Sign on Options
Theme:
To Dark

4GB Xbox 360 official, $300 Kinect bundle coming

[UPDATE] Arcade replacement launches August 3; mass-market targeted package will include camera-based peripheral, Kinect Adventures; solo Kinect price confirmed as $150, games to cost $50; UK pricing also confirmed.

Any doubt that Microsoft was going after the mass market Nintendo so successfully exploited with the Wii was eliminated this morning. That's when the software giant confirmed rumors that it will release a 4GB flash-memory-equipped entry-level model of its newly redesigned Xbox 360 packed in with its motion-sensing, camera-based system Kinect. The bundle will also include a copy of Kinect Adventures, the minigame compilation that features the jump-based rafting game River Rush. The entire package will cost $300 and will go on sale when Kinect launches November 4.

The glossy 250GB 360 slim is about to get a 4GB sibling with a matte finish.

The glossy 250GB 360 slim is about to get a 4GB sibling with a matte finish.

However, as former The Price Is Right host Bob Barker might have said, that's not all. The new 4GB 360 will go on sale solo on August 3. It will have a black matte finish to distinguish itself from the glossy 250GB model, will have the same built-in N wireless connectivity, and will sport a hard drive bay. Xbox product director Aaron Greenberg told GameSpot the console has the ability to be upgraded with a hard drive, but Microsoft has not yet announced plans to sell the new, more compact hard drives separately.

Greenberg also confirmed that, by itself, Kinect will cost $150. The price had previously been published by numerous retail outlets, including Microsoft's own store, with the caveat that "official pricing had not been announced." Greenberg said Microsoft is treating the Kinect launch like that of a console, throwing the considerable weight of its marketing might behind it. The system has already been promoted via product placement in the NBC TV movie The Jensen Project, much in the same way the Guitar Hero franchise was featured in the Showtime series Californication.

With Sony touting the fact that the PlayStation Move motion-control system will support such core titles as SOCOM 4 and Killzone 3, Greenberg also addressed how Kinect will support hardcore gaming. He said that Kinect development kits "were in the hands" of many studios known for core gaming and that the system "had the potential" to be used in conjunction with a controller. He did not offer any more specific information.

Greenberg also confirmed that all Kinect games will cost $50, putting them in line with the cost of Wii games. The system's launch lineup will be targeted at the casual gamer and will feature such titles as the pet-raising simulator Kinectimals, the redesigned Kinect Joyride, and the athletic minigame compilation Kinect Sports.

[UPDATE] Kinect will cost £129.99 in the UK, Microsoft UK has confirmed. The new 4GB Xbox 360 will cost £149.99 and will hit stores on August 20, three weeks after it arrives stateside. A bundle containing them both will be released alongside Kinect's retail launch and will cost £249.99.

396 Comments

  • SolidTy

    Posted Jan 31, 2011 11:41 am GMT


    I predicted this bundle when I first heard of Kinect. Not surprising news really, but still, the Arcade 360 bundles are just lame. You gotta go pro or do not go at all.

  • rachkovsky

    Posted Aug 27, 2010 12:21 am GMT

    $150? I paid less for my DS and it's a seperate system. This has no exclusive triple A titles. It's not even a seperate system it's just an add - on.

  • Nzilla

    Posted Jul 26, 2010 9:03 pm GMT

    Yeah, still yawn. I have an Xbox and a Wii. Why would I need a more expensive Wii for my X-box that can't play zelda and mario games. YAWN. GET A WII AND PUT IT ON TOP OF YOUR X-BOX. It's cheeper and you'll get access to more games.

  • KaizerJinn

    Posted Jul 25, 2010 5:58 pm GMT

    and so it begins... =/

  • meke186

    Posted Jul 25, 2010 4:02 pm GMT

    what is the point of a 4 gb console you could have like 6 games and it would be full

  • zzamaro

    Posted Jul 23, 2010 10:04 am GMT

    @PixelAddict

    lol, couldn't be more hypocrite?

    First you said nobody FORCES us to buy and then you say you see value and stuff when by seeing all the hate on this overpriced camera, it looks it will be an epic FAIL.

