Ever since Microsoft announced that the PC version of Xbox Live, Games for Windows Live, will be available for free and that Xbox gamers will have to continue paying to play games on XBL, there's been a lot of talk about Microsoft ripping off console gamers. The argument is this: why do we have to pay for Xbox Live if PC gamers get the same thing for free?

Well, Gamasutra recently pinned down GFW Live head Kevin Unangst and tried to squeeze an answer out of him.

Microsoft's Games for Windows head Kevin Unangst tells Gamasutra that the GFW Live shift was due to the necessity of making multiplayer functionality available for PC gamers -- who, he says, now essentially expect it in any title they play on PC.

… And that's all those changes -- the UI, the Marketplace, the fact that we're not going to have the same content. On Xbox Live, I think they've done everything to continue to add value to the Gold subscription.

… The PC, Unangst says, has a focus primarily on game content, whereas Xbox Live Marketplace also aims to offer other media content. "There's plenty of places to get that on the PC," he says. "You don't need to get that through our client." -- Gamasutra

As you can see, his answer didn't exactly justify why it is we're still paying, and PC gamers aren't. If Microsoft's charging a premium for Xbox Live because it has extras like movie downloads and XBLA, shouldn't we be able to access those things without having to pay additional fees?

The current Xbox Live model is five-years-old and needs change. I'd like to see online play become free, and Microsoft introduce a membership plan that has consumers pay a monthly rate to have access to content on Xbox Live Marketplace. There could be different levels of service, each with its own cost and limitations. One plan, for instance, could give you unlimited access to everything on XBL Marketplace for a monthly premium (similar to Netflix).