Have you ever wondered what is the difference between Xbox 360 models? Us too!
Lucky for us (and you), we wrote a whole article about All Xbox Consoles In Order, which gave us the chance to go in depth with each iteration of the Xbox.
It was a pretty interesting deep dive, where we basically saw how influential the Xbox has been in modern gaming.
The Xbox 360 was easily one of the most influential and bar-setting devices at the time of its release in 2005.
So let’s take a look at this incredible console and see how the various models differ.
Table of Contents
Xbox 360 (2005)
The first Xbox 360 model came to us in November of 2005 and brought us something that would become a standard in modern gaming… an online marketplace.
The Xbox Live service and the Xbox Live Marketplace were new for the console series, and would become a format we all know.
Digital games, update patches, digital game demos, streaming music, renting movies… this was all new stuff back in 2005.
Of course, this is a gaming console… and the Xbox 360 came with some of the heaviest hitting game titles of the modern era. Just look at the 10 Best Selling Xbox 360 Games Of All Time. You might recognize a few. Or all of em!!!
Not that they were all exclusives, but dang did the 360 have a ton of great games to play.
The original Xbox 360 model is also sometimes referred to as the “Pro” or “Premium”, and the box literally read “Go Pro” to differentiate it from the other models.
The “Pro” Xbox 360 model was shipped with a wireless controller, a detachable hard drive, and a hybrid composite/component cable with optional optical out.
The initial pricetag for the Xbox 360 was $399.99usd.
Xbox 360 Core (2005)
The Xbox 360 Core was launched along side the “Pro” model, and was intended to be the affordable entry level option.
This model launched with a wired controller and a composite video cable, capable of only SDTV resolution.
The console was capable of HDTV output if you purchased the separately sold component/d-terminal cable.
One detail that would help determine the difference between the “Core” and “Pro” models is the disc tray coloring, which is white on the “Core” and silver on the “Pro”.
The Xbox 360 Core launched with a pricetag of $299.99usd.
Xbox 360 Elite (2007)
The Xbox 360 Elite launched in North America in April of 2007.
The “Elite” had a massive 120 GB hard drive and sported a new matte black finish to differentiate itself from the other models in the series.
And we now see the new iteration of box branding “Go Big”.
The console came with a black wireless controller, a black 360 headset, an ethernet cable, component cable, and an HDMI cable.
The Elite launched with a pricetag of $479.99usd.
Xbox 360 Arcade (2007)
The “Core” model of the Xbox 360 was replaced with a new “Arcade” model in September of 2007.
The boxes were now branded with the phrase “Go Play”.
The Xbox 360 Arcade was still Microsoft’s entry level option, but now came bundled with a wireless controller, a composite A/V cable, an HDMI output, a 256 MB memory unit, and five Xbox Live Arcade games on an included disc.
Like the “Core” model, the “Arcade” supported hard drives that could be purchased separately.
And the “Arcade” retained the white disc tray.
The Xbox 360 Arcade launched with a price of $279.99usd.
Xbox 360 S (2010)
The Xbox 360 S, also known as the Xbox 360 Slim, released in July of 2010.
The new “Slim” model would feature a newly designed motherboard, and as the name suggests… the console was about 17% smaller than the previous iterations of the Xbox 360.
Many changes were made to the external ports, both for size, accessibility, and to remove obsolete connections. The “Slim” also had a built in port for the Kinect peripheral.
The “S” was also the first in the Xbox series to feature power-on and eject sounds.
The Xbox 360 S had an initial pricetag of $399.99usd.
Xbox 360 E (2013)
On June 10, 2013, Microsoft had a presentation at the E3 Expo, and it was announced that the final iteration of the Xbox 360 would be the Xbox 360 E.
The console was available for purchase at the time of its announcement.
The internal hardware was nearly identical to that of the Xbox 360 S, and the major change would be in the exterior design which was intended to match the upcoming Xbox One.
The console came bundled with a wireless controller and a composite A/V Cable.
It also no longer had S/PDIF, YPbPr component or S-video connections and one USB port was removed.
The Xbox 360 E had a launch price of $299.99usd.
You looking to pick up an Xbox 360? Maybe you should find out How Much Is An Xbox 360 Worth Today?
When you think you’re ready to give the Xbox 360 a spin, try one of the 25 Best Xbox 360 Games Of All Time.
You can also pimp out your console with one of the 10 Best Xbox 360 Accessories.
If you’re nervous about picking up an old console before trying some games out, you can also try one of the 5 Best Xbox 360 Emulators.
