Xbox Elite and HD DVD (plus movies) for $599 at Amazon

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 12th 2007 at 11:20AM }

Amazon has a nice little deal going where you can get all you see above for $599. Found over at the CAG, the bundle includes the Xbox Elite, HD DVD drive (which comes with King Kong), the movie 300, and a mail-in form for five HD DVDs for free. The main thing to focus on here (because the free movies were announced a while back) is that you save about $60 on the hardware.

The $599 price is certainly interesting given that it's identical to the 80GB PS3 model which includes the Blu-ray player and this package seems geared for the movie inclined. Then again, you can always get a clearance 60GB PS3 with Blu-ray for $100 less than this bundle. Of course, we don't buy our systems for movies, we buy them for games, and in that department y'all can choose who's ahead at this stage.

[Via CAG]

Tags: amazon, CAG, hddvd, movies, pricedrop, xbox360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Silver R. Wolfe @ Aug 12th 2007 11:25AM

Wow, they expect people to buy this horrid bundle?

Steve @ Aug 12th 2007 12:13PM

Well Sony expect people to buy a PS3 don't they?

bak8807 @ Aug 12th 2007 12:30PM

The main difference between this bundle and the PS3 is being that the 360 actually has a good selection of games. And don't think I'm bashing, either. Aside from Ninja Gaiden Sigma, I use my PS3 for nothing but playing PS2 games.

ssuk @ Aug 12th 2007 12:42PM

I don't think we can take a furry's oppinion on anything, to you 'normal' is looking at illustrated naked foxes.

Silver R. Wolfe @ Aug 12th 2007 2:00PM

Yes ssuk, because making rash generalizations really prove someone's intelligence.

Aberu @ Aug 12th 2007 2:21PM

But your opinion is worth less than his. He looks at real naked women getting dp'ed by big black men because of his own inadequacies!

Brad Lee @ Aug 12th 2007 6:37PM

This isn't a bad deal at all, if, and ONLY if, you had already planned on buying an Elite + the HDDVD drive.

But if not, then looking at a $350 360 right next to a $600 bundle, no matter how many movies it comes with, just doesn't look like a good deal.

...Jan... @ Aug 12th 2007 6:40PM

- ssuk... Now I'm going to edit one of my furry pictures before I watch the pawpet show. Yeah...don't stereotype.
- Anyways, I think this bundle is more justified than buying a PS3.

BPM @ Aug 12th 2007 11:01PM

Wow, what unbelievable stupidity here.

Not that I care for the whole furry thing either (nor do I care for this 360 bundle), but invalidate his opinion just because he is one?
ssuk and Aberu, I think your opinions should be ignored for being ignorant, bigoted dumbasses.

phattie @ Aug 12th 2007 11:26AM

The 60gb PS3 (incl. 5 BD movies) at $499 is cheaper and more functional (minus 60gb on the Elite).. add the $100 WiFi to this bundle and you're looking at SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS... lol... i guess, this is MS giving you guys more choice.

morganfell @ Aug 12th 2007 11:31AM

Exactly. A much better deal. I got the 5 BR movies already with my PS3. What did I get with my 360? Nada. And now to pay $599 for the losing format? Not that I wouldn't get a second 360 as I just preordered my HALO 3 edition, but $599 is no deal.

Alex K @ Aug 12th 2007 12:33PM

maybe this is a bad bundle, but why do you say hd dvd is the losing format?

so far, they are both losing. ONE single DVD movie can outsell the entire blu-ray and hd-dvd catalog combined.

Maybe the hardcore early adopters choose blu-ray as their next gen disc format, but until prices equal DVD and the majority of people have HDTV, you really can't say what the masses want, whether it's hd dvd, blu-ray, or digital downloads. I would be wiling to bet that just by name HD DVD already has better brand recognition, but I'd also be willing to bet that by the time HD owners are the majority, digital downloads will be looking much more attractive than physical media.

morganfell @ Aug 12th 2007 2:19PM

A new format is inevitable. If you look at the sales, HD DVD is going down in flames. They are getting pounded this year 2 to 1.

Take 300 for example. Biggest selling title in high definition but it sold 67% on BR versus 33% on HDDVD. And this is the normal trend. Here is a good breakdown:

http://blog.pixelperfectproductions.com/?p=54

mike @ Aug 12th 2007 8:57PM

well if thats the case that you need to include $100 wireless to make it even with the ps3, then the ps3 needs to add on $200 cause you need to buy a media center extender with your ps3 since the xbox 360 can act as one and the ps3 does not.

