Xbox 360 Elite hands-on video

We know how it is, you just have to see it on video, right? Keep in mind this is Microsoft's Channel 10 doing the shooting, so everything is well lit and the questions are as boring as all get out, but it's the best we've got -- and be sure, we'd be pushing you some grainy QVGA camphone video of the Xbox 360 Elite if we had it. The interview is with Albert Penello, who is quick to get a dig in on Sony for leaving out an HDMI cable. Albert again confirms that a migration cable will be packaged with the stand-alone 120GB drive, but says they're "still working on a solution" for migrating data from a current Xbox 360 to the Elite, since apparently data is tied to the console in some way... such is the way of DRM, always putting the consumer first!

[lt.milo @ Mar 28th 2007 9:41AM]

"such is the way of DRM, always putting the consumer first"

ahh that is gold!

[indigo80 @ Mar 28th 2007 11:41AM]

>"such is the way of DRM, always putting the consumer first"
>
>ahh that is gold!

Pity macrovision wont step up and help thats the sort of problem that they claim they can solve (for apple).

Or maybe unprotect stuff and stop aggravating the paying customers?

[Nick @ Mar 28th 2007 9:30AM]

Why all this attention about the Xbox 360 Elite? I think it's not so special at all.. Especially compared to the PS3.. I mean come on, if you make a new Xbox, then at least put in a HD DVD drive.. Or even better, a Blu Ray drive.

[Jon @ Mar 28th 2007 10:41AM]

Microsoft doesn't put the HD drive in the 360 because it does not need it to play games. In their new console they will implement a better drive but there isn't a point to now besides playing HD-DVDs; which playing Blu-Ray DVDs is all that the PS3 has going for it until they get a good library with it.

[The Big Fudge @ Mar 28th 2007 9:36AM]

Why all this attention about the PS3 Elite? I think it's not so special at all.. Especially compared to the Xbox 360 Elite.. I mean come on, if you make a new PlayStation, then at least put in a bread slicer.. Or even better, a blender.

[jmel @ Mar 28th 2007 10:01AM]

Yeah, sony! way to leave out the cable!

But hey MICROSOFT! YOU FORGOT THE DAMN PORT FOR NEARLY 2 YEARS!

IDIOTS.

[LongshotX @ Mar 28th 2007 8:00PM]

HDMI spec 1.3 wasn't even finalized when the Xbox 360 came out you fool.

[difelicem @ Mar 28th 2007 10:34AM]

Is it me or does the Power Brick Look smaller?

MD

[jonesy @ Mar 28th 2007 12:59PM]

"who is quick to get a dig in on Sony for leaving out an HDMI cable"

Funny the guy from Microsoft saying that, seeing as they forgot to put the actual port in the first time around.

[Muu @ Mar 28th 2007 9:54AM]

This sounds like a fantastic idea if it was intended for individuals, and not for gang control. In the former you'll have now gunless Joe wasting his free time (possibly) playing videogames, or at the least enjoying a few drinks after pawning the system off. In the latter you may very well end up with thefts occurring for the guns/PCs, if value of one is significantly higher than the other.

Good idea, wrong situation.

[paralipsis @ Mar 28th 2007 11:04AM]

Perhaps you were intending to post that particular comment at http://www.joystiq.com/2007/03/28/gangs-get-games-for-guns/

[Carbonize @ Mar 28th 2007 9:55AM]

Possibly the data is linked to the 360 to prevent stuff like the stupid modding people do on Halo 2 just to try and get their rank higher.

[Me @ Mar 28th 2007 10:57AM]

Nick / Big Fudge... you have to realise that not everyone wants their games console to be a Hi Def movie player, some people simply want to play games on it... this is one of the reasons MS chose not inlcude the HD DVD drive in the console.

This not only leaves the choice in the hands of the consumer, which is where it should be, but it means the console doesnt have to have such a rediculous RRP... like the PS3.

Also, should HD DVD format fail to really take off then MS can just as eaily produce a BR player add-on instead. However given Sony's history of backing formats that fail (Betamax, MiniDisk, UMD etc) then I wouldnt be placing any bets just yet.

As for HDMI, there was simply no need for it when the 360 was 1st released as there were very few HDMI enabled displays and even fewer that supported 1080p. Even now, only a small percentage of people have HDTVs never mind 1080p enables sets with HDMI sockets.

