Should I Get A 360?

WatTsu

WatTsu

CAGiversary!
(Note to the admins and other interested parties: I have cross-posted this from the Xbox 360 board in order to get a wider variety of responses to my question. If this is a problem, feel free to delete this thread.)

Hey there, long-time lurker, first-time poster.

So I've been setting aside some money in hopes of getting myself a 360. I like the idea of being able to play games online with people I know, there's a ton of great titles for it, and in general it looks like a good investment. I've been spending a lot of time researching the thing and trying to decide what I want to do.

I have decided I would like to buy the new holiday Premium bundle (the "Go Pro" one). However, the constant reports of RRODs and bad customer service, not to mention DRM issues that would keep you from playing your XBLA content if you have to send the thing in, have me worried.

See, I, like many of you, am pretty cheap. I have to be - I'm in grad school and I'm making enough money to cover my expenses and save up, but not enough to throw it around/away. I really don't want to buy a console that's going to die on me within a year, warranty or not. I know that the new units should have most of the problems solved, but I don't want to be left in the lurch.

Here's the problem I've had in researching this question, though: it appears that nobody but fanboys have anything to say about it. It's so hard to find a good, honest piece of advice with all the unending noise out there. So, I turn to you, in hopes to get just that honest piece of advice:

Should I get a 360?

A couple quick caveats:

1. I'm not getting into this "it breaks, I'll buy another one" mentality. I'm buying it once. Period.
2. I'm going to keep it in a well-ventilated place and keep it free of dust.
3. I'm not adverse to buying a warranty from somewhere like Best Buy, but I'd rather not if I don't have to.
4. I also would like to know if the Falcon chipset even makes a bit of difference, or if it really is a heatsink issue.

Edit: It is really important to me that I get only serious responses to this post. I am not interested in fanboy rhetoric, as I have already heard enough of that in my research. I just want to know what the best answer is for my purposes (and it's not "get a PS3", as I have no interest in doing so at thi time, or "get a Wii", as I currently have access to one and do not need to).
 
It really boils down on the games you play. I don't think you've provided enough information.

1) Do you like FPS games?
2) Do you like driving games?
3) Do you like arcadey-sim flight games?
4) Do you like RPGs?
5) Do you like 3D fighting games?
6) Do you like sports?
7) Have you played Ninja Gaiden and/or NG: Black, and loved it/them?
8) Have you played Halo 1 and/or 2, and loved it/them?

If you answered yes to 1):
There's BioShock, The Orange Box, GOW, GRAW 1&2, R6:V, etc.
If you answered yes to 2):
There's Forza Motorsport 2, PGR 3 and 4, NFS:MW, etc.
If you answered yes to 3):
I highly recommend Ace Combat 6
If you answered yes to 4):
Blue Dragon and Oblivion covers either end of the spectrum. Then there's Lost Odyssey and Mass Effect.
If you answered yes to 5):
DOA4 may be a bit of old news. Then again, there's VF5. And, at least, for now, until I stand corrected, only the 360 version allows online play, as far as I know.
If you answered yes to 6):
I might be a bit biased on this, but do your research. 60fps for Madden 08, for example. Virtua Tennis 3 has online capabilities on the 360.
If you answered yes to 7):
Ninja Gaiden 2
If you answered yes to 8):
Halo 3

Again, it really boils down to the games, not the hardware. For peace of mind, get a warranty. MS covers the RROD for 3 years. What you'll get with the warranty you pay for is for everything else. I'm on my 2nd Xbox 360 myself, but I don't regret ever getting one. I don't have the Falcon chipset myself. Then again, if my 2nd console ever breaks down, my warranty will cover it.

Notice that I focused solely on what I view as 360's strengths. The other consoles have their own strengths as well. Yes, I suppose I could've bundled #8 with #1. But I've bought Halo 3 because I've had history with Halo 1 and 2 on top of liking FPS games. Just my opinion, and you don't have to agree with it. Just giving you ideas in what to look for to help you make your decision to whether or not to get the 360. There are certain risks in getting the 360 hardware-wise, but it's up to you to decide if the games are going to be worth the hassle.

Just my $0.02
 
Do you have a backlog of games for other systems that you haven't played through yet?

Do you have time to actually play the 360 while going working through grad school?

If money is an issue, can you wait longer?
 
Only 1 in 3 machines RROD. It's still very high for a single component going, but regardless, the warranty you get covers it. Mine is only covered for six months, but that's because it's pre-owned. And by that point, the Falcon'll be in full swing.
 
I bought a 360 a little over a year ago. It has had absolutely no problems and I love the console. It has great games, the interface is great, XBox Live is great, etc. Personally I would recommend it as the console to buy this generation.
 
