Black XB360 120 Gig HDD + HDMI = $479

[JardeL]

Just because you have a silly edition of the X360, it won't

- make the 60GB PS3 version any cheaper
- make the X360 Premium any more expensive
- magically undo the price difference between these two.

I'm sorry but you don't get the point ...

What can you say if Sony sez ; " Want HDMI ? Have to pay more... Want bigger HDD ? Have to pay more ... More you pay , more you get ... Dont agree ?.. Just check Elite vs. Premium ... Thats why PS3 is expensive ... " ?.. With this move MS justifies Sony's comments, IMO ...

It would be nice if Sony has a lower priced 3rd SKU without Blu-Ray and other specs that arent related to gaming ... But would you do that if you were Sony , i dont think so ...

Anyway , $479 price is really bad move for MS IMO , thats all ...

 

[NERO]

Ok well I don't know about margins that high - a 120GB drive is going to cost something, I'm just guessing it's around ~$60'ish when procured in the hundreds of thousands.

They are using laptop drives which are a bit more expensive.

 

[Carl B]

They are using laptop drives which are a bit more expensive.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about, 2.5" drives.

~$60ish is my guess.

If it were 3.5" drives, we'd be in the many hundreds of gigs for that price.

 

[JardeL]

According to iSuppli Corp.'s PS3 components cost report @ November 2006 , 2.5" 60GB Seagate ST96812AS costs $54.00 ... So , ~$60 for a 120GB drive makes sense , maybe even less ...

 

[Carl B]

My advice is - everything else aside - don't use iSuppli as a guide for anything.

For example that $54 estimate on their part seems a bit rich to begin with. (Like as in, it's 100% wrong)

 

[Dave Baumann]

For example that $54 estimate on their part seems a bit rich to begin with. (Like as in, it's 100% wrong)

Whats this based on?

 

[Carl B]

Whats this based on?

Based on the fact that drives of that capacity are available to the consumer through the retail channel for less. Unless you believe Sony is in fact paying more for their drives than you or I might.

 

[NavNucST3]

[snip]

oh and FTR, I also wish the 120 drive was $99 and that we could use our USB drives for saving media which is why I think a proprietary HDD may have been a mistake,.

The proprietary closed nature of the drive IMO is the reason why there is TV and Movies on the 360, as paranoid as Hollywood is, I have to imagine that if we could use any drive to store media that it would limit the material we have available on the Video Marketplace.

 

[TheChefO]

The proprietary closed nature of the drive IMO is the reason why there is TV and Movies on the 360, as paranoid as Hollywood is, I have to imagine that if we could use any drive to store media that it would limit the material we have available on the Video Marketplace.

Good point NavNuc.

Seems the HDMI port is bound to make it's way to the premium and core systems as well.

 

[Titanio]

The proprietary closed nature of the drive IMO is the reason why there is TV and Movies on the 360, as paranoid as Hollywood is, I have to imagine that if we could use any drive to store media that it would limit the material we have available on the Video Marketplace.

I doubt it, you have movie and video download services on PC backed by Hollywood, and I'm sure you'll see the same on PS3. DRM/Content protection doesn't need proprietary storage hardware.

 

[Mythos]

This is just a new SKU that is meant to appeal to those who:
bitched about lack of HDMI
bitched about lack of bigger HDD
didn't like the white and wanted black to go with their other AV Equipment

If you're not in the above list, then don't worry about the new sku. You can still buy the core and premium as always and your gaming experience will be the same.

On the other hand seems more like keeping people from jumping ship to the PS3. They added HDMI...check! They made it black...check!....no HD drive...dam!

P.S.

I do understand that console vendors copy each other from time to time but this move seems very wannabe. Whats next a motion controller...Blu-ray drive...

 

[Dave Baumann]

Based on the fact that drives of that capacity are available to the consumer through the retail channel for less. Unless you believe Sony is in fact paying more for their drives than you or I might.

Can you show me what prices you are looking at? I see ~$43 for a 40GB SATA (Note: number of platters is going to make a larger difference in costs; 20GB and 40GB are likely to both be single platter). An HD manufacturer selling to a distributer to sell to consumers is simalar to selling to Sony to sell to consumers - margin has to be made on both. True enough there going to still going to be a larger margin on the retail scenario, but even at a 30% margin to the HD manufacturer we're talking ~$40, which may not have been unreasonable at the time the iSupply numbers were taken (which are, of course, relatively static in comparison to the latest retail prices).

 

[Carl B]

Can you show me what prices you are looking at? I see ~$43 for a 40GB SATA (Note: number of platters is going to make a larger difference in costs; 20GB and 40GB are likely to both be single platter). An HD manufacturer selling to a distributer to sell to consumers is simalar to selling to Sony to sell to consumers - margin has to be made on both. True enough there going to still going to be a larger margin on the retail scenario, but even at a 30% margin to the HD manufacturer we're talking ~$40, which may not have been unreasonable at the time the iSupply numbers were taken (which are, of course, relatively static in comparison to the latest retail prices).

