XBL, Game on! (Xbox Live 12 Month Subscription Plan)

Member Name: frain2005

Product:	Xbox Live 12 Month Subscription Plan
Date:	28/03/09 (195 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Secure

Disadvantages: Other consoles offer free service.

- Introduction
The Xbox live gold 12 months membership card is one way to gain access to the full features available when going online with an Xbox360, and gives you access one of two available account types you can use to go online with an xbox360, during this review I will discuss what gold membership is, alternatives, pricing and what makes going gold worthwhile.

- Gold Membership
Gold membership is an upgrade from the free silver membership to gain access to the full features of the xbox 360's online capabilities and is required to play in most ranked online matchmaking games such as Halo 3, Call of Duty and GTA4.

To use the live membership you need to have set up an account on your Xbox 360 which is known as a XBL Gamer Tag which is basically a nickname you can use to communicate with other members in the gaming environments, which is also used for other things such as messaging, remembering achievements and much more. To have a XBL gamer tag you need a Windows Live ID.
This product itself gives you access to the full online features for 12 months, the good thing about paying this fee for 12 months is you don't have to worry about a monthly or quarterly billing which is another way to pay. Buying the 12 months voucher card gives you time to appreciate all the features that are available with a gold membership, and I have found that this is the best way to pay.

- Alternatives
Alternatively you can use a silver account which is free but lacks most of the online capabilities of a Gold membership, as you cant talk via a headset or play ranked games to show off how good you're. In this respect its worth paying extra for.
Other consoles such as the WII and PS3 offer similar services however these services are free and because you aren't paying for them I find the fact they can cancel the service at anytime a disadvantage and this also leads to the cost of downloadable content going up and therefore I find this another disadvantage. Comparing this to service I would receive from Microsoft is obviously a easy decision to make when choosing which service to use.

Gold membership does also not have to be purchased through this card games often come with 48 hour trials which obviously give you a tester, and at certain times you can create free 1 month membership accounts VIA xbox Live. However to receive a consistent service its better off to pay but as well as buying a membership card in shops you can also purchase gold accounts for different amounts through xbox which are separated in to different lengths with different fees which can either be monthly, quarterly or for 12 months (like the card itself).
- Pricing

Pricing is always a key point when thinking of purchasing a product the 12 months Xbox Live Gold Membership Card can be found in shops for £34.99 RRP in shops such as HMV, Game or Game station. However can be found online for £34.99 on Play.com but on other sites you can buy the code only on some sites such as instantxboxcards.com £29.99 which I suppose saves on packaging.
This compared to the on console purchase which charges, £4.99 monthly, £14.99 every 3 months or £34.99 yearly( same price as the card voucher) However this is set up as a direct debit and to cancel is a real pain as you have to phone Microsoft billing.

Overall I do believe it is better to purchase the card as it stops the billing and is one off fee for those 12 months, even though it is a lot easier to go buy one via the console.
- Worthwhile?

I do think it's worthwhile to use a game voucher, as it stops billing and makes sure your bank details aren't connected to your windows live ID which gamer tags are connected which may make your bank details more secure as not available to hackers online.
This is also good if you want to give someone a present that is into XBL gaming as a voucher card purchased by you can be given to a XBL user to allow them to game on! And I am sure they would be very pleased with this assuming they don't already have it.

- Conclusion
In conclusion it is safer to use 12 months membership card rather then purchase through the console, however if you're sure Microsoft can look after your bank details then maybe purchasing the same service via the console is better for you and don't forget this would make a great present.
Thanks for Reading
Avid XBL Gamer HizWrath.

Summary: XBL membership voucher.