Xbox 360 Arcade Console - 279.99 + 5 FULL XBLA Games

Bamelin

Got the PR in my email this morning. I know there was some speculation the 5 XBLA games included would just be demo's ... This puts it to rest I think. New SKU comes with HDMI standard and a 256 MB stick. The 5 games are:

"PAC-MAN Championship Edition"
"Uno"
"Luxor 2"
"Boom Boom Rocket"
"Feeding Frenzy"

Microsoft wrote:

Microsoft Launches New Xbox 360 Console for Families
New console includes five games, wireless controller and storage to save games - all for the incredible value of $279.99
REDMOND, Wash. - Oct. 22, 2007 - Just in time for holiday, Microsoft Corp. today released a new Xbox 360® console that delivers games and content to everyone in the family for an incredible value of $279.99 (U.S. estimated retail price)*. Available in stores beginning today, Xbox 360 Arcade console is the first Xbox 360 console to include five family-friendly games, a wireless controller, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) connection to enable high-definition output if desired and 256 MB of memory useful for storing games and entertainment content. At $279.99, the Xbox 360 Arcade console will include five best-selling games: "PAC-MAN Championship Edition" (NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.), "Uno" (Carbonated Games), "Luxor 2" (MumboJumbo), "Boom Boom Rocket" (Electronic Arts Inc.) and "Feeding Frenzy" (Sprout Games).
"As families gather together this holiday, it's the perfect time to launch a new low-priced, high-value Xbox 360 that plays games, TV shows and music for everyone to enjoy," said Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of global marketing, Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. "In addition to offering an incredible all-in-one package for families to get right into the fun, the Xbox 360 Arcade system features the industry-leading Family Settings, which allow parents to control what their kids are watching and playing - and we know how important that control is to families around the world."

Karen Dodge, senior vice president and chief merchandising officer at Toys "R" Us, added, "We are excited to offer this new gaming experience to our customers - children and families - who can now enjoy the fun of Xbox 360 together. Many of this holiday season's hottest items provide Internet connectivity, and with the online entertainment options available through Xbox LIVE®, Xbox 360 Arcade offers families a great mix of online content and traditional gaming in one console."
The news of Xbox 360 Arcade comes as part of a broader initiative by Microsoft to bring the Xbox 360 experience to families everywhere. Microsoft also announced today that it is significantly expanding its catalog of high and standard-definition family fun content that is available on demand direct to the consumer's living room. This includes the addition of everyone's favorite characters such as "Bugs Bunny" and "Daffy Duck" from Warner Bros., which will be delivering the first ever "Looney Tunes" cartoons for download on Xbox 360, starting today. In addition, Nickelodeon is adding three new shows to its already large library of more than 300 episodes of TV shows on Xbox LIVE, Microsoft's premier online gaming and entertainment service, with the inclusion of "Blue's Clues," "The Backyardigans" and "iCarly." "SpongeBob SquarePants Underpants Slam(tm)" (THQ Inc.) and "SHREK-N-ROLL(tm)" (Activision) games will also be available exclusively on Xbox LIVE Arcade, the place to download games for Xbox 360 over Xbox LIVE, adding more fun for everyone in the family.

shyguy

I saw these in Toys R Us last week.

I was initially tempted, but... wouldn't using Live Arcade a lot mean that I'd want the hard drive?

Oceaniax

Even after hearing about this for the past few days/weeks, I'm still a little confused. Don't many 360 games partially load onto the HD for quicker access? I mean, to me it looks like it's in the same general realm as the Core system, and we all know how spectacularly that SKU sold.

I know they're specifically trying to go toe-to-toe with Nintendo with the Arcade pack, but I think it's just going to confuse people more than drive casual sales.

cloudeagle

The contents of this pack are a great step in the right direction. If you don't care about Live one bit -- and there are plenty of people out there that don't -- then this is everything you need.

But the name is baffling. "Arcade" suggests some big connections to Live Arcade, but aside from the pack-in games this system doesn't have anything to do with it. Then again, it might be a ploy to trick people into getting interested in arcade and have to shell out extra for the hard drive, which are sold at stupidly high prices.

Inglorious Coyote

Oceaniax wrote: »

Don't many 360 games partially load onto the HD for quicker access?

It's an option on a lot of games if a HD is present, but they'll still play without one.

Bamelin

It's basically a repackaged Core.

The only reason they called it Arcade is because of the 5 Arcade game pack in. As somebody else mentioned the name is kinda stupid since the lack of storage space means that you really wont' be able to download new Arcade content without buying a hard drive.

