Microsoft Drops Xbox 360 Pricing 169
Kawahee was one of several readers to tip news of a price cut for the Xbox 360. This comes after Sony dropped PS3 prices and unveiled the Slim model last week. The 360 Elite will now retail for $299, but will no longer ship with HD cables. The 360 Pro has been reduced to $249, but Microsoft is phasing it out. Analysts don't expect this new price point to be a huge boon for sales because the Elite doesn't match the PS3's hardware capabilities and is still more expensive than the Wii. Microsoft has "no plans" for a smaller version of the 360.
Re:MS needs to be thinking about the 720 (Score:3, Interesting)
They probably are. . . (Score:3, Interesting)
It's been my experience that, when the 'new, smaller, cheaper' version of a console comes out, the next-gen console is probably only a year or two away. I think it's pretty clear they're not coming out with a next gen console this year (too late in the year with no hype; if you plan to release a new console, you target a Sept-Oct release timeframe, so that hopefully people buy them for Christmas, and you begin the hype 6 months or a year beforehand), but they could be planning a 2010 or 2011 release of a new console.
For one (Score:5, Interesting)
MS need to quit making gamers paid for Xbox Live; granted Sony PS3 network has its' issues but it is free to play. I never like the idea of paying full price for the game then have to pay a monthly/yearly fee to be able to play it online.
The price drop is interesting..... (Score:4, Interesting)
.... When they get the reliability improved so that they don't have a 54.2% failure rate [n4g.com], then I might consider buying one.
it's a good move, deal with it. (Score:2, Interesting)
it's not a good deal (Score:1, Interesting)
Have been waiting for this (Score:2, Interesting)
I originally held out buying a 360 until the 65nm processor came out (Falcon version). But then due to the RROD problems, I opted to wait for the 65nm GPU as well (Jasper version). Those have been out for a while now, but it's still somewhat hit or miss as to whether the Elite version you get has a Jasper board (65nm CPU + 64nm GPU) or an older version. However, it appears now that most of the new elites and nearly all arcade versions have Jasper. My only reason for holding out longer is that I suspected a significant price drop on the elite was coming.
Now that the price is dropped, I'll finally get one. I'll just make sure to doublecheck that it's rated at 12.1 amps so I know for sure that I'm getting a Jasper.
Re:MS needs to be thinking about the 720 (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:MS needs to be thinking about the 720 (Score:3, Interesting)
Exclusives are a fair split these days, IMHO, a PS3 exclusive tends to look better than an Xbox exclusive. [Note: I OWN AN XBOX, AND LOVE IT. Quick plug... my PSN and XBL name is Malcorin
I think a lot of hardcore gamers would like to have both, and $299 is a price which seems to make that realistic. To quote a close friend of mine, "The price drop was exactly what I was waiting for".
Re:MS needs to be thinking about the 720 (Score:5, Interesting)
A DVD drive and 4-year-old CPU are already starting to hold it back (several new games are coming out for it that will have to span across several DVD's, versus one bluray for the PS3).
DVD is still a perfectly capable medium for video games. If you think the increased cost of a blu-ray drive is justified by the handful of games that happen to be bigger than a single DVD, you're smoking crack.
and 4-year-old CPU... If they wait too long, Sony is going to start trouncing them with the stronger hardware of the PS3.
How do you figure? Microsoft's 4-year old processor has kept up with Sony's, wait for it.... 4 year old processor. The Cell, by the way, hasn't lived up to the hype, unless of course you like running folding@home. Otherwise, the PS3 architecture is not a good fit for game development. The reason the 360 is trouncing the PS3 is not only because of cost, but because it is far easier to develop for.
The PS3 has several in the pipeline, and you don't have any.
If by that you mean the XBox has Final Fantasy 11 and Phantasy Star Universe, and the PS3 has none, then sure, I agree with this statement wholeheartedly.
There are only so many FPS's and racing games I can put up with before I want some innovation.
Yup. This is Microsoft's fault.
Honestly... who modded this insightful??
Re:MS needs to be thinking about the 720 (Score:1, Interesting)
Who cares about Bluray? I'm downloading everything.
Re:MS needs to be thinking about the 720 (Score:5, Interesting)
You can argue until you're blue in the face about how Nintendo's going in a different direction, but I bought a Wii early on and have felt the burn everytime I walk past that useless piece of crap in the living room. It does nothing better than the Gamecube and has only garnered the same old same old only Nintendo could get away with rereleasing over and over again. While the "expanded market" has already purchased, played and probably moved on from their Wii's (I know my circle of friends have, especially the non gamers), Nintendo's busy developing and tinkering as if people still care.
Re:MS needs to be thinking about the 720 (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't know what type of games you like to play, but you might want to take a look at recent releases and coming soon listings for the Wii. You might be surprised to find that things are starting to broaden a bit. I think that third party game companies were caught a bit off guard. They didn't know what to do with the Wii, so they ignored it. Now that over 50 million units have sold, Nintendo has their attention again. Deep Space Extraction, The Conduit, Cursed Mountain, and The Grudge are all targeted at the traditional gamer. Final Fantasy games are certainly targeted at the traditional gamer. So keep your mind open!
If you haven't picked up a MotionPlus, do it! Tennis and golf games with the MotionPLus are amazing. Why would anyone play those types of games on a PS3 or XBox? Red Steel 2 should work much, much batter than the original title since it uses the MotionPlus.
And come on, any true gamer would love the Virtual Console on the Wii.
Re:MS needs to be thinking about the 720 (Score:3, Interesting)
Sony has had over 3 years to "trounce" them. This hasn't happened yet. Why would the stronger hardware aspect of the PS3 all of the sudden start attracting gamers away from the 360?
The PS3 is not even 3 years old yet, and not even 2.5 years old in Europe!
Hyperbole?
The XB360 has one entire year of sales without competition of headstart too.
And the PS3 is now far less expensive.
I don't think hardware will do anything though. These are videogame consoles, not technology items, but entertainment items. The games are what will count.
The thing is that the poor output of exclusive games on the PS3 will have some of its best ones soon: GT5 and FFXIII (well, not completely exclusive).
Fat PS3 is a desktop computer. (Score:3, Interesting)
You mean kinda like the same way I can load GCC onto my PS3?
You have a fat PS3, which is switchable [playstation.com] between a game console and a desktop computer at boot time. But I have a feeling Sony will discontinue it in the fourth quarter of this year, just as it discontinued the fat PS2 in favor of the slim PS2. And like the slim PS2, Xbox 360, and Wii, the slim PS3 is exclusively a game console.
Re:MS needs to be thinking about the 720 (Score:1, Interesting)
Of *course* it is cheaper than any console + a bluray player. But the argument that it is the best bluray player for price and features is old and hasn't been true for a while.
Sorry, but it is still the best bluray player for the price based on features, implementation of the bluray spec., and performance (output quality, startup time, etc.).