xbox 360 help needed for clueless mom!

[r4blessings]

We were "thinking" of getting ds the xbox 360 system for his birthday in June. He plays it all the time at his friends houses and although we have a wii that all the kids love to play with, ds keeps talking about the xbox and all his friends play each other online.

So.....haven't made up our minds yet, but I was curious about what exactly I would need to get. I see they sell special bundles but I don't think we'd want that. Can anyone tell me what I would need to get?

I know the game he plays with his friends and I know he'd like to go online to play with them, but other than that, I have no idea what I'd need. And I can't really ask him, especially if we're not sure if we are going to do it.

Can anyone help me and let me know what the must-haves are and direct me to the best place to go to buy it? Thanks so much!

 

[lomorton]

My DBF plays all the time, and we bought the Xbox arcade version for ($199). He plays Halo and Call of Duty online(which requires an xbox live membership), has a headset to talk to other players(does not come with the xbox), and an extra harddrive just so that he can play the games. If you buy a bundle, it will oftentimes come with a game that your DS might want to buy anyway.

It's pretty costly unfortunately, but you can always buy refurbished consoles, games, and hardware from Gamestop(or something similar). Be careful if you buy from craigslist because some people might be selling xbox's that suffer from the "Red ring of death"/aka the machine is broken!

 

[r4blessings]

thank you! Yes, he is looking to play Call of Duty, so I know that is one game I need to buy. I guess a headset is on the list, as well as a xbox live membership card. How many points do I need to get? Or a 12 month membership would be better?

 

[lomorton]

My DBF just said "he won't need very many points, just enough to buy the maps." My translation is: Maps are updates to the game, but not always necessary. You can buy points cards as you go along, and don't need to invest in a big one right away.

He has a year-membership, which came with 3 free 1-month live subscriptions, so basically 15 months. A lot of the time the xbox console will come with a free one month, and the hard drive sometimes does as well. Headset is a must- rechargeable controller will also end up paying for itself, as the battery controllers die very very quickly.

 

[louey]

My almost 17 year old has it and I have to say be careful and monitor how much he plays. It really can be addicting and they don't realize how much time they are on there. We limit him to weekends only because of school. He enjoys it and has fun playing. Just my 2 cents

 

[lomorton]

My almost 17 year old has it and I have to say be careful and monitor how much he plays. It really can be addicting and they don't realize how much time they are on there. We limit him to weekends only because of school. He enjoys it and has fun playing. Just my 2 cents

I second that! My DBF works 60 hrs/week, so this is his outlet, but it can be very addictive.

Also, just to make sure since he's been playing at friend's houses, you know it's pretty graphic and violent right?

 

[polineedyan]

father of 2 boys and self admitted xbox junkie here..I would lean toward buying separate. no bundles. similarly, no craigs list. i would probably not buy a used one at all, even from gamestop. The initial models (as recent as 2 years ago) are a mess. You can fix them, but they break again. you wouldnt want to get one while its in its working mode, only to have it break again.
Buy NEW. That way, if it breaks, you can work with microsoft to get it fixed. Often, they do the work for free.
I think they come with a headset. Its not as good as others. You will need a hard drive. You will also need a router to connect to your internet box you already have. The xbox memberships, i buy 3 months for twenty bucks, but the more you buy, the less you spend..all tolled, it may cost u around 400.
xbox-199, hard drive i think 80, headset 70, router 50, game 50, membership 20.
Not knowing your childrens ages, I will give you this one tip of parental advice.
Call of duty is rated mature. That means that if your sons are on xbox live, they are with other assumed adults. The language online is not filtered. At all. It is nothing short of bar room talk. It is not uncommon to hear cursing, racial slurs, arguments, threats, etc. Its not pretty.
The game itself is good, but right now, im rethinking the xbox live business.

 

[BelleBeautyandtheBeast]

We have an Xbox 360. My 12 year old is the only one of the kids (ages 12, 10 and 8) that has online privileges (Xbox Live membership). He is closely monitored and parental controls are set so that he cannot play games rated M or watch movies rated R.

I bought a bundle that had everything we needed to get started (console, hard drive, headset). I'm pretty sure it also came with 30 days free on Xbox Live Gold (silver is always free but you cannot play with friends online).

Good luck with your decision.

