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Xplainin
Banned
So "Xbox" live isn't just on "xbox"?
prinz_valium
Member
Xplainin
Banned
Well considering I dont have a switch or gaming PC, I assumed, and we know what happens when you assume.
Aidah
Member
It hasn't been only on Xbox for a long time.
Xplainin
Banned
90,000,000 x $50 annual fee = 4.5 Billion.
And some people are not renewing annually so it would be more.
prinz_valium
Member
That's fine. We're here to tell you.
X360 is super low.
But also family Xbox One consoles often have one account for every kid.
Aidah
Member
An XB live account is free. Gold is a service on XB live (only available on Xbox consoles).
The bigger portion of XB Live monthly active users aren't XB live Gold subscribers.
Xplainin
Banned
Looks like I need to do some research on Xbox live lol.
Aidah
Member
I don't think Microsoft shares exact numbers, but for a comparison, Playstation Network monthly active users are 100+ million. Only about 41 million are Playstation Plus subscribers (It's still a lot of extremely high profit margin money, so you have a point either way).
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you can twitter Aaron Greenberg to confirm there are 91 Million paying Xbox Live users.
Aidah
Member
By the way, since you only access XB Live through an Xbox console, and have to pay for Gold to access online multiplayer on it, how do you feel about PC XB live users having free access to online multiplayer on that platform? I'm legitimately curious.
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Xplainin
Banned
Haven't really thought about it.
I assume that MS charges for Xbox because of the discounted hardware you are using?
Also, I don't know if you get the free games with PC Xbox live like you do with Xbox?
I just downloaded WRC8 for free, which is normally $90 here in Oz.
If PC people got the full fat Live including free games without paying any money, that would be a bit unfair.
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Thirty7ven
Banned
The only bit that matters are subscribers. The rest is just padding.
Rolla
Banned
Aceofspades
Banned
Im still rocking @live email from 2006. I never owned any Xbox btw
Schmick
Member
No free games with PC Xbox Live so fair there.
SaucyJack
Member
How Xbox Live Works
The Xbox Live network gives players the opportunity to connect with thousands of other gaming enthusiasts online. Here's how it works.
electronics.howstuffworks.com
The 90 million will include both Gold and free.
SaucyJack
Member
It’s 90 million ACTIVE USERS of Xbox Live.
This includes Gold and free and also includes secondary accounts on your console i.e. my consoles tend to have a minimum of 5 accounts set up, but these only require one Live sub.
I would guestimate something more like 25-30 million paying Gold subs.
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M1chl
Currently Gif and Meme Champion
It's not payed outside of Xbox.
Aidah
Member
No, it's just online multiplayer access, but I meant whatever monetary value you put on multiplayer access out of the total price of Gold. Thanks for the answer either way.
Personally I think they charge on console because they can, and they don't charge on PC because they can't. I also definitely think if multiplayer access became free on console, Gold and PS+ subscribers would only be a fraction of what they are now, even if they were cheaper than the current price.
Xbox live users does not mean xbox live gold subscriptions. If memory serves me right only 50% or less of the install base subscribes.
Xplainin
Banned
PC players haven't had to pay for online play, and maybe MS knew they wouldn't if they tried.
Not being a PC player I'm not sure of the politics and expectations of PC gamers.
Aidah
Member
Microsoft actually tried it back in the Games for Windows – Live days, but PC gamers rejected that nonsense.
Kerotan
Member
Considering Sony has 41M paying subscribers I'd guess MS have about 20M. So at best I'd say they bring in $1.2BN a year. It must be massively down on the 360 gen. Sony stole their thunder here big time.
Xplainin
Banned
And For Sony going from PS3 where they were giving at away for free, to charging for it on PS4 would have given them an instant profit increase as well.
And considering everyone was juat happy Sony didn't pull that same shit over used games, always online that MS did, they were happy to pay it.
The Hamburglar
Banned
It’s not gold either. It’s just bullshit metrics that mean nothing.
igivehugs2nakedwomen
Banned
Some of those "users" are using the free version of Xbox Live.
Kerotan
Member
Tbh I bought plus on the ps3 from launch of the service so buying it on PS4 was no added cost. Although there were only a few million like me.
But yeah without plus Sony's profits this gen would be dramatically reduced.
TheCrimsnFuckr
Member
Xbox Live does not mean just Xbox Live Gold. It could honestly just count people that play Microsoft Mahjong with their Microsoft account to get achievements, or people that play Minecraft on their iPhones or Switch and want to play with others online. Also, since many people use Xboxes as family devices and the Xbox One has really great family sharing (would have been better if people hadn't bitched about always online but I digress) there are Xbox systems with multiple accounts (the Xbox systems in my household have 6 accounts all that are not used on any other systems barring our older 360 which only myself and my younger brother use).
The whole 90 million figure is misleading because they aren't directly making money from all of them, but it shows that there are people in the Microsoft eco-system in one way or another and thus is still a good number for the shareholders to hear without being illegal levels of misleading
The whole 90 million figure is misleading because they aren't directly making money from all of them, but it shows that there are people in the Microsoft eco-system in one way or another and thus is still a good number for the shareholders to hear without being illegal levels of misleading