The Box with a Big X, or How I was Driven to Buy a HDTV

Yup, I now have a Gamertag.

I bought a 2nd-hand Xbox 360 from Brainy (the one that he won from a lucky draw in December 2006). The thought of getting one has never occurred to me before (my SingNet promotion Wii is on its way) but Devil May Cry 4 was coming and Brainy's offer of $150 was really attractive for a no-warranty, pre-2007 set. I'll just buy it and set it aside for the release of DMC4 in February, I said to myself.

Then a few things happened.

First thing I realized was that my standard TV was too old to accomodate the Xbox 360. In-game text was squashed up and very blurry, making it near-impossible to read anything properly. I guess it was time I found out first-hand that all next-gen consoles require HDTVs. I went out and purchased a Samsung LCD TV (LA26R71) which arrived on Friday. It looks like my idea of actually saving money with a cheap 2nd-hand Xbox had backfired since I had to fork out a lot more for a HDTV (never mind, I would've probably needed it for the Wii, too).

Only then I could start playing properly. Despite my initial prejudice towards the Xbox (and all things Microsoft in general), I actually grew to love it. The Xbox's online connectivity, with its downloadable content, online community and achievements system (via Gamertags) changed the way I looked at console gaming. Now, I wished I had purchased a brand new Xbox 360 instead (this one is beginning to show its age with some minor freezes and system error every now and then). But then again, it's rather expensive and I would not have learnt that I actually enjoyed having an Xbox 360. haha.

By the way, my Xbox 360 can blog, too. It's alive... it's alive!