my kids want an X Box 360

[goddess40]

I don't know if I should break down and get one. Anyone have one? The boys are 14 and 18.

[Occulus]

1. The 360 does suffer from the Red Ring of Death

It has been given to me to understand, from anecdotal reports from coworkers, friends, and online, that the Red Ring of Death was most likely to appear after the warranty expired. The problem became so widespread that Micro$oft extended the warranty to three years after the date of purchase.

I may be wrong on the length of the warranty, as I do not have a 360. I'm waffling between buying a 360, buying a PS3, buying a Wii, or building a new gaming PC. I'm leaning toward the PC, because even if some games come out for both PC and 360, the PC version (given you have the "recommended" hardware/OS) is usually the best of the versions, and often comes with editors which allow you to either make your own maps for the game or download user-created content for free.

Here is my reason to not get a 360, but buy a super-powerful gaming PC:

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The Xbox 360 version contains the original game. Period.

The PC version contains the original game and the editor. This allows you to make dungeons, tunnels, sewers, caves, entire towns, and locations in the Oblivion plane. Additionally, other software you can download from the internet for free (tools such as the GIMP and Blender) can be used in conjunction with the necessary plugins to create your own models, from people to weapons and armor, and even your very own spell effects from scratch. Using these tools, Cyrodil- the country TES4 takes place in- is now as varied as the various users' imaginations.

Another reason, gamewise, I would tend to buy a serious gaming PC before I would buy an Xbox 360, is Valve Software's Orange Box. While all the included titles on the 360 version are also present on the PC version, the PC version's textures are known to be better than the 360 version, and (especially on higher-end machines) the framerate is also faster on the PC version.

However, Valve has also made the software development kit available for the PC version. This allows users to create their own maps, not only for Half-Life 2 (one of the best shooters, if not the best shooter, ever made, period), but also for Half-Life 2: Episode One (And Two, I think), but also for Portal- and please believe me when I say, the Orange Box is worth the price for Portal all by itself; that game is as close to perfect as any of us are ever likely to see.

So I'm learning to make my own Portal maps- and 360 owners (please, someone, correct me on this if I'm wrong, because it's an important detail) are not able, to my knowledge, to make or use maps created by themselves or other users on the 360 version.

To me, it is just as important that I be able to play user content as it is to play the game itself, because being able to play with user created content vastly increases the value of the product. Oblivion may have been $60 when I got it, but I've gotten many, many times the original value from it, simply because of the user content being made. Every now and again, someone creates a spell or armor or a quest that just sounds like it would be fun to use, and that keeps the game installed on my drive and keeps me coming back again and again.

The Portal user maps will keep me playing that game for years to come. And Portal is a "side dish" to the Orange Box.

If you must have a console, the 360 has more games, the PS3 is more powerful on paper, the 360 uses HD-DVD, the PS3 uses Bluray. The 360 does not come with an HD player; the PS3 is an HD player- but you need an HDTV to benefit from either capability in any case (I have a big HDTV, and I have to tell you- seeing is believing. It's a very visible difference from standard definition.)

Hope all my PC-fanboi crap helped. :P

[semillama]

2. Let me chime in as a console owner to give you that perspective

I really love console gaming, because I don't have a lot of money to devote to computer upgrades, plus I'm a mac owner already.

Yes, the big disadvantage to a console is it is not as flexible as a PC, but the advantages are that you don't have your kids tying up your computer with their gaming. Also, if they are glued to the Xbox, then you know they aren't downloading porn.

Xbox live is a great reason to get a 360, if only because it's so established as a community over Sony's Home.

But hey, your boys are old enough to have a good preference. If they are asking for an Xbox over a PS3 or Wii, they probably have good reasons for doing so. For me, I went with Xbox for game selection and how the controllers felt in my hands (never liked the PS layout).

As far as the red rings of death, I think that was mainly a problem with the first generation of consoles, but I could be wrong. Hasn't happened to me.

[gulfcoastliberal]

3. My Xbox 360 broke right at the 1-year mark - mailed it back 2 weeks ago.

I am 31 years old and took superb care of it. But one night while playing Halo 3 it started freezing. The next day the red ring of death appeared. Still waiting for either the replacement or refurb. I think a major problem is that due to the almost 100% failure rate, the repair centers are overwhelmed. This leads to many people getting units that are still broken. My friend just mailed his 2nd Xbox in 2 years back. Today UPS delivered it back to him, still broken. He is pissed. Microsoft has indeed extended the warranty to 3 years. Rumor has it they have added exta heat sinks to the GPU in an attempt to correct the design flaw. As I understand it, the GPU lead-free solder is brittle and thus prone to cracking and shorting out its connection to the motherboard.

Summary:

Reliability is the main negative. But while it's working, you love it -and that's what makes this problem so painful!

Great library and xbox live are the main pluses.

A work acquaintance just bought a PS3. I played heavenly sword on it and wasn't impressed. Didn't get to go online with it.

[semillama]

4. I have one of the those Pelican cooling fan stands

And, knock on wood, it might be having a positive effect. Seems like it's the overheating that's killing these boxes. We've had ours for a little over a year and a half, and no problems.

