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The Xbox 360 Elite will hit retail shelves this weekend in North America for a great estimated retail price of $479.99 (U.S.)

Those who purchase Xbox 360 Elite will get:

• Xbox 360 Elite console - premium black finish & HDMI output
• Xbox 360 120GB hard drive (black). The hard drive is sold separately in the original Xbox 360 chill color for an estimated retail price of $179.99 (U.S.).
• Xbox 360 Wireless Controller (black). Sold separately for an estimated retail price of $49.99 (U.S.).
• Xbox 360 headset (black).
• Xbox 360 HDMI cable.
• Xbox LIVE Silver Membership.
• One-month subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold.

The following accessories for the Xbox 360 Elite console will only be sold separately:

• Xbox 360 Play & Charge kit. Complete with a charging cable and a black rechargeable battery pack, the Xbox 360 Play & Charge kit allows gamers to recharge their Xbox 360 Wireless Controller without interrupting their gameplay. it is sold separately for an estimated retail price of $19.99 (U.S.).
• Xbox 360 rechargeable battery (black). The rechargeable battery pack provides more than 25 hours of gameplay per charge. It is sold separately for an estimated retail price of $11.99 (U.S.).

For existing Xbox 360 owners looking for greater storage capacity, the 120GB hard drive will also be sold as a stand-alone accessory for a suggested retail price of $179.99 (U.S.).

Coordinating Xbox 360 Elite accessories, such as the black Xbox 360 wireless controller, Xbox 360 Play & Charge kit and the Xbox 360 rechargeable battery, will be available separately as well.

More information is available at http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/xbox360elite/default.htm.

More photos here

Check out the latest episode, some great info on the Xbox Rewards program, and some community responses to the release of the xbox elite. I am one of those responders, can’t miss me - I am the one that sounds more serious then a History Professor at 8am.

So the rumors were all over the web way before this but Microsoft has officially announced the 360Elite. It’s sexy black, and comes with a nice bundle of accessories:

• 120GB Hard drive
• a matching black wireless controller
• a matching black headset
• a HDMI Cable, but also component HD Cables if you prefer

I mean its nice and all, but I doubt I am going out to rebuy an xbox360, especially since when I got mine the only thing I could get was the standard edition - so I ended up buying all the accessories that come packaged in the premium package - which ended up being more then a premium edition anyway *grumble*

I do like the 120GB hard drive though - I still have space on my 20GB but its nice to know the option exists, and hopefully the price will drop by the time i need it (MSRP $179.99).