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What Xbox Games Can You Use Wireless Mics With?

Not too long ago, if you wanted to play a video game with your friends you had to pack up your games, memory sticks and controllers and hoof it to a friends house. Now, with 46 million Xbox Live subscriptions as of April 2013, playing games with a buddy means chatting over a microphone rather than sharing a bag of potato chips and couch space. Many games include an online component, giving you the option to tag-team missions or compete against friends and millions of other gamers over Xbox Live.

Co-Op Games
- Cooperative games typically include two to four players. Most games require you to play cooperatively over Xbox Live using a headset to communicate on missions and tactics. Some games allow players to play locally (share a television screen) while also playing with others over Xbox Live. If a game has cooperative gameplay available over Xbox Live, the back of the game̵7;s box will list ̶0;Xbox LIVE̶1; as well as ̶0;co-op̶1; along with the amount of players that can play simultaneously.
Competitive Multiplayer
- During competitive online games comprised of random players, you will be placed in a general lobby while the ̶0;host̶1; prepares the game. During this time you can openly chat with other players. Once players are separated into teams, you can only chat with team members until the match is over and players return to a main lobby. Competitive multiplayer is typically denoted on a game̵7;s box, listed as ̶0;online multiplayer̶1; with the maximum number of players that can fill a lobby.
Other Chat Lobbies
- Co-op multiplayer and competitive multiplayer games each have their own in-game lobby structures where you can chat with gamers over your headset. Xbox Live offers other lobbies as well. For instance, if you want to play a competitive multiplayer game with friends, but don̵7;t want to share a lobby with strangers, you can create a private lobby from the Xbox Live Dashboard. You won̵7;t be able to hear anybody outside of your lobby, even during matches where your teammates are chatting in an in-game lobby. Other than lobbies, you can send individuals in your friends list private chat sessions or even video chat sessions if you have a webcam or Kinect.
Limitations
- Chatting over your headset on Xbox Live is a great driver for gaming online, but it does have limitations. For example, your microphone can̵7;t improve or add to gameplay features. Unless you use Kinect as your microphone, you can not use voice commands, for example, during gameplay. Also, Xbox Live Gold members can use online multiplayer features, not Xbox Live Silver members. Gold members pay an annual or monthly fee to be able to play and chat with other gamers via a game̵7;s in-game lobby. With a (free) Silver membership, you can see who is online and engage in private chat with a single friend, but you can̵7;t partake in lobby chats (with multiple friends) or in-game lobbies.

Xbox Live