Questions about X360

[Stabby]

I was wondering if one of the 360 users here could answer some questions for me. Forgive me if this is obvious stuff, I'm a PS3 owner who is tenuously considering the jump to dual ownership as long as I can justify the hit to my wallet, and make sure some key points are hit.

1. Theres a price drop coming soon across the board? So if I were planning on buying one, it'd be in my best interest to wait a while, right?

2. They keep revising the damn things to make them less failure prone- what's the latest revision and is there a better one around the corner that I should be waiting for?

3. Anyone say whether or not the Gold Membership that you're forced to have to join the Dev. Network for XNA is worth it? To put this in context, I have almost no desire to use any other feature of that Gold Membership (aside from maybe the early access to store features, but hey, I can always wait), just the fact that it allows me to join the XNA Dev Network. I do not know a single person with an Xbox (In this country - see below), so I have no desire for the expanded online play of Gold... Especially since I hate playing online against random people, and if I wanted to play online, I have plenty of friends on PS3)

4. This thing is, for some reason, blowing up in Japan (Probably the RPG love). I know a Japanese person who has one, is it possible to play games online with them? Or is 360 Region locked? I know on PS3 I have a Japanese friend in my Friends List, and I know I've seen them in Resistance Online, but If I couldn't play with my friends from Japan on the 360, it might be a deal breaker. I also have a buddy in the Dominican Republic with both PS3 and X360 - Hes on my PS3 list, can we also play online with X360? (I know this one seems obvious, but I don't wanna make an assumption on either country and have it turn out wrong). Does anyone know definitively?

5. HDMI or Bust - Is the Elite my only option? On the X360 website, they have the model breakdown, and I can't tell if the Elite is the only model with HDMI, or just the only model with an included HDMI Cable. Also I'm more likely to buy an Elite because it has the larger HD... I refuse to be bent over a table after the fact to pay for a tragically overpriced HD from them.

6. I have to buy a Wifi Adapter? Seriously? Tell me there's some kinda way around that. I could always just run a hardline to the router but... Cmon. Cmoooooon Microsoft. (Overall, I'm looking to not get nickle and dimed by MS on this. They're great at making money, i'll give them that)

7. The 360 comes with a headset? Or is that certain bundles? Can I just use the Bluetooth headset I have on my PS3?

8. Dual Console Owners - Is it worth it? I don't plan on buying any / many 360 games, just using Gamefly for the most part, and pretty much just RPGs at that. I'd be more interested in some of the unique Arcade Titles (much like some of my favorite PS3 games are those unique PSN releases... Many days, it's the simple games that do me the most good haha.). But even then, I work alot and don't have tons of free gaming time... So any buyers remorse from your 2nd console purchase? Looking for both people who had a PS3 and bought a 360, and the other way around.

I have no plans to buy one of these things in the immediate, I'm just trying to do some research for a future purchase (Unless the new revision and price drop hit the same day or something... I can be tempted into jumping.), and I know this place has a lot of people who are... passionate... about their console of choice.

Thanks for your help

[Snadinator]

Originally Posted by Stabby

1. Theres a price drop coming soon across the board? So if I were planning on buying one, it'd be in my best interest to wait a while, right?

There might be. I believe the 20GB is now $299. The 60GB was rumoured to be $299 too. MS is overdue for a big cut. I suspect before the holiday season would be a very good time.

3. Anyone say whether or not the Gold Membership that you're forced to have to join the Dev. Network for XNA is worth it? To put this in context, I have almost no desire to use any other feature of that Gold Membership (aside from maybe the early access to store features, but hey, I can always wait), just the fact that it allows me to join the XNA Dev Network. I do not know a single person with an Xbox (In this country - see below), so I have no desire for the expanded online play of Gold... Especially since I hate playing online against random people, and if I wanted to play online, I have plenty of friends on PS3)

Not sure what you are asking

4. This thing is, for some reason, blowing up in Japan (Probably the RPG love). I know a Japanese person who has one, is it possible to play games online with them? Or is 360 Region locked? I know on PS3 I have a Japanese friend in my Friends List, and I know I've seen them in Resistance Online, but If I couldn't play with my friends from Japan on the 360, it might be a deal breaker. I also have a buddy in the Dominican Republic with both PS3 and X360 - Hes on my PS3 list, can we also play online with X360? (I know this one seems obvious, but I don't wanna make an assumption on either country and have it turn out wrong). Does anyone know definitively?

I've played with Japs and Euro's etc... We don't talk much because well.. language barrier.

