Paying to play online

[AJ_Radio]

I really don't like online portions on consoles. Red Dead Redemption is the exception, the multiplayer was terrific on the 360 and PS3 when it first came out. Today it seems more of a barren wasteland where hackers and glitchers roam.

 

GTA Online was fun at first but got boring very quickly. If I had to pick between GTA V and Witcher 3 as my next platinum, Witcher 3 would win hands down.

 

Online will always be good on the PC. I'm used to it, and you have the most options available to you.

 

I poured in 7500 - 8000 hours on Runescape (over 300 days play time) over a 8 - 10 year period. I have a maxed combat level account on Old School Runescape that I put 130 days in (3100+ hours), so the idea that Witcher 3 will take 100 - 300 hours is nothing to me. I also put in 720 - 960 hours on World of Warcraft, then I realized it was too wound up with haters and bitter long term Warcraft fans who hated for what the game had become.

 

Still, I have Playstation Plus because there are a couple offerings that I often look into.

[BlackCatBurrito]

While I can respect the OP's opinion & agree with some parts. This argument is so negative & stale.

So many people that complain about PS Plus & what it offers don't even download/play the games. They just call them shit & sook for another month. If anyone thinks “Games with gold" is any better they're deluded. They had the SAME pool game for about 6 months just so they could look like they had more games hahahahaha that's a joke. Anyone who doesn't get that most games (apart from exclusives) end up being free on both services eventually obviously hasn't looked very well. So if you hate one, you hate both.

Now personally when having to renew a subscription it does hurt a little. But then a month goes by & I have 6 new games to try out SIX GAMES JUST THERE. Then I go to buy a game & it's $10 cheaper because I have Plus & I'm like “ok there's my money back really"

Apart from PC, ecosystems that aren't pay to play actually aren't great. Nintendo is an horrific online experience. Fucking horrible. I firmly believe that Plus on PS4 helps PlayStation keep the Vita/PS3 ecosystems running & updated. They'd be worse without it.

It's time we all accepted that we need to pay. Both companies need to provide a more stable service, for sure. But it's not like they plan for it to get attacked.

It's business. Deal with it.

[Super-Fly Spider-Guy]

PS Plus should be renamed to something that doesn't imply it's an additional thing, since it's really not. If you buy a multiplayer game, which a disappointingly large amount of all games now are, and you can't play the big part of it without PS+, it's not really an additional thing anymore, is it? Unless, you know, you count the wall they're putting between you and your game as an additional feature.

 

Xbox Gold is kind of just as bad, but they've been doing it since the get go and if you're still annoyed about it, 15 years later, maybe don't buy Xbox, but I still know people who are just now jumping into PS4 and they're coming to me like "why does it say I have to pay to play online?" 

 

If the NX catches on, and has free online, that's where I'll be playing everything, doesn't matter that I have a friend who left their Plus on my machine, I refuse to support paying to play games I already paid to buy, and will support free online to the death. 

 

Don't give me "oh, servers cost money, we need to pay for it" because 

1. The service on PS4 is still shittier than Xbox, and has actually got worse since charging for it, in my opinion.

2. PC people don't pay for it, interesting.

3. You ran it perfectly fine for free for 10+ years last gen.

4. Nintendo still has free online, no one bloody uses it, but it still runs shit like 2013's CoD beautifully with zero lag.

 

Just call it the PlayStation Online Pass or something, keep the IGC as something separate or throw it entirely, I don't care, whatever, but don't keep acting like you're doing us a favor, you can go on about the (decreased) "value" of PS+ all you want, at the end of the day, if you NEED it for most games, it's not something additional anymore.

[LunchCannon54]

Why are these topics still being created?Its 2016 not 2006 paying for online is fine.People are just so use to the ps3 online being free.Thats fine though its oldschool.Dont complain about ps4 online then stick to your old ps3 and play for free then.Im actually glad that ps4 charges for that.Anybody that can buy games can pay monthly or yearly so deal with it or stop complaining

Enlighten me on how the PS4 is more justified? The online isn't any better, is STILL getting hacked and the PS+ games are getting worse, not to mention all of the system issues it has. It's a very poorly and cheaply designed console. 

