With the revelation that the black Xbox 360, also known as "Zephyr" is in fact real (the image above is a dev kit, by the way), Engadget has gathered some concrete details from a trusted source. Some of these details were uncovered earlier this morning, but some questions -- particularly the notion of built in WiFi -- are brand new. See the fresh details below.
- First of all, the black Xbox 360 will be officially known as the Xbox 360 Elite.
- The Elite will be manufactured in limited quantities, possibly a few hundred thousand.
- Everything included with the unit will be black, including the case, controller, and Live headset. The packaging will be new as well.
- The Elite will cost $479 and will be sold alongside Premium and Core packs.
- Eventually, a white version of the Elite will replace Xbox 360 Premium packs. Presumably, this will happen shortly after the Elite is sold out. Once this happens, Premiums will include the 120 GB HDD and HDMI.
- There is no solid date for the Elite-to-Premium transition, though it is estimated to happen late summer or early fall.
- The Elite runs cooler than the current Premium, but it is unknown if it takes advantage of 65nm chips.
- Prices could remain the same when Premiums convert to 120GB/HDMI, but a price cut may still occur once the 65nm chips are implemented.
- The HD-DVD player will definitely not be bundled with the Elite and Microsoft stands by its claim that it has no plans to ever integrate an HD-DVD drive into the Xbox 360.
- There are no plans to integrate WiFi into the Elite or future Premium packs.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
3-20-2007 @ 3:43PM
KR said...
Man, this sounds like such a mess. And they're not even discontinuing the Core? Ugh.
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3-20-2007 @ 3:47PM
a ham sandwich said...
im not sure what to think. my intuition SCREAMS "april fools", but all these reports are the same, and seem to be pretty consistent. if it is true, and the only added benefits are a larger hdd and hdmi, i think ill get the hdd as an add-on and call it a day, cuz for $479 it seems to me that theres no damn difference.
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3-20-2007 @ 3:50PM
Richard DeV said...
I want to get one but how will I get to keep my current Gamercard if I get this new 120gb HD? If I can keep it and all my arcade games I already baught then Im buying one.
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3-20-2007 @ 3:51PM
DjDATZ said...
i have no need to buy this...as much as i would love to...i have no money for this...unless eb is offering it...and i can trade in my current 360 for almost the same price...but then...what would i do with all the downloadable content i downloaded...and all my gamesaves? how would i transfer those over? i'll stick with my white 360 even tho i wanna get this.
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3-20-2007 @ 3:51PM
Bravo6 said...
I've been debating getting another 360 for one of my other HDTVs, this looks like perfect timing. I'll definitely be picking one up.
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3-20-2007 @ 4:04PM
ninja fr0g said...
It is a bit confusing, as far as SKUs and pricepoints. If for some reason my 360 conks out on me, at least I have the option of upgrading to something better. HDMI connectivity is a big plus, IMO.
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3-20-2007 @ 4:08PM
THA1icarus said...
limited quantities hey,
So we Europeans r f*cked, Again.
Well 1 thing I'm thankful of that I don't have a Launch machine....
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3-20-2007 @ 4:09PM
Brian said...
Heck ya I do! I've been holding off for as long as I could to get the XBOX and I finally can! Yeah baby!
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3-20-2007 @ 4:10PM
ShaolinDolemite said...
APRIL FOOLS, SUCKAS!
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3-20-2007 @ 4:19PM
blamecanada said...
My guess is that they will have it in black for a high price for awhile (couple of months) and then they will make it white and sell it at the $400 price point or below. I'd really rather see a price cut than a bump in specs.
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3-20-2007 @ 4:21PM
Killer said...
To be released in less than a month from now. Seems kinda strange. Microsoft doesn't wait till the last day to announce something like this. It has to be a joke. Would love it to be true, I would have to find someone that will want to buy my 360 for $380 so I can get it. Other then that, this is an april fools joke.
@7 I sort of have a launch console. It was made 11-27-2005. 2 days after the launch? It working like a dream, in fact it's been in my house for 1 year. :)
Ps. Don't worry this screams april fools!
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3-20-2007 @ 4:29PM
Benjamin09 said...
I will pick one up.
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3-20-2007 @ 4:30PM
moore said...
Uh, yeah, april fools by multiple sources? Its real.
To the guy wodnerabout his gamercard: You mean your live account? It has very little to do w/ your console, you can move it around from 360 to 360 constantly if you wish. You will need some way to move savegames though. I dunno about any ms solution other than memory cards for that, but you could use Datel's voerprice pc adaptor for the 360 HD, yank everything off, and toss it onto the new drive, maybe.
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3-20-2007 @ 4:47PM
BowserUSC said...
Doesnt april fools usually happen on the first of april?
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3-20-2007 @ 4:52PM
icecube9292 said...
I will save the money and paint mine black. what about hdmi? when i upgrade my tv they will have the white versions out of the xboxes and i will just have to pickup a can of spraypaint... purple sounds better
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3-20-2007 @ 5:05PM
Mikeawesome said...
This is one of those things that, yeah, I'd want it, especially for the 120GB HDD, however, I know I don't really NEED all that space, especially since I don't think I'm even qualified for IPTV.
As someone else said, unless my 360 decides it hates me and dies, I won't be picking this up.
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3-20-2007 @ 5:06PM
Killer said...
Umm it can be fake. Multiple sources means nothing. If all the information is coming from one source, then all those Multiple sources are really only one source. It just seems fishy that's all. Plus what would piss off both ps3 and 360 fanboys. If this is fake it will, because ps3fanboy will be laughing thinking that 360 owners got screwed and the 10.4 million or more 360 owners will be calling foul to microsoft. It seems like a perfect april fools. Just saying.
Until I see the TRUE press release I'm not even going to care about this crap.
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3-20-2007 @ 5:13PM
Ed said...
Err, I saw a print ad for this in my local EBgames--it's real.
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3-20-2007 @ 5:23PM
Ogden2k said...
I'd only be interested if I can transfer my current game saves that are **tied** to my HDD. You cannot copy your Viva Pinata game save from a HDD to a memory card.
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3-20-2007 @ 5:59PM
The Lamonster said...
I will buy it if my current 360 brakes by then...which is a good possibility as it constantly freezes up.
Also, a question nobody is addressing - will it be possible to buy a separate BLACK controller? I would love that.
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