Before people say why am i asking, please see that this is the "other gaming" topic list, so my question does have a place here

Anyway, i hear the 360 arcade is bad for space and such, but i really don't know how bad it is in comparison to the other 360s. Also with 360s, its true that u have to pay for online annually?

The arcade model only has 256MB of flash memory built in, but no hard drive. Now you can always add the hard drive later for around $80-100 depending on the size. And while you do have to pay $50 a year for Xbox Live, it's a very good online gaming service and, in my opinion, worth the price of admission, so-to-speak. I bought a Japanese Xbox 360 arcade model and then added a hard drive a few months later.

Yeah, you have to pay for online play, you can access the online store without that though.

The 360 Arcade strikes me as a waste of money. I don't know how the prices are where you live but I got my 360 Pro for 200€ when the Arcade was something like 170€. The harddrive is massively convenient, you will not be able to download any demos with just a memcard and will need to do a lot of fridge cleaning for XBLA stuff (which easily reaches a few hundred megabytes regularly). If you're 100% certain that you will never download any XBLA game (especially Shadow Complex, that doesn't fit on the memcard no matter what you do since it's 800MB) and will not miss the ability to get trailers and demos, only use the card for savegames then you may be able to stay with the Arcade (though I think you won't be able to install the NXE either). Oh and did I mention you can install games to the HDD for faster loading and less noise?

And seriously, how could you resist Shadow Complex? It's like Super Metroid!

I bought the Arcade model, and I think it's good. But it's true that if you want demos/arcade games and DLC, you pretty much have to get a hard drive. This bugs me a little bit, but it's that big of a deal. I'm probably gonna buy a hard drive at some point.

@KDR_11k: You can install NXE on it, but it takes up 50% of the memory. And it's required to use Live.

The Arcade box is a waste of money because after you get it you will definately want to buy HDD so you can save games and everything already mentioned. By the time you add the HDD youve already spent the same as the new price as the Elite minus about what 20 bucks. So yeah the Arcade is a ripoff.

@KDR_11k..... Yeah Shadow Complex looks fantastic. Might have to borrow my bro 360 so I can play thru it.

while we are on the discussion, if my arcade would red ring, how much would it cost to fix??(after warranty)

I have enough for one, i want to get one as well but there is a few factors before i make a purchace

It's free to have any RROD problem fixed. They send you a coffin and you put your system in and call Fed-Ex. They come get it, MS fixes it, and ships it back, sometimes with a free game. I got two freebies.

@Corbie: A free GAME? All I got was a one-month Live Gold card both times I had an RRoD repair. Also, and this is a nitpick, Microsoft uses (or did back in February, at least) UPS, not Fed-Ex.

I say go Arcade only if you never ever intend to go online with your 360. Otherwise, the hard drive, headset, and ethernet cable that come with the Elite are well worth the extra $100. Plus, it's black, which is always better than white when it comes to electronics, imo.

Shadow Complex has me really looking at a 360 at the moment. Prob is the PS3 has so many insane exclusives coming and 3rd party games in the next few months Im not goin to have time for two systems. Im not a big online player so Ill always buy PS3 as I like the trophy system better than the gamerscore system. My 360 gamerscore is pretty low and I havent renewed my subscription in like 3 years. Maybe next year into the year Ill buy one.

Core gamer till you die, eh? Good luck, the core/expanded market definition is going to disappear when the disruption ends and when the next disruption starts the core will be something entirely different from what it is now. Core is a business term and only applies to disruption scenarios (and of course a company's core market but since each company has one of those it's hard to use that as a general label).