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Used 360?

CygnusZCygnusZ Registered User regular
edited September 2011 in Help / Advice Forum
With the impending release of Radiant Silvergun I've been thinking more and more of finally picking a 360 up. However, I already own a PS3 and my interest in the system is almost completely with the independent games and arcade titles. In other words, while I want one I don't yet feel like there's enough there for me to justify spending the $280 it'll cost me to pick up a new unit with the standard HDD. That said, the two options which I sort of think are worth considering for me are either the Arcade version (around $170) or picking up a used unit. Or better yet, picking up a used Arcade unit which may get the price down to a square $100.

So, what do you guys think? If I do decide to pick up a used unit, what should I look for? Any details on the serials numbers that I should be aware of? Should I just forget the whole idea?

CygnusZ on

Posts

  • ThanatosThanatos Registered User regular
    There's a very large risk that any used 360 you pick up has been banned from Live.

  • amateurhouramateurhour One day I'll be professionalhour The woods somewhere in TennesseeRegistered User regular
    Thanatos wrote:
    There's a very large risk that any used 360 you pick up has been banned from Live.

    You can call and find out ahead of time. I did that when my 360 finally RRoD'ed for the second time and was no longer under warranty. I was gonna buy a used 360 because it was right after they offered a $100 gift card at Wal Mart if you bought a 360 during a black friday sale a couple of years ago. It was also right after MW2 came out and they banned like 100K units from Live.

    I found a good deal on craigslist, and I got the guy to give me the serial number of the unit. I then called 1 800 4 MY XBOX and (after being on the phone a while, be prepared) got a really nice rep to take the serial number and tell me if the unit was banned or not, and it was good to go.

    Than is very much right in that a lot of units sold used by private sellers are banned, it's fairly easy to tell though, it just takes a phone call. However I would make sure if you're doing this that you're buying local so you can match up the serial number you were given by the seller with the serial number on the unit itself before you give any cash to the seller.

    are YOU on the beer list?
  • ArbitraryDescriptorArbitraryDescriptor Registered User regular
    edited September 2011
    Nevermind!

    Thought you should be able to call in the serial, but I didn't turn up anything suggesting how.

    ArbitraryDescriptor on
  • amateurhouramateurhour One day I'll be professionalhour The woods somewhere in TennesseeRegistered User regular
    Nevermind!

    Thought you should be able to call in the serial, but I didn't turn up anything suggesting how.

    Yeah it's not posted anywhere because technically it's a loss of money for Microsoft since you're not buying a pre-owned unit from them or from a store, so they've got no profit to make from the deal (except for the billions you'll give them on xbox live : ) ) So they don't really advertise it.

    I had to just dial the 800 number and get on the tech support tree and button mash until I got to speak to someone. It was tedious, but it worked

    are YOU on the beer list?
  • EshEsh Tending bar. FFXIV. Motorcycles. Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    You DEFINITELY want one with a hard drive. I'd suggest a used Elite.

  • Eat it You Nasty Pig.Eat it You Nasty Pig. tell homeland security 'we are the bomb'Registered User regular
    Aim to get as "new" (in the sense of recently fabricated) a system as possible. A lot of the older model 360s had serious heat problems; a used one will always be a risk, but a newer model will be less likely to crap out on you or to already be on its last legs.

    hold your head high soldier, it ain't over yet
    that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
  • CygnusZCygnusZ Registered User regular
    edited September 2011
    Update: Ok, picked up a refurbished 120GB black elite for $150 in a bundle with Ace Combat and Lost Planet. I'm keeping the games in the shrinkwrap though, all I care about are the Arcade games. A ton of SHMUPs on the system, so that's a good sign, but I hope it doesn't fall into disuse next to the PS3. Well, if it does at least I know a place that'll buy it from me. :P

    Thanks for your help.

    CygnusZ on
  • MushroomStickMushroomStick Registered User regular
    If you're really never going to play those games, you should probably trade them in/ebay them sooner than later. Its not like they're going to go up in value.

  • JHunzJHunz Registered User regular
    I doubt either of those is going to go down much in value either, though. Lost Planet especially is pretty bargain-basement as far as trade-in values go.

    If you're into SHMUPs, you'll want to check out Geometry Wars 2 (I assume you've done this one already), Heavy Weapon, and Ikaruga (if you don't own it in other forms already), all of which are excellent. I've also had some fun with Mutant Storm Empire, Omega Five, Shred Nebula, and Every Extend Extra Extreme.
    And don't forget that they're not limited to the Arcade. Deathsmiles and Child of Eden are retail 360 exclusives.

    bunny.gif Gamertag: JHunz. R.I.P. Mygamercard.net bunny.gif
  • The Crowing OneThe Crowing One Registered User regular
    edited September 2011
    Esh wrote:
    You DEFINITELY want one with a hard drive. I'd suggest a used Elite.

    With the current direction of installing games and downloadable content, you'll want the big drive. My launch 360 was perfect, until I filled up my entire 20GB drive with saves and arcade games. Even after deleting my DLC that wasn't in use I was continually having to find more space. The big HDDs are somewhat necessary for anyone who does an even intermediate amount of gaming. You went the right direction.

    The Crowing One on
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