Hulu Plus on Xbox will be a 'custom experience', restricted to Xbox Live Gold members

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze

If you are unwilling to pay $35 a year for Gold, Im sure you are unwilling to pay $10 a month for "Hulu Plus."

Either way, bad deal is still bad.

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze It's good that they are adding more value to Gold, though, which is easily worth the $3 a month already.

@R Planteer That is probably a pretty good point.

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze

Meh, we can watch videos for free on the PS3's browser or on the internet without going Gold membership for Hulu.

"If you are unwilling to pay $35 a year for Gold, Im sure you are unwilling to pay $10 a month for 'Hulu Plus.' "

This is such a silly notion. For a great number of people, it'll enable them to pair back their cable services and ditch the DVR box. Sure, it's not 100% of the content one might consume, but $10 a month for a substantial amount of content is a mere pittance compared to even basic cable with no DVR option (and in most cases, lacking HD content).

The thing that sticks in my craw about it being a gold-exclusive privilege is that Microsoft expects me to shill out money for their unified service to access additional content that I'm still required to pay for, whereas Sony does not.

Sony's service certainly isn't as comprehensive as Microsoft's, but they're fast closing the gap in terms of features. The fact that Sony doesn't charge for their basic PSN service only helps sweeten the pot.

Between this and the severe limitations of the massively hyped ESPN service, Live has been leaving an increasingly bitter taste in my mouth.

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze

this just straight boggles my mind:

Get it free on the internet
Or pay $10 of Hulu service on your Ipad, Iphone, PS3, Xbox 360 over your broadband/internet service (except for Iphone ppl mostly use 3G).

I'm not that desperate to get Hulu on my console
Sry Hulu No Free = No dice.

@Architecture

And most people ditching cable are going to want ESPN, which is gold only anyway.

You're talking about a seriously small subset of people here, and you're talking about it as if this small subset of people was being tortured against their will, not charged a meager 3 dollars per month.

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze

If the PS3 Hulu ends up having a generic UI like Netflix I can consider the wait on Xbox360 being worthwhile...

@PlatinumSkeet I rather liked the UI for PS3 Netflix.

Now that I have a 360 and use it exclusively for Netflix (because of the upconversion), I find that I still like the PS3 UI more.

It just looks more.. clean, I dunno.

@Architecture
MS doesn't charge for their basic LIVE service either, it's called Silver.

And how do you know that Hulu wont be a part of PSN+? Have Sony confirmed this? I'm willing to bet that it will be. Sony want people to subscribe, and at the moment there is no real reason to, or at least very little.

Now that they have PSN+ in place, you can bet that a lot of the upcoming features will be tied to it.

@Vcize

The problem isn't the price, it's the value proposition. When the PS3 launched in 2006, The Xbox was $200 cheaper and PSN was bare bones.

The parity of the systems has reached an equilibrium, and I actually feel that the PS3 offers significantly more value than the Xbox, redesigned or not. Beyond the fact that PSN costs nothing, the PS3 is also a BD player, which I'll admit factored heavily into my purchase. Factor in Sony's consistent firmware updates that enable the system to do as much, if not more than the 360 (3D BD support, for one), and $50 a year starts looking like less and less of a good deal.

I'm by no means balking at the notion of a premium online service from Microsoft; I just feel they need more to entice me to let them ding my credit card on an annual basis.

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze

I'm confused if you need a gold account to have the ability to pay an extra $10 a month or if hulu is bundled for the current price of xbl.

@Juelz345

The difference between xbl silver abilities and psn is not even in the same dimension. As far as PSN+, afaik it's not necessary for the hulu subscription. Otherwise, they'd of tied the MLB app to it as well.

@Architecture

So you should buy a PS3, not a 360, as that's clearly the better choice for you. Personally, I can't even imagine gaming without XBL anymore and any time I take my PS3 online it feels like I'm on a deserted island, so the 360 is easily the choice for me and I probably wouldn't even bother gaming online at all without it (whereas with the 360 online gaming is virtually all I do). It also doesn't hurt that three of my favorite franchises (Gears, L4D, Crackdown) are 360 exclusives.

