Xbox 360

lancsdave · 30-12-2008, 19:16

Need some advice from anybody who knows about Xbox for somebody who has no interest in the games market ( ie ME

)

We have an about to be 11yr old who with a combination of some Christmas money and birthday money can buy an Xbox 360 bundle.

Question is what advantage would he get ( bearing in mind his age ) from spending an extra £40 buying the 60gb version than he would the standard pack

panther · 30-12-2008, 19:23

This is summat i have always wanted to know too, because my son wants a xbox for his birthday and im confused with the different ones ya can buy.....example...whats the elite one?, I think thats the black one

K-P · 30-12-2008, 20:49

My lads got an xbox bundle with no hard drive.. I ahve now bought them a hard drive to put in it (40 quid).. 20gb is enough

Without a hard drive its hard to play online games.. otherwise not found much use for it so far.

Bagpuss · 30-12-2008, 21:06

I studied this before Christmas and went for the Arcade version because we have a Wii if my daughter wants to play online (and me). If you only want to play games in your house and not go online go for the Arcade version the memory is big enough unless you're thinking of buying 100 games for it, then spend what you saved on a second handset.

K-P · 30-12-2008, 21:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by K-P

Without a hard drive its hard to play online games...

i best expand on this... first game he tried was proevo9 online and it said you must download the game updates or you wont be able to play others with the updates.. this was about 150MB and took a big chunk of memory

if games need updating he will need more room.

also you can download addons for games... daughters has the game "lips" for it and she can download more toons to the HD

lancsdave · 30-12-2008, 21:19

Unlikely he will get much chance to be online as that will require us to be present and we really try to avoid his bedroom for health & safety reasons

Neil · 31-12-2008, 01:34

why do you need to be present if all he is doing is playing online? Is there a browser or chat built in?

lancsdave · 31-12-2008, 08:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil

why do you need to be present if all he is doing is playing online? Is there a browser or chat built in?

No idea what you can and can't do online, but as soon as online is mentioned parental control automatically kicks in

Tin Monkey · 31-12-2008, 10:17

Dave, in all honesty, go for the one with the 60gb hard-drive. For the extra £40 it's well worth it. The new Dashboard (frontpage you could call it) for the XBox now allows you to install games, which although you still need the disk in the drive, does cut down on drive activity and the noise levels (XBoxes are notoriously noisy).

The XBox also has a very good Live! section and an ever increasing download choice (you'd need a hard-drive to save the content comfortably) which can be accessed with no subscription, but it's with a Gold account that the XBox really comes alive.

I own both a PS3 and a 360 and I wouldn't consider an XBox without a hard-drive.

(Panther - the Elite is basically a normal XBox, but black and with a 120gb hard-drive. It used to be the only one with a HDMI socket, but all of the new stock ones will have HDMI too now).

K-P · 31-12-2008, 10:58

My lads have a Playstation 2, PSP, DS, Wii and xbox360, they have been online with the ps2 and its pants... they reckon the xbox is the best of the lot for online..

But unlike the playstation thats free online.. the xbox is gonna cost me 4 or 5 quid a month when the trial runs out.

Bagpuss · 31-12-2008, 11:12

I still say if you're not intending going online the Arcade version is the one for you.

The Wii is good for online Mario Kart don't you agree Jimbo?

entwisi · 31-12-2008, 13:57

Quick Q re HD movie downloads, how much are they, whats teh choice like etc?

for example, if someone was choosing whether to blow 150 quid on a blu ray player and ~15 a month on Lovefilm but may watch 3-4 films one month but maybe only 1 or 2 another. Or would a XBOX and just downloading them as and when be better value? IS teh choice good enough or is it a restricted selection?

lancsdave · 31-12-2008, 14:17

Well after all the help and advice we were at the mercy of the gamestation shop as a chunk of his money was in vouchers. The standard bundles on offer were poor and the first assistant we asked basically said 'tough thats all we have' Her who must be obeyed then had a word with the manager and he put a bundle together with a hard drive 360, the entertainment pack and FIfa 08, he wouldn't run to Fifa 09

One lad very happy in his room where he might surface from sometime next week

Thanks for all the help and advice.

Tin Monkey · 31-12-2008, 15:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by K-P

My lads have a Playstation 2, PSP, DS, Wii and xbox360, they have been online with the ps2 and its pants... they reckon the xbox is the best of the lot for online..

But unlike the playstation thats free online.. the xbox is gonna cost me 4 or 5 quid a month when the trial runs out.

Live! on the Xbox is the best online experience. Although I've had no problems with PSN for the PS3, Live! does run faultlessly and there's more on there too.

If you have a look around, you can get 13 month Gold memberships for about £27, which is less than the month-by-month price.

Here's a link to a 12 month one for £25 -
12 month xbox 360 live gold subscription/membership code

fc:stanley · 31-12-2008, 16:08

Anyone seen around in the christmas sales for any cheap xbox 360 bundels? Im after the hardrive too