    Obviously I'm not trolling, I'm expressing my opinnon about this and it's the same opinion everybody has about kinect, this camerais overpriced and that a FACT. If you can afford this camera, fine. But please, speak for yourself. Don't be blind please.

  • PSNLakers416

    Posted Jul 22, 2010 8:51 pm GMT

    Still $125 too much lol.

  • demonkingx5

    Posted Jul 22, 2010 7:59 pm GMT

    @monson21502 lately not many games don't need installing & if so there not that big 500GB is about 100$ or more why a 250GB xbox HDD is wat 120$ that don't make any sense i'll never fill that up as quick as a 250 xbox HDD & sense u have to install your xbox games to keep them from scratching your discs in your xbox no a days.

  • anomaly3001

    Posted Jul 22, 2010 6:37 pm GMT

    My old xbox suits me just fine, even though I want the new sexy sleek looking xbox! truth is I have no need for the new shiny xbox when I can get everything done with this one! The new xbox is here to support Kinect and honestly Kinect right now is just a shot in the dark! I can see kids liking it but, I still think that Nintendo will own the casual market! There is nothing wrong with the Wii! and PS3 doesn't need PSmove but at least it has a controller!

  • anomaly3001

    Posted Jul 22, 2010 6:33 pm GMT

    U Fanboys are so lame and old! Funny story when I went to Gamestop to pick up my copy of SSF4 people were actually arguing which console the game is best situated for! LOL both consoles have advantages and disadvantages the PS3 has more advantages and anyone can see that, but in all honesty if you are a true hardcore gamer then save your money and enjoy what each console has to offer! I'm working on a PS3 for the trifecta!

  • metalkid9

    Posted Jul 22, 2010 2:44 pm GMT

    @PixelAddict, ok my apologies. You do sound like you're not a fanboy. But the bottom line is that Salarian IS! Do you ever realize why he refuses to say anything positive about Sony? That's all I'm trying to say really. It's really easy to misunderstand him because he talks so formally that people automatically assume that he's not a fanboy. But if you read ALL of his comments you notice that all he talks about is MS. I've never read one comment from him talking positive about Sony. He always compares MS and Sony when the time is right and takes the opportunity to talk great about his precious MS. And the funny thing is that he's calling gamespot mods fanboys HAHAHA. You're not a fanboy when you work in the game industry. Especially not working for the big 3. It's just sad to see people like him, it really shows how low of a person he really is. And yes I'm talking to none other than Salarianchemist. I wish fanboyism would end but he just does it indirectly. He doesn't go around talking bad about Sony and Nintendo. He simply doesn't talk about them at all. He refuses to say anything positive about Sony. Why do you think he gets to many thumb downs? And I guess the people who thumb him up consist of fanboys and people who have no idea that he is being a fanboy so they feel sorry for him and think that he doesn't deserve all the thumb downs from the way he talks.

  • PixelAddict

    Posted Jul 22, 2010 2:22 pm GMT

    @metalkid9.. but.. your comment.. came right on the heals of my positive comment towards what I thought was a well-stated analysis by SalarianChemist.

    So how could the broad-sweeping generalization you made NOT be directed towards me...?

    Going to toss my 2 bits in on this who-is-more-expensive debate, I'd offer that it was a complex problem both Sony and Microsoft faced when they were deciding how to enter the motion space Wii has dominated. Have one "sensor", and the gamer doesn't have controllers, which will offend some core gamers. Go the Nintendo (and now Sony) route, and you force people to buy multiple controllers. Cha-ching. There's no good answer here.

    I love the tech going into the Kinect. On paper it looks like the most sophisticated of the three techs. Then again, I LOVE the precision and lack of lag I get from using a controller. Then again, I HATED spending all that money on extra Wii-mote + MotionPlus + Nunchucks. SO much money per controller set. Sony has potential to be doing the same thing here.

    There's no right answer! But i'm still excited to try each tech. People flame it, but the Wii is fun, especially with a group of non-gamers. Sony and Microsoft will both see added success here. Pressure's on Nintendo now.

