Buy the premium or elite, you will want a hard drive!
XBOX 360 is great fun, but just spend a few extra dollars and get one with a hard-drive, you will end up buying one anyway.

Major con for the XBOX - no Blue Ray or HD DVD built in (not that you would want HD DVD now, but perhaps the fight would still be going on if Microsoft threw their weight behind the HD DVD format). If you have an HDTV I would have a hard time picking the XBOX 360 over the PS3...DOH!

Nickel and Dime'd, the less expensive Wii is better.
First off, let me just say that if you're a parent looking to get a console for your kids (or just someone looking for a good console), get a Wii. Despite the "Go Play!" statements and stylized images on the box, this thing is not even close to a good substitute for the Wii. The marketing is just that, and it makes what is a more expensive piece of hardware feel like a cheap ripoff.

I'm 21, and I bought this thinking I'd enjoy it more than my Wii. After all, wasn't I "missing out" on all of those great, HD games that weren't available on Wii? Well, after a few months of ownership, I think I can safely say that no, I wasn't missing out on anything. The 360 severely lacks variety in games - lots of shooters, little of anything else. What's worse, most the games I've played just haven't been that good. I did enjoy Halo 3, the Orange Box is excellent (though I have the PC version), and I do still play Geometry Wars. Beyond that, I just couldn't find anything that lived up to the hype.

The 360 itself really doesn't seem like anything special either. When the wireless controller's batteries get low, it starts to randomly drop connection with the console. This wouldn't be such a big deal, but the stupid console still claimed the thing had 1/2 or even 3/4 battery charge! I made sure to buy a wired controller for my second one. I thought the included memory unit would be sufficient for basic stuff - game saves, replay files, user profiles, etc. To my surprise, I was unable to even play co-op or use the theater in Halo 3 without a hard drive! Further, half the online modes required new downloadable content, which of course needed a hard drive as well. And speaking of online, the arcade model doesn't come with a headset needed for talking. It costs $20 for the privilege of being able to reply to the pre-teens on Xbox Live who feel it necessary to curse you out nonstop for no particular reason. Oh, and you can voice chat with friends too.

So, I spent $280 on a machine which I use to play Geometry Wars, a game I could've just bought for the Wii. Add to that the fact that I needed to pay for online ($50/year), wanted a wired controller ($40), needed a hard drive (I got one used for $60, but they're $100 new), at least one game (Halo 3: $60), a headset ($20), Xbox Live points (for downloadable content and Geometry Wars: $20), and needed wi-fi to get online ($100, though I personally was able to jerry-rig something using old computer parts and a $25 wireless card).

Total cost: $550-$670. That much money so I can play a bunch of expensive, overrated, and repetitive games while being cursed out by spoiled 12 year olds. Ripoff.

Oh, and the system's menus are full of ads. Yeah, you pay for online, service so Microsoft can send ads to your console. Feel violated yet?

In the end, I paid more money than I was expecting to get a system which I don't use half as much as the less expensive Wii. The Wii has better game variety, far better controllers, and, despite what the critics seem to say, better games. The 360 did have better graphics, but they certainly weren't the step up I was expecting. In addition, the Wii's interface and online extras (Wii Shop Channel, Nintendo Channel, Everybody Votes, Forecast, News, Photo, Mii, etc) are head and shoulders above the Xbox. Save your money; don't fall for that misleading $280 price tag and promises of world-class game content.

Replaced a failed xBox360
Cant live without the xBox360, so when my 1st generation xBox360 failed I purchased this archade version and swapped out the HD from my old xBox360 and did a few configuration setting and I was up and running. So far this xBox has been great.

Nice basic system
I just needed an extra xbox so I can have a HALO party at my house to host 8 players. The core is the perfect solution. No need for the hard drive. Just needed to pick up some extra controllers and we're ready to go.

best deal for starters
the xbox 360 arcade bundle is awsome as a starter pack included are
512 mb memory card, 5 arcade games to start you out, wireless controler,
and system the memory card has plenty of space to hold game saves, if
you want to upgrade to harddrive for internet music movies gamesaves ect..
you can purchase a used harddrive 20 GB for $60.00. at $279.99 and no
tax and great to sometimes zero shipping rates. it five stars all the way
xbox 360 by far is the greatest gaming entertainment system to grace us
game crazy fans > amazon rocks free shipping, no taxes, thats why i shop at Amazon for all the great deals