Any advice on the XBox Arcade?

TheCharles

I've been considering buying an XBox 360 for a few weeks now, and I've recently had my eye on the XBox 360 Arcade version. So far I realize that it doesn't have a lot of storage, but I don't plan on doing much (or any) online play. I doubt that I would use it as a media center. I do not have an HDTV, nor do I plan on getting one.
The XBox interests me more than the Wii because it has games geared towards single-player (Fable 2, Fallout 3, Dead Space). Really, I suppose all I'm looking for is a system that I can sit down and play by myself for cheap. The XBox Arcade is retailing for about $200, which is nice.

Any suggestions or comparisons are greatly appreciated, as I know your knowledge on this subject far exceeds my own.

Thanks.
(Long time reader- first time poster)

Mr Pink

You'll have to get some sort of memory device, but if you are not looking to do stuff with games that have a lot of DLC (down loadable content) then a memory card should work fine. I got an arcade about a year back, and I only ever needed to get a hard drive when I got Rock Band.

Basically, go for it. If you feel the pressing need to upgrade later, used hard drives can be found at Gamestop and places like it.

Kraeger

It sounds like an Arcade would suit your purposes just fine. It might not have a HDD, but you can buy one later if the need arises, or you can just buy more memory cards. I personally would recommend getting a 360 with a HDD since several games have loads of DLC available for them, single player or not. Again though, you can always buy a HDD separately.

If money is a primary concern and deciding factor, then go with the Arcade. If not, consider getting the next step up.

PMAvers

If you're going to get a Arcade, realize that the upcoming dashboard update's going to take up 128 megs of space on the memory card.

Thankfully, this whole argument's moot.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/hardware/memoryupdate/default.htm

There you can apparently, by plugging in your console ID and serial number, order a refurbished 20 GB hard drive for $20.

TheCharles

Hmmm, I think I could handle an extra 20 bucks. I'll have to look into that. I'm swaying more and more towards the Arcade.

DualEdge

PMAvers wrote: »

Thankfully, this whole argument's moot.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/hardware/memoryupdate/default.htm

There you can apparently, by plugging in your console ID and serial number, order a refurbished 20 GB hard drive for $20.

I just punched in my Arcade's info and it's telling me that it's $29.99 for a refurbished 20GB HDD.

PMAvers

DualEdge wrote: »

I just punched in my Arcade's info and it's telling me that it's $29.99 for a refurbished 20GB HDD.

...Huh. Excuse me while I go punch the person who told me it was $20, then.

*walks off, and then returns to the thread covered in blood*

Man, did he have to thrash around so much? I don't think I'm going to be able to get it all out of these clothes...

It's still vastly better than having to buy the 120GB for $Texas, though, if that's right.

Darlan

I had bought an Arcade and borrowed a friend's hard drive for a few weeks, but upon entering my information in that form it seems to assume I've bought my own.

...Which makes sense, really, but still. Damn. Overall, except Halo 3, every game I've played has been just fine without a hard drive.

(Halo 3 doesn't support online co-op without one, and they even took playlists away from Arcade owners when they added new maps, instead of just adding new playlists for new maps. Yup. They actively removed functionality from a chunk of their customers. That angered me so much I'm never buying another Bungie game.)

Like I said though, Arcade is generally the way to go.

Kraeger

Darlan wrote: »

(Halo 3 doesn't support online co-op without one, and they even took playlists away from Arcade owners when they added new maps, instead of just adding new playlists for new maps. Yup. They actively removed functionality from a chunk of their customers. That angered me so much I'm never buying another Bungie game.)

That is shitty, didn't know that.

Dodge Aspen

I got an Arcade, thinking I wouldn't need all that space, and then earlier this year, fucking great games started coming out that I had to have. Bionic Commando, Geo Wars 2, etc. I paid over a hundred bucks for a 20 gig drive, and now I see they are practically giving them away. I feel burned.

Really, get a system with a Hard Drive. With this deal, there is no reason not to have one. The fact that you are on these boards means you will regret not having one at some point. The Arcade pack is for the people who don't know there is a whole other online world out there, and just want it to play GTA or Madden, which is an slowly vanishing audience.

Bill Gate$

Not worth it. Al though it may be cheaper at the start, everyone i know who bought an arcade regretted it later as they went on to buy the storage, headsets, ethernet cables etc. that don't come with it. The only real use for an Arcade is young children who won't really get the most out of it.

A Pro is only a wee bit more, though you will get a lot more out of it. Xbox Live isn't just an extra service, it's a huge part of it.

Serious_Scrub

Buying an arcade gives you the option of a refurbished 20GB hard drive, with 3 months live, for 30 dollars, while the core allowed you either the 20GB HDD for 20, or a free 512 memory card. Not sure why they did that.
Anyway, at this point, the Arcade + 20GB hard drive would probably be a better deal. Most people have an ethernet cable lying around anyway, built-in HDMI makes the component cables obsolete, the included 256 memory card can be handy to have, and it comes with a disc with pac-man: championship edition on it.

DeathPrawn

Bill Gate$ wrote: »

Not worth it. Al though it may be cheaper at the start, everyone i know who bought an arcade regretted it later as they went on to buy the storage, headsets, ethernet cables etc. that don't come with it. The only real use for an Arcade is young children who won't really get the most out of it.

A Pro is only a wee bit more, though you will get a lot more out of it. Xbox Live isn't just an extra service, it's a huge part of it.

A 20gb HD is, as stated, $20 from Microsoft. A headset is $20 MRSP, but can often be had for cheaper. If you for some bizarre reason don't have an ethernet cable, you can get one off of Monoprice for like two bucks. Then the only thing you're missing out on is an HD cable hookup, but you can either get an HDMI cable for a few bucks off of Monoprice or buy a knockoff VGA or component cable for about $10 on DealExtreme.

Long story short, it is worth it to get the Arcade if you're budget-conscious, especially if you already have standard cables (HDMI, ethernet, etc) lying around.

TheCharles

Alright, thanks everybody. I've decided that if I do end up buying an XBox, it'll be Arcade and the $20 or 29.99 refurbished HDD upgrade. I appreciate everyone's help.
See you around.