My 11 Y.O. son wants an Xbox 360...

[deadken]

Ok. Cool. Thanks again guys! I didn't mean to stir up controversy. I don't want the online features at the moment. When he gets a bit older, sure, but not yet.

I'll just get a Pro version with some kind of extended warranty and a game.

So... Where is the best place to get on? Circuit City, Best Buy, Game Stop/EB Games, etc...? It would have to be a place with local stores and have a reasonable price on the extended warranty. BJ's seems to have the Xbox 360, but bundle it with an extra controller and one game. I'll have to see if they offer a extended warranty.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: deadken
Ok. Cool. Thanks again guys! I didn't mean to stir up controversy. I don't want the online features at the moment. When he gets a bit older, sure, but not yet.

At least sign up for the Silver account so you can get system and game updates as well as download demos.

I'll just get a Pro version with some kind of extended warranty and a game.

So... Where is the best place to get on? Circuit City, Best Buy, Game Stop/EB Games, etc...? It would have to be a place with local stores and have a reasonable price on the extended warranty. BJ's seems to have the Xbox 360, but bundle it with an extra controller and one game. I'll have to see if they offer a extended warranty.

Best place is where ever you can get the best deal.

 

[tatteredpotato]

Costco is the best if you have one around because they give you an automatic 2 year warrenty IIRC.

 

[jamesbond007]

Is buying the extended warranty even worth it right now since Microsoft extended the warranty on the Xbox 360 to 3 years?

Looking to buy myself a Xbox Elite tomorrow to go with my new Legendary Edition...it looks lonely.

 

[deadken]

Originally posted by: jamesbond007
Is buying the extended warranty even worth it right now since Microsoft extended the warranty on the Xbox 360 to 3 years?...

Where did you hear/see that? You are the only one who has said that in the whole thread...

If Costco really exchanges the unit right away and does that for 2 years, then it would be worth it for me to sign up for a membership for $50 just for that warranty. Circuit City wants $80 for 2 years from date of purchase (rather then when the manufacturers warranty runs out). Also, with Circuit City, once you use it, you need to buy another (it is only valid on the original one you bought) so that seems like a potential for a problem.

 

[Extelleron]

Originally posted by: deadken

Originally posted by: jamesbond007
Is buying the extended warranty even worth it right now since Microsoft extended the warranty on the Xbox 360 to 3 years?...

Where did you hear/see that? You are the only one who has said that in the whole thread...

If Costco really exchanges the unit right away and does that for 2 years, then it would be worth it for me to sign up for a membership for $50 just for that warranty. Circuit City wants $80 for 2 years from date of purchase (rather then when the manufacturers warranty runs out). Also, with Circuit City, once you use it, you need to buy another (it is only valid on the original one you bought) so that seems like a potential for a problem.

Microsoft has extended the Xbox 360's warranty twice during its lifetime. Originally, it was an absolutely horrible 90 days, then 1 year, and now it is a 1yr/3yr warranty. One year for general defects, three years for Red Ring of Death failures. RRoD is what happens to the majority of Xbox 360s that fail.

 

[hans030390]

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: hans030390

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: deadken
What should I know about the Xbox 360s? I still think that he is foolish for wanting one (I'd rather see him get more games for the other platforms), I think he might be caught up in the Halo 3 hype (from what I have read, Halo 3 isn't a big improvement over 1 + 2). To make things worse, I just read a thread (a few down the line) that says on Oct. 9th there will be a Xbox bundle and then by the end of the month a Xbox with a HDMI plug. My son doesn't care to wait.

Ok, those people are just Sony b!tches spewing crap out of their mouths or they just got through smoking some BAD crack rock. One or the other. Halo was good, Halo 2 sucked IMO (single player), but I'm lovin' Halo 3. Definitely a must have for the 360.

Not true. I talked to multiple people today that bought Halo 3. These people are fans of the Halo series, and they generally don't play on anything but the Xbox/360. They basically said, "It's not as great as I thought it would be. It just feels like playing a slightly improved Halo 2."

No, true. The controls are similar and it has the feel of how Halo is supposed to feel like. What, did they expect them to totally redo the game? That would've pissed me off. I'm used to playing Halo, don't fvck up the controls for me just to be different. Halo 3 plays like Halo should play. As for the graphics, they are night and day. I heard one guy say the graphics look slightly better than Halo 2. Sure, if you're playing both on a 1980 black and white TV, and then MAYBE. Again, you've got to be smoking crack if you think Halo 3 has SLIGHTLY better graphics. Night and day.

They had multiple reasons. They thought the campaign was nothing new or exciting, it played too similarly to the previous games, and it didn't look much better than Halo 2 (some of them have HDTV). They expected to walk into something amazing, and they were disappointed. That's all they said.

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: hans030390

Originally posted by: deadken
Thanks for all of the information. I will get the premium, and I will look for it to say HDMI on the box.

