New to XBox360 - Question

Librarian

A quick one.
I intend to buy the Xbox360, with RE5 coming up and the by now glorious backlog I figured it's finally worth it.
My question: I do not intend to use any online features of the console, I am only interested in the single player/the multiplayer that works with several people in my place content so far.
Is the Xbox360 Arcade a viable choice then, or will I bite myself in the ass without the HD?

Dehumanized

If any of the games you're interested in have DLC, then a HD isn't a bad idea. However, you could always add a refurbished 20gb hard drive to an arcade, which would come out to be significantly cheaper than buying a Pro.

The main feature you'd miss out on is being able to install discs to drive, assuming you never ever connected to live. It's nice for three reasons... you'll get slightly faster loading times on installed games, the Xbox will be much quieter when playing the games, and you'll also put less wear on your disc drive -- they are known to be prone to failure.

The arcade does come with enough storage to easily save all of your local profiles and savegames right out of the box, though.

theclam

Dehumanized wrote: »

If any of the games you're interested in have DLC, then a HD isn't a bad idea. However, you could always add a refurbished 20gb hard drive to an arcade, which would come out to be significantly cheaper than buying a Pro.

If you can get a good price, do this.

Librarian

Are there special HDs for the xbox? Or do I need some special adapter?

vonPoonBurGer

With the ability to load game discs to the hard drive having been recently added, you might want to consider a bigger hard drive than the 20GB. Some games apparently benefit from loading off the HD rather than the disc. You still need the disc in the drive to play, it just reduces loading times. I have a 20GB drive, when you subtract the amount of space taken up by the 360's software you have maybe 12GB usable, which is room for maybe two game discs. With the several gigs of Rock Band songs I have downloaded onto my HD, I barely have room for one game disc on there right now.

Edit:

Librarian wrote:

Are there special HDs for the xbox? Or do I need some special adapter?

Sadly, they are custom Microsoft units that are pretty overpriced for the capacity they offer, and you can't roll your own.

Death of Rats

Xbox HDs are Xbox only. You have to buy an Xbox HD in order to have a HD on the Xbox.

I'd say just get a pro. It's worth the money. Plus, with the demos, the Xbox Live Arcade titles, and the community games, it's worth having one. Even if you're not going to play online games, having the hard drive for downloading stuff is well worth the money. Again, well worth the money.

Hell, I get more ammusement downloading demos/XBLA games than I do playing most full games.

KalTorak

Are Jasper boards ubiquitous enough now so that ordering a 360 (pro or arcade) online would pretty much be sure to have a Jasper, or should I still be peeking through the hole in the box in a B&M store?

JHunz

It is quite definitely worth it to have a hard drive, if only so that you can download some XBLA titles without worrying about space. Take my word for it that you will be buying a ton of them.

That said, I have a 20 GB and wish I had a bigger one. I have a bunch of arcade titles and some rock band songs, and it's a drag to only have space to load one game disc onto the hard drive. Given the time that saves with some games, I wish I could do it for all of them.

DoctorArch

I don't know if this is accurate but it helps me to feel better. I always install a used game to the 360's HD as soon as I bring it home via the theory that it has to read the entire disc to work. Successful install = non crappy disc. Better to find out in the beginning than halfway through a game and past the date of no return.

DHS Odium

You should use some of the online features. Hook it up to the internet, you'll want patches and updates for a lot of games. With a free silver account, you can do everything except play online. You might also enjoy the ability to download demos too. Get a 360 with a hard drive.