DailyTech - Report: Xbox 360 Elite to Replace Pro at $299.99

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Gadgets Report: Xbox 360 Elite to Replace Pro at $299.99
Shane McGlaun (Blog) - August 12, 2009 11:29 AM

40 comment(s) - last by nugundam93.. on Aug 17 at 4:50 AM

Xbox 360 Elite Price Cut (Source: Kotaku)

Rumor has price cut coming on August 30

The game console market is not doing as well as it once was and the more expensive consoles are especially feeling the pinch of the poor economy. The Nintendo Wii at $249 still reigns supreme when it comes to sales and the PS3 remains the most expensive of the game consoles.

There have been rumors swirling this week that the Xbox 360 Pro would go the way of the dinosaur and the Xbox 360 Elite would be reduced in price to replace it. The rumor has the Elite being cut to the $299.99 effectively pushing the Xbox 360 Pro out of the lineup.

This will mean that only two Xbox 360s will be offered from Microsoft: the Arcade and the Elite. A picture of a catalog from Meijer due to hit on August 30 has been leaked that shows the $299.99 price tag for the Elite. No official statement on the retirement of the 360 Pro or a price cut for the Elite has been offered from Microsoft at this time.

Microsoft may be cutting the price of its console, but Sony has not. There have been persistent rumblings that Sony will drop the price of its PS3, but so far, that has not happened.

Rumors cropped up earlier this month that the rumored PS3 Slim would be debuting on August 18 and that a price cut may come along with the new console.

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PS3 pricedrop coming

By bighairycamel on 8/12/2009 11:40:16 AM , Rating: 5

If this doesn't guarantee a PS3 price drop then nothing will. Of course Sony will deny it but it has to be inevitable at this point.

RE: PS3 pricedrop coming

By nafhan on 8/12/2009 12:34:22 PM , Rating: 2

PS3 slim...

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RE: PS3 pricedrop coming

By tedrodai on 8/13/2009 2:29:32 PM , Rating: 2

That slim chassis better come with a slim price or I'll probably have a 360 Elite in my stocking come holiday season.

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RE: PS3 pricedrop coming

By nugundam93 on 8/17/2009 4:50:00 AM , Rating: 2

same here. and the fact that the mechwarrior reboot will be on the xbox360 and not on the ps3 might swing things towards the 360.

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RE: PS3 pricedrop coming

By BrgMx5 on 8/12/2009 12:41:27 PM , Rating: 2

The price allready droped (since August 10) to €299.99 from €399.99.

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RE: PS3 pricedrop coming

By BrgMx5 on 8/12/2009 12:56:00 PM , Rating: 2

Well looks like someone jumped the gun here in Portugal.

The websites are still showing €399.99 but when i went to the FNAC store, the price in all PS3 bundles is €299.99.

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RE: PS3 pricedrop coming

By Flunk on 8/12/2009 2:13:59 PM , Rating: 3

That's still more than the $399.99 USD it retails for in the US so it doesn't necessarily mean that a price drop is coming in the American market.

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RE: PS3 pricedrop coming

By rpsgc on 8/12/2009 2:31:05 PM , Rating: 4

Didn't you know? Exchange rates are for losers.

$1=1€ will always reign supreme.

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Still Not Enough

By SiliconJon on 8/12/2009 3:18:27 PM , Rating: 2

Maybe I'm too frugal, but a $300 XBOX 360 better come with a 320GB hard drive, especially if they nixed the games from the package.

But then again I watch people pay more for all sorts of things than I ever would...so I'm probably more than a single standard deviation from the norm (on the low side of course).

RE: Still Not Enough

By sticks435 on 8/12/2009 3:29:06 PM , Rating: 2

I'm pretty sure it also doesn't come with the HDMI cable now either. Check out this screenshot from an article ast gamespot.

http://www.gamespot.com/images/6214818/new-xbox-36...

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RE: Still Not Enough

By jtkeenstyle on 8/12/2009 8:13:41 PM , Rating: 2

Gah, that's not cool. Damnit MS. That cable costs 20c, not $50.

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RE: Still Not Enough

By friedrice on 8/13/2009 12:50:39 AM , Rating: 3

HDMI cables cost $5 on Amazon. You do not need monster cables, trust me. I have a PS3 using a $5 cable and it works perfectly.

