If UPS picks it up today from Amazon you will probably have it on Monday instead of Tuesday.

If he walks into Costco and says, "I want to return my XBox360 so that I can get the XBox 360 Elite" or "I don't want it anymore" and they do it, then yes it is legit. But if he makes a false claim in order for them to accept the return that can hardly be considered "legit".

Hardly a false claim based on many people's experience here. The 360 could die at any moment. Dr. West has gone through at least three systems already since launch. I'm on my second unit. I'd do the trade if I had a Costco around.

What is hardly a false claim? MikeShaynePI said, "I got my 360 there earlier this year, and am ready to bring it back for the new one." If he says that and they agree to it, then it is legit.

If what YOU are saying is that "it could die at any moment" is a valid claim, then again, if that is what you tell them and they accept it, then it is okay.

Why it matters to me (and others):
Costco has (had) one of the best return policies. Unfortunately it relied on their customers being honest and having integrity. I know some will justify their actions by citing the "letter of the law" of their policy, but they know what the "intent" is. Their return policy has been abused and as a result they have had to pull back on some areas.

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On to 360 specific things.

I've been against the whole "online marketplace" idea from day 1. I thought it was a poor value to purchase XBLA titles, purchase non-transferrable downloadable game add-ons, and other "electronic-only" purchases.

Now we are seeing this downside to this with the release of the Elite. It has shown that Microsoft has no plan and is not prepared for customers to transfer their purchases from one console to another.

As time goes on, it will get more difficult to swap drives or swap consoles.

Same here. This game is awesome. *praying for a digital version of The Addams Family machine*

I thought the purchases you made were attached to your gamertag, so you could download them again if they got deleted? Wouldn't you be able to download them again on the Elite without paying for them?

Yes, but any other gamertags on your console would not be able to use them. Whereas now if you download a XBLA game then everyone can play the full version of it.

This is especially good in pissing off your wife, when your console busts and now she can't play Zuma on her gamertag. MS will help in refunding points so you can "rebuy" the content, but it's a hassle. I'm hoping they do something behind the scenes in a dashboard update to ease up on the DRC a little bit.

Don't you get the hard drive transfer cable with the elite?

Nope, only comes with the 120GB Hard drive.

You have to request the transfer cable from Microsoft

I read somewhere that it would be free for the asking

Well I think my 360 is dying. Everything was fine until a few weeks ago. Then it started freezing up more and more. Today I try to watch Clerks II and it freezes with verticle solid and dotting lines on the screen. I restart it and try it again and it happened again. Then I tried to play Star Trek Legacy and it happened again. Then I tried it AGAIN and the whole screen washed out with purple and red colors. God dammit. Now I have to send it back.

Has anyone had trouble playing Smoking Aces on the HD drive? For some reason I keep getting the "Can't read disc" error or it starts with the splash screen and just goes black.

Sam

Edited to add: Nevermind. I just looked it up on another forum and a bunch of people are having this issue. Ugh! At least I know it isn't the player.

I'm mixed on it. I really like Agents, but Extreme is so awful.

Plus, in reading the achievements, I'm not really sure what to do to try to get some of them. Pretty unclear, with the missions and all, but that could just be me.

BTW, fellow DVDTalkers, feel free to add me to your friend lists.

I'm having the same issues. It took forever for me to get it to load, and when it finally did the scene I watched (the first five mintues) kept freezing and playing and freezing and playing making the five minute scene take like twelve minutes to watch. It'll take me four hours to watch Smokin Aces at this rate. I've had issues with Children of Men (last twenty minutes was impossible to watch) and now this. I really doubt my still unwatched copy of Good Shepherd will be problem free, either.

When is the new HD-DVD upgrade coming?

Everyone takes advantage of the Costco policy. Buying there is almost like getting a built in extended warranty on some items. I don't blame him for wanting an Elite if he can return and pay the difference, and yes they will ask if anything is wrong with it. Technically, like the person said before he can say he's afraid it'll die like the others.

I just noticed the "Aquaman" pilot is on the Marketplace. I'm tempted to check it out but I was wondering if anyone else has checked it out yet...

Chances are Aquaman might be cheaper on itunes.

Has anyone had problems with the Elite and the audio from the HD-DVD drive? I start up my 360 to the dashboard and am able to hear the sound effects when navigating the blades. When I try to watch a HD-DVD, the sound completely cuts off, even when I go back to the dashboard I get no sound. I will probably exchange the Elite tomorrow.

I'm in the same boat. I just don't understand the game. It says stuff like hit the flashing ramps but everything always seems to be flashing all the time. So basically when I play I just try to keep the ball in play the entire time.

Really? I don't know anything about itunes.

So I finally figured out how to get connected to XBOX Live. Had a blast this weekend browsing the Arcade and downloading free trials of past favorites (and buying Gyruss for the my gf), and enjoying multiplayer COD2 for the first time. Also picked up the Marvel: UA Hero/Villain Pack (Hulk!) with 800 of the 4000 points.

I'll probably pick up Uno, too, but I was hoping y'all steer me towards the MUST BUY games/add ons/etc.

What are your favorites?

The only MUST BUY is geometry wars. After that there are several good ones and more bad ones. Luckily they have demos, so you can try them all out before you buy them.

I always sort of chuckle at requests for Must Buy games. Everyone can give you their recommendations, but it all comes down to you. Play the demos, and if there is a game that you love buy it.

A perfect example of how no one can tell you what you like.

DamingR recommended Geometry Wars as a must buy game. I found the game boring and repetitive and wouldn't spend the points on it. I'm sure I have games I'd recommend that I love that he and others would state they hated.

All I'm saying is that the best way is to just do as you did. Download any and all demos of arcade games. If you really like one, and don't mind spending the points, buy the game. :)