Xbox 360 Elite price cut to £199

By Tom Bramwell Published 27 August, 2009

Pro discontinued, Arcade at £159.

Microsoft will officially cut the price of the Xbox 360 Elite to £199.99 tomorrow, 28th August, and has confirmed the 60GB Pro model will be phased out.

The Xbox 360 Arcade will move to a higher £159.99 price than at present and will not be officially bundled with software as it has been recently.

Over in the US, the Elite will sell for $299.99 and the Arcade for $199.99.

The Elite will no longer ship with a bundled HDMI cable.

Last week Sony cut the price of the PlayStation 3 to £249.99 / €299.99 and announced the introduction of a new slim unit, due out imminently, which features a 120GB hard disk - the same capacity offered by the Xbox 360 Elite.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (105) Latest comment 2 years ago

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

  • swissorc #1 2 years ago

    Shame they won't drop the price of the stupid wireless converter as £60 is a royal rip

  • Bazfrag #2 2 years ago

    Pro gaming tip: Wireless will get you killed.

    Pro comments page tip: Don't say things like Pro Gaming Tip!
    Edited by 1 at 27/08/09 @ 17:11

  • Gnort #3 2 years ago

    Will the Elite still be black? If so, they'll have moved almost completely away from their original colour choice. Not that it bothers me, I think the black console looks better.

  • TheDudesRug #4 2 years ago

    Gnort, white is so turn of the century darling!

  • peterfll #5 2 years ago

    ^

    Yes, my thought also. Black is new white in AV land tho I think?

    \hugs 360 Elite

  • mkreku #6 2 years ago

    They're removing the HDMI cable? Why on earth..?

  • Madafunkola #7 2 years ago

    I like "price-drop-tennis".
    If this forces Sony's hand to dropping the Slim to sub£200 by xmas, I'd be in!

  • t8yman #8 2 years ago

    @mkreku- cost of course
    Edited by 1 at 27/08/09 @ 09:23

  • Buztafen #9 2 years ago

    Why drop the HDMI cable though? Its worth around £20 retail but probably has bugger all manufacturing costs. Why not just take out the old Component and replace with the HDMI unit, that'll save any extra cost.

  • kangarootoo #10 2 years ago

    "Pro gaming tip: Wireless will get you killed."

    I assume you mean because of lag? Your home broadband connection is the bottleneck, being far slower than wifi or ethernet. If your wifi network isn't stable, its probably your router of your environment. Wifi is fine if setup properly.

  • hoathenfold #11 2 years ago

    Surely the 360 Elite isn't going to come bundled with a bloody composite cable?
    If its going to come with the component cable that the Premium originally did, that must cost more to include than an HDMI?
    I guess MS are thinking that a lot of their customers still don't have HDMI equipped TV's and with the Elite now the 'main' unit they have to make sure this works for everyone straight off the bat.

  • Domovoi #12 2 years ago

    Does the Arcade have the chrome disc drive and wireless controller? Doesn't that essentially make it the (white) Pro, without the hard drive?

    I wonder if, when my Pro dies, I can just grab an Arcade and end up with the exact same setup.
    Edited by 2 at 27/08/09 @ 09:28

  • CallousB #13 2 years ago

    So all the consoles are now SD only out of the box? So much for the HD generation.:-P

  • woodnotes #14 2 years ago

    "Pro gaming tip: Wireless will get you killed."

    I assume you mean because of lag? Your home broadband connection is the bottleneck, being far slower than wifi or ethernet. If your wifi network isn't stable, its probably your router of your environment. Wifi is fine if setup properly."

    Is he not talking about the cancer?

  • doughnut007 #15 2 years ago

    Madness utter madness , boy am I glad Ive chopped in my 360 against a slim

  • Dreadaxe #16 2 years ago

    A quick question how stupid are consumers?
    the 360 got its name due to ps3 as 3>2

    will people see this as the main 360 or will MS be making a mint when people buy the arcade thinking it the full system and the elite it high end elite version that not for them
    Edited by 1 at 27/08/09 @ 09:32

  • kangarootoo #17 2 years ago

    @woodnotes

    Ahhhh. When he wrote pro gamer, I didn't realise that was code for "frequent contributor to the Lancet".

  • Negotiator #18 2 years ago

    How the hell can the Arcade model be only £40 cheaper than the Elite, it's insane to think anyone would buy it.

  • Arwin #19 2 years ago

    I thought they might be doing this, though they're doing it sooner than I expected - though if this is UK only, maybe they're testing the waters here. I was debating whether Microsoft would choose dropping the price or dropping the live subscription fee. We were concluding that from a business point of view, Live is more attractive, and so thought a price-drop would be more likely. After all, only one in four has to have a Live subscription for four years in order to compensate for this price drop.

