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Is there a downside to Xbox 360 Arcade?
defreak
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hopefully it's not too soon for another xbox 360 question, tried searching but couldn't find all the answers to my questions.
So I am planning on buying the Arcade version from Walmart, for those of you who don't know, they are selling it for $199, and it includes a $100 gift card. To my knowledge it comes with 512mb of memory, wireless controller, and xbox live silver.
All I want to do with the xbox is to play 360 games online with friends, that's it. I have no interest in playing old xbox games, downloading demos, music, movies, or whatever. In addition, I am planning on buying a used 20gb hd, a used headset, and gold membership. I have extra hdmi and ethernet cables.
Games that will occupy me for a good while: Halo3, ODST, Batman, NCAA, Madden, Call of Duty series, any action adventure game (Assassins, Prototype, God of War, etc).
Questions:
1) will the 20gb hd be enough for potential patches, a couple DLC here and there, anything else that is essential to playing the 360 games mentioned above?
2) if I decide to go wireless (I have a wireless router), does the xbox have wireless capabilities built in? or do I have to purchase the $99 adapter? what about the Pro version?
3) is it a bad idea to buy a hard drive used? what about a used headset?
4) I have heard people say you can't access online with the Arcade version, are they saying that assuming you didn't buy a hard drive separately?
5) are there any other downsides to the Arcade version? compared to the Pro/Elite.
Thanks.
So I am planning on buying the Arcade version from Walmart, for those of you who don't know, they are selling it for $199, and it includes a $100 gift card. To my knowledge it comes with 512mb of memory, wireless controller, and xbox live silver.
All I want to do with the xbox is to play 360 games online with friends, that's it. I have no interest in playing old xbox games, downloading demos, music, movies, or whatever. In addition, I am planning on buying a used 20gb hd, a used headset, and gold membership. I have extra hdmi and ethernet cables.
Games that will occupy me for a good while: Halo3, ODST, Batman, NCAA, Madden, Call of Duty series, any action adventure game (Assassins, Prototype, God of War, etc).
Questions:
1) will the 20gb hd be enough for potential patches, a couple DLC here and there, anything else that is essential to playing the 360 games mentioned above?
2) if I decide to go wireless (I have a wireless router), does the xbox have wireless capabilities built in? or do I have to purchase the $99 adapter? what about the Pro version?
3) is it a bad idea to buy a hard drive used? what about a used headset?
4) I have heard people say you can't access online with the Arcade version, are they saying that assuming you didn't buy a hard drive separately?
5) are there any other downsides to the Arcade version? compared to the Pro/Elite.
Thanks.
defreak on
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Posts
Answers:
1) Yes. You just really won't be able to purchase that many full games from the Game Marketplace. I have a 30GB HDD for it (I think?...) and it suffices
2) The Xbox 360 does not have built in wireless like some other current generation consoles. You will have to buy an adapter. It does not have to be the Microsoft branded adapter. I have this archaic hunk of junk and it works semi-fine. Mainly will drop connection when trying to connect. You get what you pay for in this case. I would recommend buying a good adapter for your needs. Hardwire into your router if you can.
3) Unless the HDD was exposed to strong magnets or dropped a few times, you should be fine. Use your discretion. Used headset should not be a problem. The foam cover for the ear piece can get quite dirty depending who used it before you.
4) The Arcade version is so cheap because it will not play online without buying a HDD. The update to the New Xbox Experience, which is simply a reconstructed UI for the console, will not fit on the 512MB Memory Unit that the Arcade comes with. You are required to install the latest updates to play on Xbox Live.
5) Not really. My girlfriend has one. We bought an HDD for it and now she happily plays L4D and Castle Crashers with me on Live all the time.
As for wireless, no 360 has it built-in. If you can't go wired, the cheapest way to do it (short of finding an oXbox wireless adapter on clearance for pennies) is to get a cheap wireless router that you can flash with DD-WRT custom firmware and set up as a wireless bridge. That'll probably run you $40-50.
I also recommend what he said with DD-WRT.
I do the wireless repeater (can't remember exactly) and extends my wireless network perfectly.
But for $100 net? I know people who already own a 360 that are jumping on this deal to get a spare.
And since all new arcades come with internal memory, you're good to go out of the box.
Personally, the 20Gb is a bit limiting. It was ok when it was just patches and bits of DLC, but being able to install games directly onto the HDD now is fantastically handy as it reduces load times and makes the xbox a lot quieter (most of the noise comes from the DVD drive spinning up). With 20Gb you can maybe squeeze two installs onto there depending on how much other DLC etc you end up grabbing so you'll quickly find yourself wishing for more space even if you don't download movies etc.
But then, I guess you could just buy a larger second hand HDD?
I have 2.7 gigs of Rock Band music alone. XBLA games are getting bigger - Shadow Complex is about 900 megs.
I'm past the point where I have enough space left to install a game to HD unless I start nuking other stuff I'm using.
This. It used to be that you didn't get any memory with a Core, but when they upgraded to selling it as the Arcade, they all included memory cards, and the newer Arcades have internal memory as well. As long as you have some form of storage device, you can go online. Some games, however, do require a hard drive for certain features.
The Arcade is the base unit that all Xboxes are built from. The only difference between an Arcade and an Elite unit itself is the colour of the case and the drive tray. All 360s now have HDMI, the newer chipset, etc.
A 20GB HDD is fine for now. Once I started downloading a ton of Rock Band content, Halo maps and GTA expansions it filled up pretty damn quickly, and that's even without installing games to the hard drive. If it's within your means, it might be worth just straight-up buying an Elite - you might find that it's not even that much more expensive than cobbling together the same thing from different parts.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
PSN: TheScrublet
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
Unfortunately, I was 32nd in line when I got to walmart, apparently people have been lining up since 4am (deal started at 8am). The last xbox went to the person 25th in line.
I am still planning on getting a xbox though, I got myself too excited now to end up not getting one. I was thinking about the Pro version, Walmart and Sears still sell them online. One question though:
I read that the Pros are being discontinued, because they are being replaced by the Elites. The new Arcade and Elite versions all have the new chip that has a lower chance of RROD, does that mean the Pro still has the old chip? or are the more recent Pros using the new chip too?
Again, thanks for all the input so far.
Required downloading copyrighted material that you can only acquire by buying the hard drives legally.
Either buy the drives themselves or vote with your dollars and don't buy the overpriced things.