I've had GOLD since the OG XBOX. I never buy in advance though. That'd be like opting in to a 3 year phone contract just to save a few bucks.

So, I'm the only one here who survives using those 24-hour Gold trial cards?

Yes, I hate the price of Xbox Live.

You're not alone :3

That's how I look at it too. The free games and sheer amount of time you spend playing multiplayer makes it worth more than a single game in some aspects.

YAY US! >3

http://i.imgur.com/PB64Gp4.jpg

Got this email today... ya know it isn't that I find the price in anyway too bad, I just actually don't play any multiplayer games on XBL the only thing I did play was SSF4 and I wont be playing that til Hyper edition lands late this year. But ya know I considered resubbing for the "games with gold" games because I buy a lot of games and a few of the arcade titles that games with gold was offering are all stuff I don't really mind having a license to. I will actually probably resub at a point if there is a good enough games with gold game which would subsidize the annual fee for me.

My only issue is right here in this email clip "enjoying ... Entertainment apps" I watch youtube frequently on both my Xbox360, Ps3 and Vita all connected to my big screen, I love doing it, the apps all those consoles give are all well capable of delivering the service which youtube Provides to these systems that I bought.... however, only 1 system asks me for a fee to watch youtube on it, and I think that is bullshit. Plain and simple. If youtube were to ask a yearly fee I'd happily pay it, however I find this about as ridiculous as if we had to pay 50euros a year on our PC to be able to access Steam or Youtube on that.

If you can't afford $60 a year, you have more important things to be investing your money in than video games. Some may not see eye to eye with this comment, but with the deals pointed out by the OP, it only becomes more evident how true it is.

Thread subject isn't "can you afford X a year" it's do you hate the price of it. I could perfectly afford to pay 50euros  to be allowed to watch youtube on my TV using the Xbox360, I can equally turn on my Wii or Ps3 and do the same thing for free. Or do you not see eye to eye with that comment?

I refuse to pay for online on principal. I barely use it anyway, online multiplayer does nothing for me, unless it's Monster Hunter.

I would not pay for it and skip multiplayer completely. Why pay $35 for something that is free on PC and PS3? And if youtube would charge a fee to view, I would stop watching youtube videos. If this kind of ripp-off continues, one day you have to pay $50 a day to get some air to breathe. The problem is that everyone wants you to pay for everything and this can sum up to huge amounts of money in the end. Therefore my only answer is no, never.