  • Domovoi #20 2 years ago

    The other problem is that unless MS changed the engineering then those who want to put sound out whilst using HDMI now HAVE to buy the overpriced MS version of the HDMI cable and audio adapter. Which is about £25+. /fail

    What? Why? I'm just using a cheap HMDI cable for both audio and video on the 360. Why would you need a special MS HDMI cable and audio adapter?

  • Xerx3s #21 2 years ago

    Considering that this is EUROgamer, it would be nice if there was a price in euros as well. Not that I can't take an accurate guess, it's $ == € after all. ¬_¬

  • noobjob #22 2 years ago

    this couldn't have come at a better time for me. good gcse results means new 360 :)

  • Xerx3s #23 2 years ago

    "Shame they won't drop the price of the stupid wireless converter as £60 is a royal rip "

    For those wanting this, there is a very interesting tip on the forum.

  • Dreadaxe #24 2 years ago

    if it end up as €=$ the its the same as the ps3

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #25 2 years ago

    I've always been very objective when it comes to consoles and have been somewhat bemused at the Sony loyalty calling everyone else an xbot when Sonys clear major fuck ups have been pointed out to them.

    Well in this case I have to say that MS have fucked up so much with this pricing it will end up on wikipedia!

    £170 was the tipping point for a load of friends to get a 360 and MS get rid of it! And, no they wouldn't have been willing to spend an extra £30 for another 60GB of storage.

    £50 lower than the PS3 is not enough. For me personally it's all about the games and I made my choice a few years back. Other people have different needs though.

    Raising the Arcade to only £10 less than the system you WAS selling with a 60GB HDD, a headset and HD cable is fucking laughable, although I do suspect they don't sell that many and probably don't give a shit.

    Deary me. You watch this radically changed once two months of sales data have been released. Mark my words.

  • AhSoul #26 2 years ago

    "So all the consoles are now SD only out of the box? So much for the HD generation.:-P"

    Doesn't it come with component cables? Component is HD......

  • Bazfrag #27 2 years ago

    Lol. Maybe its just my lack of install ability but after 3 different routers i got annoyed at the frequent disconnects, low to no signal strength, and my brother moaning that his 512kps was gimped to 56kps.

  • themorganator #28 2 years ago

    @EverAfter

    errr, you can't really judge either consoles on the hardware costs/ features as they're so closely matched now. Surely the one you want is the console with the best online, better exclusives, and higher quality cross platform games. Blu Ray's going to die as everyone moves to digital downloads, so where is your argument? oh, that's right.. wireless and cables.

    Exactly the kind of things I consider on a games console purchase.

  • Arwin #29 2 years ago

    U.S. pricedrop official too, though less aggressive (Elite at $299, which is the same as the PS3 Slim). I'm thinking that there are still a lot of Pros in the channel that need to be cleared first (Pro now $249)

    [link url=http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2 009/aug09/08-27RedTagPR.mspx
    ]http://ww w.microsoft.com/presspass/press...[/link]

    Small tidbit in that article that I didn't know about yet:

    1 Xbox LIVE Gold Membership will be required for Twitter and Facebook when they are available, and is required for Netflix. Games, media content and Netflix membership are sold separately; a hard drive is required for storage.

  • Bazfrag #30 2 years ago

    "Doesn't it come with component cables? Component is HD....." God. People still dont know this? I remember shit like "you cant do 1080 over component, only hdmi can..."

  • Xerx3s #31 2 years ago

    "I assume you mean because of lag? Your home broadband connection is the bottleneck, being far slower than wifi or ethernet. If your wifi network isn't stable, its probably your router of your environment. Wifi is fine if setup properly."

    Sorry but the way wireless technology works, it isn't a even close to mimicking cat5e wiring. You may be able to create an optimal environment that gives the idea that it's a good connection but that still doesn't come close to wired and most environments don't get close to such optimal circumstances.

    It's not a matter of speed, it's a matter of signal noise & dropped signals. Not an issue in most things but definitely not something you would want to use when playing twitch shooters against people who are really good.

    Not to mention that besides being a fuckload faster, 1gb wired equipment is also a fuckload cheaper.

  • el-bandito #32 2 years ago

    @Domovoi: Because some people might want to send the video to the TV via HDMI and the sound to their AMP via an optical cable.... like me

  • swissorc #33 2 years ago

    BazFrag

    Couldn't agree more ethernet or nothing for me. But want one for my girlfriend gave her my old pro when I got an elite and no way of getting an ethernet cable to it in her lounge so want a wireless one just so I can get her online for marketplace etc.

  • kangarootoo #34 2 years ago

    @Negotiator

    "How the hell can the Arcade model be only £40 cheaper than the Elite, it's insane to think anyone would buy it."

