GOLD or Silver?

So you're a gamer with a passion. You love online gaming. You also love screaming into your headset with a victorious roar when you made that winning head-shot some thirty yards away with a handgun. Boom! Pwn3d!

On the other hand, you might just be one of the few out there who left the online gaming to your PC and neglected the upgradeable or add-on services of your home console.

Today, the focus is on the 2002 innovation introduced by Microsoft for the original big black box: The XBOX. However, the service has seen an upgrade in the following years on the XBOX 360.

Silver

The basic setup on the XBOX 360 has you hooked up with the free Silver option for XBOX Live. This gives you access to the Marketplace and the ability to download updates to your favorite games and an otherwise limited access to the online gaming community.

This community is expansive and you can read all about that in the Gold section.

This is ideal for those who would rather play single player games with a direct plot and no further replay value in terms of multi-player frenzies, maps or interaction.

Gold

Multi-player isn't for just anyone. The option is there, as are the benefits that come with a XBOX Live Gold membership.

Microsoft boosted the XBOX Live Gold account freedom with a lot of add-ons. These include the ability to stream videos through Netflix and Zune, the ability to invite friends to XBOX Live parties(a way to play multiplayer games with just your buddies), video chat via the XBOX Live Vision Camera, associate your account with social groups like Twitter and Facebook, or even the add on of last.fm for music and finally the chance to play against other people on multiplayer. There is also a new addition of a video-game trivia show held live over the Gold service entitled 1-vs-100-an intuitive spin with a point earning system that brings hope to game shows everywhere!

The Live Gold membership costs a minimal $49.99 but you may find deals as low as $39.99 on online retailers such as Amazon.com. The whole 12 month coverage can prove to be worth the price at either tag(although I would prefer the $39.99 myself), with the average being about $4 a month on a full plan. Given all the early access and exclusive content you get from a Gold membership, the price seems just right.

Choose

Given all the pros, the XBOX Live Gold membership will put you back less than the cost of a game for a full year worth of content and even extend the replay value of your existing games. This doesn't take a genius. Why go for Silver when you can go for Gold?