If you found a 40GB for $43, then you're on the same site I am I imagine - sort by price on SATA drives and go two down; you'll find a 60GB for $4 more. The drive manufacturer is going to make money off the sale to Sony, sure - but at millions of units ordered, they're going to give them a discount as well. And $54 frankly is just way too high for that. Check out iSuppli's manufacturing labor costs - hell is this thing being made in Detroit on a unionized assembly line? Anyway... back in November I bought a 120GB SATA off Newegg to swap out my 20GB for $89; today a 120GB can be had for $85. There's been movement the last four months, but at the same tiem it hasn't been massive. And I agree with you completely on the platter aspect, it's just I think 60GB is single platter as well these days.

 

[NavNucST3]

I doubt it, you have movie and video download services on PC backed by Hollywood, and I'm sure you'll see the same on PS3. DRM/Content protection doesn't need proprietary storage hardware.

I don't disagree that it is not necessary, but I think you underestimate the paranoia of Hollywood offering DVD quality and HD quality titles to the public. Not even iTunes has been able to secure that yet.

I do not disagree that we will see titles on the PS3, but I think we will see Sony's studios with much more content than the other movie houses if for no reason other than the drives can be swapped and/or because external devices can be used to store content.

I have no numbers to compare the movielink or cinemanow sites to the console numbers, but I would venture to say strictly shooting from the hip that movie studios can/will make more money from the PS3/Xbox 360 video stores in a fiscal year than maybe the lifetime of those sites, possibly combined. Both sites appear to hate Mac users so...they can burn in hell even though both of them are available from the 360's Media Center, i'd rather deal with the Video Marketplace for a more integrated experience.

 

[Vic]

A ost I found on TeamXbox:

"Who's going to pay $400 for a Premium with 20GB hdd when for just $80 more you get 120GB hdd, HDM port, free HDMI cable and all in a black finish? Only a "tard" would.

Microsoft basically just announced an $80 price increase for the XBOX 360 today."

Surely MS could release the HDD at less than $180, and still make a tidy profit. They're ushering people towards this new Elite model.

 

[Todd33]

They're ushering people towards this new Elite model.

Who are they ushering? The first adopters and biggest fans already own a 360. They are expecting the hold outs to pay $480? I suspect the Elite is a PR stunt, limited addition type thing. They will probably shift the price down and drop a SKU by the holiday session.

 

[Joe DeFuria]

(speaking to no one in particular)

Ok, let me get this straight.

MS launches a new SKU. This is an additional option for consumers on top of the already existing SKUs. The existing SKUs have not changed.

Choice is good for the consumer....whether or not you personally would go for this new SKU is pretty irrelevant.

What's all the fuss about?

 

[scooby_dooby]

"Who's going to pay $400 for a Premium with 20GB hdd when for just $80 more you get 120GB hdd, HDM port, free HDMI cable and all in a black finish? Only a "tard" would.

Microsoft basically just announced an $80 price increase for the XBOX 360 today."

Ya and on the other end of the spectrum: "why would I wast an extra $80 for a HDMI port I don't need, and extra GB's I'll never use?"

Granted the black is cool, but I don't think the premium is in any trouble. 20gb is totally adequate for anyone not DL'ing movies, and HDMI only appeals to a niche.

 

[22psi]

Ya and on the other end of the spectrum: "why would I wast an extra $80 for a HDMI port I don't need, and extra GB's I'll never use?"

Granted the black is cool, but I don't think the premium is in any trouble. 20gb is totally adequate for anyone not DL'ing movies, and HDMI only appeals to a niche.

I have the premium and in reality I believe that 20 GB will be all the storage space I will need, unless DLC and XBLA games will start being in the hundreds of MB+ which MS said they will not be doing. I have still near 12GB of space and that's with 3 XBLA games, a few trailers, and a few game saves.

The only thing the Elite version has that I want is hdmi but that is a want not a need. PQ between component and hdmi is barely noticeable if at all. If the elite had 65nm chips and smaller power brick then it'll be a different story.

 

[expletive]

Blu-ray for 360?

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=23840

Not that Pachter in any way validates my earlier musings on the possible BR add-on for the 360, actually the opposite. His oblivious and completely misinformed link between HDMI and hi-def is alarming to say the least -no wonder he's wrong about nearly everything. It actually scares me that I agree with him on the fact that MS will release a BR add-on...

On an "Elite" note, i do worry for MS that this SKU will make the consumer perceive the 360 is REALLY 479, the same way the PS3 is perceived to REALLY be $600. If that happens they just pissed away $80 of perceived price advantage.

That said, i do think that consumers are much more likely to say that the Elite has "more gigabytes" than the PS3 than they are to recognize the value add of the BR drive in the PS3.