the recent and worthless 360 update

[leaffan]

it was the proxy i was using for sure. i switched to a US one today and it works fine. Also, i tried slacker from work yesterday and they wouldnt allow me to use it because it thought i was outside the US. Said somthing about the licensing which maybe why last fm charges folks outside of a certain area.

Yep. Its the same thing for us canadians. We can't get hulu either and even to a point there are some youtube video's we can't watch because of the whole being in canada.

 

[leaffan]

I agree. But the ads are so overwhelming. Nothing like seeing 17 Madden Arcade ads when I'm just trying to play a damn game. All that ad money should be offsetting the cost a bit. Or at the very least only be visible to people with Silver subscriptions.

I like how you are over dramatic about something so tiny as ads. Most people if not all don't even notice them and they are a non issue.

 

[jms493]

I like how you are over dramatic about something so tiny as ads. Most people if not all don't even notice them and they are a non issue.

yeah to be honest I am not even sure what he is talking about...:confused2:

 

[Maynard]

i know they had a snickers ad in madden...but more annoying then the ad itself was that it was the snickers design with stupid words like chompination or something like that

 

[leaffan]

i know they had a snickers ad in madden...but more annoying then the ad itself was that it was the snickers design with stupid words like chompination or something like that

The only thing I see changing is in NHL this year they have a Honda sponsered team. Mainly its just their jerseys and shit. At the end of the game you get replays brought to you by Honda.

They also change the ads on the boards every so often but I find that fits well anyways.

Hell some games like Forza for example is just one huge advertising market if you think about it.

 

[Twigg4075]

Maybe it IS offsetting some of the cost. Why assume that the 3.85 a month from each person covers all the cost of running Live? Server costs PLUS the salaries of the people employed only for XBL could easily eat up a ton of money fast. The subscription cost hasnt changed in the 6 years Live has been around. How many other things can you say that about?

The advertisements are clearly helping the price stay the same so they are fine with me. Especially advertisements for things added to Live, like Madden Arcade. There are times I log on JUST to see if anything was added, and I dont even have to scroll through the menu to see it. I can see bitching about advertisements like Sprite, or the car ads that are on there sometimes, but bitching about advertising a newly released game (on a game console menu) seems retarded.

Solid points. Although we could argue that Sony has been offering a free service for several years with many of the same features. It just seems you're bombarded with ads. And it doesn't help that the NXE forces you to start on the Spotlight tab so they get jammed down your throat.

I'm not the only one that feels this way. Listen to any podcast, including the OXM one and they complain about the same shit. They were even saying that this update is worthless without being able to run this shit in the background simultaneously.

 

[Twigg4075]

I like how you are over dramatic about something so tiny as ads. Most people if not all don't even notice them and they are a non issue.

Open your eyes then. They are everywhere.

I'm on the NXE now. On the Spotlight tab you have ads for Madden Arcade, teh Deal of teh Week, some contest called New Adventure and Lego Rock Band. Now these are game specific so they are pretty reasonable.

Then you go to the Marketplace and get another Madden Arcade, Porsche, Borderlands, Crackdown, GTA and New Adventure again. Granted this is the game marketplace so I expect that.

Then teh Video Marketplace you have Zune, Netflix and countless movie and TV ads. Again, it's a marketplace tab so it's expected.

Music Marketplace, same deal.

Inside Xbox is pretty crappy. Ads for Halo Legends, Madden Arcade (again-I wonder how much EA paid for this?), lastfm, Videos (which should be on the Video Marketplace).

My community- Avatar clothing.

And then of course you have the ads for shit when you pull up the guide menu, at the bottom of every blade.

i know they had a snickers ad in madden...but more annoying then the ad itself was that it was the snickers design with stupid words like chompination or something like that

That one was annoying. There were also McDonald's ones. But I'm pointing more towards the ones that litter the NXE.

I guess my main gripe is fine, have ads, that's part of business. But I should at least be able to set my default options to start on My Xbox or my friends list. Not get punched in the face with ads every time I turn on my 360.

 

[Virix]

Solid points. Although we could argue that Sony has been offering a free service for several years with many of the same features. It just seems you're bombarded with ads. And it doesn't help that the NXE forces you to start on the Spotlight tab so they get jammed down your throat.

You could argue that, but imo it would be a bad argument. Take a look at what happened when MW2 came out. The servers on PSN took a serious shit for almost a full day. On the Xbox side, it carried on like normal business. Obviously the backbone for each service is different. The one you pay for is better imo....and thats coming from someone who has MW2 on PS3.

I'm not the only one that feels this way. Listen to any podcast, including the OXM one and they complain about the same shit. They were even saying that this update is worthless without being able to run this shit in the background simultaneously.

I know people bitch about it, and it leaves me scratching my head every time. We are a nation of whiny bitches. Everyone complains about everything. People complain that the FREE update they got is worthless, people complain that they have to scroll past an add that they dont like even though it takes a fraction of a second etc. People bitching on the internet doesnt change the fact that it isnt a big deal.

