Games Cheats and Reviews

Destructoid: There’s nothing solid on this yet, but some signs out there seem to point to the current Xbox 360 Elite, the 120GB model, becoming extinct. Right now it seems that most retailers are out of stock on this model, including Walmart, Gamestop and Best Buy. Hell, Kotaku says that right now, GameStop is giving you a $50 gift card with the purchase of the Elite. Maybe they’re trying to clear shelf space for something new. And this same disappearing act is happening to the separate 120GB hard disk. Just try finding one now.

I asked Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg about the hard drive specifically last week. I pointed out that it would be nice to have that 250GB hard drive from the Xbox 360 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 system separately as an upgrade.

Kotaku: "On Monday, we wondered where all the 120GB hard disk drives for the Xbox 360 had got to. This GameStop promotion may help explain what’s going on.

It’s offering a $50 GameStop gift voucher with every Xbox 360 Elite console sold. Out of the blue, not long after official price cuts and the holiday season. Considering almost everybody buys a few games or at least a second controller with their console, it’s effectively a temporary $50 price cut.

Why the rush to get Elite consoles out the door? Well, if you look on GameStop’s site, the regular Elite bundle is "Currently Not Available Online". It’s not available at Best Buy, either (only the holiday bundle is). Same with Walmart.

Sounds to us like the previously limited edition, 250GB "Super Elite" Xbox 360 is about to replace the regular 120GB model of the Elite."

GamerDeals.net:

"Well… this one is one hell of a deal, and likely the best Xbox 360 console deal of 2009…

Grab the Xbox LIVE Value Bundle with 2 Games, 12 Month Xbox LIVE card + $50 Walmart eGift Card for only $259! The Xbox 360 Elite is also available for $99 more…"

Infatuated Gamer: Starting on Black Friday, Amazon will be packing in Left 4 Dead 2 for free with either a purchase of the Xbox 360 Modern Warfare 2 Limited Edition Console or the Xbox 360 Elite Winter 2009 Lego Batman / Pure Bundle.

IndustryGamers writes: "After dropping the price on PS3 and introducing the new slim model, Sony finally managed to capture the top spot for hardware sales in the U.S. during September, selling close to 500,000 units. In Japan, the PS3 saw a 707% upswing since the price cut went into effect across the Pacific.

Despite a big (and much needed) surge from the PS3, some analysts questioned just how long it would last. After all, the Xbox 360 Elite SKU also came down to $299 and the Wii was dropped to $199. EEDAR said that the excitement for price cuts in September "wore off quicker than expected." Nevertheless, Tony Bartel, Executive VP of Merchandising and Marketing for GameStop, told IndustryGamers today that Sony’s momentum was not limited to just September."

Forza 3 pack Xbox 360 Elite motherboard, new DVD drive, GPU heat pipe removed.

YourEMGN Writes: "According to the most recent numbers, Sony’s PS3 slim has sold over a million units in the time span of a few weeks. The PS3 has also outsold the Xbox 360 by over 120,000 units, worldwide. The biggest contributors to these sales are top notch exclusives such as Uncharted 2. However, a few mutli-platform games such as Modern Warfare 2 are close to release to even things up. Including the special Xbox 360 Elite + Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 bundle which is sure to catch the attention of many."

Chris Jager writes,

"Howdy, Sony reps and PlayStation fans. Glad we got your attention. As you’ve probably gleaned from our tongue-in-cheek article headline, we have a few issues with the PSPgo. Big issues, of the deal-breaking, hair-pulling variety.

We’re talking, of course, about price – the price of the console, the price of games and the price of Internet broadband. When everything is tallied together, the PSPgo is arguably the most expensive console on the market – even compared to the Sony PlayStation 3 Slim and Xbox 360 Elite. If you already own a regular PSP, you also have to factor in the cost of replacing your game discs. So what exactly are you getting for all your hard-earned cash? In short: a smaller PSP with no disc tray. (Don’t all rush to the shops at once, guys.)"

The first, in what will surely be an avalanche of Christmas bundles, was announced by Microsoft today. The Xbox 360 Elite will feature in a festive bundle accompanied by LEGO Batman and the Disney published off road racer Pure.

This pack will price at around $299 (US) and will include the usual 120Gb hard disc drive, controller and wired headset. Sadly for those of you with full HD aspirations they have dropped the HDMI cable in favor of the AV composite cable.

This may not be a bundle that sets the world on fire but it’s pretty good value all the same.

Associated Content: Microsoft recently dropped the price of the Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 Elite went from $399.99 to $299.99 while the price of the Xbox 360 Pro was sliced from $299.99 to $249.99. The new prices were enforced so that the demand will increase for the Xbox 360. The surge is sales won’t be as high as Microsoft might be expecting, however, due to the following reasons.