Should We Pay For Our Multiplayer?

For those of you that know, online multiplayer is a way to expand your gaming experience.  You are able to play with against real people (including your friends) in the comfort of your home.

But it usually comes at a price- sometimes you need to pay to play online.  This is common in MMOs and console gaming.

Generally, the great multiplayer and expanded set of features like downladable content override the fee.  Such is the deal with Xbox Live and World of Warcraft.  But many people turn to free online gaming like Sony Online because, well, it's free, and there are still a lot of good games to play.  The same amount of fun without paying a penny extra (not including your electric bill).

Chances are, you will probably say that all online gaming should be free.  I was asking a friend about it, and he brought up an interesting point: when it's free, it doesn't give the companies much incentive to make the online better.

His statement is mostly true- just look at how hugely popular and successful Xbox Live is compared to Sony Online.  Overall, XBL has a lot more and better online games- Halo 3 being a really big one.  It also has a lot of downloadable content for gamers to expand their experience even more.  

And those bucks most likely contribute to the Xbox 360 having a lot more exclusives and big hitters.  Final Fantasy XIII on the X360 is undoubtedly possible partly because of Xbox Live not being free.

Despite that, free online is one of the Playstation 3's biggest selling points.  In the long run, someone with an Xbox 360 playing on XBL is going to spend more money than someone who got a PS3 and plays online.  Considering that the PS3 has heavy hitters like Metal Gear Solid 4 and Resistance: Fall of Man, in some ways a PS3 is a better buy than the 360.

PC games also have free online.  As long as your internet connection is fast enough, you can most likely play games online whenever you feel like it.  Some people turn to the PC for online gaming because there are a lot of free online games, and the online doesn't cost money- if you need as much money as you can get, PC gaming can be a great alternative to console gaming.  In most games, it's going to stay free forever- there are too many people against pay-for-online-play for big corporations like Microsoft to make you pay for it because they really don't like you.

In some ways, it just comes down to preference- what do you consider more important? Free online?  Or more DLC, games, and other such things?  That is up to you to decide.