HELP XBOX 360

[JustMel]

Okay, we are buying the oldest the XBOX 360 for Christmas. She is also getting the whole RockBand 2 Special Edition to go with it. My problem is all the different XBOX systems to choose from. What's the difference between the XBOX 360 Arcade edition vs the Elite vs the basic XBOX 360? I'm not a gamer so I don't understand and I don't want to read 40 pages of information that isn't going to tell me what I need to know.

I can't see spending an extra $200 on the elite if the Arcade is just as good. I can buy the external hard drive for extra storage and the arcade version for LESS than I can buy the Elite version.

Someone help me navigate these waters please.

[TheLastMohican]

There was a time when it was just Pacman or Space Invaders...

[JustMel]

There was a time when it was just Pacman or Space Invaders...

Yes, I know, I was 8 when I got my Atari 2600........

[Undead Bonzi]

Okay, we are buying the oldest the XBOX 360 for Christmas. She is also getting the whole RockBand 2 Special Edition to go with it. My problem is all the different XBOX systems to choose from. What's the difference between the XBOX 360 Arcade edition vs the Elite vs the basic XBOX 360? I'm not a gamer so I don't understand and I don't want to read 40 pages of information that isn't going to tell me what I need to know.

I can't see spending an extra $200 on the elite if the Arcade is just as good. I can buy the external hard drive for extra storage and the arcade version for LESS than I can buy the Elite version.

Someone help me navigate these waters please.


The difference between the arcade and the basic is just the hard drive. The difference between the basic and the elite is usually a fancy outter case, an extra controller (I think), and a bigger hard drive which is only needed if you are putting music/videos/ect on it.

The elite is a bit of a waste but the choice between arcade and basic comes down to what you want to do with the 360. The biggest reason to buy the basic is if you want to connect to xbox LIVE and play games online (you need the hard drive to do this). Also some games need the hard drive so they can't be played on the basic arcade.

My suggestion:

Buy the Basic (it has no limits on its functions like the arcade, but can do everything the elite can, its just not as fancy) Then also make sure you buy the controller battery charge pack as the 360's controllers will eat regular batteries up at an alarming rate.

[redbaren]

I would just go with the normal xbox 360 with a hard drive and a wireless controller. It comes with every thing you need.

[SShack]

I had to look up the XBOX Arcade edition, as I hadn't heard of it before. I would recommend against it as it doesn't appear to come with a hard drive (which is odd that they would sell it this way, as you need one if you want to download games from the XBOX Live Arcade).

The Hard Drive is pretty important for a lot of things that make the XBox more than just a game console. The XBOX Live system has many games you can buy and download, often very cheap, so you might be able to find some nice, simple games for your "younger" ones (don't know how many you have).

With the hard drive you can also download movies and television shows to watch through the XBOX. Many games also offer free downloadable demos, so you (or your kids) can try a game first to see if you really want to purchase it. Apparently they're about to premiere a new partnership with Netflix. So if you have a Netflix account you'll be able to download videos through the XBox and ignore the mail system entirely.

I believe I have the basic system with the 20G hard drive, but I'm not at home to check. It has served me wonderfully. It can only store a couple of the big downloadable games, but I find that helps me keep from purchasing too many games and then not completing them. (You can delete the games and download them again later if you choose, though).

Just reading the info on the Elite system made me laugh. Unless you're a hard core techie type or just have money to throw away, I'd avoid it.

Edited to add: I forgot that Rock Band is also big on releasing new songs on XBox Live to download, which also requires the hard drive, so yeah, I'd go with the basic +20g.

[JustMel]

Awesome info and greatly appreciated. Her friend's mom is buying the PS3 and the newest Guitar hero and we're doing the XBOX 360 with the Rockband set up so they can switch up. The Guitar Hero and Rock Band games are the only video games she's ever been interested in so it's weird.