Reports from Belgian gaming blogs covering the Leipzig Games Convention indicate that Microsoft will replace the Xbox 360 Core system with a superior version – and at likely without any change at the price point. The new entry-level system, called “Xbox 360 Arcade: Just Play,” will still lack a hard disk drive, but will be packaged with a 256MB memory card. Its namesake comes from the fact that the new system will come with five Xbox Live Arcade games. Additionally, the new Core system will come with a wireless controller, replacing the current wired one.
The upper-class versions of the Xbox 360 will also receive taglines as part of a marketing effort. The Xbox 360 Premium system will be tagged with the words “Go Pro,” while the Xbox 360 Elite will carry the words “Go Big.”
The latest production batches of Xbox 360 Premium units in the U.S. now feature an HDMI port, signifying Microsoft’s move to the “Zephyr” motherboard that was first introduced in the Xbox 360 Elite. The next move could be for Microsoft to manufacture Xbox 360 Core units with the “Zephyr” motherboard as well.
The news comes from a Microsoft source in Belgium, who sent the following email to Gamernode:
"The embargo just lifted on some news I got earlier. At an as of yet unknown date, the Core will be completely phased out and repackaged as the 'Xbox Arcade: Just Play' pack. It will come with 5 games (I assume Uno and Pac-Man are two since I believe I saw them on the box art shown), a 256 mb memory card, and will be priced at 279. I'm not 100% sure about this part, but my notes say it will have an HDMI exit, but no cable in the box."
To be honest, this sudden change still has me feeling bad for those who have already bought the Core system when it first came out, especially since these newer versions have enhanced Motherboards.
