'Friendship is Free' brings limited multiplayer to XBL Silver

by Justin McElroy on Dec 5th 2008 10:00AM

What's that, Xbox Silver members? Come again? Sorry, we Gold members had a hard time hearing you from the private Gold Member hydrofoil. Oh, you want a taste? A taste of the suite life? Well, ask and ye shall receive.

What's that? Oh! The sweet life! Sorry, the Bellini machine is making a terrible racket. Listen, we know you want a taste of Gold, and we think we might have something worked out for you, a little something we and Microsoft are calling "Friendship is Free." For the next month, you'll have free multiplayer access to A Kingdom for Keflings, Aegis Wing, Bomberman Live, Hardwood Hearts, Hardwood Spades, UNO, Small Arms and Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix.

We know, we know, we're being too generous. Our mothers tell us it's a fault in our character, but we like to think of it as just paying it forward.

Source

Tags: Friendship-is-Free, XBLA, Xbox-360, Xbox-Live, Xbox-Live-Silver

Reader Comments (54)

"We know, we know, we're too being generous. Our mothers tell us it's a fault in our character, but we like to think of it as just paying it forward."
Can you spot the typo?

I spotted "too it"

I've spotted a jerk, if that helps.

I types good.

...Hmm, I don't see it in the post. Are you trying to SABOTAGE MY CAREER?

Listen all of y'all it's a sabotage

I smell shenanigans

Oh my god... it's a mirage.

I see the jerk too, but not the typo.

What I would propose doing is allow silver members to play only games that you are invited to, no matchmaking or any of that. Unfortunately, I think Halo is STILL the only game with an amazing matchmaking system, so every other game is pretty much just a custom game. Which is just dumb.

"We're too being generous" should be "We're being too generous". By the time I found this article it had already been changed.

Fernando will be pleased.

*Logs into Xbox.com, sends message to Fernando...

:P

LOL Justin you fool!! xD

"Sorry, the Bellini machine is making a terrible racket."

Sounds like cellphone/ table convo at Balthazar or Pastis "downtown."

The Bellini is a cappuccino machine if I'm not mistaken. I don't even drink coffee, but everyone and their dog surrounding my existence drinks it, so you pick up on things.

As if XBL wasn't already bad enough. Now these games are going to be filled with pubbies.

:P

wonder how many people benefit from this......I mean Street Fighter is a good game te in there but they could have pick even better games hell shoulda just opened it up free to EVERY Silver Subscriber for Free for the Month of December.....I mean how har would that have been??? its not like they would lose on on THAT much money......and they might even get a few people to convert after said free period...

Dude, this is MS we are talking about here. Where have you been for the last 20+ years? MS will throw an occcasional bone here and there (a very small one) to intice the consumer to upgrade.

yea I know what you are saying......but thats with Operating Systems......they have the market on LOCK with that......and even with Linux becoming more popular you See them doing things like giving PC manufacturers better deals on licensing, and the same thing with Windows Mobile, they even have a $80 version of Vista to try not to lose out TOO much on Linux and Apple...... but they dont Feel a threat from PSN.....once they do they will do the same thing they did with Live for Windows......Steam was free and Windows was losing out.......so they made it free.....when Sony gets PSN jumping.....and M$ starts losing subscribers of Gold.....they will make it free....they will make more from Advertisements then anyways

@ The Aggie CEO
It would have cost them quite a bit of money to open up everything to everyone (everclear?) or 1 month. The extra traffic would probably royal f' the network. Obviously, by the types of games they are offering they are expecting a limited volume compared to the traffic of opening up EVERYTHING. Paying to upgrade a network that doesn't need to be upgraded for one month isn't exactly A.O.K. with the investors and executives of MS.

SURELY the ALMIGHTY Xbox Live can HANDLE a few extra million people........

Silvers still have to pay for the actual game correct? Now how many people are rich and 'smart' enough to buy Arcade Games but don't have Live? Talk about niches...

I have plenty of XBLA games from when I was a gold member to now as a silver member. Honestly I really never played any of the XBLA games online, save for a few games of Uno, Contra, Double Dragon, TMNT, and PinballFX.

99% of the XBL I've had was either PDZ, Gears 1, Gears 2, or Halo 3.

The only XBLA game that I played online is Marble Blast Ultra. And it sooked.

Nice touch pulling from the periodic table Justin.

Au and Ag coming together in an epic month of madness...on these eight games.

Sorry Ag, but I'll be busy online with 'real' games like Gears of War 2 and Call of Duty(s).

Now...where is that beverage of mine... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYQyvA6501A

"What's that, Xbox Silver members? Come again? Sorry, we Gold members had a hard time hearing you from the private Gold Member hydrofoil."

Come again?
Sorry, we [free] PSN members had a hard time hearing the XBL Gold members from our free paper-mâché houses.

