60GB Live Starter Kit
Having bought an Xbox 360 Arcade console, I was missing a hard drive somewhat, so I decided to buy this package for it's great value for money. You get:
+ 60gb Hard Drive - which you quite simply click in... and that is it!
+ A networking Ethernet cable to plug your xbox 360 into your router.
+ Headset for talking to people online.
+ 3 months of Xbox Live Gold to get you started.
By all means this is a great package, but having seen what Xbox LIVE has to offer, I have to say that I won't be renewing my package. None of the stuff you can get off the marketplace is of any interest to me personally, and I haven't had the best of experiences playing online. Particularly with Fifa 09 when the game continuously crashes when you start a match. This is a problem a few people I know have had. There has also been the issue of when I have played someone, they end up screaming on their end of the microphone and quitting before the match finishes. I have had similar problems with other games, and I can't justify spending a yearly fee on this kind of service.
The hard drive itself is fantastic. It is easy to set up, and even if you don't want to use Xbox Live, then it is still great to have because you can store your music, pictures, videos, etc on it, and you can also install games to the hard drive for better performance (The Last Remnant and Mass Effect have been visibly better installed).
From what I have seen Xbox Live is NOT what everyone has been saying, but I realise everyone will experience it differently, and perhaps I have just had an extremely unfortunate experience. This package itself is very good for the money, and if you want a hard drive for your console, and to try out Xbox Live, then look no further, this is what you need.
A good buy for Xbox 360 Arcade owners
This is good value for Arcade owners looking to experience some of the other things that the 360 can do. All 360 games apart from one or two can be played without a hard drive, but with this 60GB hard drive you can do the following: -
1. Install games. Apart from 1 or 2 older titles, any disc based game can be installed to the hard drive. This leads to slightly faster loading times in most cases, a reduction in noise (as there's no disc spinning in the drive), and less wear and tear on the system. The game disc still has to be in the drive to prove that you own the game, but it doesn't spin up at all during play. Installs take up to 11 minutes and can be deleted at any time, so you can go back to playing the game from the disc if you want to make space on the hard drive.
2. Download content from Xbox Live. Whether you pay for a Gold subscription or not, you have access to a ton of content on Xbox Live. There are Xbox Live Arcade games (all of which have a demo), demos of many of the disc based games, original Xbox games, add-ons and downloadable content for games (and a fair bit of it is free), new themes and gamer pics, game videos, plus movie and TV show rentals, a lot of which have a HD option.
3. Rip CDs to the hard drive. You can rip audio CDs and then play the songs while you're playing games, replacing the audio from the game but not the sound effects.
It also gives you more room for game saves and multiple gamertags.
The hard drive just clips to the side of the 360, so fitting it is dead simple. You can actually clip it to any 360, so you can take it round to a mate's house and clip it to their console if you want to play a downloaded game at their house for example, although you will need to be signed into Xbox Live to access certain content if you do that.
The rest of the kit is designed to get you up and running on Xbox Live. The ethernet cable connects the console to your router (or modem) so you can get Live access, and the headset plugs into the bottom of the controller so you can chat to friends or chat to other people that are playing the same game as you. You also get 3 months of Xbox Live Gold which is worth about 13 quid. If you like Xbox Live, the cheapest way to extend your account is with a 12+1 month card which can be bought online for £25-£30. Subscribing through the Xbox itself is actually the most expensive way, so avoid that if you can.
For those wondering what the difference between Xbox Live Silver and Gold is, Gold gives you the following: -
1. Online play
2. Video chat
3. Access to demos and other content 7 days before Silver users
4. An occasional freebie XBLA game or theme
So if you're not interested in online gaming, you could sell the 3 months of Live and you can still maintain a friends list, voice chat with your friends, and have access to all of the content mentioned above. It's also worth mentioning that game patches/fixes are installed via Xbox Live too. If an update is available you're prompted automatically to install it before the game starts. Without being connected to Live, you'll never receive these updates and patches.
You cannot copy files to the hard drive, so you can't put your own videos or photos on there, and you can only put music on it by ripping CDs, but if you connect the console to your router, you will be able to stream audio, video (including DivX and Xvid files) and photos that are stored on your computer's hard drive straight to your TV. If you have Windows Media Center or Vista, you can use the 360 as a full media extender.
Unless you plan on downloading a ton of content from Live, or unless you want to install as many of your disc based games as possible, I think the 60GB hard drive gives plenty of room for most users.
So yeah - If you have an Xbox Arcade and you want to see what Xbox Live is all about, this is the kit for you.
60gb live starter kit hdd and 3 mths subs to xbox live gold
my son is very pleased with this as he can now use xbox live and is really enjoying this. It was very good value for money and quick delivery.
About 60 GB LIVE Starter Kit - Includes 60 GB Hard Drive, Xbox LIVE Gold 3-Month Membership, Headset, Network Cable (Xbox 360) detail
- Amazon Sales Rank: #951 in Computer & Video Games
- Brand: Microsoft
- Released on: 2008-11-19
- Platform: Xbox 360
- Format: Unknown format
- Original language: German
- Dimensions: 2.76" h x 8.27" w x 12.99" l, 1.32 pounds
60 GB LIVE Starter Kit - Includes 60 GB Hard Drive, Xbox LIVE Gold 3-Month Membership, Headset, Network Cable (Xbox 360) Description
The Xbox 360 60GB LIVE Starter Pack offers all of the components for Xbox 360 Arcade and Core console owners to get onto Xbox LIVE and jump into the complete Xbox 360 experience.