Should I buy an Xbox 360?

"area man" (hurrburgring) 08/21/2014 at 17:52 • Filed to: None

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So, a while ago I asked for suggestions on what to buy with a $150 gift card to the Dell Store (random, I know, but I got a screaming deal on a TV and it was included). A soundbar is an obvious choice, but what about a 360?

I've been a Playstation guy my whole life (happily so), but lately with the impending death of the 360 I feel like I should probably pick up a brand new one while I can. I do love the first few Halo games, and obviously the Forza series is a big draw, even though I'm a little late to the party at this point... is there anything else that I'm really missing?

Cherry_man1 > area man 08/21/2014 at 17:56

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Forza

mcseanerson > area man 08/21/2014 at 17:58

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I'm in the same boat and I broke down and bought one to play Forza4. It is good. The problem is I don't like Halo and wasn't enticed by any of there other exclusive titles. I couldn't justify keeping a console for one game after six months and sold it. With Project Cars coming out soon I don't think I'll care anymore.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > area man 08/21/2014 at 17:59

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I like my ps3 much better than my 360. My 360 is in a box now. Stay a playstation guy.

GhostZ > area man 08/21/2014 at 18:01

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Not worth it, in my mind, especially if you have a PS3. By the time you get enough games to make it worth your time, you'll be another $100 into it and everyone will be leaving the Forza online.

Me? I'd put that toward a small $250 or $200 laptop (or maybe a 'chromebook') that I can use in lieu of an ipad or tablet bullshit. It would save me from lugging around a large laptop, but not require I use a touchpad to type. You can always load up Win8 or Xubuntu depending on how extreme you want to get with the lightness factor.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > area man 08/21/2014 at 18:03

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Forza 4 is good, I used my brothers xbox when I still lived with my parents to play it. Havent missed it since getting my own place though, the controller never sat right with me and it used to cut out and freeze a lot due to it overheating and cutting itself to prevent damage. It was also his second console, the first one overheated badly enough to die. I struggled to find much else to play on it too, I enjoyed halo 3 but not enough to justify a new console. I'm happy enough with my ps3, ps4, vita and gameboy colour combo I got at the moment.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > mcseanerson 08/21/2014 at 18:03

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Is project cars coming on Ps3?

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > area man 08/21/2014 at 18:04

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You might enjoy the Gears series, Live Arcade has a lot of good titles, and games are plentiful and cheap. I'm not really an unbiased source, what with being teh hardcorez enough in the playing of 360 games to be over 53,000 gamerscore (equivalent to 53 games completed 100%, roughly), but I'd say it's worth it.

area man > mcseanerson 08/21/2014 at 18:04

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See, I'm concerned I'll get like 4 or 5 months of use out of it just like you say. But I'm also getting REAL sick of GT's fucking legacy models or whatever they're called with jagged edges and no interior. Plus the lack of a dynamic camera in race mode is so stupid. I don't plan on moving up to next-gen anytime soon, though, which is why I'm so tempted by this.

mcseanerson > OkCars- 22k Crossroads 08/21/2014 at 18:05

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Project cars is coming everywhere including finally granting us a decent (hopefully) racing game on PC.

mcseanerson > mcseanerson 08/21/2014 at 18:05

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Sorry, PS4 not PS3. It was originally coming to PS3.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > area man 08/21/2014 at 18:06

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My brother got one last year, and i had a PS3. The downside to the xbox are the stupid xbox live gold shit thing, and also the battery controllers. PS3 controllers are so much easier to mantain.
But Forza is amazing, ever since he got it, i have never used my GT5 again. Ever.

mcseanerson > area man 08/21/2014 at 18:06

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Build a PC. It will serve you better longer.

djmt1 > area man 08/21/2014 at 18:07

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Sure go for it, there is more to the 360 then Halo and Forza.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > mcseanerson 08/21/2014 at 18:08

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hah ive never had a PC that can run a game in the nicest graphics, no, not even the normal graphics. In my situation i prefer consoles.