5. HDMI or Bust - Is the Elite my only option? On the X360 website, they have the model breakdown, and I can't tell if the Elite is the only model with HDMI, or just the only model with an included HDMI Cable. Also I'm more likely to buy an Elite because it has the larger HD... I refuse to be bent over a table after the fact to pay for a tragically overpriced HD from them.

I think they all have HDMI ports now.

6. I have to buy a Wifi Adapter? Seriously? Tell me there's some kinda way around that. I could always just run a hardline to the router but... Cmon. Cmoooooon Microsoft. (Overall, I'm looking to not get nickle and dimed by MS on this. They're great at making money, i'll give them that)

You can plug it through ethernet, or buy another brand wifi adapter. I think xbox.com lists all the compatible brands.

7. The 360 comes with a headset? Or is that certain bundles? Can I just use the Bluetooth headset I have on my PS3?

Headsets come with the Pro and Elite. Maybe the Arcade too, but you'll want a hard drive so avoid the Arcade.

8. Dual Console Owners - Is it worth it? I don't plan on buying any / many 360 games, just using Gamefly for the most part, and pretty much just RPGs at that. I'd be more interested in some of the unique Arcade Titles (much like some of my favorite PS3 games are those unique PSN releases... Many days, it's the simple games that do me the most good haha.). But even then, I work alot and don't have tons of free gaming time... So any buyers remorse from your 2nd console purchase? Looking for both people who had a PS3 and bought a 360, and the other way around.

If you are big on games, yes it's worth it. I own all 3. You like RPG's? It seems the 360 is currently the king for that. Oblivion, Mass Effect, Enchanted Arms, Eternal Sonata, Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Too Human, Two Worlds, Marvel Ultimate Alliance. Comming soon: Tales of Vesperia, Inifinite Undiscovery, Last Remnant, Fable II, Fallout 3 (with exclusive DLC on 360)...

[Stabby]

Originally Posted by Snadinator

Not sure what you are asking

Sorry, I'll try and word it better - I'm very interested in the XNA development aspect of the 360 (Yes, I know I don't need a 360 to develop with XNA, but you do need a Gold Membership to join the XNA Dev Network, and you can only get one with a 360), and so I was wondering if anyone here with a development background who has used XNA and has a gold membership, has joined the Dev Network, and whether or not they found it to be something they got alot of use out of.

I'm huge on RPGs, which is a pain point for me right now as a PS3 owner - I do know Eternal Sonata is coming to PS3 with added content, so I'm definitely waiting for that to be released to play through it. Plus, I'm also wary that I'll buy a 360, and then 2 weeks (That's an exaggeration but you get what I mean) later alot of those RPGs will be out on the PS3 with the same kinda additional content. Money isn't cheap, and if I spend 400 dollars just to be able to play more video games, I don't want that to be in vain when some patience would've gotten me the same thing.

Fable 2 does look pretty cool, but I'd only want it if it had cross play with the PC version (As I'd have a friend who is definitely getting the PC version).

As far as exclusive DLC on Fallout - I know the series is some kind of legend, but truth be told, I've never played a single one. So exclusive DLC for a franchise that is personally untested, not much of a point of interest to me.

Plus (And this is not an attempt to start some kind argument), we're still waiting to see that exclusive GTA DLC appear, so if the Fallout DLC is more of the same, by the time it hits, my interest in the game will most likely have waned considerably.

As for the other games you mentioned, atleast Last Remnant is coming to PS3 (albeit delayed), so I wouldn't need a 360 for that one, it's more the (for the forseeable future) exclusive RPGs i'm more interested in (Like Lost Odyssey, Infinite UnD, etc).

I guess overall the 360 would be "Picking up the slack", as I'm very much happy with the performance of my PS3 and not looking to replace it, just supplement my current selection of games.

[Snadinator]

Originally Posted by Stabby

Sorry, I'll try and word it better - I'm very interested in the XNA development aspect of the 360 (Yes, I know I don't need a 360 to develop with XNA, but you do need a Gold Membership to join the XNA Dev Network, and you can only get one with a 360), and so I was wondering if anyone here with a development background who has used XNA and has a gold membership, has joined the Dev Network, and whether or not they found it to be something they got alot of use out of.

No clue. I don't follow the XNA thing.

Fable 2 does look pretty cool, but I'd only want it if it had cross play with the PC version (As I'd have a friend who is definitely getting the PC version).

There has been no PC version announced. Now there might be one later on like a year from it's release, but right now, there has been no announcement.

