Hi guys,
Just a quick question… will KI for PC require a paid X-Box Live account? Seems obvious to me that it does, I just want to make sure. I think a lot of people may be overlooking that fact, if it is, in fact, a fact.
According to Major Nelson KI MP is free on PC. I am not sure how they are going to implement that, maybe it is not that XBL is free on PC, but rather it is not used at all, or only basic functions are used. We have not overlooked it, at this point it is kind of pointless to speculate left and right. We will know soon enough.
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking: KI is free on Xbox One as well. 
Crossplay with Xbox users kind of implies that you need a paid xbl account. But there have not been any official statements about the requirements in terms of memberships?
Other than Major Nelson saying the above, I don’t think there has been another official statement.
I think itll be an issue either way. Pc users are not used to paying for subscriptions to most games (except WoW?), whereas Xbone users will feel cheated if they have to continue paying while PC users can do so for free.
Lesser of two evils is… which one?
Its free to play online on PC.
@pollock what did you expect. No one on pc would pay for it. We do on xbox, but what we pay for is not only to play online btw. Do you think the xbl servers are free? Their not.
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I don’t feel cheated at all.
You may be an exception though. I know I saw another post where people were complaining about this.
Technically though, PC users would be playing on the XBL servers too… and for free…
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Matchmaking still relies on servers, tho. And your XBL account is on a server that needs maintenance as well.
I’m still waiting for valve to break the news that pc users aren’t gonna get off scott-free anymore.
You’re not paying to use your internet, you’re paying to use their infrastructure
Valve monetize their platform differently and their servers aren’t primary components of online play unlike XBL AFAIK. So PC users don’t exactly get scot-free.
Kinda confused by your second statement.
Best quote ever. You don’t need an XBL subscription to play KI online on Win10. You will, however need a Microsoft login.
Yes, there will be some XBL members complaining about this as being unfair. Boo hoo, go buy a PC and play the game for free. I think both XBL and PS + are pretty terrific value propositions right now and I don’t know why anyone, in the context of a hobby as expensive as gaming, would complain about either of them.
As far as the monetization scheme for PC and the cost of infrastructure, I’m honestly not sure how long the “free on pc” model can last - not just for KI. Steam lets you download games, but after that you are pretty much on your own. Big companies like EA and Activision maintain their own servers, and charge outrageous prices for games and DLC year after year (seriously, how different is buying Call of Duty every year than just subscribing to a CoD service?). But if you look at what’s left for the smaller games, online services etc. there is no question that XBL is way ahead of just native PC gaming in regards to functionality. It’s an integrated, single service with friends and chat (and cross party chat) and things generally work very, very well. Not being a fanboy here, at all, but it is a service that I am happy to pay for. PS plus is not there yet, but it’s catching up. I know you can duct tape all these things together on PC (I remember back in the day using Roger Wilco to chat while playing MS Combat Flight Simulator), but frankly, I’m happy to pay $5.00 a month not to have to do all that ■■■■.
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Pretty much what Andy said.
Any monthly subscription fee isn’t paying to use your own Internet as many pc gamers argue. You’re paying to use the infrastructure the developers set up for that game. It doesn’t matter whether the main game uses peer-to-peer or has dedicated servers host the game, there are servers that are set aside for every game. There are servers set aside for every Internet storefront. Everything you do relies on a server.
I’m simply waiting for Valve to stop eating the cost of maintaining their infrastructure
And guess what? PSN was a ■■■■■■ service, because Sony couldn’t afford to make it any good because of, wait for it, THE COST OF MAINTENANCE.
What’s the longest time Xbox live has been down? When was the last time it got hacked? And I mean xbox live, not FIBA and their ■■■■■■ protection.
Now, the same two questions on PSN.
You can’t expect companies to eat the cost of maintenance just because you pay your isp.
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Except that it isn’t. That’s why we are seeing more DLC, extras, add ons, season passes etc. That money is covering unsupported costs of development and maintenance, including server support.
Who exactly says they like to give choice so much?
It’s easy to say “that should be free.” I can say “all games should be free.” But that doesn’t actually put the money in the pocket of the developer to make the game.
Xbox Live on W10 is going to be free (at least for now). I think MS doesn’t have any multiplayer game in windows store, so it doesn’t make sense to charge people for it. Probably after they add more MP games they will start charging for XBL, otherwise it would be unfair with console players.
With all due respect, people who claim that probably don’t even pay fees themselves, otherwise they’d know that they are paying separate bills to separate companies. They also possible have no slightest idea on how Internet works.
I mean, I know that they would be happy if they knew that they can charge people some more, like any other commercial company. But don’t think they are fools or can’t count money.
Their revenue comes from sources that can be harmed by making their service less attractive and they do their math when it comes to such decisions. It relies on platform being attractive to people who bear with Steam to buy their games, which is in part because it’s conditionally free. Start asking for subscription fee and customer base will dwindle because unlike with consoles, PC users can choose any such service or refuse to use any as well, their hardware isn’t controlled by video game distribution company. So you must actually compete for your customer without relying on economical inertia associated with hardware - changing services doesn’t mean buying different set and takes just a couple of minutes.
On top of that Steam servers are not used to support online functionality of most games available on Steam - another reason why Valve cannot control their customers well enough to just demand a fee and expect people to not to tell them to shove it.
On top of that, they have to maintain their own F2P game, which is very important cash cow for them, and is distributed on Steam as well. Alienate playerbase through paywall? They lose more than they gain. Disconnect DotA from Steam? They lose potential profits from those who only came to Steam for DotA (or other F2P games for that matter), but can eventually be interested by ads of other games.
Steam itself being conditionally free and using that and number of F2P games distributed through it allows Valve to report larger numbers of users as well, which makes Steam more attractive for publishers - another factor that ensures that in the end they get better income.
The moment Valve will estimate potential revenue from subs above possible losses, they will change their policies, but don’t expect them to do it just because GabeN thinks “oh, it’d be cool if we could make someone else pay our maintenance expenses”.
Free market 101.
Could be. Looks like MS is trying to get as many as possible people to use Win10 and XBL being free would be an incentive.
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I agree, the way they make consoler gamers pay extra for playing online?
Horrendous!
Some even demostrate the signs of having a dire case of Stockholm Syndrome.
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