It was bound to happen: according to promotional materials obtained by GamerZines, Microsoft intends to market the 250GB hard drive pre-included in the slimmed-down Xbox 360 units as a standalone offering. The scoop was uncovered by way of a product box shot sent out yesterday, depicted alongside Kinect and a jet black wireless controller.

While Microsoft has yet to issue an official announcement, there’s little doubt in the veracity of this information. Anyone want to place bets on how much it will cost? If history is any indication, it won’t come cheap, but at the very least it adds another option for storage-hungry consumers. Can’t argue with that.

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