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Mar 28 / Ozymandias

Elite Xbox 360 SKU Announced

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Yep, here you go – worst kept secret ever. It’ll be interesting to see how this SKU sells in comparison to both the Pro 360 SKU and the PS3 60 GB SKU. It’s a lot more similar to the latter, and really, the biggest difference that might matter to people is either HDMI or interest in high-def movie playback. If you don’t want either you can shift the price point significantly by picking up the Pro. For what it’s worth I’ve had a prototype Elite for a few months now with HDMI – was helping with the testing. I honestly don’t see any difference between component or HDMI visually. The biggest benefit I’ve found from using HDMI is simply that I can reduce the number of cables and use my A/V receiver to switch all HDMI signals. So more simplicity than visual fidelity, in my opinion. <shrug>

Related posts:

  1. Xbox 360 Holiday Sales Spike
  2. Peter Moore on the "The Elite 8": Ways to Confront Elitism and Open Doors for Our Industry
  3. 360 = PS3 = 360 = PS3 (You do the math)
  4. Xbox 360: 28M Sold WW | Xbox LIVE: 17M Subscribers, Majority Gold
  5. [Edit] Xbox LIVE being discontinued for original Xbox

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  • vittala

    Will there be an HDMI cable released for us early adopters? If not that kinda sucks. Also, can one buy the new bigger HD?

  • http://www.klio.org/marks/ Mike Kozlowski

    Frankly, I think the more natural PS3 comparison is to the 20GB unit, just because the price is basically identical.  And they’re basically identical machines (on paper, ignoring the vastly superior software, ergonomics, and games of the 360), except that the 360 has a bigger hard drive and the PS3 has Blu-ray.  Given that choice, I’d take Blu-ray.  And if you want Wi-Fi, well, it’s $100 extra on each of them, but the PS3 throws in a big hard drive upgrade, too.

    Microsoft’s done a great job here of making the PS3 seem less hideously overpriced.  Congratulations.

  • Anonymous

    Re: "Will there be an HDMI cable released for us early adopters? If not that kinda sucks. Also, can one buy the new bigger HD?"

    Unfortunately there will not be an HDMI adapter released for the original 360. The HDMI spec is basically a 2-way street and requires the specific port on both sides to be enabled. This is why we had to change the box.

    Yes, we did announce that you’ll be able to buy the bigger HD for $179 at retail.

  • http://www.radiantcg.com Giolon

    Just when I thought MS was going to run away with this generation uncontested…they shoot themeselves in the foot. I agree with what Mike Koz said on all counts. This SKU has basically removed the price advantage Microsoft used to have. In the minds of the public, the gap between Xbox 360 and PS3 is now only $20. For $20 more, people can have a next gen-gaming console PLUS a next-gen movie player. The PS3 20GB suddenly looks like a great deal. You might argue “well the Xbox 360 has 100GB more hard drive space as a trade off”, but then you should also realize that you’re being charged $120 for 170GB of hard drive space…when was the last time you paid $1.50 per gig (except for when you paid $5 per gig for the 20GB hard drive if you bought that standalone)? At least for the price jump between the Core and Premium, an upgraded controller, a headset and a free Xbox Live Gold were added to sweeten the deal. Further price gouging on hard drives, another A/V port that is arguably no better than the options that already exist, plus a “free” HDMI cable do not $79 make. Oh there’s the black paint. :-/

    It just makes me shake my head and think “Man…Sony’s hubris is washing off and Microsoft is soaking it up…”

  • Brian

    In that case, will future versions of the Xbox 360 (base and HDD model) ever see the HDMI port added? "Ever" as in maybe not now but possibly later this year or next year or in a few years? Or to get HDMI will consumers always have to go with the higher price Elite model?

  • islandkiwi

    Although I appreciate MS giving people choices, three different sku’s seems a bit overkill.  I was hoping this would be the new 65 nm chipset, but I guess that’ll come later.

    I’ll be happy with my premium, at least until iptv starts up.  Then it’ll be time to upgrade the ol’ hard drive.

