February 22nd, 2006
Being a
technoholic,
I had to have the Xbox 360 when it came out. After
weeks and weeks and weeks of hunting around trying to find an Xbox 360, I
finally found one. Hooray! I wanted an Xbox 360 Premium, but all I
could find was a core system. The big difference between the two is that
the premium includes a 20GB hard drive, a wireless controller, and the analog
component HD cables.
I got my core system home, and since I have a HDTV I also purchased the $30.00
HD connection cables. Total cost so far, $330. Found that the wire
on the controller was not long enough to make it to my couch, so I had to
purchase a wireless controller for $50.00. Total cost now, $380.
Now I need some games. Can?¢Ç«®Ç—¢t just get the console and set her up, need
to be able to DO something with it. For variety I got 4 games, a car
racing game, a first person shooter, a role playing game and a first
person/role playing combo game. Each game runs about $50 for a total of
$200 bringing my total to $580.
Now I?¢Ç«®Ç—¢m gaming in HD, but wait?¢Ç«®¨∂ I can?¢Ç«®Ç—¢t save any games! There?¢Ç«®Ç—¢s no
built in memory to a core system. This means that I could play a game,
unlock a bunch of fun stuff, but as soon as I exit I loose all my work.
Not pleasant. Had to go buy a memory card for $40. Grand total so
far, $620.
What?¢Ç«®Ç—¢s that? Xbox live? I can download HD video, new games, and
play with other REAL players rather than the built in AI? All I need to
do is connect the Xbox to the Internet. Alas, no Ethernet connection in
my living room, it?¢Ç«®Ç—¢s all WiFi around here. While the Xbox has a built in
Ethernet card, it has no built in WiFi. I?¢Ç«®Ç—¢m in luck, I can buy a WiFi
adapter for my Xbox 360 for a mere $100. New grand total, $720.
A friend came over to play the Xbox (add additional wireless controller for
$50 so friend and I can play Co-Op) and he brought some legacy Xbox
games. Time to play Halo and Halo 2 and watch the Major General kick
some alien butt! Put that disc in and?¢Ç«®¨∂ WAIT, STOP THE PRESSES!
Since the old Xbox had a built in hard drive, the games start looking for one,
and as such all legacy Xbox games require a hard drive. Want to download
any 720p trailers? Those will all require a hard drive. Tack $100
on to the price, bringing the new grand total to $870.
Of course there?¢Ç«®Ç—¢s the ongoing cost of Xbox live, Microsoft points (for new
themes and whatnot), additional games and custom faceplates for the Xbox 360
if one feels like customizing the front of the unit. So BEFORE tax my
$300 Xbox 360 ended up costing me $870 American dollars. A word of
advise: if you?¢Ç«®Ç—¢re looking to buy a new Xbox 360 or if you?¢Ç«®Ç—¢re a
technoholic, make sure you?¢Ç«®Ç—¢re able to drop $1,000 without batting an
eye. Otherwise, I would think twice before buying a unit like
this. For the record, the cost of the system had I purchased (and been
able to get) a Xbox Premium would have been $790, or a difference of
$80. Did anyone else make the jump to the Xbox 360? What were your
costs, and did you think it was worth it?
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Posted by:
Jeremy Elfering on
February 23rd, 2006 11:09 am
With all of this Money you have spent on your Xbox 360, the one question I have is, has it been worth it?
Posted by:
Benjamin Higginbotham on
February 23rd, 2006 11:35 am
Not yet, but it has given me a chance to bring some friends over so we could game together. That’s a lot of fun, but it gets old after a couple of hours.
Posted by:
Eric B on
February 24th, 2006 12:59 pm
I had my roommate wait out in line all night in the cold and get one while I was sleeping. Then I just got a few games.
I am looking to purchase one as soon as Best Buy gets more of the Premium packages in so I can use the 200 gift card I got when I bought my new 50″ HD on it. Unfortunately they only get like 2 in at a time at 10 am while I am at work, and they are gone in 60 seconds.
Posted by:
Jay R on
February 24th, 2006 2:11 pm
I found a core system like you did and subsequently dropped a lot of cash to get the media convegence experience. I also didn’t have an HDTV yet so that was another $1000 added to the price.
Looking back thats a lot of money, but I love playing games, and I love watching movies, and a really love technology. The Xbox 360 delivers some high quality stuff in those areas.
Also, not everyone needs to have every accessory to enjoy playing the games.
