Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3916 in Video Games
• Color: Xbox
• Brand: Microsoft
• Model: 360 Elite System
• Released on: 2007-04-29
• Platform: Xbox 360
• Dimensions: 85.20" h x 138.00" w x 153.60" l, 13.85 pounds

Features

• Premium black finish
• 120GB hard drive
• Sleek black finish wireless controller
• Black headset
• HDMI lets you get HD video (up to 1080p)

From the manufacturer
Introducing Xbox 360 Elite, the premier Xbox 360 console package that includes a massive 120GB hard drive, a HDMI port and a premium black finish. Xbox 360 Elite also includes a black wireless controller and black Xbox LIVE headset. Xbox 360 Elite has enough space for a whole library of Xbox LIVE Arcade games as well as downloadable high-definition TV shows, movies, music, and more available from Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

Features:

• Xbox 360 Elite console: The console is equipped with a premium black finish and an HDMI port and like all Xbox 360 systems, comes with three powerful core processors, 16:9 cinematic aspect ratio, anti-aliasing for smooth textures, full surround sound, HDMI cable and DVD playback with upscaling capabilities right out of the box.
• Xbox 360 120GB hard drive: The huge 120GB detachable hard drive allows gamers to save their games and store television shows, movies, music, pictures, trailers, extra game levels, demos and other content available from Xbox LIVE Marketplace. Also sold separately.
• Xbox 360 Wireless Controller (black): The sleek black finish of this high-performance wireless controller matches the style of the Elite Console. It has a range of up to 30 feet and a battery life of 30 hours on two AA batteries. Also sold separately.
• Xbox 360 headset (black): Now available in black, the headset lets you strategize while playing together online or trade taunts with your opponents. You can also send voice messages to friends on Xbox LIVE.
• Xbox 360 HDMI cable: New to Xbox 360, HDMI lets you get HD video (up to 1080p) and multichannel surround sound, all from one cable.
• Xbox LIVE Silver Membership: With this, gamers can chat with friends online, collect achievements and gamerscores, send and receive voice and text messages, and access Xbox LIVE Marketplace content such as game demos, HD movies and TV, as well as the best in downloadable games from Xbox LIVE Arcade.
• One-month subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold: An Xbox LIVE Gold Membership provides a complete online entertainment experience. Subscribe to this premium service and engage in competitive online multiplayer matches, tailor your matchmaking via feedback and accomplishments, chat with more than one person at a time, and take advantage of unique privileges in Xbox LIVE Marketplace and Xbox LIVE Arcade.

Amazon.com
Xbox 360 sets a new pace for digital entertainment. More than just a cutting-edge game system, Xbox 360 also integrates high-definition video, DVD movie playback, digital music, photos, and online connectivity into one sleek, small tower.

Under the Hood

Xbox 360, shown with wireless controller, is a sleek, customizable gaming and entertainment system

Xbox 360 is much smaller than its predecessor--it measures approximately 3.3 by 12.2 by 10.2 inches and weighs 7.7 lbs. It's powered by custom IBM PowerPC-based CPU with three symmetrical cores each running at 3.2 GHz. It also carries a custom ATI graphics processor 10 MB of embedded DRAM. This is powerful enough to draw 500 million triangles per second. In other words, it makes for great looking games in standard TV definition, and even better thanks to built-in support for HDTV 1080i televisions. It also supports the widescreen 16:9 format.

The unit has a 12x dual-layer DVD-ROM drive, which plays both the game media and progressive-scan DVD movies right out of the box. For game-save and media storage this console package includes a 120GB hard drive. Along with storing files, the hard drive will make the Xbox 360 backward-compatible with part of the existing Xbox game library.

Control your Gameplay
Xbox 360 uses a refined button layout for its controllers. Back and Start buttons sit at the center of the controller and between them is a new Xbox Guide button, which instantly takes the user to the Xbox 360 user interface. From there, they can check for friends online, access personal digital content like photos and songs, and more. The black and white buttons of the first Xbox controllers have been replaced with new shoulder buttons placed above the left and right triggers. Xbox 360 can accommodate up to four wireless controllers and has three USB 2.0 slots to use for wired controllers or for streaming your digital media from digital cameras, MP3 players, and any Windows XP-based PC. Microsoft has also created a video-conferencing camera, sold separately, that will work with the system.

The Media Experience
All Xbox 360 titles can be played in either standard or high-definition resolution in 16:9 widescreen, with anti-aliasing for smoother graphics. Game designers will be able to take advantage of the system's multi-channel surround sound. The Xbox 360's digital media allows users to supplement any game's music from tracks in their own personal library.

