Xbox360 Price Drops Make Arcade Most Expensive
I know what you are thinking, "how can a price drop on the Elite and Pro make the Arcade the most expensive?" As with most things it's not just what you get but what you have to pay for.
Let's do a little bit of a comparison of each of the three versions of the Xbox360.
| Options | Arcade | Pro | Elite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Console | White | White | Black |
| Wireless Controller | White x1 | White x1 | Black x1 |
| Storage | 256MB | 60GB | 120GB |
| Headset | No | Wired | Wired (Black) |
| Cat5 Cable | No | Yes | Yes |
| A/V Cable | Standard | Standard/HD | Standard/HD |
| Compatibility | 360 | 360 + Xbox | 360 + Xbox |
| Price | $199 |
$249 | $299 |
On the surface the Arcade is the cheapest version of the Xbox360 to buy but it will cost you the most in the long run in not only money but also fun.
According to Microsoft the Arcade only works with Xbox 360 games while the Elite and Pro will work with over 300+ Xbox games. This might not be a big deal for you but as a long time gamer even I still have some of my old consoles because of one or two games I like to play. I never owned a previous generation Xbox so I like knowing that I can play those older games on my Xbox 360 (For the record I own a 20GB Xbox 360 Pro).
How much is that hard drive going to cost you? Now that the Pro version (60GB hard drive) is being discontinued your only option for adding a hard drive is the 120GB one. A drive that will set you back a whopping $149.99! If you are lucky you might be able to find an older 60GB drive at a local store for about $99.
Yes, for more than $1 per GB you can buy a hard drive for your Arcade edition of the Xbox 360. When you count only the drive you are looking at your Arcade version now costing you about $350 or $50 more than the Elite.
The sad thing about the hard drive issue is that large drives are dirt cheap these days. There is no reason for MS to be charging $149.99 for a 120GB drive. You can buy a 320GB external hard drive for your computer for less than $99 these days. Before you get the bright idea to buy one of those and swap it out with the 120GB drive sold by Microsoft you might want to remember that MS has no problem kicking people off of Xbox Live for doing that.
In the end it is up to you but without Xbox Live and a hard drive the Arcade level of the Xbox 360 is a complete waste of money. You wouldn't buy a Ferrari with a 4 cylinder engine so why buy an Xbox 360 without a hard drive?
Yeah I agree the Arcade version of the Xbox 360 is just a waste of money and time. I bet they make the most money from the xbox 360 arcade version. Buy that I mean… their net profit from a single sale. I really liked your comparison of a Ferrari with a 4-cylinder engine.
Till then,
Jean
I have been researching upgrading my 20GB Pro drive into a 120GB Elite drive without going through MS.
If you found anything real good out of your research, would be cool if you shared with us =D
Till then,
Jean
You can easily upgrade a PS3 hard drive. Can this easily be done with an Xbox 360?
Yes and no.
There is a particular 120GB drive that you can use for upgrading. This drive is several years old and not always easy to find.
That is a very interesting point you brought up. I have been looking into upgrading myself, but I also want a Nintendo Wii. Let me know what you end up doing and if you can get around Microsoft. I have been looking for a busted one on eBay or craigslist to swap out.
I hadn’t heard about the drop in price. Thanks for keeping us in the loop.
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Xbox360 is the best system out now, PS3 is trying to breath some life into their dieing system by introducing the PS3 Slim but I doubt it will save them.
@Love Graphics, it is all perspective though.. the xbox-360 is great in terms that there is just so much more available games for it, and a much larger community, but the PS3 is way better graphically and things like that… It’s kind of like the MAC vs PC thing… all perspective and based on a person’s preferences…
Till then,
Jean
It’s interesting how game producers are able to recycle old games and resell them on new platforms. I imagine their profit margins on these are high because the games need little marketing—they are already well known.
I want to bouy Xbox and now I probably choose Pro. $50 more for 60GB hard drive is good investment;) However I’m still hesitate due to RRoD and I’m also thinking about buying PS3.
The PS3 is fantastic, especially with the release of the new version. In terms of what you get its great value for money but it still lacks any stand out games.
I’m thinking of getting a 360. I really only play street fighter 4 and the 360 is meant to be closer to the arcade – something about more frames per second. But otherwise I think the ps3 slim is a better investment
The Pro and Elite are certainly with the additional cost because having a decent sized hard drive for storage is necessary to save information in games. Also, Xbox Live has a number of demo games that can be downloaded to your hard drive.
you’ve got right… I still keep my old PlayStation 2 for some games… there are some which I will never get bored with for sure;)