Really? $400? This really seems to be over doing it.

why in the hell would you need that much space? And why didnt they make the pro the new arcade and phase out that instead?

Hardware up grade would be more perferable to a bigger hard drive. I guess they are banking on the game on demand feature to take off.

GamerLuck:
why in the hell would you need that much space? And why didnt they make the pro the new arcade and phase out that instead?

With downloading becoming more and more a viable way to get games, the larger size will mean more games you can store and play.

The reason Microsoft is phasing out the Pro is because it's the system they make the least amount of profit from. They make so much more money off the Arcade and then the extra peripherals everyone has to buy to make it a viable console.

My wallet cries at the thought of how much the 250GB hard drive will cost on its own.

With the 60GB hard drive at about $100, it doesn't look good.

Y'know, if this is real, I know what I want for christmas.

Greyfox105:
doesn't 250GB seem a bit over-kill?
I may often run out of space on the 20GB, but it's hard to imagine filling a hard drive of that size.
they'd have to download A LOT of stuff to fill that. most of it they probably wouldn't use.

I agree. I didn't need to upgrade my hard drive from 12 gigs until recently, and I don't think the day will ever come around where I need 250GB of space to download demos and the like.

That said, some people use the hard drive space to install their games to so they don't need to swap disks to play games. I can see how this might be of use to them, but like you say, 250GB is a ton of space, and it's probably more than anyone would need.

Isn't this the second time this week that Amazon has released something before they were meant to?

UPDATE: OK, 'Super Elite'? I don't want to sound like to much of a fanboy but that's... Oh well, PS3 Slim isn't that much better. But Super Elite just sounds a little bit retarded to me. Again, I'm not trying to offend anyone, that's just my opinion.

haha, the size of that hard drive and the price of xbox hard drives... it doesnt add up...

the hard drive itself would be the price of that console xD

Greyfox105:
doesn't 250GB seem a bit over-kill?
I may often run out of space on the 20GB, but it's hard to imagine filling a hard drive of that size.
they'd have to download A LOT of stuff to fill that. most of it they probably wouldn't use.

It isn't really over-kill if you're big into downloadable content for games, music/movies, and digital distribution. It may seem like a large amount of storage space, but it depends on the user. I could fill that thing up in less than a month. If Microsoft's digital distribution system takes off, lots of people will need this extra space. Honestly, I'm surprised it's taken Microsoft this long to increase their storage capacity, seeing as how the PS3's hard drive can be upgraded incredibly easily. All you need is a compatible laptop hard drive...and as far as I know, there is no limit to the size that can be used. I'm almost certain that we'll see a 500GB hard drive for the 360 before the end of its lifecycle.

plastic_window:

Greyfox105:
doesn't 250GB seem a bit over-kill?
I may often run out of space on the 20GB, but it's hard to imagine filling a hard drive of that size.
they'd have to download A LOT of stuff to fill that. most of it they probably wouldn't use.

I agree. I didn't need to upgrade my hard drive from 12 gigs until recently, and I don't think the day will ever come around where I need 250GB of space to download demos and the like.

That said, some people use the hard drive space to install their games to so they don't need to swap disks to play games. I can see how this might be of use to them, but like you say, 250GB is a ton of space, and it's probably more than anyone would need.

You still need to swap disks even with the game installed on the HDD otherwise stealing games from Blockbuster and the like would be extremely easy. I suppose there is Games on Demand, and maybe 1080p movie downloads? I know they're doing 1080p streaming soon.

I lime having more space than I will ever possibly use as a safenet. It gives me that feeling of having an extremely overpowered security system that can keep out everything but MacGyver.

Case in Point. My Zune is 120GB and I just got a new 120GB hard drive for my PS3 (It was originally a 60GB...BACKWARDS COMPATABILITY, BABY!)

plastic_window:

That said, some people use the hard drive space to install their games to so they don't need to swap disks to play games. I can see how this might be of use to them, but like you say, 250GB is a ton of space, and it's probably more than anyone would need.

I could swear that you still need to have the disc in... you just don't get the whirring of the drive once it's been verified... saves power, as well.

NuclearJonJon:
I suppose there is Games on Demand, and maybe 1080p movie downloads? I know they're doing 1080p streaming soon.

Nailed it in one.

It's pretty obvious, really.
1. MS and Sony are competing for the high end graphical market. That takes *space*
2. Sony owns Blu-ray. MS does *not* want to be beholden to them for their space.
3. High-speed internet is becoming more and more common.
4. The "summer of games"? That's test marketing folks. To see if there's an audience for decent games available only online.
5. MS's next big thing, Natal, is what they hope will finally become the ubiquitous set-top box -- their promo for it specifically shows it being used by what appears to be a "non-gamer" family to control their movie watching and movie selection. You're not doing that via disks.