Other day so a guy buying a HDMI cable at target for $80. I felt so bad for the guy. He could have gotten the cable, a new release, and a PSN card to buy a couple games from the online store.

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RE: Still Not Enough

By sticks435 on 8/13/2009 12:28:58 PM , Rating: 2

Trust me, I'm well aware of being able to get cheap HDMI cables, but like all things Microsoft, I'm under the assuption that you have to use thier cables. Could be wrong though. haven't looked into it much.

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RE: Still Not Enough

By SiliconJon on 8/13/2009 1:04:13 PM , Rating: 2

My $3 HDMI cable from Meritline worked like a champ with my HDMI on my 360 Arcade.

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RE: Still Not Enough

By tallcool1 on 8/13/2009 12:41:59 PM , Rating: 4

I paid less than $1 for my HDMI cables at Amazon.com about 2 years ago, they still work great.

Here is one for $0.11 cents.
http://www.amazon.com/HDMI-meter-foot-cable-1080P/...

Shipping + $2.98.

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RE: Still Not Enough

By Freezebyte on 8/12/2009 10:49:26 PM , Rating: 2

HAH! Keep drinking that Kool Aid, I hear its good stuff.

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RE: Still Not Enough

By SiliconJon on 8/13/2009 1:05:18 PM , Rating: 2

I'll pass on the mass suicide, and hope Dell keeps pumping out 15-20% coupons for their consoles.

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That's great, I guess

By novacthall on 8/12/2009 11:47:22 AM , Rating: 5

As a current 360 owner of a console that's about as old as dirt, I'm not so interested in the price of the console itself. My unit came with a 20GB hard drive, which I'm learning is becoming increasingly limiting. So with the 360 itself at $300, what sense does it make to keep the 160GB hard drive at $135 from Amazon (or perhaps more madly, $150 from Microsoft directly)?

This is one place where the PS3 has an undeniable edge on the Xbox, and Microsoft has no reasonable answer. That's pretty frustrating.

RE: That's great, I guess

By FITCamaro on 8/12/2009 12:06:39 PM , Rating: 4

I agree they need to drastically drop the price of the hard drives to reasonable levels ($5-10 over the cost of just the hard drive). Or start allowing you to use any hard drive you wish. Hell sell the "enclosure" to let you use any hard drive you want as an accessory for $20.

Its sad that I have a 250GB hard drive in my PS3 that will likely never get used. My 360s 120GB hard drive though is about half full at the moment.

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RE: That's great, I guess

By quiksilvr on 8/12/2009 1:13:43 PM , Rating: 2

Uh...kinda off topic but...why aren't you using the space on your PS3? The only thing I can think of that is using up more space on your 360 is the Disk to HDD backup of your games. But really, a lot of PS3 games download a few GB of data onto the system.

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RE: That's great, I guess

By FITCamaro on 8/12/2009 2:13:58 PM , Rating: 2

Because I'm barely playing games on my PS3. Most games I buy are for 360. And I install all my games on my 360 so it doesn't have to read from the disc.

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RE: That's great, I guess

By Pneumothorax on 8/13/2009 11:36:13 AM , Rating: 2

Same here, I love the 360's ability to copy games into the hard drive (obviously u still need the original disk for piracy reasons), they load so much faster! Problem is the stupid un-upgradeable 120gb HD. My PS3 already has a $85 500GB Drive! Still can't believe they want $150 for a 120! The only time you pay >$1 per gb is with SSDs.

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RE: That's great, I guess

By weskurtz0081 on 8/12/09, Rating: 0

the pro

By Samus on 8/12/2009 11:37:23 AM , Rating: 2

was always a confusing solution. you payed $100 more to get a kit you could buy from microsoft for $40 if you purchased the arcade (microphone/3 months live/20gb hard disk, opposed to a 60gb hard disk in the pro)

then for $100 MORE than that, you could get an even bigger hard drive and a black console.

i know the upgraded consoles came with other little niblets like a plug and charge kit, etc, but honestly, they should have just had two consoles all along: one with a small hard, and one with a big one.