That's why we have the choice to buy whichever best suits each of us individually. If you like playing with friends and recreating that dorm-room experience from thousands of miles away, or like the 360 franchises, buy a 360. If you like the Sony franchises, or prefer going solo of pub hopping (ick), or are a movie guy, the ps3 will do each of those every bit as good (or better) than the 360 and at a lower end cost.

@Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell

Errr, how are you confused? It's most definitely still $9.99/mo if you're a gold subscriber.

It seems silly to me to limit this to Gold subscribers when you still have to pay $10 for the service itself.

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze

OH my god, Joystiq, Sony probably paid for Hulu support earlier than the 360, it has nothing to do with the additions.

And this is what happens when you lie about it in the article.

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze
How is something that requires an additional fee on top of the gold fee an added value to gold?

@Architecture

Well said. Both systems offer great entertainment but I have to give the PS3 the edge when it comes to value because of the BD drive. I use that a lot to watch HD movies. Still, the Xbox has more games that I like.

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze
Oh it's worth it! Wait until you see my "channel surfing dance"!

@Architecture

"Factor in Sony's consistent firmware updates that enable the system to do as much, if not more than the 360"

Sony do not have consistant firmware patches in any way shape or form, it can be months before stuff is updated, or get 3 in quick succession (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3_system_software)

Don't forget as well that sony have used firmware updates to REMOVE features.

Don't get me wrong i like my PS3 (have to add this qualifier to stop fanboys downvoting), demon's souls is kicking my backside at the moment :P But defending sony based on firmware updates is a bit silly.

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze i just don't see myself paying for Hulu on top of my Comcast bill already

@Gun Barrier
And I bet by good content you mean awesome episodes of Glee!

@ansalon929

ok now the math

12 month gold card $50
12 months of Netflix $108
12 months of HULU+ $120

now unless you can get a deal for LIVE time that's almost 280 dollars on just your xbox now add the new PSN+ and that's a whole lotta monies

@ansalon929 True, but if you are intending that service as a cable TV replacement, it's still cheaper than the $50-$150 per MONTH some people spend for a fully loaded cable subscription. That's ~$280 per year, versus $600 to $1800 per year for similar content.

Of course, it depends on what kind of TV viewer you are. If you are a "channel flipper," the Netflix+Hulu option may not work for you. If you are deliberate in your viewing habits, it'll work just fine, and save you quite a bit of money. Plus, you'll get the gaming goodness Live has to offer.

@ansalon929

However, my DirecTV is ~$100/mo after taxes, DVR, HD, etc. I don't watch a whole lot of varied programming.

My biggest concern other than specific content would be what would the lag time be between airing and availability on Hulu+

However, if there is enough content between the two services (plus the stuff I can stream from my PC to the 360 via TVersity) that I can drop DirecTV altogether (live sports would be about the only thing I'd miss, but I've got a tv tuner and HDMI out on my laptop so I can manage since I pretty much only watch network sports anyway :) ), $280/yr is MUCH better than $1200/yr, wouldn't you say? :)

@ansalon929
Netflix & Hulu Plus are not exclusively Xbox oriented services so doing the whole "lets add everything together" move doesn't really work all to well.
Netflix was a service many people already had & was simply added to Live, while the same Netflix account can be used on PC, PS3, Wii etc... Hulu Plus is a service people can subscribe to & use the same account on their Iphone. Ipad, PS3, PC & 360.

Just say your anti-Live payment next time & save yourself the trouble of figuring out the math.

@ansalon929

who still pays $50 a year for xbox live? u can buy it when its not on sale for $40 at all ur normal places amazon, newegg, buy.com when its on sale its $35 and sometimes $30.

netflix, dont care, hulu don't care, just give me espn.

@critter42

You can stream Hulu to the 360 via tversity.

@Special Agent Bob
Poor silver :(

@mrgascoin

Seriously. The service has been around for SEVEN YEARS. Get over it, babies.

