‘Elite’Xbox 360 to hit market by April-end
MICROSOFT said on Tuesday that it will begin selling a new version of its Xbox 360 console that transmits highdefinition video and comes with a larger hard drive in its latest effort to position the video game machine as a digital media hub. Microsoft’s new Xbox 360 Elite, with a 120-gigabyte hard drive and high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) port, will be available on April 29 in the US and Canada for $479.99. The hard drive on the new machine is six times bigger than the current high-end Xbox 360 model, which retails for $399. Microsoft said the Elite hard drive has space to hold a library of arcade games and thousands of songs, as well as high-definition TV shows and movies downloaded from the company’s Xbox Live online service. “Today’s games and entertainment enthusiast has an insatiable appetite for digital high-definition content,” said Peter Moore, corporate vice-president for the interactive entertainment business at Microsoft. Microsoft said that it will sell the Elite alongside existing Xbox 360 systems and it will offer the detachable 120 gigabyte hard drive for $179.99. Microsoft released the Xbox 360 a full year ahead of Sony’s new PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii, grabbing an early lead in the new, three-way video game console war. The Xbox 360 and PS3 are also battling on the home entertainment front with each shooting to take control of the digital living room. Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter said Microsoft is making a play for a niche market. “Very few consumers will care,” he said, noting that most gamers can probably get by with a 20-gigabyte hard drive while owners of pricey high-definition televisions are still a small percentage of the overall audience. Sony’s PS3 includes a next-generation, high-definition, Blu-ray DVD player that is slowly gaining popularity with movie buffs. The Xbox 360 Elite, which has a 120 gigabyte hard drive and other features including a high-definition multimedia interface port and a high-definition cable. The new model will be available on April 29 in Canada and the US.
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