Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Xbox 360 Core: They Should Have Called it the "Screwed" Edition
Posted by Jason Dunn in "THOUGHT" @ 02:00 PM
As I mentioned earlier, I struck out on getting an Xbox Premium bundle and was forced to get an Xbox 360 Core edition or nothing at all. I opted for the Core, but am quickly getting frustrated at how expensive it will be to get what I need. Let's go over the list of the things that the Core system needs in order to bring it to parity with the Premium bundle:
Universal Remote: $39.99
Wireless Controller: $59.99
Component video cables: $49.99
Hard drive: $129.99
Wired Headset: $39.99
Ethernet cable: $10 (any type can be used)
That's a total of $329.95 above and beyond the price of the $399 Core system, making it $229.95 more expensive than getting the Premium system. One could argue that the $229.95 gives you two controllers instead of one and there's some value in that, but I have no interest in using wired controllers so for me the gain is nil.
The single worst effect of Microsoft releasing the Core bundle is that most vendors seem to have opted to order less of the more expensive Premium bundles and more of the cheaper Core bundles, in the very mistaken belief that they'll sell more of the less expensive version. Microsoft should not have given the clueless idiots in the product ordering departments the opportunity to make that mistake. I spoke to perhaps 30 other customers today in various stores, and every single one of them wanted to get the Premium bundle. Those that were only given the option to buy the Core system were resentful at having to spend the extra money to bring it up to parity with the Premium bundle. Microsoft, you should have known better.
Universal Remote: $39.99
Wireless Controller: $59.99
Component video cables: $49.99
Hard drive: $129.99
Wired Headset: $39.99
Ethernet cable: $10 (any type can be used)
That's a total of $329.95 above and beyond the price of the $399 Core system, making it $229.95 more expensive than getting the Premium system. One could argue that the $229.95 gives you two controllers instead of one and there's some value in that, but I have no interest in using wired controllers so for me the gain is nil.
The single worst effect of Microsoft releasing the Core bundle is that most vendors seem to have opted to order less of the more expensive Premium bundles and more of the cheaper Core bundles, in the very mistaken belief that they'll sell more of the less expensive version. Microsoft should not have given the clueless idiots in the product ordering departments the opportunity to make that mistake. I spoke to perhaps 30 other customers today in various stores, and every single one of them wanted to get the Premium bundle. Those that were only given the option to buy the Core system were resentful at having to spend the extra money to bring it up to parity with the Premium bundle. Microsoft, you should have known better.
