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I just installed an N64 emulator so I'm good to go for the time being. Occarina of Time, Goldeneye and Mario Kart - see you later Thursday.

I'm thinking of getting an xbox myself. These different trims confuse me though - I'm guessing if I want the full experience I should at least get the Pro? Xbox Live is a free service, right?

I wonder if Netflix is going to move away from DVD's in the future and focus on streaming services via computer, xbox and other devices that have Netflix software? I'd imagine it would be better for everybody including Netflix in the long run.

TimeForGuinness wrote:

docellis wrote: the commercial for Left 4 Dead had me considering buying a gaming "thing".

if you are into survival horror games...there are some really great ones to choose from.

I'm not. The commercial just looked cool. Back when I used to play video games (college) they were always games like Civ, Red Alert, Age of Empires....that kind of crap.

maddash wrote:I'm thinking of getting an xbox myself. These different trims confuse me though - I'm guessing if I want the full experience I should at least get the Pro? Xbox Live is a free service, right?

It really depends. A HD is nice, but you can get by without one. Are you going to play a lot of games online and DL demos and games?

Michael wrote:

maddash wrote:I'm thinking of getting an xbox myself. These different trims confuse me though - I'm guessing if I want the full experience I should at least get the Pro? Xbox Live is a free service, right?

It really depends. A HD is nice, but you can get by with without one. Are you going to play a lot of games online and DL demos and games?

xbox live isn't free, right?

maddash wrote:I'm thinking of getting an xbox myself. These different trims confuse me though - I'm guessing if I want the full experience I should at least get the Pro? Xbox Live is a free service, right?

Nope, $50 a year for the gold package. Games typically come with an xbox live gold trial version for like 48 hrs, so if you won't want to play online, you can use those to be able to download updates for all of your games.

Michael wrote:

maddash wrote:I'm thinking of getting an xbox myself. These different trims confuse me though - I'm guessing if I want the full experience I should at least get the Pro? Xbox Live is a free service, right?

It really depends. A HD is nice, but you can get by with without one. Are you going to play a lot of games online and DL demos and games?

I don't know. Probably not. I'm more of a Wii guy, but I'm interested in playing some of the higher end graphic games now that the console is a little more affordable. I'll probably just get one or two shoot'em-up games... maybe Spore. I already have Guitar Hero for the Wii. And my Dish Network already has a VOD over IP service.

So what's the difference between Silver and Gold Live membership? The consoles already come with Silver memberships, right?

... I gotta say, from a marketing standpoint all these trims and memberships levels aren't really doing Microsoft any favors with new users. I'd hate to be a parent trying to figure all this out.

cards2468 wrote:

maddash wrote:I'm thinking of getting an xbox myself. These different trims confuse me though - I'm guessing if I want the full experience I should at least get the Pro? Xbox Live is a free service, right?

Nope, $50 a year for the gold package. Games typically come with an xbox live gold trial version for like 48 hrs, so if you won't want to play online, you can use those to be able to download updates for all of your games.

You can get 13 mos for 40 bucks:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... _-74103030

maddash wrote:

Michael wrote:

maddash wrote:I'm thinking of getting an xbox myself. These different trims confuse me though - I'm guessing if I want the full experience I should at least get the Pro? Xbox Live is a free service, right?

It really depends. A HD is nice, but you can get by with without one. Are you going to play a lot of games online and DL demos and games?

I don't know. Probably not. I'm more of a Wii guy, but I'm interested in playing some of the higher end graphic games now that the console is a little more affordable. I'll probably just get one or two shoot'em-up games... maybe Spore. I already have Guitar Hero for the Wii. And my Dish Network already has a VOD over IP service.

So what's the difference between Silver and Gold Live membership? The consoles already come with Silver memberships, right?

... I gotta say, from a marketing standpoint all these trims and memberships levels aren't really doing Microsoft any favors with new users. I'd hate to be a parent trying to figure all this out.

Remember, you can always upgrade the HD later. So if you don't get a pro, it's not a huge deal.

Silver is really basic - you can download buy/demos and buy movies, that's about it. Gold allows you to play games online.

Do you have an HDTV? The better graphics are wasted if you don't have one.

One other thing - Spore is PC only.


edit - yes, silver is free.