Xbox 360 Elite: new, black limited edition Xbox with HDMI and 120GB drive
By Ryan Block 
posted March 20th 2007 2:39PM
posted March 20th 2007 2:39PM
- The Elite will be limited quantities only; that may be as much or as little as a couple hundred thousand.
- The case, controller, and Live headset will all be black. It will have all new packaging.
- Elite will cost $479, and will be a 3rd SKU; it will be sold alongside Premium and Core packs.
- Eventually Elite hardware (in white plastics) will take the role of the Xbox Premium. That is to say, after the Elite is launched and sold out, future Xbox Premiums will have 120GB / HDMI.
- We do not yet know exactly when 120GB / HDMI will become the standard for Premium, but it is loosely estimated to be late summer or fall.
- Elite models run cooler than normal 360s, but they are not yet confirmed to have 65nm chips.
- Prices may remain the same with the 120GB / HDMI hardware upgrade in the Premium Xbox, but we may still see a price cut on the line when 65nm chips start shipping.
- The HD DVD drive will not be internal or bundled -- Microsoft never did or nor does not currently have plans to put an HD DVD drive in the 360.
- There are no current plans to integrate WiFi into the Elite or future Premiums (although that can always change).
ok, i never said i dislike or hate the xbox. I dislke its flaws, doesnt mean i hate the whole system itself. There are always a few things i dont like about any eletronic i buy.
Xbox is here to stay, so i know they will fix the problems with the 360. I would like to believe that xbox is a reliable system, but i have to base my decision on what i see. And what i see is a lot of broken xboxs. To this end, i will wait till MS fix the issues with the xbox, and i was saying i hope they do it buy christmas.
And i was here a few weeks ago becuase i was looking into getting the Elite, but i have come to th conclusion that the fix i was looking for was not done with the Elite. But this doesnt mean that the xbox will never lower its hardware issues and failure, and when it is lowered, i will be sure to purchase the xbox.
And i took a risk buying the PS3, not know how it was going to be. I wouldve gotten the xbox if MS fixed the problems. And iwas very fortunate that the PS3 has a lower harware issue and failures than the xbox. Eventually, both systems will have very few lemons, and this is when i will own both systems.
And im happy that yourself a few others have been lucky enough to purchase a non defect.
To Allen,
Ok fair enough,but you must see if you look back through your posts,your attitude towards the 360 has been unjustly negative for the most part,almost every single post suggests that it is limited to upscaling 720p or that all 360`s are faulty,when that simply is not the case at all,far from it.It is a small minority in comparison to the amount sold which have defects and the machine outputs true 1080p.
I have not seen you acknowledge the many strengths the machine has.To form an unbias opinion and acknowledge the strengths and weakness of both machines is required to be taken seriously.
There have been too many immature assholes on this blog already,to whom the word `fanboy` is clearly correct.They ignore one side of the argument and fabricate the other with lies.Dont fall into that trap and some people may listen.
As in saying that you will wait until the problem is fixed,in as much as after the first pre-release batch there was not a true,serious problem which affected all 360`s to speak of.If you buy a 360 today and it breaks down,your just unlucky,the same as if you got a Playstation 3 or a Wii and it needed to go in for repair too. (there is less to go wrong with a Wii as its Tech Specs are far below 360 or PS3 as im sure you are aware)
But yes,there will always be defective bad apples in every batch,regardless of what system you buy.If you buy a console in 6 months,therein still lies a possibility for a defective unit,the change from 90nm to 65 nm will not change that fact,problems can and will still occur in any hardware at any stage of revision.
There were a few too many issues with early first edition models,i know,i saw several angry early adopters of the console in the store,i must point out that none of them wanted a refund,they still wanted a 360,but those were first edition machines.Any problem now is now very very few and far between,no more than would be classed as acceptable by any company when considering the amount sold ( i agree that it feels unnaceptable if yours goes wrong)
And as i have said,there are (not many i agree) problems with some Playstation 3`s and the odd Wii too.
The problem is,as with 360,Playstation and other electronic gear,when something goes wrong,the people who make the most noise are the unhappy ones,the few.
The majority who have no problems are quiet and happy playing games without a sound.
Take the Youtube links for example,both 360 and PS3 have people claiming there knackered,you dont find many video`s of consoles that work perfectly do you, for an e.g "title: Hey look at my 360/PS3 it works just fine "...get my drift?
