Ugh...These past few weeks have been crap but school is almost done. Although, I have a report to hand in (which I only have a page to show for) and 3 finals I haven't taken yet :(.

But, to celebrate the end of the school year, and hopefully a well-paying summer job, I decided to buy an Xbox 360. Originally, I wanted to upgrade my PC instead but found it to be currently impractical. Therefore, I decided on a console instead. As I already have a Wii, I had to pick between either the PS3 or the 360 and looking at the software library now, as well as the price, I found the Xbox 360 more attractive.

However, before I go and buy an Xbox 360 arcade, I have a couple of questions which hopefully, you guys can answer as I don't pay attention to the latest updates and details about the SKUs.

1) How are the RROD problems? They put in the new shrunk down processors in the Arcade version, right? Newer versions are more reliable?

We haven't heard of an example of a post October manufactured console getting Rrod. Yet.

2) How important is connecting to the internet? I'm planning on just offline gaming.

If there is ANY chance you will want to play co-op or multiplayer, buy the Pro straight off. You'll save $$$

3) Does the arcade version have HDMI?

Yes, but it doesn't come with an HDMI cable.

4) Possibility that future games might require hard drives?

A lot of people predicted that Microsoft would cave on this one, but they haven't so far. Its possible, but they are sticking to their guns.

5) How fast are the loading times? Comparable to Wii games?

Differs from game to game. Generally not to bad.

6) Anything I might want to know as an owner?

Mass Effect, Lost Odyssey, Eternal Sonata, Oblivion, Banjo and the big one FABLE 2!!!!

I've already bought Crackdown as the first game for the console and I plan on picking a few RPGs over the summer.

Thanks.

Crackdown is good fun, if you want online co-op you'll need the pro version.

Ugh...These past few weeks have been crap but school is almost done. Although, I have a report to hand in (which I only have a page to show for) and 3 finals I haven't taken yet :(.

But, to celebrate the end of the school year, and hopefully a well-paying summer job, I decided to buy an Xbox 360. Originally, I wanted to upgrade my PC instead but found it to be currently impractical. Therefore, I decided on a console instead. As I already have a Wii, I had to pick between either the PS3 or the 360 and looking at the software library now, as well as the price, I found the Xbox 360 more attractive.

However, before I go and buy an Xbox 360 arcade, I have a couple of questions which hopefully, you guys can answer as I don't pay attention to the latest updates and details about the SKUs.

1) How are the RROD problems? They put in the new shrunk down processors in the Arcade version, right? Newer versions are more reliable?

 They put them in and im pretty sure that you wouldn't have to worry about reliability issues. Microsoft has every incentive to have made it reliable as humanly possible up to now since they have a 3 year warranty on the thing.

2) How important is connecting to the internet? I'm planning on just offline gaming.

There are some very fun arcade games to download, you can get patches and download trailors if you use the internet but its not essential.

3) Does the arcade version have HDMI?

Yes, all new falcon consoles come with HDMI. You will have to buy a cable - suggest ebay as the ones in the shops can be wickedly overpriced. Don't pay more than $10 for an HDMI cable.

4) Possibility that future games might require hard drives?

Nope, but many games come with extra content available online or they do an optional HDD install. It can reduce the loading time on a small minority of games but it is not essential.

5) How fast are the loading times? Comparable to Wii games?

They aren't too bad at all, very comparable if not faster overall with some exceptions that are slower.

6) Anything I might want to know as an owner?

Have fun? You should check out the list of games that are available and have a look for the genres you enjoy playing.

I've already bought Crackdown as the first game for the console and I plan on picking a few RPGs over the summer.

New games to look for are Too Human, Fallout 3, Sacred 2 when they come out, old ones are games such as Oblivion and Mass effect - this one especially is a nice game and quite easy to play if you're not used to the controls.  

Thanks.

Thats the answer to your questions.

If you can afford it, I'd recommend a pro because of:

- Online play.

- Backward compatibility with cheap Xbox games.

- Demo and trailer downloads.

- Included headet for US purchases. 

Your post sucked, mine was better! *just kidding*

*2 on the Fable 2 thing, I feel so ashamed that I missed it.

I agree on the pro - get it because even patches and online stuff are great even if you don't play multiplayer and a lot of games use some of that 10gb thats hidden to cache their games.

Well actually, your post was a little more informative on some things I was wondering, not that starcraft's reply was bad or anything. However, the reason why the internet thing troubles me is that I may not be able to connect it to the internet at all. For the backwards compability thing, I thought I heard somewhere that you can download the updates off a computer, burn it to a CD and update the 360 like that? Is that true?

Backwards compatibility requires a HDD - The Xbox1 had a HDD for every console so it is required to play Xbox1 games on the 360.

If a game requires a console update - it will have the needed software built into the disk, so you won't actually have a problem with that, actually you won't have any problems at al. People who suggest the Pro aren't suggesting it because the Arcade has problems playing games, its all for online components and backwards compatibility. But yes, you can update off a burnt disk as well.

For offline, the arcade is perfect for what you need really, but to go online at all really you will need a Pro.