Really Engadget... you need to have some kind of noob filter on your comments section as it seems to be a voice box for every uneducated, ignorant, fanboy on the internet (and that's 360, PS3 and Wii fanboys... you're all jsut as bad!).

Grow up and stop your willy waving.

[TxCub420 @ Mar 28th 2007 10:14AM]

The precise moment when the article writer lost all credibility:

"Yes, it’s awesome! Watch the video for more, including what comes in the L337 box."

[Dragod @ Mar 28th 2007 11:00PM]

Well, it was suposed to be a little bit of a "gamer connection" in the article, As it is the 360 Elite some spell Elite "l337" so she tried to appeal to them by calling the Xbox 360 Elite Box that, it called it the "L337 box" rather than the "Xbox 360 l337". She wasn't trying to show any bias towards the review.

[sornypanafonic @ Mar 28th 2007 12:02PM]

“We don’t feel like the Wii customer and the Xbox customer are the same thing,” [John Rodman of Microsoft] said. “We think that as soon as the Wii customer turns 14 they want something else.”

what a jackass. seeing as there is a line outside the nintendo world (i work 2 blocks south so i check because i want 1) every fuckign day, i would say its beyond that demographic.

speakin of this, i would buy it but its too much dough for something thats not new, would buy the premium for $350.

[yur @ Mar 28th 2007 12:04PM]

ps. i have ps3 and that thing has noooooooo games, like none. really want to play dead rising... but no money and summer is here (better to spend money on chicks and be outdoors then stay inside with a game that you cant bone.)

[Bmills @ Mar 28th 2007 10:38AM]

So let me get this straight. Now you have to pay $480 for the best X360, but to do HD movies you stil have to spend $200 more.

Ok now we are at $680, but that still does not include Wireless Internet, thats another $100.

This is why Sony already got my money for the PS3.

[Jon @ Mar 28th 2007 10:30AM]

You don't have to pay $200 to get HD videos on the Xbox...you can simply rent them from the Xbox Live Video Marketplace.

Wifi for playing online sucks! It increases lag and is definitely not worth it and not a big deal at all.

If you put the price into perspective...included HDMI cable which will save folks $20-$50, and a 120 Gig 2.5in SATA HD which goes for around $90-$100 if you were to buy a naked one at retail...plus you get HDMI connector on the back...this SKU definately makes sense.

$600 for a PS3 won't get you the great titles coming to the 360. And that my friends is where the money counts.

[LilTmac2003 @ Jun 17th 2007 1:57PM]

You go ahead and give Sony your money. I want a GAMING SYSTEM (Note: I said GAMING SYSTEM) that delivers HD quality with great game titles.

Hmmm... should I get an a.) Xbox 360 Elite: Great games, HDMI w/HDMI cable, 120gb harddrive, Xbox Live Marketplace & Arcade for :479.99
or.... b.) PlayStation 3: Good games, Bluray, No HDMI cable, 60gb harddrive, some games with no voice chat for: 599.99a

This is a tough one, because I want a GAMING SYSTEM, not some 600 dollar Bluray player...

[Apoco-Lips @ Mar 28th 2007 10:22AM]

"We've been working really hard on this for a very long time..."

It must've taken a massive & dedicated team of monkeys to decide on black & those two upgrades.

[lysernix @ Mar 28th 2007 11:10AM]

To make this worth $480 they *really* needed a bullet to make this worth it. I would have taken either included wireless headset, or built in wi-fi. How about at least the 65nm chip? Or how about a solid confirmation of a better regular DVD drive included? Or even just a solid confirmation that it was 'built to last' as so many of the white ones seem not. (Well I guess I can't blame them for not acknowledging the last point.

I've been waiting for this for a while, and sometimes almost drooling at the prospect of a black 360. Sadly, I am totally underwhelmed.

[Chris @ Mar 28th 2007 10:37AM]

When does the Xbox Elite hit the market for sale and were will they be sold at.

[Ryan @ Mar 28th 2007 10:38AM]

Most Bang for the HD buck?
Elite=479
120 GB HD=179
Sell Back HD and Buy HD-DVD Drive: 479-179+200=500
==HDMI capable player that plays all 360 games for the same cost as the Toshiba Players & comes with lots of extras!

