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Buying an Xbox 360 this Christmas? We’ve compared all the Xbox 360 offers and bundle deals from Amazon, Play.com, GAME, Argos, HMV, Zavvi, Woolworths, Tesco, Gamestation, and Gameplay.

Before we start, are you unsure of the differences between the three versions of the Xbox 360 console (the Arcade, Premium, and Elite)? If so, read our full article of the differences between the Xbox 360 Arcade, Premium, and Elite.

If you already know which console you’re after, read on.

First off, most places will offer you a “Xbox 360 + a cheap game” bundle. If you are just looking for the console and a cheap game of your choice, the best place is Amazon. They offer the cheapest Xbox 360 console prices already, and you can add an extra game for £10. Other stores have similar deals, but Amazon seem to offer the best selection and prices. The link to the deal is here, and the discount code you use is here.

Amazon.co.uk : Buy a console and get a game for £10 extra

If you’re after more than that (recommended), we’ve identified the best bundle deals for the Xbox 360 Premium, Xbox 360 Arcade, and Xbox 360 Elite.

Xbox 360 Premium Bundles

The Premium has the most options for bundle deals. The best two currently available are:

Limited Edition Gears of War Xbox 360 60GB Premium Pack with Fallout 3, Gears of War, Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360) £199.99 – Gamestation

This is a fantastic bargain from Gamestation. You get the Premium console and three of the best Xbox 360 games for £199.99. If I didn’t already own an Xbox 360, this is the bundle I’d buy. You can also get a similar bundle with Fifa 09 rather than Fallout 3.

Xbox 360 Premium Console + Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 + Lego Indiana Jones + Kung Fu Panda + Extra Controller £209.99 - Play.com

Available from Play.com, this is the best family-orientated bundle deal on the market. Especially good if you’re a parent buying for younger children. While the games aren’t to my taste (I’m not a kid anymore and I don’t like football games), the deal is fantastic value for money.

Xbox 360 Arcade Bundles

Xbox 360 Arcade Pack with Kung Fu Panda, LEGO Indiana Jones and an Extra Wireless Controller (Xbox 360) £159.99 – GAME

Similar to the Play.com deal, this GAME bundle comes without the football game and with the Arcade console. As mentioned above, I don’t recommend buying the Arcade console over the Premium, but this bundle is best available if you’re on a tight budget.

Xbox 360 Arcade at cheap price + extra game for £10

This is the ultimate budget choice, with the best deals available from Amazon, as mentioned above. However, if you’re after the new Fallout 3 game you’ll need to go to GAME (link is here).

Xbox 360 Elite Bundles

There are several good Elite bundles out there. Your decision here will largely be based on which games you prefer.

Play.com has a good Elite bundle that includes Fallout 3 and Fable 2 for £249.99.

If you’re not after those two games, the shop with the best selection of Xbox 360 Elite bundles is Gamestation (click here for their complete list). Their prices for Elite bundles are the best of any store in the market. We haven’t listed them here because they just have so many!

Just the Console Please

If you’re after just the console, with no extra games (important: it’s much better price-wise to go for a bundle deal), get a full price comparison through the links below:

Xbox 360 Arcade / Core
Xbox 360 Premium
Xbox 360 Elite

While the Xbox 360 is an excellent games console, Microsoft have created a confusing situation by releasing many different versions of their popular console. This article aims to explain the differences between the models currently on the market.

The current versions of the Xbox 360 on the market are the Arcade, Premium, and Elite. Strangely enough, all three are entirely the same apart from two major factors; the hard disk and the colour.

Crucially, the Xbox 360 Arcade (previously known as the Xbox 360 Core) comes with no hard disk. The only option for storage is to buy memory sticks (expensive) or a special external hard disk (VERY expensive).

Even if you’re really short on money, you’ll want to stretch to buy the Xbox 360 Premium, which comes with a 60GB hard disk. An Xbox 360 without a hard disk may not be able to play some games, does not allow Xbox (original) backwards compatibility, will have difficulty accessing online content and Xbox Live, and can be more expensive in the long run from buying the proprietary memory sticks.

On the other end of the scale, the Xbox 360 Premium is still the recommended choice even if you have a lot of money. The 120GB hard disk on the Xbox 360 Elite is complete overkill. The 60GB hard disk in the Premium is not large in PC terms, but for a console is more than you’ll ever need. This means the only good reason to get the Xbox 360 Elite is if you really want your console in black (and it does look very good in black).

Apart from the colour and the hard disk, all three versions of the Xbox 360 are entirely the same. The Xbox 360 Premium is the recommended model to buy.

The Xbox 360 Arcade (previously the Xbox 360 Core) is severely limited due its lack of a hard disk. The Xbox 360 Elite is great, but its only advantages are one free month of Xbox Live, a larger hard disk, and that it comes in black.

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Check out our article on the best Xbox 360 bundle deals.

Or compare prices for the Xbox 360 Arcade, Xbox 360 Premium, or Xbox 360 Elite.