I used to love PS3, but then I started checking out Gears of War and the hype around Halo 3 beta was so big I just had to get XBOX 360, so I got the XBOX 360 ELITE and Gears of War. I always new Microsoft charged, but I thought it would blow me away, but it doesn't.

- Online gameplay has less lag on the PS3. I even heard that XBL doesn't have dedicated servers! Developers host the servers EXACTLY like they do on PSN, so what's the point?

- Messaging is free even with XBL silver

- XBL doesn't even have something like Playstation Home(which is free).

- The marketplace is freaking sweet. There's soooo much stuff, but it's even available to silver members

- I was watching GAMETRAILERS XBL vs. PSN and PSN representative said in-game messaging, music, cross game invites are all coming for free

- In the same Gametrailers XBL guy was there and he said they would never allow mods on XBL which is why developers want to make games on PS3 first like Haze and UT3. Developers want you to be able to build your own level then let others download it, but XBL doesnt allow that.

- I though Microsoft was just dumb when ShadowRun was $60 and only multiplayer. Warhawk will be $60 multiplayer only, but it ships with a free bluetooth wireless headset, which costs $60 for XBOX 360. Warhawk will also be downloadable online for $20(1UP said). I dont understand why Microsoft cant allow larger games on XBLM because the hard drive is so huge larger than PS3s and still the games are all like 40mb.

SO the bottom line is that XBL Silver is amazing, but XBL gold IMO isnt worth the $50 a year Microsoft charges. I love how you can listen to music in games and talk to your friends, but playing online is a ripoff compared to the competitors. Any idea why Microsoft is still charging for XBL? There are so many add ons for games, movies, tv shows you can buy meaning Microsoft is probably cashing in and have enough to run the service without charging.