A True Contender: Xbox 360 Arcade

Let’s face it – no matter what those statistics say, we know that the Wii’s gaining ground on the Xbox 360 (which had an extra year to sell, mind you) and it’s leaving the Playstation 3 in the dust. It’s popular for both it’s intuitive controls and appealing price point – which is why perhaps Sony recently announced a less expensive 40gb variant of the Playstation 3. Now, it seems like Microsoft is reacting in a similar way: enter the Xbox 360 Arcade, which is in my eyes a possible true contender for the Wii’s title.

Although it’s announced price is $299 USD, Amazon claims to be selling it for $279 – pretty darn close to the Wii’s $249 price point (and we pay $30 extra up here in Canada, such unfairness). It also comes with a few mini-games in response to Wii Sports’ popularity – think Pac-Man, Feeding Frenzy, Uno, and a couple of other ones. But, for such a difference in price, what features have been cut?

Sadly, there will not be a hard drive. But what about game saves? 256mb of internal memory will serve as storage (more than enough – my Playstation 3 card had 8mb and I still never managed to fill it). Thankfully, there’s still an HDMI port, although you’re going to have to buy your own HDMI cord. Alright, so it’s not too bad, but it’s definitely no Wii – nor will it ever stand up to it. Wait a second, I think we might be forgetting something…

…ever heard of Halo 3? That’s right, the Xbox 360 Arcade will still be able to play next-gen titles like Halo 3 (which singlehandedly boosted Xbox 360′s sales to surpass the Wii’s – a feat that could be repeated). I think I know a couple of people who would probably go nuts for this – as diehard Halo fans, they’ve been starving for the third installment but haven’t had the cash to buy an Xbox 360 yet. Until now.

The Xbox 360 Arcade just made the whole Xbox 360 family look a lot more enticing. With a much more attractive price, a cooler name, and the implementation of the core features, I think that it appeals to the more casual gamers or family side of consumers. Heck, if I could cough up $300, I’d probably put it in one of these babies.