I've just recently bought a 360 (updated from a ps2), and since my free month of live gold is running out soon, I'm trying to decide if it's worth it.

I've never been particularly into online gaming, but then I've usually had a Mac, or the PS2, so not really a wonderland of online opportunities there.

I tend to like story-driven and rpg-ish games; witness my first purchases or Orange Box, BioShock, and MassEffect, of which MassEffect has held the most time so far.

I have Netflix, so there's the streaming, but the selection tends to be skimpy, and mostly stuff I already have.

The 40 or 50 bucks for a year isn't really a lot, but on the other hand, it's also a couple of good used games from sometime in the last few years, or the better part of a new one.

Anyone out there who didn't go for a full Gold subscription right away, and ended up getting one a few months latter?

Or is the occasional monthly card a better deal?

I would say it's worth it. Personally, I don't really play games online much either anymore, but it's still nice to have that option whenever I want it. Plus you get access to the XBox Live Marketplace and everything, so that's a bonus. I also believe you're saving a heck of a lot of money getting 1 year of Live for $50. Okay, just did some research. It's $8 for 1 month of Gold, if you're paying month by month for a whole year, you're looking at $96. Let's say you just pay for it every other month, so for just 6 months you're paying $48. I think you're better off just paying for the whole year for $50. But hey, ultimately, it's up to you.

Yes, get Live.

Considering it's only around 50-60 dollars for a year then I'd definitely get it. It's worth it just connecting with friends and for the marketplace (And who knows, maybe you'll pick up a game and you'll want to co-op with a friend).

I bought my Xbox 360 in July and let my gold account run out. I'm not into online gaming, so I didn't think it would be cost effective for me. The only reason I would like to have it back is for the demos, now I have to wait until they're released to silver accounts. I'm not planning on getting gold anytime soon, but I never say never, it only takes one game.

Not for me.

If you  have
PS3
PC

you dont need XBLG

If you dont have PS3 or PC  you have no choice, that is Microsoft's cash cow.  They charge people for crappy lag fest peer2peer gaming

Totally worth it, especially once you build up a friend's list and are always in parties.

100% worth it

It's not perfect, but I'd rather pay for Live than be stuck with something more akin to PSN.

I would. What i did was just buy 2 years and then I never had to worry about it again. It doesn't even feel like im paying for it.

If you get an Xbox 360, you pretty much have to get get Gold.  It's sad, but it is the truth.  That's the only way you'll enjoy the system.

If you don't play online much, just don't bother.
"the only way you'll enjoy the system" that's complete bullshit. If you don't play games online it doesn't make a damn bit of difference whether you have it or not. I don't have Gold, and i play my 360 all the time. It really does depend how much you want to play online, not a case of whether it's good value for money.

I used to think live was a waste... I always argued that PS is free... but there are plenty of benefits to Live Gold.
For one, you can avoid players who are douchebags,... they can't just go change their name and come back into a room... unless they have 800 ms points to throw away on a name change. And even if they do, I think it still links to avoidance with their profile.
Plus, the interface and connectivity between you and your friends is pretty intuitive...IMO

Also, its only 50 bucks for a year... figuring out if the monetary value is equal to your play time is a bit more conveluted... the average price per month for the annual membership is 4.16 a month... less than a pack of cigs or a couple hours driving around aimlessly...:D

 The only time I'd say don't is if you play a lot of PC games online and don't think you'd use it and event then It's not that expencive and its the best console online experience.

If you're going to be playing online on the 360 a lot then you would definitely need it, if not, no it isn't.

Its really cheap but with that you get so many extra benefits. Its really worth it even if you never play live.

Seriously, just get live  It does cost a little bit but as you stated not that much. You are getting the best online service personally I think it is worth it. Expand your live expirence renew it

You should get it, but you need the network adapter thing, it's like around $100. Don't buy the Pelican brand one because my friend bought it and it will kick you off sometimes.

I had the same question about a few months ago, I actually was able to bypass my free live gold membership somehow... So I never got to see it in light as a trial basis. I got curious as to how games would work with all those online options I could not pick with my silver account so I eventually upgraded to Gold and basically starting playing online for the first time.

At first I was kinda nervous to play against real people around the world, but it turned out that I didn't suck too much so I ended up finding a new style of play in online gaming... Having said that I haven't played an online game for a while because of... things.

-hiro

It's not worth the money, but since Microsoft keeps screwing with Silver members, you will end off with a gold subscription.

I don't think you will regret paying for Gold - But if you don't pay Microsoft for XBL, you have my highest respect. :) The more silver members, the better.

live is worth $50 a year. i came from ps2 to 360 and didn't play online much and didn't think it was worth it. but once you get a good group of peps on your friends list its makes it worth it..

Worth every penny, if you have friends with LIVE as well.

Thanks for all the input. I'm going to drop down one level on my Netflix, and get the year of gold. I spend enough more time playing now than watching movies, it should all balance out.

Peace

I would say so, if you get it , shop amazon. You can usually find it there for under 30 bones.

YES.

