DS wants an x-box - used options, what is necessary?

[StephMK]

DS9 has wanted an x-box for the last year or two. Many of his friends have them & he LOVES video games. We have a wii, he enjoys it but it doesn't have some of the games his friends like. I hesitate even looking into it because he already spends enough time on electronics! I do not have the budget to buy him a new system for Christmas. Are there decent used options?

What is needed beside the system? How many extras, games are needed to make it fun? I'm trying to decide if this is an option for Christmas or not. He says it's all he wants but I'm not sure even used would be realistic right now.

 

[Candlz]

You could look at GameStop - they sell used systems and if I remember correctly - they are guaranteed to work. They will also let you know about the system needs etc. It is great for people on a budget bc you can bring in your used games and trade for different ones.

Maybe you could bring in some of the used wii games and they will give you credit.

 

[SandrA9810]

Stick to your gut, and don't get one. It's the biggest money suckers you can buy. Plus they're notorious for red ring of death, that I would not trust a used system. It's best to buy new and get the extended warranty. If you don't want the hassle of dealing with microsoft.

If he wants to play with his friends online, it another $60 a year for xbox live to even get the system online. Without it, you can't even stream netflix or chat with friends.

Don't forget all the download content many games are requiring after you purchase the disc. This all costs more, EA is getting big on this with Tiger Woods, NFL, Fifa, MLB.

If you wind up on a bad streak of 360's, you're gonna wind up more frustrated. Let his friend's parents deal with it.

 

[Rynosaur]

used, may not be as good of an option, considering you dont know which chip version you will get. some are more known for heating issues and with used it is too much of a gamble.

look through the slickdeals.net and cheapassgamer.com for deals on the system itself. they each will highlight any deals either online or at an actual store.starting with the smaller 4gb would be ok especially for having only a few games. you can upgrade later if you want, it would make the total cost a bit more, but if you stay diligent about checking out those sites you will find it for cheaper keeping the total cost down. if you do get a new one, and would like an extended warranty, look in to squaretrade warranties. Cheaper than, than instore and just as easy to deal with. there are almost always discount codes available to reduce their cost, and if you buy new you will have 90 days to get and apply their warranty

as for extras needed, it can vary. if he wants to play with his friends online, then a membership is required. ive been a member for over 5yrs and i have never paid full price. i buy them at 50% off and that happens at least once a year, but for instance this year it has happened 3 times that i remember. But if he would end up playing games with friends at his own console, he may, only may since if his friends have an xbox already, want to have an extra controller. again, frequent those sites for deals.

the xbox comes with a headset, to communicate, so it is not needed, but even if broken later, you can find the wired kind for like 7 dollars shipped. if you need extra i am pretty sure i have some laying around.

as for games, the PP is right there is always download content, BUT it is not always needed to play the game you have purchased. most content is to extend the life of the current game you have, making the time between full game purchases longer. there is content for things that are just for show, they are nice to have but not needed.

Though keep an eye out, if buying used games, some require a download pass to play online and they are not always packaged together. so a separate purchase would be required, but if he would not play against anyone online then it is not needed.

as for games needed, that varies as well. i have amassed 40-50 games just for the xbox 360. i dont really trade them in, mainly because i find such solid deals from the aforementioned websites that i find keeping them is better than trading. Even with having all those games, i pretty much only play 2 at any given time. so if there are games his friends play, than he may only want and need the 1 or 2 they have. for instance i ordered college football 2012 and will get gears of war 3 this upcoming week and i will pretty much play just those 2 for at least a year. i am still playing gears of war 2 and that came out almost 3 years ago.

sorry for the long post, but there is sooo much info when it comes to getting systems that i feel i can go on and on. although he really wants one, getting a good deal on a new one will always be better than a used one. unless, it comes with a rock solid warranty in print.

 

[tink2dw]

okay this is my personal opinion from observation only!! With Wii there is a greater chance of your child getting up and moving around and engaging with someone else.

With x box or psp the player sits for hours never moving, except for their thumbs and a finger or two, staring at the tv, hardly ever talking, and never listening to anything outside the game.

x box games are now made as Wii Games. Kids complain that they don't play the same. But it is just a matter of learning to use the wii mote.

My Dd insisted that she needed the old school nintendo game controller for our new Wii. But this being our only gaming system she has never found a wii game that uses the old school game controller.

Dd does play some games alone, but she and I play together alot and we laugh and have fun playing our wii games. Of course, she bets me most of the time but that doesn't matter to me because we are having so much fun!!!

 

[luvmy3]

okay this is my personal opinion from observation only!! With Wii there is a greater chance of your child getting up and moving around and engaging with someone else.

With x box or psp the player sits for hours never moving, except for their thumbs and a finger or two, staring at the tv, hardly ever talking, and never listening to anything outside the game.

x box games are now made as Wii Games. Kids complain that they don't play the same. But it is just a matter of learning to use the wii mote.