[kingofwale @ Mar 28th 2007 10:50AM]

who in gods name will pay 179 dollars for a 120GB? and using that as your price comparison is like saying "we don't want to get screwed big time, we rather get screwed a little bit"


>Microsoft doesn't put the HD drive in the 360 because it does not need it to play games.

didn't Microsoft boast Xbox as a Media centre? Can't have a Media centre without the next Gen DVD ability. and I thought Microsfot's on the board of director for HD-DVD. way to turn your back to it.

[ph @ Mar 28th 2007 10:52AM]

"==HDMI capable player that plays all 360 games for the same cost as the Toshiba Players & comes with lots of extras!"

Except, of course,that toshiba players are down almost to 300 dollars...

[Jon Graft @ Mar 28th 2007 12:53PM]

Who remembers when Microsoft was bashing Sony for using HDMI saying it was a waste of money because nobody had HDMI. Now Microsoft is using it in their new XBOX 360 and bashing Sony STILL for not including a $20 cable. Microsoft is SO contradictory and NOBODY SEEMS TO SEE THIS!!!
PS3 > Wii > #60
Sorry XBOTs, but your console STILL blows...

[Thryon @ Mar 28th 2007 10:57AM]

While I did like the Xbox 360 Elite, I was distracted by the huge rack on the reporter.

[Pixelantes Anonymous @ Mar 28th 2007 11:03AM]

The XBox 360 Elite is a pretty damn nice package for people who don't own a XBox 360 yet. I do, so I'm not in the least bit interested in the product.

[kingofwale @ Mar 28th 2007 11:20AM]

>Also, should HD DVD format fail to really take off then MS can just as eaily produce a BR player add-on instead. However given Sony's history of backing formats that fail (Betamax, MiniDisk, UMD etc) then I wouldnt be placing any bets just yet.

first of all, Blu-Ray is winning, in a faster pace than even the most hardcore Blu-Ray's surprise. Exclusive titles, sales numbers, it's pretty evident.

and "MS can just as easily produce a BR player"??? Of course, why don't we also go and burn down the patent office while we at it? You think Sony is going to say "oh, go crazy with our tech"??

No, they'd demand something massive in return. Most likely Halo and Gears of War franchise.

[Waitupasec @ Mar 28th 2007 11:52AM]

Haha you obviously have no idea how anything works. Since sony is the sole proprietor of Blu-Ray even if a rival company does sell their product they see the profits. Also do you think the measly amount of money that Microsoft would make off of blu-ray capability it would match what they make off gears and especially Halo since microsoft owns bungie.

[Bradleybang @ Mar 28th 2007 12:32PM]

How about a combo HDDVD/Blueray attachment player for $300 in black?

[brendan Sheehan jnr @ Mar 28th 2007 12:43PM]

Or how about building in both the powerbrick and the Hi-Def drive. Sony has this way won already in my mind. Not to mention that the numbers came out the other day. Sony's PS3 is out selling the Xbox 360 out the gate when equated to the 360 out the gate. It's selling quicker.

[dantes @ Mar 29th 2007 1:11PM]

They wanabe like mike. I wonder why they have to come with a new v 1.1. I hope they didn’t come out with the v 2.0 next year. Ups I’m sorry I forgot, 360 fan boys are available and they will be very happy, yea happy! paying annually upgrades for an incomplete hardware btw “Microsoft Style”. 360 fan boys will be forced to pay more than thousand dollars, for an updated console. That’s brilliant yes brilliant… don’t ya think fan boys?. I stay with my super pc.

[James @ Mar 28th 2007 12:25PM]

Microsoft REALLY dropped the ball with this one. I'm a huge Xbox 360 fan, just as I was a huge PS2 fan because i like the systems with best games (I know, wierd, huh?). I was really looking forward to buying this. My projector's HDMI board is a lot better than its analog (component_ board) so the HDMi would be good for me. Plus, i hate how loud my 360 is...

but WAIT! THEY ARE NOT GOING TO BE PUTTING IN THE NEW, COOLER, QUIETER CHIPS!!! WTF?!?!?!?!

yep, not gonna happen until the fall. congrats microsoft, you just lost $480 from me. why would anyone want to upgrade to this new "Elite" 360 when the new, cool, and quiet chips are coming soon? DOESN"T MAKE SENSE! Ill upgrade this fall and wait.

makes me want to buy a PS3...almost. if i just wanted to play resistance over and over, i would, but i like a variety of games.

but microsoft messed up with this. they had a great chance to make the Elite have EVERYTHING, but they didn't. too bad.

