Tip #1 - Find a bundle

There has been some amazing bundles in the past. Here’s a few to give you an idea of what you can get. The most insane bundle from Best Buy (USA) was a 40” Samsung TV and the 500GB Xbox One with Halo The Masterchief Collection for $500. Personally I got the 500GB package with Halo MC, Far Cry 4 and Assasin’s Creed Unity for $350. The 1TB version was $400. Luckily I have a 1.5TB drive lying around so I could save some bucks.

Tip #2 - Get the 500GB model

By doing this you can save that $50 to get an USB3 external hard drive with any many TBs as you can afford. The internal drive is also only 5400RPM so if you get an 7200RPM drive you can speed up loading times even over the USB3 cable.

Tip #3 - Get Xbox Live Gold (XBL) from http://cdkeys.com

XBL is the subscription that allows you to play online against other players. It costs $60CDN. At cdkeys it costs around $32(US) which is around $42CDN. This even beats Costco’s price of $50. cdkeys.com also sells some games for cheap too. But wait, with an XBL account you get what’s called Games with Gold. On the 1st and 16th day every month Microsoft releases 2 games for free. Past games have been Rayman, Metal Gear Solid and Assasin’s Creed Black Flag. They also release games for the Xbox 360 - which is great because those games will most likely be playable through the Xbox One’s backawards compatibilty function coming in fall of 2015. The games are playable as long as you XBL account is active and paid for. On top of that you also get discounts on select games month to month.

http://www.xbox.com/en-CA/live/games-with-gol

Tip #4 - Get EA Access instead of paying for EA Sports games like a chump

EA Access is a $5/mo or $30/year subsciption that allows you to play most EA Sports games, Titanfall, Battlefield, etc. I can foresee more publishers following this Netflix type subscription model. EA Access also gets you 10% off all EA games, and DLC. Why own the game when a new one is going to come out in a year?

http://www.ea.com/eaaccess/

Tip #5 - Upgrade to Windows 10 and Play on your Xbox One from your PC

The Xbox app included in W10 streams audio and video from your Xbox One over your local network. Just start the app, connect to your Xbox One, plugin the controller using a standard mini-usb cable and hit Start Streaming. This is great if a family member is watching TV; you turn on the Xbox and play games elsewhere. While it probably works ok with wireless connection I’d recommend making a wired ethernet netowrk with your PCs and Xbox connected through a gigabit switch. String your cabling through vents for a better experience. Failing that try Powerline networking. It’s more expensive but it makes a slightly slower wired network using the powerline throughout your house.