The joys of Xbox Live I was once guilty of laying into, once before when I didn't have an Xbox. And while MS had their problems, and I once got my fangs out for their entering the games industry, age, a bit more maturity and my love of games, made me take the plunge. After all, I edplenty of games on various formats over the years, so why not an MS console?

I purchased an original Xbox in the last two years of Xbox life. The X beast is big but plays its part in my collection of consoles. Then I wasn't online and just enjoyed the difference in the games. Great stuff and I'm glad I did.

In September 06', I purchased a 360, after sampling a friends 360, I knew I had to have one. What really sealed it for me was Capcom's Dead Rising, after their E3 video of it in action. In October 06', I finally got my 360 online. While I wasn't happy to pay �40 for a year at first, I found a cheaper way around that price.

Now for the �40 price, I was pleased with what I got, but it always made me wonder, would I seriously get any less, if MS scrapped the silly Silver/Gold partitions? And just what does our �40 pay for on a yearly basis? Is there anyway to find this out?

Currently, my 360 account has been down graded to Silver, since my 12 months are up. What's funny here, is that when I purchased my 360, you are supposed to get a free one month gold pass. What they don't tell you is that you need a credit card in order to activate it. Now, I don't have a credit card (my own fault and no I'm not using anyone elses), which voids such access, and MS have yet to provide alternative means to let you get that month. I feel a bit cheated, even after calling 360's customer support line and enquiring about how to get the month they owe me. Surely they could have sorted it out on their side, but alas no.

With PS3 and Wii offering free online gaming, I can't help but ask whether MS should take the leap and do the same. Many people purchased 360s, but have yet to take that extra leap online, but with PS3 and Wii offering it out of the box, MS may need to match that and show the benefits of Live, and costomers will be able to see which service they prefer for each console.

Would MS servers go into meltdown from not being able to manage our gaming? I doubt it but there's only one way to find out. I guess MS really want to monitor our activity by making us sign up. The thing is they could easily do the same thing, by just giving each console sold an online ID based on when and where it goes online, without the need for paying.

Truth is MS could do it for free, since the PC has been doing this for years, long before Games For Windows appeared. The advantages of doing so would hugely increase over the negative disadvantages. And if it was free, I wouldn't have to register with cheaper foreign Live Gold Account cards, the pound is a god send like that sometimes.

I'm sure Live, would really be Live with activity, if MS tried it, if even for a temporary time.


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