  • Brian

    I thought this WAS the new 65nm chip.

    Ozy?

  • Travis

    $179? Ouch…what a rip off

  • http://www.radiantcg.com Giolon

    I agree with what Mike Koz said on all counts. This SKU has basically removed the price advantage Microsoft used to have. In the minds of the public, the gap between Xbox 360 and PS3 is now only $20. For $20 more, people can have a next gen-gaming console PLUS a next-gen movie player. The PS3 20GB suddenly looks like a great deal. You might argue “well the Xbox 360 has 100GB more hard drive space as a trade off”, but what sounds like a better selling point? “You can watch HD BluRay movies at no additional cost” or “you can save more downloaded purchased movies.” Given that movie releases from every major studio except Universal are coming out on BluRay at this point and only a limited number of releases are available via XBL Video Marketplace, I’m going to go with the former.

    At least for the price jump between the Core and Premium, an upgraded controller, a headset and a free Xbox Live Gold were added to sweeten the deal. So basically, $79 gets you more storage, another A/V option that’s admittedly (on the Major Nelson podcast) no better than the component connection that already exists, and black paint?

  • MHolmesIV

    re: Microsoft’s done a great job here of making the PS3 seem less hideously overpriced.  Congratulations

    Luckily for me, I don’t want a huge hard drive, nor do I need Wireless, or HDMI (My TV has no HDMI inputs), or the HD player. So where can I get a PS3 without all that unnecessary crap?

    Oh… I can’t…

    The $399 xbox plays games just as well as the $779 one with HDMI and wireless and HD DVD player. (and in that case, you’re paying $79 for 60GB of extra disk and a HDMI cable. Heck, retail for a 60GB SATA drive is about $80 already)

  • ShapeGSX

    Does it have HDMI 1.3?

  • MHolmesIV

    Er.. make that $179 extra, not as good a deal. Oh well :)

  • cc99999

    You know, I like the concept of the Elite, although I think a better name would have been Xbox 360 Black.

    The only thing I disagree with in marketing this product- is that it should cost what the Premium 360 cost, the current 360 should go down in price $100.00 and the Core version should be fazed out.

    Microsoft has a great attach rate- they could make up the revenue in publishing royalties- and by upgrading the line without raising the price they would put Sony is a very defensive position going forward.

    Instead, you put a premium product out that (probably) only the early adapters would want- at a price that is out of range for most consumers (even if the PS3 costs more- it is too expensive).

    I don’t think it is the correct strategy to take at this point. If you continue doing things like this Sony will catch up with you in no time.

    Another thing that MS should consider- is a trade in on the Premium Xbox 360 for a black one. Even if you offered $250 and 2400 MS points- I think people would upgrade.

  • Giolon

    I agree with what Mike Koz said on all counts. This SKU has basically removed the price advantage Microsoft used to have. In the minds of the public, the gap between Xbox 360 and PS3 is now only $20. For $20 more, people can have a next gen-gaming console PLUS a next-gen movie player. The PS3 20GB suddenly looks like a great deal. You might argue “well the Xbox 360 has 100GB more hard drive space as a trade off”, but what sounds like a better selling point? “You can watch HD BluRay movies at no additional cost” or “you can save more downloaded purchased movies.” Given that movie releases from every major studio except Universal are coming out on BluRay at this point and only a limited number of releases are available via XBL Video Marketplace, I’m going to go with the former.

    At least for the price jump between the Core and Premium, an upgraded controller, a headset and a free Xbox Live Gold were added to sweeten the deal. So basically, $79 gets you more storage, another A/V option that’s admittedly (on the Major Nelson podcast) no better than the component connection that already exists, and black paint?

  • ericdrum

    That 179 price tag on the HDD is a joke. MS is making a mistake here.

  • vittala

    $179 is a bit steep. They should of included a built in wireless adapter with the Elite system then it would of been a real deal for the price.

    I figure I will wait on all the over priced peripherals, in a year or so high def DVD drives should be down in price, and I was reading that they may offer rental boxes along the line of cable set top boxes, with the IP-TV services coming out later this year.

