Xbox 360 Slim Arcade Goes Matte
Written by Giang Cao   
Tuesday, 20 July 2010 13:41
Xbox 360 Slim Matte

Here's a twist I didn't see coming. The new Xbox Arcade slim comes with a matte finish, as opposed to the gloss of the "Elite" or "Pro" version. If I had a choice (which I do), my pick would be the matte. It has a more sophisticated profile, counterbalancing the harsher lines of the console more elegantly than its blazonly shiny older brother. It's a texture that begs for it to be touched and played with - much like the Nintendo DSi or even the Apple Blackbook.

Interestingly, it's another move that reflects the reverse-PlayStation design treatment that I mentioned in my analysis of the new Slim Xbox design. If you recall when the PlayStation 3 first launched, Sony differentiated its two SKUs with different finishes as well; the basic model had a predominantly all-black surface, while the higher-end model had chrome trims.

The 4GB model launches in North America August 3rd for $200. A bundle consisting of the 4GB Xbox 360 along with the Kinect sensor and Kinect Adventures pack-in will retail for $300. The bundle will be introduced along with the launch of Kinect, which will retail for $150 standalone, on November 4th.

Update: As Steven has pointed out, it was the Xbox 360 who first distinguished its premium SKU with design flourishes when it first launched in 2005. I still wonder if the strategy still holds true when the models look and feel so different (well, to my tastes anyways).
Comments (1)
Steve McKay
...
written by Steve McKay, July 20, 2010
The Xbox 360 was actually the first one to differentiate models by finish/colour scheme, as the disc drive on the early "Core" models (and the "Arcade" models today) matches the colour of the console, while the "Pro" and "Elite" models had a fake-chrome disc drive.

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