  • metalkid9

    Posted Jul 22, 2010 2:07 pm GMT

    @PixelAddict, I was never talking about you :s

  • PixelAddict

    Posted Jul 22, 2010 1:55 pm GMT

    @metalkid9

    I take offense to that. Look at every post I've ever submitted. You will not see any sort of fanboy bs. Don't assume. It makes you look bad.

    Last gen, I owned all three systems, buying the PS2 before the others. This gen, I have just the Wii and 360, sadly, but have played the PS3 and am still planning on getting one.. ONE of these days.

    *sigh* There will not be enough time in the day for the gaming backlog I will have when I finally get one, but that's a great "problem" to have.

  • metalkid9

    Posted Jul 22, 2010 10:55 am GMT

    @SalarianChemist, dude you're a fanboy yourself. Everything you say is biased. And you wonder why fanboys comment on your blog? Stop kidding yourself, everyone can see it. You don't say anything when everything is going Sony's way (for example when they sell more) and go hide in your hole and come out when you can come up with something that would go to Microsoft's way. The curtains are open, stop hiding in your fanboyism. P.S. The only people thumbing you up are the 360 fanboys just like you.

  • PixelAddict

    Posted Jul 22, 2010 10:27 am GMT

    @SalarianChemist

    *nodding*

    Agreed on every single point.

  • monson21502

    Posted Jul 22, 2010 9:02 am GMT

    @demonkingx5, the reason ps3 hds are so cheap is because you can get any cheap laptop hd to work with it. if you think you can find cheap hds for your ps3, just think about how cheap sony gets em for.... anyways, 360s hds are better and made just for xbox 360 game system. ied rather pay the extra money for 360 hd then having to spend the next 5 years installing almost every single ps3 game onto my hd. not only does that waste your time it also wastes your hard drive space!! some game data installs are pretty big like 4.5 gigs!!! if you own or rent and play as many games as i do you would be out of space quik. i bought my 60 ps3 in the summer of 07. by the time mgs4 came out i was out of hd space!! and couldnt play it untill i cleared up space. so when my 60 gig ps3 died and i had the money to buy a slim i knew 120 gig wouldnt be enuff so i spent the extra and got the 250 gig because i dont want the hassle of installing and reinstalling game data *if i ever want to play that deleted game`s data again*

  • SalarianChemist

    Posted Jul 22, 2010 8:31 am GMT

    @NoLifeGamin,

    Although it may initially "appear" as if Move has a price advantage over Kinnect, that is actually not the case.

    There are two primary reasons for this:

    * Multiplayer gaming

    * Kinect is one unit, while Move is divided into different pieces

    Move can be purchased for a minimum of $50, but that is just the most basic part needed. If you want another expansion for Move it is $100. And if you want to make it so you can play Move with a family member in a multiplayer game, you will need to buy Move again, which essentially makes Move $200. This is very different from Kinect, which stays at $149 because it is a multiplayer device.

    I think an even better comparison is the fact that this $299 Xbox 360 unit comes packed with Kinect and also includes 4GB of internal memory. This is fundamentally different from the previous Arcade unit that did not come packed with any form of hard drive or internal memory. The Arcade unit only came with a 256 MB memory card and it was not capable of playing Xbox 360 games such as Halo 3 that required a hard drive.

    This new Xbox 360 includes 4GB of internal memory that apparently takes the place of the hard drive when being used as virtual RAM, allowing games that previously required a hard drive to be played without a hard drive thanks to the internal memory.

    In other words, anyone who is interested in gaming (everyone who bought a Wii), but doesn't care about saving high-definition TV shows to a hard drive (everyone who bought a Wii) will be very interested in this $299 version of the Xbox 360.

    The $299 price tag of this Xbox 360 with Kinect included beats out the $399 price of the PS3 with Move included. And consider how the PS3 will end up being $499 if you want to use Move with two players.

    I personally have no doubt this product will be a sales success with the same mass market that made the Wii a sales success.

  • SalarianChemist

    Posted Jul 22, 2010 8:11 am GMT

    @metalkid9,

    To answer your question, the reason why I no longer write in my Gamespot Blog is because there were people deliberately copying-n-pasting the same offensive comments dozens of times in my Blog -- something at least two Gamespot Moderators were allowing to happen.

