Xbox 360: Time to get it now?

I have been contemplating buying myself an Xbox 360 for some time now, and now with the launch of PS3 in Japan tomorrow, the itch to get myself a next-generation gaming console grows even stronger. Let’s list the reasons to get, or not to get, the console now.

Pros:

It’s already proven to be stable console to be used in MY. The system have a one year head start to PS3, and I have yet to hear any Xbox 360s exploding in a Malaysia home, or have the news been covered up my MS??

The are several really good games exclusive to the Xbox 360 console out now, like the latest release of Gears of War that is highly rated on gameplay and graphics. Other notable games are Elder Scrolls IV: The Oblivion, F.E.A.R, Prey, and Project Gotham Racing 3 (PGR3), to name a few. Admittedly these games are available on PC, but u need kick ass spec-ed up PCs to play these games on the best graphics settings. Xbox 360 handles them straight out of the box (pun intended).

On the topic of having a kick ass spec-ed up PC, the cost of the Xbox 360 is much more competitive. And you can hook it up to a kick ass High Definition 42inch LCD/plasma screen output with a 5.1 channel surround sound and find yrself in gaming heaven, now.

(On another note, the kickest (not a real word) assed HD TV now is the Sony Bravia X series which offers full 1080P!!! But let’s keep that for a different day.)

The availability of “compatible” game discs which is much much more competitive that the real deal. Moreover, the system is now stable to run these discs without the before mentioned exploding issue. This alone is the one biggest reason to get it now.

The Xbox 360s sold now are of the Asian version, which has the base unit, one wireless Xbox 360 controller, HD video AV cable, and a 20GB HDD, all for the base price of less than RM1600.

Cons:

Cost is very much an issue, as the market flooded with PS2 selling at below RM900 per set. The Xbox 360 is almost as twice as expensive as the PS2. Perhaps a wait till past New Year 2007 will bring the Xbox 360 prices down slightly. (I recalled getting my PS2 at RM1700 way back then, purchased as the “compatible” discs are available in the market.)

With the Xbox 360’s new ability to read “compatible” discs, it has lost the ability to go online and join the online community at Xbox Live. Seems that Xbox Live could detect “modded” Xbox 360s trying to infiltrate the online community, and to many horrors of those who had done so, Xbox Live is also allegedly able to kill “modded” Xbox 360s that invade the online community. I have not seen it personally, but have been told that this is entirely possible. My views, Xbox Live may have sent a flash ROM erase code and killed the execution code on the “modded” Xbox 360. Now unless you never wanted to get online to play Xbox 360 games via Xbox Live, this is a unavailable feature you should be able to live by. To me, it’s perfectly ok.

There you go, the pros seem to outweigh the cons as of now, but the final factor of cost should see some reduction after Sony’s PS3 and Nintendo’s Wii reaches the Malaysia shore. So I suppose I’d pucker up, and keep my savings for few months down the road. But then again, who knows, my itch to own a next-gen console may be too unbearable to hold out to??