jeffdsmith

Greetings everyone,

I primarily use my xboxes for linux machines and very rarely do gaming on the xbox. When LIVE was first available I tried it out for a while and later dropped it. Consequencently I do not follow the xbox scene that in depth, so I have some questions regarding any information the more intuned people may have picked up on.


---------------------------------------------------------------
Q1) How long does MS plan to support a said game on live? Due to the controlling nature of the MS's online plan they have sole control over whether a game maintains online support or not. One thing I am curious is about is the next generation of hardware. When it becomes available, is MS going to drop supporting the original xbox games after a certain time?

Q2) How much are you willing to pay for your LIVE experience? It's documented that LIVE operates at a loss, not because of lack of numbers, but because the service actually costs more to operate on an indivual basis then what is charged. With the proliferation of online gaming prices are only sure to go up to try and cover these loses. At what cost will you not pay anymore per year? (per month?)

Q3) How much time do you currently play online compaired to offline?

Q4) Do you enjoy playing against players online over playing them in the same room via system link or split screen? Which setup provides the most enjoyment? I realize that both have their advantages and disadvantages, please just address what you prefer.

Q5) How much does online support (be it competiive play or downloadable content) factor into your decision to buy a game? Are you more likely to buy a game that supports online materials?-

Q6) Of the various possible online content what is your favorite and most desired feature? (Competitive play, co-op mode, downloadable content, file save swapping, etc) Feel free to include non-existant features you would like to see.
---------------------------------------------------------------


Despite what this appears this is simply a thread to inspire some interesting discussion. I do not work for any game company, and am not going to use this information as any type of market research.

I'm primarily interested in peoples responses to number 1. When responding please address each question number before your answer, or use qoutes.

Thanks!
Jeffro

TOPDAWG

Q1. So far games that came out at xbox lives launch are still going Strong. M$ has yet to drop support for a game. Also I don't see this going down being as the games run off other folks xbox. M$ just saves you're buddy list and data. So I don't see why they would block a game being as it's not their hardware running it.

However I've read that EA wanted to make you buy a new version of their game every year to keep playing on line. So when Tiger Woods 2005 comes out they make not lit you play Woods 2004 on line anymore. However that is a rumor no idea if it's true. Not sure if they will do this when they start doing live.

Q2. I payed $50 for my first year and $30 to renew. CC had a sale on the renew cards :P It's well worth $70 the price new people pay now. It will gave allot of extra life to you're games. Also I don't see them losing allot of money most of the work is done by other xbox fans.

Q3. In the last few months I've not used live to much. It's not cause xbox live but I'm a bit burned out on video games right now.

Q4. I like on line better I hate having people in my house. The idea of killing someone in the UK and hearing him go damn is pretty cool.

Q5. No I only buy a game if I feel what is on the disc is worth it. I've seen a few xbox people piss and moan about download content. To me if whats comes on the disc in the first place is not worth the money don't get it hoping they will gave you something more later. I also love download content. I will just never ever pay for it.

Q6. I like the clan support. I used to play with a clan. They was not one of them crazy hardcore clan mind ya. Just some buds I know would use team work and if one of us called a play we would all do it. So clan support is coming soon and that sounds fun. Also voice is the best too makes it a shit load more fun.

Josh H

Never tried Live, but I can answer the questions anyway sense they are asking for opinions.

Q1. They haven't dropped support on any games yet. I doubt they will unless there was next to noone playing a game.

Q2. I'm not willing to pay for online gaming, and why should I be when I could play many games online on PS2 for no fee if I was so inclined.

Q3. Don't play online at all, currently only playing maybe 5 hours a week period. Just not much interest in gaming lately, especially with the nice summer weather.

Q4. I'd much rather play with some of my friends in the same room, drinking some beer and talking trash. Online just can't compare IMO.

Q5. Not at all as I'm not interested in online gaming.

Q6. Downloadable content, when it's something worthwhile like whole extra levels/missions for a game.

Michael Corvin

I let mine expire this month. I might renew when Halo2 comes out. Too me, it just isn't fun getting matched up with someone who has no life and puts 10-12 hours a day into a game. It just wasn't fun to me. I play to have fun and relax and most that I played online are all about the stats. If they did away with rankings it would shake things up quite a bit. That and the fact, I get no satisfation from beating a complete stranger. I much prefer 4+ guys in the same room having a great time and talking smack to each other.

That being said, two friends and I(soon) all have newborn babies, so all getting together on the same night is a rarity, so Xbox live will come in handy for Halo 2. But, tonight is a Halo night, got about 10 guys coming over. One last time before my child is born next week. Smack talk will be flying everywhere.

Giantrobo

q1) Right now, XBOX live multiplayer is the 1st thing I look for when buying an XBOX game. So I hope they don't stop support.

q2) I paid 49.95 when I signed up last year and a few weeks ago I paid the same. I didn't know I could pay less like TOPDAWG. But I'm also glad I'm not paying $70.

q3) I'm not a hardcore player but I play slightly more online than alone. I play around an hour or so every couple days more or less.

q4) playing online. I don't have any friends to play via link or split screen. Live is great way for me to play others.

q5) The -first thing- I look for is online multiplayer. The second thing is downloadable content. I've passed up many supposedly great games because they didn't have online multi. There are some popular games like Crimson Skies and Mech Assualt that are the most fun online.

q6) Downloadable content so far because Im not really into team games. I also like being able to check who's online while on my computer. I have Live linked to the XBOX website and even better, I have it linked to MSN Messenger so I just hit the xbox taba and I can see all the dvdtalk buddies either 1. playing games I don't have or 2. OFFline.