-You can skip the overpriced wi-fi adapter and get a long Ethernet cable for around $25.
-Planning ahead and only buying a harddrive can save you the $40 memory card.
-I haven’t seen many cases where the Xbox360’s long controller cords haven’t been long enough. (How did you manage with the original Xbox?) Even so, you can get an extension for around $10 instead of getting a wireless controller, thats another $40 savings.
-Also, don’t forget that there is now a free live service which allows you to take advantage of the Marketplace type stuff on Xbox live without paying anything.
-The Xbox comes with several themes to begin with and additional ones are relatively inexpensive and are definitely not a required purchase. It’s just added content if someone wants it.
So really you have to weigh pros and cons. If playing wirelessly is important to you than buy the wireless controller, if not than you save some money. The beauty of system is that you aren’t forced to buy every single option when you may not ever need or use it. If you decide later to upgrade you won’t miss out on anything because you will have the ability to do so.
I’ll be the first to admit I’m an Xbox fanboy. I just wanted to offer another viewpoint on this issue.
Posted by:
Benjamin Higginbotham on
February 24th, 2006 3:23 pm
I agree that there are many ways I could save money. But not a whole lot.
The overpriced ethernet adapter is required. I can’t drill holes through my wall since I’m in an apartment, and the Internet comes in to the place in a completely different room. Otherwise I would have just made a cable that works.
I didn’t really think I needed the hard drive, although I *really* wanted a premium system. That being said, the cost savings here would have been about $40.00, so in th egrand scheme of things it’s not that great.
*SOME* of XBox live is free, you can get a free silver account, but a gold account (after a 1 month free trial) will get you the shared gameplay and whatnot, which silver does not get you. Keep in mind, I did not count Live into the cost.
Didn’t even buy a faceplate or themes. That can be an additional cost as well which was not covered, although I did download some free themes from the Marketplace (which was cool).
While there are pros and cons, most of the pros do require additional money. I’m not complaining, I just found it interesting what the actual cost is. If I didn’t want it, I would not have purchased it.
Posted by:
Technology Evangelist on
February 24th, 2006 3:27 pm
Red, Green, Blue and Yellow Laser Pointers: Presentation Heaven
I was in a meeting earlier today where we needed a laser pointer.
Went to my desk to grab my uber-cool green pointer, but could not find
it. I was in a hurry, so I grabbed my lame and not very bright red one
and went on my way.&n…
Posted by:
mcsoko on
February 24th, 2006 5:36 pm
You could have saved yourself a lot of time and money by buying the XBOX Premium in the first place. It would have come with the wireless controller, hard drive, headset, media controller, etc. The core system is a waste of money.
Posted by:
Benjamin Higginbotham on
February 24th, 2006 5:44 pm
As the article states, I would have LOVED to have purchased a Premium system, and tried for weeks. After search and searching I found ONE core system, just one. No premium systems, no nothing, just one Core. That means if I wanted the system, I could:
a) Wait for an unknown amount of time and pick up a premium when it finally becomes available in my area
b) Get the Core and spend $80.00 more than just buying a Premium
c) Not done anything at all.
Keep in mind, so far the price difference between the two systems is only $80.00… For a system that cost me over $800, $80 is not that much.
Keep in mind, I’m not complaining, I’m just observing.
Posted by:
Joe on
February 26th, 2006 7:34 am
You know, they do have internet wireless access points that most companies buy for old Net work printers so that they can be wireless, you don’t have to use the one that XBox sells, you could have gone to a computer store, picked it up for like 40 bucks.
I agree on the Memory/hard drive issue too, that could have been a savings.
One thing I want to make clear though, it’s not always how much you spent but if you deam it worth the money. Based on this post I’m guessing you do not deam it worth the money.
Joe
Posted by:
Benjamin Higginbotham on
February 26th, 2006 12:18 pm
I have a couple of Wireless Ethernet bridges. Typically a non-B version will run anywhere from $99.99 to $149.99 list, depending on who makes it. Belkin has a good one, but it’s hard to find inventory of it. Linksys has one too, but it’s a bit more $$ at $149.99. Not sure where $40.00 comes from (remember, everything in the post is list, since that’s typically what one pays at a Target or Best Buy which is where I went, although typically I don’t). A bridge would have cost the same if not more than the G ethernet adapter.
I’m a technoholic, so I think every bit of technology is worth it. I’ll play the XBox for a while, figure out how to hack around in it, find out how to post our HD content on the HD marketplace, then sell it. It’s just what I do.
