Microsoft confirms 120GB HDD reduced to $149

by Alexander Sliwinski { Sep 11th 2008 at 8:30PM }

We're well aware of what many of you are thinking: At $149 (previously $179), the new price of the Xbox 360's 120 gigglebyte hard drive is still pretty steep. Though we're surprised it took this long for confirmation to arrive, the hard drive price drop occurred in conjunction with the console price cuts that hit last weekend. It's amazing to think that for just $50 more, you could pick up an entire console -- the $199 Arcade model.

Tags: 120gb, 120gb-hdd, 120gbhdd, microsoft

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

Mike @ Sep 11th 2008 8:36PM

Oh give it a rest.. the $199 Arcade model doesn't come with a hard drive. So, YES .. $150 is about right. (Don't forget you can easily sell your old 20GB to some CORE ARCADE user for $45-$50 which will help offset the CRAZY $150 price)

(Matter of fact.. I just got back from a meet with some kid who bought my old 20GB at $45 and now I'm trying to onload that Data Transfer Kit for $25.)

Zeus.:God @ Sep 11th 2008 8:42PM

Uh, NO. The hard drives are all SEVERELY over priced...

Courtney @ Sep 11th 2008 8:53PM

Retail prices on Newegg:

Most Expensive for 120GB notebook drive: $109.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822116043

Least Expensive for 120GB notebook drive: $59.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822149081

You do the math.

AwesomeTown @ Sep 11th 2008 8:53PM

An average price for a 120gb notebook drive is about $60. So yea, I think $149 is a little excessive.

Killjebus @ Sep 11th 2008 8:59PM

All fanboyism aside...why would you DEFEND such ridiculous price gauging?

Why?

If Sony did this, I would be PISSED OFF!!!

xelloss @ Sep 11th 2008 9:04PM

Make sure you guys compare 7200 RPM drive because that's what Microsoft uses.

Killjebus @ Sep 11th 2008 9:06PM

Mikes post translated

Sure M$ fucked me in the ass, but M$ used lube.

Then I turned around and fucked some other guy in the ass, WITHOUT lube.

PeterF @ Sep 11th 2008 10:37PM

Microsoft uses 5400RPM drives. This was in my xboxs hard drive enclosure which I upgraded.
http://www.etech4sale.com/393606/samsung-hm020gi-spinpoint-series-ata.html

Ayrkain @ Sep 12th 2008 1:53AM

I hate the pricing, but the benefit is obvious. By selling accessories (as well as having things like that multi-disc licensing that id was complaining about re: Rage) at a larger profit, they can fuel price cuts on the machine.

DCBlack @ Sep 12th 2008 1:54AM

Just bought a 320GB for $90...going to go ahead and upgrade the PS3 and just couldn't pass that up.

Duke @ Sep 12th 2008 10:17AM

Mike, I love my 360 and all, but to defend the cost of these drives is insane. They need to drop those prices a lot further and only the blind follower believes otherwise.

There is no rational way for me to fork over that much for a drive.

zero2dash @ Sep 12th 2008 10:32AM

I just bought a 160gig 5400rpm Seagate Scorpio 2.5" drive for my Ps3 off NewEgg for $64.99 with free shipping.

So, yeah...more than twice the price for less capacity with Microsoft's BS - yeah, I'd say that's a little MORE than steep. Considering they order drives in bulk and probably get these drives for $30-$40, well $100 for the plastic housing and a $10 SATA interface is ridiculous.

Which is exactly why I'm migrating more towards Ps3 use than 360 use because I have more HD space available to me (than on my 20gig 360 Pro) and not only that, PSN is free. Microsoft needs to start thinking proactive instead of reactive.

zero2dash @ Sep 12th 2008 10:36AM

Err, sorry...*Western Digital* Scorpio.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136114

Now it's $69.99 but my main point still stands.

Replica23 @ Sep 11th 2008 8:38PM

*laughs*

$150 for a 120GB HDD? This never gets old.

PeacefulOutrage @ Sep 12th 2008 9:27AM

Yes, it is higher than buying it from an online retailer. The retailers sell this as an accessory and add a mark-up to it to make money.

Guess what people? The PS2 8MB memory card is still $25. You can buy a 4GB memory stick for that much! And you still have to buy a memory card to save a game.

At least the 360 comes with storage and you don't need a HDD.

Cesaria (Gamertag: Cesaria360) @ Sep 11th 2008 8:40PM

So, you can get the 120 gig HDD and the Arcade for $350? Which is $50 cheaper than what the Elite retails for...any significant reason to get the Elite?

WiiFTW @ Sep 11th 2008 8:45PM

With the Arcade, an ethernet cable isn't included, only output is composite, and no included headset.

As opposed to an included ethernet cable, HDMI output, and an included headset. Not to mention that the headset and controller are black.

If I wanted a 360, I'd probably get an Elite.

Cesaria (Gamertag: Cesaria360) @ Sep 11th 2008 8:48PM

Thank you, sir. I guess while we're on the subject, I recently bought a 360 and would like some Joystiq peeps to play with. So, there's my GT over there

gore on the floor @ Sep 11th 2008 9:16PM

The Arcade has HDMI out, it just doesn't come with an HDMI cable.

Cesaria (Gamertag: Cesaria360) @ Sep 11th 2008 9:18PM

So, if you already have a cable, don't care about HD, dislike the color black, and don't want to talk to people online, this is the way to go? I'm sure there's someone out there.

El Capitaine @ Sep 11th 2008 9:33PM

And that's precisely the reason the hard drive is still so grossly overpriced.