 

[jms493]

i am pretty sure you can hide the spotlight blade.....I Know you can hide some blades...

 

[Maynard]

yeah, spotlight can be hidden. I like it though because it does offer some good ads that are related to gaming

 

[Twigg4075]

yeah, spotlight can be hidden. I like it though because it does offer some good ads that are related to gaming

I'm pretty sure you're wrong. There's a reason why there is is a little green square next to that tab because you can't get rid of it and it's always the start up point.

Again, everything I've read and heard agree it's annoying and it's a minor annoyance that you can't avoid.

 

[FishStickZ]

If you feel so butt hurt about ads you can:
a) Make it so the game starts off automatically (therefore completely ignoring all these ads)
b) Scroll up ONE time and press a to start a game
c) Take an extra 2-3 seconds to get to the marketplace you want to go to and d/l whatever.

And there you go, all those annoying ads that are thrust down your throat are completely avoided in 1-4 seconds.

 

[Maynard]

I'm pretty sure you're wrong. There's a reason why there is is a little green square next to that tab because you can't get rid of it and it's always the start up point.

Again, everything I've read and heard agree it's annoying and it's a minor annoyance that you can't avoid.

there is blade that can be hidden, i thought it was spotlight but im not positive. the ads dont bother me cause ads are a way of life. But u have a valid point imo. we already pay so we shouldnt have to have the ads. Silver people yes, gold no

 

[brees fan]

What ads are we talking about here I see no ads?

 

[Herm]

What ads are we talking about here I see no ads?

must have adblock plus running on your 360 huh?:inlove:

 

[brees fan]

Seriously WTF are you guys talking about, The tv show ads on one of the blades of the marketplace? I don't see how this is a big deal im pretty sure they are ads for things you can dl...

 

[Tengo Juego]

What ads are we talking about here I see no ads?

Each of those little boxes on the NXE in the spolight, community, and marketplace tabs are advertisements. Sometimes you see McCafe, sometimes you see something for Doritos, or some other brand of food or something.

They were worse on the last dash, but they're still there. Actually, not worse, just more obtrusive I guess. You HAD to look at em. You have to scroll through them with the NXE.

 

[Herm]

Each of those little boxes on the NXE in the spolight, community, and marketplace tabs are advertisements. Sometimes you see McCafe, sometimes you see something for Doritos, or some other brand of food or something.

They were worse on the last dash, but they're still there. Actually, not worse, just more obtrusive I guess. You HAD to look at em. You have to scroll through them with the NXE.

i dont have a 360 but is it any worse than the snickers ads splattered throughout madden? Then when i sign online to play madden there are ads on the online screen for different things as well.

 

[brees fan]

oh no protect my eyes, whiny fuckers, do you bitch at commercials on tv? I get that its silly to see them when we pay for service but what do you expect from the company that charges you every step of the way, I mean you do pay for cable too so i guess they shouldn't sell ad space and just have 10 mins of blank space so I can get up and get another beer without missing anything... just remember it could be worse than a 6 by 6 box (that was there to begin with just wasn't an ad for something unrelated to xbox) wait till we start getting actual video commercials before our games load and shit then you can bitch

 

[Twigg4075]

there is blade that can be hidden, i thought it was spotlight but im not positive. the ads dont bother me cause ads are a way of life. But u have a valid point imo. we already pay so we shouldnt have to have the ads. Silver people yes, gold no

Yeah, there is, but it's not spotlight. I forget what it's called because I did hide it. It weas just basic stuff on how to use your 360 and shit.

oh no protect my eyes, whiny fuckers, do you bitch at commercials on tv? I get that its silly to see them when we pay for service but what do you expect from the company that charges you every step of the way, I mean you do pay for cable too so i guess they shouldn't sell ad space and just have 10 mins of blank space so I can get up and get another beer without missing anything... just remember it could be worse than a 6 by 6 box (that was there to begin with just wasn't an ad for something unrelated to xbox) wait till we start getting actual video commercials before our games load and shit then you can bitch

You're absolutely right. But that's why I have a DVR.

In all seriousness, you're right. It's just that M$ wants to advertise Live Gold as a 'Premium' service. Well then why muddy it up with all these cut rate ads? Save that shit for the Silver members who aren't paying.

PSN even has minal ads, and that's only to advertise shit in the PSN store (that I know of) and they don't charge for their service. For instance, now when you boot up your PS3 the fierst thing you see are banners for the sale they are having on certain PSN titles. Sure, is Live better? Yeah, a little. But if it is then M$ should act like it is.

And as far as advertisements in games go, that's for another discussion but I do think it's bullshit. When they are sutle and actually make sense (like ads on actual billboards in games-I think Crackdown did that?) I don't mind. But when they are thrown at you, and the company still expects you to pay a full $60- for the game, knowing damn well they are getting serious kick backs for the ads, is BULLSHIT.