Look, I love XBL as much as anyone but I refuse to pay for online gaming when it's free on the PSN, it's free on Steam, and it's free on the Wii. Microsoft needs to get with the program and quit being a bunch of greedy SoB's. And don't give me the 'it's only $3.30 a month' routine; I don't care. Free > pay no matter how you slice it.

Fanboy ahead, move along.

Wait let me reiterate...

Paying for online sucks and as a self-proclaimed PC Fanboy I can't wait till it's gone, but until PSN will stop choking up on every major release, your analogy is flawed.

Wii Online is a joke btw.

Woops! Let me help you up there buddy...

You seemed to have mentioned Online and Wii in the same sentence like its relevant.

*my aura glows with "player hate"

Also the whole Free* speech thing is older than Aunt Jemima and Colonel Saunders.
Cant afford it? Then don't expose your age or underpaid status by speaking up about it.

*Rember kids the holidays are here*
*Frugal tight wads, live a little and/or stop lying. Many who gripe about paying, don't even own an Xbox.

Last i checked 12 months is a long friggin' time.

@Jakka: what are you referring to when you say PSN choking???

That's right Jakka, how dare he demand to play online for FREE when everyone else....er NO ONE ESLE does it.

You are the fanboy, DEFENDING the daily lubeless ass-raping that MS gives GOLD members. Have fun paying an extra $200-300 American dollars over the course of this generation for the RIGHT to play online.

Your logic in defending this confounds me. You should ROOT for PSN, that way....it just might force MS to let you play online for FREE.

But nooooooooooo, you blatant fanboyism will defend this fleecing to the end.

So if I took a dump in a hat and placed it on your head free of charge, that would be better than making you pay for it?

Yeah, can't argue with logic like that.

But seriously, folks...$40-$50/year is not that bad for an online service...WoW players pay somewhere around $15/month (if I'm not mistaken) to play one game. I'm not harping on the PSN...so far it's been good to me, but online with the Wii?!?! Get real...that is NOT a relevant argument.

"So if I took a dump in a hat and placed it on your head free of charge, that would be better than making you pay for it?"

So by your logic....you enjoy PAYING for MS to take a dump on your hed?

Look PSN has not caught up to Live yet, it is geting closer but still not there. Once it does and possibly surpasses it...will you still defend PAYING to play a game that you PAID for online?

MMO's and MMORPG's are a different breed. The developers are constantly updating the online world, and they support the game at a MUCH HIGHER level with constant supervision and testers playing non-stop 24/7 along with regular players making sure everything is working the right way.

"Look PSN has not caught up to Live yet, it is geting closer but still not there. Once it does and possibly surpasses it...will you still defend PAYING to play a game that you PAID for online?"

Of course I won't. That'd make me a fanboy. I'd be more than glad for PSN to become so good XBL needs to drop the pricing, but at the moment this ain't happening, hence why the 'Shit in a Hat' analogy is currently a lot more appropriate than the 'PSN > XBL because you don't have to pay' fallacy.

KillJebus, when Sony brings online service on par with what I pay for on XBL, I'll be more than glad to take all the insults and ridicule from every SDF Member on this site, but until then I wish they would refrain from badmouthing XBL because they're bored while waiting ten minutes for SOCOM to find a game.

Killjebus:

I suppose you missed the part where I agreed with his logic...but that rant of mine was aimed at Wii online play. Don't get so uptight abou--nevermind.

I bought my car, but it isn't free to drive it yet...I still have to buy gas. Do you think the servers that handle your voice chat/stats/friends lists/ranking systems are free? Don't get me wrong...I'd love to have everything for free, but throwing a hissy fit over $50 per year is ridiculous in this economy of ours...the reason why the US is in the economic slump it's in is because people want everything handed to them and no one wants to pay for it (oh, and that war thing).

Sorry, I'm not a fanboy; I own all 3 systems.

If you don't mind spending $50 for the chance to play online with no hosting on Microsoft's part whatsoever, then you're entitled to do so but you look like a fool IMO.

As for the Wii + online = crap, I never said it wasn't; I just figured I'd save the obvious since anyone with a brain can figure that one out.

As for the PSN being better or worse than Live, that's in the eye of the beholder. Last I checked, the PSN has a unified friends list and messaging available from the XMB and in-game. It also has chat. It also has online play. FOR FREE.

All of those things Xbox Live has. FOR PAY.

And for the record - I have a full time job + a house paid off + a car so eh eh I can afford $50 a year; I choose not to spend, err WASTE the money on Xbox Live and instead spend the $50 on a GAME.

@ Courtney

Uuum NOoo...

I've bought almost every game for the 360 and PS3 and they are all hits. :P

Cant get enough of Vampire Rain at the moment, Left 4 Dead? Whats that? Haze!? GOTY hands down. So dew some research b4 posting.

*curls up and cries in the corner*
Oh and,
I dislike you very much!
Now where the hell is my mother with the g*dammed HotPockets!?!?

Doesn't go far enough. With PSN catching up it's high time parts of XBL Gold went free. Pour example it would be good idea(tm) to let Silver members play against friends only. On any game during any month.

