Freaking Out - Xbox One - to buy or not to buy!

[moopdog]

My son has the 360 and it hasn't really worked right since almost day one. He is not a huge gamer, mostly because we limit his time on it so much (we are mean). That being said, he's 15 and has definitely outgrown the system he has, especially since none of his friends have it. He is embarrassed when he has friends come over to hang out, etc. He is not expecting a new system, but he would be super happy to get it on Christmas morning!

1. Is today seriously the last best deal for the Xbox One ($300 at Microsoft with free game and &60 gift card)?

2. Can he use his 360 games in Xbox one? and if not - is that something that will eventually happen?

3. Should we stick to our guns and say NO? lol

 

[Narnia_girl]

It's a little bit complicated but here goes:
The Xbox 360 used to have some major hardware problems that Microsoft had very hard time fixing. If I remember correctly, their hardware failure rate was upwards of 50% which is totally unacceptable. That was years ago however, and the new Xbox One system is much better, and while the percent hasn't been publicly released yet, it is thought to be somewhere under 5%. That, coupled with warranties means the system should work fine for a long time to come.

1) $300 with a free game (which also costs $60 ususally) and a $60 gift card is a pretty great deal. You're basically being given $120 for buying the system which is impressive.

2) Xbox One Backwards Compatibility was a big gaming news headline when it was announced at this year's E3 Press Conference. The Xbox 360 games that will work on the Xbox One can be found here: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/backward-compatibility/available-games

You can google "Xbox One Backwards Compatibility" for more information, but the gist of it is that yes, decent number of 360 games will work, though you may need an internet connection to get them due to how the compatibility works.

3) It is also important to remember that the Xbox One has already been out a few years. Soon, game publishers will stop spending money making versions of their games for the Xbox 360. So the new, often called "Triple A" games will not be on that system soon, and already some of this years biggest title's won't be on that system.
2015 has been one of the biggest and best years in video games there ever has been. I would say getting your son an Xbox One is a great idea. If he likes shooting games, he may enjoy Destiny or Call of Duty Black Ops 3. I would also highly recommend Fallout 4, as it is one of the best games I've ever played.

____________________
Edited to add: I (narnia_girl) know very little about gaming systems, but my son is in college earning a bachelor's degree in video game design. I asked him to give a response here.

 

[potterfanatic]

We have had 4 different Xbox 360s because they have all broken. When the Xbox one came out we decided not to get it because of all these problems with the 360. However, my MIL gave it to us as a gift for Christmas last year. We have had it for almost a year now and it is almost always on. We run Netflix on it, games, and all sorts of apps including YouTube. We have had to unplug and replug a handful of times, but I have never had to call support. This is a MUCH better machine than the 360.

They have just started adding titles for backward compatibility. My kids have played the 360 viva piñata and my husband has played Fallout 3. Some titles are currently backward compatible but as of right now it is extremely limited.

While I would like to help you say no, I think the Xbox one is a good machine.

 

[pigletto]

Yes the Xbox one will be backwards compatible (meaning he can play most of the 360 games on it.) I can't answer for you what you should do from a parents perspective because it's your family and your business. What I will tell you is that we bought one for our 11 (almost 12 year old) for Christmas this year. We've had the PS3 for 6 years or more (I think .. not sure on the exact year). Ds never even asked for one, but you could tell when he talked about this friends system or he saw one in a store that he really wanted it and thought the answer would be no.
DH loves video games too, so it's something that will get a lot of use. We will still limit time as we do on the computer or PS3. I'm excited to give it to him.

And I kid you not, while writing this post I went to the door to receive the UPS delivery of his Xbox. We also ordered from Microsoft store in Canada. There was a slightly better deal at a local store but would have required lining up on Black Friday and no guarantee of walking away with one. So we paid about $40 more and got the system with free game, and $60 credit.

Just an FYI.. the credit doesn't come right away and can take up to 10 business days here.

 

[moopdog]

Ugh....guess he's getting an Xbox One. heehee

 

[pigletto]

It sounds like he will be really surprised and excited!

 

[disfanforlife]

My son is 15 too. He had the xbox 360 and we bought him the playstation 4 for Christmas last year. He wanted that because more of his friends had playstation and he likes to play online with them. Otherwise, we would have been more than thrilled with the xbox one.

 

[ktlm]

Just be aware that the Xbox One is not now, and it is my understanding will never be, backwards compatible with Kinect games. As the Kinect games are the only games my DD ever plays on Xbox 360, she won't be getting an Xbox One which she only wants because she has seen that new cool looking Star Wars game that they don't make for the 360.

 

[ellie05]

We had a horrible experience with PlayStation that we end up getting rid of all the games and switching to Xbox. We have two 360 and both still work great never had an issue. I order the Xbox one for DH it was a great deal.