    I think that is the point. MS want everyone to buy the Elite, so you drop the price of the Elite and push up the price of the Arcade at the same time, reducing the margin and giving everyone incentive to just stump up the extra £40.


    @Bazfrag

    I've had mixed results with routers. I used to have a Linksys that did a great job. The previous one (a D-link or maybe Belkin, I forget) was not so hot and was never happy with my 360 wifi.

    I currently have a T-Link from ebuyer, dead cheap and one of the best I've come across. Currently everything is in the same room though, so its hard to be sure. The Linksys kept a stable 54 connection to my 360 and PC through 2 floors, so its hard not to recommend it on that basis.

  • space_ace #35 2 years ago

    360 is fine, but really what's with the wi-fi? and the noise :)

  • kangarootoo #36 2 years ago

    @Xerx3s

    Ah well, I guess I've been lucky with environments then. I had all sorts of issues a few years ago in a previous house, but I've not had problems in my last two places so I figured the tech had just got better (except with my current PC, but that is using a £5 usb wifi adapter off ebay, which I am 2 steps from throwing out of the window).

    On that note, if anyone has a cheapish USB wifi adapter they can recommend, I'm all ears.

  • kangarootoo #37 2 years ago

    "remember the ps3 needs large space because a lot of games have forced installs and 360s all work of the disc"

    But you can install 360 games to the drive also now, which anyone with the room to do so will take advantage of to keep the system noise down.

    That reminds me, wasn't part of the latest update a tweak that reduced install sizes? About damn time (/is still clinging onto original 20GB drive, and wallet).

  • kangarootoo #38 2 years ago

    Now I remember. The ropey router I had was Netgear... assuming anyone cares.

  • mkreku #39 2 years ago

    Nooo, I have a Netgear!

  • Darren #40 2 years ago

    The removal of the HDMI cable with the Elite means that anyone wanting to use HDMI and route DD5.1 sound through their older non-HDMI surround sound amps will have use a cheap third-party HDMI lead and fork out extra for the optical out adaptor (can be found on eBay for around £13) or buy the overpriced official Xbox 360 HDMI cable at £30+ which comes with the adaptor.

  • stampax #41 2 years ago

    Have owned both (but sold my 360) and have to say that the ps3 at 50 quid more is a more tempting proposition - especially if you want to connect to the net by wi fi and play the occasional game online (and goes without saying if you have any interest in BR).

  • kangarootoo #42 2 years ago

    @mkreku

    Hey, if its working fine then don't worry. My probs were years ago, so their firmware is probably more accomodating now.

  • ps3owner #43 2 years ago

    so. 199 + HDMI and gold live sub = same as PS3? price wise right?

    bottom line is that ppl still look at the price and the xbox is still cheaper.

  • ph101 #44 2 years ago

    @kangaratoo
    Picked one up for £17 in maplins. "Micronet".. lol. Works fine though. No doubt you can order online for cheaper still.

  • stodgypudding #45 2 years ago

    When the public go into a shop all they'll notice is there is a significant price difference between the slim and the elite. This will to some degree affect the impact of sonys recent price drop.

    This won't affect the dork who aready has a PS3 but 'must have' the latest one or Xbox owners who finaly see the PS3 approaching an affordable price.

  • j-bo #46 2 years ago

    @themorganator

    "Blu Ray's going to die as everyone moves to digital downloads, so where is your argument?"

    Yeah I can't wait to start those 22gb downloads over my 10mb net connection and have my net connection snarled up for days.

    Methinks your argument is based around 5-10 years in the future, sir.

  • kangarootoo #47 2 years ago

    ^ truth

  • ps3owner #48 2 years ago

    I need to switch to O2 broadband first in order to "stream & download" ... Virgin just goes into meltdown after 5GB of data. laughable

  • betahoven #49 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:36:16 17-12-2011

  • Eighthours #50 2 years ago

    The other problem is that unless MS changed the engineering then those who want to put sound out whilst using HDMI now HAVE to buy the overpriced MS version of the HDMI cable and audio adapter. Which is about £25+. /fail

    You can cannabilise the input connector of a component or VGA Cable (you prise off the plastic, basically) to allow you to plug both that and an HDMI cable into the 360 at the same time, which allows you to use the Optical Out on the component or VGA while getting the video from the HDMI. It's fiddly, but it works and you should be able to get it cheaper.

  • Shadders #51 2 years ago

    I think the bigger issue here is that Sony have a better Christmas line up than Microsoft, which is arguably the first time that's happened this gen, so more than any other time Microsoft really need to be aggressive on price to compensate for the lack of excellent software.

    I already own two of each console so this doesn't really effect me, but this does seem like strange behaviour from Microsoft, an Elite at less than £180 would have really took the wind out of Sony's sails.