That said, I believe the sole purpose of this unit is to compete with the Wii.

Fireflash

Memory is so cheap they could've gone for a 1gb stick. 256mb doesn't cut it when Arcade games can be as large as 150mb.

Lothars

Well if anything I have to say is that at least Microsoft included a Memory Card

Though I am still of the opinion this system needs to go away especially because of the lack of hard drive.

Lunker

The addition of Pac-Mac: CE and Uno are stellar, but putting Feeding Frenzy on there is almost punishing the user. It's also worth noting that this also has a wireless controller, which is a nice upgrade from the old Core.

Does it say anything about if the games are preloading on a memory card or on a disc, a la Live Unplugged?

wunderbar

Lunker wrote: »

The addition of Pac-Mac: CE and Uno are stellar, but putting Feeding Frenzy on there is almost punishing the user. It's also worth noting that this also has a wireless controller, which is a nice upgrade from the old Core.

Does it say anything about if the games are preloading on a memory card or on a disc, a la Live Unplugged?

Pretty sure they come on the disc.

This is a nice deal, I will admit that. it makes TONS more sense then the old Core did, and I can actually see this thing having a small place in the market.

However, the lack of a HDD keeps it from being any real good.

RainbowDespair

Lunker wrote: »

The addition of Pac-Mac: CE and Uno are stellar, but putting Feeding Frenzy on there is almost punishing the user. It's also worth noting that this also has a wireless controller, which is a nice upgrade from the old Core.

Does it say anything about if the games are preloading on a memory card or on a disc, a la Live Unplugged?

According to the bottom left of the box, they're on a disk.



Anyway, this is how you do a Core package. The old Core package pretty much required forking out extra money, but this version has the all important memory card for saves. $30 extra for a memory card, 5 XBLA games (Pac-Man:CE is awesome, Boom Boom Rocket & Uno are great, and the other two are at least playable), and a wireless controller upgrade seems fair. Great option for someone who doesn't need to download stuff or a good option for someone who wants an XBox now and intends to buy a used hard drive down the road when they have more money.

Jules

wunderbar wrote: »

Lunker wrote: »

The addition of Pac-Mac: CE and Uno are stellar, but putting Feeding Frenzy on there is almost punishing the user. It's also worth noting that this also has a wireless controller, which is a nice upgrade from the old Core.

Does it say anything about if the games are preloading on a memory card or on a disc, a la Live Unplugged?

Pretty sure they come on the disc.

This is a nice deal, I will admit that. it makes TONS more sense then the old Core did, and I can actually see this thing having a small place in the market.

However, the lack of a HDD keeps it from being any real good.

If you're not interested in BC XBOX or more than 256 megabytes of arcade games it works fine.

There are what, two 360 titles total that require a hard drive? I know one of them is the final fantasy MMO that nobody plays. My point? It's not like little Johnny is going to cry Christmas morning because Santa bought him games that he can't play on his "Arcade" system.

Besides, you can always pick up a used HDD at a game store for half price if you really feel the need for one later.

shyguy

How big are Live Arcade games, anyway? Would the included memory card be useful at all in that respect, or is it just for game saves?

Jules

shyguy wrote: »

How big are Live Arcade games, anyway? Would the included memory card be useful at all in that respect, or is it just for game saves?

Most of the games are far under the old memory card size (64MB?) or so, you can probably hold half a dozen or so, plus save games on a 256MB card.

Sharp10r

I've been avoiding information on the 360 for a long time now but this package does require me to put some thought into the 360. So, please excuse the newb questions:
1. Can most games be saved to a memory card? Aside from the FF MMO, what others are out with this model?
2. Can Settlers of Catan be loaded to the memory card? (This game must be playable for me to consider buying!)
3. Do any arcade games require a HDD? I think MS's comparison sheet answered this one for me, but I trust users more than PR.

bruin

Glad to see they finally packed in something for your game saves in with the Core

shyguy

Jules wrote: »

shyguy wrote: »

How big are Live Arcade games, anyway? Would the included memory card be useful at all in that respect, or is it just for game saves?

Most of the games are far under the old memory card size (64MB?) or so, you can probably hold half a dozen or so, plus save games on a 256MB card.

Thanks for the info! I'm seriously considering this pack now; I've been wanting a 360 for about a year now, and I think the memory card would be fine; if I find myself wanting scads of Live content I can seek out a deal on a hard drive down the road.

The fact that it comes with Pac-Man CE is a huge plus for me; that's the Live Arcade title I wanted most.

