Earlier today Microsoft confirmed that they will be releasing a limited edition Resident Evil 5 Red Xbox 360 Elite bundle that will ship alongside Capcom’s highly-anticipated Resident Evil 5 on Friday, March 13th. Which is suiting I suppose, seeing as how the game does contain hordes of infected zombies, more uncensored violence and exploding heads than you could shake a chainsaw at. Yeah, I guess that creepy and gross enough to warrant a Friday the 13th launch.

Now here is the kicker: the system which comes bundled with the game (and other goodies) will set prospective buyers back a cool $399.99 (SRP). Now, I’ll pause a moment while all of you Resident Evil fanboys and fangirls check you account balances…

Hit the jump to read more.…are you back yet, because I haven’t even filled you in on the other goodies that come packed away inside the box.

Aside from forking over the same amount as you would for your standard Black Xbox 360 Elite, (which currently comes bundled with LEGO Indiana Jones and Kung Fu Panda) gamers will be pleased to find the following packed away inside the sylish RE5 themed box:

• Xbox 360 Elite Console with Exclusive Red Finish (”ooooh, aaaah”)
• Matching red wireless controller
• 120GB hard drive
• Resident Evil 5 regular edition
• Super Street Fighter® II Turbo HD Remix (Marketplace token card)
• Exclusive Resident Evil Premium Theme (Marketplace token card)
• Xbox 360 black wired headset
• HDTV-ready component HD AV, HDMI and Ethernet cables
• Xbox Live 1 Month Gold Subscription

Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

My only beef with this bundle is that it doesn’t say, nor does it show any sign of Resident Evil 5 branding on the actual console and that it comes packaged with the downgraded, Resident Evil 5 regular edition. In other words, from what we know now, gamers who purchase the purchase this limited edition bundle will be missing out on the following goodies that come packaged with the Resident Evil 5 collectors edition:

• Chris Redfield Figurine
• Tricell Messenger Bag
• BSAA Patch
• Kijuju Keychain
• Bonus Disc including a making-of featurette, a digital art gallery and a trailer for Resident Evil Degeneration
• The game and bonus disc come packed in a Special Collector’s SteelBook Case.

We want to hear what you think. Is this 360 bundle such a Resident Evil collectors item that you would sell your current 360 to purchase it? And if you are amongst the few who have yet to purchase a 360, does this bundle temp you to the point that your mouth waters, palms sweat and you are left with an undying need to feast upon the flesh of the living? No? Good, because then you’d be a zombie, and probably wouldn’t be reading this.