XBOX360 Elite is official...

There have been many rumors and forum posts about a new version of my current favorite console. The new version is going to be called the XBOX360 Elite.

• Priced at $479 ($50 cheaper than the low end PS3)
• Polished black finish (also black controller and headset)
• 120 gig hard drive (previous 360s had none or 20 gigs)
• HDMI port (previous versions had component)
• HDMI cable and component cable
• Starts selling on April 29th

Ok, now if you are a current XBOX360 owner don't run out and buy one just yet. You need to consider the rest of the facts:

I want a bigger hard drive!
Shipping around the same time will be a bundled kit to upgrade your current 20 gig drive to 120 gigs. It will come with the drive and a cable that is used to transfer data from your old drive to the new one. NOTE: The XBOX360 Elite will not have this cable bundled in it and no news of it being sold separately. So if you want a bigger hard drive, just buy the bundled kit for $179 (yeah, ouch!).

I want HDMI output!
Ok, how important is this to you....really? If you have the external HD-DVD player (which no news on a black one of these yet) it looks great already using the current connections. If you are a video quality addict then by all means run out and spend $479 just for that! NOTE: The 360 Elite will have the same internals as the old system versions (DVD drive and processor).

What will I do?
Hmmmm....prob wait till I fill up my current drive and go purchase a bundled 120 gig drive when that happens. I'm happy with my current system...it is a part of me now!

Sony...
“We think every PlayStation 3 owner should have an 'elite' experience, which is why we include an internal hard drive and HDMI output in every PS3 we sell, along with the 50 GB of storage capacity on a high definition Blu-ray disc," said Peter Dille, Sony Computer Entertainment's senior vice president of marketing.