[Mike Street @ Mar 28th 2007 1:36PM]

i think not putting Hd-DVD in the box is a smart move because why tie the console to a particular format when Blu-Ray and Hd-DVD are both going to die out to digital HD downloads.

[willyjsimmons @ Mar 28th 2007 12:41PM]

So...

does this have the new chips, or what?

I also picked up on Tina's statement that the Elite wasn't a 'limited edition' setup...what are they going to do with the Core? Where's the price drop on the Premium?

Are the new chips and price drop coming this fall?

Whuz up?

[Hezekiah @ Mar 28th 2007 2:03PM]

To the person that said they'd buy a premium for $350--Dell is selling a premium with Gears of War for $400 right now. If you grab a coupon for 10% off from ebay (I got mine for $2), you can get a premium and Gears of War for $360. That's about as smokin' a deal as you can get. Basically a premium for $300, and Gears of War for its regular price. It pushed me over the edge. I think it will be arriving to day. Woo hoo!

Here is a link: http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=19&sku=A1118814

[Jon Graft @ Mar 28th 2007 1:50PM]

Hate to break it to ya James, but the Playstation 3 has more than just Resistance: FoM...MotorStorm is currently out and the graphics are amazing! On top of that, Metal Gear Solid and Killzone are expected to come out as well as some other awesome 3rd party games. All the 360 has is Gears and Halo 3...that is it.

[LongshotX @ Mar 28th 2007 8:17PM]

I expect MGS4 to be a timed exclusive since it makes no sense to a company to make a game for a system with such a small install base. Expect the same for FF13 and Tekken 6.

[Doggy @ Mar 28th 2007 1:02PM]

Since when has Sony been 'sole proprietor' of Blu-Ray, have I missed something?

[arman @ Mar 28th 2007 1:49PM]

I used to own a 360 and now have Wii. I was seriously thinking I had maybe made a mistake in selling the 360 with but the Elite makes me want the PS3 when for only a few more dollars I can get Blue-Ray and Wifi.

[sunz @ Mar 28th 2007 1:56PM]

if it had the hd dvd .. i would get it.

I think elite for that price (definately not more than PS3) should have hd dvd, hdmi, wifi (not so much but whatever), and larger hard drive.

They should upgrade their standard version to include hdmi and the larger hard drive.)

$499 - $550 for the Elite (those wishing to included hd media player options

$299 - $399 for the regular (all hardcore gamers should get the full gaming experience not a castrated version)

[sunz @ Mar 28th 2007 9:39PM]

Additionally,

I think including HD-DVD would have accellerated itz inception as the HD format of choice and solidified a win. Now .. the future of the format IMHO is uncertain.

-sun

[Ravi Kapoor @ Mar 29th 2007 12:40AM]

OK, I don't normally comment (because i tend to be wordy), I normally just read comments to see if anyone has extra insight on the article or video, but i'm pissed off after reading some of these comments and xbox 360 comments on other threads for three main points.

why don't people freaking get it?? When MS launched the x360 almost a year and a half ago they were taking a $70-90 loss on each console. If they added an HDMI port and a 120GB hard drive, the price would have been $500 or more for the premium unless MS wanted to take a massive loss like sony is right now with the ps3. They were smart, they put in a VGA port so even people without high-def TVs could use their computer monitor if they really wanted to see stuff in HD. How is that not smart? at the time, HDMI wasn't as ubiquitous and it would have cost much more at that time to put an HDMI port in. Also for people who keep asking for a 'conversion' kit or some sh*t for the current xbox360s, you can't have it! it doesn't work! you need new hardware for an all digital output, that's why they put it in a new console and didn't have an added accessory. More LCD monitors and TVs now have HDMI which justifies it's recent inclusion.

