Rumor: 360 wireless gaming receiver $20; wheel $130; headset $60; camera $40; Halo and Forza faceplates $20 [update 1]

by Dan Choi { May 12th 2006 at 2:15PM }

Thanks to a reliable source from Microsoft, we've learned some important details about the new peripherals announced for the Xbox 360, including pricing and a few Halo faceplate (non)specifics. Check out the leaked info and prices below:

360 wireless gaming receiver (which enables wireless 360 controllers, headsets, and wheels on your PC): $20
Wireless racing wheel: $130
Wireless headset: $60
Xbox Live Vision Camera (with headset, one month of Live Gold, and one arcade -- presumably Xbox Live Arcade -- game): $40
New faceplates for Halo (with the Master Chief on 'em, but not Halo 3 specific) and Forza (no word on connections to the sequel): $20 each
256 MB portable memory unit (MU): no official price yet, but definitely not four times the cost of the older 64MB MU

Besides acknowledging that the PC is "the biggest gaming device of all," MS appears to be setting an agressive price for its most relevant new PC accessory, the wireless gaming receiver (at least in comparison to the outrageously priced 360 wireless networking adapter). Unfortunately, no price was revealed as of yet for the USB-based HD-DVD add-on.

We've speculated in our recent podcasts as to what would happen to the various 360 SKUs when price drops inevitably occur. An interesting theory bandied about by prolific Joystiq Contributor epobirs (on our earlier bump-to-256MB-MU post) was that a $20 price drop for the Core system, coupled with a $20 price drop on the 64MB MU, would finally allow folks to pick up a capable non-Premium bundle for the original $300 Core price point. (Not a bad way to undercut PS2 memory card prices, too.) We hope to get official confirmation on this info in the not-too-distant future.

[Update: Sorry, had the camera price wrong in the headline; it now matches the price of the bundle listed in the body of the text below.]

See also:

360's Mem Unit getting a bump to 256MB? (Comment from epobirs)
Use 360 wireless peripherals with a PC
Engadget & Joystiq's live coverage of Microsoft's Xbox 360 E3 event
Joystiq / Engadget podcasts from Day One and Day Two of E3 2006

Tags: (non)specific, (non)specifics, 256MB, 360 SKUs, 360Skus, 64MB, accessory, add-on, arcade, biggest gaming device of all, BiggestGamingDeviceOfAll, bundle, camera, comment, commentator, commented, commenter, confirm, confirmation, contributor, controller, controllers, Core, Core system, CoreSystem, e32006, epobirs, faceplate, faceplates, Forza, gaming receiver, GamingReceiver, Gold, Halo, Halo 3, Halo3, HD-DVD, HD-DVD add-on, HD-DVD player, Hd-dvdAdd-on, Hd-dvdPlayer, headset, headsets, Joystiq Contributor, JoystiqContributor, Live Arcade, Live Gold, Live Vision Camera, LiveArcade, LiveGold, LiveVisionCamera, Master Chief, MasterChief, memory card, memory unit, MemoryCard, MemoryUnit, Microsoft, MS, MU, network adapter, NetworkAdapter, networking adapter, NetworkingAdapter, non-Bluetooth, non-specific, non-specifics, official, podcast, podcasts, portable memory unit, PortableMemoryUnit, price, price drop, price drops, price point, PriceDrop, PriceDrops, PricePoint, pricing, PS2 memory card, PS2 memory cards, Ps2MemoryCard, Ps2MemoryCards, racing wheel, RacingWheel, rumor, SKU, SKUs, specifics, undercut, USB, USB-based, Vision Camera, VisionCamera, wheel, wheels, wireless gaming receiver, wireless headset, wireless network adapter, wireless networking adapter, WirelessGamingReceiver, WirelessHeadset, WirelessNetworkAdapter, WirelessNetworkingAdapter, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Vision Camera, XboxLiveArcade, XboxLiveVisionCamera

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

JD @ May 12th 2006 2:23PM

game receiver= low
wheel= about right
headset= around correct
camera= a little low

halo and forza faceplates= whatever the price i'll buy both.

Doc P @ May 12th 2006 2:24PM

$60 headset, I like my wired one just fine

latinmessiah @ Jul 15th 2007 2:46PM

$60 is cheap for the amount of convenience this headset offers.

LongshotX @ May 12th 2006 2:29PM

Microsoft is going all out on it's next generation experience: xbox live, HD gaming, xbox 360 acessories etc. I think this going to turn a lot of heads and hopefully bring some newcomers.

MosquitoControl @ May 12th 2006 2:33PM

I don't get spending money on faceplates.

