Disconnected

Like most of you, I've suffered from the Red Ring of Death on my Xbox 360 not once, but multiple times. A less common occurrence, but no less unfortunate, is the fact that I've also had the additional misfortune of having two 360 wireless adapters crap out on me as well. This whole experience has made me think a little about playing online and how that fits into how I play games.

After my second adapter gave up the ghost, I sat back and assessed whether I should roll the dice a third time and plonk down $80 for another one. I didn't. For a while it wasn't an issue because I just plugged in an ethernet cord, but with the way my TV, 360, and modem is configured now, it was wireless adapter or nothing at all. So, for the past six months or so I lived without online on my 360.

At first it didn't make much of a difference since I don't play a lot of games online (and I've also got the PS3 versions of some titles), but recently I've been thinking again about what I've been missing and whether it would be worth it to pay for another adapter. For instance, the free Madden Ultimate Team mode is something I'd like to try out but can't. What about updates and patches, not to mention DLC? I'm starting to feel more isolated and like I'm not getting the most out of some of my games at home.

It's no use taking a pseudo-Luddite stand on console's increased reliance on an Internet connection, or grabbing my pitchfork instead of my controller to protest shoddy manufacturing, because in the end the joke is on me since I don't get to experience the content that I want. If I insist on getting all my games on PS3 where online is free and included in the system, I'm surely going to miss out on some cool 360 exclusives.

Frankly I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I'm leaning towards just getting one, but I'm sure it'll be an internal argument all the way to the store.