Japanese consumers will be able to purchase a 250GB Microsoft Xbox 360 game console on March 11th, but this higher capacity version isn't expected in North America or Europe.
The Xbox 360 Elite console currently has 120GB hard disk drive, but the 250GB HDD is the highest capacity storage solution for the Xbox 360. The custom Microsoft Modern Warfare 2 ships with a 250GB HDD, but Microsoft doesn't have any regular bundles higher than 120GB HDD.
"Microsoft has no current plans to put it on sale as a stand-alone unit outside of Japan," said Kei Iwasaki, a Microsoft spokesperson.
The drive will cost around $172 USD (¥15,540) for consumers in Japan.
Although Microsoft may not release a stand-alone 250GB HDD console in foreign markets, it's possible the company will release something to help increase storage capacity. The company is now focusing on bringing console owners online to Xbox Live and the Xbox Live Marketplace store. More than 29 million people use Xbox Live with movies, games, TV episodes, and other content downloaded and stored on the console hard drive.
Newer models of the PlayStation 3 recently received a 120GB HDD upgrade, as Sony also wants to entice users to online services, which often leads gamers to spend money.
