Peering into the depths of Qore

Your analogy doesn't really work. This is still an optional service and nothing aboutit affects standard online play. And I don't recall much complaining when MS offered the Halo 3 beta with Crackdown. The outage with Live was a big deal because it was a service many people had already paid for... and, again, I don't recall many people complaining about the game in return other than people who already had or didn't like the game. You sound like you're just sort of making stuff up here.

My only concern is what happens with demos. But I figure what will likely happen is people who susbscribe will get certain demos earlier than other people... much how Live Gold users often get demos earlier than Silver accounts.

How am I making stuff up Vid? Don't be so quick to get defensive because I said something that doesn't involve kissing Sony's ass.

"And I don't recall much complaining when MS offered the Halo 3 beta with Crackdown." - Vid

Nice point, but it had nothing to do with what I said. I directly was talking about giving a game like Undertow out to customers. I was not talking about a beta through another retail title.

Let me try again - people say Live is such a rip off, and they talk smack about the $5 a month for the online MP service right? Yes, that’s not made up - read most threads at Joystiq.

Now, we see PSN coming up with a method in making money from the online side of the PS3, which is optional (as is the Live Gold). People get insider info and in a beta - for a fee.

It’s the same concept!

You can not agree with me, but the point is that both companies are using the online side to make money somehow, and they chose a different method. Don't sit and act like its ok for Sony to do it and not MS just because you think that what Sony is offering is neato and what MS is offering is mandatory. Its the same basic idea.

"but when MS charges a fee or gives a game to soften the blow of something (like an outage) the PS3 fanboys scream bloody murder."

MS charges a fee to let us play online. And they gave us a game to make up for the lost time we had already paid for..

360 fanboys really reach sometimes, online magazine subscription = paying to play online...jeez

If it's such a bad idea to pay for Live! when you can get essentially the same thing for free on the PS3, then why is it such a good idea to pay for Qore, when you can get essentially the same thing for free on the internet? Each service offers incentives when compared to the free alternative, and both are fairly inexpensive.

@NATO

"Nice point, but it had nothing to do with what I said. I directly was talking about giving a game like Undertow out to customers. I was not talking about a beta through another retail title. "

Well, in the first sentence of your second paragrpah you specifically mentioned access to betas. That's why I brought up the Halo 3 beta being tied to Crackdown. There's often a catch of some sort to get into most betas, I really don't see an issue with getting a garaunteed invite via a digital manazine subscription. It happens all the time... sites like FilePlanet are always offering beta invite to paid subscribers and no one blinks an eye.

"Let me try again - people say Live is such a rip off, and they talk smack about the $5 a month for the online MP service right? Yes, that’s not made up - read most threads at Joystiq.

Now, we see PSN coming up with a method in making money from the online side of the PS3, which is optional (as is the Live Gold). People get insider info and in a beta - for a fee."

First off, FWIW, you won't ever find me complaining about paying for Live. But you're still missing the whole point. The people that do complain about Live's cost are basing their complaint on paying for online play. Qore has nothing at all to do with playing your games online. It's just a digital magazine. Hell, if your going to try and drag it into a debate about Live's price we may as well drag all the nickel and diming MS does on Live for stuff like themes and gamer pics... all of which are free on PSN. But in the end, all of those are just extras that have nothing to do with the core (pun not intended) debate of paying for multiplayer. So, no, it's not the same concept at all.

The concept that I feel the same is that they are finding a way to make the online element a revenue producer.

Now, let me too clarify that I don't actually have a problem with this concept, like I don't have a problem with paying for Live. Yeah, I would love to have them both free, but I can live with them as they are. When I got the Sony email last night I thought it sounded interesting and was planning on subscribing anyway. I also agree that the themes and pics on Live for a fee are nickel and diming us.

Either way, the concept of making money off the online use of the consoles in now at home on both these units, and if you don't try so hard to argue against my simple observation, then you would see there is nothing to be bothered by in me pointing it out.

