Xbox 360 Elite being phased out in favor of limited edition models?

This one's still a long ways from actually panning out, but Fudzilla is reporting that Microsoft could be about to phase out its standard Xbox 360 Elite console and instead fill out the top end of the scale with limited edition models like the recent Resident Evil 5 bundle. According to the site's unnamed sources, Microsoft would get the transition started by simply letting inventory dry up beginning sometime in the second quarter of this year, during which time it would apparently limit sales of the console to North America and Europe. Then, once those have all been moved off the shelves, Microsoft would supposedly shift its attention to new, potentially even pricier, limited edition consoles, which themselves could well be limited to select retailers. In other Xbox 360 news, Fudzilla also says that Microsoft could soon be offering a new standalone hard drive that's bigger than the 120GB drive now found in the Elite, although there's no indication as to exactly how much bigger.

[Via Joystiq]

[frogger @ Mar 6th 2009 5:37PM]

typo in the title
"Xbox 360 Elite being phased out in favor or limited edition models?" should be "Xbox 360 Elite being phased out in favor of limited edition models?"
i'm assuming at least...

[Connor @ Mar 6th 2009 5:57PM]

Gah, you beat me to it. Nice spot, Frogger.

[iGoon @ Mar 6th 2009 6:07PM]

Limited edition (___________) is for suckers.

[loci @ Mar 6th 2009 9:12PM]

"Gah, you beat me to it. Nice spot, Frogger."

what a shame...thanks for letting him know tho

[tinyul @ Mar 6th 2009 5:43PM]

um good thing? although i love my elite model.. its not really elite anymore in comparison to what is coming out with the limited editions

[Andrew @ Mar 6th 2009 5:37PM]

Will the new hard drive cost a billion dollars like the 120GB does now.

Really there is no justiification for the high cost of that hard drive. NONE.

[bioadam @ Mar 6th 2009 5:56PM]

They high price of the add-on drive is all a part of Microsoft's scheme to keep down profits from downloadable content.

[Mikee @ Mar 6th 2009 5:57PM]

There's plenty of justification for the high price of the hard drive.

You suckers keep paying it, that's all the justification a company needs.

[goldcd @ Mar 6th 2009 7:01PM]

Then don't pay for it.
Well more to the point, you don't have to pay for it.
I've got an old Pro.

Would like HDMI, but not going to buy a new console for it - and they all come with it now.
20G drive isn't big enough - but 60G would be fine (An awful lot of Rockband songs, dozen live games, caching the few games I'm playing at the moment - ~40Gb would do me fine).

But as I said - I'm stuck with a pro, so decided to bite the bullet and buy the 120Gb drive. Walked into every shop in town with my £85 (ouch) clutched in my hand - and none had it in stock.

Stomped off home and... hey google says seemingly you can do the upgrade yourself.
So - £25 I got the 'right sort' of drive off ebay.
Flashed the firmware on it.
Shoved it in my 360 and IT WORKED... like it really just 'worked'

Had a look into copying the files across myself - gave up in the end. Buggy/flakey software and then seemingly some don't like being unofficially moved (basically the ones you can't copy 'officially', but have to move).

In the end just picked up a 256M card second hand for about £7 I think. Moved all save games from old drive onto this, swapped HDs and moved them onto new drive. All the other stuff you can just re-download (and Live handily lists everything you've bought/downloaded in your profile).

Sooo £32 I now have a 120G drive in my 360, a handy 360 memory card and a spare 20G drive (I have NO idea what I'll do with it) - anyway, much cheaper than the official upgrade path and works absolutely faultlessly and was ~ 1/3 of the price (+ the freebie memory card)

[Homeboy @ Mar 6th 2009 6:30PM]

I cannot contest the fact that the harddrives are highly overpriced, but that's where the money is that. In a competitive market like the in-home console segment, the competition is stiffer then Chuck Norris's left pinky toe. Price wars are common and the only way to make sure profits don't drop too much, you simply keep the prices up on accessories and games. It's all a trade off, and the same applies to the auto industry. Just look at Ferrari charge thousands of dollars for a 10 CD disc changer, and collosal amounts of money for spare parts.

[Junemas @ Mar 6th 2009 5:37PM]

What a Bunch of FUD!

[Connor @ Mar 6th 2009 5:57PM]

Mmm, FUD. I'm hungry.

[Marc @ Mar 6th 2009 8:12PM]

CAT FUD!

[Erb @ Mar 6th 2009 5:39PM]

"Microsoft could soon be offering a new standalone hard drive that's bigger than the 120GB drive now found in the Elite"

Most likely is 250gb or 320gb, after all, its just a 2.5 Hdd in a weird enclosure.

[Jeff @ Mar 6th 2009 6:22PM]

No, it's a "standalone" unit. meaning not connected, other than by a cable

[Erb @ Mar 6th 2009 6:30PM]

It means it will be sold by itself. You can buy the standalone 120gb hard drive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16874103062

[paul @ Mar 6th 2009 5:39PM]

Maybe instead they should work on creating an Elite model that's actually "elite". One that has built-in wireless instead of just a slightly larger hard drive and an HDMI cable.

[Mike @ Mar 8th 2009 3:32AM]

Can I please get a 802.11n wireless adapter? Please? Seriously!

[BrianValentine @ Mar 6th 2009 5:43PM]

built-in wireless. bigger drives. great themes. more interesting paint jobs. exclusive avatar content.

[Pepsipoint @ Mar 8th 2009 10:42AM]

Yeah, two analog sticks, no more UMD...oh wait. i thought we were bitching about the PSP. sounds like the same argument.