area man > mcseanerson 08/21/2014 at 18:10

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Well, that's the difference between spending $50 and $1500 of my own money.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > mcseanerson 08/21/2014 at 18:10

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Damn it, apparently i wont be having that then, specially because im planning to buy a proper racing wheel, and a nice seat. I dont know i haven't decided anything.

area man > GhostZ 08/21/2014 at 18:11

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That's my other concern, the online communities for these games are just going to get smaller and smaller.

area man > OkCars- 22k Crossroads 08/21/2014 at 18:13

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Yeah, I'm starting to hate GT and their "good enough" attitude. It's ridiculous that they get away with using a bunch of models from the PS2 era. And the "damage" is so ugly.

GhostZ > area man 08/21/2014 at 18:16

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Forza 5 is an XBone exclusive, and it's been out for nearly a year. It wont' be long before Forza 4's online is shut down entirely. GT5's was shut down last year, it was a bout 3 years old. Forza turns 3 in 2 months.

The last thing you want is to pick up Forza 4 and then have the online shut down on you a few months later.

djmt1 > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 08/21/2014 at 18:16

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Do you own Avatar or King Kong because if you do I'm deducting you 2000 GS . BTW this has nothing to do with me having over 52,000 GS and feelings of a petty nature.

djmt1 > GhostZ 08/21/2014 at 18:18

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Forza 3's servers are still up so I don't think Forza 4's servers are going anywhere. soon.

djmt1 > area man 08/21/2014 at 18:19

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The Forza 4 online community is very vibrant at the moment and they won't be depleted for a while. Keep in mind Forza 5 is on the Xbox One so it isn't like the entire community jumped ship.

area man > GhostZ 08/21/2014 at 18:23

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Ugh, that sucks. Didn't know that they just shut that shit down...

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > djmt1 08/21/2014 at 18:23

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You can deduct King Kong, actually. Not that it wasn't fairly entertaining to play. It takes long enough it's not over the gamerscore earn rate of the first 70% of Halo 3's 1000, but 100%ing is definitely not hard. I have something like 600 effectively in escrow in The Last Remnant, though, because of one absolute fuck of a boss - another 300+ in Lost Odyssey because my completionist playthrough stalled with a scratch on my buddy's Disc 4. WHY

djmt1 > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 08/21/2014 at 18:28

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I switch to digital for multi disc games for this exact reason. Unfortunately I've been force back with stuff like GTA 5 which doesn't really work that well with the digital.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > djmt1 08/21/2014 at 18:30

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Sometimes being a completionist is a real backstabber, and GTA V is one of those places. That last triathlon event, or as I like to call it, the 20 minutes of A-button hell? Eat a dick, Rockstar.

djmt1 > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 08/21/2014 at 18:32

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At least the triathlon was varied. That epsilon mission where you had to run not walk in the desert for 5 miles was bullshit. Literally an hour of worthless gameplay.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > djmt1 08/21/2014 at 18:34

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Haven't played that one yet. Sounds kind of similar to the completing the mission on foot achievement in Halo Anniversary but much worse.

It's the weirdest games that are hard to 100%. Kameo, for an example.

All Motor Is Best Motor > area man 08/21/2014 at 18:36

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No no no, don't buy a sound bar. They're incredibly overpriced and terrible quality. When I upgraded to my 55 inch Samsung I sampled pretty much every sound bar you can buy under 500 bucks. They're all pretty bad and extremely bad value. You're better off buying a cheap used receiver and a set of bookshelf speakers. Look around at a thrift store, pawn shop, or Good Will and you can usually find some great deals on receivers. You'll get much better sound. You'll need a universal remote to control the receiver and the TV + satellite/cable. Edit: If you can stretch the budget, try and find a used pair of these speakers: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/pioneer-4…

They're a smash hit in the budget audio world right now. They were designed by a well known high end audio engineer that Pioneer hired to make a set of budget speakers. There are actually a number of mods out there right now you can do to them to make them pretty damn awesome. Considering the price, they're probably the best budget speaker you can buy.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > area man 08/21/2014 at 18:38

