Why do console gamers pay to play online when it is free on PC?

When I saw that the PS4 was coming out with a pay to play online fee I knew I was done with online gaming on consoles. I mean one of the advantages the PS3 had over the 360 was that it was free to play online. I don't even know how they get away with this because what they are offering is inferior to what is free on PC. The so called "free" games you are getting is not even a good deal either because what they are giving you can be had cheaper on PC in most cases also. I don't know why people don't realize they are being ripped off by MS and Sony and they do it because they know the masses of sheep in the gaming community will pay for it when MS tried that on PC they failed because PC gamers are in general smarter consumers and will not stand for it.

I don't pay for online. I pay for the free games that come with the subscription.

Consoles are closed systems. In their internal markets, MS and Sony have absolute monopolies. You think the likes of Valve, EA and Blizzard wouldn't charge for online if they could? Online services do cost money to run, you know. MS tried to charge PC players for online once, and all that did was make PC players, who were used to free competitors, riot until they backtracked. That pretty much scared everyone else out of even thinking about it.

If console players were to do the same, MS and Sony would just very politely and diplomatically tell them to suck it up and pay. Console players have no choice, and for a lot of players, that's fine by them.

Of course, MS and Sony have since smartly added some perks to soften the blow a bit. I consider them to be customer loyalty programmes, which is normal.

Did you travel back in time or are you just slow?

Don't know man. Never could figure that shit out. Paying for internet again on top of paying internet providers in 2016 feels a bit odd. But I noticed that PC gamers complain way more than Console gamers if they feel something is wrong (paid mods, pre order bonuses, bad ports etc), while Console gamers don't speak for their rights.

You don't even get to keep the games it's like a rental when the subscription runs out then you lose the games I had subscribed before just to see what it's like and I thought I would get to keep the games then I realized you don't it's basically a scam

@unrealgunner: Why do you care so much what we pay???

@freedomfreak:

"I pay for the free games"

-Freedomfreak 2016

xbox one has dedicated servers for its first party games so i don't mind paying extra for the better experience. Sony uncharted 4 multiplayer is peer to peer thats last gen and you guys pay for that? I also think games for gold is excellent 4 games for free every month can't complain. I have a new library of 360 games and xbox one games.

Ah the ol' why do console players pay to play online but we here in the "GLORIOUS" PC race would never pay to play online... Looks at the millions of dollars PC players have spent on World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, and almost any MMO before F2P became the norm. I know they arent the same as Xbox live or PSN, but still. Also PSN and Xbox Live are actually maintaining dedicated networks and servers for their services by the way so...yeah.

Because they're playing on consoles, not PCs, so PC having free online is absolutely irrelevant to the decision making process.

Online is free on Wii U. So you didn't have to abandon consoles.

@Cloud_imperium:

Again, what rights? We're talking about two different kinds of markets here. One is an open market with many competitors, the other are closed and absolute monopolies. On the PC, you don't want to pay for full online, you just go elsewhere, or drag their name through so much mud it make everyone else look like saints until they backtrack. That's what happened to GFWL.

On the consoles, if you want to play full-featured online, you only have two choices; pay up or go f*** yourself. It's how it is, and short of MS and Sony losing their damn minds, that's not going to change, and in the internal cost-benefit analyses of many console players, it's a price worth paying.

What's not to understand?

I have a great career that pays lots of money and I personally don't pay full price when it comes to XBL/PSN, I look for deals on those 1-year subs when there on sale, I buy those pre-paid cards like around $35 or below, and never full prices.

Now then to answer you're question, paying is always an optional and if you are not a heavy fan of MP gaming, then don't pay to play, that's it. I may have a PC yes but how the hell am I'm supposed to play exclusive games like Halo 5 on PC? Yeah people don't even take into account when there favorite games are NOT on PC.

Like freedomfreak said, I don't personally pay for online only, I also pay for those freebie games and good discount games as well.

Real talk: PS+ was very helpful subby back on PS3, it let me play freebie games when I was still in collage when I didn't have time to go buy games at the time and it was a very helpful tool for me, so PS+ was a big help for me and I could go on and on but Gold subby was a joke back during the 360 era early days until M$ started copying Sony's PS+ freebie games offering.

I dunno,some people dont mind paying more for less I suppose.

Yes especially sony exclusive games those are extremely easy to get on PC.

They pay because on Sony's console is mandatory now Thanks MS.

Well you get what you pay for... Ever visit the boards of Steam and count the "I GOT SCAMMED!" threads?

@so_hai:Ever heard of refund or don't buy garbage games.

I bought mine because the PSN+ deals make games cheaper and in a full year i'll end up saving a lot more than I actually spent on the sub.

I hate the idea of paying to play online, but that's not the reason why I bought my sub and I would never have bought one for that reason.

How long would it take me to get my money back when I get $10 to $20 off the price no-sub members pay for games throughout the year? I bought my sub for better deals on games I play and nothing else. When the deals start becoming bad, I'll end my sub. I've already earned my $50 back and it's not even mid year

It's worth it to not have to deal with the hackers and cheaters.

Maybe because...they are "console gamers" and not "PC gamers"

You got a point there.

That used to be the case with XBLG but now I think of it as a subscription for free games every month. I don't even realize online play is required. Both PS+ and Gold seems to justify when account all of the games you get by the end of the year.

@Cloud_imperium:

Apologies, I broke my own rule of never posting while grumpy, so in my grumpiness, I got cynical and tried to pour a cold bucket of hard truth on everyone.

I wish I could say it won't happen again, but... ...yeah. Sorry.

