Retailers price Xbox 360 Elite

By Robert Purchese Published 18 July, 2007

Microsoft looks other way.

European retailers HMV, Play and GAME have all agreed on a price for the Xbox 360 Elite.

They say that it will cost GBP 329.99 when it's released on the 24th August. But when we spoke to Microsoft this morning, all we got was the "nothing to announce at this point" line.

When pushed about where those retailers could have received their information, the platform holder replied by suggesting the European presence of those retailers could have meant a leak from somewhere in a different region.

It follows news from E3 where Microsoft told us the price relationship between the different SKUs would be similar to that in the US. Over there the Elite retails for USD 479, and the Premium sells for USD 399 - roughly 83 per cent of the price. Stay with us on this one, maths will prevail.

In the UK the Premium pack retails at GBP 279, meaning the Elite would theoretically cost around GBP 336 here. That's bloody close.

The Xbox 360 Elite features a 120GB hard disk, HDMI video output and a unique black casing and peripherals that set it apart from the 360 Premium and Core packs.

A solid announcement on the price is expected in the weeks leading up to its launch on 24th August.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (60) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Mercatoria #1 5 years ago

    Nope. Not for that price.

  • JayeM #2 5 years ago

    Gonna need to stick a couple of games and an extra controller in for that price now.
    Edited by 1 at 18/07/07 @ 10:00

  • Steroyd #3 5 years ago

    Sony rounds up Microsoft rounds down.

  • DanMW #4 5 years ago

    Get rid of the Core, reduce Premium to under 200, and have the Elite for £250 tops, that would make more sense, £330 compared to the PS3 bundles out there doesn't seem very good value for money.

  • Zomoniac #5 5 years ago

    Also: MAKE IT WHITE!

  • onyxbox #6 5 years ago

    not worth the price.

    it's probably just as gimped as the prev. one. wait for 65nm version next year me thinks.

  • Caimbeul #7 5 years ago

    Rip off!

  • keyboardmonkey #8 5 years ago

    It's good to see that there is no such thing as price fixing anymore :p

  • KingOfSpain #9 5 years ago

    What about a price for the 120gb HDD?

  • L0cky #10 5 years ago

    'European retailers HMV, Play and GAME have all agreed on a price'

    You mean they all posted the price based on RRP, or that they actually got together and agreed on it? :p

    /me suggests changing that sentence before the lawyers turn up

  • Wayne #11 5 years ago

    Play always stand by their price, so if you order one now you *will* get it for £329

    Pity I can't buy one until October :0(

  • Darren #12 5 years ago

    I'm not interested in the Elite 360 at all - I hate the black look and don't fancy having to rebuy all my white accessories, like the Wi-Fi adaptor and Plug and Charge Kit, again just so everything matches.

    However, I am interested in buying the larger capacity 120 GB hard drive, which sells for $180 in the US. Does anyone know when it's released in the UK and how much it'll cost here?

  • viper_h #13 5 years ago

    ^ but it's black!! can't have that!

    tool.

  • Poorandugly #14 5 years ago

    Unless it's in pure solid gold, I'm not interested.

  • DanMW #15 5 years ago

    I find this calculation rather helpful

    180 * 1.4 / 2 = £126 o_O that seems a lot but 20GB for £70... I guess it's possible.

  • robg #16 5 years ago

    Pff the 360 premium may technically cost £279 or whatever, but they were selling it instore for £200 with CoD3/PES6 at Toys R Us today. There are loads of deals around, no-one need pay that price any more.

  • Darren #17 5 years ago

    viper_h - "^ but it's black!! can't have that!

    tool."

    Why? I don't want black for the reasons I stated, that I have to rebuy the accessories again in black unless I want that unique "zebra" look. If I could have bought the PS3 in white or silver then I would have - it doesn't show up the dust as much for starters!

    Why did you think I didn't want black... because I'm racist?!? LOL

    You spanner! ;)

  • gallow #18 5 years ago

    You may as well spend the extra 80 and get a ps3 (install Unix and have a very usable pc to boot).

