Looking for help figuring out which Xbox to buy

[Ceila]

I'm thinking about getting my son an Xbox for his birthday. There seem to be quite a few different choices, though, and I'm having trouble figuring out what is what.

We have a Wii, but he wants to be able to play some of the Xbox games with his friends who have that system (through wireless?). Call of Duty is one game I know he likes.

Anyway, I'm completely clueless when it comes to gaming systems and would appreciate any help I can get, lol!

 

[SpecialK]

My kids have xbox 360 and play online with their friends all the time. A good source of info are the people who work at GameStop or a similar store. They are much better informed than the Best Buy clerks IMO.

 

[mom2boys77]

You want xbox 360 and I agree with the previous poster about Gamestop..they are very helpful there!

 

[SandrA9810]

Just be forewarned, There's a 50$ a year membership fee for Xbox Live. I heard it'll be going up to 60$ a year soon. You will need Live for any reason to connect the xbox online, including watching Netflix streaming.

Many of the games that are on Xbox are also on PS3. However, even if the same game is on multiple platforms, you can only play with players on the same platform.

And be very very careful with the Xbox, they are known to break. Twice Microsoft has been to court and ordered to extend the warranty period of certain models, because they didn't want to fix a hardware issue. Just check red ring of death.

Another helpful tip I learned recently, if you ever want to find the complaints of a product. Type in F*** product name. There's over a million more hits for Xbox360 than PS3.

 

[Ceila]

Thanks! I'll look for the 360. But aren't there different kinds of 360s, too? Arcade, Elite, and maybe something else? Is there is big difference in how the games play on those?

 

[Hannathy]

My son just bought with his Christmas and birthday money the XBox 360 S with 250 GB. the S stands for slim. He said it is the most memory and the only way to get this memory without buying one of the special ones. I am only spitting back what I was told when I asked why he wanted that particular one in matters of video systems I refer to the 12 yr old.

I do know there is a new COD coming out soon called black ops and is based on Vietnam and the cold war.

Halo Reach just came out on Tues and that was a biggie! Our High School rock was even painted for that event. LOL (usually painted with pep things for the teams or musicals, graduating, etc)

 

[Big Cuddly Bear]

Just be forewarned, There's a 50$ a year membership fee for Xbox Live. I heard it'll be going up to 60$ a year soon. You will need Live for any reason to connect the xbox online, including watching Netflix streaming.

Many of the games that are on Xbox are also on PS3. However, even if the same game is on multiple platforms, you can only play with players on the same platform.

And be very very careful with the Xbox, they are known to break. Twice Microsoft has been to court and ordered to extend the warranty period of certain models, because they didn't want to fix a hardware issue. Just check red ring of death.

Another helpful tip I learned recently, if you ever want to find the complaints of a product. Type in F*** product name. There's over a million more hits for Xbox360 than PS3.

Not the new ones.

I have paid the $50 to join Live before because of Netflix streaming. But now it streams for free into my new TV. To the OP... your son will want to be on Live.

 

[Ceila]

Many of the games that are on Xbox are also on PS3. However, even if the same game is on multiple platforms, you can only play with players on the same platform.

Right - that's kind of the point I was trying to make in my OP. He wants to be able to play with his friends who all have the Xbox. I'm not considering the PS3, so I didn't mention it.

To the OP... your son will want to be on Live.

Thanks for this advice. Is that something that you can get on all of the different Xbox versions, or only certain kinds?

Thanks to everyone who has been helpful with Xbox info! I've been trying to figure this stuff our by googling, but I'm getting lost with some of the info that's out there.

 

[Hannathy]

May I suggest you just speak to your son. They usually know everything there is to know and have their preferences.
This is what I do! I don't even try to figure it out.Or keep up! When my son bought his I had him go on to the Best buy site pick it out and order it all I did was supply the credit card info. (after I made him do all the research and compare prices at diff. stores)
I know my son goes on live and plays and talks with other players, not sure what he does to do this tho.

 

[shortbun]

Thanks! I'll look for the 360. But aren't there different kinds of 360s, too? Arcade, Elite, and maybe something else? Is there is big difference in how the games play on those?

We have two. Red Ring of Death happens when the unit overheats. Get one with a built in cooler and/or buy an after market cooler. Do no put the unit in an enclosed shelf; it needs plenty of air moving around it. I would not buy an Arcade as they have the least memory and if there's lots of gaming going on, eventually you are going to need memory. If they play online, they can win points and buy their own online fees or ask for point cards for birthdays and Christmas that will cover the annual fee. My son played online most of the summer with his school friends after curfew. None of them are playing now because they are too busy with sports and school. Around here Gamestop employees are the 'goto' guys for information and for that reason they get our business.

 

[bdoyledimou]

Just be forewarned, There's a 50$ a year membership fee for Xbox Live. I heard it'll be going up to 60$ a year soon. You will need Live for any reason to connect the xbox online, including watching Netflix streaming.
<snip>
And be very very careful with the Xbox, they are known to break. Twice Microsoft has been to court and ordered to extend the warranty period of certain models, because they didn't want to fix a hardware issue. Just check red ring of death.

Was a problem 4 years ago, hasn't been for the last 2. They voluntarily extended the warranty. there was no court case. there IS a class action suit or two against Sony currently due to the YLOD (Yellow Light of death) problem caused by weak diodes used in the BR player of the system. They tend to burn out randomly, on top of the other issue where the PS3's brick after they force a firmware update.

Also note that Sony just released PSN+ which is.. $50 a year.. you don't need it to play online games (yet) but it's coming....

