Advise on purchasing a 360.

Greetings all,

I'm considering purchasing a 360 and have half a dozen or so questions. I have saved enough money for an Elite (I like the black and the harddrive is a bonus). 

1) I've heard rumor about a new chip for the 360, is it true? If it is, will it come out before Christmas?
2) What does XBLA (?) mean and what is it for?
3) Are acheivement points useful for anything other than bragging rights?
4) What are marketplace points for?
5) I've heard about disc scratching, how often does this occur?
6) Are there any sites that are for or about the 360 that I can visit? (xbox360fanboy.com is one that I go to look at the games)
7) What is the issue with overheating?

Thanks anyone. =)

3. there only for bragging

4. Marketplace points are to buy arcade games and exspansion packs, stuff like that.

1) I think the new chip is in the elite. Makes it quieter and less likely to overheat

2) XBLA = xbox live arcade. this is a place on the market place where you can buy arcade games. u can d/l free trials of all games. u can buy them (along with other stuff on the market place like themes, gamerpics videos etc) with Microsoft Points which you can buy in game shops n then input the code with ur 360. it sort of counts as online money

3) Achievement points dnt serve any purpose really. but they do surprisingly add an extra depth to gaming - u mite play 4 ages to just get 1 achievement lol. ther sumtimes quite addictive. not sure why

4) See 2

5) Disc scratching only occurs when u move ur 360 while your playing a game, so dnt do this if u wana play ur games!

6) xbox.com, gamespot n ign.com are some gud ones.

7) This is over-exagerated. It dsnt occur if u keep ur 360 where it can breath. The elite has sum new thing in it n it reduces this as well as the sound of the console (btw u cnt here it on a premium with the tv on)

Any questions, message me :)

Greetings all,

I'm considering purchasing a 360 and have half a dozen or so questions. I have saved enough money for an Elite (I like the black and the harddrive is a bonus). 

1) I've heard rumor about a new chip for the 360, is it true? If it is, will it come out before Christmas?
2) What does XBLA (?) mean and what is it for?
3) Are acheivement points useful for anything other than bragging rights?
4) What are marketplace points for?
5) I've heard about disc scratching, how often does this occur?
6) Are there any sites that are for or about the 360 that I can visit? (xbox360fanboy.com is one that I go to look at the games)
7) What is the issue with overheating?

Thanks anyone. =)

pcktlnt

1. there is no set release date for 360's with the new cooler running processor chips

2. XBOX Live Arcade - old coin-op Arcade games and other small games

3. nope just bragging rights, unless of course you count the old spice challenge, but that is over

4. buying XBLA games and extra content such as gamer pics or backgrounds, plus new in game content like MP maps

5. it only happens when you move the console while a disc is in it

6. www.teamxbox.comwww.majornelson.com

7. it was mostly with earlier systems and can be avoided with good ventilation, mine works fine after 5 months  

Ah thanks guys. I'll wait until Christmas to pick up an elite. I probably won't mind the sound, my desktop at the moment is pretty loud. Some more questions

1) Are games region free like the PSP or am I only allowed to shop for American ones?
2) What is the average cost for subscription to xbox live?
3) Do you think they will charge extra on systems implementing the newer chips?

Thanks.

Ah thanks guys. I'll wait until Christmas to pick up an elite. I probably won't mind the sound, my desktop at the moment is pretty loud. Some more questions

1) Are games region free like the PSP or am I only allowed to shop for American ones?
2) What is the average cost for subscription to xbox live?
3) Do you think they will charge extra on systems implementing the newer chips?

Thanks.

 

pcktlnt

1. I'm pretty sure games aren't region free, and Xbox Live Downloadable Content is different from region to region.

2. $50 USD for a year, $20 USD for 3 months

3. Probably not, since the console is not meant to generate too much profit by itself (most of the money comes from the software sold). Unless they package it with a bigger harddrive/hdmi like the elite, it should be around the same price.

"Advise on purchasing a 360. " don'tjoykills

Why are you even in this forum? >.>

[QUOTE="joykills"]"Advise on purchasing a 360. " don'tMuereLoco

Why are you even in this forum? >.>

My Advice is this, DO NOT BUY A 360 RIGHT NOW!! I next want to say this, I LOVE the 360 I have had one since launch and unfortunately I am now on my THIRD one which broke 3 days ago after the spring update. Search the other game forums out there, there is something seriously going wrong with the 360's right now. I now be sending My 3rd back for a 4th one. I would really wait a few months to see if MS resolves these problems. It really sucks because XBOX LIVE is OUTSTANDING, The games and graphics are OUTSTANDING but the console itself seems to have been very poorly made. In addition, when you send your 360 back for repairs they send you back a refurbished one not your original 360. I have also wasted countless hours on the the phone with customer "support" which has to be one of the worst customer "service" experiences that I continue to deal with. Again I LOVE 360 but if I were to do it again I would go with a WII or PS3 right now and wait until MS gets the 360 hardware right. Good luck, and if you do decide to buy the 360 I hope you never have to go through all the B.S I continue to go through regarding my 360.

P.S. I also have the original XBOX bought on launch day and it is still going strong and never had one problem