# Is it too late in the console cylcle to buy an XBox360? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 28, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626 "2010-04-28T14:52:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626/41 "2010-04-29T18:54:03Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > Good for you, but this shouldn’t have been the comment that did it. **lemac** is either exagerating, has the quietest vacuum I’ve ever heard tell of, or has an old or defective 360. I can’t even hear the drive on mine run - the read lens moving back and forth makes more noise than the disc spinning. My gaming PC with its half dozen fans makes WAY more noise than the drive on my 360, so take his comments with a grain of salt. Yeah, MS has quieted down the fans on the 360 recently. As long as you buy new, this isn’t a problem. But the early run of the system did have a ridiculously loud fan. And I’m not exaggerating when I say that it drowned out the sound if I didn’t have the TV loud enough. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626/42 "2010-04-29T19:29:16Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > That was interesting, but it’s basic human nature 101. That we like to categorize ourselves and express favoritism to our “group” and disdain for other “groups” is something anyone with an IQ above 10 should have figured out by now. Well, yes, but there’s value in demonstrating that our common-sense ideas about how people work have been verified in somewhat controlled circumstances. Those common-sense ideas about human nature don’t always play out in the lab, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626/43 "2010-04-29T19:31:09Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Yeah, MS has quieted down the fans on the 360 recently. As long as you buy new, this isn’t a problem. > > But the early run of the system did have a ridiculously loud fan. And I’m not exaggerating when I say that it drowned out the sound if I didn’t have the TV loud enough. This is a key point. For a whole host of reasons - RRoD, loud fans, smaller hard drives - you would be ill-served in buying a used, refurbished, or simply over-stocked xbox 360 that had been sitting unopened in a warehouse since 2006. Buy new. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626/44 "2010-04-29T19:50:50Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Yeah, MS has quieted down the fans on the 360 recently. As long as you buy new, this isn’t a problem. > > But the early run of the system did have a ridiculously loud fan. And I’m not exaggerating when I say that it drowned out the sound if I didn’t have the TV loud enough. Mine’s only a year old and still pretty loud. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626/45 "2010-04-29T19:52:41Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > I’m concerned about the whole 3D gaming thing. I already look geeky enough with my surround sound headset and wii motion controls/mouse. Do I really need to wear some clunky 3D glasses too? How much geek can we take? Our wives will leave us. Our dogs will hide their heads in shame. I’m betting they’ll use the same 3D system currently being used in the movie theaters, and those 3D glasses are exceptionally non-clunky. A little dorky, but then they’re cheap things. A more permanent pair of 3D glasses ought to look more like a good pair of sunglasses by the time Microsoft is ready to try it. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626/46 "2010-04-29T20:13:52Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > I’m betting they’ll use the same 3D system currently being used in the movie theaters, and those 3D glasses are exceptionally non-clunky. A little dorky, but then they’re cheap things. A more permanent pair of 3D glasses ought to look more like a good pair of sunglasses by the time Microsoft is ready to try it. PS3 uses the shutter glasses needed for the 3D technology they’re going to be using for 3D bluray. I thought the 3D in theaters required a special projector? ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626/47 "2010-04-29T20:42:56Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > So if you have a USB hard drive, or have/are willing drop $30 on a USB memory stick you’d like to use, that could be a cheaper route until you determine if you want to pay actual money for a MS branded hard drive (which, make no mistake, are price gouging - a 250GB XBox hard drive costs about as much as 1 TB SATA drive.). It’s somewhat worse than that - it’s not uncommon to find 2tb drives cheaper than the 250gb drive for the xbox. > [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > But… once again!.. this advice is given in a thread where someone is asking for advice on what console to buy. You don’t understand why some people would see red after constantly having to hear ir in every console-related thread? No. What sort of mental problems do you have to respond with burning rage when someone tries, in a non-hostile way, to inform someone of choices they might not know they had but might be interested in? You act as though Kinthalis dropped in and said “fucking idiot, why are you getting a console?!?!” when he was just trying to help the guy know his options. Especially when in part he’s counteracting the ignorance and lies you deliberately spread about the cost and difficulty of entry into playing on a PC. