A hit but maybe not a very hard one?

If this article speaks the truth, the competition might stiffen even more for Sony and their unfortunate PS3. A "stronger" edition of the Xbox 360 is definitely a blow aimed straight at the jaw of Sony.

However, when examined a bit closer (and I don't mind 'cuz the Xbox 360 Elite looks totally sweet, and just made me sound like a surfer retard too...) it's not that much of a PS3 killer when you think about. At least not at that price.

With the PS3 you get not only a high-end gaming console but a Blu-Ray player. Sure, there's a pretty inexpensive HD-DVD player available for the 360 but it is not included in the machine out of the box. Not even in the Elite package, and this is important.

The 360 Elite has a harddrive twice the size of the PS3 Premium but everybody knows harddrives are relatively cheap hardware while a stand-alone Blu-Ray player will set you back somewhere around €700 (about $850) over here. And if I buy an Xbox 360 Elite and the HD-DVD player for it I've already spent a bit more than what a PS3 Premium would set me back.

Personally I don't understand what they're thinking at Microsoft by not including an HD-DVD player with this Elite edition or in upcoming Premium editions. That would really stick it to the competition, and would make myself seriously consider buying a 360. It really makes me wonder, just like someone commented on the article above - do they know something we don't since they don't seem to be taking HD-DVD seriously?