RainbowDespair

Here are some memory costs taken from my hard drive for reference:

Lumines Live - 600MB (Game + several add-ons)
Castlevania: SotN - 95MB
Every Extend Extra Extreme - 83MB
Puzzle Quest - 80MB
Puzzle Fighter - 72MB
Bomberman Live - 48MB
Carcasonne - 46MB
Space Giraffe - 41MB
Heavy Weapon - 37MB
Geometry Wars - 15MB

Game saves tend to be negligible in size with most being well under 1MB. The only save I have that's of noticeable size is Dead Rising at 4MB which makes sense since that game lets you save photographs that you've taken.

So yeah, the 256MB though a bit small isn't worthless. Although you won't be able to store demos (over 1GB isn't uncommon these days), movies, big add-ons (although tiny ones like the Blue Dragon Hard mode patch are fine), and a ton of XBLA games, the 256MB memory card is fine for just saves and a few of your favorite XBLA games. Plus you can always delete old XBLA games to free up room since redownloading them is free (a few XBLA games even store save data separate from the actual game which helps this).

For example, Puzzle Quest, Bomberman Live, Space Giraffe, Heavy Weapon, plus Geometry Wars would be quite possible and that would still leave 30+ MBs for saves (which is way more than enough for your average person).

maximumzero

When the time comes this will definitely be the package I pick up.

There's a few retail games I want to play on the 360, but the primary reason I wanted a 360 is for the Live Arcade. Most of the retail games I want can be found on the Wii anyway.

However, I won't be picking up a Wii until next summer at the earliest, and with any luck the price may have dropped a bit by then.

Lunker

I haven't tried this, but as I understand it: Much like the Wii's VC, you can redownload things that you've already paid for at no extra charge. So theoretically you can juggle various XBLA games around the 256MB memory unit.

The irony of this unit, though, is that once you get hooked on XBLA you're going to want all of those games at your beck and call, and that 1) means you have to dig out the disc whenever you want to play a game (I sold off my copy of Live Unplugged for this reason alone) and 2) means you want a hard drive. Although honestly, you can find used 20GB hard drives for a deep discount at eBay and such -- that's what I did when I bought my Core on clearance. Got one for $60 shipped and it works like a charm.

Bamelin

maximumzero wrote: »

When the time comes this will definitely be the package I pick up.

There's a few retail games I want to play on the 360, but the primary reason I wanted a 360 is for the Live Arcade. Most of the retail games I want can be found on the Wii anyway.

However, I won't be picking up a Wii until next summer at the earliest, and with any luck the price may have dropped a bit by then.

Being completely honest though, if the primary reason you want a 360 is for Live Arcade and DLC, you are going to need the hard drive. 256mb might be ok for a month or so but in the end it's not going to cut it.

Sanders

This bundle + a used HDD should be the same price as a premium, but with HDMI, five free arcade games, and a 256 memory card.

You do loose out on the headset, but if you pick up one of the XBL starter kits they come with one. Also, no ethernet cables, but some of us probably have 10 of those lying around anyways.


Course, this was before the Marvel Ultimate Alliance + Forza 2 bundles came out, which if you do not get this pack you are stupid (or just really want HDMI support)

Zek

I think it's absolutely absurd that they call it the Arcade SKU when storing dowloaded content is exactly what it can't do. It's a good deal for playing 360 games, not Live Arcade.

Jelloblimp

Sharp10r wrote: »

I've been avoiding information on the 360 for a long time now but this package does require me to put some thought into the 360. So, please excuse the newb questions:
1. Can most games be saved to a memory card? Aside from the FF MMO, what others are out with this model?
2. Can Settlers of Catan be loaded to the memory card? (This game must be playable for me to consider buying!)
3. Do any arcade games require a HDD? I think MS's comparison sheet answered this one for me, but I trust users more than PR.

1. Yes.

2. Yes.

3. Arcade games are limited to 150mb in size (old limit was 100mb).

Do remember that the memory-card(s) must be microsofts own (so no usb-sticks or ye old standard external harddrive will work).

Lunker

Zek wrote: »

I think it's absolutely absurd that they call it the Arcade SKU when storing dowloaded content is exactly what it can't do. It's a good deal for playing 360 games, not Live Arcade.

Kind of what I was thinking. If this had dropped in August as the Madden Pack or even as the Halo Pack, it would have shattered the floorboards. Get people to play Madden/Halo/occasional XBLA game, then sell them on the hard drive for Christmas.

ginguskahn

You can delete and redownload titles once paid for as well can't you? As they are only small I wouldn't think this would become to annoying.

