I suspect we'll see a lot of product placement. Maybe something similar to how Fight Night 3 put all sorts of advertising in their games.

That reminds me, I need to go buy Fight Night 4.

This posting brought to you by Burger King! Have The Consumerist YOUR WAY!!

I think they mean they'll use Silverlight in the existing ad panels on the "Featured" section.

Not that it isn't annoying already.

LOL! And modding becomes a benefit, again (Since you will be banned from all this if you do that anyways!)

You're being misleading - you can use your dashboard for free all you want on your XBox as a Silver member. So you can get messages, see what your friends are playing, check stats, get GP, download content and all that jazz. If you want to play head-to-head, this is where the $50/year comes in.

For Wii - there are only a handful of games with on-line play and getting on-line play is ridiculous (separate, long game-only codes).

PS3's online gaming is free, but look at how much you paid for the console vs. the 360. There's at least 2 years worth of "free" gaming in the price difference. You can say "free BluRay" player all you want, but you didn't get "free BluRay discs" either. And the interface for online gameplay? Meh.

We can talk about the ads, but don't act like you can't get online at all without the fee. You can easily get online without the $50. And what Wii and PS3 offer "for free" aren't exactly comparable. Plus, my "Wii Shopping Channel" isn't exactly a bastion of non-consumerism...nor was that M&M Racing game that they sold...

I don't have any of these online services as I usually just play games by myself offline. But if I'm understanding this correctly, you're paying FOR advertisements? I thought the idea of paying was to remove ads...

what is this article about? the XBox dashboard has had ads for as long as I've had a 360. I'm no early-adopter, but I've had it for a year at least... the way this is described in the summary/title is _NOT_ news.

What's the perspective of a site that had to move from an ad-supported model to a kind of ad-based model? At this point, isn't Consumerist's relationship to Consumer's Union essentially an advertorial structure where this content is designed to generate interest in CU products? You guys should know better than anyone else that ad support is one of the few proven (to the extent that a few rare successes "prove" something)way of monetizing content access.

If your issue is with the PR speak, well, fine. They're focused on the positive of ad support, which is that it will provide the funding basis for new features and content. Obviously the negative is that profit is the real goal for Microsoft. But profit and superior service aren't opposed goals, are they?

So bullshit. I already have to deal with all the extra crap that's on the dashboard, and now I'll have to see even more ads too? I'm really glad I pay $50/year.

I wish there was some sort of customization that could be done where if we paid (the live membership), we could opt out of stuff we don't like/want/need.

@Stephmo: ++

@Stephmo: And there are already ads for upcoming games and downloadable content when you log in. They're not obtrusive because you can skip right past them if you want (you have to choose to watch them), but I really like being able to look at the trailers for upcoming games in their full HD glory on my 56" TV rather than watching crappy streaming vids on IGN.

@Unsolicited Advice: Not really consumerists and Consumers Union are doing basically the same things.

I've been reading Consumer Reports or years now so the 2 ads on the page they run are just fine.

MS wants to stick ads over the dashboard. Not that I play the 360 I'll stick to the wii and PS3 thank you.

My Live has been full of ads for years... and no one pays $50 a year for gold.

Microsoft has a great business model here. People already pay $50/yr to listen to 12 year-olds screaming obscenities, so what's a few extra ads?

@OminousG: Bingo. 13 month cards are always popping up for ~$30.

@undefined: I paid more for the PS3, but not only do I get Blu-Ray for the price, I get an easily (and cheaply) upgradeable hard drive, wi-fi built-in, AND a free online service that, while not as feature rich as XBL, it provides the most important service - the ability to play games online with friends!

@Stephmo:

Yeah, but as someone that pays $50 a year for xbox live gold, I shouldn't be subjected to ads. They can bombard silver members all they want for all I care.

Fah

I love the people that spout off about the XBox 360 being "cheaper" than the PS3.

I have both.

Things the original PS3 came with for 600 (when I bought it) (with the associated 360 cost)
2 Rechargable controllers
360 = $80 (1 controller +2 Charge & Play packs)
Wireless Networking
360 = $100
60 GB HDD
360 = $100 (base comes with 20GB)

So add that $280 to the base cost of the 360 ($350) and you come up with over $600, and then add on the HD DVD player at $180.

Now granted if you "hunt around" you can save some $$$ on the peripherals for the 360, but this list just proves how the "price war" just isn't a viable argument.