Go Live
A built-in Ethernet port allows users to connect their system to a broadband connection for access to the new Xbox Live Silver. The included service lets anyone create a Gamertag and gamer card to express your online identity, chat live with voice chat, and connect to the Xbox Live Marketplace to buy expansions, maps, and other digital items for your games. The subscription service Xbox Live Gold adds to that online competition, game stats, and video chat/messaging. The separately sold wireless adapter supports the common 802.11a, -b, and -g standards.

What's in the Box?

• Xbox 360 Elite console (black)
• 120GB hard drive
• Wireless Controller (black)
• Xbox Live Headset (black)
• HDMI port
• HDMI cable
• Xbox Live Silver membership
• One-month subscription to Xbox Live Gold

Customer Reviews

Excellent Fun! Horrible Support! BEWARE!

I loved this product! My wife, son (four) and myself played a couple hours a night for three months. Xbox Live is phenomenal. We purchased the unit brand new and bought the extended warranty contract. Three months later RED RINGS OF DEATH. I have two friends with the Elite 360. One is fine the other just received three red rings of death. I thought the Elite's were somewhat impervious to this! Again, the games, graphics, etc. are just excellent. My family and I have never had more fun with a game console, or even our PC for that matter.

Here's my story below, however! BEWARE! I'm going to Amex to reverse this three-month old purchase. My recommendation? Buy something else. I'm scared off of this console. Worst support I have ever dealt with. They literally tell you that you have no options and they won't help or escalate. Oh, you're a month without your product? Tough. We'll get to you when we feel like it. A month without Xbox Live that you PAID for? Tough. Deal with it.

I've never encountered such complete disregard for the customer.

BEWARE!

Bought an Elite 360 in June. Loved it. Three months later three red rings of death. Now is where I start getting upset:

Oct 12 - Call into Xbox Support for Repair
Oct 17 - Receive Box to Ship Console from Microsoft
Oct 17 - Ship out Xbox
Oct 20 - Dallas Repair Center Receives my Xbox
Oct 26 - Call for Status - Told "Being Repaired"
Oct 30 - Call for Status - Told "Being Repaired"
Nov 2 - Call for Status - Told "We have 12 business days to repair"
Nov 6 - Call for status - Told "Escalated to Mgmt - will call you within 48 hours"
Nov 8 - Been 48 hours - No Call. Called again. Stayed on the line until received Senior Tech Support Manager. Told "We have Four Business Weeks from time we receive your console to repair it" Will receive call back in 24 hours.
Nov 9 - No Call Back. Been Four Business Weeks. No Xbox. No status. Not even repaired, shipped, tracked. NOTHING! It's lost. No call back

I wrote a letter to Microsoft today documenting everything with names and times.

This is a three month old Elite. I don't mind that it died. I knew that going in. What I do mind is that I've been without my console for FOUR WEEKS with no status and no hope of status.

By contract, they have 12 business days to repair it. Nobody will tell me what the next step is once they breach that.

They have four business weeks to get you a console from the time you first call in. That date has officially passed as of today.

I have been without Xbox Live for a month, my son's birthday is tomorrow and he can't play his Lego Star Wars Complete Saga that he will receive for a present (he's four years old and will be sick about it).

I can't get anything from Microsoft support. It's all outsourced to India and they are extremely protective about any kind of escalation.

My next step is calling American Express and getting a refund for the console. They breached their contract and are unwilling to work with me. I dread doing it but I know that Amex will come through. I've used them once before and they were great about researching everything and negating a large purchase.

My wife's brand new MacBook lost it's motherboard after one month. She called Apple support. Box fed-ex overnight, went in that night, they received it next day - repaired it on the spot - sent it out that day - we received it next day. Total down time from first call? FOUR DAYS!

This is four weeks now and unacceptable. I feel I have no recourse other than venting on every forum and review site possible so that others are aware of this.

Looks like I'll call Amex.

Sorry for the rant but these guys are unreasonable and don't care.

An honest review from an actual owner.
First of all, when you purchase ANY xbox360 system, you should already know that it does NOT come with the HD-DVD drive. It is available separately for ~$200 USD. I think it's wrong for other reviewers to bash the Elite system for not including the HD-DVD drive when you should know its a separate accessory.

This is my first xbox system purchase, however I have played many other 360 systems which belong to friends. I can say that the ELITE system is somewhat quieter and runs a little smoother due to the extra cache in the included 120gb hard-drive. "Smoother" meaning the dashboard is very fast with no hang-ups or pauses, even during gaming. My 360 Elite unit sits out in the open and the only noise emitted is the DVD drive spinning, which you can barely hear.

I highly recommend buying the ELITE version if you do not currently own a xbox 360 console. For the extra $80 dollars, you get a much much larger hard-drive, HDMI, and black color scheme. However, I can't recommend it as an "upgrade" to a working xbox360 system. Don't go selling your current working system to trade up to an Elite system unless you just plain want it.