[Satoshi Ookami]

You really like to write these enormous posts =D

 

Personal opinion: Weeb games do not require online, I don't care

 

Anyway, since it's still not a standalone purchase, I'm not particularly bothered by it. I pay for cloud storage and discounts. This still justifies buying Plus. 

When it eventually becomes separate, that's when we can start ranting because it WILL be hidden by a paywall. And I will be happy and happily not purchase the online part of Plus.

And when that happens, I have 0 problems with giving up online games on PS4, I'm only using it for indies anyway

 

(Also, Nintendo has consoles and you don't have to pay for online on any of them either - and I hear the service is actually pretty stable)

Well, Nintendo's online services are incomparably worse than Sony/MS. 

I'm not even sure Nintendo actually HAS something that can be called online service.

 

Totally agree with OP. Which is why I'm looking for the PS3 version of dengeki fighting climax. I am avoiding multiplayer games on PS4 like the plague. PC and PS3 is just fine for me.

But Dengeki is offline-doable =D

[AJ_Radio]

While I can respect the OP's opinion & agree with some parts. This argument is so negative & stale.

So many people that complain about PS Plus & what it offers don't even download/play the games. They just call them shit & sook for another month. If anyone thinks “Games with gold" is any better they're deluded. They had the SAME pool game for about 6 months just so they could look like they had more games hahahahaha that's a joke. Anyone who doesn't get that most games (apart from exclusives) end up being free on both services eventually obviously hasn't looked very well. So if you hate one, you hate both.

Now personally when having to renew a subscription it does hurt a little. But then a month goes by & I have 6 new games to try out SIX GAMES JUST THERE. Then I go to buy a game & it's $10 cheaper because I have Plus & I'm like “ok there's my money back really"

Apart from PC, ecosystems that aren't pay to play actually aren't great. Nintendo is an horrific online experience. Fucking horrible. I firmly believe that Plus on PS4 helps PlayStation keep the Vita/PS3 ecosystems running & updated. They'd be worse without it.

It's time we all accepted that we need to pay. Both companies need to provide a more stable service, for sure. But it's not like they plan for it to get attacked.

It's business. Deal with it.

 

Well unfortunately many people have had problems with PSN and a good majority do pay for PS Plus. So all the issues involving login and unable to play some online games isn't good. PS Plus has also had a price increase, and many feel the reliability and service has gotten worse since then.

[pskid247]

I understand and agree how annoying this paywall is but at the end of the day Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and any other provider of such content is solely and unequivocally about money. There are no exceptions and all this 'for the players' stuff is absolute nonsense; It's a sales technique. The fact is Microsoft implemented a paid system because the service cost them money to run - makes sense. Sony didn't do this initially because it was a new venture for them and they were not convinced that online gaming on consoles would be the booming success that it turned out to be; thus in their eyes maintenance and running of this service was initially very low. If you look at old Sony statements regarding online services they 'factored this into the price of the hardware', so in reality we did still pay - boy did we pay. Since then Sony have seen Microsoft's numbers grow and have taken the initiative in providing a paid service. 

 

All of this happened and happened for good reasons. You can bitch and moan to high heaven about this and you're completely within your rights to do so. The truth of the matter is though, that paying monthly for MP in your video games IS NOT going to change; at least not for the forseeable future. And to that end the alternative is worse - phenomenal price jumps in hardware and software (nobody wants that).

 

I don't love the concept either and i would be happy if the services were free/cheaper but i have absolutely no issue with paying for them at all. The service is cheap, the benefits are good and there is a wealth of content out there accessible without dishing out for this paywall at all. If you don't like it don't pay it; enjoy the experiences available without.

[LemonSack225]

FIFA 16 & 17 (apparently) have this type of system. 

 

In order to Platinum FIFA 16, you have to pay for FIFA points to get access to the Online Draft (unless you complete it first time, which is free).

 

Ridiculous. 

[Satoshi Ookami]

and all this 'for the players' 

I thought we all knew player is just a convenient way to hide the true word =D p|ayer  =D

 

 

FIFA 16 & 17 (apparently) have this type of system. 

 

In order to Platinum FIFA 16, you have to pay for FIFA points to get access to the Online Draft (unless you complete it first time, which is free).

 

Ridiculous. 