All of these put together suggest that MS is going to be making the DLC arena their primary push over the next year or so. With DLC including both full AAA games and movies. 250G is not unreasonable at all -- if anything, it may be a bit low if you start getting more than just a few games.

I don't know whether I hope they succeed or not.

PizzaDentist:

I could swear that you still need to have the disc in... you just don't get the whirring of the drive once it's been verified... saves power, as well.

NuclearJonJon:

You still need to swap disks even with the game installed on the HDD otherwise stealing games from Blockbuster and the like would be extremely easy. I suppose there is Games on Demand, and maybe 1080p movie downloads? I know they're doing 1080p streaming soon.

If you still need the discs then I don't see the point in that at all. Well, I suppose if it does save power then that'll save money in the long-run, and it might outwiegh the cost of buying a 250GB hard drive...

The only way you could max it out is with Games on Demand and the movie downloads, like NuclearJonJon said. Still, to me 250GB seems like too much. That's as much space as I've got on my laptop, and I'm nowhere near full with all the games and music I have stored on it.

If this is true, then Microsoft's dropping of the Pro model is really just marketing.

Before/After
Arcade/Arcade
Pro/Elite
Elite/Super-Elite

So the Pro gets a 60GB upgrade, and the Elite gets a 130GB upgrade. The "Elite" price drop is an illusion.

£245 for the 250gb console? I think that's not far off how much I paid for my 120GB Elite months and months ago. Not a bad deal by any stretch of the imagination.

Zerbye:
If this is true, then Microsoft's dropping of the Pro model is really just marketing.

Before/After
Arcade/Arcade
Pro/Elite
Elite/Super-Elite

So the Pro gets a 60GB upgrade, and the Elite gets a 130GB upgrade. The "Elite" price drop is an illusion.

Same as the PS3 a while back when they phased out the lowest size hard drive model, dropped the price of the higher size to the lower, and then introduced an even higher size at the old high price. (I can't remember the numbers now -- 40, 60, 80?)

The difference being, Sony doesn't have "clever" names for their SKUs; since the only difference is hard drive size, they just call them by that. Much less confusing if you ask me.

If Microsoft did that, you'd have:
Xbox 360 - 512MB
Xbox 360 - 60GB (while supplies last!)
Xbox 360 - 120GB
Xbox 360 - 250GB

That's a whole lotta numbers. :?

That seems unnecessary. I've had a 20GB HD for almost two years and it's only a little over half full. I realize I don't have near as much stuff as some people, but still...250 is a bit much. Oh well, I suppose there are some people out there who would want it.

PizzaDentist:

plastic_window:

That said, some people use the hard drive space to install their games to so they don't need to swap disks to play games. I can see how this might be of use to them, but like you say, 250GB is a ton of space, and it's probably more than anyone would need.

I could swear that you still need to have the disc in... you just don't get the whirring of the drive once it's been verified... saves power, as well.

It's been known to speed up loading times/saving times (although not as much as using a flash drive) and can also help lag/texture popping, although it's rare - only made a noticeable difference in Fallout 3 for me. In fact, there are even negatives with installing to the HDD, like with Halo 3. But yes, less noise is the main benefit, and no movement = less heat - Every degree makes a difference with the 360 :P

Someone at Amazon is going to lose their job.

Anything about a bigger Ipod Touch on their yet?

even if i installed all 50+ of my 360 games id still have enough room for about 100 gigs why so much space?

Amazon is really leaky lately with company secrets. Anybody else notice that?

Of course, it could be intentional.... <_<

I have a friend who modified his 360 to have a 300gb hard drive. He used more than half of it.

I was coming close to using up my space on the Pro when it died, but I don't think I'll need THAT much space. I'll stick with getting myself an Elite now that the price has dropped.

Man this is going to drive used pro prices down soo fucking much! Yay another xbox to screw around on for christmas!!!

It's all part of the hype machine. Yes, It maybe informative at times, but these day's these corporations create a "leak" create hype.

And people wonder why all these leaks come out before e3 and the rush before Christmas... and not in the middle of the year when nothing is happening. Yes kids, Christmas is not that far away, give it a month and the Christmas sales will be on.

I want a 250GB hard drive. I really really reallllly would love to have a two-fifty gig, just because I'd never have to worry about save space ever again.