mkdevo

picked up an elite 360 on saturday. mainly got it for GHIII/Rock Band, but wanted to pick it up early so it would be all ready to go when GHIII comes out.

it's unlikely that i'll purchase an actual game before GHIII comes out, as i don't really have the time to put into a game right now.

my gamertag: davepeck

i downloaded Pac-Man:CE, thanks to the videos i saw on here. what a fantastic game! also downloaded a bunch of demos, but haven't tried anything out yet.

what else is good on XBLA?

what's the deal with the 2-year service plan (the one in the box)? is that a definite purchase? i'm a little confused as it says to send a check/money order for $59.99, or charge $49.99 to your credit card - what's that all about?

i'm really tempted to pick up GHII for it (i already have it for PS2), but i'll probably just pick it up when i get GHIII, as i'm really not into the xplorer guitar.

i've got 4k points on the way from buy.com/GCO. any other points 'deals' out there, or is that it?

the component cables can do 720p/1080i, correct? i won't be going HDMI until i get my new receiver.

any other advice for this noob would be appreciated.

thanks!

Mopower

YES. Buy the extended warranty. Spending $50 now is better than spending $350 a year from now when it breaks. And it WILL break.

mkdevo

yeah, i figured as much.. but is paying by CC really $10 cheaper than check/MO?

i'm glad i didn't get the protection plan from best buy. i was planning on it, but it was $80, and i turned it down.

PixyJunket

I say don't bother getting a protection plan. The systems on the shelves now have new heat sinks which were the problem causing the Cirque du Rouge. Saying that it WILL break no longer applies if you've just bought the system. Plus, it's also covered for three years by Microsoft, just in case.. one year for all other issues.

Decker

I beg to differ. Not with the breaking part; that's a fact. Now that the true nature of the RROD is public, the situation has changed. When I bought mine in Nov 06 from Overstock, the warranty was 90 days and reports of machines breaking were rampant, then it was a must to get the extended warranty. Now that the warranty is 1 yr/ 3yr for the RROD, I think you're pretty safe with the standard warranty. I doubt that MS will ever charge for repair of a RROD failure because they know they'd have to pay for it in a class-action anyway (admitting your product is defective kind of exposes you in that regard). Nobody would say you were wrong to buy it, but I don't really think it's necessary anymore (and on a personal front, I'd find it distasteful to reward MS any more for their shoddy product build).
If anything, buy your 360 with an Amex card and hang onto your receipt -- that will extend the warranty and extra year for free.

Giantrobo

I don't know man, maybe I'll believe that in a year if the failure rates drop significantly but for right now....

McHawkson

Most of the games on XBLA are "time killer" games. I enjoyed Cartan (board/card game) and Worms.

PixyJunket

It doesn't matter either way since the issue is covered without an extended warranty.

hail2dking

you may want to swing into FYE and see if they are clearancing out their games/accessories. They are 50% off at participating stores. My store didn't have much for 360, but others have reported getting GHII, controllers, etc. all for 50% off.

mr.snowmizer

Poorly-designed 360s have been around long enough to reveal the following...

A three red ring problem is nearly guaranteed to show up within three years. Any other problem, as with most electronics, will most likely show up within one.

If it was a retailer warranty where you'd drive back to the store and immediately have a replacement, that might very well be worth paying for.

But paying extra to cover an unlikely scenario, where you'd still have to send the system off to parts unknown for a remedy? I wouldn't.

msdmoney

What is the manufacturing date of your console?

Shagrath

The component cables can do up to 1080p for games, but only the HDMI and VGA cables will upconvert dvds.

Giantrobo

Fine, but I don't think one can say that 360's are anywhere close to being out of the woods in terms of failure rate this early in the game. There's no way to know if the new hardware has fixed the problems when they're just barely getting to stores.

parrotheads4

I just bought a Halo Edition 360. My router is on the 3rd floor and I'm not going to drill holes through walls to get on-line. I have a D-Link Extreme router which works great with my Wii. How can I get the 360 on-line? Thanks.

McHawkson

Are you using the line or wireless?

KenKeith

got a new 360 too from the meijer deal, manuf date 7/11/07
gamertag: KenKeith

i used a "travel router" as bridge, was pretty painless

GreenMonkey

Agreed. I never buy warranties, ever, but the 360 needs it. I got my 360 at Target, their warranty was cheaper than Microsoft's. There's no evidence yet that the new boxes are more reliable, or that you necessarily got new hardware in your new box.

parrotheads4

Not sure what you mean. I have no wires to or from my game systems. The Wii simply connects on its own. The 360 needs an add-on device I assume, but this add-on device must be capable of traveling ~75 feet. Do I need to buy another $130 router to make this happen? Maybe I can plug the 360 into my $119 DS to get it on-line?

Mordred

Edit: I guess they don't like hotlinking to images.

http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=21323
You were saying?

glassdragon

I hear Rock Band comes out on Black Friday... so yeahhhhhh, good luck with that

Shagrath

Good luck with what? I mean, it's lame that it got pushed back by a few weeks, but now you can pick it up at 5am and have 5 more hours of rocking out on Day 1.

mkdevo

i've got it preordered at amazon. not sure i'll need any luck, but thanks.

Goldblum

I disagree. The PRP would be a waste. It will break because of the RRD, which Microsoft will cover for three years. Don't waste $50.

Mopower

You need a wireless adaptor for the 360.

DamingR

I believe any wireless bridge will work.