If the HDD were to be, say, $60 for the 120 GB, then it would be CHEAPER to by the arcade and each individual part it has that the arcade doesn't (except the black color). Plus you get 5 free arcade games. Plus, then you can choose against certain things such as HDMI or an Ethernet cable, if you don't have HDMI or don't need the ethernet.

It's grossly overpriced, but that's how MS keeps the Pro and Elite as valuable products.

vidGuy @ Sep 11th 2008 9:35PM

Arcade $200
120 GB HDD $150
Ethernet Cable + HDMI Cable ~ $5 on monoprice.com
Headset $20
= $375

+ Black Spray Paint $5
= $380 ;)

I too see no reason to get an Elite. Plus, if you went this route you could decide if you wanted to get a better headset instead of the crappy standard one.

In A World (XBL) @ Sep 11th 2008 9:51PM

Amazon lists an $18 Headset and a $12 component cable, so...

$200 + $150 + $18 + $12 = $380

That's still a $20 savings over the Elite, and I'm sure you can pick up an ethernet cable (if you don't already have one) and still have some change left over.

Vidikron (FU) @ Sep 12th 2008 1:06AM

So it's basically down to whether or not the black color is worth $20 to you or not. Personally, I'd still buy the Elite as I think white is a horrendous color for home electronics.

JayEssTee @ Sep 12th 2008 3:26AM

The Arcade also does not come with a wireless controller. I didn't realize how much I liked not having a wire there until I tried to go back and play some old Gamecube stuff.

None of this changes the fact that the hard drives are priced ridiculously.

Vidikron (FU) @ Sep 12th 2008 9:35AM

@JayEssTee

Actually, they do come with wireless controllers now, though the original Core systems did not.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/compare101.htm?WT.svl=nav

Bluebrake @ Sep 11th 2008 8:42PM

I always appreciate when things go from surreal to merely ridiculous.

mErty @ Sep 11th 2008 8:43PM

Oh come on! A $30 price cut on a horribly overpriced HD isn’t good enough Microsoft!

Marty @ Sep 12th 2008 12:22PM

Yup, it is horrible price gouging... but at least they're taking a step in the right direction.

I really hope that for the next system, they go with traditional HDD's instead of this proprietary stuff, though.

Ethan @ Sep 11th 2008 8:45PM

Microsoft has it all wrong, you see. What they should be doing is waiting until everybody is completely desperate and then bringing out the 120GB drive for £199. You know, like Nintendo.

albinogoldfish @ Sep 11th 2008 8:59PM

*strokes beard, squints eyes*

....thats just crazy enough to work...

Killjebus @ Sep 11th 2008 8:45PM

What a BARGAIN!!!

MS sure does whatever it can to make it easier for the customer during these tough times. To bad Sony doesn't have the same kind of AWESOME deals. I have to pay at least that much for a measly 300GB.

Sony, stop ripping off the customer.

for those of you who inevitably cannot tell...END sarcasm.

Killjebus @ Sep 11th 2008 8:48PM

edit:

almost that much...not at least that much.

Joystiq, your edit system is simply the best, almost as good as MS's sweet deals on proprietary HDD's.

panzerjedi @ Sep 11th 2008 8:47PM

Still way overpriced...

Jack Tretton @ Sep 11th 2008 8:48PM

A $30 price cut? Boy, talk about an embarrassment of riches!

waves @ Sep 11th 2008 8:50PM

I got a 250 gig portable drive for $90 at Best Buy last month. That's an WD external USB drive. At least get it to $100 for these drives. There's nothing they're doing to the drive's that justify them to be 1/2 the size and more expensive with less functionality.

emirabal @ Sep 11th 2008 8:57PM

THIS AINT NO FUC*ING DEAL!!!! EFF MSOFT AND THERE GREEDY ASSES

Ironhide @ Sep 12th 2008 1:13PM

This is so sad really. When the original Xbox shipped it had an 8g hdd. The pricing for the original Xbox was pretty much carved in stone with how low it could actually go. Partly it was because the GPU, but also the cost of making 8g hdds was higher than making the larger capacity ones. MS was single handedly keeping this size in production. The thing is, this isn't just a random cheapo hdd stuck in the casing, and not only that, can you honestly say that MS has no right to try and protect it's intellectual properties? Hence the proprietory hard drive casing. Is it expensive for what it is? Yes. Is Microsoft making a lot of money off of it? Definately not. Nor are retailers gouging you. I work big box, and the cost is barely below the retail price.

starsforeyes(XBL) @ Sep 11th 2008 8:57PM

No.

tmacairjordan87 @ Sep 11th 2008 8:58PM

And people wonder why some say M$. This would be one reason why.

Killjebus @ Sep 11th 2008 9:02PM

This is nothing new with M$, they buy up competition or copy a product, then they sell it to you in pieces for MORE money. This is the biggest reason why I hate M$, because of their nickel and dime bullchit.

John @ Sep 12th 2008 2:19AM

You know what Killjeebus, just shut the fuck up.

You are a tool. You don't like MS, we get it. You are still a trolling asshole.

Why can't you stay away when you stomp off from joystiq in one of your little fits like a 6 year old girl?

GoldenS1104 @ Sep 11th 2008 9:00PM

This is WAY overpriced. I know that compared to the elite which comes with the 120GB it's not that unreasonable but it is still entirely way too much for a 120GB hard drive no matter how you look at it. I know it's not exactly the same as a PC, but you can get a 1 TERABYTE external hard drive for your PC as low as like $160.