Well, this is microtransaction, that's something irrelevant =D

(and you do not need to, grind FUT coins and enter for free )

[LemonSack225]

Well, this is microtransaction, that's something irrelevant =D

(and you do not need to, grind FUT coins and enter for free )

 

No one has the patience to grind the coins.

 

And so what? It's still paying to play online.

[Satoshi Ookami]

No one has the patience to grind the coins.

But the possibility is there

Without paying for Plus, you can't play online at all =D

 

And so what? It's still paying to play online.

Technically not. It's paying to play online mode.

This is about paying to play online. 

You can play online matches and all parts of FUT without spending real cash =D

Edited September 20, 2016 by Satoshi Ookami

[Carol]

I love playing online, so I have to pay. It's as simple as that. Do I like to have to pay to have access to something that's already included in the game? Of course not. But things are what they are and it's not me complaining or writing a speech that's going to change them. 

[yellowwindow7]

I'm not a fan of online gaming either, i'm still on the ps3 and even on that thing I started to stray away from games that hold off the platinum until you unlock the online trophies too especially these days, which I mostly likes to buy single player games, online only games is not an option for me at all.

it's kinda sad too that I decided to not even buy some old games that I want their plats on my profile due to the online multiplayer mode is on the way not to mention the online mode is a desert area now for these games, of course I still can get these games to play them as... well as a video game not caring about trophies but when it comes to the platinum, i'm afraid I have to just skip them.

if i get a ps4 one day and the plus subscription that came with it expired I don't think i'll ever renew it with my money, but my brother probably will since he love to play online on some games, PS+ is only good to me when it comes to discounts on digital games.

Edited September 20, 2016 by yellowwindow7

[awf9495]

In your case, you could almost say that the online paywall is a blessing in disguise as it frees you up to skip the part of a game that you really didn't enjoy in the first place but felt compelled to do for the sake of trophies.  I pay for PS+ but never play online - go figure.

[ProfBambam55]

welcome to the world of capitalism...

boss - anyone have any ideas on how we can make more money?...

nervous employee (research & development) - charge people money for what used to be a free service and combine it with an existing one?...

boss - brilliant idea...how much revenue do you think it will generate?...

n.e.r.d - millions...

boss - it's settled then...

yes, it sucks...so many things do...apps, internet costs, mortgages, daycare, car/home insurance, taxes, meat/gas/raw material prices, i actually pay to use my own money (banks), etc. ...could go on all day...such is life...at least instead of just making us pay $50/year to play online they are pairing it with the the existing ps+...if it helps at all, at work today, say to yourself "i will work these X amount of hours to pay for my ps+ for the year"...could give you a little boost at work...if you play online so little that it's not worth it, then don't pay for it...if you like multiplayer, as i do, then shell out the cash and take advantage of the "free" games and storage...if it really pi$$es you off, consider writing a letter to sony or starting a group that petitions against paying for online...may have more of an impact than a thread saying "i barely play online games and don't want to pay x amount of $s to do so"...the power is in your hands/wallet...

[Pershing24]

Me its a hit and miss with multiplayer, while I love Destiny, Battlefield 4 and Overwatch, I know that I'll never be the best, as there's always someone better online, but that's what makes it much more challenging than the single player. However the fact that I have to pay for Playstation plus to play those game is BS, especially since they rely alot on multiplayer. Now that my Playstation plus member ship ran out I have to switch back to PS3 since its still free.

 

I don't mine this of course (since there are lot of games with multiplayer that I want to play, like MK9 and Burnout paradise) but the fact that I have to renew my membership just to play new games that rely of multiplayer for the rest of the generation really suck. Who knows when I'll be able to play Battlefield 1 or Titanfall 2.

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

The $5.00 a month I end up paying is appropriate for the online backups and auto-updates, which are the two services I keep paying Plus for. The "online gaming" for PS4 games and the bonus games of Plus are not really factors for me, but occasionally end up being a nice bonus.

I did not even know that the auto-updates were for PS+ only... I think it's definitely an awesome feature.

Personally, I pay for PS+ because of the monthly games and to a lesser extent because of the discounts. I feel like I'm getting much more than my money's worth out of the deal. Everything else is a bonus for me, including online - if we don't count seeing other people in Journey then I've only played online multiplayer twice in 2016... once in Tropico 5 and once in Table Top Racing: World Tour. If I get a game with multiplayer then I either only play a little (possibly for trophies) or I outright ignore it.