I've had mine for a lil under a year... play the hell out it. Great titles, really good inexpensive platinum hits games (PGR3, PDZ, Tony Hawk.. few others.) Gears is great, Halo3 always has 5million people play at any given time, Forza is a personal favorite... then you have all the games that both consols weild like EA games... etc.

The only thing I would prolly recommend over a 360 would be a good gaming box that is gonna run you a bit more $$. duo/quad core cpu.. good mb/graphicscard/monitor. Thats the only thing IMO that gives you more flexibility then a 360... but the friend appeal of live is great.
 
Oh, and market place is great... can get a lot of old school favs for around $10... Castlevania SotN 'redone' in 'hd' looks great.. Those games that were addictive as hell 5-12 years ago, still are...
 
[quote name='mrnomis27']Do you have a backlog of games for other systems that you haven't played through yet? [/quote]

Not really.

Do you have time to actually play the 360 while going working through grad school?
Click to expand...

I will here and there. See, I don't go out to bars or anything like most people I know that are going to school, so video games are really how I unwind. I'm not going to be tackling any epic RPGs or anything like that.

Besides, one of my thesis ideas involves video games, and honestly, it might not be a bad idea to have one for research (I know that sounds cheeky but really, RE5 could be an important part of the paper).

Also, it'd be nice to play games online with family and friends.

If money is an issue, can you wait longer?
Click to expand...

Money's not that big of an issue, really. Like I said, I set this money aside.
 
Don't do it unless

A: You have an HDTV and surround sound

or

B: You already know a bunch of people that play their 360's and they don't jump from one game to another.

This is coming from a 360 owner still on his pre-launch (thank you Mt. Dew) console. I've kept it well ventilated and rarely moved it and have not had a problem. I absolutely love my 360, but I have an HDTV and surround sound, I have a bunch of friends on live and I can afford to jump from game to game if I see a bunch of my friends on a new title.
 
[quote name='jkanownik']Don't do it unless

A: You have an HDTV and surround sound[/QUOTE]

I don't think that's a fair requirement at all. Sure, it greatly enhances the experience, but it's not essential. I played my 360 on a standard 27" for about six months before diving into a HDTV and had tons of fun.

For me it's all about the on-line component and the quality and variety of the games. MS has done an impressive job of securing 3rd party support, and most of those developers have really stepped up. And XBL is, of course, the hands-down winner for on-line multiplayer. Those should be the main selling points.
 
if you got a spare computer monitor (20 inchers or better), then buy the vga cable for the system and you will be VERY happy with the results. I am using the gateway 22 inch monitor with VGA/DVI inputs. By pressing 3 buttons I can switch between the dvi running from my computer and the vga from the xbox. For a very long time I told myself that I won't be getting the 360 until I get a hdtv..however after seeing my cousin running his 360 using the standard composite cables I was AMAZED. VGA output looks incredible.

what I am disappointed with is the inability to hook the 360 to my creative labs 7.1 speaker system to atleast get the 5.1 surround sound support :(

I bought mine last month from the Microcenter promo which stated that if anything happens to the system, I had 2 years of unlimited exchanges thru them. Yea I was aware of the MS send in for repairs but who the hell wants to wait 6 weeks? It was a refurbed however with it only being 249.99 (100 bucks cheaper), the 2 year exchange as long as defective for unlimited amount of times during that two years PLUS if in 2 years they have no more 360's premiums (which should phase out in a year or so), then they will give me store credit that I can use to purchase whatever 360 model is out in the stores at that time...weither it's the elite black 120 gig as the new "premium" or a 500 gig unit ...whatever.... projections show the 360 should drop to around 300 or so by that time, I just pay the difference. :)

However my 360 did not only have the E79 error (hard drive died), but mins later RRoD!!! :( Just 28 days after I bought it so I exchanged it for another one.

So far so good, no real problems with this model...YET...

It does put out a LOT of heat and its a lot more nosier then my PC, which is right next to it.

I like the Try before you buy demos on XBL.. The Whole XBL Marketplace has a LOT of potential , but it is still growing.

You are going to have a lot of fun with this system.

Funny thing is my other cousin in NY got the PS3...and now me and my other cousin who got the 360 are making fun of him because he's complaining their is no "real" games for the ps3. :)
 
I can imagine that having an HD-TV really upgrades the experience, but I don't have one, have never played my 360 on one, and I'm glad I got one.

Now for the OP,

I'm going to assume that there are games you want on the system, since you are more worried about the rings of death. Now, I've had the rings of death, even doing everything you are suppose to. So, it can happen.

