Xbox Live with no harddrive?

[MadOni0n]

I decided to splurge and get a xbox 360. I'm not really a console gamer so. I don't care about downloadable music or demos... so i thought i would be fine just getting an arcade for $200. The guy at the store says i really won't be able to play live without a hard drive. I got the new 256mb arcade, will that be enough for game patches and saves so i can play halo 3 and maybe cod4 online.? maybe just get a few maps?

edit: ps i tried googling but notr eally a wealth of information anywhere, half the people are like yes its fine! the other half are like uhh no you need a hard drive.

 

[bsobel]

The new xbox experience is pretty big and almost requires a hd. Ms has an arcade upgrade program that was really cheap to account for this...

 

[StageLeft]

NXE takes half the space, but you'll be left with enough for some game saves and things and netflix, so it is doable. I have yet to get a patch for any game, but my guess is you will not be able to without the HD. You can do the circuitcity $40 for a refurb HD and spare wireless controller, or $30 from MS for the HD and 3 months XBOX live.

Note that the 20GB drive is really 14GB; the rest is empty space that's inaccessible to you.

 

[MadOni0n]

ok let me rephrase. I will get a 20gig hd probably, but without it for now - will i be able to play xbox 360 live halo 3 and save. Also can i delete the crappy arcade games that come on it?

 

[Pheran]

You can get this for $30 as you probably know, but yes you should be able to play Halo without it. You will just have very little space to do anything else. However, I cannot absolutely swear to this since I've never tried it without a hard drive.

 

[blurredvision]

Originally posted by: MadOni0n
ok let me rephrase. I will get a 20gig hd probably, but without it for now - will i be able to play xbox 360 live halo 3 and save. Also can i delete the crappy arcade games that come on it?

I'm almost certain that you'll need a hard drive in order to have the patches for Halo 3 installed. You'll need those patches before it will let you play online.

As far as people telling you to take advantage of the Microsoft deal to get a hard drive for $30, it's possible that he won't qualify if he has one of the newer Jasper arcade units. Those newer units have flash memory installed to use for the NXE, so a memory card or hard drive isn't required anymore. The best thing to do is to go to the website, put in your serial number, and see if you qualify for the deal. If so, that's the cheapest way you're going to get a hard drive, should you want one.

 

[nismotigerwvu]

I'm almost certain XBL requires a hard drive.
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/join/default.htm
"Hard drive recommended for Xbox LIVE, and is required for some features."
I'm not sure what those features are but for $30 you can get a hard drive and 3 months of live, that is pretty much a steal.

 

[MadOni0n]

Ok back guys. i really wanna clarify this for everyone. I plugged it in everything works great. patched xbox, halo3, and got an avatar. I've been pwning in social slayer for a good few hours =) I'll check back in alittle bit and tell you how much room it takes exactly. Also, it could be because i have a 256 mb arcade. Perhaps the old 128 ones couldn't fit xbox live. I will however try to see if i can use that deal to get the 20gig cause it sounds great. And the circuit city $40 deal is sold out =/