And incase you were wondering i own all 3 machines,Playstation 3,Wii and 360,staff discounts and all that....I will not go down the road of which i think is best,each has its own strengths and weaknesses,but i will stress,the 360 has few weaknesses if you like to game hardcore off/online(countless gamer contests all the time across too many games to list on xbox live,yes it costs but yes its worth every cent,if you get a 360 you will see that is the truth) and connectivity to your PC for multimedia purposes,streaming films,music ect,the 360 will not dissapoint one bit (unless you get the bad apple)
(i stress again,all consoles have bad apples),or you begrudge buying a WiFi adaptor if your TV is in another room,which yes,i think should have come with the Elite)
Also i must confirm the Elite does output true 1080p via HDMI,i will not even bother to argue that point as it is a fact,we have display models in the store (as i have at home)rigged up to 1080p compatible TV and adjust the 1080p setting on the 360 dash,if you get your 360 and have a 1080p TV you too can then find out for yourself that it is not an illusion,you have 480i/p 720p and 1080i and true 1080p,just change a 1080p game or movie to 1080i,then back to 1080p to see the difference with your own eyes)
If you do get a 360 i hope it works out for you,then you may realise you have been a trifle too critical without too much foundation.Also if you bring up the heat issue further,i reccomend to also acknowledge it is far from all 360 consoles,and also acknowledge the machines strengths for graphics,games,online and PC streaming,this should help to not befall to the horrid `fanboy` tag which many idiots here definatley have.
Enjoy your gaming whatever platform,beats hanging out in a web blog huh.
No, i totally agree, my cousin and I spent hours playing Gears of war. I didnt list the good things about the xbox becuase for most of us, its obvious the preformance is insane. And i sincerely hope that the lemons are an isolated incident, i dont know how a lot of friends ended up with faulty ones. When you see enough of bad shit happeneing in front of your eyes, it makes you a bit weary.
Okay console war fanatics and 360 fans alike, here's the true deal on the 360 elite. Yes, I do work in retail. Yes, that retail solely deals in consoles and some PC games. Yes, this is an informed experienced opinion. The 360 Elite is a cool black box. I noticed that, just as most of you did. The 360 elite has a larger harddrive than the premium, i noticed that too...so did you. It doesn't have built in wi/fi (just another reason for you to buy the wifi adaptor made by microsoft), it isn't a HD Player (another microsoft profit scheme). One thing that i haven't noticed, that i have with the other 360's...no one returned any...not one...to any of the stores in our entire company. Not a single defective model (so far..knock on wood), and not a single person is "unhappy" with their purchase. Not a single purchased warrenty has been used. The model we have in our store..our DISPLAY model, the one thats supposed to convince y'all to buy the system...redlight's every day. Yet, not a SINGLE elite has had problems thus far. I'll keep y'all informed, but 360 lovers may need to rejoice, the bugs seem fixed (again, knock on wood)
Chris OUT!
Well...until now. my elite is on its way in for repairs.
I've had my Elite for an entire weekend and had an awesome time with this unit. I'm new to the Xbox 360 so this seemed like a good time to get it. The hardest part was getting all 4 gamertags and accounts made for Xbox Live. Like Starman stated it does do 1080P and it defaults to 1080i on mine. I used the the HDMI input on my Samsung QT-80 HTIB and get all the benefits of 5.1 Surround Sound as well. I easily connected to my Vista Media Center computer and can stream all my media. I know I used my xbox in more than 2 hour stretches and had no issues, I didn't even hear the fans come on.
I hope its true that the Elite will be more durable than the 360. I asked my cousin if he's getting an Elite, and he said that his xbox has not fucked up on him, so he doesnt want to take any chances. The only issues he has is freezing problems, but my ps3 freezes once in a while too, thought not as much. Looks like i might be getting an Elite sooner rather than later.
120GB in your gaming console is huge imo, of course you look at that and think its smalled compared to a desktop but you arent (or shouldnt) be storing anything near what you have on your desktop, and since the 360 can "stream" music/video from your PC/network why would you store it on the 360's drive? 120GB is wtfhuge but they are overcharging and i bet the drive has a low crappy 4500rpm speed i can just mod the original one with a 7200 120GB+ drive for less money.
sadly the reason people will buy it, is because its in a black case and thats it regardless of the internals. If they would have released a black version of the ghetto core/premium system @ launch it would have sold like crazy. And released a ugly color elite system now nobody would care.
i upgraded my PS3 to a 160gig HDD for $100, which is a reasonable price. I wouldnt pay $180 for a 120 gig. anyone who buys it is an idiot, or likes to waste money, becuase after all, you really dont need a 120 gig.
im new to the whole xbox thing...never owned one but played halo 2 and loved it! I have a PS2 (w/ guitar hero) and was looking to upgrade to a PS3 but 600?!? wth...so im looking into the xbox elite and it has a LOT more features that the other consoles dont...do yall think i should trade in my PS2 for credit and then get an elite?
where can i buy one at? are they out yet?
i'm talkin gabout the Elite XBox.
