Just wondering... I was planning on buying an acrcade SKU, but I've read commetns on this site saying this llike "wow thats the worst deal ever! Only an idiot who knows nothing about video games would buy it."

...

So, other than being able to downalod game demos and movies (which for $80 less quite frankly I don't care about) how is the arcade SKU so terrible? Or is that the huge problem?

There is nothing wrong with the Arcade if it has the features you want. In fact, I think it's a pretty good deal.

You can pick up a 20GB HDD on eBay for ~$60-70 if the desire ever strikes you. Other than that, all you're missing is the headset.

Is not a bad deal especially considering what you used to get but save up and buy the premium to get the hard drive and two free games.

It's an awesome deal. You get the 360 at a price point near the Wii with an HDMI output, as well as digital sound via an optical out. As Mr. Rocketpig stated, you can pick up a 20gb drive off eBay cheap - or check your local craigslist. And really, unless you are crazy about downloadable content or playing Xbox games, you don't need the hard drive to play games.

I would vote yet for that all the way.

Can I play Halo 3 online with my friends?

I don't see why not. You might not be able to download the map packs, or such. But outside of that, I fail to see an issue with running a Arcade online.

haven't looked at the price of this xbox360 model in the UK but I would rebuy an Xbox360 just for live arcade games if it came in around £120 - £130.

I enjoyed my live arcade games when I had my Xbox360 but it's very unlikely I would ever buy any full Xbox360 games.

the only thing you'll be missing out on is DLC. If that's really a bother, get the premium. Otherwise, go for it.

If I buy a 360, this will probably be the version

The Arcade is not a bad deal at all, especially considering it's the same price as the original core, which didn't have HDMI, a wireless controller, 256 memory card, and 5 arcade games.

But, if you plan on getting onto Xbox Live, I do believe you need to have a hard drive.

Edit:
Actually, you only need the memory unit that comes with the 360, I just looked it up.
http://www.xboxlivetheguide.co.uk/XBoxLiveTheGuide2.php?department=GetStarted

So, you can get online with the Arcade SKU. The memory card is sufficient.

You cant play online without hard drive .At least you should buy a memory card big enough to save your player profile etc .