Looks like you figured it out.

Yep Pinata, I had it that way, but saw that I had to be signed in to see it, so I switched over to what many of you are using in your links, the mygamertag site.

And yes, I must get that Yaris off my recent list. I've actually been playing a lot of demos the last week or two, but since they don't "count" anymore it looks like I played Yaris and committed suicide, which is a likely result.

Looks like Black, Ninja Gaiden Black, and Sid Meier's Pirates are coming as XBox Originals. I might actually go for Ninja Gaiden Black, since i've never played it and want to in order to see if I want Ninja Gaiden 2.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/29527/Blac...Xbox-Originals

Any thoughts on how Ninja Gaiden runs on the 360?

It runs fantastically. In fact, it's probably the best looking/running BC game on the 360. It's a huge improvement from the old Xbox, as it's at a higher resolution on the 360 and anamorphic to boot. In fact, it actually looks like a 1st generation 360 game. The controls are spot-on also. The only thing I've heard is that the CG cut-scenes sorta glitch, but I've never run across that myself. I'd just get the game disc if I were you.

I'm thinking of buying the 360 this weekend, and I have a few questions I was hoping you guys could help me with.

1 - My biggest concern with the 360 is the RROD. Has the new chip really cut down on this problem? Is there a consensus on any cooling accessories that will reduce the RROD risk? Should I resign myself to the idea that it will probably happen eventually, or is it overhyped?

2 - Due to the RROD problems, should I invest in a retailer's extended warranty? I think Amazon has a 3 year warranty for about $50. Will MS repair RROD systems after the first year?

3 - Will I be ok with a 20GB HD? Am I going to run out of space quickly? How big are downloadable games? Do any 360 games require a large HD install (like DMC4 taking up 5GB on the PS3 HD)? Can you transfer files to an external HD?

4 - Are there any additional accessories I'll need (or want) that don't come with the $350 package (aside from an HDMI cable)?

4 - Are there any review sites that compare PS3 and 360 games? I know I can use GameRanking and Metacritic to compare scores. But I'd like to get some direct comparisons between the two versions.

5 - What's a good price for MS points? I see them on sale from time to time. But I don't want to jump on something that's not a good deal. So what price point should I be looking for (like 100 points = $??)?

That's all I can think of right now. Thanks for the help.

Just answering 1 and 2 for now. I'd recommend buying it at Costco. Free lifetime returns (warranty).

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, the nearest Costco is a couple hours away. I'm not sure if their online store has the same easy return policy (and they only have a $440 bundle listed on their site).

Personally, I think that while the RROD is a huge problem, MS has done a nice job of repairing them, and doing it quickly now. When I bought my 360 (Nov 06), the warranty was 90 days period. And MS denied a high failure rate. Now the warranty is 1 yr and 3 yrs for the RROD, and as I've posted before, since they've outright admitted a design flaw and told stockholders that they should expect billions in repair costs, I don't think they'll ever charge for a RROD repair as it would lead to class action lawsuits that they could not possibly win. My point is that while I bought an extended warranty, I think it's unnecessary these days.

Having said that, I bought a PSP at Costco and was so glad I did because a year later it died on me and not only did I get every penny back, but thanks to a price drop, I managed to buy a new one and pocket $100 as well.

$40 extra for a game, a second wireless controller, and some other accessory. Well worth it.

And this is just me, but the piece of mind of lifetime price protection and exchanges is worth a couple hour drive.

But online would work the same way.

2 - Due to the RROD problems, should I invest in a retailer's extended warranty? I think Amazon has a 3 year warranty for about $50. Will MS repair RROD systems after the first year?

I wouldn't invest in any warranty. The RROD issues is covered by MS for 3 years. But if you are worried about it, i'd get the Amazon one.

Will MS repair RROD systems after the first year? YES

3 - Will I be ok with a 20GB HD?

As long as you don't download a lot of Xbox Original Games (Ones like Halo, Crimson Skies, Ninja Gaiden Black) which require 4GB you should be fine. The Xbox Live Arcade Games are small files, something like 56 MB.

4. I think a Quick Charge Kit is essential and a 1 Year Sub to Xbox Live!

5 - What's a good price for MS points?

Once you get your 360 all hooked up you can buy em cheaper (In smaller amounts than 1600) thru the dashboard on Xbox Live than in stores. So you might want to check that out before buying a bunch of $20 2000 MS Pt Cards.

