It's insane! A 120 GB hard drive?!

Let the fanboy rants begin!

I'll start. I'm a Sony and Nintendo kinda guy, but eh who knows... maybe in 2 years I might buy my first X-Box... only to play the greatest game Microsoft has ever seen.

Viva Pinata.

Costs way more, though.

I'll be happy with the Core. Whenever I get one...

Yeah, I don't see them staying at $400 on this one.

My guess would be $500-650.

In a weird way, I feel sorry for the mega-fans who already bought the expensive 360 released, and are probably gonna shell out even more money just to have this unit.

Inkmonkey
expensive 360

It's chump change compared to the PS3.

Actually, I have the Game Informer article for this machine right here- it's slated to cost $479, and includes HDMI and a 120 GB hard drive. The hard drive will also sell separately for ~$200 (rip off!).

I'll be happy with the Core. Whenever I get one...

The core is more of a rip off when you consider the need for memory cards and the fact that you will eventually have to buy a hard drive, anyway (for best performance, DLC, and backwards compatibility, it's pretty much required). You may as well shell out the extra hundred bucks for a non-crippled system and the extras that come with it.

The elite probably isn't worth the money for most people. The HDMI port is already gimped by bing a 1.2 port instead of the 1.3 that comes standard with the PS3. Lower bandwidth, no support for the more advanced color spectrum, and the lack of support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio streams makes it barely better than simply sticking with component cables.

As for the extra hard disc space, most people won't need it. Microsoft already severly limits most DLC and most games aren't going to make use of the hard disc for anything beyond gamesaves. While it may be necessary to have a hard drive, a 120GB drive is overkill unless you're hoping to make your machine into a media center. Unfortunately, the 360 isn't a great device for playing audio or video files and the connector software for the PC is for the most part pretty useless. The 120GB drive is most likely intended for their new recording service, but much like Tivo, you have to pay for it. I find it incredible that Microsoft is willing to offer services for free to people who buy PCs and then they turn around and force you to pay for the same services on the Xbox.

Not to mention the wonderful ripoff that is Live where people pay $50 a year for a matchmaking service. You aren't even paying for game servers since most games are peer-to-peer with one of the player's systems serving as the host. With MMOs and other games which require dedicated servers, usually the developer/publisher supplies those servers, not Microsoft.

Actually, I realize that I'll most likely need a hard drive. what I meant was that the hard drive was the only part of the Premium pack that interested me. I can always just buy a separate hard drive for cheap. And wireless controllers? I don't sit far enough away from my TV to need it.

I can always just buy a separate hard drive for cheap.

I wouldn't count on that. Unlike the PS3, you need a harddrive specially built for the 360. Since those already cost you the difference between the premium and the core, it's a waste to buy the core. Also, don't forget, if you ever plan on having more than two controllers, you HAVE to have at least two wireless. Since it's a proprietary type of wireless, as well, don't expect too many cheap third party alternatives. Licensing fees are high enough that third parties don't want to touch wireless with a ten foot pole. It makes me wonder how they're going to pull off Rock Band on the system or if they won't even try for single system multiplayer. If you can get the hard drive AND upgrade your controller to wireless at no added cost (not to mention the core doesn't come with HD cables), it's a much better deal than blowing the money on those part seperately down the road.

The 120 gig hard drive costs $179 according to an interview with a sales rep. Still a ripoff. Apparently, people have been able to get a normal hard drive to work on a 360, but I think the system was patched to prevent that.

Really? I figured a good X360 HD would only cost $50... oh well, Premium for me, I guess.

I got my 360 for free and I'm pretty content with it. But if anything happens to it then I'll shoot for getting an elite. your really just paying for the new harddrive which seperately cost 179.00.