I don't, I don't see the value in it. Plenty to play without paying a subscription.

I refuse to pay for the same thing twice. I aint no fool, i pity the fool!

I did it for a while when I was into Halo: Reach.

I think the mentality is "I'll just pay it because I have no other option and I want to play this particular game online".

I still find it amazing how, for the entirety of last generation, cows derided lemmings (and just general 360 users in general) to the ends of the Earth for paying to play online, made fun of them to no end... but as soon as Sony announces that their next console is pay-to-play online, they don't say another word about it and start praising Sony's decision like it's the first of it's kind and a monumental move towards making gamer's lives better.

Then I mention "hypocrisy of the highest order" and get nothing but excuses.

Personally, I can understand why people do it, but I don't think it should be necessary to play a part of a game you've already paid for. And no amount of "free" content can make up for it.

because its my money and i'm not a poor welfare gamer like most PC peasants

So it's Microsoft's fault that Sony charges for online gaming? What the **** is going on in your mind?

More like Sony saw how much money MS makes from subscriptions and thought "**** me! these idiots not only happily pay for online gaming, they actually openly defend the practice. Let's get on that band wagon". That's not MS's fault that is entirely Sony.

Probably has something to do with the part where they have no choice in the matter.

Because it's so fucking cheap that someone who can't afford it shouldn't be playing games in the first place.

@unrealgunner: ya but let's be honest who is going to own their console and not subscribe, I know a lot of people say they won't but that's kind of like having a sports car and only ever letting it go in 2nd gear

This ^^

But even on pc, and with its free online, 40% of all pc revenue are from online games ( mmo etc...)

Bad consumers habit, that's for sure, but it started long time ago that i don't see any turning back possible now.

Damn, 10 bucks a month ( for XBL and PS+ ) is going to leave me poor and homeless.

fixed

*The defending of the practice you just described...that was 100% xbox fanboys doing! And they did it before MS offered any kind of free game service or discount off games for members who signed up*

So, you are half right, it wasn't MS's fault...but it wasn't Sony's fault either. MS just introduced it, but It was xbox fanboys rabid defense and mass enforcement of the practice that made it viable to begin with. If xbox fans would have given MS the finger on that pay to play shit to begin with the garbage would never have caught on to start with.

/thread

This is another reason I dropped console gaming. I find it ridiculous to have to pay to play online. $60 a year is a game that I can keep even if I stop paying the fee. Those saying they pay for the free games are hilarious.

MS just cut & pasted the late 90s PC gaming services such as Mplayer, etc. Those died long before GFWL ever came about. MS has zero original ideas. ( cept for controllers, those are nice :D )

There's no other choice if you want to play MP. Simple as that.

As consumers, we can vote with our wallets (something PC gamers are surprisingly good at -- i.e. Games for Windows Live), but getting enough people not to be sheep is just going to be inherently flawed... Unless it's the BLM crowd or Third-Wave Feminism crap.

WTF is going on yours?

Do you actually believe we would be paying for online play now if it wasn't for MS.?

Exactly which is fu**ing MS fault because SONY SAW HOW MUCH CASH MS WAS MAKING.

If that genie would still on its bottle non of this sh** would have happen,Sony didn't enter the industry with higher prices than Nintendo on its games,the PS2 wasn't expensive at $300 while being a DVD player and games cost more to make to and still were $50,there is no indication that sony would charge what so ever for online play,in fact it was free for 2 generations on a row,what is worse more games on PS3 ran on dedicated servers than on xbox 360 which was $50 then $60 while sony was doing it free,how about Home again Free.

It was how they saw MS making cash the problem,not only that as fanboy for the xbox not only gladly line to be rip off but freaking defended that shit even when on PS3 you got it free,with more servers,apps like PS Home,free netflix,hulu internet browser and PSN games could even be share,when live charged you even for freaking netflix.

So yeah it was MS fault to yes we all should thank MS,the bad things are easy to copy and in most cultures are the things that people learn the fastest to.

Funny enough MS also introduce microtransactions with the xbox 360 was well,and look at PC now a place were most games use to get free mods,now it ridden with microtransactions as well,and less and less games give free stuff.

Bad things do stick and MS brought some of the worse ones into the industry.

@GarGx1:

To be fair, when XBL was first introduced, PlayStation's online was, shall we say, not exactly an optimal experience. XBL was miles better than what Sony had at the time, and Microsoft sold it as a premium service and a selling point for the then fledgeling XBox console.

As the platform established itself over the years, the practice stuck. Those early days were the time for someone to call MS on their bulls***. Now? It's too late. If players were to revolt now, MS and Sony would just release a press statement, basically very politely and articulately telling them here's another customer loyalty programme, now pay up or eat s***.

Something I consider to be a cautionary tale for PC and Nintendo players.

because you either pay or dont play online with consoles. And since I have a lot of friends who play on consoles and the games you get with subscribtion, $90-$100 a year is nothing for both services.

What a stupid question.

Bc we have to.

But it's not like Sony and MS don't give games in return.

Why do PC gamers play on a platform where there so much hacking and cheating?

Because PC is for porn only, and here, and not much else.

can google any playstation game and find hacks... top talking out of your ass.

I don't pay for online. I pay for the free games that come with the subscription.

Have you played Diablo3 online?

Why do you pay for anti-virus on PC? Or a new OS?

I'd personally rather spend that money on other games than unlocking a feature I've already paid for.

But that's just me...

People pay for those things? I upgraded to Windows 10 for free when it was offered and the best anti-virus is not going to sites that have them.