    For now my 360 does the job just fine and I still have plenty of hard drive space.

  • bobgpsr

    Does the Elite output audio as multichannel linear PCM when it uses the HD DVD add on to play a DD+ or Dolby TrueHD audio track?

  • Anonymous

    Somehow I knew that as soon as I would pick my brand new 360 they would release the damn new model… oh well… I’ll keep using the VGA cable despite the fact the dashboard does not support my monitor native resolution of 1680×1050 (16:10) and I have to see the image a bit stretched…

  • Lam

    I think this machine should go over really well and it compliments the new (media) partner announcements nicely.  Well done.

    But my question is how does this affect people north of the 49th parallel?  I mean half the reason for getting a 360 Elite is for the storage space increase.  Any update on when we can expect a video marketplace with proper content (i.e. TV shows, movies)?

    I don’t know about everyone else in Canada but I can only watch so many videos about "the making of <insert game name here>" or "interview with <insert game developer here>".  

    Granted you did give us South Park in HD (for free to boot)!  But really, we need content up here.

  • Gryffindor

    I love my 360 and I love my HD DVD drive. After watching a few HD movies on it, even HD cable doesn’t seem that nice (thanks macroblocking!).

    That said, I was looking forward to picking up a PS3 for blu-ray and some of the upcoming 1st party Sony games (Wipeout, Lair, Drake’s Adventure, etc.).

    To me, the Elite has just made the $499 and $599 PS3 cheaper. In particular, I’m reminded of Peter Moore’s speech at E3 when he mentioned that XBOX 360 had just had a price drop after Sony revealed prices for the PS3.

    While it’s true that Microsoft will be riding the “silicone curve” this time (vs. Sony with the PS2 last generation), I still think Microsoft shot itself in the foot a little bit by releasing Elite at $479.

    The Wii is doing well. Parents who buy a Wii for the children may not purchase another console for a while. Had the core system been reduced to $229 with a memory card, the premium been dropped to $299 and the Elite debutted at $399, I think Microsoft could of effectively battled Sony and Nintendo at the same time.

    In addition, if blu-ray does end up being the definitive format for HD disc based content, the inclusion of blu-ray in PS3 could help off set whatever price differential exists with PS3 in 2008 and beyond. As well as the XBOX Live Marketplace is doing with movies, I still think many people like the reassurance of having games and movies in a physical format.

  • Brian Alexander

    How about 5.1 LPCM over HDMI? There are a lot of us A/V nerds wondering if the 360 Elite will now decode the high-definition audio found on HD-DVDs and output it as linear PCM to our receivers over the HDMI connection. Previously it was re encoded as Dolby Digital, which resulted in some loss of quality. Also, will gaves have 5.1 LPCM output?

    Also I’d like to know what version of HDMI the Elite will have? 1.3? 1.2?

  • http://www.crowza.com Crowza

    Ozy, you mentioned that the HDMI’s only benefit for you would be for switching between your systems. But, doesn’t it upscale standard DVDs to 1080i when you use the HDMI cable, like the VGA cable does?

  • Brian

    I guess it’s not the new 65nm chip:

    http://kotaku.com/gaming/xbox-360-elite/feature-microsoft-gets-elite-247496.php

    "It will not have, despite rumors to the contrary, the smaller 65 nanometer chips…"

  • Name

    So you didn’t notice (as tested on AVS Forums) that over 80% of the TVs capable of 1080p weren’t working with the 360 on either VGA or Component.

    Mostly due to them not accepting it on either Component or VGA.

    You didn’t notice that of the ones that did accept 108p over component over 60% (from the much smaller total list of 1080p capable sets) failed only with the 360.

    You didn’t notice the almost 90% failure rate of TVs capable of receiving 1080p on VGA failed with the 360.  There are even timing and voltage measurement tests showing that the 360 does not comply with any known specifications for VGA connectivity.  Instead it takes a middle ground average on some values and thus fails on most sets.

    You missed all of that when testing?  Yet a bunch of users on a forum dedicated to getting the most from their AV equipment managed to figure all that out?  Fire your test teams.