Also the ps3 controllers dont rumble, so lets tak on some more moeny for a motor. Dont forget no HDMI cable included with ps3,

morganfell @ Aug 12th 2007 9:16PM

Not sure why you say media extender since I stream from Vista onto my PS3. Also add wirelss to the 360 - more money. Also look at the cost of the 120GB HDD when I upgraded my PS3 to 250GB for cheaper - without violating my warranty. Add in play and charge kit for my 360 which I had to buy whereas my PS3 uses a USB cable. Add in proprietary wireless headset I had to pay extra for and just pre-ordered a second HALO model where my PS3 uses my cellphone's wireless bluetooth. I would say keyboard and mouse for the 360 for websurfing but you can only web surf on the PS3.

I like my 360 and just preordered a second with the special HALO3 edition. But for sheer value the PS3 ranks far beyond the 360 and actually feels like a next gen machine. Not just a game console but a next generation piece of hardware. Anyone that has one will remark in a similar fashion. All it has lacked is a robust games catalog and that is changing soon enough. Inb the long run it will last more than 4 years like some other consoles.

If you want to top both models out the PS3 comes out better for the value and will by mid next year really show it's muscle.

dvdguy @ Aug 12th 2007 11:27AM

So let me predict the PS3 fanboys reaction to this: What, no Wi-fi? HAHAHAHAHAHA SONY RULEZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!!!!1

BPM @ Aug 12th 2007 1:57PM

A minute too late. :P

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/12/xbox-elite-and-hd-dvd-plus-movies-for-599-at-amazon/#c6677591

Seriously, fanboys, wi-fi's speed cap isn't all that great for gaming. Only reason it should be used if a wired connection isn't possible.

Hamfo @ Aug 12th 2007 7:49PM

Wireless is irrelevant when you're gaming online though. You won't even come CLOSE to hitting Xbox's 54 Mbps limit.

Shows how much you know about wireless.

BPM @ Aug 12th 2007 11:08PM

Hamfo,

I know a lot about networking, wired and wireless. I just want to know where you've read that the 360 has a cap of 54Mbps.

Hamfo @ Aug 13th 2007 1:05AM

On the box. It says 802.11g. That has a 54 Mbps limit.

Abuzar @ Aug 13th 2007 1:43AM

No offense dude, but, HOLY SHIT you are a retard. If you have a wired and wireless internet connection at home try downloading the same file over wired and wireless. I guarantee that it wont download faster than 54mbps. That means that the speeds should be the same, right? NO, it doesn't, go ahead try it. Then you try and say wireless doesn't affect speeds.

BTW you can't take offense since I said "No Offense".

Hamfo @ Aug 13th 2007 2:07AM

Do you even know how fast 54 Mpbs is, son? (yes, after I'm done with you, I'm going to be your dad). I'll do the math for you. 1 Mbps = 1000kb, so 54 Mbps = 54,000 KB/sec.

Now let me ask you, do you download stuff faster than 54,000 kb/sec? Ye...oh wait, no you don't. Most people don't go higher than 6 Mbps. So wireless = wired if you're connecting straight to the internet.

The only thing that'll go slower on wireless is if you're transferring files from computer to computer (where you can reach and exceed Gigabyte speed). But that's not online gaming.

Abuzar @ Aug 13th 2007 2:39AM

Umm, did you even try what I said? Why the hell do you think every body complains about wifi being slow? The wifi cap is 54 MB/sec, but the EFFECTIVE speed is MUCH slower. You should probably learn stuff, before you go prancing about calling people your son and not knowing what the hell you are saying.

BTW 1 MB = 1024 Kilobytes.

BPM @ Aug 13th 2007 3:19AM

Hamfo, I was speaking about the WIRED speed cap, not wireless. And after looking around a bit, I see now that the 360 uses 100Mbit Ethernet.

And, after looking up broadband services, looks like the fastest residential connectin is 7Mbps. So, I guess wired or wireless doesn't really matter.
Still, wired connections are more reliable.

Also, connection speeds are measured in BITS not BYTES.

Farseer @ Aug 13th 2007 9:34AM

PSWii60 aside, I have to agree with the wireless naysayers here. I don't care what you are using, wireless networking is unstable, unreliable, not secure, and an overall pain in the ass.

And yes, there are those of us who have a good home network and don't play much online. When streaming audio or video via home network, by using anything but a wired connection, you are asking for a headache.

Hamfo @ Aug 13th 2007 11:41AM

Abuzar, you have no clue what you're talking about. Ofcourse the effective speed is much slower. But that's irrelevant. The effective speed is STILL faster than 99% of commercial internet speeds. So you ultimately lose.

BPM is the only one in this page who actually know what's he's talking about. Except the "wireless connections are unstable part". That's only true if you're getting your signal from a mass-provider like a college campus, etc. My own personal wireless router almost never drops. And it's definitely enough to get me through my quick 20 minute football games.