The real reason I like this bundle is because its better than a core, and also because (in the UK at least) with the release of the 120gb hdd, I see more and more very cheap 20gb hdds pre-owned if you ever want to upgrade.

Strato

This deal looks absolutely terrible, if you ask me, and I consider myself a shopper who gets the most for his money. Arcade games are cheap. Pac-Man is 10 bucks. Who cares if that comes included, if you're paying $280 anyway.

It comes with one controller. That doesn't say "family" to me. $50 more for a second controller.

No hard drive. Okay, you can save maybe five arcade games on your new $280 console. Wow. You want a hard drive.

Oh yeah, it plays Xbox 360 games? And it downloads game demos? And DLC?

Just get a real 360, not this piece of crap that only looks like it's affordable. You're not getting much for your money. Get the Premium, or whatever it's called now, for a few bucks more. The whole thing looks like a sham to have the lowest price tag, but if you look into what you're getting, you have to buy a lot more for it to really be functional.

Lothars

Jelloblimp wrote: »

Sharp10r wrote: »

I've been avoiding information on the 360 for a long time now but this package does require me to put some thought into the 360. So, please excuse the newb questions:
1. Can most games be saved to a memory card? Aside from the FF MMO, what others are out with this model?
2. Can Settlers of Catan be loaded to the memory card? (This game must be playable for me to consider buying!)
3. Do any arcade games require a HDD? I think MS's comparison sheet answered this one for me, but I trust users more than PR.

1. Yes.

2. Yes.

3. Arcade games are limited to 150mb in size (old limit was 100mb).

Do remember that the memory-card(s) must be microsofts own (so no usb-sticks or ye old standard external harddrive will work).

Arcade games are actually limited to 250 mb in size and Old limit was actually 50 mb

But I believe that none of the arcade games require an HD just some type of storage like the Memory Card

Dodge Aspen

Man this thing is so tempting, as the main reason I don't already own a 360 is price. Thing is, I am addicted to DLC. I know I will end up buying a Hard Drive and an extra controller later, anyway, so I think I'll still yearn for the Premium and Elite. I've waited this long, so I might as well wait for a price drop on an SKU I want.

Jelloblimp

Lothars wrote: »

Jelloblimp wrote: »

Sharp10r wrote: »

I've been avoiding information on the 360 for a long time now but this package does require me to put some thought into the 360. So, please excuse the newb questions:
1. Can most games be saved to a memory card? Aside from the FF MMO, what others are out with this model?
2. Can Settlers of Catan be loaded to the memory card? (This game must be playable for me to consider buying!)
3. Do any arcade games require a HDD? I think MS's comparison sheet answered this one for me, but I trust users more than PR.

1. Yes.

2. Yes.

3. Arcade games are limited to 150mb in size (old limit was 100mb).

Do remember that the memory-card(s) must be microsofts own (so no usb-sticks or ye old standard external harddrive will work).

Arcade games are actually limited to 250 mb in size and Old limit was actually 50 mb

But I believe that none of the arcade games require an HD just some type of storage like the Memory Card

Well we both almost got it right:
Microsoft Announces 512MB Memory Unit for Xbox 360 and Increased Xbox LIVE Arcade Game Size Limit
Its; 50mb old & 150mb new size.

fragglefart

Dodge Aspen wrote: »

Man this thing is so tempting, as the main reason I don't already own a 360 is price. Thing is, I am addicted to DLC. I know I will end up buying a Hard Drive and an extra controller later, anyway, so I think I'll still yearn for the Premium and Elite. I've waited this long, so I might as well wait for a price drop on an SKU I want.

Definitely do this, you really will be better off getting the full package. The Hard Drive really isn't "optional", I'd consider the 360 a pretty bog standard console without one. To get the full experience, it really is mandatory.

jackal

I like rhythm games more than most people*, but Boom Boom Rocket is just terrible.

*I like rhythm games more than most people like rhythm games†.
†I like rhythm games more than I like most people.

Zeon

Id be super tempted to get this if i didnt already know a decent sized hard drive is over 200 dollars. I have a bunch of hard drives just laying around, too bad i couldnt use them.

Disco11

I still think that we can all agree that this is leaps and bounds a better deal than the old core, right?

Noray

People, please, do NOT get this package! Really you will thank me in the long run. Simply put, you NEED the HDD to get the most out of the 360. You are going to want one eventually, and come on, if you´re already going to spend a whole load of cash on a console, why not spend a little more and do it right? Those arcade games really are not worth it, you will get bored of those pretty fast. Microsoft is just doing this to make the console seem cheaper than it really is. The full 360 experience includes a HDD and also Xbox live gold. Without it, you´re simply leaving a lot of what makes the system great go to waste.

balboni

OK I have hit a problem.

