Xbox 360 Accessories

Xbox 360 Controllers

In addition to the the normal corded controller, you can also get a 2.4 Ghz wireless controller that allows you up to a 30 foot range and four controllers per unit. With rechargeable batteries and the Play & Charge kit, you can be guaranteed excellent wireless play anytime of the day. You can also plug the 360 headset into the controller, just like you can with the original Xbox, for Live two way communication.

Memory

If you didn’t get the hard drive, then the 64 MB memory card is needed in order to play on Xbox Live or save your game progress. Those fortunate enough to get the fully loaded system or have $100 to spare can rely on the 20 GB hard drive. The hard drive comes preloaded with an Xbox Live arcade game, as well as some music and videos. If you’re on Xbox Live, then you’ll be able to download the content needed to play blockbuster original Xbox games. Just like the first Xbox hard drive, you can still rip music to create your own soundtracks.

Communication

The headset operates just like the original Xbox headset. You can chat with teammates or enemies while playing a game and you can even leave short messages with the Xbox Live Message service. The one feature that stands out is the noise canceling microphone technology that allows for crisper speech.

Networking

Tired of the wires, but want to hook your 360 to your network? Then pick up the wireless networking adapter. That way you can transfer files from your Media Center PC right to you Xbox 360.

Personalization

All the geek gadgets can’t make anything cool looking. How about face plates? You can purchase three. The first is a wood grain face plate that can match your wood grain Atari sitting right next to it. There are also a sleek, silver face plate and a blue, retro style. At my place of work, we sell a lot of the blue ones. Apparently, the wood grain only sells to dads with a nostalgia for Woody cars.

You can also change your Xbox Dashboard to match the face plates or download other themes to personalize your Xbox experience, like you would wallpaper for your computer.

Thompson’s Two Cents

The accessories are easier to come by than the actual system itself. Extra wireless controllers and memory cards/drives are selling the best right now with the face plates coming in a close second. I hope that when Microsoft gets more systems out there that the actual unit will sell the best.