The Xbox 360 Elite has launched over the weekend and there are already reports coming in that the Elite may not be as elite as first thought. A video on YouTube shows a brand new Elite having problems with loading a game. Additionally, the video seems to indicate that the Elite has some problems with its DVD drive — you can hear it chunking and squealing as it tries to load the title. In another attempt, the game seems to load fine but it is accompanied by the horrible squealing sounds emitted from the Elite.
Other reports from Elite owners say that they are also getting the "ring of death" status message from the new machine. At the moment, it is difficult to determine how widespread these problems are. As far as the availability of the Elite at big electronics stores such as Best Buy, it appears to have been sold out while Circuit City is still showing the Elite as in stock. A few quick calls to several GameStop and EB stores show that most have no more in stock, while others report limited availability.
According to one GameStop store rep, the next expected shipments of the Xbox 360 Elite are due sometime in June.
