Leaks Reveal New Xbox 360 Package

Gamasutra reports on hints from around the internet adding up to a new sku for the Xbox 360. The new box, the 'Xbox 360 Arcade' pack, is essentially a core pack with an emphasis on Xbox Live Arcade titles, for a low price. "Now, a new listing on Amazon, and a separate page at on Toys "R" Us' retail site that has been consequently removed, indicate an October 25th release date and $279.99 price point. The package shot shown at Toys "R" Us prominently features the five-game Xbox Live Arcade pack-in, with icons for Pac-Man and UNO lending more credence to the Ars Technica rumors. Microsoft has yet to confirm any details of the new model, nor has the company officially declared that the Core model - which originally was marketed with no hard drive, external storage, or HDMI output at the same $279.99 price - has been discontinued."

Comments

Microsoft has to focus...

[doyoulikeworms]

This'll be probably modded as a flame, but MS seriously needs to focus. What's with all the damn SKU's for their products? Between the absurd number of Office and Vista variants, and now with potentially four versions of the XBox 360, is their strategy to confuse the money out of the pockets of consumers?

Re:Amazon link is dead

[Applekid]

I thought 65nm was just around the bend, making this system to be on the shelves for only a few months. As I understand it 65nm process 360's are already out in the wild. Just look for manufacture date after August 24, '07.

This was broken over a month ago

[jonnythan]

Kotaku broke this story way back on August 20.

There will be 1 new SKUs with 3 new packages:

XBox Arcade ("Go play!"), no HD, 256MB memory card, wireless controller, and 5 arcade games
XBox Pro ("Go Pro!"), former premium (20GB HD, 30-day Live Gold trial, headset)
XBox Elite (Go Big!"), with 120GB HD and HDMI cable in black.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/rumor/new-360-core-coming-to-us-this-holiday-291506.php

Re:This was broken over a month ago

[MojoStan]

XBox Arcade ("Go play!"), no HD, 256MB memory card, wireless controller, and 5 arcade games
XBox Pro ("Go Pro!"), former premium (20GB HD, 30-day Live Gold trial, headset)
XBox Elite (Go Big!"), with 120GB HD and HDMI cable in black.
The latest "leaks" (from TFA, the Ars blog entry, and an Ars update) reveal some significant additions:

• You mentioned XBox Arcade ($280) getting 5 arcade games, but you didn't mention that the Pro ($350) and Elite ($450) are getting bundled with Forza 2 (normally $60 retail) and Marvel Ultimate Alliance ($26).
• You mentioned the Elite having an HDMI port, but the new Pro and Arcade (Core) packages will also be getting HDMI ports.

Personally, I would have preferred a bigger price drop over the Forza/Marvel bundle, but those games aren't worthless.

Re:512MB

[drcagn]

You can copy games to the SD card but you can't run the games from the SD card. You also cannot copy the games to a different Wii and run them.

Re:That's 3 SKUs

[jonnythan]

Yes, but two are unchanged: Elite and Pro/Premium. Hence, one NEW SKU.

Well, the Pro might have its own new SKU, but I could see it keeping the Premium SKU since it's essentially the same thing.

bleh

[angst911]

How about an XBOX 360 with an internal HD-DVD drive instead?

SKU?

[mollymoo]

What is it with calling products SKUs? It has more syllables and is less descriptive than the options already in common usage (product, model, package, version...). Even TFA calls it a new model, not a new SKU. As far as I can see "SKU" has zero advantage over the other options for anyone who isn't deeply involved in stock-keeping. It's a cumbersome catch-all technical term which has no relevance to normal people. The fact that it's a new model is the real news here; a new SKU might just mean a different game bundle or different packaging.