    EDIT: Damn less than sign making my text vanish! :x
    Edited by 2 at 27/08/09 @ 10:30

  • penguin_overlord #52 2 years ago

    For the first time, Microsoft are at a disadvantage on price. It would be crazy for anyone to buy the Arcade version now at the new price when it's only £40 less than the Elite. And the Elite looks expensive at just £50 less than the PS3 when it doesn't contain wifi and BluRay...or reliability. The PS3's future line-up is also more impressive. There's no exclusive 360 game before Christmas that can match Uncharted 2.

  • Goffee #53 2 years ago

    Typical, got a Pro (plus a HDMI lead for £5) last month. So I've lost 60GB storage but saved £25. Still, what I want to see is cheaper, higher-capacity hard drives. First, so I can have a back up of my current data and also as recognition from Microsoft that 120GB isn't going to be enough soon for us 'digital native' types or whatever the phrase is this week.

  • ps3owner #54 2 years ago

    zerolight, I've read that there seems to be a cap on the 50Mb line as well. even though there shouldn't be one. That was a while ago though, when they introduced it first. Anyway, I know that there isn't one for O2. the 50Mb is a bit OTT for my needs... price is too high. just the download cap is a problem, if you are streaming.

    I need to check the whole setup again. :).
    Edited by 1 at 27/08/09 @ 10:40

  • degville #55 2 years ago

    if you buy a ps3 from shopto the difference is is £29 if you are quibbling of that much then its time to ask mummy and daddy for some more pocket money or get a paper round

  • Shadders #56 2 years ago

    @donnie080208

    Why would Microsoft be interested in evening things out? They've always been such an aggressive company, this seems really strange behaviour from them.

  • Darren #57 2 years ago

    Seems bizarre to price the gimped Arcade model just £40 less than the better value Elite, which comes with 480X the storage capacity for starters, but maybe that's the point... that Microsoft want people to be more tempted to buy the more expensive model?

  • actionfitz #58 2 years ago

    PS3 with 120g HD gets a price cut, Xbox arcade with no HD and no bundled software gets a price hike...
    cheers Micosoft.
    C**ts.

  • Monkey_Puncher #59 2 years ago

    £200 for an Elite is an excellent price, and if you're gonna use the Bluray, £250 is an absolute bargain for a Ps3!

    This can only be good for consumers and gaming the long run!

  • sneetch #60 2 years ago

    @kangarootoo
    I assume you mean because of lag? Your home broadband connection is the bottleneck, being far slower than wifi or ethernet. If your wifi network isn't stable, its probably your router of your environment. Wifi is fine if setup properly.

    I reckon Wireless is worse that cable at least in my case, it adds about 25-50 ms of lag, perhaps that's my lead-sheet collection or interference from some kind of cosmic radiation (in which case I'll develop super-powers, so it's well worth it, IMO) but it can make a big difference in some games.

    Edit: Oh and game sell HDMI cables for (I think) €8 in Galway. Not 100% sure about that. I was checking as the PS3 slim doesn't have one... mind you there's something... wrong... about the idea of using my Microsoft HDMI cable with my PS3 that I love.

    I bet the PS3 throws up. ;)
    Edited by 1 at 27/08/09 @ 10:55

  • onyxbox #61 2 years ago

    I think most people judge hardware by how many 'gigs' it's got for how much.

    So they will see 360 giving 120 GIGS for £200

    and PS3 giving 120 GIGS for £250 and people will end up buying a 360 anyway and then get charged for all kinds of peripherals and XBL... the store assistants aren't going to disscourage that either because the margin is probably higher on the accessories than the console.

    it's going to be interesting for sure how this Christmas pans out, and whether Sony's branding and precieved quality etc. hold up against the cheaper (price of entry of) 360

    I reckon PS3 will sell very well this year but I think 360 will also hold it's own. 2nd place behind the Wii will belong to both 360 and PS3 in the end (there won't be much in it TBH) and hopefully we can all get along nicely.

  • kangarootoo #62 2 years ago

    "I think most people judge hardware by how many 'gigs' it's got for how much."

    I think it is highly unlikely that a significant number of games make their platform decisions based on the storage capacity of each system. The games are far and away the most important thing in determining which console people buy.

  • peteb #63 2 years ago

    @ps3owner

    so. 199 + HDMI and gold live sub = same as PS3? price wise right?

    if you're going down that road then you should add an hdmi cable to the ps3 and a headset :D or does the ps3 slim finally come with an hdmi cable?
    Edited by 1 at 27/08/09 @ 10:58

  • spekkeh #64 2 years ago

    But is the HDMI worth it, I mean really? Most xbox360 games scale up anyway. I can hardly tell the difference between 720p and 1080p on my 37inch full HD for most games. Only Resi5 has screentearing at 1080. Component cables do the trick just fine I reckon.