But, I had absolutely no issues with MS. They seemed well versed in handling the situation. They sent the "coffin" and in 3 weeks, it was back in working order. Sure, it was an annoyance, but no where near one that would have been worth skipping the system for.

So, to me, I wouldn't worry too much about the RROD, and when it hits, just send it in and be without it for a month. To me, some of the games are just so good that it's worth that headache.

Also, you could get the warrenty. I almost always skip those. I think if the store wants to sell it that badly, it is usually not in my best interest. Since MS will handle the rings of death, and that is by far the most common cause of system death, I don't think it's neccessary.
 
So here's my other question (and thank you all for your replies thus far!):

Is there a way around the XBLA content issue? I refer to the fact that, apparently, if your 360 red-rings you'll lose your downloaded data on your hard drive because it's tied to your console as well.

There's tons of stuff I want on XBLA, but I don't want to buy it and then not be able to use it if the console dies.
 
[quote name='WatTsu']So here's my other question (and thank you all for your replies thus far!):

Is there a way around the XBLA content issue? I refer to the fact that, apparently, if your 360 red-rings you'll lose your downloaded data on your hard drive because it's tied to your console as well.

There's tons of stuff I want on XBLA, but I don't want to buy it and then not be able to use it if the console dies.[/QUOTE]


well I am no expert on this...however this is based on my recent experience. My 360 died (RRoD and Hard Drive), MS said I would have to REBUY all my XBLA games AGAIN (3 of them)..however when I did the swap out at Microcenter, I was able to REDOWNLOAD all my content again without paying again. I lost all my saves, videos and pics from Halo 3...but I was able to play my xbla games without paying again.
 
[quote name='WatTsu']So here's my other question (and thank you all for your replies thus far!):

Is there a way around the XBLA content issue? I refer to the fact that, apparently, if your 360 red-rings you'll lose your downloaded data on your hard drive because it's tied to your console as well.

There's tons of stuff I want on XBLA, but I don't want to buy it and then not be able to use it if the console dies.[/quote]This is totally false. When you download a game, its tied to the first xbox. Meaning... anyone with an Xbox account can play that game on that box. After that you can download the game on ANY box, using your XBL account, however only THAT XBL account can play the game.

So in short, yes you can redownload your games/movies/maps. Its actually MENT to be like this. 20gig HDs only hold about 3 HD movies... so when you max that shizat out, you can delete it to redownload it later.
 
Having an Xbox-360 can be difficult if you don't own an HD TV. Many of the games are optimized for HD, and offer tiny text bubbles and other aspects that can be difficult to see clearly on a normal television (Dead Rising comes to mind).

But if you have a great entertainment center setup, this is definitely soemthing worth having. There are a ton of amazing games on the system, and even though it's loud as hell, it's a powerhouse of a system that has a solid library and a great online setup.
 
[quote name='Shivy']Having an Xbox-360 can be difficult if you don't own an HD TV. Many of the games are optimized for HD, and offer tiny text bubbles and other aspects that can be difficult to see clearly on a normal television (Dead Rising comes to mind).

But if you have a great entertainment center setup, this is definitely soemthing worth having. There are a ton of amazing games on the system, and even though it's loud as hell, it's a powerhouse of a system that has a solid library and a great online setup.[/quote]

Friends of mine have 360s and SDTVs, and they say it's fine. Actually, Dead Rising is the only game I know of offhand that has those troubles (though, do correct me if I'm wrong).
 
[quote name='WatTsu']Friends of mine have 360s and SDTVs, and they say it's fine. Actually, Dead Rising is the only game I know of offhand that has those troubles (though, do correct me if I'm wrong).[/quote]

In Saint's Row when using your cell phone, it is hard to read the letters if you have an SDTV. Not a big deal yet another game that has the same problem as Dead Rising.
 
[quote name='Silent Assassin120']In Saint's Row when using your cell phone, it is hard to read the letters if you have an SDTV. Not a big deal yet another game that has the same problem as Dead Rising.[/quote]

Fair enough. I wasn't really interested in Saint's Row anyway, but it is helpful to know that this wasn't an isolated issue.
 
"I just want to know what the best answer is for my purposes (and it's not "get a PS3", as I have no interest in doing so at thi time, or "get a Wii", as I currently have access to one and do not need to)."

Thomas must have missed that part. And you really don't need to worry about breakage on the new systems any more than any other system. They run quite cool and quiet. I should know, I bought one just about a month ago.

I'd say go for it, there's a ton of great games, the price just dropped, and they're packing in two pretty good games with the system. If you're worried about HD, get a VGA cable and a nice 22" widescreen monitor for about $250. It's all you'll need for single player games and it looks fantastic.
 
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