    I originally did have the ability to delete these offensive spam comments. There was a point when 99% of the time Gamespot Moderators agreed with me and would remove the comments like that appearing in my blog. However, at least one or two of the Gamespot Moderators (not the paid Administrators but the volunteer Moderators) were apparently willing to show their fanboyism and allow spammed offensive content like that to exist in my Blog on at least two occasions. When this happened, I no longer had the ability to remove the offensive content from my Blog. Consequently, I decided to close my Blog so that only my Friends could see it.

    This is a shame, because my Blog was incredibly popular with people on the Gamespot website. Some of the articles I wrote on my Gamespot Blog literally had hundreds of comments. I really did enjoy hearing the thoughts and opinions of all the people who wrote on my Gamespot Blog -- both the people who agreed with me and the people who didn't agree with me.

  • demonkingx5

    Posted Jul 22, 2010 5:10 am GMT

    HDD are cheap on ps3 why do we pay more for your HDD M$ why thats why my old arcade is none M$ usb step it up M$

  • Sirbobislost

    Posted Jul 22, 2010 1:32 am GMT

    Lol £129.99 for a motion controller with only casual games no thanks Microsoft I can get another wii for that price

  • frazzle00

    Posted Jul 22, 2010 1:22 am GMT

    @XeonForce

    I suggested you were a fanboy because your "negative thing" was particularly stupid. I hardly think having the new iteration of arcade having more than 4 gigs of internal memory will negatively effect the market for Microsoft's USB drives. Their pricing compared to the rest of the market has already limited it to just the enthusiasts and idiots. To try an manufacture a lame conspiracy theory to make the new 360 Arcade S look bad though is very fanboyish =).

  • andrew_ribbons

    Posted Jul 22, 2010 1:08 am GMT

    This is overpriced, they will struggle to hit the mass market at that price. They will be much better off selling it at a lower price.

    Although what people need to release is they've probs spent a huge development budget software-side, so even if the hardware isn't anything too exciting, the implications behind it could be great.

    Any PS3 fans even thinking of sneering at MS's handling of this release need to look in their own back gardens and see what a flop-fail Sony made of the PS3's entire release.

  • XeonForce

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 10:30 pm GMT

    @frazzle00

    Look "dude" all I was saying is that reason for there being 4gb on the Arcades instead of any higher amount would be because that would take away from their flash drive sales, which are 8gb and 16gb; and yes they are over-priced, which is why no sane person would buy one, I did not imply that you 'have to buy a MS brand', so why does Microsoft expect anyone else to?

    Also, what in my comment made me a fanboy anyway? People throw that word around like it's going out of style. I play MW2 and Gears2 3-4 nights a week on XBL, but what do I know I can't say a friggin' negative thing without being called a fanboy, sheesh...

  • sizzlingdviper

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 9:53 pm GMT

    I think I'd prefer the matt black finish on the new base model.I remember how the original Fat piano black PS3 used to be a finger print magnet and would scratch up at the slightest touch.

  • RIPANTHONY8008

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 9:40 pm GMT

    the $300 bundle will work for new/casual gamers.i dont believe it will appeal to the rest of us well besides those who are on a budget or want a cheap setup.as for me im putting my 60gb pro in the living room and will put my soon to be purchased 250gb slim in the bedroom.i will wait a while before i put down any money on kinect.$50 games for kinect is something i dont plan on doing unless something major comes along.the game with the animals(kinectimals i think)is the only game i could see my kids playing at this point.but itll be at least a year before i jump on this.i will admit the features of the kinect do have my attention,the games not so much

  • AlmaDanny

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 8:30 pm GMT

    I'm gonna stick with my old fat 60G xbox and gonna buy PS3 slim for Christmas. Blu-ray playback with beautiful 3D gaming for me and my bro.

  • MegadethAndy

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 8:26 pm GMT

    Is anyone even going to buy that thing anyway?

  • fillup0

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 5:43 pm GMT

    Bluergh. Nice pricing...