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Stay PS, that's what I did. I wanted one but I wasn't going to pay just for Forza. I'm good with GT and with PCars soon my PS4 will finally have some racing going on in it.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > area man 08/21/2014 at 18:39

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Yes, and how they have 20 versions and years of the same car, that isn't even one id like to pick. Cant remember models right now. its been over 1 year and a half since ive used it.

area man > All Motor Is Best Motor 08/21/2014 at 18:40

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Well I'd be buying a soundbar+woofer+satellite speakers, so I have to imagine the quality will be at least decent.

area man > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback 08/21/2014 at 18:41

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Ah, but if someone were to sell you a brand new console for $60 or so, would you do it?

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > area man 08/21/2014 at 18:43

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Yeah, if it was $60. I'm not justified in spending around $150+ for one game. I already went through the FPS stage when I was in middle school. Most games I play are on PS, like NFS, NHL, FIFA, and GT.

All Motor Is Best Motor > area man 08/21/2014 at 18:47

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If you're buying all that and don't NEED surround sound you can get a pair of Definitive Technologies Promonitor 1000's. If you look around you can get them for a lot cheaper than the MSRP listed on their website: http://www.definitivetech.com/products/promo…

They have bass you wouldn't believe for small speakers, due to the passive bass radiators. you aren't going to be having thumping room shaking bass but you'll actually feel it through the floor, which is perfectly fine for TV. For movies and games you'll surely want a sub. All I can tell you is that the soundbars are very poor quality (ESPECIALLY the Samsung soundbars) and amazingly overpriced. They are a true, genuine ripoff. It's one of those situations where the companies know they have people by the balls. TV audio is terrible now-a-days and most people want a simple, low profile solution to improve the sound. Enter, the sound bar.

area man > All Motor Is Best Motor 08/21/2014 at 18:48

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Cool, thanks for the tips! Never looked at Definitive Technologies before.

samssun > area man 08/21/2014 at 19:01

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Not car related, but Splinter Cell: Conviction was one of the coolest games I've ever played, and should be <$10. Also picked up its stealth counterpart, Hitman: Absolution, which is slower/harder but also awesome especially with the various challenges. I have Splinter Cell: Blacklist waiting and from what I've seen it's pretty awesome too.

MrPseudonym > area man 08/21/2014 at 19:28

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Well, you could say my opinion is a little biased*, but I'd say that there's no real reason to choose one console over the other.

Wii U: Gamepad's a great draw, it's pretty awesome, but the games aren't there, and you can't buy a second Gamepad without buying a second console. Plus, if you're a racing fan, Nintendo says "Fuck off, asshole."

Xbox One: Backwards compatibility? Is that a thing? The exclusives? No longer. I mean, Bungie left Microsoft, and Destiny is coming out on PS4 too. Plus, Microsoft's tripping over its own feet. Neither consoles have many games.

Xbox 360: It'll never be dead. It's the perfect console. It'll love you. But, it will ask for money. Just a little bit a month, okay? It has plenty of titles, and that's something that none of the other next-gens offer.

PS4: Has potential, but still, no real reason to get it. I mean, the exclusives on all of the consoles are pretty weak, and exclusives are a fuck-over anyway. The games on PS4 aren't plentiful, same with Xbox One. The ones that matter, aren't exclusives.

PS3: I really don't know, but it did pretty good, so you might consider this one? I guess?

PC: Upgrades over time, FUCKTONS more programs, emulators of old games you own/ed, hardware's developed, software's developed, and you have actual options! You can get mods, use the dev console, learn to code, bind keys, re-bind keys, etc. Multi-screen displays, content creator support, indie games, etc. Basically, get a PC. And a pair of headphones.

Perhaps while you're at it, you could get yourself a watch. Watches are cool.

* disclaimer: this guy's dad works for Microsoft, so take everything with a grain of salt. i mean, i'm not a playstation hater, but i have no experience with it. still has no titles for it. but then again, neither does the Xbox One.

