1 TB Xbox One and new controller coming, standard model stays at $349
The Xbox One is growing.
On Tuesday, Microsoft announced a new version of their flagship console that includes a hefty 1 terabyte hard drive and a new controller with a built-in headset jack. It will retail for $399 and arrives June 16, one day after Microsoft’s anticipated press conference at the E3 convention in Los Angeles.
The company also made permanent the current $349 price of the standard 500 GB Xbox One model. That price initially went into effect in late 2014 as a special holiday discount. Sales picked up, however, and Microsoft indefinitely extended it earlier this year.
The 1TB Xbox One, which for a limited time includes the often broken Halo: The Master Chief Collection, is good news for avid gamers who found the 500 GB version too small to hold their collection. Most big, triple-A Xbox One games can be downloaded digitally, and at a good 40-50GB apiece, the room vanishes quickly. After one year with the console, I was at capacity and needed to hook up an external hard drive for more space. This at least gives gamers a fighting chance to avoid that fate for an extra year or so.
The system’s new controller also brings a welcome (if seemingly small) change in the form of a 3.5mm headset jack. That means you can plug pretty much any standard headset directly into the gamepad; previously, you needed to fork over an extra $25 for an adapter. That little adapter is pretty cool, though, as it includes volume controls right next to your thumbs.
With the new gamepad, players can tweak volume, mic, and balance via the Settings on the console itself. Prefer the adapter? Good news: the new gamepad supports all older accessories.
The new gamepad comes in standard black or a silver/black camo 'Cover Forces' version. Microsoft also noted that they’ve increased the maximum headset volume output to brain-rattling levels. They’ve also tweaked the bumper buttons “for more consistent performance anywhere along the full surface of the bumper,”solving a problem I had no idea existed.
The new gamepad will cost $65 — a $5 increase over the current model — and one comes packed with the 1 TB console.
The big question now is how long it takes Sony to respond. The 1 TB Xbox One costs the same as Sony’s 500 GB PS4. While Xbox One sales still trail the PS4 significantly, Microsoft won the top spot in April and has been slowly making up ground. Perhaps we’ll hear what Sony plans to do about it at their E3 press conference on June 15 — several hours after Microsoft’s.
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