I brushed up on my understanding of what all comes with the Xbox Live and reaffirmed my conclusions of why $50 a year is a ridiculous asking price for the content you actually get. So here's the breakdown folks....Free Membership:
No Multiplayer online gaming
do I have to emphasize that more?
YES
NO MULTIPLAYER ONLINE GAMING.
No Video Chat
No Parties (whatever the hell that means)
No Netflix Movie Streaming
Let me expand for a moment on the Netflix movie streaming. So here's the deal, you get the Gold Membership (the $50 one) and you are allowed access to the Netflix streaming... As long as you have a paid Netflix account. So you are being charged $50 on top of what you're paying for Netflix? Why the hell even bother?
Free Membership Continued:
Voice Chat
Avatars
Downloadable Content
Wow, so for the free account I get voice chat, (which if you have an internet provider at all is available to you). Avatars (which are retarded in their own right anyway). And downloadable content (which is the single worst new additive in video games since Escort Missions). Yay for the free one.
Gold Service $50 a year:
(Reread what you don't get with the free one and there you go).
So broken down you ARE in fact paying $50 to play online multiplayer games... Let's take a quick look at the companies that do not make you pay for this service.
Crytek: Crysis 1, Warhead
Blizzard: Warcraft I, II, III, Starcraft, Diablo I, II
Valve: Team Fortress I, II, Left 4 Dead
Many many other PC games I've never played.
Any game on the Playstation Network or Nintendo Wii
The only PC games I can recall that require you to pay subscriptions are MMORPG's. And that makes perfect sense because you're paying to utilize dedicated servers which house these massive worlds of gaming. Guess what you're paying with MS? Your own damned internet provider. Seriously, no dedicated servers here. Say you're on Soul Calibur 4, your connection sucks balls, you get lag, that happens anyway right? Right. So paying $50 a year to play online through Live will NEVER EVER solve that problem because your internet connection is dripping from the balls with saliva anyway.
So what's the deal? How are so many people getting shafted by this baseless service? I'll tell you the answer and you won't like it, (but it will be my profession so I know I'm right) and that's Marketing. Microsoft has put it in the minds of consumers that they offer the best service of all the services period. You can't change the minds of those that bought it either because they made the purchasing decision, they are happy with the product and you cannot convince them otherwise. No matter how much you show them a free online game listed above with zero lag, dropouts and so on, they will still say the Xbox Live service is better. It becomes an argument for Coke vs Pepsi even though both will ultimately rot your teeth. That means Microsoft's marketing has succeeded. That doesn't mean the service is actually better, or not even close to being worth the price of a brand new game!
My advice? Buy a new game, you will enjoy it more and be able to visibly see what you bought. If you are unfortunately stuck with an Xbox 360 and want to play online then far be it for me to tell you not to pay the $50 to do so. Just please be aware you're getting ripped off, and do not be ignorant saying it's better than the PSN or Wii's service. Fact is all 3 allow you to play online with your friends with the same amounts of lag and dropouts (usually your providers fault) but only one of them has the balls to charge you $50 for it.
*I said it before and I'll say it again, balls!*
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