  • penhalion #65 2 years ago

    Time for Microsoft to design a 360 slim me thinks and for heavens sake include a built in wireless!

  • robrymond #66 2 years ago

    The Elites will still ship with all HD cables at the moment, our delivery at work has the old versions, so get them while they still do!

  • Retroid #67 2 years ago

    Elite needs to be a bit cheaper still, IMO, and raising the price of the Arcade is just bloody idiotic. Smacks a bit of complacency to me, which is a big pity as they'd previously been aggressive on pricing (at least on the consoles themselves) and we consumers had benefited.

  • ps3owner #68 2 years ago

    ok. no HDMI cable, just the sub. no need for a headset... I have one, but just so that I can switch it on and leave it in the cupboard so that I don't have to listen to anyone ;).

  • danathjo #69 2 years ago

    I should of bought one from Zavvi months ago when I had the chance, I can wait until they bring out Natal and built in wifi/hdmi.

  • Ultra238a #70 2 years ago

    Re-price rise on 360 Arcade - they will bin this SKU after Christmas and go back to just having a single console SKU in the Elite like Sony and Nintendo do. Saves confusion with the customer and allows marketing to push a single SKU rather than multiple SKUs. May as well get the benefit though on the run up to Christmas of the price point.

    If Sony wanted to "own" MS this Christmas then all they would have to do on their TV adverts would be to show a 360 red ring of death and say "50% failure rate" and then show a PS3 and say "less then 5% failure rate" - parents would $hit themselves and pay the extra for the PS3 irrespective of included HDMI cable, Wifi, or BluRay player.

  • Jonny5Alive7 #71 2 years ago

    Losing the HDMI cable is hardly an issue, Tesco sell them for less than a fiver.

  • SeesThroughAll #72 2 years ago

    If Sony wanted to "own" MS this Christmas then all they would have to do on their TV adverts would be to show a 360 red ring of death and say "50% failure rate" and then show a PS3 and say "less then 5% failure rate"

    First, the PS3 failure rate actually is above 10%. Second, doing that kind of cheap-shot comparative advertising would just get them sued.
    Edited by 1 at 27/08/09 @ 11:57

  • Collymilad #73 2 years ago

    "so. 199 + HDMI and gold live sub = same as PS3? price wise right?

    bottom line is that ppl still look at the price and the xbox is still cheaper. "

    It's funny how people always seem to factor in XBL gold as if it counts for nothing. You pay the money for a superior online service, and yes you do, because despite the Sony BS PR machine working at full pelt anyone with a clue knows that PSN is still playing catchup in many areas.

  • MrNyarlathotep #74 2 years ago

    First, the PS3 failure rate actually is above 10%.

    Source?

  • curtlikesmeat #75 2 years ago

    To be honest I've never understood all this HD cable business anyway. My 360 (Premium I think) came with a cable which says HD on it so I just plugged that into my TV and never thought more about it. I hear mutterings about buying another HD cable but I don't see why?! How confusing.

  • SeesThroughAll #76 2 years ago

    @ MrNyarlathotep :

    First read about this on Joystick. According to a survey from Game Informer, failure rates are of about 54% for the 360 and 10.3% for the PS3.

    Goes without saying that so far, the sources that claim such an increase in the 360 failure rate are as unreliable as the others.

  • Skooch #77 2 years ago

    "Time for Microsoft to design a 360 slim me thinks and for heavens sake include a built in wireless!"

    I agree, I would actually like a 250Gb, slim 360 with built-in wireless, HDMI provided and no power brick.

  • barchetta #78 2 years ago

    From the press release I'd say that anybody faced with an either/or decision between the 360 and the PS3 and spending some time comparing specs and versatility is likely to come down on the side of the PS3 now.

    I would have been interested in a new 360 to replace my ageing and horrendously noisy model but I had hoped for an even cheaper arcade tbh.

    I have the luxury (though not the time) to 'enjoy' all 3 current gen consoles and I'll say my strongest bond is with the 360 but I'd say MS have this wrong following a really good run of competitive pricing.

    BluRay may never reach the giddy heights of DVD ubiquity but the market will grow and Sony's new SKU/pricepoint will add extra impetus - let's face it; most BR players are still in the £200 area and lack the PS3s gaming/media functions. (I picked up my PS3 second-hand for a decent price to use primarily as a media/BR player, though some of the exclusive games have been getting my attention.

  • SeesThroughAll #79 2 years ago

    I agree, I would actually like a 250Gb, slim 360 with built-in wireless, HDMI provided and no power brick.

    There's leaks about a 250GB PS3 slim to be launched later on.