I have an old 360 premium. I also have a 1080p TV and a HD-DVD add on.

I want HDMI support and already own Forza 2. I use optical for audio.

I have the 20 gig HDD.

I have 2 choices:

1. Get this deal, trade in the premium for $150, and I can carry my profile on the mem card instead of taking my HDD everywhere.

2. Wait until the Elite is in stock, get that and trade in my premium and the 20 gig HDD. Trade in Forza 2.

I think option 1 might be better - I would like the larger HDD, but really nothing takes up too much space so far. If I delete content for all the games I sold and demos I should have 8 gig or more free.

The catch is I want to use HDMI for video and Optical for audio and I heard the Elite can do that out of the box while the others cannot. Any ideas/suggestions?

Sharp10r

Noray wrote: »

People, please, do NOT get this package! Really you will thank me in the long run. Simply put, you NEED the HDD to get the most out of the 360. You are going to want one eventually, and come on, if you´re already going to spend a whole load of cash on a console, why not spend a little more and do it right? Those arcade games really are not worth it, you will get bored of those pretty fast. Microsoft is just doing this to make the console seem cheaper than it really is. The full 360 experience includes a HDD and also Xbox live gold. Without it, you´re simply leaving a lot of what makes the system great go to waste.

Hmm... ok Noray, so I can save my games on a memory card, save XBLA games on a memory card. What then am I going to do to "get the most out of the 360?" The demos and downloadable videos, or is there something I'm leaving out? Thanks!

balboni

Sharp10r wrote: »

Noray wrote: »

People, please, do NOT get this package! Really you will thank me in the long run. Simply put, you NEED the HDD to get the most out of the 360. You are going to want one eventually, and come on, if you´re already going to spend a whole load of cash on a console, why not spend a little more and do it right? Those arcade games really are not worth it, you will get bored of those pretty fast. Microsoft is just doing this to make the console seem cheaper than it really is. The full 360 experience includes a HDD and also Xbox live gold. Without it, you´re simply leaving a lot of what makes the system great go to waste.

Hmm... ok Noray, so I can save my games on a memory card, save XBLA games on a memory card. What then am I going to do to "get the most out of the 360?" The demos and downloadable videos, or is there something I'm leaving out? Thanks!

Well the included games will almost fill up that mem card. If you plan on getting a game that has ANY downloadable maps, extra songs for GH, or extra cars for Forza etc you will be out of space instantly.

That would be the only argument against it being a good starting point. If you can get a HDD for it cheap, this is probably a good deal though.

Atlus Parker

jackal wrote: »

I like rhythm games more than most people*, but Boom Boom Rocket is just terrible.

*I like rhythm games more than most people like rhythm games†.
†I like rhythm games more than I like most people.

But by that you also mean...?

jackal

Atlus Parker wrote: »

jackal wrote: »

I like rhythm games more than most people*, but Boom Boom Rocket is just terrible.

*I like rhythm games more than most people like rhythm games†.
†I like rhythm games more than I like most people.

But by that you also mean...?

I was playing Gitaroo Man against Mad Maestro the other day...

RainbowDespair

Well the included games will almost fill up that mem card.

The included games aren't on the memory card; they're on a separate disk.

People, please, do NOT get this package! Really you will thank me in the long run. Simply put, you NEED the HDD to get the most out of the 360. You are going to want one eventually, and come on, if you´re already going to spend a whole load of cash on a console, why not spend a little more and do it right? Those arcade games really are not worth it, you will get bored of those pretty fast. Microsoft is just doing this to make the console seem cheaper than it really is. The full 360 experience includes a HDD and also Xbox live gold. Without it, you´re simply leaving a lot of what makes the system great go to waste.

I've had my XBox for over a year now and aside from 3 months (2 of them free), I haven't had Live Gold. I'm not really a multiplayer fan so it's not essential for me. I'd hardly say that my 360 has gone to waste. Now admittedly, the hard drive is much more useful, but again, it's not essential for everything.

And bored of the games pretty fast? I bought Pac-Man:CE first week it was out and I still love it: it's great fun to bust it out when I have a free hour or two and try to beat my high scores and get higher on the leaderboards. And the other 4 games aren't bad (I enjoy Boom Boom Rocket - it can get very zen).

Anyway, I don't think anyone is saying that this is a better deal than the Premium (especially with the Forza & Marvel pack-ins) in general. It's just that the 360 Arcade configuration actually makes sense for a few people whereas the previous Core configuration was pure bait and switch.