Xbox 360 Pro missing from new Elite packaging
by Richard Mitchell 
{ Aug 24th 2009 at 10:50AM } 
One final bit of (somewhat depressing) evidence, the Elite box states that it only includes standard A/V cables. No component, no HDMI, just plain vanilla A/V. In fact, the only features separating the Elite from the Arcade are a headset, an Ethernet cable and the 120GB hard drive. Even assuming the Elite drops to $299, that's not a lot of extras beyond the $199 Arcade model. At least Canada gets Halo 3 and a wireless adapter to make the deal a little sweeter.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Sean @ Aug 24th 2009 10:54AM
The component/composite cable has been in the nicer 360 boxes since the beginning, why would they shoot themselves in the foot now?
This combined with not putting a hard drive (even 20GB) in the Arcade model is just incredibly stupid and I cannot understand why they would do this.
mikeburnfire @ Aug 24th 2009 11:47AM
It's official. The Playstation 3 has the best next-gen graphics*
(* out of box)
Tiptup300 @ Aug 24th 2009 11:54AM
The ps3 also comes with crappy cables. I remember complaining that it didn't come with HD cables. Screw MS and Sony.
The Baron @ Aug 24th 2009 11:59AM
They need to make money on it.. not everyone getting a 360 has a HDTV, and they're dropping the price by a HUNDRED BUCKS. Still a great deal even if you have to drop $6-10 for a cable.
And the whole point of the Arcade is for more casual gamers to have something they can play a few games on and is priced accordingly. They're doubling the internal memory to 512MB anyway. Not enough for DLC but I'm not sure people who buy the arcade are in the target market for that.
*P.S. I think it's $100? I'm not from the US.
guy @ Aug 24th 2009 2:27PM
So once the pro is no longer and the elite replaces it, will there be a total of zero next-gen systems capable of displaying HD graphics out of the box?
Ballistic H @ Aug 24th 2009 2:36PM
So, what makes it "Elite" now?
Cody @ Aug 24th 2009 3:32PM
"The component/composite cable has been in the nicer 360 boxes since the beginning, why would they shoot themselves in the foot now?"
All those millions of dollars lost over RROD/E74 must be recouped from somewhere.
DeepFriedSushi @ Aug 24th 2009 4:42PM
the color and the 120GB hdd is what made it elite.
ThatPCgameryouhate @ Aug 24th 2009 5:22PM
Well, for people like me it's useless. I have my 360 hooked up to my monitor, and I use a VGA cable, and my computer is the lucky one to use an HDMI port. So, it doesn't apply to everyone.
michas_pi @ Aug 24th 2009 10:54AM
Damn, shouldn't have waited so long to get an Xbox.
Oh well, Elite, here I come.
Latin_Trident @ Aug 24th 2009 11:26AM
$100 price drop good. now if only they dropped the price further on the arcade...
baby sea tuna @ Aug 24th 2009 11:26AM
No, you shouldn't have.
McBrick @ Aug 24th 2009 11:28AM
You WANTED to pay more? Or you wanted one of those RROD space-heaters?
Contract Killer for Hire (Will work for PS3 Exclusives) PSN: Manifest37 @ Aug 24th 2009 11:58AM
Look at that slightly damaged box... *sigh*... oh Circuit City, we hardly miss ye.
Though it seems some former employees have migrated over to best buy.
jekoln @ Aug 24th 2009 2:53PM
@ contract killer
those are wal-mart mylars
Eh @ Aug 24th 2009 3:08PM
What exactly was the problem with waiting? Getting to pay less for the Elite? Or having the opportunity to take advantage of blowout sales on the soon-to-be discontinued Pro?
Huey2k2 @ Aug 24th 2009 10:56AM
Removing all the cables except A/V is lame.
Going out to buy an HDMI cable for my PS3 was one of the most annoying things about getting it. Mainly considering that most places charge you $50+ for an HDMI cable so I had to resort to online stores to get a cheap one.