Only they wont. The lack of wifi even after the system is what, 3 years old now and after countless revisions. Nah.

"What's that, Xbox Silver members? Come again? Sorry, we Gold members had a hard time hearing you from the private Gold Member hydrofoil."

Come again?
Sorry, we PC gamers already play all non-mmo games freely online.

yeah, but my $400 xbox360 is helluva lot cheaper than your $700+ computer which requires constant upgrading with each newly released title to have the proper specs to play any of the x360 games available.

I am a silver member. I refuse to pay of Gold. Why should I pay to play online? I already paid for the game. This is why the PC is a far better gaming platform. Netflix being only available to gold members is crap too. I already pay for netflix so I have to pay Miorosoft too?

Woops! People slipping all over the place! Here let me give you a hand.

Your on the wrong Blog here, then buddy. PC gaming gets covered on Joystiq of course but /sarcasm: PC gaming's content and quality of games is so spread out. We all would come on Joystiq to read 5 posts for the day.

I've played Half Life, Counterstrike, Black & White, Sims (1rst), HomeWorld, EverQuest, WoW, DaOc, Ages,Civ. I can go on...
MY POINT?... Each purchase required prior info/knowledge from friends or media. WHY? There is much garbage-ware for PC compared to hit titles. FACT

What i saw on your post: Football(NFL) is wayy better than Football(Soccer).

Next in line! *looks past you*

Wow is this what the world looks like when you haven't had interaction with real people? You can't limit bad games to just the PC. There are tons of crap games made for all of the consoles. Just look at the family section on any console. Sure there are bad games on the PC but you know what? FPS is better on a PC, RTS is better an a PC, Western RPG is better on a PC. The console comes out ahead in JRPG, Platforming, sports, Fighting, and Racing the only one of which that is any good to play online is Racing. When you go to play online what do you want to play? FPS and RTS are going to be #1 and #2 on most anyone's list. Why would you play them on an inferior interface. So Lord Negatron grow up buy a good PC and then we can talk. My GTX 280 will run circles around a 360 and a PS3.

"There is much garbage-ware for PC compared to hit titles. FACT"

Hi, let me introduce you to the gaming world. In it, every gaming platform has a much higher ratio of trash to gold, including all of the current generation consoles. Negates that argument, but keep trying!

Yeahh but, your acting like in terms of sheer entertainment, the PC just has so much to choose from. Well if your an RTS, MMO, FPS person then bon apetite.

Only thing doing right now on my Celeron 330mhz with 128RAM, and intergrated Voodoo card is World Of Warcraft. :P

The sheer ease of use for communicating etc. is what todays console provides. Yah yah, mouse aim/look for the win. Its just a matter of preference i guess. Console games i will assume to be off the charts in comparison to PC game sales etc. Only thing buzzing the media for Mac/PC recently was WotLK for WarCraft.

Hows MystIII? Any good. :P

Communication? how can you think communication is better on a console? Between IM, Live Meeting, Web cam, forums, blogs etc the PC is far better at communication. You are suffering from envy fanboyism. Your computer blows so you stick to the crutch that is your only console. I own an awesome PC, a 360, a PS3, and a Wii. In order of acctual game time it goes PC > 360 > Wii > PS3 the PS3 might get as much playtime as the 360 if it had any games but anything you can get there you can get on the 360 with the exception of 4-5 exclusives that aren't worth it. So if you aren't into FPS, RTS, MMO what are you into that makes you want to pay Microsoft $50 a year to play online? Hello Kitty?

**Microsoft** Typo wardens back off.

Playing online shouldn't cost money period.

Yes, I know about all the deals you can get for Live cards, I never pay over $40/year for Live Gold. But you know what? When it expires next (after 3 years of Gold), I'm done with Gold.

I play online free on PC and PS3 (and Wii too if I had SSBB), and now that I don't play my 360 almost exclusively (or even the most), paying for Gold is even a worse deal than before.

Given the seeming success of Netflix streaming, I expect MS could still sell Gold to a lot of people. So it's time to put online gaming into the free pack (Silver), just like every other platform has.

keep all the non essential stuff gold and give basic online that is part of purchased games free is how i feel. if gamers push hard enough things could turn out like live for windows

you would Think so but M$ Milks people for as long as they can.....they HAD to go free with Live For Windows because Steam was Free.........with the 360 they dont see any REAL competition in the PSN.....but once Sony gets their shit together it will probably force M$ to go free.......

@Aggie

That is what I find hilarious, that MS fanboys keep DEFENDING this BS. If they just pulled their panties up and got up off thier knees and told MS no more, my ass can't take anymore...MS might stop.

A strong competing PSN would force MS to make it free, but somehow....the resident MS fanboys on this blog and others cannot SEE THAT.

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'Friendship is Free' brings limited multiplayer to XBL Silver

Reader Comments (54)

Posted: Dec 5th 2008 10:04AM (Unverified) said

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