I don't know if Live does this or something like it already but I would like to see the ability to hide multiplayer games from the public. By that I mean if some guys/girls wanna play Jedi Academy online with just the people they know, the host can hide the game so that way he doesn't have to kick people who aren't part of the group and people trying to join won't have to deal with getting kicked. Just like chat rooms you could make a password that's good only for that game as long as it's active and the host could give that word to friends by email or through Live Messenger.

It sounds kinda cruel but it would save the rest of us from going into that room and having some ass kick us. Some days you can get kicked out of several "friends only" games before you find the right room. However, if one can't see them or at least the games are locked to begin with in the Lobby then hosts can concentrate on the game and non-friends can go join games that are open to all.

TOPDAWG

Giantrobo you can stop the public form joining you're game. When you host you can pick how many slots you want to save for friends. Say the game has 8 players just pick save 7 private slots and only people you ask can join you're game. Try and host and you will see that option.

You don't see many doing it guess cause well I guess they are lazy bastards. Next time you play pick host game and you will see how you do it.

PS. I think I saw the sale about the renew cards on here. If I see it again I will post about it if I see nobody posted it on here first.

Tamrok

Q1- As mentioned above, it's unlikely that Microsoft will drop support for any particular Live enabled game as it doesn't cost them anything extra to support it. There seems to be a mistaken impression that Microsoft has racks of servers for each game. This is not true. In nearly all cases (MMO games like Phantasy Star Online being the exception) the games run off of the host player's Xbox. The only thing Microsoft's servers do is provide matchmaking and online scoreboards for all games on the Live service. So, the costs increase only as the overall Xbox Live userbase increases which requires Microsoft to add more matchmaking/scoreboard servers to handle the additional users.

Q2- I find the cost of Live to be very reasonable. I'm unconvinced that there will be any large increases in the cost of the service anytime in the near future. Much like the consoles themselves, the Live service operates on the idea that the profits come from game sales and premium downloadable content.

Q3- Lately, I've played more online than off but that changes based on what games have come out recently.

Q4- Ideally, I guess playing together in a room would be most enjoyable. However, as you get older, it gets harder to get all your friends in the same room at one time. This is where Xbox Live really excels for me. My best friend recently moved out to the East coast yet we're still able to play on Live several times a week. With all games being voice-enabled it's as close as you can get to playing games in the same room without buying a plane ticket. Plus, it saves on the phone bills as we're able to catch up with what's new while playing our favourite games.

Q5- I buy plenty of games without Live support but it's definitely an important feature that can increase the likelyhood that I'll buy a given game.

Q6- For me, the most important Live feature is the voice support in all games. This is what helps make it feel like you're hanging out with your friends playing videogames. Downloadable content is also appreciated as it can extend the life of a game. I don't mind paying a small fee for quality content. The new Splinter Cell: Pandora Maps are a good example of quality content that charges a small fee. Both maps are of equal or greater quality to the maps that shipped with the game. Obviously, the maps didn't create themselves so I can understand why there will sometimes be a fee. As for Competitive vs. Co-op play, I enjoy both but prefer Co-op or team based Competitive play.

Copenhagen

I may be wrong, and I'm sure someone will correct me if I am, but I thought I remembered reading something about the '03 sports titles losing supoort in '05. Now it is possbile I totally just made that up but I'm pretty sure I recall reading that.

At $50/year LIVE is a steal imo. Honestly I'd be willing to pay a bit more annually for the service.

I probably play more online than I do offline right now. I'd say about 8-10 hrs/wk on LIVE and 5-6 hr/wk offline.

Haveing zero friends local to me that enjoy gaming, LIVE is my only outlet for competition other than the CPU. All things being equal though I think I would rather play online agaist people as you have a better chance of playing people with vastly different skills.

It is something that I look at. If I'm wavering on a game being online enabled will probably push me over the edge on that titile.

My favorite online features are DLC, PDLC, and the buddy list utilized by LIVE.

Giantrobo

But what if you choose 8 and only 6 are playing? That's 2 slots open to the public right? Then we're back to square one right? People kicking and getting kicked.

Yeah I'm aware of the "Slot number option" I guess I never thought of it working that way.

Tamrok

No, if you host a game that supports 8 people and you set the game up with 7 friends slots (you plus 7 friends equals 8 players), no one other than people on your friends list will be able to enter the game. Even if you can't find 7 friends for your game, you'll just end up playing with fewer players.

Copenhagen

As long as the slots are for friends only, the general population can't get into the game without an invite regardless if the room is full or not.

Giantrobo

ooooooooh ok guys I got it. Like I said originally, I didn't know if Live had a way of doing this already. Although I've hosted, I've never tried to do that.

Ralph Wiggum

Online gaming can be great, but Live wasn't worth it to me for a couple of reasons:

1. Lack of dedicated servers - $50/year for a matching service where I have to supply my own bandwidth isn't a good value to me.

2. My general lack of interest in the overwhelming majority of Live titles (especially FPS and sports games).

Giantrobo

Yes. All 3 of them for free

dgc

Josh H

Well, for me all I like to play online are sports games, and EAs have all been free to play online on the PS2.

jeffdsmith

Thanks for the great replies, def. giving me some things to think about while also creating a new batch of questions. I'll be sure to ask them after I've thought about them for a while.

Thanks agian.

Giantrobo

I'm just messin' with ya Josh Hinkle.

peace

Outlaw

Live is a good idea and it works good, but there aren't any good games that I like on it and I don't see any in the near future with the cancellation of True Fantasy Online (why the hell was this cancelled?). I don't forsee myself using Live, usually I only use it at my friends house to screw with other players using the headset but thats about it lol. Until they get more than just PC ports of FPS games and sports games I have no interest in it.