As far as exclusive DLC on Fallout - I know the series is some kind of legend, but truth be told, I've never played a single one. So exclusive DLC for a franchise that is personally untested, not much of a point of interest to me.

Fallout will be epic. Quote me on that.

Plus (And this is not an attempt to start some kind argument), we're still waiting to see that exclusive GTA DLC appear, so if the Fallout DLC is more of the same, by the time it hits, my interest in the game will most likely have waned considerably.

Besthesda released tons of DLC for Oblivion. Expect them to get to work on it right after it ships.

As for the other games you mentioned, atleast Last Remnant is coming to PS3 (albeit delayed), so I wouldn't need a 360 for that one, it's more the (for the forseeable future) exclusive RPGs i'm more interested in (Like Lost Odyssey, Infinite UnD, etc).

Infinite Undiscovery, Star Ocean, Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Cry On, Mass Effect trilogy, Too Human Trilogy etc..

I guess overall the 360 would be "Picking up the slack", as I'm very much happy with the performance of my PS3 and not looking to replace it, just supplement my current selection of games.

It's worth it. I like my PS3 too, but currently the game selection is much larger on the 360 and the Arcade games kick ass too.

[Graham31004]

I can give you a non biased opinion since I have owned both systems.

I bought my first Xbox 360 way back in 06 and never put the thing down. A few months later my roommate and I went 50/50 on a PS3. I bought a few Blu Rays and a few PS3 games for it but rarely played it. PS3 is nice and dependable. My first Xbox broke around a year after I bought it so I got another one (which I still use to this day). I ended up giving my PS3 to my roommate because I rarely played it because I love the 360 so much more. The games are better, arcade is great and the friends list on the Xbox is awesome. It's really easy to chat with people and see what games and achievements they have recently got. I just recently bought another Xbox 360 Pro and have them both hooked up in the living room so my friends have something to play on now.

Achievements- As a PS3 owner, you're probably wondering what the big deal about achievements are. Well you aren't alone. When I first got my 360 I had no idea what they were but Microsoft sure nailed it. It's basically a fun way to keep track of what games you've played and what accomplishments you have done in the game. It makes you play games differently and increase the playablilty of a game. I enjoy getting them and makes gaming much more fun.

Xbox Live- If you don't plan on playing online much you can get Xbox Live Silver which is free and you can still get demos and such but just cannot play against someone else online. I think $50 a year is a pretty decent price to play online if you are going to play a decent amount. Xbox > Playstation on Online gameplay. PS3 does have the internet browser but from what i've read, Xbox will be getting that soon as well.

Games- I'm a big RPG fan and Xbox is starting to pump out some quality RPG's like Snadinator mentioned in his previous post. And of course Xbox is known for it's excellent First Person Shooter games.

HDMI- The new consoles are coming standard with HDMI ports built in them in the Pros and Elites.

I think the 360 is a better gaming machine but PS3 has it's Cons with the Blu Ray player and internet browsing. I would say owning both consoles would be in any gamers best interest. I plan on buying a PS3 real soon for Blu Rays since HD-DVD is done. Hope this helps.

[DustoMan]

Originally Posted by Stabby

2. They keep revising the damn things to make them less failure prone- what's the latest revision and is there a better one around the corner that I should be waiting for?

I think Jasper is the latest one, but they have yet to show up in stores even though they 60GB models are trickling out. That said, there's no way to tell if you have the latest revision unless you crack open the case and void your warranty.

[Stabby]

Originally Posted by DustoMan

I think Jasper is the latest one, but they have yet to show up in stores even though they 60GB models are trickling out. That said, there's no way to tell if you have the latest revision unless you crack open the case and void your warranty.

That breaks my heart haha. Theres no revision or model # like on the old PS2s that tell you which "version" it is? It's entirely something that has to be broken into? Lame.

They're sure not making this purchase easy for me haha

Thanks for the tips so far, any more opinions / answers would be welcome, especially for the XNA stuff

[maley]

Fallout will be epic. Quote me on that.

Done and can't wait to show you you're wrong XD

[crazzeto]

Originally Posted by Stabby

I was wondering if one of the 360 users here could answer some questions for me. Forgive me if this is obvious stuff, I'm a PS3 owner who is tenuously considering the jump to dual ownership as long as I can justify the hit to my wallet, and make sure some key points are hit.

1. Theres a price drop coming soon across the board? So if I were planning on buying one, it'd be in my best interest to wait a while, right?

That's the rumor at this point, the current round is for north america though. Other regions already got cuts in some cases making it the cheapest available next gen console.