  • Paulie_P #80 2 years ago

    I have a D-Link and haven't found it that bad to be honest (well apart from installing it!). Once I had it set up I can get good range from it in nearly every room in my house and I haven't noticed too much lag from it. The only thing i can't get a signal with is my phone (not an I-Phone!) but since I would just use my pc to surf I don't find that much of a problem.

    Incidently the USB connector of my 360 Wireless adapter melted last week because I had the gall to play my 360 for an extended period (4-6 hours). I'm still undecided about whether or not to buy a new one.

    The 4-6 hour session was Assassin's Creed too, so I feel even worse.
    Edited by 2 at 27/08/09 @ 12:30

  • CrumpledPaper #81 2 years ago

    So basically it's going to cost more to buy an Arcade and more to buy a 360 with a hard drive after pros are gone? All they've done here is added 60GB to the Pro, changed it's colour, took out HD cables, and increased the price, and hiked the price of the Arcade while they're at it.

    Good job Microsoft :|

  • Darren #82 2 years ago

    @Jonny5Alive7 - "Losing the HDMI cable is hardly an issue, Tesco sell them for less than a fiver."

    True, you can buy them even cheaper that online now as well. Thing is though that if you have an older surround sound amp that accepts doesn't support HDMI audio then you'll be stuck with stereo audio via the TV speakers unless you purchase the optical sound adaptor that plugs into the A/V port below the HDMI one. That adaptor comes with the official Xbox 360 HDMI lead and (I think) current Elite models.

    Had Microsoft built the optical out port into the console rather the lead like Sony did with the PS2 and PS3 then it wouldn't be an issue. Odd that they didn't... I can only presume that it was cheaper to build into the A/V cable instead?

  • BigE0n #83 2 years ago

    swissorc
    "Couldn't agree more ethernet or nothing for me. But want one for my girlfriend gave her my old pro when I got an elite and no way of getting an ethernet cable to it in her lounge so want a wireless one just so I can get her online for marketplace etc. "

    E buyer do a pair of 80Mb homeplug adaptors for £29.99 just use these instead of a wireless adaptor, I used some to replace my dads 15m Ethernet cable he was trailing down the stairs, work a treat and the software that comes with it states he is getting 49Mbs of throughput!!!

  • SnakePlissken09 #84 2 years ago

    They can cut this piece of shit to £10 I'll still never buy another!!!

  • Numbat #85 2 years ago

    $299 for 360 same as PS3 seems a real mistake. Also MS make money from the HD - I have a 20GB which is now almost full so I never buy dlc, games etc. Strikes me as a crazy approach. MS should only charge minimum extra for HD to encourage everyone to buy, so they then make more money on direct sales. HD's must also be cheap to make. Really to compete with Sony, they should just do elite for £150/$225.

  • jmg123 #86 2 years ago

    I think microsoft have shot themselves in the foot here, No-one really bought the 360 arcade anyway, (compared to the pro and elite) so now even less people will buy it and microsoft won't be able to advertise the 360's cheap entry price* nor will the people that would have bough the £129 arcade by the now cheaper elite or the now more expensive arcade.

    What they should have done is made the elite whatever price they liked (though less than it was) , removed the pro from the lineup and reduced the 360 to £89. Yes thats £89, They would make a loss on the arcade (I assume), but they would sell them by the bucket load an dmake money on games and accessories and have the pr to say we can rival nintendo.

    Then they would also be able to have adverts along the lines of "Our current console is cheaper than everyone elses consoles including the last generation ps2 console!"

    and

    "Buying a 360 for little Jimmy's xmas present won't break the bank in these recsession hit times, by the way did we show you all the cool stuff you can do, and that you can play with it and watch stuff online wirelessly from your living room ** from only £89"

    *for a shit console with no memory, no wireless and no subscription to be able to do anything
    ** but what we don't tell you is that you need to donate half you salary per month to us for the gold subscription, and remortgage your house for the wireless adapter

  • SpaceMonkey77 #87 2 years ago

    Elite for 200 is a steal. I can see a lot of people bagging them for xmas and new year.

    Paying for Live is worth the three or four pence you pay per day for 13 months. When you can get 13 month subs for £25-30 if you hunt around, paying for Live is a no brainer and worth it.

    I still find it hilarious how people paint Live Gold as a negative, which is usually the opinion of those who've never used the service. PSN is like free condom, doesn't cost you anything but is substandard, and like the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

    This is good though, because when price isn't a problem anymore, it can all be down to the games. We can let PS3 and 360 slug it out properly.

  • SeesThroughAll #88 2 years ago

    Paying for Live is worth the three or four pence you pay per day for 13 months. When you can get 13 month subs for £25-30 if you hunt around, paying for Live is a no brainer and worth it.

