In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz Microsoft's Neil Thompson says that the Halo 3 Elite edition of the Xbox 360 is selling more units to new console owners rather than previous 360-devotees looking for an upgrade:

"It's gone very, very, very well. Our data is saying so far that a lot of people buying it are new to the platform."

"It was interesting to us, because we thought that a lot of people who came to the platform early would have chosen the Elite, but a lot of the data we're getting out of store visits, etc, is showing it's new people, which is fantastic."

Thompson added that he wasn't sure what the overriding reason for that was, but felt it was vindication for Microsoft's plan to offer differing price points for its hardware.

My guess? Confused, uninformed buyers assuming that the Halo 3 Xbox comes with Halo 3, the game. No one would buy a system that ugly, by itself, on purpose.