Originally Posted by Stabby

2. They keep revising the damn things to make them less failure prone- what's the latest revision and is there a better one around the corner that I should be waiting for?

After cuts (that you're waiting for anyway) you should be golden with a 60GB pro

Originally Posted by Stabby

3. Anyone say whether or not the Gold Membership that you're forced to have to join the Dev. Network for XNA is worth it? To put this in context, I have almost no desire to use any other feature of that Gold Membership (aside from maybe the early access to store features, but hey, I can always wait), just the fact that it allows me to join the XNA Dev Network. I do not know a single person with an Xbox (In this country - see below), so I have no desire for the expanded online play of Gold... Especially since I hate playing online against random people, and if I wanted to play online, I have plenty of friends on PS3)

Game dev? was considering playing around with this my self, I don't have specifics though. I'd say it's worth it if you want to develop games, otherwise why not just stick with silver? Unless you happen to know of certain games only available to you if you specifically join this network? ::shrug::

Originally Posted by Stabby

4. This thing is, for some reason, blowing up in Japan (Probably the RPG love). I know a Japanese person who has one, is it possible to play games online with them? Or is 360 Region locked? I know on PS3 I have a Japanese friend in my Friends List, and I know I've seen them in Resistance Online, but If I couldn't play with my friends from Japan on the 360, it might be a deal breaker. I also have a buddy in the Dominican Republic with both PS3 and X360 - Hes on my PS3 list, can we also play online with X360? (I know this one seems obvious, but I don't wanna make an assumption on either country and have it turn out wrong). Does anyone know definitively?

I don't really do any online play my self, but I don't think "region locking" extends to XBL play. if you want to play online games with your friend in JP then I do beleive you should be golden.

Originally Posted by Stabby

5. HDMI or Bust - Is the Elite my only option? On the X360 website, they have the model breakdown, and I can't tell if the Elite is the only model with HDMI, or just the only model with an included HDMI Cable. Also I'm more likely to buy an Elite because it has the larger HD... I refuse to be bent over a table after the fact to pay for a tragically overpriced HD from them.

All consoles available on retail shelves right now have HDMI.

Originally Posted by Stabby

6. I have to buy a Wifi Adapter? Seriously? Tell me there's some kinda way around that. I could always just run a hardline to the router but... Cmon. Cmoooooon Microsoft. (Overall, I'm looking to not get nickle and dimed by MS on this. They're great at making money, i'll give them that)

I'm no help here, my network is centralized behind my HT (part of my wire mess) so I have no need for wireless.

Originally Posted by Stabby

7. The 360 comes with a headset? Or is that certain bundles? Can I just use the Bluetooth headset I have on my PS3?

My pro package had the headset, it's still the only one I have. Sounds like you're pretty interested in online play with the 360 after all though considering how many points center around it. At any rate I can't tell you if arcade has one or not, I know that the core system (which arcade replaced) didn't even have a wireless controller, but the new arcade package does in fact have a wireless controller packaged so... Clearly there have been package upgrades.

Originally Posted by Stabby

8. Dual Console Owners - Is it worth it? I don't plan on buying any / many 360 games, just using Gamefly for the most part, and pretty much just RPGs at that. I'd be more interested in some of the unique Arcade Titles (much like some of my favorite PS3 games are those unique PSN releases... Many days, it's the simple games that do me the most good haha.). But even then, I work alot and don't have tons of free gaming time... So any buyers remorse from your 2nd console purchase? Looking for both people who had a PS3 and bought a 360, and the other way around.

Well if you mean PS3/360 then I guess I'm not in a position to answer directly, but I am a Wii60 guy. Personally I'd say yes assuming there are 360 games you want to play like Halo or Gear amongst many otherse, or if you have friends who have 360's that you want to play games with (seems like you do after all).

Originally Posted by Stabby

I have no plans to buy one of these things in the immediate, I'm just trying to do some research for a future purchase (Unless the new revision and price drop hit the same day or something... I can be tempted into jumping.), and I know this place has a lot of people who are... passionate... about their console of choice.

Thanks for your help

Understood, high def consoles still repersent a major investment so it makes absolutly no sense to rush. What you're doing is the right thing, take your time, do your research, make sure it's worth your hard earned money.

[Stabby]

Originally Posted by crazzeto

My pro package had the headset, it's still the only one I have. Sounds like you're pretty interested in online play with the 360 after all though considering how many points center around it. At any rate I can't tell you if arcade has one or not, I know that the core system (which arcade replaced) didn't even have a wireless controller, but the new arcade package does in fact have a wireless controller packaged so... Clearly there have been package upgrades.

