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UPDATED: There Are (probably not any) New 360s With 120 Gig Hard Drives

Apparently, there is an additional redesigned 360 on shelves today... with a dark secret!

[UPDATE] After publishing this story, we were contacted by Microsoft representatives, who told us that the new Xbox 360 is only available in a 250GB configuration and that our story was in error. We have since returned to the Best Buy in hopes of getting a photo of the 120GB unit, but the store's stock has already been depleted, leaving us unable to firmly prove the existence of the alternate model. While we trust the two sets of eyes that saw that unit, Microsoft isn't exactly in the business of lying about its hardware SKUs, either. Giant Bomb regrets the confusion.  
 
Planing on buying a newer, sleeker Xbox 360 today? A word of warning! There is more than one new 360 unit on store shelves today.
 
 The fact sheet makes no mention of a 120 gig 360, but don't be fooled: We saw one!
 The fact sheet makes no mention of a 120 gig 360, but don't be fooled: We saw one!
This morning, Tested.com's Will Smith and I took a trip down to the local Best Buy to purchase Microsoft's redesigned 360. As we waited at the register to purchase our hardware, Will and I noticed something strange; the 360 Will was purchasing had rang up for $279.99 after tax, a full $20 dollars cheaper than the $300 price point announced at the Microsoft conference. A quick look at the contents of the box revealed the reason for the price discretion: this new 360 had a 120 gig hard drive inside, instead of the 250 gig unit announced at the Microsoft Press Conference. That's right; you can cut the storage space of the new 360 in half, and get the unit for a few bucks cheaper and a whole lot less storage space.
 
There appears to be no other differences between the two units apart from the size of the hard drives; you'll still be getting the built-in wifi and the Kinect port on the back of the unit. The only difference in the two 360s is the size of the hard drive. 
 
Did Microsoft slyly slip a slightly cheaper 360 with way less storage onto shelves without telling anyone?
Because we here at Giant Bomb still cannot find any announcement that there was a new 360 with a 120 gig hard drive. No such hardware was announced at the Microsoft Press Conference. Most bizarre of all, we checked the listings of several game retails to see if they had listings of the redesigned 360 with the smaller hard drive; neither Best Buy (where we saw and purchased the consoles), Amazon, nor Gamestop have listings for an 120 gig new 360 in their systems. How weird is it that Microsoft built this less-expensive version of the hardware and not tell anyone?
 
I managed to grab myself the proper 250 gig 360, but just be aware if you're going to a retailer today to pick up a new 360 with a 250 gig hard drive, make sure you check the box! Check how big the hard drive is! You may not be buying the same 360 that was announced on the Microsoft stage earlier this week.
 
We'll have more on this exciting story as it develops, but, in the meantime, what do you guys think? Are you surprised these new 360s exist? Do you think it's a good deal to trade half the hard drive space for a 20 dollar saving on the console?