This is for Angel
i would only trade in the PS2 for a PS3, gamestop currently offers $100 for a PS2,2 controllers and a mem card. So the PS3 would only cost $500. PS3 has 1.3 HDMI, wifi, blu ray for starters. upgrades for HDD are cheap. Games are a bit lacking but better ones are coming out.
If you plan on getting the xbox, i wouldnt trade in your PS2, they would only give you like $40 for it. that $100 is a promo for the PS3 by gamestop. If money is an issue for you, i would get the premium xbox for at target $400, and buy the 3 year service plan for $30. When i ask my friends what to know about the 360, they say..."be prepared to dish out another $50 for a years of xbox live. keep the xbox horizontal and in a well ventilated space, and dont be suprised if the xbox has issues or fails on you. Be sure to purchase service plan."
A friend of mine that works at gamestop says that he hasnt heard of any complaints from the Elite, but he also stated that they havent sold much of it. its possible that the Elite is a bit more reliable so i dont know how you feel about getting an Elite for $480 when you can get a PS3 for $500(after ps2 trade in).
Xbox already has an abundance of games, give time, PS3 will have a better array of games within the next few months. So take the time considering what to get. Understand some extra costs that you may or may not incur.
PS3
-HDMI cable- $20 from monoprice.com
-160 gig HDD- $100
-WIFI- included
-Blu ray player included
controller battery- included
online play- included
XBOX
-HDMI- included
-WIFI- $100
-battery/charger- $30/$12 or AA batteries
-hd player- $200
-xbox Live- $50 per 13 months
-120 gig HDD- $180-----included in Elite
and DONT get the core, you loose more money than you save, trust me.
$300 + $30 mem card + $30 component and it would cost you $360---you do not have wireless controller and you do not have 20 gig HDD. HDD is required to play xbox games and to download maps, demos and extras.
Service plan is recommended for the PS3--$60 at target for 3 years
Service is a MUST for any xbox--$30 at target for 3 years.
You get everything more for your money if you go with the PS3, and will save more money... except for better games, it will be hard for PS3 to come out with something that will compare with games such as GOW and Halo3.
This is my honest unbiased opinion as i have the PS3 and plan on getting an xbox.
You can get the 120gb for any 360,though its way overpriced on its own,only other difference is HDMI,and unless you got a major kick ass TV that dont make no difference.They ALL still play the same kick ass games so no worries what 360 you got,its not like a pc upgrade one bit.
I've had a PS3 60GB since the original release, and I JUST purchased my first XBOX 360 Elite, and I am not impressed with it. Forget about games, I'm just talking about straight-out-the-box hardware. Elite has a lower grade HDMI, it doesn't have a digital optical out built into it, it doesn't deliever DTS or True Digital Sound, it doesn't come with WiFi connect, still has a huge brick for external power supply, minimal USB ports, no built in next generation DVD drive. I paid a little over $500 after taxes. If were to add the add on HD DVD drive and WiFi adapter it will put the elite at $700 plus, but will still fall short of PS3 due to lower grade HDMI and USB ports. PS3 is a much better deal out the box. Only have a couple of games, but I still get plenty of use out of the blu-ray player.
My choice is ps3, think bout it ps3 gt blu ray
n better gamez!
a sad day for people who bought crackdown and cant play Halo 3 yet.
I thought the current xbox 360 was suppose to be able to battle the PS3, was the xbox 360 just a waste of money then???
im a huge xbox fan and the 360 elite is going to have way better graphics than the ps3 and the blue ray rocks come on wich looks cooler and has better graphics the 360 or ps3 and include the 360s pimped controler.
wts the diference between dem
If anyone is looking for a Xbox 360 Elite go to http://www.360Elite4free.com/index.php?ref=3855285 and sign up. Use Stamps.com as your required offer and cancel it before the trial is up. Just get 13 referals and get your free Xbox 360 Elite and don't spend a penny.
"Kev50027 @ Mar 20th 2007 2:55PM
The PS3 is still a better choice in my opinion. You get a Blu-Ray drive, a better controller, better games, and you don't have to wait for this thing to come out."
WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN SMOKING??
How on earth can you think that the PS controllers are better than those of the XBOX 360?
They don't even vibrate!
They are completely crap for FPS games and an XBOX 360 controller works just as good for combat and RPG games, plus the fact that they are COMFORTABLE to hold in our hands.