...

Well if you mean PS3/360 then I guess I'm not in a position to answer directly, but I am a Wii60 guy. Personally I'd say yes assuming there are 360 games you want to play like Halo or Gear amongst many otherse, or if you have friends who have 360's that you want to play games with (seems like you do after all).

The funny thing is, both people I know with 360 do not live in America (Funny to me since America is where it's doing the best). In all honesty, I do not have one home-grown friend who has a 360.

Online play is important to me as far as I can play with friends, and not so much random folk (Although it's always fun to mix it up a bit). My concern for the headset was, would I have to use it or could i just pair up my existing BT headset and keep using that. If my questions seemed to focus on it, it's only because I know so little about how XBL works as a whole.

I'm also not a huge shooter guy, save the occasional foray into the genre (Resistance2, barring any major scandals, is most likely a purchase, but otherwise I have no interest in shooters on the PS3 or 360), it's mainly for the RPGs that i'm interested (75%+ of all PS2 games I bought were RPGs, so that's where my bread is buttered. That and quick little PSN / XBLA style games.)

Thanks for the tips

[crazzeto]

Originally Posted by Stabby

The funny thing is, both people I know with 360 do not live in America (Funny to me since America is where it's doing the best). In all honesty, I do not have one home-grown friend who has a 360.

Online play is important to me as far as I can play with friends, and not so much random folk (Although it's always fun to mix it up a bit). My concern for the headset was, would I have to use it or could i just pair up my existing BT headset and keep using that. If my questions seemed to focus on it, it's only because I know so little about how XBL works as a whole.

I'm also not a huge shooter guy, save the occasional foray into the genre (Resistance2, barring any major scandals, is most likely a purchase, but otherwise I have no interest in shooters on the PS3 or 360), it's mainly for the RPGs that i'm interested (75%+ of all PS2 games I bought were RPGs, so that's where my bread is buttered. That and quick little PSN / XBLA style games.)

Thanks for the tips

No bluetooth on the 360 I'm afraid... Though like I said you'll get one with the pro package (the one I assume you'd go for) so you don't need to worry about that. Not sure if you're a rock band kind of guy but one big plus for the 360 with that game is that there are actually native wireless controllers for it while the PS3 version requires a dongle. As mentioned previously the 360 also has many more RPG's than the PS3 has at the moment (are you as shocked as I am?) so if you really are an RPG guy then I guess I'd have to change my stance to, yes the 360 is going to be worth it to you. But yeah, do wait for price cuts since they're just around the corner per rumor.

[Stabby]

Originally Posted by crazzeto

As mentioned previously the 360 also has many more RPG's than the PS3 has at the moment (are you as shocked as I am?) so if you really are an RPG guy then I guess I'd have to change my stance to, yes the 360 is going to be worth it to you. But yeah, do wait for price cuts since they're just around the corner per rumor.

I'm pretty floored by the lack of RPG love, but Disgaea3 is right around the corner, and eventually that Valkyrie Chronicles game is coming, so I'm fairly excited about those (Especially since they're SRPGs).

That ww2 werewolves and zombies SRPG looked kinda fun (for 360), but I didn't read many / any good things about it... (Reviews, of course, aren't everything).

For any lover of SRPGs, do yourselves a huge favor and pickup the originals on PS2... I can't recommend them highly enough

[weasl]

Originally Posted by Stabby

I was wondering if one of the 360 users here could answer some questions for me. Forgive me if this is obvious stuff, I'm a PS3 owner who is tenuously considering the jump to dual ownership as long as I can justify the hit to my wallet, and make sure some key points are hit.

1. Theres a price drop coming soon across the board? So if I were planning on buying one, it'd be in my best interest to wait a while, right?

2. They keep revising the damn things to make them less failure prone- what's the latest revision and is there a better one around the corner that I should be waiting for?

3. Anyone say whether or not the Gold Membership that you're forced to have to join the Dev. Network for XNA is worth it? To put this in context, I have almost no desire to use any other feature of that Gold Membership (aside from maybe the early access to store features, but hey, I can always wait), just the fact that it allows me to join the XNA Dev Network. I do not know a single person with an Xbox (In this country - see below), so I have no desire for the expanded online play of Gold... Especially since I hate playing online against random people, and if I wanted to play online, I have plenty of friends on PS3)

4. This thing is, for some reason, blowing up in Japan (Probably the RPG love). I know a Japanese person who has one, is it possible to play games online with them? Or is 360 Region locked? I know on PS3 I have a Japanese friend in my Friends List, and I know I've seen them in Resistance Online, but If I couldn't play with my friends from Japan on the 360, it might be a deal breaker. I also have a buddy in the Dominican Republic with both PS3 and X360 - Hes on my PS3 list, can we also play online with X360? (I know this one seems obvious, but I don't wanna make an assumption on either country and have it turn out wrong). Does anyone know definitively?

