Xbox 360 Arcade vs. Other Xbox 360 systems

[mugs]

Seriously, I was reading the responses in this thread and going "why the fuck do people even buy these things." Seriously. Do the Elites come with all this stuff already? because Damn, it seems like $300 + another $200 just to play 60-70 games. WTF.

They are really charging 75 for a wireless card. WTF.

My $300 base model 360 (prior to the Elite price drop) came with everything I need. It has a hard drive (as does the Elite), and I don't need wireless. I wouldn't even want to try to play games on a wireless network - I ran Ethernet to my family room because I already have five devices that use it in there (and none of them is a computer). If you want to avoid paying $80-100 for MS's Ethernet adapter you have a couple of other options -
1. 1-port wireless bridge, usually marketed as a wireless gaming adapter ~= $30
2. 4 port wireless bridge or 4 port wireless router with hacked firmware ~= $40-60
3. Laptop + Internet connection sharing == free if you already have a laptop with wireless

My second 360 was an Arcade, and I added a refurb 20 GB hard drive for $30 (it also came with a refurb controller). Total cost was $230

I paid $30 per 13 months for all but my first year of Xbox Live Gold.

Depending on your needs the Xbox 360 can be pretty cheap or pretty expensive. And if you're actually a gamer, you'll end up spending a lot more on the games than on the system anyway... the cost of the system isn't really the deciding factor for people who are really into console gaming. For someone who is just casually interested in console gaming, price is obviously a bigger factor.