I am neither a 360 nor PS3 fanboi. Each console has it's advantages ... I have both and enjoy using both.

Just getting tired of people coming up and saying "ZOMG teh PS3 is so expensive!!!"

You think you want Kool-Aid Man to help, but I'll let you in on a little secret... Guy's got a glass jaw.

@TakingItSeriously:

Sure, but a wise company would have reconfigured its strategy at this point. Sony is apparently unwilling or unable to recognize that the up-front cost is a big barrier to install, and that peripherals should be driving their profitability. They're paying the price for their long failure to compromise with revolting developers and a lack of market penetration.

Once I can stream Netflix to another device, I'm dropping Gold. The only reason I have gold is for Netflix anyway -- I have no interest in paying $50/yr. to play online vs. foul-mouthed preteens who have nothing to do but master playing online games and then tell you how much you suck because you don't play for 5 hours every day.

@Unsolicited Advice: "But profit and superior service aren't opposed goals, are they?"

In this country? Yes.

@shepd:

How exactly does modding give you any benefit that could not be attained by simply not signing in to Xbox Live (which is in effect what you'd accomplish by modding)?

No, the benefit of modding is that it enables you to play games without paying for them.

@Cant_stop_the_rock:

You're absolutely right. And that's the reason everyone I know bought a VCR as well.

HAND defending your opinion with that one.

First of all, only suckers pay $50/yr for Live. $30 13 month cards pop up all the time. Woe is me, I pay $2.30 a month to use a service that is by all accounts superior to the competition.

Secondly, the ads on Xbox Live actually have "enhanced" my experience in the past, because they're usually ads for Xbox Live content. They have made me aware of content that I would otherwise be unaware of.

@Unsolicited Advice: Surely you are right. I'm not arguing that a more customizable PS3 console would sell better. That Sony has allways been somewhat bullheaded in their approach to their "vision" also cannot be argued :).

When faced with a choice to pay 350 now, and then collect accessories over the next year or wait a year for a game console most gamers would choose the instant gratification. I did, and then got the PS3 later.

I just get tired of people not doing the math, and seeing the TCOO.

@12-Inch Idongivafuck Sandwich: But the ads are organic!

@Stephmo: Exactly...its related to the dashboard, not necessarily games (although some games do have ads in them).

When any system starts to go the direction of enough ads to compete with TV, then that's when I jump ship. Since I'm on the dashboard for roughly 2.3 seconds, this won't impact me much if at all.

Now, if they force me to view an ad like Sony does with their Blu-Ray discs I buy from their studio...then wow. Looks like I'd be out an Xbox at that point.

@Unsolicited Advice:
You are correct sir. My PS3 has stuff that I paid for but didn't need. Microsoft lets me buy a console without that stuff, but they charge me an arm and a leg if I want it later. Meh. The thing is, if you're actually into games you'll spend a lot more money on the games than the console itself. That's a downside to the Xbox 360 - there's just so many great games, it's a money pit.

IHNMTS except you can get a Kool Aid Man T-Shirt in Rock Band. HTH.

@SgtBeavis: And how could you forget the new Dodge Caliber!!!

@Stephmo: I don't know why everyone likes to bash the PS3's free Online community.

The PS3's online community isn't as bad as everyone says it is. All the online games I've played have gone smoothly and without any problems. I've played the same Online games for both systems [such as Resident Evil 5], and saw no difference. It's comparable to the 360. Then again, maybe my bias is due to the fact that I have more friends on the PS3 than 360.

Also, I don't have ethernet cables, available for my consoles, so I have to use wireless. Paying $50 a year, for two years, plus $99 for a wireless adapter for $200 total for wireless online gaming is totally not worth it when I play online more on my PS3 for free.

@TakingItSeriously: but i don't need all that shit. i paid $300 for a 360 w/ 20GB HDD, wireless controller & headset. add $30 for rechargeable batteries & charging station. that's it. $330.

your argument is like saying it's cheaper to buy a cadillac than it is to buy a honda & turn it into a cadillac. sure it is, but your know what? they both have 4 wheels & get you around town.

@shepd:
Because of the inconvenience and downsides to modding an Xbox 360, I don't believe for a second that people do it so they can play "backups."

@Saboth:

Most people pay $500+/yr for cable TV service and still get ads. Multiple revenue streams.

@phoenix6666:

Cable TV

Y'know, I won an Xbox 360 and have never opened it because:
a. I got a PS3 for Xmas last year, and don't have much time to even play it.
b. KI didn't want to pay for Xbox live.

