An increasing number of disc read errors are making me consider tossing out my eleventh Xbox 360 since the console's launch. The Xbox 360 S, the sleeker, smaller, and supposedly less-prone-to-failure console, is the natural upgrade for me. But what if I don't want to get a unit with a behemoth hard drive?

Fat chance of that question occurring to me while in a Wal-Mart. I'm both realistic and a big-time data hog. But there'll an option this fall for prospective owners without these issues: the $199 4GB Arcade SKU of the S console. 

A recent leak on Amazon Deutschland (spotted by Kotaku) may have nailed down one of the most important questions we have about this version of the console. In the listing, it reveals simply that the Arcade will boast 4GBs of storage.  
 

An increasing number of disc read errors are making me consider tossing out my eleventh Xbox 360 since the console's launch. The Xbox 360 S, the sleeker, smaller, and supposedly less-prone-to-failure console, is the natural upgrade for me. But what if I don't want to get a unit with a behemoth hard drive?

Fat chance of that question occurring to me while in a Wal-Mart. I'm both realistic and a big-time data hog. But there'll an option this fall for prospective owners without these issues: the $199 4GB Arcade SKU of the S console. 

A recent leak on Amazon Deutschland (spotted by Kotaku) may have nailed down one of the most important questions we have about this version of the console. In the listing, it reveals simply that the Arcade will boast 4GBs of storage.  
 

Well, at least it includes some internal memory, unlike the old arcade.
For more casual gamers, I can kind of understand why this might be a good idea.

4GB?!

I'm not an expert sir, but there is no earthly way I can imagine it being cost effective to make hard drives with 4 gigs.  My money is on flash.

Cool story, bro.

I might pick it up as long as it still has wifi and an HDMI port. I have so many usb sticks I can just use those if I run out of space. 

$200? ill buy. 

" Well, at least it includes some internal memory, unlike the old arcade. For more casual gamers, I can kind of understand why this might be a good idea. "

No way. Not an option for current 360 users wanting to upgrade since you can't use your existing larger HDD on it.

This is great for someone that just wants to keep their save files and not download too much. My save files over the past four and a half years only reach 1 gigabyte.

4 GB? Come on, Microsoft! Stop nickel-and-diming people and give them 20 GB in the arcade model. 
 
Oh, I forgot. This must be for the Kinect demographic.

Well, as someone who bought a ton of stuff from Amazon Germany over the years, I can at least tell you that it looks like a legit place-holder.

4GB?! What the hell are you supposed to do with that?!

I have a spare 250G usb hard drive, but I can't use it for this. I will by the $299 version

the only thing I do is save game progress on my HD, 4gig is easily enough for that, if i got a new 360 (which im not going to) I would go with the "arcade" or whatever they call it

4 gigs of game saving action

4GB will hold a lot of game saves and I think that's fine for people who aren't interested in downloading stuff, which I imagine is a lot of people.

I still wish they would offer a 60/120gb hard drive for a reasonable price, instead of 200% markup.

" 4GB?! What the hell are you supposed to do with that?! "

kinda pointless article

4GB of on board flash, I'm calling it. No free pen drive

 @PJ said:

" This might surprise you so hold on to your shit. Not everyone has use for a "big ass" HDD. Not everyone installs games to their HDD or buys GoD or Arcade games. Why the hell do you think the former Arcade SKU whit the built in memory(i think it was 256mb or something) is the best selling one? Simple, most ppl don't need a hard drive. "

Fun fact: These sorts of SKU reveals frequently come from Amazon Deutschland.

My 360 has had disc read errors for nine months now, I feel like it's almost second nature for me these days to simply wait for a game to read by browsing the internet whenever my 360 has only just been turned on. 
 
But the fact remains, I hate having to eject my disc and put it back in over and over until it reads. 
This new xbox model S might be just the ticket. 
 
Side Note: And if you're wondering why I didn't replace it ages ago, I didn't have as mush money coming in as I do now. 
Man I fucking love promotions!

For Kinect's audience is 4GB a lot. A lot more than they need, and as far as I remember, MS is aiming for exactly that audience.  
 
So even if it looks ridiculous, it might make sense. Just maybe. 

....cant you just mod the hard drive?

4 gigs will last someone like 20 minutes.

Would the 360 "S" not have the option to slip a 2,5" drive into it?

" Thats not slim, it should be called "xbox360 shiny" "

If I had any electronic device that had died 10 times so that I was on my 11th - I would stop using/buying products from that company. You Americans seem to let Microsoft off with murder. Imagine if you bought a washing machine/TV/stereo/lamp/dvd player/anything that reguires electrcity and it died 10 times - you would complain your ass off and not buy them anymore. Still I am baffled at how you let Microsoft just bend you over and have its way with you.
 
If my current 360 dies then I am done, it will be my third and that is that.

No way is that a 4GB hard disk. Flash memory is more likely. It is a smart move if you ask me since the casual gaming market Microsoft is gunning for with Kinect probably does not need much more than 4GB for their saves and this will help to lower the price of a 360 + Kinect SKU. Finally, if those customers decide they do want to get into the multimedia things, they can always buy a 250gb hdd at a price you could get a 1TB hdd for. 

I know this is a bit off topic and all, but say with games that need two discs on Xbox (FF 13 comes to mind) if you rip the discs to the hard drive, do you still need to change disc? Or does it just do it all of the first one?

Everybody...this is the new Arcade console. Why are you complaining about the size?

"If that space will be accommodated by flash memory or a hard drive is still unknown"
 
Ummm... last time I saw a 4GB hard drive was in a Creative Zen Micro player I owned about 6 years ago. Unless you're meaning "flash memory" as "removable memory," as in a memory card.

4GB is really nothing, though, man.

" @PJ said:

" This might surprise you so hold on to your shit. Not everyone has use for a "big ass" HDD. Not everyone installs games to their HDD or buys GoD or Arcade games. Why the hell do you think the former Arcade SKU whit the built in memory(i think it was 256mb or something) is the best selling one? Simple, most ppl don't need a hard drive. "

That or, like me, your premium xbox red ringed and you got the cheapest replacement to attach your old hard drive to. "

If this has HDMI, then it's an obvious buy for me. I'm still stuck with an old '06 360 that doesn't have an HDMI port. 4 gigs is enough to download a demo or two + hold save files which is all that's really needed.

If i were MS is would make the arcade sku have a built in 16gb flash drives and go with wireless N. I would make a Kinect bundle (assuming it's $150)  with the arcade unit for $300 ($50 off). Then I would put a 80-120gb HDD out for those who want to upgrade at a reasonable price ($60-$70).

LOL 4GB not to mention it will be formatted so cut that by 25% your looking at a 3GB HD. I can go buy a TB HD for 80 bucks, I just don't understand why consoles don't throw a huge HD on us for that price. 
 
EDIT: Oh wait I know, cause they want money LOL.

This seems the most affordable and reasonable one for me...

This is good if real.

good move on 360's part.

Well, since 16gig flash thumbdrives are getting cheaper nowadays, this seems like a viable option for me since I already own a PS3 and want to enjoy some of the x360 goodness for cheap. I can just stick a 16gb stick in and have a 20gig console.