Xbox Arcade: The Family Xbox

It's been rumored for a while, but the new Xbox SKU is now official. Jumping at the all-ages market that Nintendo's dominated for years now, the Xbox Arcade is priced at a Wii-like $280. 

That includes five games bundled with the system, all culled from Xbox's Live Arcade download service: Pac-Man Championship Edition, an adaptation of the classic card game UNO (last year's surprise hit on Xbox Live), puzzle shooter Luxor 2, rhythm game Boom Boom Rocket and Feeding Frenzy... which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like, only for children.  Collectively, they add about $40-50 value to the package. There's also a V-Chip setting for parents to moderate their kids' gaming.

Microsoft's also sealed a few deals with Warner Bros. and Nickelodeon to bring downloadable episodes of The Backyardigans, Blue's Clues, iCarly, and about fifty classic Looney Tunes cartoons. They'll all run about $1.50, but for a measly twenty-five cents more, you can watch Bugs and Daffy in hi-def.

Though what you'll be saving them to is a bit of a mystery. It looks like the Arcade only comes with a 256MB memory card... multi-gig hard drive sold separately. It's especially worrisome given that Microsoft is putting resources into supporting younger-age content, including a downloadable game using the Shriek license.

Still, even though it's being marketed at families as an E for Everyone video game console, at it's core this is a stripped-down Xbox 360 that knocks the price of owning an Xbox below the hallowed $300 mark (seriously, it's $165 less than any other Xbox), and right in time for holiday gift-giving, too. If all you (or a loved one) wants to do is play Halo 3 and save your in-game progress, the Arcade is going to be a nice little addition to your entertainment center.

But it's still an Xbox, so don't forget to get a SquareTrade warranty for it... also for a lot less.

square trade warranty