Xbox Live Party Chat – The Death of Conversation within the Game Lobby

James Woodcock takes a look at the 'Party Chat' feature of Xbox Live that has been key to causing a silent lobby in many online titles.

[CrimsonEngage]

More like a blessing. No longer do i have to listen to little shit's playing rap (which is crap music anyways) over their mics.

Let it die, not a single f*ck will be given.

[MetalProxy]

Blessing? How is a new person to xbox live suppose to meet anybody new when there isnt anybody to talk to?
Sooooo theres silent lobbys on xbox live? Thats IMPOSSIBLE according to some loyalist.

[koehler83]

I can't be the only person who believes it to be abnormal to actually want to converse with complete strangers.

[BX81]

Teens love it for some reason. I always say talking on the mic just because you have one is the definition of @sshole!

[StanLee]

I've had my communications setting set to private since day 1. I don't hear anyone in public lobbies. Unless you're on my friends list I can hear you and you can't hear me. I don't use XBox Live to meet friends. I have convinced so many of my real life friends to get an XBox that I have a sufficient friends list.

[Captain Qwark 9]

nope that makes two of us, i always party chat with my freinds. ive never had much success meeting decent people in gaming lobbies so i dont really care. also most strangers dont want/care to work as a team so there is really no point

party chat, the controller, and the dashboard are what makes me like my 360 more than my ps3, despite the ps3 having more features

[sGIBMBR]

I don't think I could live without party chat anymore, it's such a blessing!

I even use party chat on the 360 when playing on my PlayStation.

[Captain Qwark 9]

lol my buddies and i do that once in a while too.

[pandaboy]

haha, you inadvertently solved the problem that has plagued PSN for years. For best results use your xbox while gaming online on ps3!

[Parapraxis]

or Skype..that's what me & my friends use when gaming on PS3.
(as an added bonus I listen to music from my entire music library on PC when I chat with Skype)

[Parapraxis]

3 disagrees...for what??
man you N4G kids crack me up.

[Hufandpuf]

I like meeting different people in lobbies, that's how I make more friends on XBL. If I used party chat ALL THE TIME, I wouldn't have met the people I play games with regularly.

[BuffMordecai]

I always find it funny when someone tries to talk on xbox live and then somebody tells them to shut up. If you didn't want to talk, take off your damn mic. I can understand when somebody is being obnoxious, but when you seen a lobby full of people with mics and no one is talking, you kind of wonder why they have mics at all.

[ddelella]

I am going to agree with the people. Party Chat is not the killer of lobbies but the savior. Too many idiotic people listen to loud music or kids under 12 showing us that parents don't care that they play M rated video games. These people pretty much invented the need for private/party chats and the quick mute in most FPS games.

[glidem]

I appreciate all your comments. I can certainly see a need for Party Chat and it is a wonderful feature to have, but it is a shame that many game lobbys lack the same activity as before.

I also understand the need to avoid annoying gamers though :)