O/T - Xbox advice sought

[Papak]

My lad is after an Xbox for his birthday - alas I have never even seen one before so I have no idea what is what - prices range from £150 ish to £450 for what is the same thing with presumably different bells and whistles.

Money is tight so I thought I would check out used consoles.

Is this OK?

"Microsoft Xbox 360 S with 250 GB in Glossy Black"

Can it be upgraded if necessary? If so what options are there?

It will probably mostly get used for playing Minecraft but perhaps some footy / sports type games too.


Thanks.

 

[macky]

my son has that one with the kinnect seems to do him ok how much wasthat one
The reason I ask is Tesco are doing a deal at the moment £169 with a a code for £20 off
taking it down to £149 and you get a couple of games thrown in

 

[aliakbanrafsanjali]

X-box 360 is perfect, great gaming connectivity all perfect for new gamers! Bells and whistles system is for gamers who never leave their room!

X-box game system is the 21st century way getting rid of your kids! Lol

 

[Jello]

don't know his age but do not waste your money on a new xboxone. The 360 you quoted will do just fine for minecraft football etc. I did buy a xboxone and it's a pile of ****.

 

[Acker79]

My lad is after an Xbox for his birthday - alas I have never even seen one before so I have no idea what is what - prices range from £150 ish to £450 for what is the same thing with presumably different bells and whistles.

Money is tight so I thought I would check out used consoles.

Is this OK?

"Microsoft Xbox 360 S with 250 GB in Glossy Black"

Can it be upgraded if necessary? If so what options are there?

It will probably mostly get used for playing Minecraft but perhaps some footy / sports type games too.


Thanks.

The difference in prices for xbox 360 will mainly be memory size or what games come with it in a bundle, and if you're looking at used, whther it's the old xbox 360 or the new one (mostly superficial changes in unit design).

The memory size probably won't be much of an issue unless you think your kid will use it as an entertainment centre and will want to store his music on it, or if he is bothered by the sound of the game disc - you can transfer games to the hard drive so that when you play them the disc isn't constantly loading (you still need to have the disc in the machine, but it's not constantly being read).

If you're looking at a reputable place for a used machine, it should be fine. You can get larger memory drives for the xbox, but I think you can also use general usb memory sticks/portable hard drives. That would be the only upgrade you can do. Otherwise you have to buy the next generation of machine.

There is also the new console, the "xbox one" out, which is in your price range so it's possible, if you're unfamiliar with xboxes that the more expensive ones are this machine instead, but unlikely to be commonly found second hand this soon. Not as many games out at the moment, and games will be more expensive. Again, price differences will be because of different packages, whether the connect is included, etc.

As it's the newest thing, you might want to check on whether your boy is hoping for/expecting an Xbox One or and Xbox 360. I don't know how important it is, your son might be expecting an xbox one but be happy with an xbox 360, or he might prefer something else entirely rather than the wrong machine.

Xbox 360 (original also in black)

Xbox One

 

[clippedgull]

Another tip, if he wants to play online against his friends then a recurring subscription is payable.

 

[dazzer6666]

£40 a year....

 

[Papak]

Fantastic and thanks for all your replies.

 

[Jello]

£40 a year....

if you're an idiot then std cost is £36 but think I got mine for £26. Don't buy direct from Xbox or subscribe to their annual renewal as there are plenty of sites selling cheaper subscriptions.
I used a USB stick on my old 360 but make sure it's compatible, not all are.

 

[Husty]

You're a shit parent if you buy him the old 360 model now, and you'll just end up buying a One in a couple of years time anyway. If you're going to get him one get him the One for £399 or just don't bother and get him one next year.

 

[Jello]

You're a shit parent if you buy him the old 360 model now, and you'll just end up buying a One in a couple of years time anyway. If you're going to get him one get him the One for £399 or just don't bother and get him one next year.

If he is going to play online with his friends find out what they have as you cannot play across platforms. MY ADVICE DO NOT BUT A XBOXONE or just buy a PS4!

