Next Xbox - No Disc Drive?

[Lilly]

I agree with that in its entirety. I generally avoid online multiplayer because of how intense the immaturity is across all boards and platforms, even if there is a mute button; as if hearing unimpressive and whiny voices in the chatter wasn't bad enough. If you're not getting your tush handed to you by some "hardcore" guy with the unfair advantage of having invested roughly x10 more time than you in game play, you're dealing with cheaters or newbies who cut off earlier to avoid losing to you. Finding an equal (and mature) match is so rare that I only play online games that were setup beforehand, either with friends and/or internet buddies.

What's worse is that everyone is scattered across multiple games on every platform, so it doesn't take long for any game's online community activity to drop dramatically once the next release or blockbuster hit is on the shelf. Too many developers are slapping "afterthought multiplayer modes" into their single player games these days if you ask me, which really takes the focus off the campaign and more bugs/imperfections than ever are slipping through the cracks.

Bleh, enough multiplayer bashing. :/ I mostly dislike the Gold Membership for a lot more than just the multiplayer experience. You can't even buy downloadable games and commercial releases from the Live Arcade without going Gold first. (WTF that's just more of my money MS is losing right there! I can't realistically find everything in the used market relatively easily; it's a lot of time and research just to pay for a game worth $10 or even less.) You pretty much can't do really anything outside of download trials and demos with a silver account, which really turned me off. One more reason why I'll sooner buy a PS3 than an XBOX. At least I don't have to shell out $5 a month just to buy things on their network! (Which would, hilariously, be my only reason for "going Gold"; i.e a huge waste of money.)