My Dd insisted that she needed the old school nintendo game controller for our new Wii. But this being our only gaming system she has never found a wii game that uses the old school game controller.

Dd does play some games alone, but she and I play together alot and we laugh and have fun playing our wii games. Of course, she bets me most of the time but that doesn't matter to me because we are having so much fun!!!

We have the opposite here, the Wii games that my kids play are the ones they sit and use the controller for. We have the Kinect so the X-box is the one where they get up and move to play.


OP, if you look at sale flyers now, retailers are offering deals when you buy the X-box, like a gift card with purchase. I don't know what the cost of a used system is, but like some pp's mentioned the X-box has had issues in the past and if you get used you just never know.
It comes with one wireless game controller. I purchased extra controllers because we have 5 in our family, but I got the wired ones, they are cheaper than the wireless. I also got them on sale with a coupon B1G1 half off.
The games are expensive but it is possible to find them on sale especially as it gets closer to the holidays. TRU and Amazon ususally do B1G1 half off.
Also, the Xbox live membership can be found at a discount. We don't do that, I don't allow my kids to play online yet.
It can be expensive but there are definitely ways to cut costs, you just need to keep an eye out for the sales.

 

[PerrytheFishHead]

This is a case where new is preferred over used for the reasons mentioned above. The older systems had a "high" chance for an overheating issue referred to as the RROD (red ring of death). The system would heat up and melt some of the solder, causing the system to fail. Microsoft did finally admit that it was their problem and offered a 3 year replacement vs the standard 1 year, and refunded people who paid for the repair (if it was within the 3 years). Problem is, this often only applied to the first purchaser. If you buy used from Gamestop or somewhere else, you don't know if the system is newer or older, if it is older it may develop the overheating issues. Since it is out of warranty, you would then be out an additional $100 for the repair. You could get the Gamestop replacement plan, but that only covers you for a year.

Yes, Gamestop systems are tested and do work, but they do not test the online gameplay. There are times when people cheat/hack and get their SYSTEM banned from online gameplay. These folks often trade the system in to Gamestop (since it works when they test it they WILL take it as a trade) and get a new system. This then leaves people who buy the used system to deal with the problem of the system being banned from Xbox Live. Yes, Gamestop SHOULD take it back for a replacement, but it is not a sure thing.

The Gold membership is required for online play/netflix. As previously stated, this can be purchased at a discount (normal price now is $60/1 year, I usually never pay more than $35). It involves some searching and purchasing before the subscription is up, but worth the time. Games (new) can often be found at any B&M shops with some sort of giftcard attached to the purchase (K-mart and Amazon often run a $10-$20 GC with the more popular games, and Amazon usually attaches free standard shipping as well). Buy the first game and then all future games are already discounted, and often you will get the GC back (kind of a lather, rinse, repeat process), if you watch the sales that is. Also, most new games are often discounted as soon as 2 weeks after release ($40 vs $60 a few weeks earlier). This can be a way to get great games at a great price as well, but you sacrifice a few weeks for the savings. TRU and Best Buy will usually run a buy 2 get 1 free promo at least once a year.

Back to the new system vs old to close with. Most retailers will, from time to time, run a GC with purchase of a system. This would work for all systems in stock (usually), the special and holiday bundles are the best deal since they also come with games. For example, this week Target has the Gears of War 3 limited edition system for $400 with a $40 GC. It comes with GOW3 and an extra controller, a $120 added bonus. The $400 is the same price as the standard system would run (for the 250 GB hard drive), so the game and extra controller are of no additional cost. They should have a new holiday bundle coming out around thanksgiving, which will probably include 2 game and a smaller hard drive (120 GB) for $300, but no news as of yet.

You are better off getting a bundle than a standalone system, new vs used. This way you get full warranty (3 years) and some added value (games, extra controller). Also, I would stay away from the "arcade" version, as this does not come with a hard drive. It does have 4 GB of internal storage, but this will fill quickly if anything is downloaded. Watch for free GC sales, and a really great deal can be had. PM me if you have further questions, or need something cleared up.

 

[worm761]

I would suggest you watch the sales and buy a new one. One of the biggest reasons I suggest this is that if the previous owner broke any of Microsofts rules then the console itself has been banned from Xbox Live. Your DS is wanting to play games with his friends so you will want to get online with it. I would not trust a used console with Xbox. And I feel your pain. DS's is rather old and is going so will need to be replaced soon.

If you buy family gifts, I would suggest you also buy Kinect. It is just so much fun! They took what Wii invented and made it better in my opinion. We have a blast with it.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

okay this is my personal opinion from observation only!! With Wii there is a greater chance of your child getting up and moving around and engaging with someone else.

With x box or psp the player sits for hours never moving, except for their thumbs and a finger or two, staring at the tv, hardly ever talking, and never listening to anything outside the game.

