I’ll need to get one when GTA IV comes out, and there are already some great games that I want to play (e.g., Culdcept Saga, Burnout Paradise), but is now a good time? There are rumblings on Engadget about a possible price drop and/or a model with a bigger hard drive coming out soon. And the last time they released a major “revision” of the 360, I believe they added HDMI support, so who knows what may be improved upon this time.
Yeah, I know there’s always going to be something better on the horizon, but in this case, does anyone think/know the good stuff is coming up soon?
Whenever you buy anything techy, there is always a price drop or improved package around the corner. Just buy it, if you want one, buy one. If PC shoppers, for example, waited for the next improvement or price advantage they’d never own a PC.
A better response: If the package currently on offer does what you want at a price you are prepared to pay, then buy it, if it doesn’t, wait.
It helps for the future. The HDMI one comes with a hard drive which is a major boon for the system so that’s another reason to avoid the Arcade model.
I have access to a 360 but there aren’t a lot of games on the system that I’m interested in so I can’t justify the current price for getting one myself. Maybe when the price hits the $200 range (at least two years off, probably closer to three) there will be enough games reasonably priced that I’ll want one.
Now’s as good a time as any, for the 360 - they had two price drops last year, I believe, so there’s probably not going to be any until they need to respond to something Sony’s doing.
I mean, there’s a really remote chance that they’ll lower the price around June when the PS3’s Metal Gear Solid 4 bundle (a $60 value with an 80GB system, which hasn’t been on market for months), but that’s sortof unlikely. This holiday would be the earliest time to see a price drop, and if you really don’t want to play GTA4 for half a year, you could wait and see. For my part, I’d hate to go without. :o
And, yes, the Arcade SKU is a must-avoid. The harddrive is pretty much required for online play, updates, and the extra downloadable missions for GTA4 later.
Meh, you got a TV with a HDMI in, you could use it. You plan to get a new TV in the next year or two, you could use it. But you already got the X-Box, so why bother replacing it just for the HDMI port?
I’m saying, if you buy one now, you should get one with the HDMI port for future fun.
Not followed the 360 that much - a $500 console is a bit beyond my means right now, but I might pick one up before summer.
My question is, I’ve heard a lot of people having their systems die on them due to hardware issues. Have these been resolved? If yes, what would one look for to ensure they had a new system rather than an older version that had been sitting on the shelf for a while?
It’s always a good time to get an Xbox 360 (and Culdcept Saga is fantastic!).
The next rumored price drop I’ve heard has been around the end of the month to go along with GTA4. No one knows if it’ll happen or not, but I’d put good money on saying it will. And if it does, you’ll be within your 30 day refund window.
And if not, a price drop is too far away to use as a consideration if you want one right now. Instand gratification, delayed returns, oppurtunity costs and all that other microeconomic stuff and what not.
Out of the five friends I have with 360s, EVERY single one of them has gotten the “red ring of death.” I heard somewhere (G4, maybe? Can’t remember) that something like 20% of them are affected. If I were you, I wouldn’t let it stop me, but I’d make sure to get the extended warranty. Just in case.
A 360 with a harddrive, HDMI out, and wireless controller is $350. All of the Pro models since about August have been made with HDMI outs, so you’ll only need to be sure not to get yours from a place which is backstocked that far.
The issues with overheating still definitely happen - plenty of investigative journalism has tried to figure out why, but MS is tight-lipped on this one. They have made plenty of little adjustments - 60nm chips which run cooler, more fans - but, since there no actual numbers are forthcoming, it’s pretty much all speculation as to whether these adjustments do diddly.
And if you want a store-extended warranty, you’ll have to get it from somewhere other than Gamestop - they’re not allowed to offer them there anymore. I’m not sure, but my understanding of it is something about Microsoft not honoring their end of the bargain on repairing or refunding defective consoles. Other retailers may still do it, however.
Of course, you do have three years on the 360, but only for the red ring of death overheating problem. Other problems are still only one year. Ideally, don’t put it flat on carpet (dust exacerbates the problem), and don’t for the love of Og, put an Intercooler on it. My manager had one of those fuse to the back of his system, and, of course, Microsoft wouldn’t touch it. I’ve never had any problems with mine, tho~
My wife got me an Elite for Christmas. (Have I mentioned that I’ve got a great wife!) I don’t get any other gifts this year, which is fair enough.
As others have said, a bigger, better, faster model is always around the corner. If you’re having trouble making up your mind, wait a couple weeks to a month, but when the time runs out, go ahead and get it unless there’s solid evidence that there will be something better coming out in a definite timeframe.
Assuming you don’t wait, I think it’s worth it to get the Elite model for two reasons: 1) HDMI. While this is not a deal-breaker in and of itself — my friend’s original 360 looks almost as good with component input as mine does with HDMI — it also comes standard with 2) a 120 GB hard drive. Buying the separate drive is about the same as the price difference between the standard 20 GB console and the Elite, and when you’ve transferred over the stuff from your 20 GB drive, it’s useless for anything but a paperweight. You can’t put it in an enclosure, you can’t use it for a regular computer, and you can’t use it in the console again.
It’s true that there will always be a price drop or new model around the corner. That’s a good reason not to sit around waiting for the “perfect time” to buy a PS3 or iPod or laptop computer. I feel like the Xbox 360 is a different case though, because of RROD. When the next major hardware revision of the 360 comes around, it won’t just be a cool upgrade, it will be a fix for a product that is currently broken. Personally, I wouldn’t buy a 360 until the RROD problem has been resolved.
My impression was that the Falcon only reduced the failure rate to around 10%. Better than 1 in 3, but still unacceptably high IMO.
Of course, no one but Microsoft knows what these numbers really are, and it does seem clear that Falcon has improved the situation overall, but all you have to do is google “falcon rrod” to see that the problem hasn’t been solved yet.
