Ever since the 2 different Xbox 360 SKU's (herein called packages) were announced over a week ago, a lot of debate has been centered on the key difference between the packages - the Core System will not have a hard drive included, while the Xbox 360 System will. What many people are both confused and concerned about is what repurcussions their package choice will have on their own personal Xbox 360 gaming experience, and also what the impact will be on the Xbox 360 console as a whole.
PricingAlthough I am sure most of you are well aware of the pricing differences between the 2 consoles, they are indeed crucial to the debate over the Core System versus the Xbox 360 System. It is the key difference between them - the inclusion or not of a hard drive, that is central to many of the issues below.
As stated above, the Xbox 360 Core System does not have the 20GB hard drive. It simply includes the console, one standard wired controller, a face plate, and a standard AV cable. The Core System retails for US$299.
On the other hand, the Xbox 360 System features the 20GB hard drive, a wireless controller, faceplate, headset, component AV cable, an ethernet cable, and for a limited time, a remote. The Xbox 360 System retails for US399.
So lets value all the additional accessories you get as a result of purchasing the Xbox 360 System over the Core System:
- Hard drive = $99.99
- Wireless controller - $49.99 less $39.99 (Core System wired controller) = $10
- Headset = $19.99
- Component AV Cable = $39.99
- Ethernet Cable = $9.99*
All up that is an additional value of $178.97 if you purchase the Xbox 360 System, as opposed to getting the Core System, and then buying the addiitional accessories seperately.
What this means is that if you do see yourself buying the extra accessories that you get with the Xbox 360 System; only later down the track, you are effectively paying a premium to do so, and a fairly hefty one at that - nearly $80 (close to the difference between the 2 packages in the first place). So straight off the bat, the Xbox 360 System has a distinct advantage over the Core System in terms value.
Also, as I will discuss later, if you want to use Xbox Live you will need some sort of memory storage - whether it is the 20GB hard drive, or the 64MB memory unit (which retails for $39.99). This means even after purchasing the Core System, you will still have to pay another $40 to access Xbox Live. In fact, the same can be said for saving games - if you buy the Core System and want to save games, you are going to have to pay another $40 minimum to get some sort of storage memory for your 360.
So the bottom line in terms of value is that the Xbox 360 System is the clear winner.