  • I didn’t notice

    "So you didn’t notice (as tested on AVS Forums) that over 80% of the TVs capable of 1080p weren’t working with the 360 on either VGA or Component."

    i never noticed any problems with my 360 and RGB cable running in 1080p on my new set.

    i have noticed, however, that you’re an idiot.

  • Name

    Highly mature and reasoned response.  Backed by such wonderful facts.  At least my statements can be backed by full sweets of tests, scientific measurements as compared to specifications and a complete compatibility list by simply going to the avsforum.com and checking out the threads related to the Xbox 360′s issues on 1080p sets in 1080p mode.

  • John-Paul

    This is all good and well but… I already bought a dang Xbox 360.

  • http://quarem.blogspot.com Quarem

    Microsoft is milking us on add-on prices for the 360. The hard-disks, memory units, and wireless adapter are overpriced. Do not even get me started on the marketplace pricing for themes and gamer pictures.

    I understand that Microsoft wants to make a profit on this stuff, but this is really pushing the limits of what is reasonable especially when we are locked into buying official hard disks for the 360.

    I cannot wait for the PS3 to come down in price to put some pressure on MS to drop the prices of the 360 gear.

    The Elite is sure sweet. When it drops in price I’ll look at replacing my existing 360 with one. Especially if the video marketplace comes to Canada, and there is a reasonable way to transfer the license for Arcade games from one 360 to another.

  • Momo Hemo

    I had a question that I doubt few people except you, Ozymandias could answer. Are these ones going to primarily have the BenQ drives or are they going to be a mix of all three? The reason I ask is I never turn off my xbox (it’s been on since July 8th) and my disc drive’s noise is getting worse and worse and it’s having harder times reading games so I’m looking for something different. Not to  mention the BenQ drive is supposed to be a lot quieter. :)

  • zs450

    I’ve been debating if I want to buy the new SKU or not. One one hand, I download every demo and XBLA game released. I have downloaded a couple of TV shows and a movie, and it would be cool to not have to worry about space like I do right now. On the other hand, if HDMI is not a big upgrade and I just keep cleaning up my drive like I have been for nearly 1.5 years, do I really want to spend the money?

    Here’s how I see it in the end. If I buy the new SKU, I’ll transfer all of my data to the new drive, sell the old Premium for about $300, and then I’m only losing the cost of the 120GB HDD anyway….I think I’ll go ahead and buy the Elite.

  • Xwar

    HDMI? To me, the best advantage for the 360 visually is the first party VGA cable, which the PS3 doesn’t have (and might never have). Who needs a 360 browser when I can play games on my shared 360/PC monitor, and surf the ‘net on my dedicated Internet box on my second monitor? :-)

    By the way, how would migrating to a new HD work? Wouldn’t you need to move everything save/XBLA game/profile to a memory card and then back into the new HD?

    If so, would we then be forced to be logged on Live every time we want to play XBLA games? Having just spent 5 hours on Symphony of the Night on the day of Live downtime that would really really bother me…

    And what about all those saves I hear about being non-transferrable? (Something that should be Microsoft policy to prohibit utterly, by the way.)

  • Anonymous

    RE: "I had a question that I doubt few people except you, Ozymandias could answer. Are these ones going to primarily have the BenQ drives or are they going to be a mix of all three? The reason I ask is I never turn off my xbox (it’s been on since July 8th) and my disc drive’s noise is getting worse and worse and it’s having harder times reading games so I’m looking for something different. Not to  mention the BenQ drive is supposed to be a lot quieter. :) "

    I honestly don’t know. There’s always ongoing cost-reduction work happening and I don’t know what’s happening with the drive. Sorry!

  • http://blogs.msdn.com/coolbeans Chris

    HDMI isn’t just video quality, audio can be a huge win compared to RCA cables.

  • http://www.google.com Shadowstorm

    $170 is insane for a HDD.

  • zs450

    "HDMI isn’t just video quality, audio can be a huge win compared to RCA cables."