Hope that helps

Totally disagree on the last point. My 360 died Saturday night from a single
red ring error E74, not the 3 that's covered for 3 years (had the 360 for about
14 months). After an hour talking to a tier 1 CSR then a tier 2 supervisor it
was agreed that it was not brought on by consumer neglect (GPU failed, and
oddly both relayed stories of their own personal units failing) and I was able
to knock a $100 repair down to just under $25 (to cover the cost of the
extended warranty that will come with the refurb). To this end I agree that
they are doing a good job as they were willing to listen and work with me.
My point of disagreement is that the units fail from a lot more than is covered
by the 3 red rings, so don't think that you're golden just because of the 3
year extension. I'm not saying this solely from the above personal experience,
but also from the numerous accounts and posts I read while searching for
answers Saturday night.

I babied my 360. On the way home from purchasing it, knowing of the
overheating issues I picked up a grid wire inbox letter basket and
from moment one it has always sat atop it (it's overturned creating a
sort of 3 inch raised stilt pedestal for the 360 so it has airflow all around
it), it's not in an entertainment center and has at least 3 feet of space on
any side of it, never left a disc in it, always powerdown while on the
dashboard using the guide button and so on, yet it still failed out of
nowhere. While I don't think anyone should have to get one for a console,
for the 360 you pretty much need to. It's going to die and if you're unlucky
enough to have it not be from the 3 rings you'll be glad you opted for the
extended.

Just my opinion after Saturday night. Had this been posted Saturday
afternoon I'd have agreed wholeheartedly I honestly thought my 360
was one of the rare units that was going to last forever, now I know there's
no such beast

1 & 2. It's going to happen, and it may not be 3 ring warrantied. Get the
extended (see my prior post for my experience that shows it isn't always
3 red rings that kills your system, ie; no 3 year coverage).

3. I'd say you'll need the bigger hard drive. The map packs and demos are
getting out of control as far as the space they take up, not to mention
you really don't get 20 usable gigs worth of space (you only get 12 or 13).
If you're going to put music for custom sdtks onto the drive (instead of
using an external) you'll be out of space pretty quick unless you delete
and redownload as needed. I haven't seen anything like what you described
of DMC on the PS3 though (I downloaded it on the PS3 the other night and
it was only 640mb. Does it inflate that much during the install? I didn't read
the specifics, just clicked download now .

4. You'll want a year of Live and an extra controller if you want to play
multiplayer offline. A recharge kit (kit for 1 controller, kit and recharge
battery pack for 2nd) is nice.

5. Depends on how bad you want them or think you will use them. I bought
six of them when they were buy one get one free at Circuit City and I've
since used only 1 (for the 1st Rainbow 6 Vegas map pack and a couple of
cheap arcade games). The prior suggestion on buying a smaller denomination
via Live is a good way to tell if you really need to worry about the higher
value cards.

Just a heads up in case you don't frequent the HD forums, Amazon's Deal of the Day, 2/6 is the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on for $79.99.

http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-HD-DV...7D3C6RF8389EC5

Includes "King Kong" inside the box and the 5 HD-DVDs mail-in offer remains valid thru February.

Damn that's a sweet deal.

As for the warranty I'd absolutely get the MS extended one. It's $50(the price of a game) and extends the RROD warranty out to 5 years and the general warranty from 1 year to 3. Doesn't hurt to be covered. Just factor it into the cost of the system.

Damn you Amazon and your Deals of the Day! Must...Resist...Urge....Must....Resist...Urge...

It's sold out now. That was quick! Awesome price!

Damn it.

Probably shouldn't admit this, but I just finished my first 360 game, Call of Duty 2.

I've been enjoying my 360 since almost launch, but don't really hard core game anymore obviously. Now on to COD3!

Nice!

I've beaten Gears, Bioshock, and Mass Effect on the 360 this last year, which is probably more games i've actually completed then any in the last few years.

I'd suggest skipping CoD3 and moving straight to CoD4.

I got CoD3 for like $5, and I think I spent too much on it.

It's really poor, I went from COD4 back to COD3, that was a mistake.

Thanks everyone for the great info!

I picked up the $350 bundle at Amazon and added a year of Live. Hopefully they'll send one with the new chipset. If not, I'm returning it.

I'm gonna keep an eye out for a cheap 120GB drive. Hopefully, by the time I need one, there's a price drop. I'll also keep an eye on those quickcharge units. And I'll probably buy a few extra controllers, because I have a bad habit of throwing them across the room.

I wasn't aware that MS offered an extended warranty. That would probably be better than the warranty offered by Amazon. I'll check out the details when it arrives. But I'll definitely get an additional warranty.

there will be info inside the box about it. Most store warranties cover you once and you have to buy a new warranty. MS is unlimited returns which is a good thing with the high rate of failures.

I haven't had to use it yet, knock on wood, but I like the MS warranty for a variety of reasons. Granted you can't just bring it back to the store, but MS has gotten pretty efficient at it with all the failures.

Unfortunately I can't do things like that. But maybe I'll set it to easy so I can plow thru it faster.