Who has one and how good are they?

me and quite good. NOt signed upto xbox live in the 4 years or so i've had it cos i dont use i as much as i could. Games wise, you'll find something for everyone.

Good deals just now so worth the purchase IMO

Good console, good selection of games, some people complain of reliability but I've never had any problems.

I also used to have a PS3 and then a bunch of friends got xbox's so I switched, no difference in graphics that I could notice but found the xbox much easier for playing online.

We have a Wii upstairs in our daughters playroom and were considering getting another for the lounge, however I've managed to convince both the daughter and the mrs that we need an X-Box instead.

Will it provide decent entertainment for a 9yr old girl and as a family toy, or is it likely to just satisfy my desires for gadgetry?

both

Yeah, they're great. Earlier ones had reliability problems, ours died, got it replaced/repaired for free by microsoft and it's been great ever since. The wealth of games is impressive and when you go into gamestation or the like the amount of pre-owned games for buttons is incredible.

I really enjoy playing on ours. My son plays on it even more.

We have a Wii upstairs in our daughters playroom and were considering getting another for the lounge, however I've managed to convince both the daughter and the mrs that we need an X-Box instead.

Will it provide decent entertainment for a 9yr old girl and as a family toy, or is it likely to just satisfy my desires for gadgetry?

Whilst it's not as kid friendly as the Wii, the 360 still has quite a few more games aimed at a younger audience. Including Viva Pinata, which is ace.

Both the 360 and the PS3 are trying to jump on the arm waggling motion controller bandwagon with the Natal and Wand respectively, so expect lots of Wii-style minigame titles with shinier graphics in the near future!

Bought my son one for his birthday, top fun – make sure you pay for the live account and buy Call of Duty 4.

If you've wireless in the house, buy the wireless kit too (got a deal with the live account). Also 2 controllers and make sure you get the rechargeable kit (batteries and extra charger). Ensure you've the hard-disk model, but I wouldn't bother with the big one.

They're good value now, Sainsburys have been doing Elites with 4 games for under £200. Budget for the wifi adaptor (if you need it), rechargeable batteries for the controllers, live subscription, etc.

If you're interested in blu-ray playback though the PS3 might be a better bet (and can be better value once you add the extras to the xbox) – these days just about everything is on both formats, each have some exclusives so see which ones appeal most to you.

Xbox + Batman: Arkham Asylum = Not much getting done this weekend.

xbox here, COD modern warfare 2 in nine days & counting!

I already have a Blu-ray, so not bothered about that aspect of PS3, but do want to store music to play through my Yammy AV amp – is the X-Box good for this?

You have to pay to play online on an xbox….

Really – that's a bit rubbish. How much without me looking?

Really – that's a bit rubbish. How much without me looking?

£40 a year i think

£40 per year when I signed-up !

Its £34.99 on Amazon and other places now, can also be had for less on fleabay too

Xboxes are great.

If you need wifi you save a fair few quid by getting any wireless gaming adapter from the likes of Belkin etc. which will work fine.

To be the fair the XBOX wipes the arse of the others for online gaming (community and downloadable content). I'd go as far to say its worth the price.

The PS3 is also a great machine. I don't have one but my brother does, and its well built and a nice bit of kit. Good usb support and internet browser.

I purchased a Wii for my son last xmas. Needless to say its now gone, and the 3 year old XBOX is still here. The Wii is woeful, nearly 200 notes for ahem 'next gen' console. Non-HD, Piss poor graphics, lousy IR controllers and a console that cannot play DVDs. Nintendo your having a laugh!

Project Natal looks interesting too.

@TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsSTR

Audio can be played through old IPODS (not ITOUCH though) and USB memory sticks/certain portable hard disks. Audio can also be ripped to the HDD from CD (but only worth while if you have a nice new one with the bigger Hard Disk)

The Wii was never touted as a "next gen" console. It was never designed to compete with the Xbox or the PS3. Having said that at least it doesn't need an additional piece of hardware to connect to the internet over Wifi.

I have both a Wii and a 360

I stand by my word. Its still rubbish. And what use is the Wifi for? The online gaming community on the Wii is non existant!

Great experience with an Xbox here. Far better than PS3's IMO. Wii's are good but thats a whole other gaming experience. Great selection of games, accesories etc. When it comes to Xbox Live, to be fair you get what you pay for so it's up to you.

Well, all i want to do is pop a game in and play against people online…I'd be pissed at paying another £40 to do that…

Just reading through this, have had my eye on a couple of second hand xbox 360's on the classified but gather there's some good deals on new outfits at the moment.

Unfortunately I can't seem to find them! Anyone seen any good deals? I have heard talk of a console, 2 wireless controllers and 4 games for 200 quid – is it mere myth and legend or fact? 🙂

The major supermarkets and places like GAME are advertising these kind of deals.

This bundle from Amazon seems good.

120Gb Elite console, CoD Modern Warfare 2, 2nd wireless controller kit (inc 2 games) plus one other game for £209.99

Project Natal looks interesting too.

+1 Xbox 360
+2 Project Natal – looks absolutely mental, and possibly a little eerie (if you're into VR/AI type stuff)

Me.
Still having as much silly fun on GTA4 as when I first had it.
Shame the online GTA4 is pretty poor.
COD series online is brill but not really my thing. Mostly cos I'm crap!!!

First console kept freezing but Amazon were great, new one arrived next morning. They are noisy though.