The previous poster answered your questions pretty well. I second getting the hard drive. You may think you won't be downloading stuff, but you will want to at some point. Just being able to download a game to your hard drive so that the XBOX runs quieter(and cooler) is worth it.

DON'T buy any aftermarket fans or devices to keep it cool. They can do more harm than good.

DON'T input your credit card online or through XBOX. buy prepaid cards on Amazon, or local stores.

If you want to play online, you'll need a GOLD membership. If you don't care about playing online, a SILVER membership does everything else that the GOLD membership does (plus a slight delay in downloading new demos).

Congrats on your new XBOX. You'll have some fun with it!

For future reference, try sticking with the prepaid cards. Microsoft has had issues with credit cards in the past.

I don't know why they'd need your shipping address unless you had to send your XBOX in for repairs or something.

Absolutely disappointed. I have zero interest in MMO games.

1) as a casual gamer, I can measure my weekly gaming hours on one hand (Family, work, etc. come first.) Any sort of in-game advancement will be at an extremely slow pace.

2) Gaming is an escape for me. I don't want to have to deal with real people...especially people who can't talk in real sentences (LULZ! WTF N00b!!!111!!1). Pass.

3) money. monthly fees? No thanks. I appreciate their desire to both generate a recurring revenue stream, and kill the resale market of the game, but for my limited play time it wouldn't be worth it.

I like them both, but for different reasons.

FPS: I like them for the action elements, the quick thinking skills, and general twitchiness. They are also better for that visceral-ness of just blowing stuff up. I like to play these after a hard day at work as a way to divert my stress-energy into something better than the alternatives. They are also more fun for playing with friends.

RPG: I like these as they are generally more relaxing. I play them if my only play-time is right before bed. You don't have to be on edge and primed to react quickly as the enemy encounters are either random, or you initiate them.

I try to keep a good mix on hand, but the FPS games are over way quicker than RPG games. I've played through all the HALO games and Gears of War, and I am still playing Oblivion.