Especially for families, being able to play multiplayers using one xBox 360 machine is very important. Yes, the xBox 360 comes with the ability to set up different profiles for every family member allowing them to keep track of their games, media, stats and more. When it comes to using xBox live though, things get a bit trickier. Here’s i tell you what you need to know :
This is a important point, two profiles can’t be configured to share the same xBox live Gold account without using techniques that go against Microsoft’s terms of service (TOS). If you try to hacks you will get banned. Otherwise, if everyone in your family wants to use xBox Live Gold, you have 2 options.
Option 1
You can Buy an xBox Live Gold account for each player in your family. So this will allow each family member to have their own profile to use with xBox Live, but this is very expensive. xBox Live Gold accounts cost $49 per account per year, so multiple accounts can add up fast. Make sure to look for discounts, if you do decide to go this route. You can buy 12 month xBox 360 Live Gold memberships at Amazon, so it can pay to shop around first.
Option 2
Learn to share. That’s right, just buy one xBox Live Gold account, create a profile and let family members take turns sharing it.
2. xBox Live Silver Accounts
This will save you a lot of money, depending on how many in your household, and it will also teach the younger players important lessons about taking turns, if everyone wants to play at once, why not just play some of the games in multi-player mode and compete with your own family members?
You can create Silver accounts, if the members of your family want to have their own profiles and enjoy some of the online features the xBox live has to offer.
Microsoft will usually allow you to set up enough on one console so each family member can have their own because Silver accounts are completely free.
Go back to step one and learn to share,
if you won’t be able to play the online multi-player games with a silver account, but you’re ready for that.
Silver accounts still allow players to access arcade games, shopping and other media though xBOX. Otherwise, players can access voice chat and text messaging with their other online friends, making this free level very entertaining all on it’s own.
Remember though, if you’ve ever been banned from xBox live before, you won’t even be able to get a free silver account. That still beats being a Korean kid though. In Korea, nobody under the age of 14 can use xBox live!