    That is very true, but, many people who are going to consider the upgrade to HDMI are likely running optical audio already and there isn’t that huge of a difference between optical and HDMI for audio. I don’t remember the specifics (it’s been a while) but most consumers won’t be able to tell the difference.

    Some argue that HDMI offers a higher bitrate and, because of that, is capable of higher quality sound, however, the question would be: Can the Xbox 360 output at a noticeably higher quality? I’m not an expert….just a geek that did some reading a couple of years ago.

  • 10

    Hi,

    That’s a great news, congratulation..:).

    Now oz,my questions for you is: Any chance we get the HD movie download feature in Canada??? I really enjoy the Southpark episode…Now, I’m hooked and I’m ready to give you my money for more hd movie…:)

  • zs450

    BTW, Ozzy…I thought when Scoob left, all was lost. Thanks for the outstanding site, I’m glad that I was wrong!

  • Cowdisease

    I’m very disappointed that Microsoft decided to sell the 120 GB Hard drive for $180.00. That is more than twice the cost of a standard 120 GB drive that you can find at Newegg.

    I’m sorry, Ozy, but Microsoft is clearly price gouging with this accessory. While it fits the pattern of other overpriced 360 accessories (wireless adapter, memory cards), the $180 price tag is absolutely ridiculous, even by Microsoft standards.

    If you check the online scene, you’ll see a lot of people have balked at this price, and it seems very likely that it will not sell well once it hits retail.

    A fairer price for the accessory? $100.00. Granted this means lowering the price of the 20 GB hard drive and the memory cards, but I believe that’s a price point that can compel even the stingiest 360 user to upgrade their hard drive. I guess it’ll take the free market to let Microsoft know that the cost is too high.

  • JohnCz

    Overall I’m impressed.  I would like to know about Elite…

    - Does it support HDCP over HDMI?

    - Has 100Mbps Ethernet been upgraded to 1Gbps?

  • http://www.loot-ninja.com drunk pandas

    I’m also wondering about the HDMI with audio issues. I will definitely buy the new SKU if the 360 will output 5.1 uncompressed PCM audio from HD-DVD. This is a major selling point on the PS3 for me. I’d also love to know what version of HDMI the 360 supports. I would hope 1.3 since that’s the current standard.

    I’m not too concerned visually, component for 1080p fine. VGA doesn’t work well with my TV, so I’m forced to see HD-DVD’s in 1080i upconverted by my HDTV.

  • Aedrin

    "At least my statements can be backed by full sweets of tests, scientific measurements as compared to specifications and a complete compatibility list by simply going to the avsforum.com and checking out the threads related to the Xbox 360′s issues on 1080p sets in 1080p mode."

    There are people like this in the camera field too. They will spend days doing tests to find that one off pixel, that little blur or dark spot in the corner.

    I can’t imagine how you would ever feel proud over finding something that no one will ever notice.

    Just plug it in and enjoy it.

    If you want to know (not see) that you get perfect quality, then you’re just going to have to invest thousands of dollars into a high class PC.

    This is a console. Not a "scientific" device.

  • Frank Rizzo

    Re: "Here’s how I see it in the end. If I buy the new SKU, I’ll transfer all of my data to the new drive, sell the old Premium for about $300, and then I’m only losing the cost of the 120GB HDD anyway….I think I’ll go ahead and buy the Elite."

    It might be a bit difficult to sell a used 360 Premium at $300 as I would imagine the market will be flooded with people like you trying to upgrade.

  • Dave H

    So, with the new uber drive, will we finally be able to do a season pass for a TV show (SouthPark, Battlestar, etc…)???

    Dave

  • …

    why would i buy console that is elite at failing and making noise levels @ 10000000000000000 decibels???

    until they fix

    - Rings of death issues

    - noise level issues

    - crap *** dpad issues

    no way i am jumping back. PS3 for me.

  • tostada

    I can only hope that the addition of HDMI doesn’t signal that we’re going to see "content flag" rear its ugly head. I can envision a time in the near future where certain high-def content will only be available in full resolution to the Elite owners, and at a reduced resolution to the existing 360′s.