Main point: you're getting much more than just online multiplayer for PS+. If all of those together isn't worth the price for you, then don't pay for PS+.

And yeah then you have part of the game inaccessible to you but then again I think that the single player portion of the game should be enough to warrant the price tag. If you buy a game for the multiplayer then you probably think the PS+ price is worth it anyway.

[Zenpai]

1 - You really like to write these enormous posts =D

 

2 - Personal opinion: Weeb games do not require online, I don't care

 

3 - Anyway, since it's still not a standalone purchase, I'm not particularly bothered by it. I pay for cloud storage and discounts. This still justifies buying Plus. 

When it eventually becomes separate, that's when we can start ranting because it WILL be hidden by a paywall. And I will be happy and happily not purchase the online part of Plus.

And when that happens, I have 0 problems with giving up online games on PS4, I'm only using it for indies anyway

 

4 - Well, Nintendo's online services are incomparably worse than Sony/MS. 

I'm not even sure Nintendo actually HAS something that can be called online service.

 

(I wanted to address several of your points, so I just numbered them for easier reference)

 

 

1 - According to Word, this post was still literally 30 times smaller than the last one It just looks bigger because of all the images.

 

And I'm still mulling over another one I want to post in the short term Should be about as big as this one.

 

 

2 - Totally agree with you there. While not as big as you, I'm still a big Japanophile and really enjoy the way the Japanese design games. Even though I still get quite a few Western games, most of the ones I do get feature a lot of Japanese game design elements, anyway, so I always enjoyed games that didn't feature any multiplayer. As I've said, to me, the only games where multiplayer really seems to fit are those kinds of games that are competitive in nature, such as fighters and racers, though some games also work well with co-op multiplayer. Otherwise, to me, gaming is a way to enjoy a great story and get immersed in its world and characters in a fun, interactive way, hence why I don't really miss multiplayer elements except in the games I mentioned - considering what I use gaming for, I just personally don't need it.

 

 

3 - As I said on the original post, I do agree that both Plus and Gold have great benefits for those that want them. I don't get Plus because I personally just don't really see the need. I try to get physical media as much as humanly possible so the free games and discounts don't really appeal to me, and I can just make a local backup of my entire console data every year, so my saves will still be safeguarded anyway.

 

Oh, and I'm totally fine with giving up online when I start playing PS4 games, too (which should happen sometime before the end of the year). I just feel like the online paywall is such a bad joke that it's something that shouldn't really exist.

 

That and I just really felt all warm and fuzzy when I overcame my distaste for online modes and got that sweet, sweet Platinum trophy, so I just wanted to bitch that I wouldn't be able to do that anymore

 

 

4 - Oh, no, Nintendo's online services, compared to Microsoft and Sony, are terrible. I just meant that multiplayer on Nintendo consoles works well.

 

 

I understand and agree how annoying this paywall is but at the end of the day Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and any other provider of such content is solely and unequivocally about money. There are no exceptions and all this 'for the players' stuff is absolute nonsense; It's a sales technique. The fact is Microsoft implemented a paid system because the service cost them money to run - makes sense. Sony didn't do this initially because it was a new venture for them and they were not convinced that online gaming on consoles would be the booming success that it turned out to be; thus in their eyes maintenance and running of this service was initially very low. If you look at old Sony statements regarding online services they 'factored this into the price of the hardware', so in reality we did still pay - boy did we pay. Since then Sony have seen Microsoft's numbers grow and have taken the initiative in providing a paid service. 

 

All of this happened and happened for good reasons. You can bitch and moan to high heaven about this and you're completely within your rights to do so. The truth of the matter is though, that paying monthly for MP in your video games IS NOT going to change; at least not for the forseeable future. And to that end the alternative is worse - phenomenal price jumps in hardware and software (nobody wants that).

 

I don't love the concept either and i would be happy if the services were free/cheaper but i have absolutely no issue with paying for them at all. The service is cheap, the benefits are good and there is a wealth of content out there accessible without dishing out for this paywall at all. If you don't like it don't pay it; enjoy the experiences available without.

 

 

All great points, which, despite disagreeing with what I wrote in the original post, were written coherently and respectfully (which is such a rarity on the Internet these days that I felt like pointing it out). The thing is, seeing how some platforms, even some extremely popular ones like Steam, are able to run multiplayer without charging extra, it's a bit hard not to feel ripped off by this paywall.