  • TheClown24

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 5:14 pm GMT

    Wow. 4GB. *Holds up memory stick* Really? All it can hold is that?

  • frazzle00

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 4:29 pm GMT

    @Kan0nF0dder

    The Xbox USB configuration takes up 512 megs of the USB drive. That's a pretty small percentage if you are using a 16 gig drive.

    @XeonForce

    And you would have to buy a MS brand USB drive because...? Seriously dude, fanboy much?

  • Animatronic64

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 3:44 pm GMT

    Wow, does it really kill them to use a 20GB HDD instead? And **** the price! For ****'s sake, it's not like there's a Cell or a Blu-ray drive in there. I think Microsoft's pricing at this point in time seems pretty ****ing ridiculous. I also absolutely ****ing HATE how they use HDD space as a reason to justify such a significant price difference between their arcade and "high end" models. Which are basically the same ****ing thing. Microsoft stop being ****ing cheap-ass-money-whores. Your console is already way too overpriced, the least you can do is offer a sensible amount of storage. Not this 4GB BS. /rant

    Sorry if I come off as bat**** insane. I've just had a lot of broken 360s in the past.

  • EmperorSupreme

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 2:59 pm GMT

    One Hundred and Fifty US Dollars

  • metalkid9

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 2:51 pm GMT

    @PvtRyan3, where did you hear that from? Everyone whose got the new 360 are saying how it's so quiet. Hell, it's even quieter than the ps3 slim.

  • NoLifeGamin

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 2:21 pm GMT

    I'm surprised Microsoft didn't learn from Sony that if something is priced higher than the competition, you're gonna end up losing, like when the PS3 costed around $400 and the 360 $300. Now that Kinect is $150 compared to the Move, which is $50($90 if you don't already own a PS3 Eyetoy), I wonder how many more PS3 fanboys will actually go out to buy the Move compared the 360 fanboys buying Kinect. Wonder if the $60 gap will make a difference.

  • XeonForce

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 1:41 pm GMT

    If Microsoft included any more flash memory inside the new arcade systems, there wouldn't be a market for their $70 flash drives now would there? Why does Microsoft thinks they have everyone by the balls here? We're not stupid.

  • Talldude80

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 1:35 pm GMT

    At first glance i read: "the Wii was eliminated this morning" and I almost laughed out of my chair...... but that's just out of context..... but anyways, the 4GB internal flash memory will be used up by Xboxlive updates and other stuff that you cant delete i bet. so really you should consider the "4GB xbox360" to be an arcade. I like the built in wireless though. edit: one more thing: the price point of $300 is too much for a console w/o a HDD. Even if it includes the kinect thing, it's not going to compete with the wii. nice try M$.

  • Serious

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 1:00 pm GMT

    Microsoft is really going straight for the casual/kid market with the Kinect. While Sony feels the move can appeal to both markets. As for the Kinect price? History of toys have shown parents will pay anything to get smiles from their children. Remember the Cabbage Patch and Tickle Me Elmo? Parents were spending $100 or more for those. And that's a huge part of MS stratagem. Sony hopes to woo parents with media enticements like Blu Ray, 3d, Netflix and Hulu and a lower cost. IMHO Sony does have the winning hand. As reported by Gamespot, Kinect presales are sadly low. And the Move is appealing to current PS3 owners more than the Kinect is to current Xbox 360 owners.

    Kinect requires you to jump up and down and swing your arms about. The utter lack of AAA or hardcore titles makes the kinect an epic fail. While the Move with games that use both Standard or PSMove controllers give 3rd party a chance to make Move titles without being locked into that format and gamers can still buy the game using either controller. Easier porting due to a superior button scheme and precise 1:1 control. With titles like Killzone 3 and Socom 4 to satisfy hardcore gamers and current title like Heavy Rain and Resident Evil 5 gold ed. having dlc to make them move compatitble means that if you own those titles your Move library had 2 games already not including the launch game you got with your controller.

  • SalarianChemist posted Jul 21, 2010 12:52 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    SalarianChemist

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 12:52 pm GMT (hide)

    4GB might not sound like much compared to the 250GB hard drive, but I think people may be missing the point of the 4GB of internal flash memory.

