune, Metal Gear Solid 4, Final Fantasy XIII - I have had my eye on Heavenly Sword since its debut at E3. I really like the combo focused gameplay and the story sounds intriguing. I'm really excited to get my hands on this title. Drakes Fortune really sounds like a great story to play through with some okay controls. I feel like it will provide the Tomb Raider type of experience that I am looking to get out of it. Metal Gear is a given. I never played MGS1, I didn't ever complete MGS2 or MGS3, but I have hopes that they have improved enough elements in the 4th game to make it worth a visit. I really liked the previous 2, but with MGS2 I needed a game guide and my MG3 got broke in half before I finished the game and I just never went back. So I have good excuses (at least I think they're good ^_^). I have high hopes for FFXIII, but I am staying cautious about the title because of the lackluster spin-off titles.
Motion Controls - I have my Wii, so I can definitely say that I like how the controls can work when implemented correctly. I think that the SixAxis controls in the PS3 controllers are a great topping for an already stacked cake. Some of the implementations have me excited to use the motion controls in a way that deepens the gameplay. I'm a little worried about my children using the controller, but I'll just have to trust my judgement on what games they play and how the motion is used.
Hard Drive Storage - I love the fact that every PS3 has built-on storage. I received the 40GB model, but I enjoy the thought that I can extend that storage space immensly by adding my own HDD's with higher capacity and faster read/write response times. This is something that trumps the Xbox360. I have been frustrated with the limited 20GB and I do not see any reason to spend $180 for 120GB of storage. In the same Walmart ad as the PS3 sale, I saw a 160GB USB powered HDD by Toshiba that was selling for $118. Sony is normally the proprietary format offenders, but Microsoft is the one who chose the wrong feature to go proprietary with this console generation. Home - Some people love the idea, some people hate the idea. I'm in the former group. I am really looking forward to Home. I believe that this is a "good-faith" offering by Playstation that will be used for many of their marketing purposes, but also adds a huge layer of interactivity and social interaction to our console experiences. Of course I want a quick-glance view of my "trophies", but the trophy room is going to be an impressive place to show off your achievements when making small talk while setting up a game or whatever else you might be doing.
PSP Connectivity - I have owned my PSP since it launched. One of the main features I was excited about is the connectivity between PSP and PS3. One of the soon-to-be most-used features of this connection is the ability to use the PSP to choose what music I am listening to without the need to go to my living room. When having parties, it will be nice to have the PSP right next to me to make the music listening experience the best it can be.
How is the PS3 stacking up to my expectations?
I felt right at home when I turned on my new console. Everything booted up quickly and the setup was fast and easy. I had heard rumors that the firmware updates were a pain when you first get your console, but it only took me about 10-15 minutes to update and I don't think that is bad. Having the PSP allowed me to quickly grasp the concept of how the XMB works on the PS3.
I didn't purchase any games with my PS3 yet. I am going on vacation soon and didn't really see a need to make any purchasing decisions. Instead I will use blockbuster rentals and downloadable demos to get a grip on what the system has to offer. During my first few hours with the system I was able to download quite a few demos both for my PSP and PS3.
I also have been having issues with my wireless router lately. I believe that I am going to have to return it to it's factory settings and run some tests before I can connect my PS3 wirelessly. This isn't just a problem with my PS3. My PSP, my daughters XO laptop, my Wii, and one of my PC's have been having connection problems as of late. I think it has to do with the fact that I changed the security settings on the router not too long ago. That's when things messed up. Hopefully I'll have those problems resolved before I go on vacation.
I only have one high-definition television in my home. It is a 37" Polaroid LCD 720p (1080i max) television. It has been a precious device in my home for over a year. Of course, it was just my luck that my TV stopped working two weeks ago. It turns on, but the screen stays completely black the entire time and it doesn't put out any sound. Gladly I purchased an extended warranty. I am shipping out the TV tomorrow and I expect it to return within a month. The problem with this is that I won't get to experience my PS3's HD output until I get my television back. Certainly a bummer, but at least not for too long.
Since I am having network problems, I was unable to get the Remote Play option to work properly with my PSP and PS3. I was able to register the device, but I couldn't get it connected via internet.
I played the following demos to get an idea of gameplay on the PS3:
* Dark Sector - I expected this to be mediocre and it was. While I had fun and the graphics looked pretty good (even on my SDTV), it just didn't seem like a game that appealed to me. Maybe good for a rent. I also couldn't beat the demo because I couldn't figure out how to get past the glowing chained gate.
* Lost Planet: Online Demo - This was a good game to give me an idea of how network play is on the PS3. I enjoyed the demo of the Lost Planey game when it released for Xbox360, so I was already familiar with how the game played. It was very similar on the PS3. I was impressed with how easy it was to set up and get a match going. No lag and good fun. I enjoyed this little demo.
* The Darkness - I downloaded this demo because I own The Darkness for Xbox360. I really love this game too. The graphics seem a little better on the PS3, but the character movement seemed a little choppy comparatively. Everything else about the game was the same and it was still a lot of fun.
* Rub A Dub - I can't remember if this is the name of this title, but I think PS3 owners will know what this is. The infamous rubber duck from Sony's E3 press conferences comes to life in this small 5 Tub (each tub is a level) downloadable game. This game was obviously put out just to show off the SixAxis motion controls. While I found it a little entertaining, my 5-year-old daughter really got into it. It's simple and fun for young children and I'm glad that the "Starter Pack" is free. For $6 I think I might go for the full version so my daughter can have something to enjoy with me.
* Echochrome - This is definitely one of the best and unique puzzle games I have played in a while. I didn't enjoy the music, but I did enjoy the different perceptions and how they effected the character and the environment. Definitely considering a purchase.
OVERALL - Yes. The PS3 has met my expectations for the features I was able to check out. I am overly excited about getting my HDTV back and testing out some Blu-ray videos and seeing the games as they should be. I'm also excited to get my network back up and running smoothly.
Out of all 3 current-generation consoles; which one is your favorite?
At this point I cannot pick a favorite. I have about 15 games on my Xbox360 and I enjoy most of them enough to play them frequently. My Wii is good for parties and family time, but gets used rarely. Although that doesn't push it off the list, it does mean that it is the lowest on my list at the moment. I guess I can also blame that on the fact that I only rented Mario Galaxy and Zelda instead of purchasing them. I don't have any games for my PS3, so there's no way it can come first, but it's features are on par with the 360 so far with the possibility of surpassing. Maybe I'll have a favorite later this year, but as for now I will continue to enjoy all of the consoles for each of the respective features, services and games.
