Tag Archives: 20gb

Spong’s reporting that Microsoft’s confirmed that announced changes to 360 strategy in the US won’t make it to the UK.

“The 60GB Xbox 360 and the 20GB clearance sale are for the US only,” said a rep. “We have not announced any changes in Xbox 360 offerings or pricing in Europe.”

Hardly shocking, but there we are.

Microsoft’s confirmed the long-rumoured 60Gb Xbox 360 SKU for the US, as well as officially announcing a price cut for the current 20Gb machine.

The 60Gb console will ship in “early August,” according to the press release, and is priced at $349.

The 20Gb SKU has now dropped $50 to $299, and is to be available “while supplies last.”

“We know consumers need more and more space to store the amazing digital content Xbox 360 offers, and we’re giving it to them at no extra charge,” said Albert Penello, Xbox director of product management at Microsoft. “No one device offers the depth and breadth of entertainment that Xbox 360 can deliver, and now you’ll have three times the storage to manage all that great content.”

In a story that started here, Microsoft is being rumoured as looking at releasing a 60Gb Xbox 360 SKU and dropping the 20Gb package this summer in the US.

“Dates are not nailed down, but my source says Microsoft wants it done and dusted before the end of its financial year which translates as our Q2,” said the report.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter waded in immediately, saying 60Gb was rubbish.

“I think the console [manufacturers] all misjudged the quantity of downloadable content and the opportunity to actually download meaningful content, and so what sounded like a good idea in 2003 or 2004 in the design stage with the 20GB hard drive on the 360 was just not sufficient. Frankly, the surprise to me is that the new SKU is [purportedly] 60GB. I mean, I would think they’d introduce a 200GB or 500GB and eliminate the 20GB and make the 120GB the standard cheapie one. I think that more is better, although I don’t think most people will fill up their hard drive; but I think that as you feel you’re getting close you start to be less likely to download content.”

All we’ll say is, just remember this.