Larry Hryb, better known as Xbox LIVE’s Major Nelson, has just showcased two new goodies for Microsoft’s flagship Xbox 360 console, and if you’re a pretty big Halo fan, at least one, if not both of the new releases will be of some interest.
Hryb took to YouTube, as he often does with new products, and offered fans a first glimpse at the Xbox 360 Essentials Pack, as well as the Halo 4 Limited Edition Controller.
The Xbox 360 Essentials Pack is coming in October 2012, and as the name implies, presents new Xbox 360 owners with the survival kit needed to get the basic level of enjoyment from their console. Microsoft is famed for bringing groups of hardware and software together, packaging them under one "Essentials" umbrella, and the tailored pack for the Xbox 360 is no exception.
For $79.99, you’ll get yourself a wireless controller, media remote, HDMI cable, as well as a three-month Xbox LIVE Gold membership. Given that most Xbox 360 deals offer at least one controller, and the remote is most certainly a luxury rather than a necessity, those two items may not be as pivotal as the Redmond company will claim, but in terms of immersive multiplayer action, that Gold membership is most certainly a requirement.
The big incentive to purchase the pack is the $55 saving compared with the individual retail price of each item combined, and is just the latest in a long list of strategies Microsoft has employed to make an Xbox 360 user out of all consumers. The subsidized Xbox 360 – which costs $99 and charges a small monthly fee including Gold Membership for the duration of the two-year contract – is a prime example, and although hardcore gamers will be looking forward to the next-generation of console, it’s quite clear the 360 still has plenty to offer.
Along with the Essentials Pack, Hryb also gave us a look at the Halo 4 LE Controller. I’m sure I wasn’t the only person in the world to base my purchase of the very first Xbox around the original Halo title, and a decade later, the franchise appears as strong as ever.
The controller is see-through, and tattooed with plenty of Halo 4-related design. The game is poised for a worldwide release on November 6, 2012, and the special limited edition joypad will certainly be another essential to any avid fan.
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