I don't know about you guys, but I'm sick of being charged for every little piece of content on Xbox Live. The worst of this is charging for gamer pics and themes. You seriously want me to pay you $1 for something that is only viewable on my Xbox? My other more serious gripe is the way that developers seem to be charging for every update of content to their games. It's not that I don't feel the developers don't deserve compensated for their work because I do. It's the fact that more often than not, Microsoft determines the price for their downloadable content.

I'll admit that I bought the Halo 3 map pack and I can only say that I want my 800 MS points back. These maps have been out for 2 months now and they still don't show up in the rotation of any of the normal playlists and while they're fun, they aren't worth $10.

In my opinion, the micro purchase trend on Xbox Live is a bad road to head down. While not everyone may do it, it definitely fosters an environment where developers are rewarded for holding back content for the chance they will make more money on a game that already costs $60.

I wish there was some sign of hope that this is just a phase but it looks like this trend is here to stay and the sad thing is that it doesn't have to be this way. Having more free content available to paying subscribers only makes having a paid membership look that much more appealing. Gamer pics and themes could be made gratis to people who purchase the retail versions of games. 3 multiplayer maps are not worth $10 ever. PC games receive patches that free feature content updates all the time. It's Microsoft squeezing every last penny out of these games that they can and it's a despicable practice.

What do you guys think?