  • DanMW #19 5 years ago

    I think he said that because I don't think there's a white 120GB HD (I might be mistaken)

  • Darren #20 5 years ago

    @DanMW - The 20 GB HDD is vastly overpriced, in my opinion it should be no more than £30 or £40 but then the memory units would look overexpensive too. I bought a 160 GB HDD for my PS3 for just £70 so it just shows how inflated Microsoft's prices really are. Sure the Xbox 360 HDD comes in its own little shell but inside is a bog standard 2.5" SATA drive or so I understand. I don't think the 120 GB HDD should be more than £80 myself but I reckon it'll be £129 something like that. It might have been better if Microsoft had offered a range of sizes including 40GB, 80 GB and 120 GB and priced them accordingly. As it is they had an HDD that is far too small and one that is far too big for most people and don't offer anything in the middle! LOL

  • Inquisitor #21 5 years ago

    Yea, the 360 premium is regualrly being sold at £230ish so the elite is effectively £100 more than the premium. Madness.

    It also makes the new ps3 packages look like pretty good value for money, 2 games and 2 controllers for just £400 compared to the elites £330 for nothing extra.

  • Darren #22 5 years ago

    @DanMW - The 20 GB HDD on my premium Xbox 360 isn't white anyway, it's grey with a silver trim! ;)

  • JayeM #23 5 years ago

    I reckon we'll see the Premium priced at around £220 online with the Elite priced at around £280.

  • DBSnappa #24 5 years ago

    Too expensive. No 65Nm. No real need for a 120Gb HDD until they roll out the new download service either. The more I think about it, the more I think MS are determined to piss away they're lead here - it doesn't look like a bargain compared to the PS3 - sure there are many many more compelling reasons to buy the 360 with the games catalogue as opposed to the PS3, but the 360 just looks expensive at that price. Wake up and smell the bloody coffee Redmond.
    Edited by 1 at 18/07/07 @ 11:02

  • Overlush #25 5 years ago

    So NOW can we stop bitching about Sony being rip-off merchants? I mean, with the Elite you're STILL missing HD movie playback and WiFi AND you've got to pay for LIVE. One COULD argue that the PS3 is the better value option, so how about we just call it quits? Hmm?

  • Xerx3s #26 5 years ago

    Oh that done to death argument again.

  • Overlush #27 5 years ago

    So, you've not heard of Home?

    "The two are not comparable".

    So I can play games online, create a friends list and send them messages with my PS3, but this is IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM comparable to LIVE? If I was paying for it, I dare say you might be comparing it to LIVE, but I'm not allowed to when the opposite is true?
    Edited by 1 at 18/07/07 @ 11:23

  • Machetazo #28 5 years ago

    KingOfSpain: "What about a price for the 120gb HDD?"

    + (about) 1000!
    That's more relevant than the price of a SKU we don't really need, imo.

  • penhalion #29 5 years ago

    No way for that price. I do want the 120gb drive though. When is that making an appearance?

  • penhalion #30 5 years ago

    @Overlush

    You just described microsoft messenger mate. Live consists of such added value as achievements. The ability to voice chat while playing a totally different games to your friends. Inviting people to play games while actually playing a game etc. etc.

    Even Sony admit they have a looonnnggggg way to go to match live so you need to stop attempting to say otherwise. At least agree what line to put forward with Sony before you open your mouth as you seem to have some intimate knowledge of their online plans that they haven't shared with the rest of us.
    Edited by 1 at 18/07/07 @ 11:40

  • Garulon #31 5 years ago

    "So NOW can we stop bitching about Sony being rip-off merchants? I mean, with the Elite you're STILL missing HD movie playback and WiFi AND you've got to pay for LIVE. "

    Can I rip out all that shit from a PS3 and get it for £199 though? No? I _have_ to pay £425, even if I just want to play Heavenly Sword? Then it's too expensive. Case closed.

