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If you have recently purchased and Xbox but you are not sure how to extend your Xbox live subscription or what an Xbox 360 live card then I am here to help you figure all this out.  The Xbox 360 live card is basically the way you extend your initial one month subscription to Xbox live.  There is no silver Xbox 360 live card as the silver service is free for the life of you owning the Xbox 360.

Options For An Xbox 360 Live Card And What You Get With It

There are several different Xbox 360 live cards you can buy and each has a different price and term for which you get the gold service.  First off the pricing is different depending on what country you are in.  The subscription options are the same however.  The three options you have for term are 1 month, 3 months and 12 months.  In the US you can purchase cards for $7.99, $19.99, and $49.99 respectively.  Pricing in the United Kingdom is 4.99 pounds, 14.99 pounds, and 39.99 pounds.  If you are in Canada your prices are $8.99, $29.99, and $59.99.  Singapore is 13.90 SGD, 34.90 SGD, and 79.90 SGD.  Sweden is 79 Swedish Crowns, 199 SEK, and 599 SEK.   You can get them in Europe for 6.99 Euros, 19.99 Euros, and 59.99 Euros.  Australia is perhaps the cheapest of all at 10.95 Australian Dollars, $29.95 and $79.95.  The price in New Zealand is the same as in Australia except in New Zealand dollars.   Japan is 819 Yen, 2079 Yen, and 5229 Yen.  When you break out the pricing their definitely is some difference between the different countries.

For this money you get unlimited access to online games as well as downloads and new updates for all the titles you own.  You can also access the Xbox 360 live arcade to get all the latest and greatest games. You also can use all of Microsoft’s online chat and interaction tools included voice and video chat.  You get a 100 person friends list as well as a list of the last 50 people you played against making finding games using your Xbox 360 live card a breeze.  In addition to that you will be able to be automatically placed in games based on your current rankings.  Teams and players will be matched up against each based on the overall ranking of the players.  Microsoft keeps track of all this information for you.

With the introduction of the Xbox 360 live card, Microsoft continued its strong tradition of monthly purchasable online gaming.  Xbox 360 live gold is the premium addition of Xbox 360 live and has many unique and very useful features.  I am going to take a look at Xbox 360 live gold so you can know exactly what you are getting.

Xbox 360 live gold – An In Depth Look

The Xbox 360 live gold service has many features that make it an amazing way to game online.   First up is how your online avatar is displayed to the gaming universe.  Each user can set up a different “motto” which will be displayed to other gamers online.  “In you face SUCKA” or “Here for a good time” will tell you what the gamer you are connecting with are like.  In addition your account will keep a record of you achievements that you get during game play.  You can also link this back to a Facebook account so that people can see the status of your achievements.   Each user has a unique name that is also displayed to all the other gamers.  As you play more and more you build up a reputation.  If players like playing with you they can vote on you in a positive light.  As this builds up you will find it easier and easier to get good games.  In addition, it will become easier to avoid bad players or players with a bad attitude.

Your Gamerscores keep track of all of you total player achievement points.   You also can build a friends list which will list all of your chosen friends.  You can have up to a hundred people on this list.  It will also let you know when any of your friends come online.  There is also a recent player list which will list the last 50 players that you have played with.

There is also a complaint filing system that will allow you to report users that are cheating or broken any of their Xbox Live Terms of Use.  Microsoft takes this very seriously and will suspend or possibly even discontinue access for that user.   You can also go into the Xbox Live Marketplace for content, games and movies related to your current game or new games.  This allows you to purchase games without even going to the store.  

Another great feature of Xbox 360 live gold is the enhanced matchmaking capabilities.  This will match you up with players of similar skill levels so that you can participate in even matches.  In addition these games are grouped up based on Gamerscore, reputation, location/language profile, and gamer zone.

These are only some of the features available with Xbox 360 live gold.  There is improved chat integration, as well as integration with many Microsoft products including messenger and other chat and video programs.  Check it out today.

There are some new things available for Xbox 360 live that you are going to want to know about. First off is the separation of Xbox 360 live into two separate services – silver and gold. I am going to take a look at both of these Xbox 360 live services so that you can have a better understanding of which service to go with.

Xbox 360 Live – Silver

The Xbox 360 live silver service is the free version of Xbox 360 live. This service offers players an easy way to get online and find downloads for your games. In addition you can use the voice chat to communicate with other Xbox live players. That is all the service provides however. Silver service is of virtually no use if you plan to play games online. While it does provide you with all the content you need for single player game play, you do not get this until one week after gold subscribers. For me, Xbox 360 live gold is the only way to go. This service is where the Xbox truly comes alive.

Xbox 360 Live – Gold

The Gold service has many features that make it an awesome way to game online. First up is how your online avatar is displayed to the world. Each account can set up a different “motto” which will be displayed to other gamers online. In addition your account will keep a record of you achievements that you earn during game play. You can also link this back to your Facebook account so that people will see updates of your achievements. Each account has a unique username that is also displayed to all the other gamers. As you play more and more you build up a reputation. If players like playing with you they can vote on you in a positive light. As this builds up you will find it easier and easier to get games. In addition, it will become easier to avoid bad players or players with a bad attitude.

Your Gamerscores keep track of all of you total player achievement points. You also can build a friends list which will list all of your chosen friends. You can have up to a hundred people on this list. It will also let you know when any of your friends come online. There is also a recent player list which will list the last 50 players that you have played with.

These are only some of the features available with Xbox 360 live. There is improved chat integration, as well as integration with many Microsoft products including messenger and other chat and video programs. Check it out today.