RE: the pro

By adiposity on 8/12/2009 12:28:59 PM , Rating: 2

Pro was always the best deal. It came with the additional accessories, and a decent hard drive. Too bad it was ugly white...

If you wanted a huge hdd (read:120), the best deal was the arcade + addon drive. It was still a ripoff but was the cheapest way to get the specs of the elite.

I guess what it comes down to is, the elite was overpriced, even if you took all microsoft's overpriced components and added them together, the elite was still more!

Idiots. That's why there are still elites that are pre Jasper (!) sitting in my local Fry's.

-Dan

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RE: the pro

By Golgatha on 8/12/2009 12:56:36 PM , Rating: 3

That's what I ended up doing. I also took advantage of the trade in $75 worth of games and get $75 towards a console purchase. It ended up being $50 out of pocket for my 512MB Arcade (guaranteed Jasper unit, which is another reason to avoid the Elite unit), and $125 for a 120GB HDD.

Truth be told, I got a used 60GB unit first, but quickly ran out of room once I started installing all the games I began to accumulate (I hate, hate, hate, hate the noise from the 360's DVD drive...most annoying buzzing sound ever).

Anyway, even without the good deal at Amazon, the math worked out to $199+$125+$10 for a VGA cable from Monoprice. That still leaves room for a couple of additional games. The only things I had to give up where the black color and some chrome trim. Personally, I think the completely off-white console with no chrome (save the bit of chrome on the aftermarket 120GB HDD) looks pretty slick.

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RE: the pro

By Alexstarfire on 8/13/2009 1:09:41 AM , Rating: 1

I find it rather hilarious all the money that ends up going to MS from the 360. First the RRoD issue (which I know isn't a problem now and wasn't necessarily a problem for everyone) and now people are paying MS for a bigger HDD to install their games onto them because the DVD drive is a POS.

Honestly, why do people keep buying this console? The games? Most of the good ones get ported to PC.

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RE: the pro

By sticks435 on 8/13/2009 12:31:46 PM , Rating: 1

Sure they get ported. And that's the problem. They are usually shitty, consolized versions that run like crap, because the dev was to lazy to make it work properly on the PC, so the expierice is horrible compared to just playing it on the 360.

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Big hard drive should not be a profit center

By epobirs on 8/12/2009 12:02:04 PM , Rating: 4

This would make sense if Microsoft has seen the wisdom of not trying to get large profits (for either themselves or their retail partners) out of the hard drives when capacity expansion is a major roadblock against selling lots of downloaded software to owners of older units. Likewise, devaluing the hard drive makes it easier to draw new customers, especially in light of recent updates that make more use than ever before of the hard drive space.

Now they need to offer larger drives. Making it hard for your customer to buy more of your product is not a winning strategy. A 360 shared by a family needs lot of space to accommodate diverse interests.

RE: Big hard drive should not be a profit center

By crazyblackman on 8/13/2009 10:50:54 PM , Rating: 2

GReedy-gReEdy-GREedY-gREEdy!!!!

Cheap dvd drives=profits!!!

They made you feel soooooo happy when they let you install your games on the HDD because you were saving your cheap dvd drives from breaking and the noise was unbearable. BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!!!!...you then found out that you have to have the game in the drive in order to play it!!! Awwwww.....

NOW...you after all the game installs, video game movie trailers and demos, you find that you are out of precious HDD space, right? Guess what ...it's gonna cost you a small fortune for our "special 120gb hard drive".

They are gonna milk you for everything they can. You now pay for internet at home, Xbox live, Netflix, extremely, expensive Avatar clothing, etc,etc. Heck, even "Games on Demand" prices are higher than friggin Gamestop!!! But hey, we will now let you use Paypal to give us your money!!! Isn't that great?

GReedy-gReEdy-GREedY-gREEdy!!!!

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The agony

By upster on 8/12/2009 5:24:16 PM , Rating: 2

I'll stick with my Neo Geo.

RE: The agony

By bighairycamel on 8/12/2009 5:34:54 PM , Rating: 2

You mean the console that retailed for $649.99 in 1990 (which is ~$1100 today with inflation)? Loosen the purse strings old man river.

