Um, if you buy the 12+1 month card (they can be had for $45 or less) you pay less than $4 a month. Put down the cheeseburger once a month and suddenly you too can afford an XBOX live subscription.
Seriously, I don't understand the myth behind XBOX LIVE hating. For all the flak M$ gets, with LIVE it is remarkably easy to connect with friends regardless of what they're doing on their 360, voice chat with anyone anytime, and more all seamlessly through the dashboard. Sure the 360 has its FAIR share of problems, but at its core, LIVE is a service worthwhile for any console gamer. Sure, VALVe has done a similarly great job doing this with Steam, and since the PC scene is a little different when it comes to online gaming, it is natural that their service is free. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Microsoft foots the bill for all if not many of the XBOX Live services and their required bandwidth. All in all I think its a fairly good deal, considering my experiences with PS3's online capability. I don't even want to bring up the Wii and 'friend codes'. I have the Wii and have played only one online game, SSB: Brawl; I can tell you with certainty I have no plans on reliving that horrible experience again.
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Um, if you buy the 12+1 month card (they can be had for $45 or less) you pay less than $4 a month. Put down the cheeseburger once a month and suddenly you too can afford an XBOX live subscription.
Seriously, I don't understand the myth behind XBOX LIVE hating. For all the flak M$ gets, with LIVE it is remarkably easy to connect with friends regardless of what they're doing on their 360, voice chat with anyone anytime, and more all seamlessly through the dashboard. Sure the 360 has its FAIR share of problems, but at its core, LIVE is a service worthwhile for any console gamer. Sure, VALVe has done a similarly great job doing this with Steam, and since the PC scene is a little different when it comes to online gaming, it is natural that their service is free. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Microsoft foots the bill for all if not many of the XBOX Live services and their required bandwidth. All in all I think its a fairly good deal, considering my experiences with PS3's online capability. I don't even want to bring up the Wii and 'friend codes'. I have the Wii and have played only one online game, SSB: Brawl; I can tell you with certainty I have no plans on reliving that horrible experience again.