Page 1 of Microsoft confirms Xbox 360 Elite

Sorry, not the game ;)

You would have thought they would have done this a week ago!

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/26297/Microsoft-confirms-Xbox-360-Elite

Quote:
As expected, a new 120GB black Xbox 360 is on its way.
Microsoft has confirmed one of the market`s worst kept secrets of late - a new 360 model is set to launch featuring a 120GB hard drive, an HDMI port, a premium black finish, plus a wireless controller and Xbox Live headset.

The new, super console is set for launch in the US on April 29th and will be priced at USD479.99 (GBP 244). Microsoft is yet to announce details of the Elite`s launch in Europe.

In addition, the new 120GB hard drive will be sold as a standalone accessory, priced at USD 179.99.

"Today`s games and entertainment enthusiast has an insatiable appetite for digital high definition content," said Peter Moore, corporate vice president for the interactive entertainment business at Microsoft.

"Xbox 360 Elite`s larger hard drive and premium accessories will allow our community to enjoy all that the next generation of entertainment has to offer."

strange it doesn`t have an hd drive built in, guess they`ll have to do a black one as well! But then PS3 is $600 so I guess they want to undercut it still.

This item was edited on Wednesday, 28th March 2007, 07:34

What do you reckon, £349.99?

Saw the `unofficial` production line pics from China. Doesn`t look too hot in black, imo. Can`t for the life of me understand why they bypassed GDC and the PS3 launch for an announcement. :/ A month of `standard` 360 sales can hardly be worth the PR revenue of a timely confirmation.

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This item was edited on Wednesday, 28th March 2007, 10:06

I`m just glad they finally saw sense to include an HDMI port and a bigger hard drive.
I`m now actually tempted to buy one (instead of the PS3).

Now if only they included the HD drive as standard then it would seal the deal for me.
I think they`re just scared of people finally realising that if they did that the price would be the same (roughly) as the PS3 and they would lose that argument of "its cheaper than the PS3".

It does look much nicer in black though :D

Quote:
What do you reckon, £349.99?

more or less yeh

all depends on if they drop price of premium 360. It`s bound to be 1/2 way between premium and a ps3.

Maybe next year, if HD Disc ends up being more popular than Blu Ray they`ll do the HD drive one, with the bigger hard drive for similar price to ps3.

maybe the fact that recently Blu Ray films in US have been outselling HD Disc ones is why they still don`t want to put the hd drive in the console, but i wouldn`t have thought they`d ever put a Blu Ray drive in the console, as I`m assuming they`d have to pay Sony royalties, but if they can make money from an add-on they`ll do that which they`ve admitted to.

HD Disc drives seem quite popular on these forums with the 360 owners, but none of the ppl I know seem that bothered, so maybe it does make sense to have it as an option extra. Although if I had an HD TV, and a console I`d want one, but would prefer it in the console.

My only question is (since I`ve no experience of HDMI yet) is the picture quality on a HDTV likely to be much of an improvement via HDMI than component?

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What do you reckon, £349.99?

i`m going to hazard a guess, i reckon it`ll come out at around that price, but production of the "standard" xbox will stop (very soon) then you`ll see loads of good offers on the current 20gig 360`s (all M$ sanctioned) then after a month or so, the "elite" will drop to the current price of the premium system. maybe even less, depending on how the ps3 continues to perform.

Quote:
My only question is (since I`ve no experience of HDMI yet) is the picture quality on a HDTV likely to be much of an improvement via HDMI than component?
i think it`s because component doesn`t offer 1080p

HDMI does, and that`s the only difference (though i might be wrong).

you can still get 1080p out of a 360 without HDMI, though you would have to
connect it to a suitably specced pc monitor via the freely available VGA
cable.

Ste.

........is that gasoline i smell?

I reckon that the Core 360 will be phased out and that the premium will drop to around the £209 mark (much like the original RRP of the core), and that the elite will slot in at the existing premium price point of £279.

The reason I say this is that now that the early production bugs have been ironed out (although not entirely), economies of scale mean that M$ have probably cut their loss-per-console figures.

I already have a premium sytem (on my 3rd since launch - the current one has been with me nearly a year now touchwood!) and I`m in no rush to get this new system. Yes HDMI is a bonus, but typically my HD ready TV only has component and DVI, not HDMI, so no point in me getting one yet.

Plus, it doesn`t look great in black - suppose thats another reason to buy a custom faceplate!

This item was edited on Wednesday, 28th March 2007, 20:42

I wonder how much the 120Gb hard drive will cost, assuming you can add to your existing x box

All the best

Gerald.