Xbox 360 Price Drop

[John Crichton]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6176300.html?action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;0

No surprises here. This is an obvious response to the PS3 drop and a good move to do it now. If I didn't already own one, I'd probably pick up an Elite, especially with the heavy hitters coming out soon.

I wonder if Sony will do another small drop sometime mid-fall. I wouldn't be at all surprised. At the very least, they really should drop the 80gb system's price to at least $500 when the 60gb models sell out. Then again, no one knows how many are left sitting around and they may just last until 2008. Bottom line: People need to be able to purchase a $500 PS3 in-store from here on out.

 

[Arnwyn]

I saw the news this morning, and basically it got an "it's about time" response from me. However, they still need to announce Canadian pricing, as currently (which I've touched upon in a previous thread) M$ is ripping off Canadians by ignoring the high (for quite some time) dollar... unlike many other companies [and that's the kicker]. Before the price drop, the 360 was about $60 overpriced in Canada. Might still be.

A lame $50 off won't mean anything if they're not up to date with the appropriate exchange rates.

Then again, no one knows how many are left sitting around and they may just last until 2008.

Sony said until Fall at most (based on current selling rates).

 

[drothgery]

My guess was MS felt they needed to do a price cut mostly for buzz, so they did the smallest one they could think would have a noticeable impact. Halo 3 and the rest of the fall lineup are going to drive a ton of 360 sales regardless, but they'd rather keep the percieved PS3/360 price gap at over $150.

I don't think the current pricing scheme ($449 Elite / $399 Halo 3 Special / $349 Premium / $279 Core) makes much sense. It increases the price gap between the Premium and the Elite; it can't cost $50 more to make an Elite, let alone $100. And it reduces the price gap between the Premium and the Core, which doesn't make sense unless they're planning on discontinuing the Core (which they've said they're not), and haven't bundled in a memory unit with the Core or dropped its price to match the $249 Wii.

Dave's quick projections

1. Sony will start selling 80GB PS3s without MotorStorm for $499 when the 60GB models run out, surprising no one. This will be the second consecutive PS3 'price cut' that didn't actually reduce the price of the cheapest PS3.

2. MS will have another round of price cuts later this fall (probably October/November-ish) after the 65nm 'Falcon' 360 internals have completely ramped up. This one will be to $399 Elite / $349 Halo 3 Special / $329 Premium (Closeout) / $249 Core (also packing Viva Pinata or some other kid-oriented or party game and a memory unit in the box).

3. By fall 2008, there will be a $399 PS3 model and a $299 Xbox 360 model with an HDMI output and a hard drive.

 

[drothgery]

I saw the news this morning, and basically it got an "it's about time" response from me. However, they still need to announce Canadian pricing, as currently (which I've touched upon in a previous thread) M$ is ripping off Canadians by ignoring the high (for quite some time) dollar... unlike many other companies [and that's the kicker]. Before the price drop, the 360 was about $60 overpriced in Canada. Might still be.

http://www.xbox.com/en-ca/community/news/2007/0806-consoleprice.htm

Looks like MS cut prices by $100CDN across the board.

 

[Arnwyn]

Woo! Thanks for the (fast!) info, drothgery.

 

[Vigilance]

I don't think the current pricing scheme ($449 Elite / $399 Halo 3 Special / $349 Premium / $279 Core) makes much sense.

I think they are not-so subtly trying to encourage people to buy a 360 with a HD.

I think they should just discontinue the core. So many games use the HD to reduce loading times, I've heard that Oblivion is practically unplayable with one.

 

[John Crichton]

I think they are not-so subtly trying to encourage people to buy a 360 with a HD.

I think they should just discontinue the core. So many games use the HD to reduce loading times, I've heard that Oblivion is practically unplayable with one.

Yeah, I do wish MS would just drop the whole non-hard drive thing. They have a nice lead right now and with a few strokes could force another Sony price cut or similar move.

Of course, this is coming from the guy who owns both so it doesn't really matter to me but it's odd considering MS pulled out all the stops to launch (too) early. I would think they'd want to make their consoles less complicated to buy (4 different models soon?) and just pump accessories out the door. 2 SKUs would be just fine. One would be even better.

The is 360 is doing well but I feel like they could be doing a bit more to try and put Sony farther behind. Not that I want that but as I mentioned before it would simply force more competition from the other two console makers.

 

[Vocenoctum]

2. MS will have another round of price cuts later this fall (probably October/November-ish) after the 65nm 'Falcon' 360 internals have completely ramped up. This one will be to $399 Elite / $349 Halo 3 Special / $329 Premium (Closeout) / $249 Core (also packing Viva Pinata or some other kid-oriented or party game and a memory unit in the box).

I think the 65nm had a part in the price drop. Not that the new stuff is cheaper, but in order to get rid of the old stuff. It's also part of getting some buzz after the Red Ring problems getting so much press. (I think that won't help much though, given that whenever the news mentions it, they'll probably mention the Red Ring or the competition.)

 

[Steel_Wind]

Making the core package available at a low price is smart business.

I'm not saying it's the package I would want. I bought the full system package over a year ago.

But price matters guys. There's a reason the Wii is kicking ass and taking names. And it's not all about the cutesey gyro controllers. Those are nice, to be sure, but if the Wii was the same price as the 360, it would have been killed in the marketplace.

Price matters; and it matters A LOT

 

[trancejeremy]

Well, the 65nm chips are a lot cheaper to make, or rather, you can make more of them per batch than the 90 nm chips (which means fewer batches). It's like those premade cookie dough things you can buy in stores. But instead of having to break the sheet up into 12 cookies, they can now break it up into 18.

But yeah, they are doing it now to move out the old inventory.