  • MrBiggles #32 5 years ago

    It doesn't matter what the price is, at the end of the day 360 is a better console than PS3 for games, so even if it was 500 quid it would still be a better deal than PS3.

    It has better games, end of topic.

  • Stilicho #33 5 years ago

    "Live consists of such added value as achievements."

    Wow. So that's what the membership fee is for.

    Have you not seen the PS3 trophy system in Home?

  • Razz #34 5 years ago

    Wo! Not for that price at all! I'll wait another year methinks.

  • lambtron #35 5 years ago


    'So, you've not heard of Home?"

    You mean that thing that isn't even out yet?

  • The_Aardvark #36 5 years ago

    Market segmentation anyone? As deals on the premium bring it within financial reach of the casual gamer, MS are looking to the elite to take maximum advantage of the limited number of consumers who want a higher quality product at a higher cost.

    The elite is not intended to replace to premium as the mass-market choice, it's there for the small number of consumers who are prepared to pay extra. Supermarkets do this all the time. They'll compete to see who can sell tins of tomato soup for the lowest price but constantly introduce more expensive fresh soups to get maximum advantage from those customers who want to spend more for a higher quality product. Think of this as your Taste The Difference Xbox.

  • playgen #37 5 years ago

    The real difference with Live and sonys online service is that microsoft run all the servers, so as long as the live service exsists, every game will always be playable online. Since sony don't do that, developers/publishers have to pay themselves for their own servers, so you can bet that a lot of games will have their online playing scrapped after a year - especially sport games with their new version released every year.
    I don't like the fact you have to pay for live either, but you can't say you don't get anything for that money.

  • lambtron #38 5 years ago

    "Think of this as your Taste The Difference Xbox."

    Problem is though they didn't really put enough into it.

    In an ideal world it would be 65nm with wifi built in (and all the reliability problems ironed out) and Live would now be free as it would be financed by the TV on demand and other stuff.

    Hehe who am I kidding?

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #39 5 years ago

    I used to have a charcoal-grey debug kit on my desk at work, and I reckon the dark look just doesn't suit the shape of the 360.

  • Yaz #40 5 years ago

    To be honest, I don't see the problem with the price.

    360 premium is officially £279.99.

    The fact that you can find it cheaper elsewhere is irrelevent, because HMV, Play and GAME all sell the 360 premium for £279.99, and therefore this is the price we should be comparing.

    Hence to recap, HMV, Play and GAME will sell 360 Elite for £329.99, which is just £50 more than their price for the 360 premium.

    That's £50 for 100GB extra HDD space and HDMI.

    That's a good deal imo.

  • Hughes. #41 5 years ago

    The Elite is a total con-job. Buy a tin a black Vinyl-Cote, do a DIY HDD replacement and realise the HDMI output is barely any different from the existing one in terms of visual quality and be happy with your premium.

    Also, a machine that already suffers from overheating, and they make it BLACK? Good thinking. And, still no WiFi, so that'll set you back an extra £60, and the cable to transfer HDD data isn't bundled.

    This is vying with the Core for suckiest SKU.

  • reality_cheque #42 5 years ago

    I wonder what model the Halo3 SKU is based on. I think it looks quite nice in green.

    Not gonna buy one though, already got 2 in the house so I guess I'm on the list of people just wanting the 120GB drive.

  • Hughes. #43 5 years ago

    The Halo 3 one is weird hybrid, HDMI but only 20GB hard drive, iirc.

    and they don't even bundle the game, craziness.
    Edited by 1 at 18/07/07 @ 13:00

  • kangarootoo #44 5 years ago

    @Poorandugly

    Hehe, you beat me to it.

  • jonsaan #45 5 years ago

    Derailed.

  • Carpathian #46 5 years ago

    Can't see the point in anybody even thinking of grabbing an Elite yet. Considering the internal build hasn't been altered to fix the existing normal 360 issues I'd have thought that any early adopters are leaving themselves wide open to joining the club. I've read machine reviews where RRoD occurred and others where they took apart units and found the exact same inherent faults there.

