Help me buy a Xbox 360

[runwad]

My DS12 wants an xbox for Christmas so he can play online with his friends. I have no clue with all the different sizes what do I need to buy? There's 4g,250g, 320g? I like the ones that have the $199 price for the console and the controller. Will that accomplish his goal of being able to play on line with his friends? We have a wii so I'm not getting into buying a whole other system and accessories. But I want to make sure a 4g for 199 will do the job. Oh and I guess he needs a headset too, whats the cheapest that will do. Thanks!

 

[troane522]

My DS12 wants an xbox for Christmas so he can play online with his friends. I have no clue with all the different sizes what do I need to buy? There's 4g,250g, 320g? I like the ones that have the $199 price for the console and the controller. Will that accomplish his goal of being able to play on line with his friends? We have a wii so I'm not getting into buying a whole other system and accessories. But I want to make sure a 4g for 199 will do the job. Oh and I guess he needs a headset too, whats the cheapest that will do. Thanks!

The 360 comes in two sizes new: 4gb and 250 gb. Depending on the games he will be playing and presumably saving 4gb does not last long. You can buy that size and buy a memory stick or just buy the 250 gb. Most gamers I know prefer turtle beach headsets; there is a big price range with these; they come in wired and wireless options. Also keep in mind that unlike the PS3, you have to pay to play online with the 360 so you will need to buy a xbox live subscription and/or the cards that offer so many points.

 

[erincon23]

You're definitely better off buying the bigger hard drive. And you can get the Xbox cheapo headphones for $20 or $25, but they need to be replaced every 3-6 months. You don't NEED the online service, but that's how you play against other people. You may want to really think about it before you get it for a 12-year-old. If you decide to get the online service, you can buy it right from the XBox or on your computer --you'll have to set up an Xbox account. You can buy cards at Target, Best Buy, etc., that will give you 3-6-12 months of Gold service. If your son wants to play in person with other people (you, for instance) you'll also need a 2nd controller -- I think the game console only comes with one.

You also buy points to get add-ons for the games -- maps, additional characters,etc. Again, you can buy cards with points at stores (they would make great gift suggestions) or just buy the points through the Xbox.

Depending on the games your DS wants to play, you may also have to get the Kinect add-on -- makes it work like a Wii, where it senses your body movements. We don't have it (have had Xbox for several years), because my DS isn't interested in those games, but they do sound like fun -- dance, snowboarding, etc.

You can also use the Xbox as a DVD player and a way to watch Netflix!

 

[LJSquishy]

I recommend the 250g harddrive if you think he will want to download his games directly onto the console or download any free or low-cost games from the Marketplace (likely). Downloading the games directly onto the console makes them run smoother.

As far as a headset goes, the Turtle Beach ones are highly rated, but they will cost around $100 give or take for a good one. It may not be something you want to invest in yet for him so you can opt for a cheaper headset for now if you want. I recommend a wireless one.

I also highly recommend getting the Quick Charge Kit: http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Quic...&sr=8-6&keywords=xbox+360+play+and+charge+kit

along with an extra battery (or 2). Amazon sells a 2 pack of the rechargeable batteries for $20: http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Rech...&sr=8-7&keywords=xbox+360+play+and+charge+kit

I would choose to get those two items over any other accessories.

His xbox will come with an xbox live subscription for x amount of time so let him try it out with his friends before paying for an extended subscription. It works out to be about $60/year I believe.

 

[Fyrefly]

The 250g one is the way to go. If he ever wants to buy a single game online that would fill up the 4g almost immediately. My boyfriend and I share an Xbox and even without having bought stuff online our combined saved games add up to more than 4g easily. And in our experience when we use a flash drive to take game data with us the Xbox runs super slow when there's one in, so you don't want to plan for that.

As far as playing online the new system should come with a month of Xbox Live which is their online service. Around Christmas time if you let yourself get Xbox emails you may see sales on the Live service. Full price it's generally about $60 a year.

Be advised that adults play games on Xbox live. It's not like Nintendo where you need friend codes and you can only play with people you know. While it's possible on most games to only play with friends the default settings tend to be playing with anyone who is available. You will want to have a talk with your son about what constitutes proper behavior online. Sadly a lot of most egregious swearers/ones that send inappropriate messages to female players/all around jerks are often young teenage boys. And also just expect that there will be swearing and such online if you let him play with strangers in an adult environment. I just wanted you to know that so you can know what you're going in for and set boundaries.

 

[runwad]

The 250g one is the way to go. If he ever wants to buy a single game online that would fill up the 4g almost immediately. My boyfriend and I share an Xbox and even without having bought stuff online our combined saved games add up to more than 4g easily. And in our experience when we use a flash drive to take game data with us the Xbox runs super slow when there's one in, so you don't want to plan for that.

As far as playing online the new system should come with a month of Xbox Live which is their online service. Around Christmas time if you let yourself get Xbox emails you may see sales on the Live service. Full price it's generally about $60 a year.

Be advised that adults play games on Xbox live. It's not like Nintendo where you need friend codes and you can only play with people you know. While it's possible on most games to only play with friends the default settings tend to be playing with anyone who is available. You will want to have a talk with your son about what constitutes proper behavior online. Sadly a lot of most egregious swearers/ones that send inappropriate messages to female players/all around jerks are often young teenage boys. And also just expect that there will be swearing and such online if you let him play with strangers in an adult environment. I just wanted you to know that so you can know what you're going in for and set boundaries.

Thank you I was aware of this and the reason I'm not "for" an xbox. I told my DH this will be his area to monitor as I monitor their online stuff, facebook, twitter, instagram. DS says he and his friends can create and be in their own private room so they don't have to be with others is that true? Thanks for the info.

I read too fast you did say on most games this can be done. I hate all this crap we have to monitor with our kids. My parents sure had it easy with us.ha

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

250 is the way 2 go. You can usually get a LIVE membership on amazon for around $37-40/yr, you just pay and instantly download the code. That's what I do and we have 2 sep systems. I don't buy the most expensive headsets, but turtle beach, around $50, wired, they last longer. The games, you can buy used unless they are brand new. I wouldn't buy kinnect, boys that aren't ino the wii anymore are probably looking for forza, halo, ...things like that. The 360 will last them a long time. Shop around , there are some good deals now and in the next couple weeks.