Xboxist

Late to the Party: Xbox 360 New Owner Impressions

I will admit that when the Xbox 360 first landed like a big, white dodo bird in shops in 2005, I was fairly nonplussed. It seemed as if many of the features that I enjoyed on the original Xbox were missing (or at least sold separately). I was especially perplexed by the decision not to include a hard drive standard on all models which would require that game developers optimize their titles for streaming data, a hurdle that I thought had been passed during the previous generation of consoles. Finally, I worried (perhaps unreasonably) about reports of new hardware failures and the dreaded “Red Ring of Death”.

But three years later and a plethora of top-quality software releases under its belt, the Xbox 360 was finally too good to pass up. Recent data suggests that the 65nm chipset now used in all versions of the console has had a measurable impact on reducing the hardware failure rate.

Choosing between the SKUs

Buyers essentially have three choices when it comes to Xbox 360 console bundles. The base-priced Arcade comes with a bare bones console (no hard drive or wifi), a crappy composite RCA cable, a single wireless controller (batteries included!) and a disk containing the full version of 5 live arcade titles. At the time of purchase it was priced at $279 USD. The Best Buy where I picked mine up also included a 50$ gift card with a purchase of Grand Theft Auto IV.

The next step up in the series, the “Pro” bundle, includes a 20GB detachable hard drive, a component video cable, an Ethernet cable and one free Xbox Live Arcade game.

Finally, for gamers who absolutely must have it all, the “Elite” bundle includes every cable imaginable, a black matte colored 360 console, matching 120 GB hard drive, and matching headset and wireless controller.

The Arcade SKU does not come with a component AV cable, but since I was planning to connect mine to a widescreen CRT using the VGA output, I didn’t care. All three SKUs now include the HDMI 1.2 output port, although HDMI cables are only included in the Elite package.

The official VGA connector cable that I needed to purchase separately cost $40, and included a female-to-female connector so that I could use it with my older CRT display.

First Impressions

Upon first booting up the system. Users are greeted with a tabbed dashboard full of options. The navigation system looks polished and slick, although it is not very intuitive – one of my friends who has owned a 360 for years still gets lost among the tabs sometimes when looking for a game demo or a specific media item he has downloaded.

When not being used to spin a game disk, the system is quite silent. However, upon popping in the GTA IV DVD, I was greeted by a sound that can only be described as a flock of birds being sucked into a jet engine. I quickly turned off the console, worried that it was about to mangle my $60 game disk. Upon further inspection (and some internet sleuthing) I discovered that the sound I was hearing was somehow “normal” and that others had experienced it with varying degrees of annoyance. Personally, I find the sound to be louder than acceptable and extremely annoying, and I suspect that many other gamers do, too.

The upside is that the console performs flawlessly with my computer monitor display. In fact, I couldn't help but think that the experience was very similar to having a hassle-free gaming PC rig. Unless you can afford a high-quality 1080p television, a computer display is the best way to enjoy HD content with an Xbox 360. The image quality and refresh rate on my 4-year-old 21-inch CRT is exceptional and would be difficult to reproduce on a television display that cost less than $1000 USD.

Final Verdict

For $279, it is hard to find much to complain about here. The Arcade SKU suits me perfectly, since I do not have an expensive TV that can take advantage of HDMI cables. Since the Hard Drive peripheral can be added on later, it is not an essential purchase up front. Any gamer who doesn't think they are going to be downloading very much content and just wants to play retail game disks would be smart to get the Arcade package.

The noise is certainly an issue, and that will turn off many people. When my friend came over to check out my new purchase, the first thing he said was "Wow, GTA IV looks better than it does on my PS3 and plasma setup." The second thing he said was, "When is it going to stop making that noise?"

The thing that I actually appreciate the most so far has got to be Microsoft's perfectly balanced and rumble-enabled controller. It is a very well designed device, and I can see why so many people prefer it over Sony's workhorse gamepad design. Actually feeling the pedestrians bounce off the hood of your car in GTA IV is an unparalleled sensation, something PS3 owners will be missing out on unless they spring for the newly released DualShock controller.