Console game system requirements are nothing new. The N64 had a RAM Expansion Pack that was required for some features in certain games. In Perfect Dark, for example, one could not even play the single player scenario without the RAM expansion. I'm sure this was a reason, albeit a smaller one, why Perfect Dark never sold as well as Goldeneye despite its notable improvements, marketing hype, and acclaim.
The case with the Xbox 2 "Plus" model (my name, not theirs) is somewhat different. What the Plus model offers are more accessories than required parts. You don't need a wireless controller, a wireless headset, or a patch cable to play single-player games right now. These are extras targeted to the multiplayer crowd, or more specifically, to the Xbox Live crowd. The lack of a hard drive in the base model is really the only drawback, but as many have noted, its uses are primarily relegated to game saves or custom soundtracks. Only a few developers such as Bungie have taken advantage of the hard drive in the Xbox to do things like better level-loading.
What MS has done here is marketing, and I believe good marketing at that. Rather than sell a single unit with a bunch of premium accessories for $400, a price I believe the console market would find hard to accept, they have given consumers a choice depending on what they want and can afford. I would not be surprised if at some point down the line they sold the accessories that come with the $400 unit as an "Accessory Pack" upgrade for people who have the $300 unit, given that the HD is detachable. Consider: Xbox Live will be free on weekends to non-subscribers. Surely many owners of the $300 unit will have a patch cable and a broadband connection and will check it out sometime. I think MS is counting on downloadable content and the multiplayer experience to sell the accessories in the $400 unit to people who go for the $300 unit early on.
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Console game system requirements are nothing new. The N64 had a RAM Expansion Pack that was required for some features in certain games. In Perfect Dark, for example, one could not even play the single player scenario without the RAM expansion. I'm sure this was a reason, albeit a smaller one, why Perfect Dark never sold as well as Goldeneye despite its notable improvements, marketing hype, and acclaim.
The case with the Xbox 2 "Plus" model (my name, not theirs) is somewhat different. What the Plus model offers are more accessories than required parts. You don't need a wireless controller, a wireless headset, or a patch cable to play single-player games right now. These are extras targeted to the multiplayer crowd, or more specifically, to the Xbox Live crowd. The lack of a hard drive in the base model is really the only drawback, but as many have noted, its uses are primarily relegated to game saves or custom soundtracks. Only a few developers such as Bungie have taken advantage of the hard drive in the Xbox to do things like better level-loading.
What MS has done here is marketing, and I believe good marketing at that. Rather than sell a single unit with a bunch of premium accessories for $400, a price I believe the console market would find hard to accept, they have given consumers a choice depending on what they want and can afford. I would not be surprised if at some point down the line they sold the accessories that come with the $400 unit as an "Accessory Pack" upgrade for people who have the $300 unit, given that the HD is detachable. Consider: Xbox Live will be free on weekends to non-subscribers. Surely many owners of the $300 unit will have a patch cable and a broadband connection and will check it out sometime. I think MS is counting on downloadable content and the multiplayer experience to sell the accessories in the $400 unit to people who go for the $300 unit early on.