I guess what may also help is that it rarely gets played for more than three hours at a time.

[gulfcoastliberal]

5. I had an intercooler on the back and a small box fan in front. Plus update.

I got the box today and the repair unit hasn't crapped out (yet). I don't play extended sessions either - but mine still eventually crapped out. But I wish you nothing but the best of luck - maybe that cooling fan is the key. I keep a small box fan in front of mine when I'm playing and it's on a wide open glass shelf. Anyway, it felt great playing some guitar hero tonight!

[semillama]

6. Well, as it happens

I got the red ring of DEATH on Friday night, just as I popped in Assassin's Creed. So I'll be shipping mine back too. I guess I spoke too soon.

[BulletproofLandshark]

7. Join the club

Mine is going back this week and I'll be getting my third console in less than 9 months. The second one only lasted about a month! I'd like to just go ahead and get a PS3 to avoid all this hassle but the game selection just isn't there yet.

[semillama]

17. I just got mine back

Seems to work although I haven't actually played any games yet. as it happens, I'm going out of town with my dad tomorrow and there's no chance to play it until I get back.

I can't even remember what I was doing in Assassin's Creed. I'll just have to start a new game - I was going to play it over again anyway, so no big deal.

It sucks that the hardware failed, but I will say that the Xbox customer service was top notch.

[shenmue]

8. I would get it

The graphics are beautiful. If you have a high-speed connection, the X Box Live Arcade is a lot of fun. Most games can be played for no additional charge.

[sam sarrha]

9. if you get it at a place like Best.. you can get a 5 year replacement warranty

[Warren Peace]

10. My opinion...

Yes; I'm thirteen and I play it alot. They cost about 350$, and games usually cost around 60$. I do encounter a few problems, however, like sometimes it will lock up in the middle of something. A few good games out there right now (some of the more popular ones) would be Assassin's Creed, Halo 3, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

[Stump]

11. Call me a Sony fanboy...

But I think the PS3 is a much better deal at $399. You get Bluray along with Bluetooth wireless internet. Add HD-DVD and a wireless connection to the 360 and your price just shot up $200. And no $50 a year internet fee either, it's completely free. I've been playing Call of Duty online for weeks now wireless on DSL with no issues. Just some things to consider.

[YOY]

12. You're a Sony Fanboy

Seriously...there are too few good games an it's still overpriced. The public dislike is propelled further by their marketing hype and I will never forget the Sony US President saying that you can't find them on the shelves as they were so popular when you could find them in droves because no one was willing to plunk down $700! So now they're cheeper with less bells and whistles? Big deal...the selection of games is still not satisfactory.

At the prices they initially started with you might as well get a proper PC and learn to game like the big boys.

Sorry. And the Bluray? Sorry, not replacing all my DVDs with another medium. I'm not made of money and I don't care how much better the resoultion is regardless of what the future is. It's just a movie player and I can live without that if it means feeding my family a little better. When it costs 50$ for a player I'll buy a seperate player.

360 has a wider selection of games and the Wii is hitting a better demographic. I say we stick a fork in Sony lest they push the Playstation 4 with even more idiocy.

[CabalPowered]

13. Too few good games?

Close to all the games scheduled for release this year are headed to both consoles.

As to the other points..

Bluray has for most intents and purposes, won the format war and long before anyone thought it would be over. And you don't need to buy a new format, both consoles upscale standard DVDs.

The newer models actually have more options and storage for less money. As to the price, they're taking a $100 loss per unit. With the cheapest bluray standalone player somewhere around $300, you might as well get a gaming console with your player.

[Stump]

14. Easy now...

All I'm saying is this, if you want an inferior system, buy a 360. If you want the best, buy a PS3. Just kidding...it's all in what you want. I like the Bluray and there are plenty of games out now, most of the big ones are duel release anyway.

[YOY]

15. Sorry if you mistook me for the wrong tone. You said "Call me a Sony Fanboy"...so I did.

I am a PC fanboy...but I own a PS2 and am very angry still at Sony...losing a little money with each sold system or not...for releasing things beyond the financial resources of me and I am sure many others.

The X-BOx 360 and Wii win out with the casual gamer crowd and the PS3 is alienating a strong amount of the hardcore gamer crowd with price and less titles than it's price warrants. It's a simple fact. Only so many people have the cash for the thing...amazing graphics or not.

I still think were going to see a few good games only come out for PS3. The only one I can think of that remotely interests me is the new Metal Gear game...Old Snake looks interesting...

The Bluray...I've got a family and I've got a few DVDs. I've not willing to replace all my DVDs with Bluray disks just because the manufacturing world announces a change. I've got a family and responsibilities. Video gaming is not going to take more of my budget than necessary. I don't buy games that take less than 8 hours to win. I figure if you're going to plunk down all that cash for a system you might as well get a quality PC and learn to PC game.


They still make VCR Cassettes so I've be able to live with a combination of downloading video from Netflix and DVDs until the price on the Bluray itself dips to reasonable amounts.

[Stump]

16. As far as games go...

Check out Gamefly...I love it. Keep two games at a time so I always have a fresh game.