Xbox 360 Launch Guide

On November 22nd, 2005, Microsoft will be releasing the Xbox 360 in North America. That will be followed by a December 2nd launch in Europe and a December 10th launch in Japan. This guide will tell you everything you need to know about the launch including what games and accessories will be available, pricing, and also where you can try to find an Xbox 360 if you didn’t preorder.

First up, take a look at the Xbox 360 spec sheet here. In addition to Xbox 360 games, the system will also play DVD movies in progressive scan (if available) right out of the box (no extra remote required this time) and will also offer limited backwards compatibility with original Xbox games.

Two Xbox 360 Packages

There will be two versions of the Xbox 360 – one with a hard drive and accessories and one that is just a bare bones system.

The $399 Premium system will include: Xbox 360 Console 20GB Removable Hard Drive Xbox 360 Wireless Controller Xbox 360 Faceplate "Chill White" Xbox 360 Headset Component HD-AV Cable Xbox Live Silver Membership Xbox 360 Remote

The $299 Core system will include: Xbox 360 Console Xbox 360 Wired Controller Standard A/V Cable

As you can see, there is a pretty big difference between the two and the extras you get with a premium system are worth more than $100 price difference which makes it by far the better deal of the two.

Not only is it the best deal, but the hard drive plays a fairly major role in how you can use the Xbox 360. You will be able to save game progress on the hard drive as well as rip your CDs to it. You can also transfer music, videos, and photos from your mp3 player or other USB devices. It will also be necessary if you plan on spending much time on Xbox Live because custom content, patches, and other downloadable content needs somewhere to go and a little 64MB memory card isn’t going to cut it. Also, the hard drive is required for backwards compatibility. There are also other bonuses to having a hard drive such as faster load times in some games and other performances boosts.

If you can’t get a Premium system and are stuck with a Core on launch day, don’t worry too much. If you just want to play games or watch movies with your Xbox 360, the Core system does that just fine. It’ll cost you a little more money in the long run since you’ll likely end up buying a memory card, wireless controller, component cables, remote control, and eventually a hard drive, but if you want to play games right away it might be your only choice.

See a list of accessories and games on Page 2 ...

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