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Upcoming Xbox 360 Arcade console set to replace the Core model

Despite the Xbox 360’s seeming need for a hard disk drive, Microsoft will continue to sell an entry-level model of its console without any such magnetic storage. A new, unannounced Xbox 360 Arcade console was found listed on Amazon.com and Toys “R” Us websites.

Both retailers price the new Xbox 360 Arcade console at $279.99 – the same price currently occupied by the Core model – with availability beginning on October 23.

DailyTech previously reported on word that a new entry-level Xbox 360 would be packaged with a 256MB memory card and five free Xbox Live Arcade games. The basic model may not be the only one getting a holiday makeover; however, as the Xbox 360 Premium and Elite models may also soon be bundled with Forza Motorsport 2 and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.

The upcoming Xbox 360 Arcade package, even though without a hard drive, would still represent a better value than the current Core bundle. In order to store game saves, buyers of Core machine would have to purchase at least a 64MB memory unit, which retails for $29.99.

Even with 256MB bundled in with the new system, users may soon find themselves without enough storage to download more than just a handful of Xbox Live Arcade games. One must wonder why Microsoft did not opt to include the 512MB memory unit instead.

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Are we really trying to figure this out...
By Bioniccrackmonk on 10/3/2007 9:06:00 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
One must wonder why Microsoft did not opt to include the 512MB memory unit instead.


Come on, its MS, after dropping $300 they want you to buy more, is that really so hard to believe?




By Master Kenobi (blog) on 10/3/2007 9:15:12 AM , Rating: 1
Like Sony and Nintendo are any different?


RE: Are we really trying to figure this out...
By euclidean on 10/3/2007 9:58:44 AM , Rating: 1
He never even said anything about Sony/Nintendo...

Of course they would do it to, it's called a Corporation's Mentality.


RE: Are we really trying to figure this out...
By FITCamaro on 10/3/2007 10:29:30 AM , Rating: 2
No but he implied that its out of the ordinary.


By Murst on 10/3/2007 10:54:13 AM , Rating: 2
Certainly, all businesses want you to spend your money on their products.

The only thing I find out of the ordinary about the XBox 360 is that the core version was lacking any method of saving games without purchasing additional equipment. I'm sure you could argue that you don't need to save games to play them, but I think to most gamers, it is a necessary feature.

In any case, that will no longer be an issue, and I'm glad MS changed that.


By Bioniccrackmonk on 10/3/2007 11:30:56 AM , Rating: 2
No I didn't, you are putting words in my mouth. Anyone who has been around long enough knows that this is a standard practice among EVERY console maker. I was merely making a statement about the article at hand which says nothing about Sony/Nintendo, so why don't you rip the author as well since he didn't mention them either?


By Master Kenobi (blog) on 10/3/2007 12:28:39 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Come on, its MS,

No, you definitely wanted to make a point that this is a Microsoft practice. If not you would have said something more along the lines of "It's the nature of business, they want your money." Your lack of including Nintendo/Sony as also doing this sort of thing is why I made the comment. I'm just pointing out that this business practice is not exclusive to Microsoft, which you failed to state.


By Bioniccrackmonk on 10/3/2007 1:05:14 PM , Rating: 2
Well this article is not in regards to every company out there that makes consoles, it is specifically talking about Microsoft's new version of their 360 so my comment was in direct relation to this article. Exscuse me if my language was guided toward the article at hand and not incorporating every facet of life in it.

"Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition." ~ Master Kenobi, in his never ending quest to make sure that any specific item discussed becomes as broad as possible by lumping everything that could possibly relate to it in the conversation and then add his 2 cents to it. Keep up the good work Don Quixote, and where do I send your change?


RE: Are we really trying to figure this out...
By timmiser on 10/3/2007 2:31:54 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Well this article is not in regards to every company out there that makes consoles, it is specifically talking about Microsoft's new version of their 360 so my comment was in direct relation to this article. Exscuse me if my language was guided toward the article at hand and not incorporating every facet of life in it.


That is a valiant attempt to back out of your original insinuation.


By Bioniccrackmonk on 10/3/2007 2:47:02 PM , Rating: 1
You are a tard, end of story. My original comment was about the article at hand and nothing else and I still stand by it. RTFA, it is about MS's system, it is not talking about anything else, therefor my comment is in direct response to the article at hand and not whatever else I feel like throwing into it.


RE: Are we really trying to figure this out...
By timmiser on 10/3/2007 3:01:10 PM , Rating: 2
Now you're getting lazy. Not so valient now.


By afkrotch on 10/4/2007 10:01:49 PM , Rating: 2
To not have a built-in form of saving games is out of the ordinary now. Sony has it. Nintendo has it. Only ones left is Microsoft. (not including old gen consoles). Not to mention both Sony and Nintendo allow use of standard memory card formats to save data, unlike Microsoft which sticks you with overpriced MS memory cards. Seriously, $30 for a 64 meg memory card. I can get a two or three 1 gig USB flash drives for that price.


