If you've been reading gaming forums heavily for the past week or so, you have probably heard of the problems that XBox LIVE has been having. Stuff like crashes, game booting, lost gamertags, and even erased game saves. Yeah, erased game saves. Some people have gotten all of their save files wiped. LIVE is great when it's working, but this shit has been going on for the past week. Probably more. Microsoft has chalked it up to increased server traffic from Christmas, but I feel that's no excuse. When you're paying $50/year for online, you expect it to be up 24/7, even with increased traffic. Plus, it does not take a rocket scientist to expect increased volume around the holidays. Microsoft should have been prepared and this crap shouldn't be happening.

Microsoft announced that they will be offering a free XBLA game. Personally, I feel users should get a free month. It's completely unacceptable when everyone is having problems of this magnitude. The latest problem is that everyone's gamertag has mysteriously vanished. I mean come on. Completely and utterly unacceptable.

All my life, I have only gamed on Nintendo consoles and handhelds. Except for rare bouts of Star Craft on my PC, it's always been about Nintendo. After all, I grew up with them. I can't possibly miss a system in exchange for a competitor's console. Recently, this all changed. I had been reading up on the XBox 360 for a long time. After reading glowing reviews of titles like Halo 3 and Bioshock, and of course hearing about the wonders of XBox LIVE, I decided it was officially time to jump in. Cut to today, and I am a proud 360 owner. While I have only owned the console for nine days now, I surmise I have clocked in close to the total amount of time I have spent with my Wii. I have been sucked into the world of Halo 3 and Viva Pinata, and I have already spent $40 on downloads from the LIVE Marketplace.

I've been accustomed to the Wii for so long. I think because of that, my appreciation for the 360 has been heightened. I am certainly not jaded to the features that the 360 offer. XBox LIVE is the greatest online infrastructure ever created. Leaderboards, voice chat, and a great friend list system--these features are noticeably absent from the Wii's online service. While LIVE does require a paid subscription, I fully feel that I am getting the most out of my $50/year. However, the Wii does trump the 360 in one online area. The Virtual Console. Wii offers a plethora of great classics for cheap, and it is definitely Wii's best feature. The 360 does have the LIVE Marketplace where users can download games that are specially-made for the service, but it simply doesn't compare to the Wii's catalog of fully playable retro classics.

As for games, I am torn between the selection offered between the Wii and 360. The 360 has great games, no doubt. Bioshock, Halo 3, Blue Dragon, Orange Box, Call of Duty 4, ect. The Wii has tried-and-true franchises like Zelda, Metroid, Mario, and even some new IPs like Zack and Wiki and No More Heroes. The 360 is a hardcore gamer's wet dream, but the Wii also has some fantastic titles. Overall, I'd say Wii's Virtual Console gives it the very slight edge.

All in all, I'm happy to add the 360 to my console selection. It may look out of place surrounded by SNES, Wii, and N64, but I don't care. It plays great. I'll admit I enjoy my Wii a bit better, but I'm having a blast with the 360 as I wait for more AAA Wii titles.