@mrgascoin No kidding, I can't believe the internets have had so many wasted characters of 3 dollars a month (that is very much worth it, no less).

I wouldn't complain this much if the government tried to make me pay 3 dollars to breathe the oxygen in the air, much less to watch Hulu.

@Vcize
"I wouldn't complain this much if the government tried to make me pay 3 dollars to breathe the oxygen in the air..."

Just in case this happens, I know who to blame. ;)

The reason for those of us airing our grievances has to do with the fact that the service is no longer leagues ahead of the competition.

In 2002, when the service launched, Microsoft revolutionized the way we played games online. Xbox LIve members were given a unified login, voice chat was supported across every title, and at that point most DLC hadn't introduced the microtransaction hell we currently live with. In comparison, Sony's online service for the PS2 required you to buy an expensive broadband adapter and users didn't have a universal login.

Fast forward to today and compare the services: Many of Xbox Live's services which require payment (like Netflix, online play, access to certain demos) have been nullified by PSN. Furthermore, that I still have to buy MS points to transact with Live just seems insidious when I can pay for items at cost with no remainder points on PSN.

I've subscribed to Xbox Live as a Gold member since its inception, but it no longer offers the value it once did.

@Architecture You must be a total idiot. XBox LIVE hasn't taken away anything from its service. There's MORE value in it today than there was 5 years ago. All this bitching about decreased value and whatnot is pure nonsense. Just because another product offers similar services doesn't diminish the others value and if you think it does you need a reality check.

@Architecture

For the way I use it, XBL is still WAY more than $30/yr better than PSN. For $30/yr I consider XBL to be one of the best values I've ever gotten for my money. At the price of free, I wouldn't even put PSN in my top 100.

Within 2 minutes of logging into XBL I'm in a party with my friends, we're chatting it up, and 20 seconds later we're in whatever game we feel like playing that night laughing and having a good time, even if we're on opposite teams.

Within 2 hours of logging into PSN I'm usually still playing some single player game, because even if I have friends online no one's going to spend the 30 minutes it would take to co-ordinate everyone through uber-slow text messaging.

@blackangel209

" Just because another product offers similar services doesn't diminish the others value and if you think it does you need a reality check."

It sort of does though. If you can access the same stuff without the xbl tax then how doesn't it diminish it's value? I'm no economist and I don't claim to be one but it's seems fairly obvious if company A makes you pay $36-$50/yr to access content and company B doesn't require any annual fee for access to the
same content that it makes what company A is offering less valuable.

I love how these always turn into XBL vs. PSN battles.
Just enjoy your system and be done.

As for me, I game a lot. Xbox Live makes it easier for me to get with a group of friends from around the globe and play games together, watch movies together and just have a good time.

For example whilst typing this, I joined a party who were already searching online for a game in Gears 2, got them to stop and wait for me and a friend whom I had invited into the XBL party so we could have a full squad and began matchmaking again. Its the little things that make it worth it to me.

@Architecture

@Johnny

Then you're right when you say you're no economist.

An item is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. If someone was willing to buy my pocket lint for $1 million, then my pocket lint just became worth $1 million. Many, many items in the world market are severally overinflated in terms of their actual usefulness or rarity (diamonds are the most obvious example here).

XBL has been around for seven years at the same price point, and has gone from nothing but online play/VOIP chat to what it is today. And if anything, its gotten even cheaper thanks to extremely frequent sales on XBL time cards.

And furthermore, if anything you Sony fanboys should be grateful to Xbox fanboys for paying for XBL and giving MS a reason to evolve the service, because you can be damn sure that without pressure from a competitor Sony's online experience would not even be close to what it is today. And without profit motive (you know, the thing that drives all businesses), MS would never have had a reason to apply said pressure to Sony.

So yeah, you're welcome.

I'd also like to throw out a "LOLZ" at saying that XBL and PSN have the same content. Much of it is similar to be sure (again, you're welcome), but saying its the same is crossing the line.

@BlackedOut

You and vciz should be hired to promote Xbox Live.

@(Unverified) OMG 3 dollars!!!