Microsoft and Sony are releasing their latest and greatest game consoles later this year, but have announced they will charge an annual subscription for additional features, setting the Internet ablaze, the Washington Post reported.
Xbox One owners will need to purchase a $60-per-year Xbox Live Gold membership subscription to access features like Skype, Netflix and other social apps, an NFL app, SmartMatch and online multiplayer. The membership will also allow gamers to record up to five minutes of gameplay in high-definition video to share with friends.
Playstation 4 gamers will have to pay a similar fee, only it will be $49.99 per year and will grant access to online multiplayer for most games and game recording will just be free for all.
As the Sony game developers are known to do, executive Shuhei Yoshida followed up Microsoft's news by responding to a question on Twitter to confirm game recording would be free to all gamers.
Business Insider's Kyle Russell noted in an editorial for Business Insider how many tech writers took angrily to Microsoft's announcement, despite the great value he said the Live Gold membership provides.
Russell pointed to a post on Gizmodo by Brian Barrett, which stated: "The tyranny of Xbox Live Gold was bad enough when it was limited to making you pay for services you were already paying for. But this is somehow even more insidious. Game DVR, OneGuide, and Skype were all promoted prominently as Xbox One features. It should be a safe assumption that when you buy a product, it will come with the features it's advertised with."
Barrett went on to call the move a "marketing switcheroo," which Russell, who has no affiliation to Microsoft, flatly denied.
"This isn't a 'marketing switcheroo,'" Russell wrote. "This is Microsoft charging for access to services that cost them money to offer."
Russell concluded his argument by stating that Microsoft's Live Gold membership is actually a good deal. To record gameplay in the past, a gamer would have to buy additional hardware for the computer, costing around $100.
The Xbox One is due out in November, while the Playstation 4 has an unconfirmed release date.