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626/48 "2010-04-29T20:59:35Z")
Even if the next generation of games were closer, this would still be a fine time to get a current gen system. They won’t stop support for the current gens (in the form of new games, new systems, warranty support) for some time after the new ones come out (…well, by Sony and Nintendo’s precedent, at least…I have no idea how fast XBox support died when the 360 came out), and online support for games that have online components will no doubt continue for a long while after that. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626/49 "2010-04-29T21:05:22Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > The ‘720’ isn’t really going to come out till they can do satisfactory 3-D gaming, they said once, so it’s not much to worry about. Again, I’m relatively late to the 360 party myself. Didn’t Microsoft go on record stating something to the effect that the 360 would be a “20 year” console? ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626/50 "2010-04-29T21:09:57Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > I’m betting they’ll use the same 3D system currently being used in the movie theaters, and those 3D glasses are exceptionally non-clunky. A little dorky, but then they’re cheap things. A more permanent pair of 3D glasses ought to look more like a good pair of sunglasses by the time Microsoft is ready to try it. Didn’t the Genesis or Master Drive try 3D? You know what would be really great? If Nintendo could come out with a 3D “portable” headset… that could play games in 1.000 shades of red. Yes. And I’m not ready to sell mine quite yet. ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626/51 "2010-04-29T23:27:42Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > Didn’t Microsoft go on record stating something to the effect that the 360 would be a “20 year” console? I remember somebody from Sony saying they expected the PS3 to have a 10 year cycle. This might have been the same idiot that said you should get a second job so you could afford the PS3’s exorbitant starting price (incidentally, he is no longer with the company, imagine that). I’m not sure if Microsoft followed suit but I can’t see anybody honestly expecting to get 10 years out of either console, much less 20. > [@](#): > > You know what would be really great? If Nintendo could come out with a 3D “portable” headset… that could play games in 1.000 shades of red. Not a headset, but they are coming out with a 3D portable. [3DS.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_3DS) And this time it will display multiple colors and it might not give you headaches! ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626/52 "2010-04-29T23:52:40Z")
> [@Terraplane](#): > > I remember somebody from Sony saying they expected the PS3 to have a 10 year cycle. This might have been the same idiot that said you should get a second job so you could afford the PS3’s exorbitant starting price (incidentally, he is no longer with the company, imagine that). I’m not sure if Microsoft followed suit but I can’t see anybody honestly expecting to get 10 years out of either console, much less 20. > > Not a headset, but they are coming out with a 3D portable. [3DS.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_3DS) And this time it will display multiple colors and it might not give you headaches! [I think he was making a funny.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Boy) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626/53 "2010-04-30T00:19:59Z")
I’m really a bit miffed about the 3D console thing. So far, all attempts at 3D make me feel sick.\* With the big consoles, I hope there will be a way to play in 2D. The 3DS seems like it will be all 3D all the time. \*Specifically when they do that stupid thing where something’s coming out of the screen and pointing straight at me. It causes me to cross my eyes. And if it moves, it really, really hurts my head, to the point where I get nauseated. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626/54 "2010-04-30T01:19:38Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > No. What sort of mental problems do you have to respond with burning rage when someone tries, in a non-hostile way, to inform someone of choices they might not know they had but might be interested in? You act as though Kinthalis dropped in and said “fucking idiot, why are you getting a console?!?!” when he was just trying to help the guy know his options. Especially when in part he’s counteracting the ignorance and lies you deliberately spread about the cost and difficulty of entry into playing on a PC. I really love that my reputation in game discussions is that of some frothing at the mouth loon. These kinds of threads are some of the most fun I have around here because I honestly don’t get to do this anywhere else. Most people find the business of games dreadfully boring. But there’s no burning rage. There’s just confusion about why every PC gamer assumes that anyone asking about console gaming a) wants to play on a PC using a keyboard and mouse and b) everyone that has a PC requires just a video card to make it game-ready. