CCL Messageboard

I'm always slow to jump on board with technology. Just nervous about spending money on a Lazer Disk, or Betamax-like product.

I've been toying with the idea of purchasing an X Box 360. Almost pulled the trigger yesterday but got cold feet when there were so many options to choose from (me not understanding most of them!)

I have a regular X Box which I still play. I love sports games (especially baseball, hockey, football and basketball). Pretty much anything I can play a season on and accumulate stats (I'm a stat junky!)

I just don't want to buy a 360 and then in September they release the
360 II!
I'm also not sure what I should be looking for in a game console. I probally won't do a lot of online gaming.

There were 3 systems where I was looking yesterday (Halo III Special Edition)(Resident Evil Limited Edition)(and one that came with Lego Indiana Jones????)

Any advice would be great! I know there are a lot of gamers here.

I had the same problem when buying my Xbox 360, where you want one, but you don't want to then get one and then a month or two later have them release an even better system.
I got over that fear and just went for it. I asked the same question on here a few months back when I was thinking of getting one, and people assured me that Microsoft weren't thinking of releasing a new system for a long time.
So I went and got one and have never looked back since, it's a great system and I've never had any problems with mine at all.
I'm not a huge gamer though, I just play games on it perhaps once every 2 or 3 days unless I've just bought a brand new game, in which case I'll play on it for as long as I want! I think Xbox 360's can get a little weak if you're one of these gamers who games 24/7. But I don't, and therefore mine has been fine.

My Xbox 360 is a 60gig one, and it plays some of my old original Xbox games which is great! So that's got to be a bonus for you Cape, it was for me.

As for what deals and what games to get on your 360, I havnt a clue what kind of games you like. I would say get the Halo 3 special edition one, but even as bias towards the Halo franchise as I am (I love it to bits), I would say unless you've played Halo and Halo 2, then H3 will be wasted game time, it won't make much sense at all.
But it's a totally awesome game! It really really is!

As is Tomb Raider: Underworld (I'm pretty bias towards Tomb Raider as well, I like it a lot!)

As for 'online gaming', with the 360, if you want to play XBOX LIVE, you have to buy a separate package which will set you back a good sum of cash, install it and then play away online. So you don't HAVE to play online, it's only there if you want to.
I think XBOX LIVE is great to play on every once in a while, but I don't have a subscription, I just go round to a friend's house who has XBOX LIVE and we just play there.
I think online gaming is a little overrated, it gets boring fast, for me I find.
But some people like it, because you can download add ons for your games and stuff, like on Halo for example, you can download new maps and stuff for online gaming which they release sometimes. But yet again, I'd say it's slightly overrated. That's just me though.



Anyway, all in all, as someone who has a 360, and just plays games on it every now and then, and watches DVDs etc. I'd say it's a really great system and well worth the money.
Some of the games you can get are amazing, and the enhanced HD graphics are.. outstanding.

Oh, and it's worth mentioning I should think. If you want the very best from your 360, play it on an HD TV. I went and got myself a new HD TV for my bedroom when I bought my 360 and the graphics and gameplay is a lot more smoother and sharper than when I played it on my parent's standard TV downstairs.

My 360 is collecting dust...
It seems that 99.9% of the time that any game comes out for both the 360 & the PS3, the PS3 version is WAY better.
I definitely play my PS3 more than I play the 360, no question.

As for a new console coming out from Micro$oft right after you buy your shiny new 360... nothing specific has been announced lately but they are definitely working on a new console. Just remember that of the three 'current generation' consoles available, the 360 has been around the longest.
And as for playing X-BOX games? Better check their site first - I wound up giving away almost all of my games when I gave my X-BOX to my cousin because the 360 wouldn't play them.
My PS3 will play ANY PS2 game, but that's only because I bought my system before $ony decided to screw their loyal customers...

I would say just get the one that has LEGO Indiana Jones. I think that is the one that comes with a Hard Drive so then you can get whatever sports game you want after that. You can find some older sports titles for really cheap at a used game store.

Wish I could help, but I've always been a Sony guy.