 

 

I love playing online, so I have to pay. It's as simple as that. Do I like to have to pay to have access to something that's already included in the game? Of course not. But things are what they are and it's not me complaining or writing a speech that's going to change them. 

 

Again, seeing how some platforms, even extremely popular ones, are able to run multiplayer without charging extra, it's a bit hard not to feel ripped off.

 

And, you know, forums. Opinions, exchange... just felt like giving my two cents

 

I'm not a fan of online gaming either, i'm still on the ps3 and even on that thing I started to stray away from games that hold off the platinum until you unlock the online trophies too especially these days, which I mostly likes to buy single player games, online only games is not an option for me at all.

it's kinda sad too that I decided to not even buy some old games that I want their plats on my profile due to the online multiplayer mode is on the way not to mention the online mode is a desert area now for these games, of course I still can get these games to play them as... well as a video game not caring about trophies but when it comes to the platinum, i'm afraid I have to just skip them.

if get a ps4 one day and the plus subscription that came with it expired I don't think i'll ever renew it with my money, but my brother probably will since he love to play online on some games, PS+ is only good to me when it comes to discounts on digital games.

 

I too like to get all trophies for a game (as I just mentioned), but not at the expense of just skipping a game just because I'm now unable to. I played games just fine without trophies, and that certainly didn't change after they came along. I suggest just getting the game anyway even if the Platinum is unattainable. Trophies aren't really where the fun in a game is, are they?

 

In your case, you could almost say that the online paywall is a blessing in disguise as it frees you up to skip the part of a game that you really didn't enjoy in the first place but felt compelled to do for the sake of trophies.  I pay for PS+ but never play online - go figure.

 

True, but as I just mentioned, I got all warm and fuzzy when I overcame my distaste for online modes and got that sweet, sweet Platinum trophy

 

(I do see your point, though, and yes, in all honestly, the paywall will make me a lot less grumpy whenever I buy a PS4 game with online trophies).

 

 

I did not even know that the auto-updates were for PS+ only... I think it's definitely an awesome feature.

Personally, I pay for PS+ because of the monthly games and to a lesser extent because of the discounts. I feel like I'm getting much more than my money's worth out of the deal. Everything else is a bonus for me, including online - if we don't count seeing other people in Journey then I've only played online multiplayer twice in 2016... once in Tropico 5 and once in Table Top Racing: World Tour. If I get a game with multiplayer then I either only play a little (possibly for trophies) or I outright ignore it.

Main point: you're getting much more than just online multiplayer for PS+. If all of those together isn't worth the price for you, then don't pay for PS+.

And yeah then you have part of the game inaccessible to you but then again I think that the single player portion of the game should be enough to warrant the price tag. If you buy a game for the multiplayer then you probably think the PS+ price is worth it anyway.

 

I personally just think locking away a portion of the game you already paid for behind a paywall is a very anti-consumer move. But if you think the other features of PS Plus are enough to warrant the purchase by themselves, more power to you! You just get to enjoy online multiplayer on the side.

Edited September 20, 2016 by jrdemr

[30 Year Old Boomer]

While I'm not currently a big online gamer (I will be playing more though later on.), I don't mind paying for PS+. Sure, I dislike the fact that they make you pay if you want to play for mulitplayer, but with all the PS+ games that have accumulated in my backlog and the good deals, I don't mind it. But I can understand what you're saying though, I definitely agree with you.

[CrumpetOfDojima]

If PS+ only existed to let me play games online, I would not spend money on it.

 

The free games we get, the discounts, the discounted pre-orders, early access (rarely), and playing online with friends. It all makes the £40 I spend absolutely worth it, considering the overall price of PS+ games by the end of the year.

[Undead Wolf]

I don't play multiplayer games that much, so I probably wouldn't pay for PS+ if that was the only benefit. The free games, cloud saves, and discounts more than makes it worth it though. Maybe it wouldn't be worth it to everyone, but I still believe the service saves me more money than what I have to pay for it. People like to complain about how expensive PS+ is, but it's about the cost of one full priced game a year. It's really not a big deal. If you don't like it, you can always just switch to PC gaming instead. Nobody is stopping you.