Looks like all those shiny new next-gen games are starting to take a toll on the hard drives of Xbox One owners. Microsoft has doubled the storage on the Xbox One, and it’s bringing the new console to Australia.
The 1TB Xbox One will be sold at EB Games and JB Hi-Fi, as well as on the Microsoft Store from 24 June. It’ll cost you $549.
Buying the new Xbox One in Australia will actually be cheaper than importing it from the US. The console will retail for $US399 for our Amerifriends, meaning that after tax and currency conversions makes it $570 in Australia. That means you save $21 buying it locally.
What’s weird is what happens to the 500GB Xbox One. In the US, Microsoft has dropped the price of the lower capacity console to $US349. As a matter of fact, it’s reducing the price in the US, the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan and India, but not in Australia. So presumably that means the Xbox One 500GB will still retail for $499 RRP on local shelves. And that sucks.
It’s no use to import one from the US, either. Adding currency exchange and tax to the 500GB console after the price drop still brings you to a $499 price tag.
So while the Xbox One might not be cheaper than ever, it’s still slightly better value to get double the storage for only $50 extra.
What’s interesting about the new 1TB Xbox One is that it also comes with a new controller, which packs a 3.5mm headphone jack. The headphone jack is a new addition to the controller: previously you had to buy an adapter in order to plug your favourite headphones in. This new controller brings Xbox in line with the Sony Playstation 4, which has had 3.5mm support since launch.