So the new
250 gb Xbox 360 arrived this afternoon. My first thoughts are that aesthetically I still like the 120 gb version more, but everything else seems to be superior. The console is noticeably quieter and smaller, though the power brick really doesn't look much smaller to me. The included controller seems slightly smaller than the old ones, and is entirely black except for the buttons. The joystick and direction pads are black, but thankfully they didn't decide to make the controller glossy to match the console! That would've been an smudge fest within seconds.
I was somewhat disappointed that unlike the older version the power cable and AV cable are not grey, because that distinguished them from the mass of other black cords coming out the back of our entertainment center. But that's a minor complaint.
I guess it's cool that the there's now a beeping sensor rather than a button that you use to open the drawer? It beeps both when you open it and close it. Doesn't make much difference to me one way or the other, but if the button has been causing problems for you then that might be a relief.
Setting up wifi was a breeze-- it auto-detects your network and you enter the WEP key, and you're good to go. Netflix will stream if you have a Netflix account and you have Xbox Live Gold, but you have to download an application and activate it through their web site.
We got a month's subscription to Gold with the
SanDisk USB drive we bought to transfer profiles and games from the old console to the new one. Getting used to it is going to take a while for me though, I think, since I haven't played that way in.....well, ever. Rarely even used vent in WoW with my guild. The idea of roaming around in a game with a bunch of strangers talking to each other is kind of intimidating. I know that sounds silly to you people who have been doing it forever, but for
me it's weird, okay?
I logged into Red Dead Redemption multiplayer and some guy was singing like a loon. Anonymity makes people behave oddly.
The included headset seems equally flimsy as the one that came with the other Xbox, just all black in comparison to the old version's black and grey. I assume I'll be buying a more substantial version sooner or later.
All in all, this purchase seems like a no-brainer for a person like me who is entirely new to the XBox 360 and has no other consoles (well, aside from an original XBox). If you've already got one that is in reasonably good shape, it might be a harder decision for you. The
$90 trade-in deal from GameStop seems like a good way to go.