Since the NXE update I have really began to notice how solid of a platform that XBL really is. Aside from a few games having horrible matchmaking (Gears 2 comes to mind), it usually is an extremely stable and fast platform for online gaming. Integrated friends lists and scoreboards are really well done.

If you think about it, that $50 a year really gets you some stuff nobody else offers. You get a lot of features that are simply taken for granted. Coming from a PC gamer a lot of the features of XBL seem more like luxuries. With PC gaming you need to use outside program to have friends lists, you need to create an account for every single game you play online, you need to usually use an outside program for VoIP and usually then you need to connect to some dedicated server. For the experienced PC gamer like myself it is no problem, but it can be an hassle.

With XBL you get all of that integrated. Now with the Party feature it is even more integrated. You can talk to anybody on XBL playing any game at any time. It is one method of communications that is absolutely wonderful.

I used to see a lot of people bashing XBL. They say that PSN and the PC offer all of the same features. Collectively the two platforms do, independently they don't offer the features that XBL has. With XBL your not just paying for the features, your paying for the ease of use and accessibility that comes with those features to really enhance your gameplay experience.

Not bashing PSN here. I know it is also an extremely excellent platform with a lot of key features that XBL offers. Just saying that XBL is a more complete package that is actually worth the money to somebody like me.