By Bioniccrackmonk on 10/3/2007 1:25:25 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
"It's the nature of business, they want your money." Your lack of including Nintendo/Sony as also doing this sort of thing is why I made the comment.


What about GM, GE, Toshiba, Apple, T-mobile, Lowe's, Bono's BBQ, the NFL, MLB and the NAACP, well maybe not the NAACP, but its real easy to throw in a whole bunch of companies that sell junk with add-ons to buy with the junk you already have so they can stick to their principle of the "Bottom Line". Since you decided to leave out every corporation to ever exsist on this planet, you must be a Sony/Nintendo/MS fanboy and it doesnt have to be in that particular order.

Can you tell I am bored at work today, regardless though, my comment was in direct correlation to this article and anyone who reads it can take it for what they want as you already have, you are right to say that every company out there does this, but you are wrong to state that I was limiting this to just MS. I was simplying replying to an article that is only about MS new product and had nothing else to do with any other company. Write an article about Nintendo or Sony doing this and you will see me on there saying the same thing about them and keeping my statements about the article and not everyone else.


By Master Kenobi (blog) on 10/3/2007 3:19:54 PM , Rating: 2
If your that bored at work it might be wise to look for a new job that is more interesting. Job market is doing well recently.


By Bioniccrackmonk on 10/3/2007 3:46:22 PM , Rating: 3
Like my parents always say, when someone runs out of intelligent things to say they make it personal. I refuse to cross that line by talking about your life, but if you most know, it is kind of hard to do a job when 50% of your time is spent outside and it rains non stop for the last couple of days. Might I refer you to noaa.gov or weather.com to see what was happening here in FL.


By Nekrik on 10/3/2007 4:23:30 PM , Rating: 3
"NEW! RE: Are we really trying to figure this out...
By Bioniccrackmonk on 10/3/07, Rating: 1
By Bioniccrackmonk on 10/3/2007 2:47:02 PM , Rating: 1

You are a tard, end of story...."

Just too funny not post Bioniccrackmonk's very own previous comment.


By Chaser on 10/4/2007 8:43:52 AM , Rating: 2
Touche.

Getting personal is not a sign of professional journalism or analysis. But considering the source its no surprise.


By Chaser on 10/4/2007 9:00:54 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
If your that bored at work it might be wise to look for a new job that is more interesting. Job market is doing well recently.


Kettle black anyone?


RE: Are we really trying to figure this out...
By clovell on 10/3/2007 10:55:57 AM , Rating: 4
Ninento Wii has 512 MB of internal flash memory. You can also upgrade that with SD flash memory off-the-shelf. I added another 1GB for $10 when I caught a sale at Office Depot. I have about 5 or 6 VC games and plenty room to spare.

I remember 64 MB cards going for $30 - but that was on my N64. 64 MB for $30 is ridiculous in the year 2007 - especially for a next gen console.


RE: Are we really trying to figure this out...
By Locutus465 on 10/3/2007 11:30:08 AM , Rating: 2
Ok, how do you make use of the SD card?? I have an extra 512 that I had laying around that I decided to use to upgrade my Wii's memory capacity and was unable to use it for anything other than game backups and Mp3 storage. How the heck do you get the thing to store & play VC games off of SD card? That would be the bomb... The ability to use the SD for saved games would be awesome as well.


RE: Are we really trying to figure this out...
By Murst on 10/3/2007 11:35:25 AM , Rating: 2
I'd also like to know this. Shortly after getting a Wii at the beginning of the year, I found a nice deal on a SD card (4GB for $17). To this day, the card is empty cause I can't figure out how to save games to it. What I'd want most, actually, is to be able to save VC games directly to the card, and not use the built-in memory at all.


RE: Are we really trying to figure this out...
By Locutus465 on 10/3/2007 11:44:22 AM , Rating: 2
I did figure out how to move VC games to SD, but for many games the process fails because for some reason it can't copy part of the game, even once you do this I can't figure out any way to get it to show up in the channels, the content needs to be copied back to main memory to be played... Talk about suck, from my perspective Nin might as well get rid of the sd card slot if all it is good for is playing Mp3's in Excite Truck.


RE: Are we really trying to figure this out...
By clovell on 10/3/2007 5:17:51 PM , Rating: 2
You've got a good point. Although, for VC, the roms are pretty small - there's no way you'd be playing enough VC games at the same time that you'd run out of internal memory - well, I wouldn't...

That said, Nintendo has an opportunity here that would give it a great bullet point over the 360-Arcade. I hope they pick up the ball.


RE: Are we really trying to figure this out...
By Locutus465 on 10/3/2007 5:53:22 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
That said, Nintendo has an opportunity here that would give it a great bullet point over the 360-Arcade. I hope they pick up the ball.


How so? X-Box already lets you select what compatible storage device you want to use...


