Why it's important to keep Xbox Live closed, for pay

[iconoclast]

Just hear me out on this one. While I generally get annoyed when companies offer closed platforms that lock you into proprietary content, here's why I think it's good for Xbox Live: on the surface it might seem like a good thing to have more user-generated content, but too often this ends with crap content and most annoyingly a ton of spam. Imagine if accounts were free so that random companies could create a bunch of accounts and send you all these bogus friend requests and spam messages...what a nightmare that would be. Not to mention the fact that people could create multiple accounts, thereby making the unified gamer profile pretty much useless. If anyone is familiar with the social networking site Facebook, you know that once they opened up the platform to any joe schmoe with an internet connection, the site when quickly downhill with spam and all kinds crapware applications...it was much better when they kept it closed via school email addresses....now it's gone the way of myspace, although to a lesser degree (no coincidence that myspace remains a much more open platform as far as user profiles). Now I don't know much about PSN to say whether these things have become an issue yet, but for one thing there's no unified gamerscore. One might say that they could just link your account to your own console, but that would mean multiple family members couldn't have different accounts, nor could guests sign into their accounts. If Home turns out to be rather open (like, say, Second Life), then I imagine the place could quickly fill with advertising crap, porn, and tons and tons of spam. This is not how I want my console to be...that's what a PC is for....anyway, your thoughts?

[Fyrus]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

Just hear me out on this one. While I generally get annoyed when companies offer closed platforms that lock you into proprietary content, here's why I think it's good for Xbox Live: on the surface it might seem like a good thing to have more user-generated content, but too often this ends with crap content and most annoyingly a ton of spam. Imagine if accounts were free so that random companies could create a bunch of accounts and send you all these bogus friend requests and spam messages...what a nightmare that would be. Not to mention the fact that people could create multiple accounts, thereby making the unified gamer profile pretty much useless. If anyone is familiar with the social networking site Facebook, you know that once they opened up the platform to any joe schmoe with an internet connection, the site when quickly downhill with spam and all kinds crapware applications...it was much better when they kept it closed via school email addresses....now it's gone the way of myspace, although to a lesser degree (no coincidence that myspace remains a much more open platform as far as user profiles). Now I don't know much about PSN to say whether these things have become an issue yet, but for one thing there's no unified gamerscore. One might say that they could just link your account to your own console, but that would mean multiple family members couldn't have different accounts, nor could guests sign into their accounts. If Home turns out to be rather open (like, say, Second Life), then I imagine the place could quickly fill with advertising crap, porn, and tons and tons of spam. This is not how I want my console to be...that's what a PC is for....anyway, your thoughts?

This is actually an interesting point. And I think I might just agree with you.

I'm sure there are ways MS could make it free and filter these things though. I guess that would be the best-case scenario.

[vrrroom]

It's not a problem on PC online games, really. (Second Life isn't a game)
/thread

[Leonidas]

This...

Does not justify the price of xbl.

[Fyrus]

Originally Posted by Leonidas

This...

Does not justify the price of xbl.

No, but still it's an interesting point.

[chedabob]

Charging hasn't really stopped people from making multiple accounts. I knew a guy who had like 7 accounts (2 were active, the rest were trials). He also changed his name a lot, which quickly got annoying.

Microsoft do need to open up the platform though, but not to the point where everyone can run riot and make it a big mess. XNA Community Games is a step in the right direction.

[Axeus]

Interesting... but thats flawed as hell thats like saying PC games have this problem... which they don't and PC's have been online for ALOT longer than consoles.

[chedabob]

Originally Posted by Axeus

Interesting... but thats flawed as hell thats like saying PC games have this problem... which they don't and PC's have been online for ALOT longer than consoles.

There's a considerably steeper learning curve for making user-content on PC though.

[PirateThom]

There's really absolutely no justification for a price tag to play games online when you've already paid for the device to play it on, your internet connection, your modem/router and the game.

I'm looking at you MMORPG and XBox Live.

[chedabob]

I think this whole "profit" thing zoomed over your head...