So I was actually contemplating getting a 2nd console to supplement my Wii now that I have an HDTV. I've further decided that I will go with a 360 since I did not appreciate Sony removing backwards compatibility, a giant plus in my books. It's too bad since I was considering bluray, but I also can't support Sony's format because of their arrogance this time around.

So I was wondering, is it worth getting an xbxo 360 Arcade?

It is cheaper, but how useful is the harddrive anyways? Does anyone who owns it have any major gripes about it?

If you're into downloading alot, like Rock Band songs and stuff then the harddrive is a must. I would get the Arcade and then quietly start looking for at least a 20 GB drive.

Only if you want to play arcade games. For me there were abot 15 arcade games I wanted, so it wasn't worth it. If you do buy the arcade, get the HD cables cause arcade only comes with SD I believe. If you only want to play games and don't give a crap about online games/gaming, get the arcade. Otherwise, save up $100 more and get the Pro.

The Arcade is worth it, because it's certainly not gimped, other than the luxuries of DLC and HDD installations.

Of course, buying any old HDD for the X360 will easily add all the functionality in - such as Backwards Compatability, HDD Installs, and more room for caching/downloading content.

My GF has an Arcade...No real problems other than I want her to get a HDD for the new Tomb Raider expansions.

Overall, the Arcade is a great entry for the X360. You aren't sacrificing anything that a Pro/Elite has, as the HDD brings you up to date on anything you miss.

I personally do not own the 360 or the PS3, but I believe the 360 at $199 is a great value. The PS2 is still more than a hundred dollars and it is almost 10 years old (well not quite but soon enough). Arrogance often comes with companies that are on top for a long time. Sony will learn from it and be more humble with the next console generation.

arcade + cheap hdmi cable = def worth it

If BC is the only reason for not getting a PS3, you may still be able to find one of the older models that did support full BC; especially on ebay or maybe craigslist. I'm not sure how much these run now, but it can't hurt to look.

As for the 360 arcade model, it is pretty much the same system less the additional room to download content. You can always add a 20gb HD (refurbished +3mths of LIVE) through the upgrade program on xbox.com. There is also the 60gb upgrade kit as well; so you can pretty much upgrade to a pro later on.

The current arcade models (jaspers) have 256mb of internal memory, so you actually have a little space for small downloads and the NXE upgrade along with regular save game files. If you plan on going on LIVE and downloading arcade games, then you should definitely get a hard drive. I believe to play xbox games you will need to download an update for each xbox game supported; I do not know the size of the updates either.

I was definitely thinking of using Ebay, but I did NOT want to end up paying the massive shipping fees and the unreliability of such consoles and such. I prefer new consoles... Any electronics actually... just a personal thing.

And yes, if I were to get the arcade I'd get an hdmi cable so no worries there. So EVERYTHING would be the same except being able to download content and stuff online? Are there any games with mandatory installs? Anything that needs the harddrive to do anything?

no get the one with the 60gb hdd u really need the hdd .. i have 120gb and its almost out of space.

link - No. No 360 game has any sort of mandatory installations, or memory-consuming requirements. Some games will run better with HDDs, due to data caching (not to be confused with installs), but it doesn't prevent you from playing any games.

100% of games work with the Arcade. The only questionable area would be online multiplayer.

The only installations available are the optional ones that allow you to copy the entire game to the HDD for massive performance increases...But to stress it: Their 100% optional.