Page 1 of 360 + 2 Games @ Argos £174.50

Saw this in Argos today - not in the main catalogue but in on the updated prices laminates above the main catalogues.

"Save £20

Xbox 360 Core System
+Fusion Frenzy 2
+Pinata game (can`t remember exact title)"

I`m guessing this is a good deal?

Sorry I`m brand new to the whole 360 thing but will deffo be getting Halo 3. Would I be wasting my time getting a Core system - I`m not entirely sure why I would need a hard drive at the minute? Is it to save games?

Any advice/info for a 360 newbie would be appreciated.

Thanks
apt

You need a hard drive in order to play online :)

This isn`t a great deal IMO. You`ve saving a few quid on the cost of the Core system but getting a terrible game (FF2) and a decent game (Viva Pinata) with it. Most stores should be doing Cores with better games for the RRP of £179.99, a few quid more than this Argos offer.

With a Core system you will *need* to buy an additional memory card (start at about £20) to save your games at least, since the Core has no memory to store stuff. Without a hard drive you won`t be able to download extra maps for Halo 3 or anything like that as they will be too big for the memory card (Rainbow Six: Vegas map packs are around 500Mb for example).

Assuming Halo 3 is pretty much the reason you`re buying a 360, my advice is wait until September 26th and pick yourself up a Premium system (the one in the white box) and you`ll probably be able to get Halo 3 free with it since all the retailers will be doing deals with it.

Just so you know, the Premium has this over the Core system:

20Gb Hard Drive
Wireless controller (once you go wireless you`ll feel dirty using a wired controller)
360 Headset
Ethernet cable (for hooking up to Live, but it`s just a standard ethernet cable)
HD AV cable - doubles up as a standard composite AV cable and an HD component cable, so you don`t need to buy a seperate cable if you`ll be using it on an HD TV.

Find it difficult to recommend the Core to anyone tbh unless their budget simply doesn`t stretch to a premium system. Main reason for that is in my experience about 90% of people who buy a Core end up buying a headset and hard drive in the first 6 months of owning their 360 because they realise what they`re missing out on with Xbox Live, and the cost of just those 2 items is more than the price difference between core and premium.

Happy shopping, hope that helped!

Cheers for that, hadn`t thought that retailers would offer Halo 3 for free - you make good points.

Although, I don`t really care for the two bundled games, so I`d be thinking of trading them in somewhere for the cost of a (effectively free) memory card.

Unfortunately I have no broadband, nor am I likely to any time soon. So the hard drive really isn`t an issue for me either.

I just posted over at the gaming forum in an identical topic saying I`m likely to get a Core. I think I probably will, although I can understand why people are telling me not to. To me this one seemed like a good deal, bearing in mind my lack of broadband and HDTV.

Although aving read what you say, I may hold back to see what offers are nearer the time of Halo 3 - although it seems unlikely they`ll offer it for free?

apt

This item was edited on Friday, 7th September 2007, 12:11

viva pinata..
aka eye crack..

You don`t have an HDTV or broadband? Go for a Core then, for sure.

Actually since Halo is a MS Game Studios game (created 2nd party by Bungie) it`s quite possible you might be able to get it free or at least very close to free with a console. When the Elite was released the other week most retailers were throwing in Blue Dragon with it (another 2nd party MSGS game) since it was released at the same time and MS had a deal with it to try and shift copies of a JRPG on the 360.

The only thing going against getting a free copy is the fact that you`re going for a Core and as you`ve already seen most retailers aim the Core system at the casual market, so bundle family games in with it, whereas Halo 3 is pretty much *the* game for the hardcore 360 owner this year. Still, as you suggested, you`ll probably be able to trade in the games you get with the Core and put their value towards Halo 3, probably just leaving you to pay a few quid difference.

I would still say wait, since it`s only 19 days away and there might be better offers. It`s also rumoured that MS might be rebranding the Core as the "Xbox 360 arcade" and bundling it with a few of their Xbox Live Arcade games - doubt this would be in time for Halo 3 though since MS haven`t even officially announced it.