Xbox 360 Elite Holiday Bundle 2008 (Includes 120 GB Hard Drive)

This is a great console. The 120GB hard drive is awesome for people who play a lot of games or download DVD's to it. The New Xbox Experience is something you should definitly look into if you buy any Xbox 360. The selection of games is really great compared to the other current gen consoles. If your a shooter fan this is definitly the console to buy. In these days of first party games being the only exclusives for a console however whether you buy this or a PS3 is simply an aesthetic choice (if you're buying purely for gaming) with a very few games being exclusive to one or the other and comes really comes down to which controller you like and which first party line-up you like better. Also this console is loud, but that fact is negated if you're willing to download a your games to your HD with the New Xbox Experiance. Be aware however that some games (like Halo 3) don't do so well downloaded to the drive and each game you download takes up 6GB of memory. Another thing is if you want another hard drive you have to buy a first party microsoft one which costs anywhere from $[...] for a 120GB, 100 for a 60GB, and I think Microsoft is now selling 20GB ones for $[...]. Which compared to the PS3 sucks because you can switch out your PS3 hard drive with any 2.5-inch Serial-ATA hard drive and for 150 bucks you can buy a 500GB hard drive to replace your old one. Plus no Blu-Ray drive. Like I said it comes down to four things, which controller do you like more, which exclusive game line-up do you like more, do you want to be able to have massive hard drives for downloading lots of stuff, and do you want High-Def movies? If you're buying purely for a game console pick this one, if you're buying a home entertainment machine buy a PS3.

While the xBox 360 appears to be a good gaming computer, I find the software within the Microsoft product to be too combersome. The software developers at Microsoft need to learn the simple axiom, "KISS", Keep It Simple Stupid.
The can be applied for their games. I realize most game are developed for the younger crowd, but there are older folks like myself that do like to play games. In my opinion, many of the games Microsoft develope reguire you to remember too many stick movememts, clicks, etc, to play the game. That said though, I do admit at least some of the games do have tutorials which teach you the various moves that have to be made when playing a particular game. For an older person, temembering the moves is another thing.
The other issue is the cost of games, and the obsolence nature of the games. Many of the games become obsolete in a very short time and a new version of the game is issued, often at an exorbitant price. The new version don't really have a great deal of differance from the older versions which makes me wonder how justified Microsoft is in asking such high prices for their new games.
Fortunately, there is GameStop, which allows xBox owners the ability to purchase used games at a substancially lower price. Why Microsoft doesn't follow the example of the fast food industry when it comes to games they sell is beyond me. Would you rather sell 100 games at $60 per game, or sell 1000 games at $30?

I bought this as an early gift for my adult daughter and her boyfriend since they won't be here for Christmas ... and they say it's fantastic! Don't ask me what HDMI means or why you need a 120 GB hard drive to play video games?? This bundle was the best package and price deal I could find and I shopped at least four other local stores, plus Walmart, Costco, Best Buy and Game Stop online. I also purchased an extra wireless controller thru Amazon (it only comes with one ... go figure) because the price was competitive and it was also available in the same color as the base unit. I would still suggest rechecking all those stores as many are having great Christmas sales with the economy like it is. Still finding it hard to believe game systems cost as much as a home PC these days!

This game was purchased for my son, and I must say, I was alittle worried at first, but my husband and I watched him play the game, as well as play with him, and the game is just a lot of FUN!

I have owned the the 360 premium for about a year and half. It is the white version that has the 20GB hard drive and does not have HDMI hookup. If I was buying today I would purchase the elite version, because I prefer the slick black color and I'd want the 120GB hard drive and the HDMI hookup. My sister has purchased this bundle here. The two games enclosed are kids games and they suck. It is not worth paying extra for the bundle to get the games, however I believe it was the same price to buy the system without.
The xbox 360 is the best gaming system. The nintendo wii is still using old school standard definition graphics and features almost nothing but kids games. The playstation 3 features a superior cell processor, better reliability, and plays blue ray discs, making it a worthwhile buy. However, it is more expensive and continues to suffer from a lack of games.
My 360 suffered the red ring of death, and had to be sent in. I received it back in about a month, and have not had that problem since. However the did not fix the disc drive problem. My unit frequently suffers from disc read errors causing the games to freeze, on every game I've have played. The newer units are supposedly using a new chip and disc drive to cut down on reliability issues, but failure rates are still much higher then competing systems.
You can find periodic coupons for use at DELL online to save anywhere from 50 to 100 dollars of the system.