|
In November 2005, Microsoft released its highly anticipated Xbox
360, the successor to the original Microsoft Xbox. The Microsoft
Xbox 360 is the first ‘next-generation’ system to launch,
beating both Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Revolution to
market by several months. On paper, the graphical capabilities,
multimedia features and online experience appear impressive, but
since the Xbox 360 is first and foremost a gaming machine, the
success of the video games created for the Xbox 360 will
ultimately decide whether it lives up to its billing. There
are two versions of the Xbox 360, and both are priced affordably
when compared with recent game consoles. The Xbox 360 Core
Edition, which includes only the console and a controller, is
relatively inexpensive at $299. The Xbox 360 Premium Edition is
an additional hundred dollars at $399, but includes many extras
that would cost far more than a hundred dollars if purchased
separately.
The Core system is the cheaper of the Xbox 360 bundles, but
anyone thinking about buying the Xbox 360 system should consider
the Xbox 360 Premium version because of the nifty peripherals
and other perks that come with the more expensive version. Here
is a list of extras you get with the Xbox 360 Premium Edition:
• Detachable 20 GB hard drive
• Wireless controller
• Xbox 360 Headset
• High Definition AV Cable
• Xbox Live Silver membership
• Universal remote (ships with Premium Edition for a limited
time)
The detachable hard drive alone is worth close to a hundred
dollars, and it is required in order to play old Xbox games. If
you want to play Xbox Live Arcade games, you’ll need to download
them somewhere, and a hard drive is the best place to do it -
memory cards will quickly become more expensive than a hard
drive and won’t have near the equivalent storage capacity.
The Xbox 360 Core system might be the right choice only if
you cannot afford more than $299 at the moment, or if you are
buying the Xbox 360 as a gift for someone and just want to get
them started. In order to enjoy an Xbox 360 fully however, you
will most likely need to purchase at least one or more of the
critical components bundled into the Xbox 360 Premium Edition. |