I really just got to get off my ass and sell it...

@dadelus: I can't forget. I'm wearing Under Armour.

@gerrylum: Agreed. I bought the PS3 to do 3 things:

Play my games

Play my Hi-Def movies (waited until the format war was over)

Stream my audio to my receiver

Now had HD-DVD won I still would have had a harder time buying a 360 BECAUSE MS decided to make the HD-DVD drive an add-on. I was looking for less devices / cords at my entertainment center...

Now I canceled cable and use PlayOn for Podcasts and Hulu on my PS3 (it works on the 360 and soon the Wii).

The quality is crappier, but I don't watch much regular TV anyway. Just the Daily Show and a couple of newscasts. I do LOVE the Blu-ray movies on my 1080p TV w/ 7.1 surround.

Best of all, my gaming service is free and after I set my friends up like the above, they mock the people that pay for live. Then again MS did better on the X360 version than the Windows version. GFWL sucks.

@mac-phisto:

Right, but a TCOO analysis takes into account typical usage. Your average console user has all the controls and several accessories, the wireless dongle for the Xbox being the most notorious/common addon. Understood that some users can get away without the "extras" but that's not the thrust of what we're trying to accomplish. Rather, what you're really doing is highlighting the point that more effective console profit models rely on a-la-carte accessories and a loss-leading box.

As I said over at Gizmodo the other day...If they do this to us GOLD subscribers then I will cancel my subscription, sell my console and games and move over to Sony. While I despise the PS3 controller and their online is bare bones compared to Live(but FREE) I absolutely WILL NOT pay them an annual fee and then get bombarded by more ads than these bastards are already hitting us with.

However if this is for SILVER subscribers only then I have no issues with it.

Its a wait and see approach with this, but I am NOT happy with this vague announcement.

@NotEd:
Oh, and if I did open it I'd want Netflix working, so I would have to pay for it.
Luckily I have a Roku (also a gift), so I don't really need the Xbox...

@Cant_stop_the_rock:

You don't know how cable works. No one seems to.

You don't pay for the channels. You pay for delivery of a feed. Most channels do not get money from you directly.

The ones you do pay directly for -- HBO, Showtime, PPV -- they feature no ads. At least, not in the middle of content.

It shocks me how few people realize this, and how many people think it is okay to bombard paying customers with ads.

YAY! more ads! w/e.

i don't really care that the ads are there, i just wish it translated into cheaper games.

@Cant_stop_the_rock:

AGAIN:

You don't know how cable works. No one seems to.

You don't pay for the channels. You pay for delivery of a feed. Most channels do not get money from you directly.

The ones you do pay directly for -- HBO, Showtime, PPV -- they feature no ads. At least, not in the middle of content.

It shocks me how few people realize this, and how many people think it is okay to bombard paying customers with ads.

@Cant_stop_the_rock:

Wow. How long have you worked for Microsoft's Marketing division?

$99 for a USB WiFi adapter is highway robbery.
$99 for a 60 GB HD is highway robbery.
$149 for a 120 GB HD is (yes) highway robbery.

A 500 GB 2.5" hard drive can be found AT RETAIL for $100. A USB WiFi adapter can be found AT RETAIL for $50 or less. The PS3 comes with built-in wifi and can use any 2.5" hard drive if you want to increase the storage capacity.

The 360 does have some good games, but so does the PS3. The profit margin on 360 accessories is outrageous.

@cmdrsass: Clearly the ads should be calling me gay as well as the other players.

@superberg:

Like I said, Microsoft charges you an arm and a leg for accessories.

@TakingItSeriously: True, but at the end of the day most consumers are interested in the up front cost of buying a console. $399 vs $599 was a big difference back in 2006. But that didn't stop me in getting both :)

@superberg: Actually, you don't know how cable TV works. Cable companies most certainly pay for the channels for each subscriber. In fact, there were several articles on Consumerist the NFL network and Comcast...Comcast was trying to put the channel in a special sports tier, but NFL wanted it as part of basic cable: [consumerist.com]

In most cases, the cable companies get charged by each of the media giants to carry all of their channels for a small monthly fee per subscriber.

Now, to be fair, the total of all those monthly fees, per subscriber, is probably small when compared to the $80/mo you'll pay for cable.

The "Premium" Channels are just a way to pay for access to the movies that makes up for the lack of additional advertising revenue. You also pay a premium to get quicker access to the movies.