And CC - you really don't get my point at all - I am not saying paying for online MP and using online magazines are the same thing.

"Either way, the concept of making money off the online use of the consoles in now at home on both these units, and if you don't try so hard to argue against my simple observation,"

err...I think you still don't get it, Qore is something that is COMPLETELY optional, they aren't making money out of the online use as this is JUST an online magazine, that DOESN'T affect your games in no way whatsoever

Unlike Qore, Gold Live membership is a MUST for online use, how is that optional again? and once again, how can you compare both methods and try to make them look the same when they are CLEARLY different?

Noshino, I am tired of arguing when you don't read what I say completely. I know you are a die hard ‘PS3 is always right’ person, but this isn’t an issue of them vs MS. You need to read the whole of what I said and not try to find a reason to be inflamed.

The model of making revenue off the online usage of the consoles is the thing I compared. That is a simple point – they both have found a way to make money on having online connections. So stop reaching and bringing in other elements and assumptions.

A few other points:

1) Using all caps doesn't make your point correct or cause me to change my point.
2) If you are going to quote me then you should use my entire quote or note that there was more to it.
3) I CLEARLY never said MP and online magazines ARE the same thing. (See how dumb the caps thing looks.)
4) Online use is optional - not everyone plays online and so it’s not a mandatory item. The games don’t have to be played online, people choose to. I know people that don’t like to and thus don’t subscribe. Just like I usually don’t play my PS3 online these days.
5) I never differentiated between whether it affects the games or not. I simply said they were making money from online elements.

Thanks JJ, I am just so damn out of it that I didn't see it before. Thanks for educating me.

Oh, except for the fact that Live Gold is not mandatory. It’s needed for MP gaming, like this new service is needed for insider info and/or betas. So yeah, it’s not the same thing.

It's about 1.5 gigs. Exactly, I think it's about 1577 MB.

Cool, thanky.

Gah, was meant to respond to arno....

It's okay, Fidlious. We still wuv you.

People should just look at it this way. You pay for T.V shows on Live. T.V shows aren't produced on Live their just sold there. Qore is the same, except it's a magazine... A magazine that gives you demos and beta keys.

Now how the hell is that related to PSN trying to find a way to take your money and why the hell are people comparing it to Xbox's MULTIPLAYER service. They are completely different services...

uh...Qore offers more than what other magazines offer...and I actually find the ads on other sites (1up, IGN, Joystiq, etc) MUCH more annoying than that one...

"...but the anti-Xbox sentiment due to cumilative cost of online services and content is becoming more and more hypocritical"

I didn't want to say it (hypocritical), but thats what I was getting at above too. We are all paying for one element or another.

But, again, the core debate is, and has always been, paying for online play. This is an extra. MS has hordes of pay extras on Live that cost money even for Gold subscribers. Comparing the Live vs PSN debate to Sony allowing this digital magazine on PSN is comparing the proverbial appales and oranges. It's not the same. Besides, as Fid has alread pointed out, this isn't even Sony's production. So that pretty much renders both of your comparisons completely meaningless. This is no different that buying a print mag that comes with a disc and offers the same type of content.

"But don't be too quick to sing Sony's praises. Sony promised 100% free PSN and has backed down from that stance making microtransactions and subscription based content just as common on their service as on their competitor's. With the release of Home sometime in the somewhat foreseeable future, that model will only escalate."

Wow wow, don't confuse things, Sony promised a 100% free PSN and they have delivered, Qore, like mentioned above is a digital magazine, one NOT run by Sony...

Qore is just like ANY OTHER MAGAZINE, they have exclusive content (might it be videos, information in general, rumors, demos, beta invitations) just like many other magazines do! Why is it that JUST NOW that it is being run on the PS3 it is seen as a ripoff?

And no, it is quite entertaining that many are trying to compare this to XBL, when its main feature is online playing....something that it IS completely free on other platforms (PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, DS, and hell, even on the Wii), oh and if you claim that the price is worth it because of all the features, why don't they offer the option of just being able to play online alone? Do you think people would still pay for XBL if the subscription was to just be for those GODSEND features?

