Living under a rock: Wanting to get into a 360 system

[faintember]

Yes, I have been living under a rock when it comes to the current gen. of consoles and thus need some advice/info about the 360. After a few days of trying to find this info on the net I came up with nothing. Maybe I was just not looking in the right places?

I am mainly buying the 360 for Halo 3, but I am sure I will pick up others as time goes by. I know I need to buy 360 (getting the $350 system) but what else do I need to get for me to play Halo 3 and other games online? Does the included Xbox Live silver package allow online play? If not then what kind of money am I looking at for Xbox Live?

Originally I was looking at a refurbished system through EB Games, but it seems that they no longer have them listed. Does the 3-year red-ring-of-death warranty through Microsoft extend to systems that are refurbished and sold through companies such as EB?

Thanks for the help!

 

[ChrisBrightwell]

A gold membership for Xbox Live is $50 a year and you'll need that to play online multiplayer. The 360, if bought new, will come with a one-month trial for gold.

I'd highly recommend getting the Premium package for obvious reasons (20GB HDD, wireless gamepad, headset, HD cables, HDMI port, etc.). Not sure about the warranty on refurbished units, but you could call your local EB/GameStop to find out.

 

[Pants Dragon]

The Silver Live that comes free doesn't allow online play. It's about 50$ US for a year of Gold coverage, which is what you need to play online.

I can't answer your warranty question, sorry.

 

[faintember]

Not sure about the warranty on refurbished units, but you could call your local EB/GameStop to find out.

Attempted that. Seems like the local employees either don't know, don't know how to find the answer or don't know and don't care how to find the answer.

And thanks for the quick responses. I was hoping to not have to pay $50 for the Xbox Live Gold, but I guess I will have to budget for that.

Honestly, I wish they would make their naming schemes a bit more easy to discern. Premium, Elite, Silver, Gold, etc. Just tell the consumer what it does, sheesh. /endrant

 

[zero2dash]

You can get a 12+1 month Live Gold card at Buy.com for $42.99 and if you sign up for a new (free) Google checkout account, you get an additional $10 off.

Halo 3 flavor (no it doesn't come with Halo 3, just a picture of Master Chief on the package/card...I got one of these a few months ago)

Regular one

(Both are the same price, just put up both in case one is sold out by the time you buy it.)

Otherwise, yes, it's $50 for a year...this way you get 13 months for $42 (or $32 with a new Google checkout account).

When you first sign up for Live, they give you a free month of Gold and then your account reverts to a free Silver account. In addition to this, Best Buy is sponsoring a free "Unite to Fight" promo from Sept. 25-27 for the Halo 3 launch where everyone has a free Live Gold account for those three days to play online. source

I'd recommend the Premium 360, it's the best bang for your buck. They come with HDMI ports now (as indicated on the package under the specs listing on the box...you have to look for it though). Don't bother buying an Elite for the HD space, just stream your media to the 360 from your Windows PC or Mac and avoid having to use the HD altogether.

I wouldn't buy a refurbished or used one, it could come with a free ban on Xbox Live if the previous owner cheated or got caught with a mod chip; you'd never be able to tell until trying to sign up and not being allowed to.

 

[bluebomberman]

Honestly, I wish they would make their naming schemes a bit more easy to discern. Premium, Elite, Silver, Gold, etc. Just tell the consumer what it does, sheesh. /endrant

Unfortunately, Microsoft really loves the confusing tiered pricing model. (See Vista.)

 

[thegreatunknown]

Yes, I have been living under a rock when it comes to the current gen. of consoles and thus need some advice/info about the 360. After a few days of trying to find this info on the net I came up with nothing. Maybe I was just not looking in the right places?

your questions have been answered but you could have looked directly at the source (xbox.com) and you could have found all the answers. (not trying to be mean... just letting you know.)

 

[zero2dash]

He would have found out facts on the website but not necessarily opinions or thoughts on the system (especially from other people who own one).