I like the advantages. No wires, no mess, and I can actually have my girlfriend around and not look like a dork.

hotnutz @ Aug 14th 2007 7:54AM

Don't forget inferior audio options and the old implementation of HDMI. oh yeah, and no bluetooth. Shall we go on or has your memory forgotten how to argue as well?

copa @ Aug 12th 2007 11:30AM

That's OK. I'm willing to wait another year until you can get a Blu-Ray drive as an affordable add on to the 360.

Dave @ Aug 12th 2007 5:06PM

This sounds like a good deal if you're already planning on getting an Elite. Even if HD-DVD loses the format war to Blu-Ray--which I don't think is as necessarily the obvious outcome--you can still rip your HD-DVD movies and burn them to the winning format later.

Blu-Ray is currently winning the format war--but the money being made in either format is still a drop in the bucket compared to DVD. Neither format is even close.

steve @ Aug 12th 2007 11:42AM

well, considering the 360 actually has games worth playing, I think this is a much better deal than an 80gb ps3.

ymmv @ Aug 12th 2007 11:43AM

I just can't see how anyone would want to invest in a HD-DVD player right now. The format is behind in sales and in support from the hardware industry and Hollywood. If Universal caves in (which many predict), the format will be gone within a year.

FrankTheCrank @ Aug 12th 2007 11:48AM

It's true, Universal seems to be the only holdout. If they do decide to cave, it's all over.

Snatcher @ Aug 12th 2007 2:02PM

I read that Warner Brothers has developed a dual format disc that has HD-DVD on one side and Blu-Ray on the other. And they are more than willing to license the tech. Hmmmm... maybe we will see a software convergence instead of a hardware one. Very very interesting ey?

Korova @ Aug 12th 2007 4:01PM

@snatch They will still be more expensive so economies of scale will dictate a single format. dual disks will just prolong the war

Luther @ Aug 12th 2007 11:46AM

I'm not sure why someone wouldn't factor in the media experience in purchasing a console, considering they have the capability to do so. I love using the Xbox 360's feature of streaming music/photos/movies from my PC as well as using it as a DVR through Vista Media Center.

The PS3 is really much better on its own for movie and media playback than the 360. It also does well at streaming, but I believe the 360 has a bit of an advantage there. I enjoy that the PS3 gives me all sorts of settings to tweak the video with, as well as the inclusion of Blu-ray.

Both consoles have strong selling points in features besides just gaming, and I don't see why gamers can't enjoy films as well.

FrankTheCrank @ Aug 12th 2007 11:47AM

I'll wait for the FALCON chipset.

And the whole HD DVD thing is still up in the air. I'm old enough to remember Beta.

Zeus the God @ Aug 12th 2007 4:18PM

How about UMD and LaserDisc?

E.P. @ Aug 12th 2007 12:11PM

Might as well come up with a 360 SKU which includes HDDVD, instead of an add-on.

Off the subject...How does one change the picture icon? I'm tired of seeing Mario

FrankTheCrank @ Aug 12th 2007 12:16PM

EP,

Click your name, under your Mario Avatar...it's a hyperlink that leads you to your profile. From there once you log into your profile, you can change the picture associated with your profile.

E.P. @ Aug 12th 2007 12:24PM

Thanks Frank,
Figured that part out. The thing is, my password doesn't seem to work...but that's my problem.

h0mi @ Aug 12th 2007 12:28PM

blogsmith.com

FrankTheCrank @ Aug 12th 2007 12:58PM

EP,

When they send you your comment to submit, they usually send you a password...to comment without having to click the link. Well, that's your password!

Try it out!

NintendoFanbot @ Aug 12th 2007 12:21PM

Yes, this is VERY good for the videogame industry.

Dan @ Aug 12th 2007 12:21PM

Its like an epic struggle between the fanboys:

360fanboys: WE ARE HAVE LOTS OF TEH GAMEZ!! YAY WINZORZ!!

PSfanboys: WE ARE HAVE LOTS OF TEH BLU-RAY, AND METOL GEAR SOLIDZ!! YAY WINZORZ!!

FrankTheCrank @ Aug 12th 2007 1:00PM

I'm done posting fanboy like comments.

I own PS3 and Wii. And as soon as Falcon 360 comes out, I'll own that as well. So I'm done with the negative comments and all. It's useless, dumb and hateful.

It's about the love.

Ihya @ Aug 12th 2007 12:23PM

Joystiq, can any comment that contains the word "fanboy" please start on 1 heart? Thanks.

D. Gray @ Aug 12th 2007 9:57PM

I agree - also, Joystiq should automatically downgrade all posts that contain a disproportionately large number of words that are typed in all caps and end in the letter "z." For example:

WZOWERZ IZ AMZ TEHZ AZWZOMZZ IZ TEH L33TZ!!!11Z

Talk about annoying...