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RE: The agony

By Hiawa23 on 8/12/2009 6:48:22 PM , Rating: 2

I'll stick with my Neo Geo.

LOL, I have the NEO GEO CDZ system & love it, but hats off to MS, for dropping the price. I am surprised what they will do with all the 60Gig hdds, hopefully they will lower the prices of the HDDs..

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Dell Coupon Code

By Mitch101 on 8/12/2009 12:10:17 PM , Rating: 2

Gimme a Dell coupon code after the price drop and I'm in then its off to EBGames with a coupon code to pick up the last 3 years of used titles I haven't played. Pop on my Netflix account and tell my wife to get me a ZuneHD for X-mas. Game on.

RE: Dell Coupon Code

By crazyblackman on 8/12/2009 9:26:40 PM , Rating: 1

I can show you what you've been missing, you smart and savvy consumer. Use that Dell coupon with the advanced knowledge that you are 100% GUARANTEED to eventually experience the inconvenience of this.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ginine.estcourt/xclam...

But hey, it sure was fun for a while, wasn't it?

Maybe it will happen while you are streaming that great Netflix movie that everybody's seen 3 times already on cable. Who knows when it will happen. The suspense will KILL you. But know one thing, my frugal friend. IT WILL HAPPEN. GUARANTEED.

Oh...and BTW, you'd better save some money for a bigger hard drive. That'll be another $300...with a coupon. Have fun.

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RE: Dell Coupon Code

By Tom mc3s on 8/13/2009 6:00:10 AM , Rating: 2

I have a 360 that I got at launch and it has never RROD'd. Even with a failure rate somewhere between 20-35% and a gigantic mouth you certainly can't guarantee anyone that their console will drop dead within the time period you'd expect said console to be functional.

And really? You want to take shots at Netflix?

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RE: Dell Coupon Code

By crazyblackman on 8/13/09, Rating: 0

By crazyblackman on 8/13/2009 8:37:43 PM , Rating: 0

quote:
I have a 360 that I got at launch and it has never RROD'd.

1) I'd sooner believe you saw a UFO, than believe that you are still on your first "defective launch 360". You must have a whole lot of scratched discs and your neighbors must complain daily of the overwhelming sound of a lawnmower running inside your livingroom.

quote:
Even with a failure rate somewhere between 20-35% and being smart enough not to buy a 360, you certainly can't guarantee anyone that their console will drop dead within the time period you'd expect said console to be functional.

2)"Even with a failure rate somewhere between 20-35%..."???

You have just convinced EVERYBODY not to buy a 360! You should have just stopped typing after that line. Did you even think before you typed that?

quote:
And really? You want to take shots at Netflix?

3)Netflix streaming old releases??? You wanna sit around with all of your little friends online, playing with your cute little Avatars while watching the same old movie together? LAME. Not to mention,...NO surround sound, NO search function. Picture quality is just "ok" if you don't have a fast connection. Poor HD selection of whats available...and ummmmmmmmm...just be quiet, little man. Let somebody more capable win this argument.

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By StevoLincolnite on 8/12/09, Rating: 0

By StevoLincolnite on 8/12/2009 11:39:49 AM , Rating: 0

A Post about a Rumor...

Yet there was no Post on the study that the Xbox 360 is the most played console? (Even surpassing that of the PS2).

Info about the study thingy can be found here: http://gamerscoreblog.com/press/archive/2009/08/11...

In all seriousness though, with the latest Xbox 360 Dash update and the Games on Demand feature (Although the pricing is a little insane) - Microsoft needed to drop the Pro, and move the Elite to that level and introduce a newer model with a larger Hard Disk Drive.

Otherwise with 5-6gb games being stored on the HDD that space will dissipate quickly, especially combined with Trailers and DLC content for current games that people own.

I personally have the Arcade Model and jumped on the $20 for a 20gb HDD offer just before NXE came out, but now I have been eying off a 120gb drive. (Unfortunately at $199 I will be eying it off for some time).

Most of my space is already used up, with Demo's, Trailers, DLC etc' ~ and yet I haven't installed any of my games to the HDD because of the lack of space. (1gb remaining).

Hopefully more SOLID information regarding the line-up changes to the Xbox 360 variations will come to fruition instead of rumors.