Do not worry about a next Generation XBox coming out anytime soon, they are a long ways away from that. Rumors float around about so-and-so being in talks to even design it, so they don't even have it figured out who will start to develop it.

As far as which version to buy, the difference is the Hard Drive. Getting a package that comes with a game is OK, but make sure you are getting a good deal. Sometimes the normal console and used games are cheaper, and cheaper means the same amount of money gets you more games. The Hard Drive size matters with what you download, if you want to connect NetFlix to your online account, then you might want more storage space. I upgraded to a 60GB from a 20GB because of how much Rockband and Guitar Hero I download, so I recommend that people look at the 60GB (best price versus space you get).

2011 is a nice round # for guessing when a new system will come out, possibly even as late as 2012. The one that comes with Indy Jones would be just fine. Then just check out all the sports games, which many of them are probably newer versions of the ones you have on the regular Xbox. As far as the size of the hard drive, if you just plan on playing a few games get one with a 20 gig drive, you will probably never fill it. If you think you might try downloading a lot of new game content or movies, then maybe the 60 gig will be what you want. There are a lot of smaller games available on Xbox Live that you might end up liking, most of them are 100 megs or so, still not big enough to merit a larger HD. Also many games have new content come out a few months after they are released. Most of this content is small stuff but for instance, GTA IV came out with a full expansion pack for $20, and I think it was 1 or 2 gigs in size. But, you have the information, read what we have said a choose what is right for you.

I heard rumors about a month ago that Mircosoft will up the gigs on some of the hard drives. I don't know if its true or not, but if it were me I would hold off until I heard something else about it.

I don't download games or movies, just the occasionaly demo or trailer.
My 20GB drive fill up FAST. Best part, $150 for a freakin 120GB "upgrade". WTF? That's an outrageous poke-in-the-eye, Screw You Loyal Consumer, absolute rip-off of a "deal"...
Good quality 120GB hard drives are half that (or cheper!).
But it gets better, if you only wanna go to the 60GB you're going to get screwed even more because now you're only getting half the capacity for $100.00. Instead of $1.25 per GB you're now paying $1.67 per GB AND you don't get the special fancy Micro$oft data cable to back up the stuff from your lame-o 20GB drive.

With the PS3 though, if your hard drive is getting full $ony actually gives you instructions on how to replace it with just about any hard drive you want (so long as it's laptop sized and SATA). You don't have to buy it from them.

For anyone looking to by a 360, including you....

If you wait a little while, Microsoft is getting ready to release an Xbox 360 Elite package containing Fable II and Halo 3. This is the one to buy.

Mmmmmmmmm Halo3. You should get all the Halo games and kill not only brain cells but numerous hours that you have no idea where they went. It is just wonderful!

I sort of did not spend any money on mine. I had a ton of CD's and DVD's I did not listen to/watch any more so I pre-owned them at FYE and used the credit to get a 360. I did not see it as much of a loss for me as all the CD's are in my iTunes and backed up with another copy on my external drive and same thing with some of the movies. I would say if you want to get a feel for them before you buy find some friends that might have a system you are interested in and try them out and such. Nothing like some hands on before shelling out hard earned $.

Halo series =

Or go online and find instructions on how to upgrade your Xbox HD yourself. It CAN be done, I just haven't read up on it yet.

sounds like a good idea because I have a 20 gig thats filling up fast and I was debating buying a larger HD if I couldn't find any upgrade info

YOU SIR ARE A

COD is where its at

I've seen it all, and it is really easy. You just have to get the right hard drive, and use an XBox 360 HD case (which you have if you are losing the 20GB). You have to get certain Western Digital drives, and they are cheap. If you don't see how to do it yourself (any amateur computer tech can get through it), find a computer nerd and I'm sure they would be happy to complete it, especially for the idea of going against Microsoft.

I'll have to look into this! Still, no fancy special data transfer cable that comes with the Micro$oft 120GB so you lose what you have...

This, by the way, will hit next month for...I think $399.

Also, I got this in my e-mail...today or last night:

$219.99 for an Elite (120GB HD, but no free games with this one). Free shipping. Go to geeks.com and use the code ELITE.

Um, I DO think that is for a refurbished system.
Offer expires on the 30th.