"I would say so, if you get it , shop amazon. You can usually find it there for under 30 bones."

"Yes, get Live."

"If you  have
PS3
PC

you dont need XBLG

If you dont have PS3 or PC  you have no choice, that is Microsoft's cash cow.  They charge people for crappy lag fest peer2peer gaming"

It's worth it because it works. You'd like playing online if you actually tried it. Get Call of Duty 4, I'm sure that's pretty cheap now.

Also, http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Live-Month-Gold-Bonus/dp/B000B9RI00/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1231548962&sr=8-1

That's 13 months for only $39

At only $3/month, you can't afford not to get Xbox Live.

If you prefer to play single-player games, it probably isn't worth it, unless you want demos earlier or whatever.  I usually don't have gold, much for the same reasons that made you consider it to be unnecessary.

Completely worthwhile.

Granted I play a lot of multiplayer Call of Duty but I didn't used to. The Netflix streaming makes it worth it in my opinion. Sometimes you'll find hidden gems on their instant streaming. Plus even if they have things that you already own on there, being able to quickly switch to it on Netflix beats having the get the disk out. Sure its a lazy factor but its nice.

Also being able to get demos right when they come to XBL is great. I wouldn't make it a huge buying feature because then you'll feel "you are paying for demos" but its a nice option. Also being able to join all sorts of partys with friends to chat and whatnot.

I also am a big singleplayer gamer. Fable 2, Fallout 3, Mass Effect, Oblivion and so forth. Love RPGs and love single - player experiences. But without live, you feel disconnected from the 360 LIVE community. Does to me anyway. Just a thought.

Maybe I don't value money in the same way others do, maybe I have more than some, maybe my priorities are different but if you ever go out to a movie, or eat at a restaurant I think it's hard to justify not paying for XBox Live. If I even only played multiplayer, say, five times in a year I'd still consider 10 dollars a session money well spent.

Five bucks a month. That's half a movie ticket, two cups of coffee, a pint of beer, or an appetizer - easily justifiable to me. :)

To me, the real value of Xbox Live is the ability to play with my friends.  I use mine almost exclusively to play with friends, especially co-op games.  So part of your evaluation should be whether or not you have friends to play with.  For example, Left 4 Dead alone has made it worth having Live.  My wife and I play split-screen on my system, while my brother and brother-in-law connect through Live.  Nothing beats being able to play that game with four friends.  Totally worth it.

It really depends.  To me, my XBL fee is typically what I consider a Halo 3 subscription that also lets me play other games online.
If you only play those other games, then it might not be worth it (what those others are for you).

But don't pay $50 for it. You have a whole year to shop around for it.  Amazon has itfor $30 as we speak

* looks at his 26 months worth of xbox live cards he got for 60 bux* thats right 30 dollars each:) thats cheap.

Yes is it, and you can get it for half price on amazon right now. When it works well without any hicups its awesome. and there really hasn't been any latly after all the new patching. if you like playing games online with friends then its great.

Is paying a year $50 really that big of a deal? If your an online console gamer (like me), you will probably think its worth it. If your the casual gamer in which online playing isn't a necessity, well, neither would be Xbox Live. I think Xbox Live is worth it, considering I'm online almost 3-4 days a week. If you play online money often and have the friends who play online too, it is worth shelling out the $50 a month. Or perhaps try and hunt for $5 Xbox Live 12-Month boxes from the original Xbox.

I think it's absolutely worth the money, especially when the $30-40 deals tend to come around often...even the regular price of $50 is fine in my eyes. You pay that small price for 13 months of great service...I don't see a problem with that at all.

"Maybe I don't value money in the same way others do, maybe I have more than some, maybe my priorities are different but if you ever go out to a movie, or eat at a restaurant I think it's hard to justify not paying for XBox Live. If I even only played multiplayer, say, five times in a year I'd still consider 10 dollars a session money well spent.

Five bucks a month. That's half a movie ticket, two cups of coffee, a pint of beer, or an appetizer - easily justifiable to me. :)
"

Uh...yeah it is.

Why don't you try playing something online. Try Halo or COD 4. If you don't like either of those, then  maybe you shouldn't get live.

No.

I say there are more reasons to buy a gold membership then to not buy a gold membership. For someone like you who is not totally into online games some things you would enjoy is partys that are very nice and convient. You get access to some killer demos soon RE5 and Halo Wars. Just having the option to play online is nice. But if you dont have gold you can only talk to one other person and cant just jump into a another game.

FWIW, I did end up getting a 12 +1 month card from Amazon for a little over 30.00 about a week after I started this thread. I've sunk probably 80~90% of my game time so far into Mass Effect (just started 2nd playthrough), and Bioshock and HL2 aren't really multiplayer games either. I've got Ghostbusters on pre-order, and I'm hoping that it'll have some online (co-op pleasepleaseplease).

"If you  have
PS3
PC

you dont need XBLG

If you dont have PS3 or PC  you have no choice, that is Microsoft's cash cow.  They charge people for crappy lag fest peer2peer gaming"