That being said, if anyone buys an XBox for use with their friends and whatnot, I can almost guarantee that you’ll be spending at least $200.00 more than the advertised price to get a system you’re happy with. It can be done with a Premium, but I have a feeling that most users will tend to forget the additional costs. Of course, this is true with most devices such as digital cameras, computers, printers, etc.
Posted by:
Common sense on
March 4th, 2006 9:09 pm
How much did my Xbox 360 cost?
$400. Your’s cost $870 because you bought:
4 games.
A hard drive AND a memory card. (Why on Earth did you do that?)
Went wireless for $100 instead of wired for free.
Bought 2 wireless controllers instead of an extension cord for the wired one.
By your crazy logic, my Ps2 cost me a bundle. $300 for the system, $100 for the hard drive, $45 for the net adapter, $100 for wireless, $100 for multiple memory cards, $45 for the extra controller…..wait, I wanted wireless controllers. Tack on $90 for two aftermarket wireless controller setups. Then, I bought 4 games at $50 each, bringing the total to……$980.
Sounds like your Xbox 360 was a bargain. You just wanted all of the extras, so it cost you. What did you expect?
Posted by:
Tim on
August 22nd, 2006 7:39 pm
I have yet to get the console myself. I am sticking with the orignal X-box until Halo 3 comes out. Once it does, then I will get it. I am currently saving up all the money I can for it. And I have gotten up to $300 so far in savings. Once I am up to $1000 or so. I should be good to go on getting it and the game. Of course, I won’t buy as much as you did. So overall, my cost should come up to around $600 rather then your $850. But that is only estimating. Either way, it will be fully worth the money when Halo 3 comes out. Without Halo 3, the console isn’t worth the time and the money to really have.
Posted by:
Mike on
September 13th, 2006 8:37 am
The more I read the original post the more I realize this guy is very narrow minded.
FIRST OFF … by buying the Premium you save a STINK load of money. If you have to WAIT for one …. !!!
For $100 more you get the
-Hard drive (don’t need that memcard now. Would have also solved your playing of original games issue and content download problems)
-wireless controller (didn’t need extension or to buy a wireless)
-DO NOT buy the MS wireless USB adaptor … as was said, buy an off the shelf one that works with the 360. My old wireless original adaptor works fine (or a Linksys, etc) for LESS MONEY. 10 seconds on any forum would have told you that.
- Premium COMES WITH the HD cable (more money saved)
not to mention the other stuff that came with it
-headset
-remote (for launch consoles)
PS
Live usually give 30 days free when buying a new console. Am I the only one that smells BS ??
I think maybe you should take off the horse blinders and do a bit more reading and asking questions. You come across as a narrow minded fool that likes to THROW money away. And all it does is make yourself look silly.
As was said in another post, with your mind set, my 360 cost me an extra $6500 because I bought a Kick Azz HD TV that I use to take advantage of my 360 (but I also watch HD programming on it … so does that really count). Oh, and also the gas I spend to go to rent games, and wear on my tires. And the water I use to shower before I go ….. get my drift.
Anyway, if you think this was prices, do yourself a favour ….. AVOID THE PS3 like the plague.
I can’t wait to sit my PS3 next to my 360, but with the way you think and wine ….. you will be let down.
Long story short, do not blame the 360 for your lack of resources and patience as well as the 30 seconds it would have taken to find out ALL THE FACTS.
I bought the PREMIUM … saves a stink load (unlike the ass backwards way you did it) and other than games … have bought NOTHING MORE for my 360 with great success.
And if you’re really hard pressed to get online, as was mentioned, get a 25ft cable and roll it up when you’re done playing. Might not be the BEST solution …. but you seem hell bend on the MONEY topic … would have saved you some for sure.
Your “REPORT” is bias and “UN-EDUCATED” to say the least. You really should remove it before you make yourself look any worse.
Maybe we could hook up on XBL, but you would probably complain about the price of “Soda” you drink while playing and tack it onto the 360’s price. After all, when you subscribe to live you get 13 months of live for approx $5 CDN a month ….. wow ….. that price is insane. Might be time to ask for a pay raise.
I could go on forever with this because the amount of holes in your story and your attitude is gross to say the least.
PS.
I think you can get SNES systems for cheap at yard-sales … might be more up your alley.