[nathan.wong @ Mar 6th 2009 5:43PM]

Sounds like "The Leica Strategy." Bring out more and more limited edition cameras that help jack up the price and is good on the bottom line.

[??? @ Mar 6th 2009 5:49PM]

You spelled "of" wrong in the title there...;P

[eilegz @ Mar 6th 2009 5:53PM]

Anyone know that the current elite are falcon machines, which pèople rather avoid for a better and improved jasper machine. Unless they get of course the good red and limited RE5 version, i dont think anyone would be that stupid to get an normal elite version now.

[Marc @ Mar 6th 2009 8:14PM]

Yo is that a Netscape logo? If so, PROPS!

[Jonny @ Mar 6th 2009 5:53PM]

I'd love to see an Elite be remade with a 250-500GB HD, built-in wireless and an actual REAL black coating.

The elites if you ask me are a gray color.

That and a matching media remote thrown in, as you cant find the black remotes anywhere.

Also fix the controller and give it black buttons/plastic instead of the light grey from the white one. Like the red one has.

[Alphathon @ Mar 6th 2009 6:19PM]

Well, you say white one, but it's even further from being actually white than the Elite is from being black, so really, all non special-edition 360s are grey!

[thatguy @ Mar 6th 2009 5:58PM]

I wish Microsoft would have put a big fat red Elite stamp on these, so that weirdo across the street that keeps on peeking into my house would know I'm rockin an Elite and not a regular 360 that fell in black paint.

[KeegdnaB @ Mar 6th 2009 6:47PM]

but how would he know you didn't just stamp it on yourself?

[Marc @ Mar 6th 2009 8:16PM]

That weirdo across the street is staring at you sleeping and masturbating with the pelt of a rabbit. I have, um.. I Mean HE has no interest in your Xbox 360.

[DAATMAN @ Mar 6th 2009 6:05PM]

Sweet. My 2nd Elite RROD'd on my yesterday and they're sending me a new one. Maybe I should ask if they can just give me the Resident Evil limited Xbox.

[CraigJ @ Mar 6th 2009 7:03PM]

Ask all you want. Let us know how that works out for you.

[reddyroc @ Mar 6th 2009 6:12PM]

sucks if it means that it'll be hard to get a black 360.

[Shank @ Mar 6th 2009 6:32PM]

I just talked to a guy who works for microsoft in Seattle gaming division, large campus. He says 50% of employees in that division have iPhones . Is that insane or whatt!!?????

[John @ Mar 6th 2009 6:38PM]

Microsoft doesn't forbid its customers from using apple products... about 4 of my friends either work full time or are interning with MS and only one of them uses a Zune. That might go some way to explain the complete and otherwise inexplicable lack of good Zune/Xbox integration.

[John @ Mar 6th 2009 6:39PM]

*employees, not customers

[BarryBee @ Mar 6th 2009 6:45PM]

You are an idiot. Is that insane or what!!!????

[BarryBee @ Mar 6th 2009 6:49PM]

That comment was meant for Shank.

[Shank @ Mar 6th 2009 7:07PM]

@barrybee , after a comment like that I would seriously own dominate u on call of duty 4, 5 any day any time!!!!

[Marc @ Mar 6th 2009 8:19PM]

Employees, sure they can rock an iPhone. But gates junior can't...poor kids they probably have to use a Zune. X)

[oghowie @ Mar 6th 2009 6:40PM]

I don't care about the Elite, but I do like the black casing.

Nobody wants a red xbox 360.

[Shank @ Mar 6th 2009 6:50PM]

I do ,.ebgames said they already sold all 60 they getting on03-15!!!

[Marc @ Mar 6th 2009 8:20PM]

If your box is red...you have problems.

[Brian @ Mar 6th 2009 7:03PM]

Glossy black and built-in WiFi please? And maybe a 320GB or 500GB HDDs. SSD is a but a dream. Everything else sounds like a plan!

[Charlie @ Mar 6th 2009 7:17PM]

Well.. it wouldn't surprise me at all.. not from Microsoft.
But... they rule.. if you like it or not.
Also read in the future it would be possible to delete IE from your pc.. possible... yes.. but they will still standard deliver it with your pc, so who would delete it?

http://www.auto-verkeer.com/webdesign-kapeljosie.html

[Brad @ Mar 6th 2009 7:29PM]

Interesting. I'm not really surprised though. Always need to be on the look out for bigger and better things..
- acai

[yG @ Mar 6th 2009 7:51PM]

Don't phase it out. I'd rather phase out Xbox 360 Arcade.

[Charles Opperman @ Mar 6th 2009 10:29PM]

I want this.

[nightspark @ Mar 6th 2009 10:07PM]

Why does everyone complain about the hard drive? Yeah the price sucks, but just use torrents (demonoid + utorrent) and stream movies and tv shows using media player 11. I download a lot of axxo releases and have no problems (the quality may only be dvd, but it beats just renting it on XBLM). A lot of tv shows from XBLM aren't even HD, so it makes more sense to download and stream. I have an elite and I've only used about 20 gigs (ripping games). ;-)

[James @ Mar 7th 2009 7:20AM]

You should use newartriot torrents instead, way better quality than axxo and they play on the 360 no probs.
h264 but with 2 channel audio, just the way the xbox likes them.

[NoAndThen @ Mar 6th 2009 11:24PM]

If they do this, they'll have a huge fluctuation in model sales; some people won't like one, and will wait/buy something else. Conversely, they could have a hit with one and have it be a draw of Apple-esque rumors of "what next?"

Hmmm. Iduno, could go either way.