    I also predict a class-action suit against MS for deceiving original purchasers who bought in to MS’s stance that there was no need/value to having HDMI in the original 360′s. Now they’ve reversed course, added HDMI, and left early-adopters with a potentially obsoleted console.

    Boo to Microsoft…

  • 360 tag: JJS UK

    My assessment of the Elite 360 is little innovation or Elite status upgrades to sku. I was expecting a 65mm core with news on a better fan eg Whisper fan plus installing a quieter dvd drive. Instead all we got was HDMI, black colour and a 120GB.. yawn plus $80 more expensive for a year and a half tech(taking the pee..)

    It’s a fact the different dvd drives gives off different level of noise. I’m lucky I have the Samsung Toshiba but I do feel sorry for any Hitachi 360 owners.

    So to summarise I was expecting to buy the Elite but I won’t be for the reasons listed above. I also think it’s def a bit cheeky listing the Elite for $80 more considering it’s a year and half old tech.

    My plan for the my 360 in future is to wait for the 65mm models with hopeful a HDMI port.. ideally on a CORE package!! :O)

  • http://zune60.net sportsunit

    Microsoft’s biggest problem this gen is the three rings of death.  People will never get over this, and this will probably lead to a hard time selling a 3rd SKU.  In addition to the failure rates, people are going to be hesistant to purchase an even more expensive console.  I thought this was the point in the life cycle of a console where prices go down.  MS is taking a new route and it remains to be seen if this strategy will pay off in the long run.

  • logikil

    tostada:

    I wouldn’t worry about resolution constraints on anything but HDDVD potentially. It’s unlikely you will see this on downloadable content.

    As for HDDVD, i doubt they will turn on HDCP for some time to come. Perhaps a few years down the line when HDMI becomes more prevalent.

    In any event, i wouldn’t worry too much about this type of copy protection being included in downloads. And never on games.

    Oh and Ozy, I listened to the podcast with Albert and Larry. Frankly, I dont know that I buy the reasons they are stating for why they couldn’t just allow you to use an empty cage and insert your own drive. If it’s a matter of drive statistics, then just specify that you need to be using a drive that falls within a specific spec. If it’s an issue with ensuring that there are certain protections on the disk itself, why couldn’t they have just included software to ensure that the drive was formatted with the file system and security that they require the drive to have? It just doesn’t make sense to me that with the OS experience that MS has they couldn’t have done this. I expect people would have waited longer to have you perfect this. Instead MS comes off as just wanting to money grab even further from it’s customers.

    I’ve been a fervent supporter of the Xbox systems. I own 60+ games for V1 and over 20 games already for the 360. I’m not one who complains about the cost of Live either. I believe you get what you pay for and Sony will not be able to offer up the experience that XBL offers at least for a few years. But even this seems pretty crappy to me. Also, you all really need to work on the transfer capabilities to the new drive. I mean not only are you now sticking people with a first party drive that costs way more then it should (as a hardware guy you can’t really tell me you would pay $180 for an equivalent PC drive) but on top of that now you don’t give a really easy way for people to transfer multiple harddrives worth of data to the drive. I mean after telling people to buy multiple 20GB drives you guys didn’t consider the fact that people would do this in your transfer process?

    It just seems to me that as a section of your company, the Xbox division does a great job at listening to some things that customer say and just spacing on others.

  • Anonymous

    Re: "Ozy, you mentioned that the HDMI’s only benefit for you would be for switching between your systems. But, doesn’t it upscale standard DVDs to 1080i when you use the HDMI cable, like the VGA cable does?"

    Yes, true. Sorry, I forgot to mention that.

  • Anonymous

    Re: "Now oz,my questions for you is: Any chance we get the HD movie download feature in Canada??? I really enjoy the Southpark episode…Now, I’m hooked and I’m ready to give you my money for more hd movie…:)"

    I know there’s certainly interest in making content available more broadly. I can’t comment more than that, nor make promises, but know that people have definitely heard and understand the desire!

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