 

[r4blessings]

thank you for all the suggestions. We do plan to monitor his playing carefully. Right now he is only allowed to play the wii or his ds on weekends. Weeknights are very busy with sports and homework. He loves to read and he also has a set hour to read each night. We live in a smallish house so I'll definitly be aware when he is online.

I definitly want to buy new. I was looking at walmart online as a possible place to purchase.

Quick question....is there any way to monitor who he plays with online? If I tell him he can only play with his friends from school....is that something that is possible? Or is it basically open to anyone once you are online? Basically, he wants to play with a few boys from his basketball and lax team online, but I know he doesn't want to play with strangers. And I don't want him playing with strangers. He is a great kid, and I know I can trust him but I'm not sure if its possible to just play with certain people.

Thanks for all the help! Its a little over-whelming!

 

[louey]

thank you for all the suggestions. We do plan to monitor his playing carefully. Right now he is only allowed to play the wii or his ds on weekends. Weeknights are very busy with sports and homework. He loves to read and he also has a set hour to read each night. We live in a smallish house so I'll definitly be aware when he is online.

I definitly want to buy new. I was looking at walmart online as a possible place to purchase.

Quick question....is there any way to monitor who he plays with online? If I tell him he can only play with his friends from school....is that something that is possible? Or is it basically open to anyone once you are online? Basically, he wants to play with a few boys from his basketball and lax team online, but I know he doesn't want to play with strangers. And I don't want him playing with strangers. He is a great kid, and I know I can trust him but I'm not sure if its possible to just play with certain people.

Thanks for all the help! Its a little over-whelming!

My son is on a band trip or I would ask him, I would hope it would be like facebook where you have to friend someone and they have to accept you as a friend. I am not sure how that all works. Good Luck I am sure he will be a happy camper.

 

[dawson5]

I have three boys who all play.

Right now newegg has the 12 month gold membership for $35 with free shipping & handling and unless you live in CA, no sales tax. You can buy the same thing from Walmart online for $40, free site to store but you will pay sales tax for $40. You will be paying about $50 in any other store for the same 12 month gold membership. If you want the link to the newegg deal, let me know and I'll post it here or pm it to you. It's part of their newsletter, not sure if it's on the site or if you need a code.

Like one of the PP stated the language is awful. Ours is out in the open, they are not allowed to take it in their rooms to play. We have blocked people before. I think you can complain, but it does nothing. There was actually a thing on Oprah once about a guy getting death threats and racial slurs over a game, this guy sought him out. MS would do nothing. You can ding their reputation though. You could make a rule that they only play with friends that they know. Yes you can impose that rule that they only play with people they know. You friend them and when you go online, it should pop up who of your friends are online. You need to know their gamertags. (you can play with strangers, they aren't all bad, but there is always that possibility--but it happens with their friends too.)

The headset it comes with is awful. I think it broke within a week. Two of mine have bought their own headsets. Middle one has the wireless ear piece for about a year now. Works well, no wires and rechargeable I think. Youngest bought a wired, padded headset by Turtle Beach. I think they are about the same price.

To use live you need an internet connection. You can get the antenna and go wireless but your connection is only as good as your router. We invested in a 10 or 20 foot ethernet cord. There is less lag in gameplay that way. It is also in the office. They also have the antenna so they can take it in the family room on the big screen. The ethernet cord should be under $20 and the wireless antenna is about $70+.

 

[cvjw]

My DS is 10 and plays X-Box. We have just limited the hours that he is allowed to play - you can do that on the console. He is only allowed to play with his friends online - he knows all of their "gamer names." Make sure you get the X-box with the hard drive. He plays all the mature games, as does his friends. He loves his X-box - it is addicting.

 

[r4blessings]

wow, thanks again for the help! I have a wireless router and don't seem to have any problems with my laptops when I am in the family room. That is where our wii is also, and the wireless on that seems to work fine. I guess I could see how it works, and then if need be, buy the ethernet cable.

Glad to hear that you can restrict who you are "friends" with. He has a facebook account now that he uses to keep in touch with a few friends in school and my sister, bil, and parents. But the rule has always been if he gets a friend request he needs to show me first before accepting. He has always done that, so I think I can trust him on this also. Of course, we will be checking and monitoring. DH is a high school teacher, so we both have a fair idea of what can go on at this age and in the schools.

