Just ignoring all this chatter and getting to the heart of your question...
If you pick up a 360, here's the must-buys so far.
1. Battery charge kit -- Extremely cheap and will save you tons of money. I prefer it over the Play and Charge Kit because with two batteries, you never have to bother with wires.
2. Bioshock
3. Gears of War
4. Oblivion Game of the Year Edition -- If you're not concerned with the downloadable content, the original Oblivion is only $29.99 as a Platinum Hit now.
5. Viva Pinata -- This is sort of a niche game. If you ever liked Sim City, you'll love this. If you don't, skip it.
6. Dead Rising -- Another cheapie at $29.99, but incredibly fun. Can be played over and over again.
7. Castlevania Symphony of the Night -- XBOX LIVE ARCADE
8. Eternal Sonata -- If you're into RPGs, this one is really top-shelf.
9. Forza 2 for racing... or wait until Oct. 2 and pick up PG4, which also looks spectacular.
10. Alien Hominid HD -- XBOX LIVE ARCADE
11. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved -- XBOX LIVE ARCADE
Lots of others, but those are my personal picks.
For things to look forward to between now and Christmas, here's your list:
1. Mass Effect
2. Halo 3
3. Assassin's Creed
4. PGR4
5. Call of Duty 4
6. Beautiful Katamari
7. The Orange Box
8. Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation
9. Guitar Hero III
10. Rock Band
11. Virtua Fighter 5 (with Online Play)
12. Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
13. Kane and Lynch: Dead Men
14. FIFA 08
Lots of other good stuff depending on your genre of choice. Check release dates. And Lost Odyssey, Left 4 Dead (4 player co-op zombie extermination), and Devil May Cry 4 are all coming out within 2 months of the new year.
Pick up the XBOX 360 with the HDMI (it mentions this on the box) and you'll be good to go with the new heatsink. Have fun!