I am not entirely clear on one point: How is this console if it is not connected to the internet? Is an Xbox 360 without internet connection a waste? Is there a Halo singleplayer?

I should ask how the online part works. Do I just plug in my cat 5 cable and go? Or isn't there some kind of fee for monthly use?

Thanks, Ken

It's a $5ish monthly fee. Hardly worth in, IMO, though I'd definitely buy it if I had a 360. I grew up online with the PC, so I'm used to free online gaming.

That only comes out of the mouths of people that don't have XBox Live.

Ok, let me rephrase that. $5 is worth it for what the service offers, but I'd rather NOT pay $5 a month for an online service. It's not worth it to ME. I can just get on my PC or PS3 and have free online. It does what I want. I wouldn't want to pay an extra $5 a month for something I probably won't get any more usage out of than the free ones.

I'm not saying it's bad. And I'm not saying I'd never get it. I know it's such a key part to the 360, so I know I'd basically have to get it to enjoy the system (I like online play). I wouldn't jump in going "OH YEAH! XBOX LIVE! WOO! MORE MONEY (though small) TO SPEND!".

 

[PricklyPete]

Originally posted by: deadken

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: deadken
Ok, I will have a talk with him about the odds/likelyhood of this thing needing repair at some point.

Might I ask if this Halo version is worth the extra $50? I am not sure exactly what you get for the 'extra' money. I think a rechargable controller and a headset (which, as we said, he won't be using for a while) are the only differences. Well, the 'paint job' is also included. Since it has the HDMI capability I assume it is one of the newer revisions with the better motherboard/chipset/cooling additions.

The paint job is the only difference between the Halo 3 Special edition and the Pro version. The Pro comes with a wireless controller and headset and HDMI as well.

I think that the Halo version has a Wireless headset compared to the Wired on on the Pro. Also it has some kind of chager for the wireless controller that lets you charge up a battery while playing (I don't know if it is a separate battery, or you would have to connect a cord to the Wireless controller). It also seems to come with a Xbox Live Gold 30-day trial (which, along with the wireless headset, I wouldn't need for a while).

I think that the $350 Pro, with an extended warranty (sorry, I don't have a Costco membership, I do have a BJ's Wholesale membership though) and a game (I'd guess Halo 3 or Halo 2) would pretty much max out how much I have to spend for this Birthday Gift.

I think you'll be good to go with all of that. Make sure to hook up the system for at least a Live Silver account which is free and lets you download all kinds of demos and updates.

There are a ton of fun games out on the system from Halo 3 to Project Gotham Racing. Lots and lots of titles to look at. I think your son will really enjoy the system.

 

[PricklyPete]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: deadken
Ok. Cool. Thanks again guys! I didn't mean to stir up controversy. I don't want the online features at the moment. When he gets a bit older, sure, but not yet.

At least sign up for the Silver account so you can get system and game updates as well as download demos.

I'll just get a Pro version with some kind of extended warranty and a game.

So... Where is the best place to get on? Circuit City, Best Buy, Game Stop/EB Games, etc...? It would have to be a place with local stores and have a reasonable price on the extended warranty. BJ's seems to have the Xbox 360, but bundle it with an extra controller and one game. I'll have to see if they offer a extended warranty.

Best place is where ever you can get the best deal.

Being able to download demos will save you a lot of money on games. It gives you an immediate idea of whether he/you will actually like the games without having to rent or buy the games. I know it has saved me a lot of money that would have been spent on games I didn't like (although it has also made me interested in games I never would have thought to buy (something like Skate).

 

[Skacer]

You should probably find out if the only reason he wants the system is to play Halo online. If so that is going to clash with your idea of buying it as an offline system. It all depends who he is talking to and where he got his ideas that he is basing his request off of.

 

[Robor]

Word of warning... Two of my favorite 360 games - Gears of War (awesome) and Rainbow 6: Vegas - definitely have vulgar language so if that's a concern either don't buy them or (if it's possible) set parental controls.

 

[Xavier434]

I didn't read this whole thread, but a couple things you will want in addition to the 360 premium with HDMI is this:

1. The 360 wireless network adapter assuming you have a wireless router. It's worth not having to run cables IMO.

2. At least one rechargeable battery and the charger. I think the chargers come with a rechargeable battery but I am not sure. Most of the controllers that come with the 360 do not come with a rechargeable battery nor the charger just so you know. Instead, they require you to continuously replace the AAs.

 

[Kirby64]

Originally posted by: Robor
Word of warning... Two of my favorite 360 games - Gears of War (awesome) and Rainbow 6: Vegas - definitely have vulgar language so if that's a concern either don't buy them or (if it's possible) set parental controls.

Honestly, I don't think the language in the games would be the biggest issue. The issue would be language over XBL. Conversations can go from normal to vulgar in a matter of seconds

 

[J]

One little piece of advice wait for the falcon chips,you don't wanna play mail tag with microsoft.

 

[Slew Foot]

$500 for an 11 year olds birthday? Damn, I wish you were my parents when I was that young.