    I say that with no glee, either - just rather a large dose of puzzlement that MS would risk the name of the new version by having it tarred with the same brush.

    Anybody got any other angle of why the Elite, as it stands, is really viable to consider?

  • afghan_jones #47 5 years ago

    its a rip off and the black looks shite compared to the sexy ice white, especially on the paddles.

  • Edwannawonga #48 5 years ago

    "Also, a machine that already suffers from overheating, and they make it BLACK? Good thinking."

    Sorry Hughes, don't mean to be a snobby know-it-all but black actually radiates heat a lot more efficiently.

    Back to topic; not enough changes to hardware to warrant a purchase I'm afraid. Like what Lambtron was saying about in-built Wifi and increased reliability, it'd be worth it only it's just a pipe dream.

  • Darren #49 5 years ago

    The Elite 360 is just Microsoft's way of making more money out of existing hardware, in the same way that Sony did with the PSone and redesigned PS2, although it's obviously nowhere near as sexy/appealing and is likely just as unreliable as the current models if the US reports are anything to go by!

    The only useful feature it offers over the existing models is a larger HDD but you'll soon be able to buy that separately anyway. HDMI is nice but that should have been included with the machine from the off and only gives a marginal improvement in image quality anyway.

    In a lot of ways, the Elite is the machine the original premium 360 should have been in the first place (with improved reliability obviously!). The measly 20 GB HDD was a huge mistake for a console that offers lots of downloadable content, particularly as only 11 GB was actually available for use. Microsoft should have considered the 40 GB HDD as the minimum size, I mean the original Xbox had an 8 GB HDD so the 20 GB one wasn't that much of an improvement really.

  • Trendyninja #50 5 years ago

    There is so much more that MS could have done for the Elite which REALLY would have warranted the name "Elite".

    Why no wireless built into it?

    Why not have the HD DVD built into it?

    Why not wait until the new 65nm chipset was ready to roll?

    I mean really when you look at what your getting it just looks so pathetic. Especially when the visual difference with HDMI is hardly noticeable. Well not after the numerous comparison screenshots I have seen anyway.

    If ever the was a wasted opportunity this was surley it?

  • JimJam #51 5 years ago

    If I'd been looking to buy a 360 after 24th August I might have considered it, but I don't regret buying a Premium in April for a second.

    I'm still unsure of the PS3 online service - I know that Sony themselves aren't charging a registration fee, but that doesn't mean that all games will necessarily be free to play. I remember that before they agreed to support Live, EA used to charge for their online service. It'll be great if this doesn't happen, but no surprise to me if at least some publishers start charging gamers directly to play on their servers.
    Edited by 1 at 18/07/07 @ 15:24

  • bioreit #52 5 years ago

    @ Darren

    "Sure the Xbox 360 HDD comes in its own little shell but inside is a bog standard 2.5" SATA drive or so I understand"

    Not true. They use hard drives that go through even more stringent tests than server-based 24 X 7 devices and also have to function at higher speeds for longer periods of time than normal drives.

    Linky: http://ww w.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3158485 (not the place I read it from, but the best I could find at short notice.)

    I know the recent Aussie recall might put paid to that, but every so often you do get a batch of bad things - epsecially hard drives. And this is the first time I have ever read anything about bad 360 drives.


    But I agree with everyone on the pricing though - £25 or £30 for the memory card, £40 for the 20gig, £70 for the 120gig and I'd be sold! Anything over £100 and I'm waiting until IPTV hits and even then, it's in no way a guaranteed sale!

    And they should dump the Core to £150, the Premium to £200 and the Elite to £280. Then it'd shift pretty good.

    Oh, and they need to make the 120gig in white, too!

    Edit 1: Less haste, more ambling.
    Edited by 1 at 18/07/07 @ 15:27

  • bonker #53 5 years ago

    "European retailers HMV, Play and GAME have all agreed on a price for the Xbox 360 Elite."