No Prius Needed > djmt1 08/21/2014 at 19:41

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Stop being such an antithesis.

djmt1 > No Prius Needed 08/21/2014 at 19:45

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Kifflom

area man > MrPseudonym 08/21/2014 at 20:28

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watches ARE cool, but I'm set on something electronic. Thanks for the breakdown though!

I think that the 360 will be remembered as the best all-around console of this generation (despite the lack of a blu ray drive) so that's the only one I'm seriously considering.

ly2v8-Brian > area man 08/21/2014 at 20:32

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yes

MrPseudonym > area man 08/21/2014 at 20:38

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hahaha, speaking of the lack of the blu-ray player, actually saw an Xbox 360 HDDVD player at a local game store. was tempted to pick it up, even at the price of $60. those things are rare.

360: best console, HDDVD player worst extension.

but still, are you sure about not wanting a watch? there's something to be said about timepieces, they're nice. digital ones come in all kinds of styles (analogs, not so much), and you can even find reliable, inexpensive ones that look really good.

GAH! kinja gobbling my images! at least i can still use them...

http://precisiontimeco.com/watches/red-cl… << that's what i wear. looks really nice.

mcseanerson > OkCars- 22k Crossroads 08/21/2014 at 22:43

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If you are buying a racing wheel and seat, which I fully support, then you should build or buy a PC. If you tell me your needs and limitations I can walk you through it. The integrated graphics on the current generation of Intel processors is good enough for above basics gaming. I was playing battlefield 3 on my Macbook Air at around 45 fps and that was an ultra low voltage laptop processor with 4GB of ram and integrated Intel graphics.

If you can spare a little cash for a desktop I could guide you through building something better than a PS4 for not much money. Also if you currently have a desktop we could even work around that. Everyone thinks you need to spend a ton of money but building a computer is a lot like building a car, you spend a little extra for a decent chassis and make sure all your parts are as good as all the others and build around your constraints. Where people blow their budgets is buying $300 processors or $500 graphics cards but wimping out on the hard drive or power supply and then wonder why their system is not as fast as cheaper systems.

mcseanerson > area man 08/21/2014 at 22:47

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You don't need $1500 for a gaming system. I built one that is pretty top end and I spent $1000. I could walk you through building something better than an Xbone or PS4 for less than the cost of those. The best parts is when those are old and you have to sell them to afford the next $600 console you will still have your gaming PC with a Steam library loaded full of tons of games you bought during huge sales for $5 - $10 and if it's graphics are outdated you just buy a new graphics card for $200. If a single component fails like my optical drive did in my PS3 instead of junking it and buying a new one or paying some ungodly amount of money to repair it you can just replace it yourself on a PC for $20. Trust me gaming PCs are totally worth a little extra investment up front and most times are cheaper than you'd probably think.

area man > MrPseudonym 08/21/2014 at 23:26

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oh, I do want a watch, especially since my Seiko just shit the bed. but I'd rather focus on things I can buy via Dell.com so I can use my gift card

area man > mcseanerson 08/21/2014 at 23:30

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I trust you! And I am sooooo tired of missing out on Steam sales. I'll definitely let you know when I start building my own PC, as that's been a longstanding dream of mine. Thanks for offering your expertise.

MrPseudonym > area man 08/22/2014 at 01:15

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Heh, yeah, I understand that. But watches are very handy, they're cool, and lots of them are affordable. They also last forever. Right now, I'm looking for an upgrade:

It's perfect for me! I've seen it in person. One of my friends wore it, and that's when I realized: I want that. It's essentially an upgrade from the cheaper model I had of it, and I loved my old watch (too bad I lost it...), so right now I'm waiting to see if I really want it. If nothing comes up by the end of the year here, guess who's getting a new watch?

Of course, none of that's going to matter if I don't sort out the fact that I lost my Debit card...

Tohru > area man 08/26/2014 at 10:36

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Yeah. Dogapult just got a bigger drive for his 360, so he could finally get all the Forza 3 DLC, and Turn 10 had taken it all down.