14 DAY TRIAL // Ever thought that an Xbox 360 Elite was one too many consoles? So, you think that my question is dumb, don't you? Well here's proving you wrong. Although I don't fully agree with GamePro's list of eight reasons why the Elite isn't such an elite product, the site does highlight some of the faulty aspects, or at least not so impressive aspects, as previously thought, saying that "Three 360s is one too many."
Is it? Just because Microsoft can afford launching several SKUs, does it make it bad? The more choices the better, right. Think of the Elite as an update to the older models. Is it one too many? Not if you ask me, but they may be right if the machine doesn't sell. And it might not sell so good having a separate HD-DVD player, just like older models (reason number six) and such an expensive hard drive, which is sold separately.
Reason number two on the other hand, I found pretty inaccurate, to say the least: "It's still cheaper than the PS3." It is true that the PS3 has a sort of advantage over the Elite, showing off an "intangible" price, so to speak, automatically placing it in the "elite" line of products from Sony. BUT! People aren't stupid you know. Even if Microsoft decided to charge an affordable price for their console, gamers will know they're getting themselves one hell of a next-gen gaming system. I don't think we'll hear gamers say: "Yeah, the Elite is great and all, but the PS3 is more pricey, thus better."
A yes, but it's not that much of a gaming system - reason number eight, final and very true. You see, major improvements haven't been made to ensure better gameplay experience, or control or anything like that. No. A larger storage unit (the 120 gig HDD), HDMI and tons of viewing content to be downloaded aren't what people get it for, leaving aside gamers. It's a gaming console by definition, so where is the Elite gaming system? Nowhere. Microsoft has come up with the Elite viewing system and that I'm afraid will show in sales figures. But let's see how the launch goes and we'll talk some more.