Microsoft Xbox 360 Pro 20 GB White Console (PAL)

The Xbox 360 is an affordable console well worth the money if you are just going to be a casual gamer. The Xbox 360 has the widest selection of games as compared to any other console. It has some of the best exclusives to Xbox includign Gears of War. However if you are looking to be a serious gamer Microsoft has made it so that all of the extra stuff that you can buy with the console will cost more because of extra cords that you need to buy and the adapter if you would like to go online. Also the subscription for Xbox Live although cheap is also an extra cost. The controller for the Xbox 360 I thin is ergonomically better shaped than the controller for the PS3. The high failure rate of this console is also something to look at as with almost half of the owners needing to buy another one because of the famous Red Ring of Death. I myself experienced this with the first console i owned. If you would like to avoid this I would recommend upgrading to the new slim console. This console also runs kind of loud. It can be a bit of a nucense but I have gotten used to it and barely notice it anhymore. The top competitor Playstation can support Blu-ray and also has free live access to play the games online with your friends. Those are the only reasons that the PS3 also has a much lower failure rate. Those are the only reasons why the PS3 console is better. However the PS3 costs a lot more over 100 moer for the same amount of memory. Also there is a lot less titles available for purchase on the PS3. However if you are into games such as socom that is a Playstation exclusive. I myself have enjoyed the online community on the Xbox a lot better. Usually the more competitive gamers have an Xbox 360. However you can find lots of casual gamers that also own it. I think that with the cheap cost of the Xbox 360 you shouldn't have to worry about Red Ring because you can easily buy two for the price of one PS3 if you don't care about prior owners. It is purely up to you which console you think is better.

+++ Pros +++
1.) More games than Playstation 3 (The Xbox 360 section at most Gamestop stores is like 2-3 times bigger).
2.) Cheaper system to buy (can be found in bundles online from Gamestop with multiple controllers, games, accessories etc.).

--- Cons ---
1.) Design issues. The overall design of the Xbox 360 was rushed to beat its competitors to the market (Launched in the U.S. on November 22, 2005), the shortcuts taken and the design flaws sometimes bring about a nonfunctioning or limited functioning system identified by a number of flashing red lights known as the "Red Ring of Death" or "RRoD". Design flaws include the DVD drive sitting directly on top of the GPU heatsink and greatly restricts airflow inside the system, the motherboard being known to flex or warp from heating (during play) and cooling (when the unit is off), there seems to be a low quality thermal paste on the GPU and CPU chips which lowers the ability of the system to transfer heat to the heatsinks, also if placed vertically while gaming games can become scratched due to the mechanism that is usually installed in disc drives that help stabilize inserted discs is not present in early models of the Xbox 360, I don't know if they changed this later.

2.) Online gaming is not free as it is on the Playstation 3 (there are rumors that PSN (Playstation Network) will start charging users for use of PSN services, possibly due to the losses Sony incurred because of the recent security breach?). Also multiplayer games are mostly "online only" meaning you must pay for Xbox live membership to play with your friends instead of 2-4 people being able to play on the same Xbox 360 system or 2-4-8 via system-link.

3.) Bulky system cords.

4.) Consumer is almost forced to use Microsoft peripherals and accessories, for example the hard drives for the Xbox 360 (current sizes 20GB, 60GB, 120GB and 250GB and can range from $20-$150+) must be Microsoft brand or the system will not initialize it for use, with the Playstation 3, the consumer can remove the hard drive that comes with it and replace it with nearly any SATA laptop hard drive (largest on market is 1TB I believe and is around $100). Rechargeable battery packs for wireless controllers cost the consumer while Playstation 3 wireless controllers have them built in.

Overview ***Xbox 360 vs Playstaion 3***
Personally, I have the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 (and the Nintendo Wii which is in a league of it' own). Most of the games I own are for the Xbox 360 due to there being more of a selection for the Xbox 360 and the ONLY games I have/buy for the Playstation 3 are the ones that are exclusively for that console (last time I checked there were about 30 PS3 exclusive games, I own 17 of them). To me it all boils down to:


***Xbox 360***
1.) Less expensive
2.) Lots of games to choose from
3.) Less reliable system
4.) Charged for online play
5.) Must use Microsoft hard drives

***Playstation 3***
1.) More expensive
2.) Fewer games to choose from
3.) More reliable system
4.) Free online play
5.) Can you non-Sony hard drives

In this review I focused on the gaming experience of the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3, I disregarded things like faceplates, console skins etc. because they do not affect gameplay.

I'm a casual gamer. I don't do it often, but when I do, I will spend some months on a game. The XBOX 360 is overall a great device, a bit heavy with the cords, and somewhat loud when it runs due to the fan, but it works well. I went up to the store and I was either going to buy a Playstation 3 or an XBox 360. I don't have a brand preference and I didn't know if there was much of a difference. I know there's some supposed war between the two brands, much like Mac and PC, but I could care less. I just wanted something to play on.

I ended up going with XBox 360 for the reason that it was cheaper and had more games at the time being that it was out longer and you could play old XBOX games on it as well. However, what I wished I would have known was that Playstation has more "Character driven" games created for it like Heavy Rain, which is rare for XBOX 360 which is famous for shooters.