5. HDMI or Bust - Is the Elite my only option? On the X360 website, they have the model breakdown, and I can't tell if the Elite is the only model with HDMI, or just the only model with an included HDMI Cable. Also I'm more likely to buy an Elite because it has the larger HD... I refuse to be bent over a table after the fact to pay for a tragically overpriced HD from them.

6. I have to buy a Wifi Adapter? Seriously? Tell me there's some kinda way around that. I could always just run a hardline to the router but... Cmon. Cmoooooon Microsoft. (Overall, I'm looking to not get nickle and dimed by MS on this. They're great at making money, i'll give them that)

7. The 360 comes with a headset? Or is that certain bundles? Can I just use the Bluetooth headset I have on my PS3?

8. Dual Console Owners - Is it worth it? I don't plan on buying any / many 360 games, just using Gamefly for the most part, and pretty much just RPGs at that. I'd be more interested in some of the unique Arcade Titles (much like some of my favorite PS3 games are those unique PSN releases... Many days, it's the simple games that do me the most good haha.). But even then, I work alot and don't have tons of free gaming time... So any buyers remorse from your 2nd console purchase? Looking for both people who had a PS3 and bought a 360, and the other way around.

I have no plans to buy one of these things in the immediate, I'm just trying to do some research for a future purchase (Unless the new revision and price drop hit the same day or something... I can be tempted into jumping.), and I know this place has a lot of people who are... passionate... about their console of choice.

Thanks for your help

1. Across the board 50$ price drop coming

2. There's a new chipset on the way (there always seems to be one). They're less failure prone these days, but they're still more likely to blow up you on then your average consumer piece of electronics.

3. Gold sounds pretty useless for you.

4. It isn't region locked

5. All the newer models have HDMI

6. Yep. Have to buy a Wi-fi adaptor, but it doesn't have the be the MS one.

7. Comes with a cheap plastic headset, to the the best of my knowledge there's no way to get your Bluetooth headset to work with a 360.

8. Honestly this generation being dual platform doesn't buy you that much. If you already own a PS3 simply look at what's avalible on the 360 and see if you feel comfortable willing to spend the money on a new console based on that choice. It doesn't sound like the 360 will offer you anything major beyond that.

[Stabby]

Originally Posted by weasl

8. Honestly this generation being dual platform doesn't buy you that much. If you already own a PS3 simply look at what's avalible on the 360 and see if you feel comfortable willing to spend the money on a new console based on that choice. It doesn't sound like the 360 will offer you anything major beyond that.

PS2 Generation, I was still in school and didn't have the kind of money needed for owning 2 consoles - This gen I can get away with it, as long as it's worth it. Plus, PS2 had all the games I wanted to play... Fable aside, there wasn't a single Xbox game I was interested in. This gen, that's changed a lot.

The only major things I'd want out of the Xbox360 are bunch of games that don't seem to be making their way to PS3 any time soon (Many of the RPGs already noted, plus a few more that I can't think of off the top of my head), and additionally any XNA benefit I can get out of it (I'm a developer by trade who would love to break into games dev, which I don't need an Xbox for, but it would be a fun little hobby machine to play with in that respect... Plus if i manage to break it, I always have my PS3)

I'm still interested in hearing from anyone who has experience with XNA and joining the Developer Network. That's the only question no one has yet (through no fault of their own) been able to provide me any real first hand experience with (Please note I'm not asking about using XNA itself, just whether or not you find the gold membership, which gains you entry in the Dev Network, as something useful to you in your work with XNA)

If you can't tell, the XNA stuff is one of the major draws for me haha. I think MS is really upping the ante by releasing the IDE essentially free of charge, and it's familiar ol' .NET... for people like me, it's kinda perfect haha. I'd give an arm and a leg to see Sony and Nintendo do the same (for free, on such a wide scale).

So far it's still a toss up haha. Really I'm gonna have to see where my finances are at after the next round of price cuts, and see how I feel about it then... But I appreciate all the advice so far, and any more forthcoming