Were you born without arms?
PS3 OWNS THE XBOX 360 ANYDAY, BETTER GRAPHICS AND BETTER GAMEPLAY!
Well guys my 360 Elite crashed and burned today and i have only owned it for 24 hours, i repeat twenty four hours, error message E-64 and a red light in the lower right means i get to send it in to be repaired, looks like im diggin out the PS2.
FREE xbox 360’s Just try it im 16 and got my parents Credited card and now I got a 360 this Not a joke this takes 5 minutes to do.
Here are the steps
Step 1: Click on the referral link below.
www.360Elite4free.com/index.php?ref=3869691
Step 2: Sign up and choose the account type: Referral Method
Step 3: Complete just 1 offer. Stamps.com free trial is the easiest one because even though you have to give your credit card number, not one cent is spent and you get $5 free postage. Call 1-877-782-6736 to CANCEL the trial before your 30 days is up and be billed nothing.
Step 4: Refer 10 people to do the same.
Step 5: Choose your own way of referring people. Ebay has faster results.
Step 6: Receive your Xbox360 Elite.
well, i do like d look of this new xbox...
but looks means nothing to me, my xbox used to over heat sometimes but i sorted that out by taking the whole case of it, i no longer have a case and ever sence then i have had no problems what so ever with my xbox.
also if you take the case of you will fine extra leeds in there that connect to nothing, you can connect them to other things, so the xbox can do alot more then it was designed for.i love it.
i dont like sony, they will not refund you for any faults with your system, my mates one crashed after a week of owning it, then the graphics gave in, they said it was none of there problems and they dont care.
i might get this new one or i might just wait until they have desided for the proper upgrade.
well, i do like d look of this new xbox...
but looks means nothing to me, my xbox used to over heat sometimes but i sorted that out by taking the whole case of it, i no longer have a case and ever sence then i have had no problems what so ever with my xbox.
also if you take the case of you will fine extra leeds in there that connect to nothing, you can connect them to other things, so the xbox can do alot more then it was designed for.i love it.
i dont like sony, they will not refund you for any faults with your system, my mates one crashed after a week of owning it, then the graphics gave in, they said it was none of there problems and they dont care.
i might get this new one or i might just wait until they have desided for the proper upgrade.
http://www.xbox360defective.com
Now we have the Elite xbox 360, When will they fix the problem being experienced by thousands, namely the 3 red lights of death, and the fact that when you send in your console for repair, you get in return a refrubished unit, not your own. And That unit will most likely either fail upon getting it, or fail within the first 6 months.
Our website http:///www.xbox360defective.com is getting close to 20,000 visitors a month now and growing fast. Why is that? I venture to say their are a lot of VERY ANGRY consumers out there who paid teh $400.00 for the xbox 360, then bought a bunch of $60.00 games, only to have their system crash! What is the media saying about all this... squat! Check out Consumer Affairs http://www.consumeraffairs.com/home_electronics/xbox.html Here, thousands have told their story of how the xbox 360 gaming console is defective and how Microsoft has treated them
FREE xbox 360 elite or cash. it really works. i searched online and found out that alot people doing it.
Here are the steps that i followed from gavino (thanks)
Step 1: Click on the referral link below.
http://www.360Elite4free.com/index.php?ref=3875325
Step 2: Sign up and choose the account type: Referral Method
Step 3: Complete just 1 offer. Stamps.com free trial is the easiest one because even though you have to give your credit card number, not one cent is spent and you get $5 free postage. Call 1-877-782-6736 to CANCEL the trial before your 30 days is up and be billed nothing.
Step 4: Refer 10 people to do the same.
Step 5: Choose your own way of referring people. Ebay has faster results.
Step 6: Receive your Xbox360 Elite or cash.
The Xbox360 has good games but come on the ps3 has better graphics less games but ihn the next 5months ps3 will be like 5 time what the Xbox 360 games will have come out like cmmon i like the 360 but to a point (the games are the onley thing that evan is holding me at buying the 360). im buying the 360 when i got the money but rite now im going to be sitting on my ass playing the best consol ever (in this year and next)and the blu-ray disks i got shares in and ther going thru the rufe im getting like 500 buck a day thats how good the blu ray is so all of u that are wiyning that the ps3 is expensive its werth the money dum ass the Xbox can wait untill u get the ps3
The 360 Elite is amazing! I got mine free! And you can too, if you go to the link below. Spend $30 or under on the offer of your choice, refer 10 people, and that's it they actually send you one for free, as one of those advertising things! Check it out!
http://www.360Elite4free.com/index.php?ref=3886625