Xbox 360 Elite confirmed by Microsoft

360 News | April 29th for North America. Winter for Australia.

After months upon months of speculation, Microsoft has confirmed via a press release that the Xbox 360 Elite is on its way. The console will be available in North America on April 29th for US$479 (AUD$594 / ₤243), and, according to Microsoft's Australian arm, will reach down under in "Winter". A Japanese launch will follow later in the year.

The new console will feature a 120GB hard drive and a "premium black finish". It will also come with a matching black wired headset, and a HDMI output port. Unlike Sony's PlayStation 3, a HDMI cable will be bundled with the console, but not a data transfer cable; instead, a data transfer cable will be included with the separately available US$179 (AUD $222 / ₤91) 120GB hard drive.

Albert Penello, Microsoft's director of global platform marketing, told GameSpot, "The standalone drive is the main option we're suggesting to existing Xbox 360 owners," and promised that Microsoft is "working on a solution" for transferring data from current 360s to Elites. Penello would not go into further details.

Both the Core Xbox 360 and the Premium console will continue to be offered, though the new model is a permanent addition, and is not limited. The console will be in limited supply initially however, and Microsoft is urging consumers to pre-order the console now to avoid disappointment.

"Since Xbox 360 launched a year ago, we’ve been listening to customer feedback and, as a result, we’re very excited to now add the premium Xbox 360 Elite to the top end of the Xbox range," proclaimed David McLean, Regional Director of Xbox Australia and New Zealand. "With a large storage capacity for games, music, and high-definition TV shows and movies, the new 120GB hard drive will help to satisfy our customers’ appetite for on-demand, HD entertainment experiences offered through Xbox Live Marketplace, both now and in the near-future."

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49 Comments

El Taco

4 years ago

Hooray, it was starting to get obvious after a while

Vervain

4 years ago

So I still have a couple of months to save up huh? Lucky for me.

admeister

4 years ago

So, it's permanent now! Not too bad. [/impressed] I think they must be feeling nervous after the release of the PS3 in Europe.

article wrote

The console will not come with a data transfer cable. A data transfer cable will come bundled with the $179 120GB drive which will be sold seperately.

Seperately?

renegadesx

4 years ago

^ ^ ^ ^ ^

article wrote

The console will not come with a data transfer cable. A data transfer cable will come bundled with the $179 120GB drive which will be sold seperately.

I confused

Timmaaah

4 years ago

good to here that it's not a limited offer. can't wait for this to come out because i have been putting off getting a 360 until this comes out.

the data transfer cable is for someone upgrading their existing 360 HDD and want to copy saved data to the new one.

Edit: gramma

Jim Dash

4 years ago

The Elite console will not come with a data transfer cable.

If you go and buy the 120G HDD seperately, it includes a data transfer cable to transfer your data from the 20G.

Ok so its not limited..

Hold On... Where is the mention of the 65nm CPU?!? That was the best bit of this..And $179US for the HDD?!

I personally think it looks very, very ugly.

admeister

4 years ago

Jim Dash wrote

And $179US for the HDD?!

That's what I was thinking!

arbok

4 years ago

Good move by Microsoft - although i don't think anyone who has a 360 already should be disappointed - component looks pretty great as it is.

and the 20gig hard drive is only a minor hassle.

DeViE

4 years ago

Sweet. Planning on buying a Samsung 1080p LCD within the next few months. I'll see how I go with that and the ye olde whitey before eliting though.

Nick

4 years ago

Confused.

If I don't have an Xbox 360 already and buy this one, do I need a data transfer cable?

legend166

4 years ago

Stupid idea by Microsoft. Very stupid.

They've got a great chance to completely put a boot into Sony, and what do they do? Introduce another SKU at an increased price! That will definately get those waiting for it to be cheaper to buy it!

Oh wait, no it won't. If they made this the $400US console, and the current premium the $300US console, that would be a great move. This one, not so much.

Plus, the cost for the HDD is ridiculous. I mean, that's on the same level as Nintendo charging $30 for a Memory Card 59.

Luke

4 years ago

Nick wrote

Confused.

If I don't have an Xbox 360 already and buy this one, do I need a data transfer cable?

