I've done 4 playthroughs of Demons Souls and I never get tired of that game. It's so fucking PC it hurts, how it ended up on the PS3 is beyond me.

I am actually thinking abuot getting an arcade at the pricedrop (which is already on amazon.com) and just putting in another room....if I can move the HD around - then that is perfect. 150 for a media player/gaming dealio. Not bad.

Shouldn't you be playing Demon's Souls?

I have a Jasper that refuses to red ring so it looks like I won't be getting this new SKU any time soon. Before that Jasper I went through 3 damned Xboxes however and I kept them well ventilated and didn't overuse them. It's just utterly ridiculous that its taken this many hardware revisions to get a stable Xbox with wireless builtin.

I am actually thinking abuot getting an arcade at the pricedrop (which is already on amazon.com) and just putting in another room....if I can move the HD around - then that is perfect. 150 for a media player/gaming dealio. Not bad.

PHJF wrote on Jun 15, 2010, 00:09:
Short and easy answer? No. After being banned, the hard drive is locked and you cannot install new games to the hard drive. If you previously had games installed on the hard drive, it will not work.

So in summary, you are saying thats something I need to be paranoid about and make sure the ebay seller says not banned hdd?

great.

Edit (Further on in that page):

That said, there is a workaround. You can flash the NAND chip of your Xbox 360 but you need a backup of it before the console was banned.

That implies that its the console, not the hdd thats banned.

Edit 2 (I got off my lazy behind and did some googling):
http://www.animenews.biz/microsoft-disables-hard-drives-on-banned-consoles-2418/

The hard drive itself is left untouched – you can place it in another 360, even an unbanned one, and it will still work just fine. You do NOT need to reformat it to regain any kind of functionality.

Ahh good, so I can buy xbox 360 hard drives from ebay without fear (besides the normal ebay transaction problems).

This comment was edited on Jun 15, 2010, 01:13.

Yeah back when I bought my first 360 (sold it due to money issues but after a few years I hear its still running fine), I kept my Hard drive (20 gig) and just re-purchased a Arcade and it worked just fine, and was cake to upgrade to a 60 gig.

http://www.gamersworldbd.com/2010/01/xbox-live-banned-360.html

What can I do with my Xbox 360 after being banned

Firstly (which is most obvious) you cannot connect to Xbox Live from your banned 360 anymore and play games online. You cannot receive any more game updates, dashboard/console updates, etc. Furthermore, you also cannot browse the Xbox Live Marketplace, Netflix, video streams, etc.

You can continue to play games offline with your Xbox 360 but cannot install games to the hard drive. Windows Media Center Extender functionality is also disabled.

Can I Restore Functionality To Install Games to 360 Hard Drive?

Short and easy answer? No. After being banned, the hard drive is locked and you cannot install new games to the hard drive. If you previously had games installed on the hard drive, it will not work.

Ok so I have an xbox arcade thats been sitting around for a while (got it on the amazon sale for $200 with $50 amazon credit, so it worked out to $150 overall) maybe about a year.

I picked up bayonetta since it hit $25 and its not on PC. That will be my first game on the xbox.

Question: I'm thinking about getting a used xbox hdd from ebay. Do I need to worry about anything such as banned stuff? When MS banned that huge group of xboxes, did that ban the hdd or just the console itself? I want to make sure I'm all legit with the xbox and don't want to screw anything up.

I echo everything Verno says about the PS controller. God I hate that thing. Mushy, light, buttons in the wrong places, wrong fit in the hand... it isn't 1994 so why are we using a controller from then?


As for the "the 360 needs a mouse and keyboard, no wonder MS is dying!" That's probably the dumbest statement of the day here. Do some of you not bother stopping and thinking about the market you're discussing before you type? Let's go into the flaws with that post:
1) MS is dying? When? Where? If you think fixing a 360 flaw can save the whole company...
2) Or maybe you think it's just dying in the console race, which is equally flawed.
3) Playstation allows a mouse and keyboard. Doesn't seem to make a difference
4) Even if the 360 did allow a mouse and keyboard, how the hell would you use it on a couch? Hell, I'm typing this on my couch right now, and know what? A mouse is a huge bitch on a couch.
5) Alright, fine, so few people would use the mouse and keyboard, right, because it's so uncomfortable. Which means it can't save anything, aside from maybe to you. Let's say they allow mouse and keyboard, and you hook the 360 up to your computer monitor and sit at a desk. Now you have a vastly superior input device and you're shredding people online with ease. Any sense of balance is lost.


Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid.

Cram wrote on Jun 14, 2010, 19:16:

Creston wrote on Jun 14, 2010, 19:01:

Zavy wrote on Jun 14, 2010, 16:05:
$150 for a arcade isnt too bad.

Can you take an old 360 HD and plug it into an Arcade? Anyone know? I might buy a new 360 for 150 bucks.