Dharma4815 @ Aug 24th 2009 10:58AM
You can get them on eBay, new, for less than 10 bucks usually.
hunter2223 @ Aug 24th 2009 11:01AM
I am going to get a PS3 once the Slims are out in the wild. So I went to monoprice and got me a spanky new 6 foot HDMI cable coming for $6 or so.
I don't like that I have to think ahead and order a cable... but I like that I know that I need to do that. Sucks that it will be the same way with the 360 from now on as well.
vidGuy @ Aug 24th 2009 11:01AM
Yeah, online is the way to go. monoprice.com has HDMI 6fts for around $5
King JMY @ Aug 24th 2009 11:02AM
I got my HDMI cable off of Amazon.com, new, in packaging for 6 dollars. Any HDMI cable you find in stores is marked up about 500%. Hasn't anyone heard the horror stories of Monster Cable and their 1000% markups?
Jack_Jackington @ Aug 24th 2009 11:03AM
I bought my Sony brand HDMI cord for 11 bucks including shipping off of ebay. Sony had the same one priced for as much as a new video game this gen
Paul @ Aug 24th 2009 11:04AM
but it makes sense. most people still don't have HD. but everyone can use composite right out of the box. so even if you do have HDMI and forget to pick up acable you can play on composite until you get one.
Vidikron @ Aug 24th 2009 11:06AM
Is it really that big a deal, honestly? I can understand being annoyed if you get one as a gift, but I'd imagine that most people purchasing a system for themselves did so with a little planning ahead of time. So why not just buy a cheap cable before the system purchase to have it ready? Shit, they're so cheap I keep a couple of extras on hand anyway.
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Aug 24th 2009 11:20AM
$50 for an HDMI Cable???
The hell you been??
They have been under $30 at Walmart since like '07
m3nphls @ Aug 24th 2009 11:31AM
I've been ordering my HDMI Cables and Optical Cables from mycablemart.com and are really good quality and cheap.
but $50 for a HDMI cable is a rip off.
blazinsmokey @ Aug 24th 2009 11:34AM
monoprice.com for the win. i bought like 5 hdmi cables there and they are all rated 1.3a or in monster terms hdmi1000. works great and cheap as hell.
NEVER EVER BUY MONSTER, it's a complete rip off.
hplcman @ Aug 24th 2009 12:21PM
Just because it doesn't come with HD cables doesn't mean you can't play it on your HD set. Just deal with the shitty graphics until your $6 HDMI cable comes in. The imagine how AWESOME your game will look in HD once you do get it set up!
Eh @ Aug 24th 2009 3:28PM
Not including component cables is bullshit because they cost virtually the same. We arent going to break the bank by having to buy cables thanks to places like monoprice, but its still bullshit that they cant spend an extra nickel and give us the convenience of being able to use HD out of the box. Not to mention the chunk of people out there hooking up RCA cables to their HDTV thinking they are getting HD since theyre using a device that advertises being HD, the HD ignorance out there is astounding and moves like this only contribute to it.
We as consumers shouldnt be saying "who cares I can get one for 5 bucks", we should be saying "if I can get one for 5 bucks then why the hell isnt it already included?" to important accessories for expensive devices.
Spartacus @ Aug 24th 2009 4:59PM
I concur with most of what's been said here. Monoprice is your best bet for an HDMI cable for around $5.
The kicker is that both the PS3 and 360 use a proprietary A/V port for component, which means if your TV doesn't have an HDMI port available, you have to spend the $40 or whatever for their cables.
Paul @ Aug 24th 2009 10:56AM
lol look at the corner of the elite box on the right. not sure i want spend 400 (hopefully 300 soon) dollars on an item that comes in a box like that.
dark_inchworm (stronger than never, ever before) @ Aug 24th 2009 11:00AM
It's Walmart, what did you expect?
hunter2223 @ Aug 24th 2009 10:57AM
Pulling out the HDMI cable I can almost understand... but not the component. I'd think most consumers are smart enough to buy non-branded HDMI cables... so I don't see them making a lot of sales on cables.
DeepFriedSushi @ Aug 24th 2009 4:45PM
they want to make back the loss in profits though selling the cables separately. but before you start to call ms evil, this has been a strategy thats been around ever since consoles have.
masshole33 @ Aug 26th 2009 2:50AM
Ah, that reminds me of RF Adapters for the SNES, and PS1 because my TV was old and shitty in my bedroom and had no RCA jacks. Feels like a lifetime ago.
