While those of us down in the southern hemisphere were catching up on our beauty sleep overnight, Xbox Wire made the announcement that the 500GB & 1TB versions of the Xbox One S would be coming on 23 August.
As expected, both versions are cheaper than the 2TB version. What was slightly unexpected though was that the smaller storage options urguably offer better value than than the 2TB Xbox One S, thanks to the 500GB/1TB version currently only being available as part of a bundle.
What that means for us in New Zealand is that both the 500GB and 1TB offerings of the Xbox One S will come bundled with Halo: Master Chief Collection and Halo 5: Guardians. The 500GB version will retail for $499.99 and the 1TB version for $599.99. When the 2TB Xbox One S was announced with a retail price of $648 it was fair to guess that the smaller storage versions would come in at around the retail price that they have now been confirmed at as part of a bundle so getting the entire core Halo franchise games thrown in makes both consoles a compelling option for people considering the Xbox One S.
When you factor in the Ace up the sleeve, that 4K blu-ray player it means that the cheapest 4K blu-ray player just got even cheaper.
So far the only retailer to update their Xbox One S offerings is Mighty Ape so anyone wanting to pre-order one of the bundles should head on over and get their order in nice and early.