Ten Reasons Why You Should Not Buy an Xbox 360 System

Microsoft's Xbox 360 is the most advanced, most powerful video game system to ever grace us with its presence in front of our nation's televisions. Its processor is more advanced than the one that NASA used to land the shuttle on the moon back in 1969. It has the capability for its users to play online with anybody, anywhere, as long as they have another Xbox 360.

It features the Halo game franchise, which is quickly becoming as popular as the Madden franchise. It looks like something that Fry from Futurama would play in the year 3000. It is the beginning of the future of video games. It just isn't all that great. I have 10 reasons why you shouldn't buy an Xbox 360...and here they are.

#10) It's overpriced. It costs $400! And that just gets you the console, a controller, and a demo disc (if you're lucky). There's no way that the casual player will buy this. That will be it's downfall. Video games need to attract the casual player, not just the hardcore 'fan boys'. Look at your history. Remember the Sega Saturn? Neo geo? Virtual Boy? These flops all targeted only a specific type of individual, and that's why they failed. If Microsoft priced it at $200, millions of more people would buy it. Besides, they make all their money on the software (games), not the hardware (systems).

#9) Bill Gates is rich enough. That's right, Bill runs Microsoft and Microsoft makes the Xbox 360. Each time you buy anything Xbox, Bill is getting a huge chunk of your money. The rich get richer.

#8) The extras cost a fortune. As stated in #10, the system is expensive. Now that you have one, you will most likely need another controller. That will be $50, please. How about a memory card to save our games? How about another $40 for it? Are you going to want to hook the system up to your television? You need the S-Video Cable. It is $30 more. Now, do you want to play any games? Try $50-60 each. Total cost to get a system, second controller, 3 games, memory card, and S-Video Cable...just about $700 with tax. Insane. You could buy a car for that. Granted, a piece of junk car, but a car none-the-less.

#7) The graphics aren't that much different from the original. For those who've played the original Xbox system, the graphics on the games aren't too different from the Xbox 360 graphics. All the hype surrounding the Xbox 360 and its graphics was overblown. Much of what we saw at previous E3 conventions (the video game mega-convention) was prerendered imagery. To quote Bill Plaschke, of the L.A. Times, "Shame on you".

#6) The online play. This is a feature that appeals to the smallest niche of players. Yet, Microsoft invested so much into the online capabilities. This is responsible for a nice part of the $400 price tag. It is not fair to those who don't have any desire to play online.

#5) Only one good game that's exclusive to Microsoft. Halo. That's it and that's all.

#4) No RPG's. This is the number one complaint of gamers when asked why they don't have an Xbox 360. RPG's (role-playing games) are a specific style of games that appeals to a specific style of gamer. Personally, I love them. Whether you love them or hate them, and everybody falls into one category or the other (nobody kind of likes RPG's), they are one of the most popular genres of games. The RPG fans, myself included, flock to Sony's PlayStations because they have a plethora of role-playing games released each month. Microsoft released one, I think, but I can't remember the name.

#3) The original Xbox is just as good. This is true. You can play everything that's good, except Halo 2, on the original Xbox. Plus, you can pick one up, used and fully loaded with accessories and dozens of games, for less than the cost of just the Xbox 360 core unit itself. Sounds like a no brainer.

#2) Spend the estimated $700, that everything 360 costs, on a real life. You can go on a near month long vacation to Las Vegas. Seriously, fly there for about $200 and hotels can be found for $30 a night. Stay for weeks. With $5 buffets, you can live like a king. No video game system can compare to Las Vegas, none (except maybe the original NES).

And the number one reason why you shouldn't buy an Xbox 360...

#1) The Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3 are just around the corner. Granted, the PS3 will cost even more, but it will have dozens of RPG's within a year. You should probably hold off on getting a PS3, though. Spend your video game allowance on the Nintendo Wii. It will be roughly $200. Plus it has games with Mario, Zelda, and Metroid in the title, three of the best franchises of all-time. Plus, and this is awesome, you will be able to play games from every past system through the Wii. That's right, you can now play Mike Tyson's Punch-Out again, without all the blinking that happened on the non top-loading NES systems. I cannot wait for this system to arrive; Zelda Twilight Princess, Mario Galaxy, that crazy wand/controller, $200, can't wait until Christmas.

For an opposing view, check out " Buying the Best Video Gaming System for Your Teen."