Microsoft Xbox 360 Arcade 512 MB Matte White Console (NTSC)

Although I hate to admit that Microsoft is capable of making a good product, I will concede that the Xbox 360 is an excellent gaming system. I love it because it is capable so many things that I take advantage of. The gaming alone is excellent, and with an HDMI cable, the graphics are incredible and the games are realistic and entertaining unlike the childish games made for the Nintendo Wii. Also, the controller has a more natural feel and set up to it, unlike the over-simplified Sony Playstation controllers. As for the accessories, there are a slew of social networking possibilities, including Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft Messenger, and voice chatting during games such as Call of Duty. You have access to your Netflix account and instant watch if you are a member, and you get a free membership to last.fm, an internet radio station that analyzes your preferences much like Pandora. Many of these things come only with the Xbox Live Gold Membership, but you can not play multiplayer online without it, and it comes at a very reasonable $8 per month if you buy month to month, and something like $4.50 if you buy a full year. Perhaps the best feature for me is that I can connect my external hard drive that I use for my computer which contains all my media, all my movies, and watch any of them on my big screen TV without having to use a complicated system of expensive converters to connect to my TV. And, if you have a PC, Windows Media Center makes the integration between your computer and your Xbox's media files seamless, allowing you to watch or listen to all your favorite media on your TV.

And in the interest of being a critical thinker, I'll admit a few of it's downsides. For one, it can't play Blu Ray's like a PS3 can which means you will have to buy a $100 - $250 Blu Ray player if you want to watch them. Also, all the accessories are expensive. A controller is $50 or more, each game, if it is new and popular is $60, a larger hard drive for the system could be $170. I would recommend looking on Newegg.com, Amazon.com, and Ebay.com for good deals on the accessories before you go to a game shop and buy them.

This game console has to be the best out there! With great graphics on all of the games there is, this is the best. But no matter how long you will have your xbox, you will always love xbox live. Xbox live does cost money on the xbox, 1 Month=8 USD, 3 Months=20 USD, 12 Months=50 USD, but it is worth it. If I were you I would buy the 12 Month Xbox live pack for 50 dollars becuase this saves you a ton of money! Xbox live is where you connect with millions of people over the internet. Connect with friends family and people you do not know! Play many games online too, like Call of duty, Left 4 Dead 1 and 2, and many other games! Xbox live lets you chat with people also on games that do not have the xbox live feature. With xbox live you can also download game demos that give you a look at the game you want to buy before you buy it! Which can save you lots of money and time! Xbox live also lets you download movies and tv shows for xbox live microsoft points! you can buy microsoft points to download many downloads like movies, games, and game downloads. Some of the game downloads consists of new maps for call of duty games, new places for fallout 3, new items or guns for a certain game, the list is endless. Microsoft does a great job for almost every game there is out there, there will be an update, or a game add on. To get xbox live though you will need a hard drive, not one of those small memory cards or chips. The hard drives come in 20gb, 60gb, 120gb, and 250gb. The prices for the hard drives do range depending on where you get them. If I were you I would not buy the hard drives at gamestop or a video game store, I would get them on ebay! I got a 60gb hard drive that works great for my xbox 360 for 50 dollars less then what I would of had to pay in the store! The savings that you can get on games and items and accessories for the 360 on ebay is very good. The next thing I am going to talk to you about is the controllers! The controllers for this console can be wired, or wireless. When you buy a wireless controller the first thing that you have to do is sync that controller to your xbox 360. The good thing about those controllers is many things. The controllers first of all are very confortable (The wireless Ones), the fit your hand perfectly, second there is a very good range of how far away you can get with the controllers, sometimes I will have my microphone plugged in and I will be talking to poeple and I will have to use the bathroom. I will take the controller with me so I don't have to stop talking and my bathroom is on the other side of the house and I am still able to talk because of the range of the controller, and third the wireless controllers are able to sync to many different xbox 360's after you have synced it to yours! The wired controllers are pretty good, depending on the ones that you buy! The original microsoft ones are the best, they don't need batteries they have long cords and they last a long time (so do the wireless ones) and they are cheaper then the wireless ones too. Well the very last thing that I am going to talk to you about is the xbox 360 lifetime. WIth lifetime I mean how long it will be popular. The 360 has been around for at least 6 years and will be around for another 6 years. They will probably never stop making games for this system. But another thing with the lifetime is the 360, always have yours lying down and not sitting up because that can damage the 360 games and interior! 3500 characters baby!!!