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626/55 "2010-04-30T01:47:36Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I really love that my reputation in game discussions is that of some frothing at the mouth loon. These kinds of threads are some of the most fun I have around here because I honestly don’t get to do this anywhere else. > > Most people find the business of games dreadfully boring. > > But there’s no burning rage. There’s just confusion about why every PC gamer assumes that anyone asking about console gaming a) wants to play on a PC using a keyboard and mouse and b) everyone that has a PC requires just a video card to make it game-ready. I don’t get the assumption that someone who plays on a PC would want to play with a keyboard and mouse. I always have played with a controller. Also, did we ever figure out what the minimum PC requirements to play ported console games? All I know is that anything without at least a dual core is probably useless. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626/56 "2010-04-30T02:32:42Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I really love that my reputation in game discussions is that of some frothing at the mouth loon. These kinds of threads are some of the most fun I have around here because I honestly don’t get to do this anywhere else. > > Most people find the business of games dreadfully boring. > > But there’s no burning rage. There’s just confusion about why every PC gamer assumes that anyone asking about console gaming a) wants to play on a PC using a keyboard and mouse and b) everyone that has a PC requires just a video card to make it game-ready. You asked if he understood why people “see red”, which generally means the same as “burning rage”, when someone makes that suggestion. Someone accused Kinthalis of always doing this, but the only similar thing I can think of was actually said by me, when one time someone said “I have X to spend, which console should I get?” and I came in and said “you may not know this but if you have a recent desktop for that price you can get a video card and game with that if you’re interested” and I got bitched out for trying to be helpful and letting someone know an option they may not have known they had. No one assumed that the guy wanted to play with a keyboard and mouse (and I don’t know why this is even relevant - I have a keyboard, mouse, xbox 360 controller, X52 pro HOTAS, g27 wheel, and guitar hero guitar and I use whatever is appropriate for the game). If for some strange reason you wanted to play everything on a gamepad - go right ahead. As far as having a recent desktop, that’s why he said “if you have a recent desktop…” Basically, you guys have spread the idea that OMG TO HAVE A GAMING PC YOU NEED TO SPEND $5000 AND THEN ANOTHER $800 EVERY 6 MONTHS and it’s pure bullshit. So a lot of people don’t know that it’s practical and cheap to do PC gaming. So when these threads come up about which system to buy, someone drops in with a non-hostile suggestion to consider an option they may not know they had. Again, you act like Kintahlis came in here and said “wtf why do you want a console idiot!?” when it was just a helpful suggestion. What problem can you really have with that? Oh no, the guy might end up having more options and information than before? Call the cops. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626/57 "2010-04-30T07:43:11Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Well, yes, but there’s value in demonstrating that our common-sense ideas about how people work have been verified in somewhat controlled circumstances. Those common-sense ideas about human nature don’t always play out in the lab, after all. At the end of the day, PC gamers have carpal tunnel and I don’t. How’s that for controlled circumstances? Goddamned psychologists think they know everything. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626/58 "2010-04-30T08:39:37Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Again, you act like Kintahlis came in here and said “wtf why do you want a console idiot!?” when it was just a helpful suggestion. What problem can you really have with that? Oh no, the guy might end up having more options and information than before? Call the cops. The OP specifically mentioned wanting to play 360 games. Suggesting a video card for PC gaming is clearly off-topic. Given the history of animosity around the topic, it’s almost (but not) trolling. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626/59 "2010-04-30T08:43:57Z")
I can buy off topic, but he’s not trolling. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626/60 "2010-04-30T11:00:44Z")
Back to the topic: The Xbox will not give you syphilis “An’ it harm none, Do what ye will” Religious console/PC wars should be left to GD…and even then, only to people that can’t afford one of each. Currently, you can buy ALL of them for the price of a Launch Day PS3, and a netbook for not much more than that. I fail to see the need for debate for any but the folks that feel somehow like they need to defend their choices. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-too-late-in-the-console-cylcle-to-buy-an-xbox360/537626.md?page=4)