Hasta La Gadget!

Can’t say we’re all that surprised given other sightings, but one anonymous tipster has sent us pics from a local Walmart of the 120GB Xbox 360 Elite in a shiny white package with a back-of-box chart that neglects to mention the Pro models, essentially striking it from the records. It’s still scanning at $399 for now, but having seen multiple retailers’ print flyers — including Walmart’s own — quoting $299, the computers very well may be updating just after some official Microsoft announcement, which wouldn’t surprise us at all if it happen sometime this week, just ahead of the PS3 Slim launch. Peruse the pics in higher-res format below.

Update: As several readers have pointed out, the back-of-box chart shows the Elite as having standard, presumably non-HD cables only, and there’s no mention of bundled HDMI cables anywhere. Also of note is the wording for Xbox Live has changed from “Silver Membership” to “Free.” Before you go thinking the premium Gold membership is going away, however, there’s a superscript ‘4,’ and if it’s like the older box, it leads to a longer explanation on the Xbox Live’s tiered plans — not to mention there’s an ad for buying into XBL Gold just under the chart.

Filed under: Gaming

Xbox 360 Elite in white package in the wild, Pro SKU missing on back-of-box chart originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You may have seen a post or three (or eleventy) over the past few days about Sony’s newer, skinnier, cheaper PS3 Slim. Microsoft apparently did, and that might be partly why it chose to delay its own re-pricing announcement, a move it was apparently set to reveal yesterday at GamesCom — but opted not to. Big Redmond is said to be killing off the Xbox 360 Pro and replacing it with the Elite at the $299 price point, a move it will want to make quickly because, for the first time, it’s now the most expensive gaming console on store shelves. Whether the supposed delay was to let the dust settle on Sony’s big news or was just to clear out some additional Pro inventory remains to be seen, but either way MS had better get a move on — and maybe think about knocking an extra couple bucks off for good measure.

[Via 1UP; thanks, jeremy23j]

Filed under: Gaming

Did Microsoft delay its price drop announcement to avoid Sony’s Slim Storm 2009? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dubbing itself “the industry’s sole bright spot in 2009,” Microsoft has spun some depressing console sale decline numbers from NPD into a self-congratulating piece on the Xbox 360’s singular success this year. Through the first seven months of 2009 the console has shown 17 percent growth, despite July’s losses for the Big Three’s respective slabs of home hardware. Microsoft also points out that the 360 has been the number one platform for third-party sales through the entire year. Of course, this is nothing Sony can’t rectify with a bit of dirt cheap PS3 Slim magic, right? Right? Nintendo meanwhile probably can’t hear Microsoft’s bragging through the thick, cash-lined vaults it’s built for itself off the back of ceaseless peripheral sales.

Filed under: Gaming

Xbox 360 ‘only console to show growth this year’ according to Microsoft originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Aug 2009 06:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve already had a pretty clear indication that the Xbox 360 Elite would be replacing the current middle-of-the-road Pro model as Microsoft winnows its SKU options down to two, and a new Meijer ad obtained by Kotaku has now further backed up rumors of the switchover, and seemingly confirmed that that, as expected, the Elite will also be occupying the Pro’s $299 price point. Of course, all of this is still far from official, but the ad does also peg the date for the price drop as August 30th, so it seems likely we’ll hear something from Microsoft before then — perhaps at a conveniently timed major gaming conference.

[Via Daily Tech]

Filed under: Gaming

Xbox 360 Elite replacing Pro at $299 price point August 30th? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The hardcore modders in attendance need not apply unless they’re looking for a quick jaunt down easy street, but those terrified of solder guns, glue and screwdrivers best listen up. A newly formed company, BGRMODS, has just introduced its very product, and it’s pretty much a must-have for Xbox 360 owners. IntensaFIRE is an easy-to-install chip (we’re talking five minutes, tops) that modifies the Xbox 360 wireless controller in order to enable 5-mode sleeper settings (including a customizable user programmable mode) as well as a rapid-fire mode that should finally compensate for your lack of skill in Call of Duty 4. Hit the read link for the specifics on installation (trust us, there ain’t much to do), and get ready to upgrade your game on September 7th for $29.99.

[Via TestFreaks, thanks Vincent]

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

IntensaFIRE chip adds programmable / rapid fire modes to Xbox 360 controllers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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