We have two. Red Ring of Death happens when the unit overheats. Get one with a built in cooler and/or buy an after market cooler. Do no put the unit in an enclosed shelf; it needs plenty of air moving around it. I would not buy an Arcade as they have the least memory and if there's lots of gaming going on, eventually you are going to need memory. If they play online, they can win points and buy their own online fees or ask for point cards for birthdays and Christmas that will cover the annual fee. My son played online most of the summer with his school friends after curfew. None of them are playing now because they are too busy with sports and school. Around here Gamestop employees are the 'goto' guys for information and for that reason they get our business.

DO NOT USE AFTERMARKET COOLERS. There are NO Aftermarket coolers authorized for use on a 360. They tend to brown out the 360 as well.


To the OP -- if he wants a 360, get the Elite.. (harddrive, wireless n, wireless controllers, and mic and probably a game or two). It's worth the extra $99. If on a budget, a new Arcade with the 4GB internal memory is the way to go.

--Disclaimer.. I am an agnostic gamer.. I don't have a 360, a ps3, or a wii.
I own 2 Ps3's, 2 360s and 2 Wiis.. I have also not experienced any of the problems detailed above, even though all my systems are LAUNCH DAY purchases and have heavy use. (Probably 40-50 hours a week)

 

[Starbrite]

I'm thinking about getting my son an Xbox for his birthday. There seem to be quite a few different choices, though, and I'm having trouble figuring out what is what.

We have a Wii, but he wants to be able to play some of the Xbox games with his friends who have that system (through wireless?). Call of Duty is one game I know he likes.

Anyway, I'm completely clueless when it comes to gaming systems and would appreciate any help I can get, lol!

I was going to post the same questions today!! We are a Wii family, but DS has requested an Xbox this year. I just started my research tonight.

To the OP... your son will want to be on Live.

Why? What is it used for exactly?
Is there no other way to play against your friends? And is it possible to play against your real life friends, not just random rooms of people?
Also, can you use it to surf the web in any way?


Also - someone please correct me if I'm wrong....
If I buy the older xbox for $199, I will need to buy an additional wireless router for $99. But if I buy the $299 xbox, that router is built in already? Same price, just one unit instead of 2?

What about the new motion sensor wii-like thingy that's coming out? (Excuse my non-technical name) Can that be used with any game or just special ones? He'll mostly be playing the fighting type games, so I'm guessing it'll be fairly useless for us

 

[Big Cuddly Bear]

"Live" is the internet part of community XBOX gaming. It is what allows people to play against each other. There may be a free version - I don't know - but I use the $50 a year version. It lets me play games against other players, watch Netflix ( if you subscribe to Netflix ), and has all kinds of other goodies.

For about $4 a month, I think it is quite worth it.

I have the old version with a separate wireless adaptor. I sure wish I had built in.....

 

[Big Cuddly Bear]

OK, here are the differences between FREE and the paid GOLD XBOX Live

http://www.xbox.com:80/en-US/live/joinlive.htm

So, apparently, you MUST have a gold membership to play against other people that are on the internet.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I was in Gamestop yesterday and saw "the thing" otherwise known as the "Kinect".

Looks expensive. I will not be getting that for awhile.

 

[Big Cuddly Bear]

I was in Gamestop yesterday and saw "the thing" otherwise known as the "Kinect".

Looks expensive. I will not be getting that for awhile.

I won't be getting it at all, but tomorrow, I get the PS3 new controller, called "Move".

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I won't be getting it at all, but tomorrow, I get the PS3 new controller, called "Move".

Yea....whatever.

I refuse to buy a PS3 until I actually have a HDTV.

 

[Hannathy]

Like I said my DS just got the xbox 360S and it came with a free 1 month subscription to play on line, then there was an offer somewhere-maybe on line thru the game, don't know for sure but that gave him another month for free. He does want to go over to best buy and get the year subscription for about 4ish a month cause you a T shirt if you get it there. (according to him)

So if you get the xbox 360 it will come with 1 month free so you can try it before putting out $50. But he will want it because that is how most of the games are set up to get to the good parts.

Like with Halo Reach it has been out 2 days and he is done with the single player campaigns and now can play the "good" campaigns on line, multiplayer.

 

[SandrA9810]

The Move looks amazing cool. I want to play echochrome and sorcery with it.

The Kinect on the other hand, has completely failed. If you watch the E3 videos of it, you'll see that the "players" spent hours rehearsing what they were supposed to do on stage. And they messed up horribly when they showed it off. They prerecorded the game, and the the person was supposed to follow along with the video. Making it appear that the game was following the person's movement... doesn't work that way when the person moves several seconds after the video. They're also having trouble with the kinect seeing people of different races. It's not going to be ready for launch.
The move on the other hand still works in the dark, and has way better precision than the Wii Motion plus.

Any case, be careful with your investment. Many systems can last a long time if treated well. Overheating is a big issue with them, so do what you can to keep the system running cool as possible. And always go with the bigger memory, eventually it won't be enough.

Just like you can buy PSN cards at the store, you can buy XBox live cards at the store. Same price too. So he can save up his own money if he wants to play online.

 

[bicker]

My son just bought with his Christmas and birthday money the XBox 360 S with 250 GB.

This is the unit you want to buy. The other unit currently offered is the Xbox 4GB flash. With the 250GB, though, you can cache substantial portions of the running code on the speed hard drive, drastically improving the gaming experience.

Previous Xbox 360s were flaky. All major analysts are saying that that's finally been remedied. The boxes currently for sale are the boxes that Microsoft should have made in the first place. Now is the time to buy an Xbox.