    Remember, this 4GB model is not targeting the hardcore market that the 250GB model is targeting. The 4GB model is targeting the same "mass market" that the Wii targets. The success of the Wii has proven that there are tens-of-millions of gamers out there who don't care about saving high-definition TV shows on their hard drives. The success of the Wii has proven that there are tens-of-millions of gamers who only care about being able to play games and save games. The 4GB version of the new Xbox 360 allows this to happen.

    The really cool thing about this 4GB version of the Xbox 360 is that it costs only $299 and comes with Kinnect and games. This will be focused on competing directly with the Wii at prices that are in the same price range. The PS3 with Move is priced at $399, and if you want to buy the same Move technology for another player you are looking at a price of about $500. This means the Xbox 360 with Kinnect at $299 is a great deal, since you can use it for multiplayer games right out of the box.

    I really believe this 4GB model of Xbox 360 is going to appeal to the mass market bigtime.

  • GoomSoilder

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 12:40 pm GMT

    Hey, at least 4GB is better than having 256MB on an Arcade!

  • gogly

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 12:09 pm GMT

    4GB? what is this 1998?

  • p2250

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 12:04 pm GMT

    Epic fail written all over this

  • Serious

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 11:52 am GMT

    Casual gamers not always but majority of the time become hardcore gamers. I was a casual gamer with Nintendo and Super Nintendo. I got maybe 6 to 10 games for either system. I was a kid and my parents good graces were the only way to get games then.

    What I'm trying to say is that its not stupid of MS or Sony to try and get those casual gamers. Because eventually they will become hardcore gamers.

    However both Sony and Ms have forgotten those young casual gamers and have shrived for the more mature adult market almost exclusively. Look at the number of Mature titles the PS3 and 360 have when compared to the Xbox and PS2 or PSone. They left a vital demographic open. Nintendo saw this and took it. Later Nintendo tried to get the hardcore gamers cause even they know that kids grow up and want more harder titles. But it hasn't been working. So MS and Sony, who have a lock on the mature gamers, want to get that young market of new gamers. If the Kinnect and the Move succeed then they will have a gamer from ages 6 to 25+ .

    Also casual gamers can become hardcore at any age. If mom and dad play so silly party game with the kids but then while shopping see mature title that interest them, then your reaching a market that would have never tried gaming solo.

  • ZackDoering

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 11:50 am GMT

    I think a lot of people are looking at these bundles the wrong way. The Kinect on it's own is $150 with a game. So, you can look at it in two ways either you get pay 150$ and get a free game, or you are paying 100$ for the Kinect and 50$ for the game which you would have bought anyway if they weren't bundled. I also think $300 for a console with a game, and Kinect is a great deal as you now have a remote free media hub with a family friendly game for $300. Not bad considering many universal remotes that still use buttons can sell for a great deal more than this. Just as Sony has been selling PS3 as a Blu-ray player with a game console attached to certain consumers, MS is creating a wireless media hub that can be networked across rooms and even another console/computer for $300. Which is far cheaper than doing that with standalone A/V gear. I actually think this is a great move for them IMO If they can sell it to families and people who don't like remotes, but want whole house hands free media viewing. Neither PS3 with move, or Wii quite do all of these things. The potential for games is pretty huge as we saw with the Natal Milo demo. I am sure MS will have some good games that utilize this technology better. They could even create games that have force feedback peripherals or one could scan their own object. this is what will be great about it. Give it some time to reach its full potential.

  • nonfanboygamer1

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 11:43 am GMT

    I thought the whole idea of kinect was to not use a controller??? Let it rain shovelware!!

  • zidan4000

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 10:59 am GMT

    good luck selling a "peripheral" for 130 pounds.

  • bowlingotter

    Posted Jul 21, 2010 10:41 am GMT

    None of this matters until Microsoft announces a worthwhile game that requires Kinect.

Subscribe to GameSpot's YouTube Channel

Hot Stories

Newsmakers

Featured Stories

Tags

microsoft

Submit News

Got tips? Send them in!