No, you'll only need one if you've currently got a 360 and want to transfer data.

Nick

4 years ago

Luke wrote

Nick wrote

Confused.

If I don't have an Xbox 360 already and buy this one, do I need a data transfer cable?

No, you'll only need one if you've currently got a 360 and want to transfer data.

Good

Because I would have been very confused as to why I would have needed one.

Passa

4 years ago

Nick wrote

Good

Because I would have been very confused as to why I would have needed one.

Ehh I was confused about that too..

On another note, I think the white colour looks nicer than black. I'm still waiting to get a 360 (only want Halo 3 badly anyway, and its not on the horizon yet) and not entirely convinced by this 'elite' 360.

Bad move as well my MS, to combat the PS3 they need all the selling points they can get - the average consumer does not give a crap about HDMI, including a headset seems unnecessary as well as the fact that most consumers will tend to buy the more expensive option regardless of their needs, due to lack of information. Look at the PS3 in America, something like 94% of all PS3s sold were the 60GB models, I'm sure a large majority of 360s are the Premium ones as well.

Leading me to my point, how is replacing their competitively priced flagship 360 model with a more expensive, slightly beefed up model going to help them combat the PS3?

Afterthought, I'd want a HD-DVD for this to be worth it as well.. not to mention my uncertainty at buying a 360 now, after all the Premium model could suddenly drop in price after the launch of the 'Elite'..

Way to confuse consumers 'Vista' style (except this is way more complicated, Vista doesn't come down in price..)

NovaPhoenix

4 years ago

So the 120gig HDD costs extra and doesn't come with the 360 Elite? That's a bummer. But I'm planning to get a Memory Unit and transfer them that way.

Memory Units can be used to transfer gamesaves from one 360 HDD to another, right??

EDIT: off topic, how many more posts do I need until I'm not a "PALGN Newbie" anymore?

admeister

4 years ago

On topic, take a look at gamefaqs's latest poll!

http://www.gamefaqs.com/

The general consensus: It's a waste of money .

Marlor

4 years ago

So, who's ready to guess how much this will cost in Australia?

My bet is on $849.

DeathFalcon

4 years ago

Yes you can do it that way. I got my memory card and i use it at my mates to transfer acount (never tried acount recovery)

anyway this sounds great i was going to get another 360 anyways (Media Centre Extender for Lounge Room) so it will fit in with the black Cabinet. I can definitely see a price drop in the Premium. Looks like the cores will be faded out

Vervain

4 years ago

Going by the whole convert to $AU and then add on about $100 to $150 it should be about $700 to $750

EDIT: The 360 'Elite' does come with the 120 gb hdd it's just that you can buy it seperately if you already have a premium 360. Also you need 150 posts to become a PALGN Regular.

Dovey

4 years ago

Marlor wrote

So, who's ready to guess how much this will cost in Australia?

My bet is on $849.

Ill go 100 lower and bet $749

and Ill go $229 for the 120gig HDD

Eyce

4 years ago

I'm actually rather interested in this, I'm wanting a 360, so all the crap about being the waste of money isn't exactly coming in yet.

NovaPhoenix

4 years ago

DeathFalcon + Vervain: Thanks for your answers. I was worried that I'd have to pay extra just to get the bigger HDD, but no worries if it comes with the 360 Elite (duh! lol). Guess all I need now is the Memory Unit.

As for the GameFAQS poll, I'm surprised that the most negative answer is the (currently) majority vote.

Vervain

4 years ago

admeister wrote

On topic, take a look at gamefaqs's latest poll!

http://www.gamefaqs.com/

The general consensus: It's a waste of money .

You might want to add that only 3000 people have voted so far, usually they end up at 10,000s. Although I do admit that once a few people have voted Gamefaqs surveys tend to stay at about the same percentages it could still change.

Jim Dash

4 years ago

Why are you surprised? It doesn't even have the 65nm CPU that was speculated, and that was the best part of it, since heat is the 360's biggest enemy.

It is a waste of money. You're paying for a colour change, bigger HDD and HDMI port.

Whats with all the confusion over the data cable? I understood as soon as I read the article.

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