questions about xbox live for the 360

[Erman_94]

i have had the 360 for a long time and now i finally want to experience xbox live. i have the following questions:

1) on the xbox site it says a silver membership is free, so if all i wanted to do was receive updates/add ons for games and not play them online would this be sufficient?

2) if i receive updates online, do i have to have the ethernet cable connected at all times to have those updates visible? (for example if i update songs on guitar hero, would i need that ethernet connected in order to play those songs?) (i dont have wireless internet)

3) also, would it cost many to update these songs? or is that only if they are those 3 packs?

any help would be appreciated, thanks

[Beta Man]

I think the answer to #2 is "NO" you don't need it connected to play, since you're basically just downloading the update for the new songs etc.....

as far as #1, I've never had Xbox live etc... so I have no idea.

[Tyler2106]

Originally Posted by Erman_94

i have had the 360 for a long time and now i finally want to experience xbox live. i have the following questions:

1) on the xbox site it says a silver membership is free, so if all i wanted to do was receive updates/add ons for games and not play them online would this be sufficient?

2) if i receive updates online, do i have to have the ethernet cable connected at all times to have those updates visible? (for example if i update songs on guitar hero, would i need that ethernet connected in order to play those songs?) (i dont have wireless internet)

3) also, would it cost many to update these songs? or is that only if they are those 3 packs?

any help would be appreciated, thanks

I believe the 360 comes with "3" 1 month free gold accounts and no silver account will not be enough to play online, only to chat online

You have to have your ethernet cable plugged in any time you need want to play online

I think it does cost to update but not much...

[Blinkman987]

1. The Gold account gets you online play and releases "one week early" (which is really just delaying releases 1 week for silver members). For your needs, Silver would be sufficient.

2. You do not need to be connected at all times. The downloads are just that- downloads.

3. Songs are cheap, but the costs add up as you buy more songs. So, it's cheap and expensive at the same time.

[Erman_94]

thanks for the replies guys...sorry if i wasnt clear, i DONT want to play online, i just want to receive updates

and from the responses im assuming that the downloadable songs to guitar hero are free but to have the song packs i must purchase them with MS points, right?

[SDon1969]

Originally Posted by Erman_94

and from the responses im assuming that the downloadable songs to guitar hero are free but to have the song packs i must purchase them with MS points, right?

You're right about having to spend MS Points for the GH songs. But they are not free since you have to buy MS Points with real money.

[Erman_94]

Originally Posted by SDon1969

You're right about having to spend MS Points for the GH songs. But they are not free since you have to buy MS Points with real money.

but there are add-on downloadable tracks and "song packs"...dont you only use the ms points (and essentially money) on the song packs and not the downloadable tracks?

and also, would i need a gold membership to use a MS points card?

[Amon37]

Originally Posted by Erman_94

but there are add-on downloadable tracks and "song packs"...dont you only use the ms points (and essentially money) on the song packs and not the downloadable tracks?

and also, would i need a gold membership to use a MS points card?

Everything on XBOX live costs MS Points, single tracks or track packs

No you don't needs a gold membership to use a card. You can redeem a points card at any time.

[krazeyeyez]

YOU MUST BE CONNECTED TO HAVE YOUR DOWNLOADED GUITAR HERO SONGS WORK!!!!

unless i have a faulty unit, when i am signed in to my profile but not Live they are not available, as soon as i sign into Live they reappear. same goes for tv shows etc......except those always show up as present but will not start playing without being logged in.

edit: some songs for instance the halo song on gh3 are free, but most cost some points. as far as i know silver gets you everything except the ability to play in ranked matches on games. you should still get game updates and such.

[Erman_94]

Originally Posted by krazeyeyez

YOU MUST BE CONNECTED TO HAVE YOUR DOWNLOADED GUITAR HERO SONGS WORK!!!!

unless i have a faulty unit, when i am signed in to my profile but not Live they are not available, as soon as i sign into Live they reappear. same goes for tv shows etc......except those always show up as present but will not start playing without being logged in.

so how come people have said that once you download it you no longer need the internet connected?

[AliceT]

My friend downloaded the tracks for GH3 and he has no internet ( he brought the unit to my house and hooked it up here) and his tracks work fine at this house. You just have to be signed into your gamertag, not xbox live.

[Erman_94]

Originally Posted by AliceT

My friend downloaded the tracks for GH3 and he has no internet ( he brought the unit to my house and hooked it up here) and his tracks work fine at this house. You just have to be signed into your gamertag, not xbox live.

i hope thats the case...im hooking my ethernet up + setting up my silver membership tonight

[MasterXeus]

Originally Posted by Amon37

Everything on XBOX live costs MS Points, single tracks or track packs

No you don't needs a gold membership to use a card. You can redeem a points card at any time.

Not everything on Xbox live costs MS Points., there have been songs, arcade games, add-ons, etc... that have been free.

[WickyWoo]

OU MUST BE CONNECTED TO HAVE YOUR DOWNLOADED GUITAR HERO SONGS WORK!!!!

unless i have a faulty unit, when i am signed in to my profile but not Live they are not available, as soon as i sign into Live they reappear. same goes for tv shows etc......except those always show up as present but will not start playing without being logged in.

Half right

You must be signed into the account those downloads are assigned to, whether through Live or locally. Once they're downloaded you do not have to be online

[SilverFireshot]

The only time you needed to be online to use your downloadable content was if you got a new 360. But they have fixed it this past month or so.

[Amon37]

Originally Posted by MasterXeus

Not everything on Xbox live costs MS Points., there have been songs, arcade games, add-ons, etc... that have been free.

Right is was simply saying that anything is not free costs MS points, nothing is sold for "dollars" or whatever currency is in your country.

[Nailhead]

Originally Posted by Tyler2106

I think it does cost to update but not much...

I don't know who you have been talking to, but this is completely wrong!

The Gold membership is basically for people who want to play games online against other 360 owners, Silver is for everyone else so if you are not interested in online gaming Silver is perfect for you.

All system and game updates are 100% free for all Live members, both Silver and Gold. However, some game add-ons do cost money, but the cost would be the same regardless if you are Silver or Gold. Same goes for downloadable movies, games, etc.

One thing you should take note is that the Arcade games you download need an internet connection to play them, without the internet connection you can only play them as a demo. I do not understand why Microsoft has done this, many times I just want to play my 360 without turning on my net, but if I want to play an arcade game I have to connect it. It's a little annoying, but this is not a requirement for watching movies or TV shows you have downloaded. It's only for arcade games though, disc based games or downloaded Xbox 1 games do not require an internet connection, just the arcade games.

One thing that is good about the Gold membership is if you do not sign into Xbox Live through your Gamertag for 3 months on a Silver membership, you're account is closed and you will loose that Gamertag. If you have a Gold membership, however, you will not. This might not be a big issue for some, but for me, I've had my Gamertag since the beginning beta days, and I like not having stupid numbers after it, so I'll always be Gold just for that

Originally Posted by Erman_94

and also, would i need a gold membership to use a MS points card?

No, silver membership is basically for people just like you who are not interested in online gaming, but rather the downloadables. I am not certain, but I believe you are charged tax if you buy MS points at a store, so I would just buy them directly through Xbox Live. Sometimes stores do have good offers on points though, but I have always bought them directly on Xbox Live, (and probably spent way too much too lol). Enjoy your 360, they are coming a long with the downloadable TV shows in my opinion, still more expensive than they should be, but if there is a specific episode of a popular show you can usually find it. For me it's worth the $2 to watch it on a comfortable couch than my computer chair and headphones, but I'm sure many would disagree and find the free low quality versions on the net to be sufficient.