I own a 32" LG HDTV, and the images look amazing! I am running HDMI for the video, and the audio dongle to my Denon receiver for the audio.

Xbox live GOLD is fantastic and well worth the $49/yr fee. I am only a casual gamer, but purchased the xbox 360 for all its other capabilities. Mine has ran flawlessly so far (4 days now). I have rented online movies, downloaded TONS of demos and Xbox Live Arcade games.

This is a 5 star system all-around! Remember to buy the Microsoft extended warranty for $49 dollars. The form is included in the box and must be mailed out within 10 days of purchase. Peace of mind for 2 years is worth the 50 bucks.

Best wishes,
Steven

An amazing machine (from an actual owner of an elite)
The XBox 360 elite finally pushed me over the edge. I've been resisting buying a 360 for a while (mostly because of hardware reliability concerns) but recently purchased the elite console. Now that I've done it I can't believe I waited this long--I'm enjoying gaming immensely, have barely scratched the surface of Xbox live, and have linked the console to my Windows Media Center PC and am messing around with the many capabilities there as well. I own (and love) a Wii and have nothing against Sony, but I'm very impressed with the XBox 360.

FIRST, THE CONSOLE: The XBox 360 features amazing graphics and an enormous library of games that, as of the time of this writing, dwarfs those of the PS3 and Wii. Initially I was concerned that the PS3 would perform better, but from what I've read and seen it seems the framerate and graphical capability of the XBox is at least equal to the PS3, though I have no desire to argue the point because I think they're both great machines. My reason for choosing the XBox had more to do with game selection, really, and in that the XBox excels.

GAMES: The XBox's library of games is unparalleled right now. There are many incredible XBox exclusive titles, from the obvious Halo 3 to games like Bioshock, Forza 2, and Gears of War (and this is a very small sampling of what's actually out there). I'm not impressed with the PS3's game library, and while I couldn't live without my Nintendo franchises like Zelda, Mario, and Metroid I'm finding myself craving more games beyond the party type games (which the Wii is great for) and Nintendo's own titles.

XBOX LIVE: The Xbox's online community is second to none right now, and while I can see promise for both Sony and Nintendo in this area neither system offers as much as the XBox does at the time of this writing. Aside from the enormous and well-established community, the XBox live marketplace offers classic games, TV shows, and movies for download, as well as game trailers and demos and a whole lotta other stuff. I love being able to download so many demos of games I might like to try--it saves on some rental fees for sure--and I'm looking forward to picking up some classic games like Contra and the incredible Castlevania: Symphony of the Night soon. I wouldn't say the classic game library rivals Nintendo's Virtual Console yet (not even close, really), but there are some great games nonetheless.

THE HARDWARE: The XBox elite is black, which I personally prefer to the white. It has an HDMI port and comes with a cord, so it's capable of full 1080p HD. I also love the 120 GB hard drive--though I've never been one to fill a game console's hard drive it's nice to know I have the space, and with all the game demos and other things I've been downloading it may become a possibility. The Elite also functions as a DVD player with upconverting capability, and the quality I get from playing a DVD on my XBox is incredible, so much so that I'm not using my old DVD player anymore for regular DVDs.

Hardware reliability has been a concern, and was something that really held me back for a while. Following were a couple of my major concerns and this is how the Xbox 360 has handled them:

-Noise. My 360 is much quieter than many reviews led me to believe. My wife doesn't know its on unless she's in the same room.
-Heat. This was a big one for me. I don't have space to keep the console upright--it has to be on its side--and I've heard horror stories of overheating after very little play. The console has about 18 inches behind it for ventilation and seems to run just fine, though I haven't had it on for more than about 3 hours at a time. There's a lot of heat coming out the back of it but the console itself doesn't seem to heat up much. When it's really hot outside I keep an upright fan blowing the general direction of my TV (where the Xbox is) and plan on getting a cooling system just to be safe, but so far heat has not really been an issue for me.
-Ruining discs - I've heard of the console scratching discs beyond playability and also of cracking. My console lays on its side and I don't move it while a disc is playing, and so far I've had no issues, though I haven't used it enough to say it will never happen.
-Red Ring of Death - Again, no problems yet. The 3 year warranty helps, though the prospect of not having the thing for a couple months while they fix it brings my blood almost to a boil just thinking about it.

Overall I'm tremendously happy with my XBox 360, and my only real concern with it is the potential for hardware failure. Still, this is a great machine, and definitely worth the price tag for me. I'm disappointed that wireless capability was not included in the console (it's a pretty expensive add-on), since both the Wii and the PS3 have that built in. Since I have an HD TV I'd love to have a built in HD-DVD player, but I think it was a wise choice not to force it upon people who don't want it by building it into the machine.