Noshino, do you actually think about people's points before posting to tear at them?

You are really desperate to see everyone as attacking your beloved when that generally isn't the point of anyone here. You need to stop reading 1/2 of what people say and then assuming you know wtf the rest says. Its maddening to see you make points that you think win the war when there was no war in the first place.

Vid,

I agree with you. The core debate IS about paying for MP. However all in all, if you want ALL the features of both services, you'll end up spending about the same amount of cash, it's just a matter of paying up front or in smaller payments. It's similar to what Sony propogators did to justify the $600 price point of the PS3 when it launched: "But a $400 360 plus an HD DVD drive and wi-fi adapter would cost more!" Sure, but do you need all that to game? Same applies for online strategies from Sony and MS- both services offer more or less the same feature set, but charge for said features differently. But I whole heartedly agree that Sony's strategy and philosophy is more advantageous for gamers. However their execution has not been on par with MS's, so I can still justify paying a measly $50 a year for XBL. Of course I hope Sony gives them a run for their money so they are forced to reduce or eliminate that fee to stay cometitive.

Noshino,

Bring the rabid fanboyism down a few notches, actually read my post, process the information for a moment and reply in a logical manner and then I'll address your points.

Vid,

Agh, forgot one point. I realize this isn't Sony's production, but the point is it COULD'VE been. MS has the "Inside Xbox" feature on LIVE and regularly has free, videos, promotions, video documentaries and exclusive looks and demos of upcoming games- all for free. Sony could've done the same thing, but instead opted to hand it over to a 3rd party. Sony could've also paid said 3rd party to provide the content free of charge to PSN users. Instead Sony is allowing this e-zine to charge about the same as a print magazine. In my opinion, physical media (print in this case) has a higher value than electronic media and it also costs more to produce and distribute. So at the very least, Qore should cost less than the average gamer print magazine. But that's just my opinion.

The point is XBL provides about the same content that Qore does for free while PSN delivers MP for free- so it's debatable which service is the better value if you are a customer who wants both MP and "exclusive content". For the user who just wants some good ole fashion MP and nothing else, PSN is definitely the better value. I don't think anyone would argue that point. But then again, XBL has more MP features and functionality than PSN, so it's up to individuals to weigh the pros and cons and see what service is better for them as informed consumers.

I think my ps3 hacked PSN. Because i can see when my friends are online. I can see what game they are playing. Darn but i still cant contact them ingame. Damn you Sony for making my hack incomplete. Hey guys i think your ps3 can do the same hack too. According to Spartacus these are exclusive to xbox live gold (unless i am misunderstanding his post), because i have xbox live silver and i can see my friends, i can see what they are playing and i can message them ( in game too). I didnt have to purchase a live gold account to do that.

I was also able to voice chat with the other person i was killing in game, i never tried voice chatting with my friends out of game though.

Tell me what else do i get for being an xbox live gold member that PS3 doesn't have. Answer me this question while your at it. I purchased GTA4 for ps3, i was able to play with my friends online, send messages to them ( not in game, but i could invite them to play with me in game), voice chat in game and i didnt have to purchase anything else. What would i have to do to achieve the same thing on the xbox with just the cost of the game and nothing more.

I have yet another question. A demo just came out on xbox live, what will i have to spend to get my hands on it first. A demo is released on Qore, what do i have to spend to get my hands on it. Now lets say i dont care about getting the demo first, will i still be able to play online if i didnt purchase Qore or Xbox live gold ?

uhhhhhhh...care to elaborate? Cause that blanket statement alone looks pretty stupid.

Just letting you know.

He has access to the server room and is waiting to pull the plug out of the socket.

You can't get it for free.

God you xbots are an annoying bunch.

You can get most of that stuff for free, just sans Veronica Belmont (and her continual war against the forces of Dracula).