    See, the thing is that this 'cartelling' is breaking about 200 UK and Euro laws but they still do it and get away with it ...

    Fuckas.

  • ruckus #54 5 years ago

    Who the hell would use 2.5" drives in a server?
    retracted - you were saying more 'stringent tests'...
    Edited by 1 at 18/07/07 @ 16:07

  • mechamonkey #55 5 years ago

    I'd buy one if it was quieter

  • captain-future #56 5 years ago

    479 EUR is my guess.

  • dryden555 #57 5 years ago

    agreed -- best to wait for 65nm version

  • Calgon #58 5 years ago

    Carpathian wait... the Euro Elite hasnt been released yet... the alterations to the build/manufacturing were already underway before E3(according to the announcement) perhaps some of us have thought about it a little harder than you give us credit for? ;) Lets wait and see what the mod scene in Europe says first they always do their own tests.

    Theres more to it than the switch to 65nm, the chips themselves will be the same only smaller and cooler(theres nothing wrong with the 90nm chips themselves is the point... they just generate more heat like any other processors of a simlar size), so even as it is now there are ways to reduce the faults theyve been having which they have apparently done.

    With so much FUD surrounding this issue its best to ignore anything without a reliable source IMO(even then theres arguements about the sources)... it will die down(sorry to say, haters) but MS will have to really push themselves to make sure it does so as fast as possible.

    Im more positive after E3 as a potential buyer, the Elite should be priced at £300 that is the best value for money... the excusses people forked out so much for a PS3 for "surprisingly" give arent enough for the majority who see it as too expensive. Im sorry but not everyone cares about wi-fi it would be a waste for me to pay for it on my setup(and it does have its limitations too for those that could make use of it) that should be cheaper but its not essential so I think the addon approach is fair, HD DVD/Blu-Ray? Meh! so glad they didnt wait for either of them as standard... for movies they were right, neither are going to last long... they probably wont ever reach the level of success DVD has(they are going to have to wait for everyone to get on board with HDTVs and by that time...), for games... with full compression changing a disk every 20 hours isnt a big deal for the big games(look at oblivion and remember all those improvements attributed "chuching" to blu-ray for the PS3 version are perfectly attainable on 360, I think that says alot about how much you can do with DVD-9) especially if it can work out cheaper for all involed too.

    Live shouldnt be part of the equation we might aswell start adding the extra cost PS3 owners pay for worse games(all rubbish... am I the only one who think Metal Gear is sh... ;) sorry shouldnt mimick them), untill Sony match Live for free in all the ways that made online gaming so popular on consoles(something Sony no matter how much they spin their figures have MS to thank for because they couldnt manage it without having MS lead the way) then Sony fanboys should remain quiet on whether they are getting the same thing for free. Also theres just more online games in MS' library, part of that is attributed the work MS has done to make it easier on the devs, with the foundation in place already and the support they offer to make it happen... couldnt that be where some of the money is going too?
    Edited by 1 at 19/07/07 @ 05:51

  • Carpathian #59 5 years ago

    Calgon said: Carpathian wait... the Euro Elite hasnt been released yet... the alterations to the build/manufacturing were already underway before E3(according to the announcement) perhaps some of us have thought about it a little harder than you give us credit for? ;) Lets wait and see what the mod scene in Europe says first they always do their own tests.

    A fair point and I will of course quite happily alter my opinion if any new evidence comes to light. Part of the issue is, as I understand it, the location of parts in the build and the way heat is pushed towards critical parts as opposed to the parts themselves. I just couldn't see them moving parts around in the Elite, that's all.

    As you say though, the proof will be in the the scrutiny sites (like EG, perhaps) give to the UK/Europe build of the Elite when it shows it's face. I'd love to think you're right, Calgon, I really do.....

  • patchbox360 #60 5 years ago

    kiss my ass, wheres the hd drive ?