Creston

Yes sir!

I have an Arcade, grabbed a hard drive when Microsoft had their crazy HD deal before they released the new version of Live. Just plug-in and go, works perfectly.

Edit: and to double confirm for you, the hard drives Microsoft sent to people as part of the deal were 20gb refurbished drives from old 360's, so definitely compatible. Plugs into the slot on the left side of the machine.

Thanks Cram!

Creston

Tumbler wrote on Jun 14, 2010, 16:59:

The 360's hardware failures have been pretty terrible but their software running the box is basically a generation ahead of the PS3. It's not even close. How long did it take the PS3 to get their dashboard working in game? Trophies? Does Netflix work without a disc yet?

The closest competition to the 360 is the PS3 and it's just now getting features setup that the 360 launched with.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/4/3/how-art-mighty-fallen/

Their online play has been a big 'ugh' for me so far. Though it is improving. I guess it being free kind of makes up for that, but watching friends try to get other friends together to play KZ2 online made it looks extremely lacking.

Tumbler wrote on Jun 14, 2010, 16:59:

For the life of me, I cannot fathom why people who buy 360s put up with that utter nonsense.

The 360's hardware failures have been pretty terrible but their software running the box is basically a generation ahead of the PS3. It's not even close. How long did it take the PS3 to get their dashboard working in game? Trophies? Does Netflix work without a disc yet?

I bought PS3 in January 2008, and I got more features right then at the time, compared to X360. Built-in WiFi, free online access, blu-ray, better video file compatibility, standard based peripherals such as hard disks, backward compatibility with PS2 games, HDMI out, UPNP streaming (media player, then TVersity, and then PS3 Media Server) and exclusives that unlike X360's rarely showed up on the PC. I mean, in every way that mattered to me, PS3 was clearly the better choice.

I found the XMB satisfactory from the start, and to this day still don't use features such as in-game XMB, trophies etc.

Kezzek wrote on Jun 14, 2010, 16:25:

For the life of me, I cannot fathom why people who buy 360s put up with that utter nonsense.

I paid a little more for my PS3 (vs. a 360), got a Blu-ray player and game system and I've never had an single issue with it. It's two years old now. I guess it could theoretically die tomorrow.

Two years is about the time, where the 'fat' PS3s can hit YLOD (yellow light of death) problem. So you need to be careful.

Mine died two three months back. At the time, I had owned it for about 26 months or so. Since it's the version that supports PS2 backward compatibility (80GB), I opened it, used the heat-gun to reflow the solder joints and replaced the thermal compound. It has been fine after that, but I know it's on borrowed time. There are huge threads on official PS3 forums, and in almost all cases, the problem comes back after a while.

Newer versions of X360 and PS3 run a lot cooler (consuming less power) and are therefore more immune to this heat related defect.

I think it looks quite nice. The vents suggest it's designed to be vertical.

I was looking at the price of 2nd hand Xbox 360's today. The units themselves aren't overly expensive but the gouging on accessories is disgusting. £38 for a 2nd hand 802.11G wifi connector? You kidding me? The Elite should have had it built in and addon wifi should be about £20 new, max. I don't care about a web browser, that's what my PC (and increasingly my phone) are for, but I do want a net connection for patches, additional content and such like. Blu-Ray would have been nice but I'm not surprised that it's absent.

Fuck Natal, just give us a mouse and keyboard for the 360 already.

And a fucking web browser.

Creston wrote on Jun 14, 2010, 19:01:

Zavy wrote on Jun 14, 2010, 16:05:
$150 for a arcade isnt too bad.

Can you take an old 360 HD and plug it into an Arcade? Anyone know? I might buy a new 360 for 150 bucks.

Creston

Yes sir!

I have an Arcade, grabbed a hard drive when Microsoft had their crazy HD deal before they released the new version of Live. Just plug-in and go, works perfectly.

Edit: and to double confirm for you, the hard drives Microsoft sent to people as part of the deal were 20gb refurbished drives from old 360's, so definitely compatible. Plugs into the slot on the left side of the machine.

Fuck Natal, just give us a mouse and keyboard for the 360 already. It's no wonder MS is dying.

I've been thinking of finally getting a ps3/360 just to play around on.. this new move might influence my decision.
Ultimately.. if the 360 came out with a new Killer Instinct game.. I'd buy the 360 today.

Keep an eye out - various sites had it at $30.00 just over a week ago, though it's back towards the $40 range now.

However, I expect it will see a few more discounts, to say nothing of all the preorders that now give game credits...
That's new, mind you. Buying used makes Domo mad.
Wondering if there will be anything new at E3 or just official confirmations,
Ray

Zavy wrote on Jun 14, 2010, 16:05:
$150 for a arcade isnt too bad.

Can you take an old 360 HD and plug it into an Arcade? Anyone know? I might buy a new 360 for 150 bucks.

Creston