    You made me smile man!
    I love denial. Paying a subscription for additional services or content, I understand perfectly. But paying a fee for playing online?? When we've always been able to do so for free on the PC for more than a decade already?

    It takes a real nuthead to find excuses for that situation. Regardless of who charges such a fee.

  • layleeloo #89 2 years ago

    Fookin arses!! What bout us who lose £90 cos we bought an Elite 2 weeks ago. Twats!

  • CrumpledPaper #90 2 years ago

    "PSN is like free condom, doesn't cost you anything but is substandard, and like the saying goes, you get what you pay for. "

    When you look at the range of console online services, from Wii through to Live, I don't think you can say it's substandard. It's far far better than the Wii's and not too far short of Live. So if the standard is somewhere in the middle between Live and Wii, PSN is better than average. It's effective, if I want to play online it's easy and simple to do that, and that's really all you need. It has other bells and whistles like Live too, free entertainment in Home, nice web services like vidzone etc. All free.

  • Gecks #91 2 years ago

    @SeesThroughAll
    "But paying a fee for playing online?? When we've always been able to do so for free on the PC for more than a decade already?"

    someone pays for PC online gaming, be that the publishers (increased game costs/subscriptions), or clans. i played CS, BF1942, NS, and countless other online PC games for the best part of 10 years, and i think overall i probably spent more per year on server fees than i do for XBL, and for less of a service.

    true, you can do it for free, but spending ages waiting for an empty slot on the public servers gets old very soon.

  • Machiavellian #92 2 years ago

    What I find interesting is the 3rd place comments. I really do not think MS would care if the are third place if they sell 50M + consoles this gen and make a profit. Only fanboys care about the 1st, 2nd or 3rd place. MS is a business first and their decisions are based on that. MS want to make the 360 profitable and sell enough consoles to make sure their Brand Name is strong. Also if you only look at the now and the price between the PS3 and 360 would be silly. '

    Both companies are looking to extend the range of their install base and it's definitely not the current features fanboys cry about today. Blu-ray and WIFI are not features that will sell either console to a mass market. Price and games catalog will be the deciding issue which console sells the most or just sell strong enough where it doesn't matter.

    Personally, MS should have included WIFI in the Elite a long time ago since both competitors have Wireless in their hardware. Even though I have my house wired and would never use it for MP play, having wireless does help since A lot of homes can be easily setup with wireless then having a wired connection. MS also should drop the prices on their accessories.

  • Machiavellian #93 2 years ago

    On another note, was it really the size of the HDD, WIFI or blu-ray that decided the purchase decision when considering a PS3 or 360. I know for me it was the games that made me purchase both system. There are games on the PS3 that I know I will only play on the PS3 and there are games on the 360 that I know I will only play on the 360. Another deciding factor that has me playing the 360 more than the PS3 is that all my friends besides 2 have 360s.

    The 360 has a big enough install base that it will get sells because friends with 360 and the social aspect of the system. The 360 still has the cheapest console and even though Hardcore fanboys love to say you need a HDD, WIFI and XBL in reality for the casual consumer those things are not needed. As long as it plays the games like Rock Band it does what it suppose to do.

    We can argue about all this hardware stuff all we want but I believe the consumer still only looks at the games, price and word of mouth from friends when making their purchase decision not on the hardware specs.

  • dingo75 #94 2 years ago


    What I find interesting is the 3rd place comments. I really do not think MS would care if the are third place if they sell 50M + consoles this gen and make a profit. Only fanboys care about the 1st, 2nd or 3rd place. MS is a business first and their decisions are based on that. MS want to make the 360 profitable and sell enough consoles to make sure their Brand Name is strong. Also if you only look at the now and the price between the PS3 and 360 would be silly. '



    MS wants to DOMINATE a market once it entered.
    MS doesn't give a fuck about games. MS wants to win the "living room" with the Xbox 360 as entertainment center.
    Their wish is that everything you enjoy in media is going through their box in the long run. Be it on-demand films, audio files or games. Even internet access.
    Therefore MS does care about being 3rd or not and if it would end up 3rd this generation someone there might ask whether they should enter the next generation or write the whole thing off...

  • davisorle #95 2 years ago

    @mkreku and the rest that keep +rating you that apparently need also an answer to it. lol...

    Its ben proved that more than 50% of HD console gamers use a SD tv to play. So why FORCE them to pay for a bundle that includes an HD cable and not have you pay the cable seperately? o.O As was said from MS they took it out to lower the cost of each Elite. They'll make their money from whoever needs to pay it on the side and those who dont need it wont have to pay for the Elite with that included in the older price point. You know you ca buy the HD cable if you need it from the same place you buy the console? If not no need to +rate me for the tip. On the house..