So, the console, the 12month gold membership, a better headset......anything else? What is the difference between the console and one with a hard drive?

What would I do without you guys? I'd be spending long hours in Gamestop buying everything they suggested! Thanks for all the help!

 

[dawson5]

I went and found the link for the live membership deal:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...410-Index-_-Xbox360Accessories-_-74103129-L0H

MS used to sell three different xbox's. The arcade, and the two others had hard drives of different sizes. We bought the middle one but they no longer sell it. I think if you buy one with a hard drive already, you won't need to add a hard drive until later. I haven't looked into it in a while. Those maps take up space. You can always delete maps too. Price it out, if you buy the arcade you will need a hard drive. Also, if you delete, it should still have a record of your purchase and you should be able to get it again, no charge. Need Live points to get maps. There was a way to play a game for so many days and earn stuff. Kids haven't done it in a while.

My oldest is still sleeping. When he gets up and moving, I'll send him in and see if he can help with any questions.

ETA:

Here's MS breakdown of the difference between the arcade and elite.
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/

 

[r4blessings]

thanks so much for the info. I was wondering what the difference was b/w the arcade and the elite consoles.

 

[wlwilliams9]

Just a heads up; even if you restrict the friends he accepts to play with on xbox live, when he is online and playing with his friends, he will also be playing with "strangers" unless he sets up a "room" for friends only. For example, Call of Duty online puts 16 players in a "room" to play together. If he is playing with 4 of his friends online, 11 more players are in the same "room" playing with him and his friends unless a private room is set up. There is a also setting where he can only talk & hear people on his friends list.

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

Also, never use your credit card to buy your LIVE membership through microsoft on the xbox itself. It is next to impossible to remove it - believe me I tried. Always buy the card - a 12 month can be purchased elsewhere as a great deal as mentioned before,

 

[shortbun]

My son buys himself new points often. He doesn't play during the week because his school work is pretty iintense. On Friday nights they play online and some Sunday afternoons unless there's a game of hoops organized. Go to Game Stop. They will give you good info, at least the kids who work at our local stores do. They are great!

 

[torinsmom]

Like others said, it is addictive, so be careful with that. I don't know if its possible for you to control who your son can talk to, although he can refuse to "accept" them when they ask to join a game. Preteens may feel excited to have older kids to play with and let them join without thinking. Just like anything over the internet, it is easy for a perv to get on and pretend they are a kid as well. Kids get to talking and school names, etc. get brought up. You would def. need to be very aware of who he is playing with.

The Mature games are also very mature. You really need to investigate before you buy, because some have simulated sex acts, very mature language(the f-bomb as DS says) and very graphic violence. When my nephews (13 and 11) come over, my DS is limited in the games he plays. I always talk to the clerk at Gamestop when he gets a new game, because Mature can mean many things. DS is 15, so I am okay with language, women dressed in bathing suits and violence. I am NOT okay with simulated sex, even at his age.

We always buy the year Xbox Live membership on Amazon for $34.99. DS buys the points as he needs them. He got the Arcade model, which came with a free hard drive at Circuit City Black Friday 2008 for $99.99. We just had to get it repaired for the first time, so it has held up pretty well. He also uses the wired headset and wireless controller. Ours is hooked up through the ethernet cord, not wireless.

Marsha

 

[r4blessings]

thanks for all the tips that everyone keeps posting! I am taking notes!

I know he wants to play Call of Duty.....he does have it on the ds now along with modern warfare (those have teen ratings?) but the xbox and wii versions have mature ratings. I guess I will pop into gamestop this week and talk to someone about it. I will want to ask why the same game has different ratings b/c of different consoles.....maybe its the graphics?

I know they are very helpful. I was in one before Christmas buying Assasin's Creed for my nephew who is 17. The clerk came up and asked me how old my son was and when I said 11, he said that it was very violent. Then I had to explain that it wasn't for my ds! He said it was perfect for my nephew and the hot Christmas game for that age!

So thats on my agenda for this week....speaking to the Gamestop people! But I'm pretty certain I need the elite version b/c of the hard drive, along with better headphones and an extra controller. Also the 12 month gold membership that someone was so kind to send me a link to for a great deal.

Never fails to amaze me how helpful the dis boards are....and how you take time out of your busy days to help a stranger and answer questions! Thanks!