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| "Zephyr" - Xbox 360 Elite
 Our amigos from Spanish site Consolas.com, have obtained eleven images of the unannounced Xbox 360 Elite Edition, previously known as Zephyr. For those living under a rock, this new Xbox 360 is rumored to have a built-in HDMI port and comes with a larger, 120 GB HD, and HDMI cable and a sexy black finish. It has been rumored too that all the new black accessories will be available separately.
The pictures posted by Consolas.com show the Elite as well as all the accessories. Turning the white Xbox 360 into a black one is an easy task for someone with basic Photoshop skills, so we are quite doubtful about the authenticity of these images.
Fake or real? You decide:  Quote:
Over the course of the last few days, the very foundation of the internet has been stretched to its breaking point, as a veritable tsunami of legit information, bogus rumors, and rampant speculation has washed over gaming sites and message boards. OK, maybe we don't actually need to worry about the internet itself crumbling away beneath our virtual feet, but this has been a pretty wild few days for Xbox fanboys, gadget geeks, and journalists (including yours truly) alike. What's all the hubbub about, you ask? Wait, you haven't heard about the Xbox 360 v2.0? Oh wait, I meant the Zephyr. Oops, did I say that? I should have said the Elite. Whatever you choose to call it, there's no denying that Microsoft's not-yet-officially announced console has been all over the place recently.
"So what's the big deal with this thing?" is probably a question that you're not asking at this very moment, as you're likely one of those fine folks that visits our humble little website multiple times each day. However, for those of you who can't tell an analog stick from a hole in the ground, let me take a few moments to bring you up to speed. While there have been plenty of rumors about an "upgraded" version of the Xbox 360, we've seen very little in the way of concrete evidence to support the claims. A few months ago there was a batch of purportedly "leaked" photos that turned out to be Photoshop phakes, and Microsoft reps have quickly and consistently clammed up every time a new SKU was brought up in interviews.
Then, suddenly, the floodgates were opened, as Game Informer reported in its April issue that Microsoft did in fact have plans to release a new and improved Xbox 360 sometime later this year. The word on the proverbial street is that it will be called Xbox 360 Elite Edition, and that it will begin its life with a limited edition black color scheme, the polar opposite of the standard 360's pure white finish. While a new color is nice and all (especially if you've been waiting for a console that will match your black home electronics), it's the new technical specs that are really wowing people.
With the Elite, Microsoft is making strides to address two of the biggest gripes that people have with the Xbox 360. One of the these is the fact that the system doesn’t have an HDMI output, meaning you’ll need to use the Xbox 360 VGA cable to output to a 1080p HDTV. Even then, it’s an analog signal, rather than a digital one, meaning the picture won’t look quite as good on certain HDTVs. However, on the majority of TVs out there, having an HDMI connection won’t make a lick of difference...at least for a few years. This may be one of those cases in which some people hear others talking about a newfangled technology and just assume that they’ve got to have it if they want to keep up. Oh well, at least the system will ship with an HDMI cable, something Sony neglected to include with the PlayStation 3.
The other part of the equation is the standard Xbox 360 hard drive, which many feel is too small to allow consumers to truly embrace the digital lifestyle that Microsoft has been trying to introduce. With the addition of Video Marketplace to the list of services that Microsoft is already offering on Xbox Live, there is more and more content that can be downloaded and saved to your hard drive. Naturally, this means that there’s more of a risk of filling up your hard drive, especially when the largest (and only) one currently offered is a “measly” 20GB model. With some downloadable demos now crossing the 1GB threshold and HD versions of TV shows available, you could see how this might become a problem.
Now, with all that said, I’m still not totally sold on the Elite Xbox 360 yet. Sure, it would be nice to have a larger hard drive, but do we really need to make the jump all the way to 120GB? I mean, I’ve had an Xbox 360 since the day it was released (well, actually, I’ve had several, but that’s another column entirely), and I’ve never really been all that close to maxing out my hard drive. I’ve downloaded plenty of television shows and just about every demo that’s been released, but I’ve been pretty good about going in and performing some spring cleaning every few weeks. I mean, how long do you really need to keep that Ninety-Nine Nights demo?
Finally, there’s the pricing, which will likely be the determining factor for many people who are considering an upgrade. At $479, the Elite is still less expensive than even the Basic model of the PlayStation 3, which only sports a 20GB hard drive and is lacking many of the bells and whistles of its pricier counterpart. Still, the Elite is quite a bit more expensive that the Premium model, and there are a lot of rumors (which will almost definitely turn out to be true) that we’ll be seeing an across-the-board price drop just before the holiday season. So, it looks like you may have some tough decisions to make later this year. One interesting note: the 120GB will also be sold separately, but the word on the proverbial street is that it will cost a whopping $200. It’s quite apparent that Microsoft really wants you to buy the full system.
Of course, Microsoft may not be going after those consumers that already own an Xbox 360 at all. With two system-sellers launching sometime this fall, the company is likely doing whatever it can to entice people to take the plunge a little bit early. I mean, who wouldn’t want to play Halo 3 or Grand Theft Auto IV on their “limited edition” black Elite? Still, this could end up being a risky move for Microsoft, as adding a new and improved SKU to the mix might anger those people who just bought a Premium unit. We’ll have to wait and see how this all plays out, but (for now) I’m content with what I’ve got.
|     Team Xbox |
03-23-2007, 09:51 PM
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