X-box/GC price in Sweden is set!!! LOL

I agree that Sony can\'t do online this generation, but online is becoming important--the popularity of Everquest is evidence enough of this.  

It could become big, if it doesn\'t feel like online. MS has claimed that it\'ll be a selection on the main menu: Online Game.  With broadband there is no dial up, it could be instant, and you could be playing against a real person almost as quickly as you could a AI controlled one.  This would appeal to anyone and this would add amazing value to any game.  If online play can be this easy, MS could become the new king very easily.  People get bored of games because they become old and easy, with online, games last much longer.  

If MS can deliver on thier promises, everything could change.

How long would anyone play Diablo2 without an online option?  I played that game for over two years pretty religiously.

I don\'t think it has any thing to do with expectations.  They just don\'t want to invest that much all over.  Small steps.  If they don\'t spend in Europe they don\'t lose, worst case they break even.

But how many casual gamers played Everquest?  Maybe one or two at the most.  The only people who played Everquest are the hardcore computer fanboys who upgrade their computer every month and who could care less about console gaming.

The issue here isn\'t if the game will feel online or not, it\'s if the casual gamer is willing to pay for it, and if they are willing to pay for it, will they even be able to use it.  Most casual gamers aren\'t going to pay $50 for the game, then $50 a month for Broadband, then an additional $15 per month (just estimating) for the online gaming.  And because Broadband is still in its early stages, it isn\'t in nearly enough houses for Microsoft to make any money off of it.

I agree with you 100% though about online gaming being tons funner than offline gaming.  But most casual gamers don\'t know how much fun online gaming can be, so they won\'t see anything that would warrent the costs.

You can\'t say that of the millions of Evercrack users none of them care about consoles.  If consoles bring it, they will come.

And you\'re wrong about EQ and its players.  It is known for its newbie friendly atmosphere and learning curve.  It\'s the online game for the newbie.  

The DC online community was pretty big considering its userbase.  MS is going to market this so that people believe that they have to have it.  No one thought EQ was going to work, but they were wrong.

If the game is great people will pay.  If it\'s a flat fee to play every game in your library (including all MMGs) it\'ll be cheaper to play on the xbox than each one seperately on your computer.  If there is no lag, and there really won\'t be since the DC was so good on a 56k, people will come.

How many will come to GTA4 when it goes online? FF? Halo?

Everything starts with the hardcore players, and then it becomes mainstream.  If the online thing takes off and people love it, word will spread and people will "give it a try".  Once they see how much better games are online, who\'s to say they\'ll just as easily return to single player?  

Gaming is becoming more acceptable as a form of entertainment, people pay thousands of dollars on entertainment a year.

$15 bucks a month is $180 bucks a year.  That\'s nothing.  I make that in a few hours.  It\'s not much money, and if you think about it, online gaming extends the life of games you have, making you need fewer games a year.  You could argue you break even.

Money is the least of MS\'s worries.  The big hurdle is getting people to get over the notion that playing games online isn\'t for geeks or nerds.  If they can do that, this console war becomes a lot more interesting than it already is.

EDIT:

Also, most people already buy games and have broadband.  Those expenses are a given and they would spend that money regardless.  It\'s really only the monthly that is extra really.

Ok, good points Watchdog.  I guess the Xbox online actually can be successful, but probably not in Europe.  That\'s probably why Microsoft is making Europe their last priority.

One thing I want to point out though is that MMORPGs and games like that will require additional money per month to play.   It will still be only one payment per month, but the cost will be a little higher if you are playing MMORPGs.  Microsoft stated that in their last interview.

[GmanJoe]

I think you guys are missing the point.

MS is selling the MSBox for over $400 in Europe.

HA! What a waste of money.

Originally posted by GmanJoe

MS is selling the MSBox for over $400 in Europe.

HA! What a waste of money.

Yeah in the eyes of a diehard PS2 fan

We\'ve addressed that point Gman, read above.

I didn\'t know that about MMGS, oh well, so long as the cost monthly doesn\'t become onerous, it won\'t become the deciding factor.

The big thing is that if people want to play online, xbox is really their only alternative.