  • Drakron #96 2 years ago

    "MS wants to DOMINATE a market once it entered.
    MS doesn't give a fuck about games. MS wants to win the "living room" with the Xbox 360 as entertainment center."

    And funny enough its the PS3 that gone down that path.

    MS is a software house, they do not sell much of hardware and certainly do not have a line of TV sets, Blu-Ray players and they do not have such a stake on the entertainment media owning music labels, movie studios and even TV networks as Sony does.

    Sony is the one that wants the Media Hub and the living room since they are the ones gaining from that, also Sony is far worst that MS as they will snub non-Sony proprietary formats for a long as they can.

  • cyber_nicco #97 2 years ago

    @el bandito

    "@Domovoi: Because some people might want to send the video to the TV via HDMI and the sound to their AMP via an optical cable.... like me "

    What crap. I'm using HDMI for video and Optical for audio, but my HDMI cable is not Microsoft's. I think you are confusing their HDMI pigtail for an HDMI cable. Then again, maybe they removed the pigtail thing as well. I don't know - the article just mentions the HDMI cable...

  • Bonders99 #98 2 years ago

    "MSFOFT will advertise the MPlats as 360 exclusives virtually"

    Microsoft CANNOT...Read CANNOT advertise multiplatform titles as exclusives...Need to go to school my friend to learn the meaning of multi-platform
    Edited by 1 at 27/08/09 @ 20:38

  • secombe #99 2 years ago

    As probably one of the few (or only) people here in this comments thread without a PS3 or 360, I thought I would throw my comments in...

    Essentially, I had always assumed I would pick up a 360 Arcade, the price point was pretty much at that point where I was tempted to throw one in my trolley in Tesco during my weekly shop, even though I knew I would eventually upgrade it to be at Elite spec and probably cost me more than buying an Elite in the first place.

    Now, however, it's not so clear cut. We will finally be going HD soon with a 40" Samsung 1080p purchase, and I presume that - gradually - more and more people will be phasing out their old school TVs in favour of flat HD tellys. Over the past week, the PS3 has become the more tempting purchase - the option of Blu Ray, and less costs in the long run (wireless etc)

    Had the Arcade remained at £129.99 it would have been tempting, regardless of PS3 cost. Now, for the first time since the consoles were released, I'm actually more likely to buy a PS3.

    The irony is - of course - that Nintendo had it nailed from day one, despite what the naysayers (i.e. all of EG) were saying about its lack of HD. Whilst I'm sure HD will be completely standard by the 'next gen' , it clearly isn't as big a deal as many had expected this time around, even if after Euro 2008, which everyone said would be the tipping point.

  • pokeken #100 2 years ago

    oh dear..its not good when 1 writer (this time correctly) contradicts another's recent "End of land grab" article...

  • muscleblade #101 2 years ago

    @secombe

    HD is not a big deal for casual gamers like your grandma or 6 year old little sister.

    For the hardcore gamer its essential.

  • Rens11 #102 2 years ago

    "to the posters mentioning no HDMI with the elite,the ps3 doesnt have one in the box or a headset.so they even out"

    your missing the point though the PS3 contains far more bang for your buck outta the box with free wifi, blu ray and free psn! Microsoft has messed up its pricing structure this xmas

  • Calgon #103 2 years ago

    For those of you asking for a Mini 360, if they do have one planned, perhaps they will wait for their Natal 360 launch for that next year?

    I agree, I would actually like a 250Gb, slim 360 with built-in wireless, HDMI provided and no power brick.

    Why do people think having an internal power supply is better? If anything it adds heat and takes up room both of which will factor in when they are trying to shrink the console down to make the PS3 Slim look big.

  • canIdoyabombsforya #104 2 years ago

    "Shame they won't drop the price of the stupid wireless converter as £60 is a royal rip "

    Nobody's forcing you to buy it FFS. Your Xbox 360 was subsidised, so if you don't think MS have the right to make some profit from their venture, then just buy flat ethernet cable and run it under the carpet. Just like our parents did with telephone extension cable.

  • canIdoyabombsforya #105 2 years ago

    "your missing the point though the PS3 contains far more bang for your buck outta the box with free wifi, blu ray and free psn! Microsoft has messed up its pricing structure this xmas"

    I don't need wifi on a static console or PC. I download HD movies for myself, and the rest of my family (like 90% of movie buyers) buy DVDs ( for under £4.99 to boot). The Xbox 360 always was and remains the best bang for the buck gaming machine for many people.
    The PS3 may come into its own when Blu-Ray is the only format to own a physical copy of a movie on, and is priced at £5 or less.
    If you still think the PS3 is an investment, just wait until the next round of TVs and SSD is dirt cheap.