 

[smeariestbat]

Xboxone is a heap of shit, and will be until about the third release in 2 years time when they've sorted out allthe glitches thats wrong with it. also you cant even get GTA5 on xboxone. Unless his mates all have one, really really dont bother. xbox 360 is what you want. Try and get an S as i think they're the quietest models. With an intenet connection he will also be able to watch netflix/skygo etc from his xbox without a gold subscription. But he will need gold to play online with his mates, it should cost about £30 a year off ebay.

 

[Papak]

my son has that one with the kinnect seems to do him ok how much wasthat one
The reason I ask is Tesco are doing a deal at the moment £169 with a a code for £20 off
taking it down to £149 and you get a couple of games thrown in

Can you point me in the direction of the £20 code? With my Tesco vouchers I can get a new one for the same price as used in Game.


Thanks.

 

[Goring-by-Seagull]

Just want to chip in here... I have an xbox one and still have the 360 (mainly for Minecraft).

However, the new FIFA World Cup is only available on 360 so we got it for that.... My god after playing an X1 for 6 months then going back to a 360 is like having sand thrown in your eyes.

But, as a start out console the 360 is sweet, had many a good time playing it. Oh, and obviously there's hundreds (thousands?) of games for 360 where as there's only a handful available for X1.

 

[Braggfan]

There's lots of people who have preferences between the xbox and playstation and personally I think it tends to be partizan. People have a favourite and stick with it. there's not masses between them. I've had both and both do a good job, you won't go wrong with either. Having said that I prefered xbox 360 over playstation as I felt the games were better supported. Some big games like Skyrim had a lot of problems on the playstation and they struggled to resolve them. I can't help but feel because the 360 has it's subscription it gets preferential treatment, which is good if you have an xbox.

From what you say it doesn't sound like he needs the xbox one or the playstation 4. They're the new consoles and they're geared for big multiplayer games, and going down the road you'll be looking at getting subscriptions to play the games online. The Xbox or the playstation 3 would be great for playing minecraft and footie games with his mates. Just becasue they're not the new consoles doesn't mean they're crap, they both sold 80million consoles worldwide for a reason.

Also on the subscription for the xbox, you totally don't need to get one especially if he's just playing his mates when they come round. The subscription is if he wants to play online and download add ons, which is fun but not necessary especially if on a budget.

 

[Triggaaar]

Xboxone is a heap of shit

Mine isn't, it's excellent. Quiet as a dead mouse, stays cool, does what it's supposed to, and will get better an MS update the software.

 

[macky]

Can you point me in the direction of the £20 code? With my Tesco vouchers I can get a new one for the same price as used in Game.


Thanks.

I have just spent 15 minutes looking and cants see it now And the deal they were doing with two games is out of stock sorry
I see argos are doing it with the two games for £179 and you geta £10 voucher they are also doing the 4gb one for £129 with a £10 voucher making it £119 to be honest i would not bothe with the big memeory to start with if later you decide you need it they are cheap to buy and very easy to instal just plug in

 

[Brightonfan1983]

I picked up a refurbished Nintendo 64 the other week, £40 or thereabouts; it's absolutely brilliant still. We're so used to fancy graphics and online shooting, that sitting down to Mario Golf for an hour is a treat.

Buy your son one of them - he'll appreciate your enthusiasm for your childhood!

 

[Goring-by-Seagull]

I picked up a refurbished Nintendo 64 the other week, £40 or thereabouts; it's absolutely brilliant still. We're so used to fancy graphics and online shooting, that sitting down to Mario Golf for an hour is a treat.

Buy your son one of them - he'll appreciate your enthusiasm for your childhood!

Mario Kart 64 will never be beaten!

 

[Papak]

We already have an N64 from my Yoof (he loves F1 on that) and a Wii but he is absolutely desperate to play Minecraft on a console- he watches Stampy Youtube vids quite a lot!

I will keep an eye out - please feel free to post if you see an offer.

Thanks again for the input everyone.

Am I likely to find anything in a charity shop