The new Xbox 360 looks lovely, there’s no arguing with that, but if you own one already is there much point in upgrading? Read our Xbox 360 review: Worth the upgrade? And we’ll spell out the pros and cons of jumping to Microsoft’s smaller, quieter Xbox.
Read the rest of our New Xbox 360 review
New Xbox 360 review: Overall verdict
We’re not going to pull any punches here. If you already have an Xbox 360, you probably don’t need to upgrade. You’d be better off saving the cash, and pre-ordering Kinect instead, since it’ll work with your existing console.
If you’re in the minority without a cabled connection to their Xbox or who uses it as a serious media centre however, there are three legitimate reasons for upgrading to the new Xbox 360. We’ll warn you though, they’re pretty tenuous.
Firstly, the New Xbox’s built-in Wi-Fi will be a godsend to gamers positioning their console away from the household router. Microsoft’s set-up is fast and fuss-free, and the new Xbox supports N-standard Wi-Fi for extra range and speed.
We found the new Xbox sucked up data at respectable speeds, even using a weak Wi-Fi network. In fact, it out-performed a PS3 sat next to it, which resolutely refused to connect to the same router.
The result should me more gamers hooking up to Xbox Live, whether through paid-for, all-singing, multiplayer-capable Gold accounts, or free Silver accounts, which let you download movies and music and at least partly fulfill the new Xbox’s destiny as a media centre.
Speaking of which, those who have placed the Xbox at the heart of their living room entertainment set-up should flock to the new version. Unlike its predecessor, it’s virtually silent, and just like all Xbox 360s before it, the new console’s capable of streaming movies, photos and music over your home network. Again, the built-in Wi-Fi makes a huge difference here.
Whether you’re using the Xbox as a stand alone media centre, networking it to DLNA sources around the house, or even using it as a Media Centre Extender with a Windows PC elsewhere in the house, the quiet operation and easier networking offered by the new Xbox 360 make it an indispensable upgrade.
As other existing Xbox owners are likely using Microsoft’s console purely as a gaming machine, and will have amassed a slew of saved games as well as demos and achievements on their console.
Since there’s no improvement in graphics or any other gameplay performance to be gained by upgrading, we’d recommend against the new Xbox 360 for gamers and instead suggest you use the cash to buy the Kinect add-on, which will work with old and new consoles alike.
If you do upgrade, however, you’ll find transferring your saved content is a doddle. Microsoft offers transfer cables to hook your new Xbox up to an old console hard drive for around £20, although you can also do the job cheaper by ferrying data across using a USB memory stick. We did just that, and had the job finished in less than an hour.
Read the rest of our New Xbox 360 review
New Xbox 360 review: Overall verdict
