MS defends the $179 120GB HDD

via Xbox 360 Fanboy


Most people, outside of those planning to buy an Xbox 360 Elite, are understandably miffed that the 120GB hard drive will debut at a wallet draining $179. As such, Microsoft has received quite a bit of flack for the pricing of the unit. Major Nelson himself got an earful from us on the subject during the latest Fancast. Aaron Greenberg, group product manager at Microsoft, recently defended the 120GB HDD price in an interview with GameTheory. Greenberg noted a few reasons for Microsoft's pricing decision, among them that Microsoft requires stringent specifications for drive performance. In other words, they have to perform at specific speeds to provide an optimal gaming experience, and they must provide a certain level of security. Greenberg also notes that the 120 gig HDD price is comparable to other self-powered external hard drives on the market. Greenberg's statements are in line with what we heard from Major Nelson.

Additionally, Greenberg notes that the pricing structure is consistent with the rest of the Xbox line. As he puts it, the $299 core becomes the $399 premium by adding a $99 hard drive. By adding a $179 hard drive to the core, you get the $479 price of the Xbox 360 Elite.

Sure, there are some expensive external hard drives out there, but we don't buy that Microsoft can't find comparable drives at lower prices. There are plenty of 120GB drives out there for much less than $179. Are we to believe that all of them fail to meet Microsoft's specifications?