Not really! I guess you have never heard of Kinect for XBox?

OP - I would not buy a used gaming system. I'd go for a new XBox with Kinect. Used games are fine.

 

[Dax]

Please do not totally shoot the idea down of a used Xbox...I bought mine 3yrs ago at a pawn shop..It was practically new. I got a great deal on it, and so far, have not had one issue. Not all used systems are bad...

 

[kamik86]

Please do not totally shoot the idea down of a used Xbox...I bought mine 3yrs ago at a pawn shop..It was practically new. I got a great deal on it, and so far, have not had one issue. Not all used systems are bad...

No one said all used systems are bad but unless you know the place you bought it from is willing to take it back if you got a bad one and your willing to take the time to deal with it. (Who wants to give their kid a gift for christmas and have it not work when they try to hook it up online? or RROD after a few hours?) You got lucky but the OP needs to decide if she wants to take that chance.

I would never get a used handheld system or used XBOX since they have such issues. Nintendo and Sony systems seem to hold up much better. (For example I have never heard someone say there old Nintendo system is getting old and needs to be replaced soon. Those things last long enough where the new one is out and 99% of people moved on to the new one by then. (I know people with original nintendo systems in their attic that still work, actually there is a working one in my attic, and our PS1 still works too)

 

[SandrA9810]

Technology does not keep up with longevity of a product. Blu Ray readers die a lot quicker than a CD reader, as to why a PS1 will outlast a PS3. It's why an old CRT tv will outlast any LCD/Plasma/LED tv. It's just a fact of life now.

If you know what you're searching for, it is possible to find a new model Xbox. However, Microsoft did a mass banning on Call of Duty (and a few other online shooters), which ticked a lot of people off. Hey, it's what you get for trying to copy games... But like the other poster said, Gamestop isn't going to know this when they take it in as trade. They only turn it on for a few minutes, pop in a game, make sure the controller works. Apparently 2 million users were banned at once with Modern Warfare 2, Gamestop got a mass influx of trade, and a mass increase of sales that month...

Now to the other problem with the system. Sure they say they fixed the problem, and there's the 3 year extended warranty for the red ring. But the new systems cause a different problem, that's pretty much the same problem, it just gives a different error message so they don't have to fix it for free.

Pretty much the average gamer has replaced their system 3-5 times, if not more since release. But because they have all the games, their buddies, and everything else invested into it, they just replace the system.

That's not to say PS3 users don't have their own set of issues, the systems do die too. But they're much easier to fix. The longevity of the system is a lot longer.

 

[Hannathy]

Xbox seems to be what the vast majority of boys have. My son and all his friends have them and there does not seem to be the problems that they used to have. He has not had a problem and he plays a lot and so do all his friends.

He is old enough to know what he wants for Xmas so go with it. Mine was perfectly happy only getting that, it is what he wanted vs several smaller things.

You will want to get him a Xbox 360 with 250GB. That is what he will need to play the really good games all the guys play.

As far as the on line fee, That was my DS's birthday gift (but he got it 6 months early when he got the box)

My son and his friends all play on line and it is really funny to be sitting in the kitchen and listening to him interact with all his friends, you would swear they were all together in the family room.

 

[mommy2_3]

well now i think i will just stick with our Wii i was also thinking about getting an x box. we got our Wii used at game stop. its been almost a year (got it on black friday) and have not had one problem with it! i also got an extended warrenty on it just in case. it was only $20 more so i was like what the heck why not.

 

[kamik86]

well now i think i will just stick with our Wii i was also thinking about getting an x box. we got our Wii used at game stop. its been almost a year (got it on black friday) and have not had one problem with it! i also got an extended warrenty on it just in case. it was only $20 more so i was like what the heck why not.

If we were discussing the Wii I don't think nearly as many people would be saying not to go used. The Wii doesn't have the issue of getting kicked off the internet (not that Nintendo is great with online gaming anyway but it won't kick you off for like Netflix) the Wii didn't the overheating issues with early versions so even if you got an early one that wouldn't be much chance of it suddenly breaking. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a used Wii to someone.

 

[Rynosaur]

You will want to get him a Xbox 360 with 250GB. That is what he will need to play the really good games all the guys play.

you dont need the 250gb to play the really good games. the 4gb or any other will play the games just fine. especially if you have extra thumbdrives or memory cards you can use most any to increase the hard drive space.

the increased hard drive space will give you more room for game saves and downloads, but if you just use the game for saving in-game data you can easily use the smaller hard drive systems.

 

[StephMK]

Thanks for all of the advice!! I think we have decided to wait another year or two. New versions might be out by then and if we're going to buy a second system, that'll be the last one. Since he is still young, we might as well til he's a little closer to teen age so it'll hopefully last through his gaming years til he's old enough to update it himself.