I really think the Arcade unit is not suited to most people.
You need the Hard Drive for So Many things.
There are always Game Updates that are Mandatory for Online Play and a 256 Meg Card will fill up quick.
Then if you want Map Packs, Demos, or to Play Original XBox Games you are gonna need the Hard Drive.

The Arcade unit is really there to Sucker people in with the $199 price.
Then you will end up buying a Hard Drive for another $100, then you will buy a High Def Cable for another $50, Then you might buy the Wireless adapter for another $100... It keeps going, I feel Microsoft is Trying to Nickel and Dime me to Death. Not to Mention XBox Live...

All in all My XBox 360 has cost a TON more than my PS3 did.
I bought both at Launch of each system.
My 360: Totaling $900
Console $400 + Wireless $100 + XBox Live $50 (Times 4 so far = $200)
Then I got the Red Ring of Death 3 Times so I bought this Arcade Unit as a Replacement $200.
My PS3: Totaling $600
I bought the 60 Gig at Launch.

Granted all the Prices have changed since then.

So It comes down to Quality and the Price to Play each system Online that I give the XBox Only a 3 Star Rating. I love the Halo Series which is why we keep the 360 around. Since I cannot trust the Quality we Mainly buy all Multi-Platform Games for our PS3. Also because Online is Free on the PS3 and we can have a separate profile for all 4 Family Members. XBox Live REALLY needs a Gold Pack for Families. The Buddy List is not real helpful when more than one Family member is sharing that online persona... and I cannot see paying $50 per year per person for Live... We have 4 Gamers in our Family and we are NOT paying $200 a year just to play our games online...

Now if you are buying an Arcade unit to Replace an Original XBox360 that is Having way too many problems like me then this is the way to go. You get a newer unit with a Warranty. It is Cheaper and You can just Snap your Old Hard Drive on to it and you are up and Running. This is why I call it the "Red Ring of Death Replacement Unit"

this is a very good gaming consol

original design with the Xbox Arcade (12 by 3 by 10 inches, HWD). In fact, except that its profile is thinner because it lacks a hard drive, it looks almost exactly the same as any other white Xbox 360. (The Elite is the only Xbox with a black finish.) On the front panel you will find a large on/off button, an IR receiver, a loading tray for DVDs and games, and two slots for memory cards. On the back of the console you will find USB, HDMI, and Ethernet ports. The Arcade ships with a wireless controller and a 512MB memory card but not much else; you basically get just enough to get started. It does come, however, with five Xbox Live Arcade games (Pac-Man, UNO, Luxor 2, Boom Boom Rocket, and Feeding Frenzy) so you can play something immediately.

Buzz up!
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Internally, the Xbox Arcade is not much different from its predecessors. The Arcade features the same triple-core 3.2-GHz, 95nm IBM CPU as the other Xbox 360s—at least that's the official Microsoft line. It's a poorly kept secret that Microsoft has been updating its new Xboxes with a new 65nm chip, but the company's representatives will not comment on this. And I don't blame them. They have thousands of consoles on the market and don't want to get stuck with a glut of older SKUs. Sony introduced its smaller, more energy-efficient 65nm processor with the launch of the 40GB PS3. Both the PS3 and the 360 processors, new and old, blow the Nintendo Wii's 729-MHz chip right out of the water. Then again, if you buy a Wii you are probably looking for a different gaming experience.

Game is great! Super graphics and easy to set up. The whole family has been playing, great variety of games, something for everyone. Game controller that came with system was wireless and we also bought a corded, both work fine and are easy to learn to use. We have two memory cards and this is more than sufficient. Have not tried the Live feature yet, as the wireless network piece is kind of spendy (Christmas present perhaps)! Overall, am enjoying the new system and glad that I bought the bundle package.