second, the hard drive. like the video said, they assume most people will still go with the premium version with the 20 GB hard drive. why do you need 120gb?? the only reason is if you want to download HD content on marketplace or you just want to future-proof your system. But most people who have commented say they have plenty of space on their 20gb hard drive. Even if you download demos or the arcade games, you have plenty of space. you don't NEED the 120gb. the people who will actually spend money to download movies and tv shows will more easily fork over $180 for the 120gb hard drive than those who won't really use it. **if the use is more justified, the price is easier to swallow.** don't get me wrong, it's still overpriced and MS will make a load of money on that accessory. i'm just saying complaining you don't have it is one thing, but realizing if you'll actually use it is another.

third and most important, why can't people understand that wifi built-in is not a good feature for microsoft to implement?? it's not that it's too expensive, it's rather cheap to incorporate it. what reason would microsoft have for leaving it out?? well let's see, wifi compared to a hardline ethernet connection is incredibly slow and unreliable. "waah waah, but they should include it anyway so i have a choice" you might say. WRONG. it may be a pain to plug it in for some people who have their cable or dsl router in another part of the house or apt than their xbox360 and tv, but if MS essentially forces more people to use a hard connection, there is less lag overall on their xbox live network. If there's less lag, more people have a less frustrating experience and $50 a year doesn't seem like a lot for a good experience. If everyone's using wifi, lag will be ridiculous and the xbox live community wouldn't be as big as it is. If you REALLY must have wi-fi then MS is going to gouge you for it because they want as few wi-fi users on the network. THAT'S why they don't include the wifi. They're trying to build their online user base. It's business, deal with it. Once the PS3 gets it's online user base installed, it's either going to suffer from lag from people using wi-fi, or people will realize it's not as fast as a hard-line and opt to plug their system in making the wi-fi feature mostly useless. just wait and see.

ok, this really only applies to the US where dsl and cable companies overcharge for ridiculously slow internet. broadband my ass. Until ISPs in the US reach faster speeds, wifi isn't justified. If the US had faster service to match the much more technologically advanced asian countries, then i doubt MS would have a problem including a wifi chip in the xbox360. I can't comment on European countries because I don't know the internet situation over there. anyone willing to add some insight into that would be great.

Those are my grievances with idiotic comments, feel free to plus or minus me as you see fit and add any comments i might have left out. i say good day now.

[Tyler @ Apr 2nd 2007 4:49PM]

"we dont't wanna alienate original 360 owners" well you fucking failed at that one look at the price of the boxed one with the 120 gig HD its only 79 dollars more yet the 120 gig stand alone drives gonna be 179 wtf microsoft thats siome fucking bullshit price gouging there

[Legionaire @ Mar 28th 2007 10:24PM]

finally! someone with some sense!

Honestly, does it matter if they are selling a new 360? Its not like they are forcing to buy it. Like they said no new content will be console specific. AKA you really aren't losing out if you don't buy this. Of coarse there will be the few of you griping because you didn't get the hard drive when you first bought your console. Think about this: A lot of you have had it for over a year. If you are griping about something you knew would be eventually be upgraded (and we all knew it was inevitable) Then why did you buy it? Hell, if the extra 100 gigs that half of you won't is really worth it to you just buy the drive. For all 3 of you out there with HDMI, big whoop. Just get the VGA cable kit and plug it into your HDTV. If your computer is plugged into the VGA on your HDTV then I suggest you get out of the stone age and either get a video card with DVI or if you already have one plug it into that. And as for the black case if it really is that important to you then just buy one somewhere online, void your warranty and throw it on.

And as for the 65nm Xenons, most of the noise in the system comes from the optical drives they use. I got a 360 in late December and its very quite compared to my dad's which he got a few months after launch. The only differance between the two revisions seems to be the optical drive, so if you value silence just get that. And if the small amount of noise coming from the CPU/GPU cooling really affects you that much then go grab a Koolance 360 water cooling kit or make your own.

[B1gC72 @ Mar 29th 2007 12:54AM]

this is retarded. way to confuse the consumer even more. i work in retail and i get so tired of explaining "well what's the difference?". i mean they made a really half-assed effort to improve. those four improvements equal $80 (HDMI, HDMI Cable, 120GB HDD, and black)? come on. so your telling me $20 and 100GB is the difference between HD Disc playback and regular DVD? they could have done alot better than that.

[Phillip @ Mar 29th 2007 10:06AM]

I like all the video systems. Try http://www.ehenrys.com. They have a great selection of video games and systems.