How much is Microsoft’s Xbox Live service worth to you? Actually, let me put that another way: What are you willing to pay to play Xbox 360 games online, stream Netflix, (soon) check out your Facebook page on your TV, and take advantage of all the other services Live provides? Because if gaming prognosticator Michael Pachter ends up being right, you will have to decide how much you value the service sooner rather than later, because a price hike could be on the way.

Speaking with GameTrailers, Pachter explained that Microsoft is making a serious push to turn PC gamers into 360 players, by giving PC gamers “an incentive to buy a 360” by “[putting] something that he really wants only on the 360." As a result of this push, these gamers, especially those who are multiplayer-focused, will ultimately have no choice but to, “pay [Microsoft] 50 bucks a year so that in a couple years, it’s 100 bucks a year. And that’s going up. We all know that.”

While it will probably irk many gamers to have to fork over an extra $50 (or whatever it ends up being) per year for Xbox Live service, by the time the hike comes (if it does at all), chances are Live will be more robust and feature-packed than ever, thereby justifying the price. If Microsoft jacked the prices after the newest 360 update is released, it would be a much harder case to make. Of course, if it’s not going to be happening for a while, it’s simply too early to tell anyway whether it would be worth the extra money or not, but I have a feeling that won't stop plenty of people from forcefully voicing their opinions on this matter.

So, how much is Xbox Live worth to you? If you think a price hike is inevitable, what do you think the next price point will be?

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