$299 xbox 360 elite w/ free controller & game @ Fry's B&M

[sfryman]

I was in Fry's in Palo Alto, CA yesterday and they had a package deal for the xbox elite w/ an additional wireless controller (you can choose either black or white) and a copy of Ninja Blade.

$299 + tax (basically get an extra controller and mediocre game for free).

I don't know if this is a special to the Palo Alto Fry's or not.

I do wish they had a better game included, but free is free I guess... I also picked up Halo3, which was $30. Halo3 is a much better game IMHO.

-Fry

*edit*
Some reviews of Ninja Blade:

http://reviews.cnet.com/xbox-3...896.html?tag=mncol;lst

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/969/969898p1.html

 

[Kromis]

They also have it at the City of Industry Fry's as well

 

[scootermaster]

Jasper? Is the Elite worth it? Does anyone need the HD space? What's it used for? Better options at lower price points?

 

[sfryman]

The one I got was a Jasper, but I think most systems in stock nowadays are gonna be Jasper. Unless you are buying off ebay or live in the boondocks... MS has been shipping Jaspers for some time now.

As for the "worth it" question, that's gonna be a personal choice. How do you intend to use the xbox? You can DL your games to the HD to speed up load times, decrease noise & wear on the dvd-rom drive, but if you only play a few games you don't need 120GB for that. Do you plan to DL any media (movies, TV, extra game content, etc.)? Also the elite is black, the other versions are white. I think the black matches better w/ my setup.

IMHO, 120GB is not very much at all but I'm sure some gamers don't need it. I would discourage getting the arcade version, but I don't see any problem saving $50 if you are a "casual" gamer. I don't know of any specials for the non-elite xbox 360s, but I'm sure they are out there.

An extra controller is $44 normally @ Frys, and the Ninja Blade game is ~$30. I tried it out and I guess it's ok...but I kinda wish I hadn't opened the case. I might have been able to trade it w/ a friend who works at a gamestop for something better.

 

[secretanchitman]

Originally posted by: sfryman
The one I got was a Jasper, but I think most systems in stock nowadays are gonna be Jasper. Unless you are buying off ebay or live in the boondocks... MS has been shipping Jaspers for some time now.

As for the "worth it" question, that's gonna be a personal choice. How do you intend to use the xbox? You can DL your games to the HD to speed up load times, decrease noise & wear on the dvd-rom drive, but if you only play a few games you don't need 120GB for that. Do you plan to DL any media (movies, TV, extra game content, etc.)? Also the elite is black, the other versions are white. I think the black matches better w/ my setup.

IMHO, 120GB is not very much at all but I'm sure some gamers don't need it. I would discourage getting the arcade version, but I don't see any problem saving $50 if you are a "casual" gamer. I don't know of any specials for the non-elite xbox 360s, but I'm sure they are out there.

An extra controller is $44 normally @ Frys, and the Ninja Blade game is ~$30. I tried it out and I guess it's ok...but I kinda wish I hadn't opened the case. I might have been able to trade it w/ a friend who works at a gamestop for something better.

im not sure if the elites are jasper...i do know that the resident evil 5 LE was jasper, but there was no confirmation if the regular elites are.

 

[superHARD]

How can you tell if it's a Jasper or not?

I think it's worth the little extra now for the elite...I need the HD space, as I hate load times and loading the games to the HD doesn't help much, but it does help (depends on game)

Also can't you play HD movies off the HD?...I think you can, and that would be awesome!!

And it's black, who has a entertainment system that a WHITE 360 looks right in?...lol I had to put a black faceplate on mine to sleep at night... 😉

 

[pnjabimunda8]

Is the deal still going on as of 9/14/09?

 

[sfryman]

Originally posted by: superHARD
How can you tell if it's a Jasper or not?

http://bjdraw.com/2009/07/03/h...-xbox-360-is-a-jasper/

The best way is by looking at the amps listed on the label at the back of the xbox. You can even kinda see it without opening the box, but you may have to bend some cardboard so be discreet or you might get kicked out 😉

I think it's worth the little extra now for the elite...I need the HD space, as I hate load times and loading the games to the HD doesn't help much, but it does help (depends on game)

Also can't you play HD movies off the HD?...I think you can, and that would be awesome!!

And it's black, who has a entertainment system that a WHITE 360 looks right in?...lol I had to put a black faceplate on mine to sleep at night... 😉

You can DL a moderate selection of TV and movies (i.e. not "small" but by no means all-inclusive) and some of them are available in HD. But the catch is you have to buy them. I do not know if there is a method of DLing your own library to the xbox, and I actually haven't tried playing a dvd in the xbox yet so I don't know if you can copy your dvds to the HD. I suspect not.

Actually the best way to play movies & TV on the xbox 360 IMO is using netflix. Unfortunately you need both a netflix account AND an xbox "Gold" account, but I have these anyway because I want to play online and I've had netflix for awhile. ~$4/month for a decent library of movies and TV available for streaming any time plus a blu-ray when I want to watch new releases.

You can also use the xbox 360 as a "media extender", which allows you to stream content from a Windows PC on your home network. The problem I have with that is:

1) You need a windows PC (linux & NAT no worky).
2) I don't like to leave my windows PC on all the time, plus my windows box is in a different section of the house so its kind of a pita to turn it on every time I want to watch something.

I like netflix better. But truthfully, both netflix & media center stream content to the xbox, so they use minimal HD space (you have to DL the netflix app but I bet it's less than 100MB).

 

[sfryman]

It was still on as of Friday @ Palo Alto