Microsoft's New Low-End Xbox 360

Arcade comes with new features, higher price compared to Core.

Christmas is traditionally the time of year when hardware makers push out their new game systems and this year is no different. Following hard on the heals of Sony's new £299 40 GB PlayStation 3, Microsoft has responded with a £200 version of the Xbox 360, which will be released in the UK on 26 October.

Dubbed the Xbox 360 Arcade, this new version of the two-year-old hardware includes five games from the Xbox Live Marketplace, including Pac-Man Championship Edition, Uno, Luxor 2, Boom Boom Rocket and Feeding Frenzy. The quintet of games will come on a disc included in the package

Like the Xbox 360 Elite, this version of the Xbox 360 will include an HDMI connector, so that those with newer high-definition TVs can get the highest quality video out of the box. Microsoft confirmed to us that there will not be an HDMI cable in the package, so you'll have to buy one for yourself if that's the way you want to go.

Similar to the low-end Xbox 360 Core before it, the Xbox 360 Arcade will also not come with a hard drive. You will be able to store some content and games saves, though, as the pack includes a 256 MB memory card. "The cost benefit of not including a hard drive is then passed onto the consumer," a Microsoft spokesperson told Kikizo, "though they can of course choose to upgrade the console with a hard drive at a later date."

One issue Microsoft has not addressed is why it is choosing to raise the barrier to entry for the Xbox 360.

In late August, Microsoft dropped the price of the Xbox 360 Core from £200 to £180. The Xbox 360 Arcade has much the Core does not, including the Xbox Live Arcade games, an HDMI connector, and a wireless versus a wired controller, but at £200 it is also more expensive than the previous pack.

When pressed, a Microsoft spokesperson emphasised the value of the Xbox 360 Arcade, saying that it offers "around £50 worth of extra content over the Core model".

The spokesperson did not confirm Microsoft's immediate plans for phasing out the Xbox 360 Core.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo