A Blockbuster deal
Certain users in the HEXUS.community forums have been contemplating upgrading their Xbox 360 console, so we've set out to find the very best solution.There are a few advantages with upgrading your Xbox 360 from the Core/Arcade version or the 20GB premium to either the new 60GB version or the almighty 120GB Elite.
The most obvious of those is the larger drive capacity, allowing you to store more movies, pictures, arcade games, trailers or any of the other offerings that you can download from the Xbox live marketplace. The arcade version doesn’t have a hard-drive whatsoever and with the vast array of Xbox live arcade games on offer and with more coming around the corned when the XNA games launch, 20GB isn’t an awful lot of space to store everything.
Secondly, the new consoles should offer improved reliability and quieter hard-drives. We’d assume that the RROD issue that plagued the 20GB premium will be a distant memory that we can all finally try to forget about.
Thirdly, you may have an arcade version or a 20GB premium console without HDMI support. All new consoles have a HDMI port and the Elite comes packaged with a HDMI cable to get you up and running.
Finally, and possibly the worst reason of all, is that you may be tempted by the black and sexy exterior of the Elite.
Whatever the case and whatever reason you have for wanting to upgrade, you need to ask yourself, are you ready to upgrade?
We've done the homework for you and contacted three of the major retailers to find out the best deals on offer. There are many permutations, but we've just covered a few here which will probably be useful for those early adopters who picked up the core console or the initial 20GB Premium.
Cost of upgrading an Xbox 360 Core console
| Trade-in Value | Retail Price | Upgrade Cost | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arcade | Premium | Elite | Arcade | Premium | Elite | ||
| Game | £50.00 | £159.99 | £199.99 | £245.00 | £109.99 | £149.99 | £195.00 |
| Gamestation | £75.00 | £159.99 | £199.99 | £259.99 | £84.99 | £124.99 | £184.99 |
| Blockbusters | £80.00 | £159.99 | £199.99 | £259.99 | £79.99 | £119.99 | £179.99 |
Cost of upgrading an Xbox 360 Premium console (20GB)
| Trade-in Value | Retail Price | Upgrade Cost | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arcade | Premium | Elite | Arcade | Premium | Elite | ||
| Game | £80.00 | £159.99 | £199.99 | £245.00 | £109.99 | £149.99 | £165.00 |
| Gamestation | £100.00 | £159.99 | £199.99 | £259.99 | £59.99 | £99.99 | £159.99 |
| Blockbusters | £115.00 | £159.99 | £199.99 | £259.99 | £44.99 | £84.99 | £144.99 |
It's worth bearing in mind that if you're hoping to use the HDMI functionality of the 60GB Premium, the HDMI cable, which most people will want to use, does not come packaged with it, so you'll have to buy it separately. The 'official' one retails at £34.99. That £84.99 deal from Blockbusters for trading in your 20GB premium for a £60GB premium has just turned into nearly £120 - although you don't of course have to buy the official MS HDMI cable, there are alternatives.
In our opinion, at this moment in time based on the prices, we'd hold off moving from the Core/Arcade or 20GB Premium console up to the Elite. It's still far too pricey. Hang fire for the price drop, it will be coming soon.
The best option at the moment, in our opinion, is certainly to upgrade to the 60GB Premium, just take into account that you'll need to buy that HDMI cable should you want it.
Of course, there are other smaller retailers that will offer good trade-in prices, including the Computer Exchange (CEX) franchise, so it's worth ringing around before you make a final decision.
Before you dash off to make the choice on whether to upgrade or not take a look at some of the implications that you could face.
Continued overleaf...