Posted by:
Benjamin J. Higginbotham on
September 14th, 2006 10:00 pm
Well that was hateful and unnecessary. I think the date stamp and the first paragraph basically summed up the part of the post I don’t think you’re understanding… I wanted an Xbox ASAP and I could not find a premium. I wanted a premium but at that time I could not get one. All that data was available in paragraph one.
I believe the original article still holds merit. I can buy a $20,000 car, but my TCO will be much higher than $20,000 since I have to pay for gas, oil changes and repairs… Problem is that most Americans forget to look at TCO they only look at the original price of the unit. Game consoles are no different.
Your example of an HDTV is a bit extreme as an HDTV can be used for many other things from computers to SD programming to HD programming and in my case to viewing pictures right off of my camera’s SD card. With an XBox I’m going to be using what the XBox has to offer, and that’s OK, that’s what it’s designed for. However there is additional cost to the XBox in the form of games, online play and accessories.
I would be curious to see how much XBox stuff you have actually purchased. Add it all up and if it is specifically for your XBox then add it in. Since an HDTV is more than just an XBox item, don’t include that, but do include games, controllers, HDDs, online play costs, etc… Remember that some online play games cost more above and beyond Xbox live, so add up every month you have paid for that and include it in the cost. I think you’ll be surprised at how much it actually did cost. These are all Xbox specific items, and add to the TCO of the Xbox.
I never said a PS3 or SNES would be cheaper. I was simply pointing out the hidden costs, especially at the time the original article was posted when it simply was not possible to get a premium system. Remember that MS screwed up the distribution of this item, and for technoholics this made it more $$. If you’re not a technoholic that’s fine and you’ll save some cash, but if you are it would have directly affected you.
Posted by:
Alex on
October 27th, 2006 5:30 pm
Funny stuff indeed.
I am glad I waited for the “right time” for me to adopt my 360. Yes they are pricey, kinda like a thoroughbred pet.
I bought mine from a “friend of a guy who buys for Cosco”. It was the COSCO PRIMIUM BUNDLE, which comes with dang near everything. It was as good a deal over the Premium system as the premium is over the core system.
This guy (I met thru a local newspaper add) needed some repair done to his old Xbox1 so we traded out for that. Subtract $75 from my 360 price.
$395 Upgraded Cosco system
-$75 Horse trading
——
$320
Cosco pac =
Premium 360 pac +
1 extra wireless controller
wireless controller recharge kit
headset
live gold membership
Cost of biding my time, shopping around, and horse trading,
$???.00 bux?
Posted by:
jugs on
January 4th, 2007 10:05 am
You could have just bought the premium console and saved your self that bit of money you should have done a little bit more research to save yourself some money and it is completely worth it the xbox 360 is amazing and its mid priced compared to the sony ps3 which i think uses useless technology and is a pretty crappy system, the pretty neat wii and if you wait on games and maybe the console itself in a few months they will most likely be much less so just you make the decision yourself its what you want and in my opinion the 360 live is amazing theres nothing like trash talking a 30 year drop out who plays the thing all damn day its completely worth the 50$ a year trust me you will be happy with your 360 hell i even got a free game with mine and a 20$ gift card to best buy
Posted by:
Raj on
April 1st, 2007 11:35 am
Wotz the cost of X-Box Premium
n X-Box 360 ?
PLz tell me on my e-mail .
Its urgent ….
Posted by:
Jeroen on
April 14th, 2007 1:33 am
hi
i got me a saints row pack premium + extra wired controller + vga hd cable and two full priced games for a total of € 624.00 euros
At this post’s date that would be a whopping $ 844.08 bucks
a ps3 costs an ridiculous ‚Ǩ 599.00 euro alone including no HD cables and no games no rumble or anything else for that matter….riiiiiiidge racerrrrrr!!
Posted by:
Doug on
July 5th, 2007 11:35 am
I agree with Benjamin, the total cost is a lot higher than you initially think and that is still being frugal on games themselves. If you consider that a ps3 is $600 with a wireless network adapter and Blueray (HD video) and HDMI port and 60GB HDD all integrated from the start. Lets face it - in this price range you want wireless everything and HD movie playback until HD/BD players prices drop to reasonable levels. To get this in a 360 it would cost $469 Elite + $89 wireless adapter + $199 HD DVD for a total of $757 + tax. I think MS is milking the gaming consumers for everything they can get in the guise of expandability. But then the old addage is certainly true - if you want to play you’re gonna have to pay…
Posted by:
steve on
October 27th, 2008 7:21 pm
i am getting the arcade so that saves money on the wireless controller and the memory card
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