Jack_Jackington @ Aug 24th 2009 10:59AM
I still wonder which one is going to have sold more by the end of the year. Starting from the day of the official price drop for the elite
Jack_Jackington @ Aug 24th 2009 11:06AM
between ps3 and the elite that is
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Aug 24th 2009 11:19AM
Its 6-9 million MORE people that have 360's than PS3's....so I would think more people would want to get PS3's not to mention the PS3 being GREAT DVD up-converter, Media player AND Blu-ray player will be more appealing to some people as well...
McWilly @ Aug 24th 2009 11:28AM
...this advertisment is brought to you by Chris D. head of Sony marketing division
baby sea tuna @ Aug 24th 2009 11:30AM
BR is really the only big difference there as the 360 is also a media hub and upconverting DVD player. And wi-fi, I guess, if that's a big deal for you.
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Aug 24th 2009 11:30AM
oh dear....dont start....lol...
its not like its NOT Well Documented that the PS3 does a BETTER Job up upconverting Media than the 360....
Jack_Jackington @ Aug 24th 2009 11:59AM
we can debate which one is better all we want. everybody has their own preferences. but which one will sell MORE? the better system doesn't always sell more. look at [enter system that proves what i'm saying]
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Aug 24th 2009 12:12PM
lol...look @ Dreamcast?? yea I know.....
Kleptomaniac @ Aug 24th 2009 10:59AM
Hey Microsoft how about this, just have ONE SKU?! There's no need for 2 when the difference between them is so small. But then again this is the same company who made the different Vista versions so its not that surprising.
slimshady @ Aug 24th 2009 11:08AM
Of course there is need for more than one SKU!
Imagine there was only the Arcade model with just the most basic equipment: Many people want to download things from Xbox Live, they need a hard drive to store it. Not everybody wants to spend extra money after the already got the console.
Now if there was only the Elite model, what about those who only want to use the console to watch TV? I have one broken Xbox 360 in my house (that cannot be used to play games because it crashes), but it works fine as a Media Center Extender. Also we shouldn't forget about the people who need a replacement console.
About Vista: Well I can imagine different people demanding different versions. OK, the versions of Vista were not so streamlined, but take a look at Windows 7: There is just one version the average user must really consider to purchase: Home Premium. If you want more (Professional, Ultimate), you probably know enough about PCs to know what you need.
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Aug 24th 2009 11:13AM
Difference so small?? lol
They will NEVER get rid of the Arcade....its their cash cow...how you gonna charge people $100 for a HDD when they already have one??
Kleptomaniac @ Aug 24th 2009 11:26AM
@slimshady
Who buys a console just to watch TV with it when there are far better options out there, especially a 360 where the fans are a big issue! I cant see how anyone would buy want to buy an Arcade, a next gen console without a hard drive is a waste.
@Chris
Good point, those Xbox hard drives are the biggest scams going.
Tyger @ Aug 24th 2009 11:38AM
@Klepto
Because some people already have a hard drive. I just bought an arcade because I already had a hard drive with all of my saves and data on it. Why would I pay 100 bucks more for something I don't need?
Paul @ Aug 24th 2009 11:42AM
@klepto
I want to buy an arcade just want to play MW2 on XBL with my friends. I already have a PS3 for the multiplatform stuff that needs HDD space... but $200 is just too much considering I'd have to shell out a $20 for a controller battery and component cables and then another $60 for the gold starter pack for the headset and year of XBL...I mean after all of that I'm looking at $280... A week ago that wasn't too bad but now....that's just too much.
Jake @ Aug 24th 2009 1:35PM
It is a common strategy in business to have a good, better, best product offering.
You have customers at different levels who want different things. Why drive away the cost-sensitive, entry level customer by only having a top-end product? Why drive customers away who want more by only offering the bargain-basement stuff? Nintendo has a niche position in the market and so does Sony. I think that it has been wise for MS to try to cover the entire spectrum.