Organization: Alexa Crawls

So, Microsoft announced its �worst-kept secret� this week with the new Xbox 360 Elite version, which offers substantially more hard-drive space and a new high-def output port, as well as a snazzy black finish.

And, as expected, a lot of people said, �So what?!?� That one of those statements came from Sony isn�t much of a shock, but you only have to look as far as TeamXbox�s readers own comments to see lots of die-hard Xbox 360 fans considering Microsoft�s proclamation to be a big pile of nothing. Still others took it as a slap in the face, that they spent their money for a Xbox 360 Pro system that, by these new standards, is only second best, and they�re feeling more than a little resentment over that.

But let�s imagine a parallel world where Microsoft quickly came back from what many are seeing as a bout of April Foolishness to say it was just kidding�here�s what we�re really doing with Elite, and to reward the loyalty of our existing console owners.

Call it a �Re-Elite,� if you will.

[As a quick sidetracking, now is a good time for me to wonder why the English language has a word �elite� that�s pronounced �ee-leet,� but on a can of beer, �lite� is pronounced�well, �lite��and where �light� is also pronounced like �lite.� Of course, this is the same language where �insane� and �sane� are opposites, while �flammable� and �inflammable� mean the same thing; and where if you �resign� a job, you�re leaving, but if you �re-sign,� you�re staying longer. I blame my British ancestors�]


The Price is Right��As Dean Takahashi of the San Jose Mercury News said in his newspaper the next day, Microsoft would have been better off targeting Nintendo and its lower-priced Wii, instead of adding another higher-priced system that more seems to be taking on the PlayStation 3. By debuting a �new� system at $480, it invites comparisons (some negative) to PS3 and even comparisons to its own existing models. As to the latter, for instance, some have noted that the Elite will be $80 more than the Pro, but the 120GB hard drive by itself will have a $180 price tag. Why is that?

In a �Re-Elite,� Microsoft would have scored more of a victory to bring out the Elite at the current Pro price, then lower the Pro price to the cost of a Core�and maybe do away with the Core altogether, so that any system sold from here on has a hard drive. Aside from consolidating its hardware lineup in a better way, it�d be a bigger shot across Sony�s bow by distancing the Xbox 360 from the PS3, and also level some fire at Nintendo by closing the gap between Xbox 360 and Wii.