RE: Are we really trying to figure this out...
By clovell on 10/3/2007 5:57:52 PM , Rating: 2
I mean expanding the flash memory on the Wii is cheaper than Microsoft's 64 MB for $30 option. Unless I'm missing something...


By Locutus465 on 10/3/2007 11:41:42 PM , Rating: 2
I was referring to the 360's ability to allow end users to select any device they wish to store saved game data which nintendo does not allow them to do... You can also download archade games to any storage device you want, even if it is generally more expensive than SD cards. In terms of end user experience the 360 is superior here because nintendo majorly missed the boat.


RE: Are we really trying to figure this out...
By clovell on 10/3/2007 11:52:33 AM , Rating: 2
I've never had to do much of that, but my understanding is that, at present, the expansion card is used more so for archiving. So, you can save things to it, but you can't play directly from it. I know, that puts a major cramp on its functionality - maybe someday Nintendo will address it =/


By Locutus465 on 10/3/2007 12:59:45 PM , Rating: 2
Well damn, you got me all excited here... Nintendo seriously needs to address this issue...


By Bioniccrackmonk on 10/3/2007 11:28:42 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Like Sony and Nintendo are any different?


The one thing that seems to be a running theme on this site is bringing in outside items that have nothing to do with this article. I made a statement based on what was being discussed in this article, if it were about Sony/Nintendo I would have said the same thing, but this whole article is about MS new version of their 360. All my comments/replies are always about the article at hand and then I get rated down because I didn't mention company A, B, C, etc that have the same business model when that should be obvious to everyone already.


By timmiser on 10/3/2007 2:35:09 PM , Rating: 2
Well, another running theme is Microsoft bashing which is obviously what you were doing.


By Blight AC on 10/3/2007 11:05:11 AM , Rating: 2
Actually.. that was the thought behind the original comment.. if you put it back in context... "Even with 256MB bundled in with the new system, users may soon find themselves without enough storage to download more than just a handful of Xbox Live Arcade games. One must...."

The point was, with more storage, people would have more room to buy more Xbox Live Arcade games at a minimal cost increase to Microsoft, with the potential to more then make up for that in software sales.


Much better SKU than the old Core.
By peritusONE on 10/3/2007 9:54:39 AM , Rating: 3
The addition of a memory card in the package makes this a very viable SKU for the holiday season. You can now spend the $279 without needing anything extra to go rent a couple of games and being able to save them.




By mmntech on 10/3/2007 11:39:09 AM , Rating: 2
Which is always a good thing. The core badly needed some sort of bundled storage, for games saves at the very least. I bought the Core on a whim last year, because I'm a cheapskate. Needless to say, I returned it the next day because without storage, it was unplayable. I wish Microsoft would have included a standard memory card reader (such as CF or SD) with the Core like the Wii, PSP, and PS3 have. I can easily buy a 4gb memory card for a lot less than then the 360's 20gb drive and unless you're using it as a media server, this is more than enough for most people.


By RamarC on 10/3/2007 12:18:20 PM , Rating: 2
MS could have created a lot of goodwill (and boosted sales) by introducing a 360 with a SDHC slot. 4GB cards are only $40-$60 retail and would not have cannibalized MS's hard drive sales.


No price drop
By Murst on 10/3/2007 10:22:08 AM , Rating: 2
Well, I guess MS was serious when they announced there'll be no price drop for the 360 before the holidays.

The premium bundle will be decent though, although its too bad that they didn't decide to include a controller instead of the games. Usually I would't mind, but I'll probably be buying that one and I already have Marvel: UA for the PS3.




RE: No price drop
By Locutus465 on 10/3/2007 11:45:08 PM , Rating: 2
Honestly, they're fairly well positioned at all levels of the market, the only thing to see is what impact the $400 PS3 will have on the market... Microsoft my end up having to reverse course on the "no integrated HD" thing and at least do so for the elite. I can imagine they would rather not, but I'm sure market conditions will dictate what action they take.


Great price for a Media Extender
By PAPutzback on 10/3/2007 11:02:18 AM , Rating: 2
Does it have the HDMI also?




By BZDTemp on 10/3/2007 2:14:32 PM , Rating: 2
We need all games to take advantage of the hard drive so Microsoft really should stop selling this crappy version. It hurts us that have a proper 360 and it's cheating those which buy the crappy version.

Oh and while on the subject of hard drives. Kudos to Sony for going all hard drives and giving info on how upgrade with any standard disc at normal retail prices and the PS3 comes with tools to let you backup/migrate data easily. It's much preferred over Microsoft trying to sell drives in a plastic box with a premium price on top. Not that it's no surprise Microsoft does that just look at how they package USB sticks with special connectors and charge a huge premium on those :-(

Sry for the rant but I'm feed up with paying a tax to Microsoft all the time - it feels like they want me to put on my budget next to heat, rent and so on!




"Game reviewers fought each other to write the most glowing coverage possible for the powerhouse Sony, MS systems. Reviewers flipped coins to see who would review the Nintendo Wii. The losers got stuck with the job." -- Andy Marken

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