The camera sounds low to me, low enough to buy without hesitation (any more and I'd almost definitely skip it.)
The PC adapter sounds low to me, low enough that it would be a guaranteed sale if not for the USB adapter I already have for my now-useless Xbox controllers.

Headset? I still use the old Xbox one. Sure, it's a bit annoying, and sans mute or volume, but I don't use it very often at all. Only game I've gone online with is PD0, and I haven't touched that since Oblivion came out.

Don Wilson @ May 12th 2006 2:34PM

Camera for $20? Nice!

LongshotX @ May 12th 2006 2:35PM

how do you get stars on your comments?

Brian Fantana @ May 12th 2006 3:01PM

Great work on the informative updates guys.

Really appreciate it!

epobirs @ May 12th 2006 3:01PM

The PC wireless receiver may seem low but remember that it is pretty much the same receiver Microsft already sells by the thousands for keyboards and mice. Combine that with the very healthy profit margin on the Xbox 360 wireless controllers and it works out pretty well.

#6

Check out this book. All will become clear:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394800893/103-2578963-9735032?v=glance&n=283155

Watership @ May 12th 2006 3:12PM

Anyone know what the Racing wheels rotation is? Is it full 900 degrees of rotation like the Logitech wheel?

Lovey Dovey @ May 12th 2006 3:17PM

I love the 360 but microsoft is starting to piss me off. All of our exclusives eventually come out on the PC, and they charge us out the ass for shit like the wifi adapter.

FreQ @ May 12th 2006 3:22PM

Posted at 3:01PM on May 12th 2006 by epobirs 16 stars

^WTF ? 16 ? the most I've seen is 5 ?

Hook me up....looks like you have a couple to spare :)

Game Artist @ May 12th 2006 3:30PM

I bet the wheel is just an adaptation of their excellent sidewider FF wheel for the PC. Still for $150 and a FF wheel I can use on both my gaming platforms... Im sold.

Nate @ May 12th 2006 3:33PM

16 stars for epobirs because he/she writes intelligent, verbose, usually unbiased posts (and a lot of 'em!). Obviously an industry insider.

Justin @ May 12th 2006 4:04PM

how about a keyboard and mouse so i could get to some really gaming.

Tom Hayden @ May 12th 2006 4:27PM

Did anyone ever figure out if the receiver can handle multiple devices at the same time, or do you need a separate receiver for each device?

Rootbeer @ May 12th 2006 5:14PM

And, all of these new accessories will be summed into the 360's "cost of ownership" by PS3 fans trying to justify the $600 pricetag of their favored console.

SuicideNinja @ May 12th 2006 5:45PM

PC adapter? That would be fantastic. Then I wouldn't have to use that stupid PS2 controller adapter for PC/Emulator games anymore.

That also means I don't have to buy an unwanted wired controller now.

zenprism @ May 12th 2006 5:56PM

Hey Microsoft, where's my 100GB 360 hard drive?

Anonymous rep @ May 12th 2006 6:03PM

Now, Rootbeer (#16), you know you've made a serious error in describing the PS3 as a console. Read the actual Sony press release - http://presscenter.playstation.com/Content/detailslots/1339/PS3%20US%20FINAL%20-%20PS3%20Lttrhead.doc - that comes from this Joystiq article - http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/09/ps3-a-tale-of-2-skus

And I quote: "PS3 is the most advanced computer system that serves as a platform to enjoy next generation computer entertainment contents in the home"

They're not selling a game console - they're selling a computer system. BIG difference - Microsoft is selling a game console with computer power. But Microsoft already has platforms for enjoyment of computer entertainment contents in the home - Windows Media Center Edition. That's why, when you hook your 360 up through your MCE machine, you can have the two already work together.

The retailers AND regular consumers that I've talked to so far this week have all pretty much said the same thing. If I'm going to spend $600, I'll go buy a computer.

Robotic House Plant @ May 12th 2006 6:06PM

I'm not sure if Joystiq posted anything about this yet, but has anyone else heard about the gesture recognition with the Xbox camera? It totally rocks. Check out the youtube video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr85EsHCz1g&eurl=

bedpanjohn @ May 12th 2006 6:19PM

camera for 20 bucks?? i doubt it. even if it cost 5 cents for microsoft to make they will charge at least 40.

Venator2000 @ May 13th 2006 11:55AM

Regarding the camera pricing, $20 seems right... once you check out Robotic House Plant's linked video. With one camera on each of the top sides of your television, it creates something the Eyetoy couldn't, which is a Z-axis.

Of course, this also means that for the "ultimate" system, you'd need to spend $40, to get TWO cameras.

I can hear the EB employees now: "Sure, you can get your face online with one camera, but c'mon, look at all the cool stuff you can do with two!"

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