Also, At the time, Xbox live was free- so that was another incentive to buy it, since I had heard that Playstation 3 charged for their service. Well, Xbox 360 soon followed suit. The XBox live feature is now a monthly fee (if you want to actually do anything on it beside from play demos!) I feel this a bit ridiculous being that you can't play multi-player unless you have their "gold membership"-- not only that, they also try to make you pay to watch Netflix for money on there, when I already have to pay a subscription for Netflix! On my budget and considering the price of the console and the games, it's ridiculous that they should think to charge for such a feature. I'm not a millionaire. I'm young and I don't have anyone to pay for it for me.

Next, you should know that it's extremely difficult to hook up to XBox live unless your console is located next to your router- this depends sorely on your setup. How many people locate their computer next to a noisy tv is beyond me. In this case, You have to fumble around, trying to put in ip addresses and bridging your connection on your laptop-- which is just plain arduous.

That said, I think the console works well. I haven't had any issues with it. It plays DVDs, it has a large memory space, and there's been no freezing or lagging in the games. It functions very good. I just wish I would have known all the details first, and being that I'm fond of RP games, I rather wished that I had picked up Playstation 3 instead.

This system is great, my husband has so far had two in a 4 year period and he loves it. I have played some but have learned a lot from my husband's constant use with the xbox 360 of how awesome this console is. One thing people do not know is that most of the failure caused by xbox 360's is that they need cleaned. The inner fan can let in a lot of dust which gets stuck to the hardware inside the xbox. We had to learn this the hard way after my husband's first xbox 360 got the red rings of death. We eventually took it apart and found it clogged with dust and even hair. Well we could not salvage the first xbox 360 after the inside had overheated causing the red rings of death to appear, so we went and got a new one. This one has worked 10 times better because my husband cleans it when ever he sees dust starting to build. Microsoft purposely build the xbox 360 like this in order to earn more money from people buying new consoles to replace their new ones. Overall if you learn how to take it apart and clean it this gaming console is probably the best one on the market. The games are nice too, plus this console has almost life like graphics and has high definition to top it off so that you get a great gaming experience. I know I just recently played an older game from gamecube and let me tell graphics on todays consoles, especially xbox 360, is ten times better because I had to adjust my eyes in order to play that gamecube game of which was really blurry and hurt my eyes to look at. So the xbox 360 has clear graphics, great games, can last longer if you take care of it, and is just an all around great gaming system.

I LOVE IT BECAUSE IT IS TOTALLY AWESOME AND OUR SON WAS VERY HAPPY! IT WAS THE ONLY GIFT HE RECEIVED DUE TO THE ECONOMY, BUT IT WAS WORTH EVERY CENT. IT IS AN EXCITING SYSTEM, HE CAN CONNECT WITH FAMILY AND PLAY, THE GAME SELECTION IS VERY DIVERSE, AND THE GRAPHICS ARE AMAZING.

AFTER SEARCHING EBAY FOR WEEKS, WHILE MAINTAINING MY TRIGGER FINGER FOR LESS THAN UNITS, ONE NIGHT IN THE WEE HOURS CAME ACROSS THIS SYSTEM AND 11 GAMES. I MUST HAVE SAT THERE 2 HOURS DECIDING MY PRICE. THE PRICE WAS NOT SET DUE TO THE AUCTION. I DID GO OVER MY "FINAL" MENTAL PRICE BECAUSE IT HAD FREE SHIPPING, 11 GAMES, 2 WIRELESS CONTROLLERS AND 1 CORDED, A CHARGING DOCK FOR THEM, AND IT WAS 20 GB. THE ONLY EXTRA THING I HAD TO PURCHASE--WELL OUR SON USED HIS PAPER ROUTE MONEY AND A WALMART GIFT CARD FOR CHRISTMAS, WAS A PHILIPS DIGITAL, UNIVERSAL CORD AT WALMART FOR 16.00. I BOUGHT THIS GAME BECAUSE IT WAS THE ONLY THING HE REALLY WANTED. WE TOLD BOTH THE KIDS IN JUNE THAT THERE WERE HARD TIMES LOOMING SO 1 GIFT WAS ALL THEY WERE GOING TO GET; MAKE IT A GOOD ONE, "ONE YOU CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT BUT THINK ABOUT PRICE ALSO." BEING AT THE "EXPENSIVE" AGE THEY UNDERSTOOD AND AGREED. THE GREATEST JOY I PERSONALLY RECEIVED FROM THIS PURCHASE WAS THERE WAS NO COMPLAINTS ABOUT NOT ENOUGH GIFTS FROM EITHER OF OUR CHILDREN. THAT WAS AWESOME! ONE CANNOT RAISE CHILDREN, OVERNIGHT, FOR THIS TYPE OF ATTITUDE OR APTITUDE.

SO WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT FORESIGHT, COMMUNICATION, AND THE PURCHASE OF AN XBOX WOULD HAVE BROUGHT SO MUCH JOY, ON SO MANY LEVELS, AT CHRISTMAS?

I HAVE SOME ADVICE, IF I MAY? TEACH YOUR CHILDREN THAT LESS IS MORE, USED IS OK, AND THAT 1 OF SOMETHING IS BETTER THAN 5 OF SOMETHING YOU BARELY TOUCH OR APPRECIATE. ALSO TEACH THEM THE VALUE OF A FAMILY AND TO EMPATHIZE WITH FISCAL MATTERS. A WORK ETHIC AND APPRECIATION NEVER HARMS ANYONE--EXCEPT THOSE WHO DO NOT UNDERSTAND IT OR WERE NEVER TAUGHT.

A BLACK BOX GAVE ME MORE JOY THAN I CAN POSSIBLY EXPLAIN.

BEST TO ALL,
TODD AND AMBER