For those interested.  I've had my 360 a week or so now and felt I'd share - as seems to be the tradition - my initial thoughts on what I like/dislike, etc.  I've had a PS3/Wii for a while as well as a PC, for those who need to know.

So, the 360...

The console (on it's own divorced from games, etc)

Very good console design and performance.  It's quiet, it's design is pleasing and the placement of USB ports, etc. is nicely done with both front/rear options.  Build quality feels good and for me the included WiFi is a biggie.  I have an old house and don't run cables around by rely on WiFi and expect devices to have it on-board rather than tacked on.

Overall, a big improvement over the original 360 design which I wasn't too keen on.

I only have two niggles with the console itself, which is the external power brick is still unwelcome for me (I prefer fully integrated electronic units with no external power elements) and I'd prefer a slot drive vs drawer for the DVD.

I'm very impressed with the console vs my previous experience with 360 older models in terms of noise levels, build feel, etc.  Seems like night and day to me and I'd have been a lot more interested a lot earlier if the 360 console had launched with this design.

The controller

Nice size and feel.  Great triggers and bumpers, not so good D-pad, okay buttons and good sticks.  Rumble is good, weight is good and it delivers a very responsive experience.

Two niggles are I find the stick placement to be geared to FPS vs other genres - although that might be habit on my part - and I notice a definate difference on the experience playing say Black Ops vs a fighting game.  I also dislike the use of batteries and the rather annoying size and placement of the battery holder (seems to be right where my fingers want to be.

The OS

Overall I like the menus, etc. although it does feel like a bit of a hybrid experience between what was there originally and what's obviously been added to accomodate Avatars, etc. for Kinect.

The best feature for me is the well designed and tight execution between the OS/Live and the games/services.  This works really well, from gathering a party of friends into a game to quickly hoping from a game to another aspect of the service.

Another plus point is the ease of downloading/installing.  This works very well, too.

Live

So far TBH I'm finding Live on a par with PSN / PC for online.  It's better integrated to the OS and the experience for sure, but I haven't noticed any actual improvements.  Playing Black Ops on the 360 vs the PS3 I've seen no difference in online experience once in the game.

Predictably, therefore, my only niggle with Live is the cost.  It's cheap on a per montly basis, but a few features aside (cross game chat for example) I'm not seeing any difference in what I get except one's costing me more.

I will note though that while previously I didn't like the cross game chat when playing at friends, I have found it a great way to quickly gather a party of friends together and play.  I can't imagine talking for long with someone outside of the game I'm playing or while watching a movie or whatever (I may be old fashioned but I hate that kind of multi-tasking and split attention) but as a quick tool for reaching out to friends initially and pulling those together who then want to play with me it works a treat.

Game Store

One thing I like is the abundance of demos/trials.  This is very nice, particularly as a new owner - I can try out everything and see what I like.  Otherwise obviously the experience is the same as any online store - you buy something and download it.  The design is fine and navigation is easy.

The Heastset

Does the job and I do think it's great it's included.  I feel it makes sense to include one and have always found it a niggle that the PS3 doesn't.  Once you buy one for your PS3 then the experience is the same but I do like the fact it's there in the box with the 360.

Kinect

I haven't purchased Kinect yet but have borrowed one to try.  I'll therefore just note it works well, is fun, but isn't quite there for me yet.  I'll almost certainly pick it up - but I'll wait for a few more game releases and the menu interaction to be expanded first I think.

As per the 360s itself I'd note the build quality on the Kinect was really nice, and it really felt quite substantial.  The tracking is also awsome as are the vocal commands.

The games I've tried have been fun for the most part although one, Joyride, very much raised the spectre for me (not unique to Kinect by any means) of having a control scheme forced on a game rather than actually suiting it.

Minor Points

Sky, Last.FM, etc. are all nice extras and work well. DVD playback is acceptable and media support is good.  I do miss Blu Ray though in an otherwise HD device hooked up to an HD TV.  Still, maybe next gen...

So overall I'm enjoying the console and have found most of my negatives with the older model (noise, heat, tacked on WiFi, etc) are no longer an issue.  The 360s is a well made, solid console with great features for the price and a very well integrated online experience supported with out of the box headset, etc.

And with that, I've got some gaming to do.

See you in 2011.

Good read and to the point. 

Good read :) Always good to see what an open minded person thinks of the console :)

unfortunately i have the older 360 model so none of that stuff about the hardware applies to mine

Not to nag, and this may only be anecdotal, but I love how before, a talking point for the PS3 was that it had built in wifi, which increased the perceived value, but the 360 (before) had to have an extra $100 dongle for wifi (you know....how people said if you were to get everything the PS3 had, on the 360, the 360 would be something stupid like $800).....and people would say "no one even uses wifi. Hardlined internet is always the best" as a weak counterargument

Now people giving their impressions of a newly owned 360 say that "wifi is a biggie" since it's built in finally.

Like I said, not to put you on the spot, just something I've noticed since the 360S came out, and not just on VGC

To be honest, if a PS3 or 360 owner buys the other console, its unlikely they will be blown away with either.  There will be unique qualities that are appreciated but, to be honest, the consoles are pretty close overall.

Well, except for the exclusives.  Always cool to be able to play great new games.  Have fun and make sure, if you have the time, to give some more low-profile gems a try (like the FIRST Crackdown, any Twisted Pixel game and Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts), k?

great read, nice to see your enjoying the 360

i'm basically the opposite of u right since i got a ps3 for christmas and already have 360 :)

I agree with almost everything you said.

360 is a great system with a really well made OS, powerful hardware, and nice controllers. 

For me, my main drawbacks are the

proprietary components; hard drive, optical cord fittings, power supply fitting etc; makes replacement costly

The controller's reliance on batteries or charge packs, the placement of the 'back' button, and poor digital pad.

Other than that, I think it's a great system.

I agree about one fault in the controller design, the D pad, despite using the Xbox controllers since the original Xbox back in '04 I still have trouble using the frigging D pad for anything, COD in particular when it comes to claymores etc, I have to free my right hand, exposing right trigger, analog stick and the buttons to press something on D pad, luckily left analog stick is run on cod so I can run and change at the same time x), but I am exposed at that instant though :(

Well, for me it was always a biggie hence why I called it out.  Previously, the lack of on-board WiFi plus some other stuff held me back from a 360.  I definately see it as a huge improvement and something that should have been there from the start.

To be far to MS, though, they played a clever game and from a business perspective I can understand it.  Initially they knew their big market was US, would be more centric to a cable, etc. and they played to that and kept costs down.  They then relied on people who wanted WiFi to purchase it seperately.  I know a fair few parents who bought 360 consoles and where very unhappy when they realised they would immediately have to cought up for WiFi... but that's pester power combined with "too late" syndrome and MS know they could get by on that.

They picked the right moment to push the new 360s, just when sales were starting to dip and just in time for Kinect and just when - arguably - the PS3 Slim was really becoming a threat with its lower cost and feature set.

So personally this isn't any change of heart for me - I always critizied on a personal basis the lack of WiFi in 360, just as I felt the PS3 should always have included a cheap headset.