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XBox (Games)

$300 XBox 360 by Thanksgiving 88

Posted by Zonk from the goes-well-with-turkey dept.
frikazoyd writes "According to Gamespot, Microsoft corporate vice president J Allard discusses potential pricing and release targets for the XBox 360 in a TheStreet.com interview. From the article: '"It's going to be in the neighborhood [of $300]," he said, apparently dispelling fears of a $399 or even $499 machine, although $350 could still be possible.'"
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$300 XBox 360 by Thanksgiving More

$300 XBox 360 by Thanksgiving

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  • Of course. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Sylver Dragon ( 445237 ) on Friday May 27, 2005 @04:29PM (#12659037) Journal
    I would say I'm suprised but [slashdot.org], I'm not.

  • eh... (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Not until there's a modchip available.

    • Modchip (Score:3, Informative)

      by tepples ( 727027 )

      Here's your pre-modded PowerPC based set-top entertainment system for just 519 USD [apple.com]. It's even the right size such that a GameCube stacks on top of it [mac.com].

      • Re:Modchip (Score:2, Informative)

        by KillShill ( 877105 )
        except that it's not nearly as powerful and more expensive. other than that, yeah it's not bad. though it has a big positive: no DRM. in other words, you actually own it.

  • I'll Believe it (Score:3, Insightful)

    by cainpitt ( 682782 ) on Friday May 27, 2005 @04:30PM (#12659054)
    when it comes officially from M$. Anything else is just the same old speculation.

  • Big suprise. (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I have to post this anonymously or I'd get fired in a heartbeat. I work at Microsoft in the XBOX 360 marketting group. The big news is that Allard and Gates will announce the 360 with a retail price of $269, far less than the hints suggest. It will take the wind from Sony's sails.

    • Re:Big suprise. (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward

      ... not to mention the 2 free games included in the introduction pack.
      I think I know who this is, I'm going to come over to your cube. :)

      PA

    • Re:Big suprise. (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Khakionion ( 544166 )
      While I'm aware there's no way to prove you actually know what you're talking about, I'll pretend like I believe you. /It will take the wind from Sony's sails./

      Because the PS3 will be selling like hotcakes then? Wait...no.

      It must be to get rid of that artificial hype that the PS3 has because it's weaker than the 360. Wait...no, that's not it either.

      If it's going to be $269, it's because the 360 is going to be the "DreamCast" of the next-gen systems; more powerful, but not able to keep up with the state-
      • I see it more as the opposite situation: Maybe more powerful, maybe not (I expect the 360 and PS3 will be on fairly even terms), and it's not that it won't be able to keep up, it's that it's starting out in the less popular position. The PS2 dominated the Xbox and the Gamecube, which ran at fairly simmilar prices. To undercut the PS3 with a $270 price against, for the sake of argument let's say $300 PS3 is just what it looks like: Undercutting. Even all things equal, the Playstation name is just more popula
        • The PS3 launches later so MS could simply launch high and cut prices as the PS3 launch nears to sell a cheaper console than Sony without making less than possible on the first batch.
    • i work at sony, and we will be GIVING away the ps3.. with FREE MASHED POTATOS included in the box
    • To be honest, if this releases at $269 i'll BUY it in a heartbeat.

      However, I fear that the same thing'll happen with the original Xbox and Playstation 2 when it is released in the UK. What generally happens: the Xbox is released in the US for $300, Microsoft releases Xbox in the UK for £300. Not the £200 that it should be, based on exchange rates. What i'd like to see, is a US release at $269 and a similar UK release at $269 -- ie, £147 + 17.5% VAT --> £173. Then, it'll sell like
      • Huh... I just took a trip to Germany and our tour guide said that one of the reasons that prices were so high in Germany were that originally the prices were in Deuschmarks and when the Euro was introduced (worth about 2 DM each), the shopkeepers simply changed the currency sign. Then again, she also seemed to have a grudge against the Germans (she was Hungarian), so it could be that this is more hearsay than anything else. Then again, your story seems to pretty much bear out.

        What really bugged me, though

    • Copying Sony again? Because Sony did the same thing to Sega with the original Playstation.
  • if this was the same Vice President who wore a hooded sweatshirt under his sportscoat at E3. Anyone else see that? The position of VP has really slipped over time. What a clown.

  • Shouldn't the price be... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 27, 2005 @04:37PM (#12659128)
    $360?
  • The obvious price is $360.

  • Inflation relation? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by satchelpaige ( 706837 ) on Friday May 27, 2005 @04:47PM (#12659229)
    I'm wondering how a $300 price point would compare to other console launches in terms of inflation and relevance to average salaries.

    Its interesting to me that $300 is still the magic number after all these years, as we are making more and more money. I understand that your average parental video game console buyer (aka Mom & Dad who want the hot new toy for Billy) gives little thought to inflation and is more focused on a finite number, hence $300 still being right at the limit for the masses to embrace a product.

    The reality though is that a $350 or $400 system would only make sense proportionally when you account for the steadily increasing Cost-of-living and salary bumps.

    Has anyone seen a study or chart breaking this down?

    • I ran this through the books a week or so ago , what it breaks down to is an 18 euro inrease across the board( obviously due to the weakness of the dollar that to you is about 100) , honestly the new consoles are not offer inflated from the last release ist just seems harsh due to the fall of the dollar
    • However, you get about the same amount for your money in real dollars-$300 in 1995 bought you a Playstation, which also doubled as a CD player. $300 for a Playstation 2 in 2001 bought you that and a DVD player as well. If the next generation has some sort of DVR capabilities, that would be the next logical step-you get all this for the same $300, so I think with inflation it about evens out.
    • $350 is a little high based soley on inflation. From http://www.westegg.com/inflation/ [westegg.com] : What cost $300 in 2001 would cost $325.35 in 2005. Plus you have to take into account that in general the economy in the US at least hasnt been all that great over the last 4 years so keeping the price the same seems to make a lot of sense.
  • is it possible that MS may be trying to set a really low price point as a last attempt to get more people to not wait for the PS3? i mean MS has never lost a ton of money on a product to try and attrat more buysers right?

    oh wait....
  • Anyone ever notice how the "Market Analysists" who predict the launching price of new consoles are *never* right??? Ever..

  • Xbox 360 (Score:2, Insightful)

    by TheTopher ( 879626 )
    The price of $300 should really help 360 sales, especially if the PS3 is coming out at $465 (as rumor says). There's a point where consumers will stop caring about numbers of polygons more than the number of dollars.

    • Re:Xbox 360 (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      You do read gaming news right? Being in /.Games I would assume so. So I guess you may have read that no one said ps3=$465, just as no one has definitively said Xbox360=$300. It's called speculation. No one knows. Hell, even yesterday there were revisions on gaming sites stating the PS3 wouldn't be as expensive as was rumored.
    • After all, you get a blu-ray player included in the price. But just a few.

      Anyhow, I think the deciding factor for people who doubt will be the games. If the best games with the broadest appeal are available for the 360 at a lower price, then the 360 could stand to gain market share for playstation.

      I for one might buy the PS3. Eventually. Being 29 years old, the latest and greatest is not as important as it was ten years ago.
  • Comes packaged with "Halo 3: Master Chief in the Quest to Become Master Chef", and a 1080i hi-def oven timer with kick-ass visualizations.
  • "We have one formula with Halo: Ship it when it's ready. We did it with Halo 1. We did it with Halo 2. And we haven't disappointed the audience yet. That's Bungie's philosophy; that's the Xbox team's philosophy."

    Interesting that Allard says this in the interview, especially given the rumors [slashdot.org] (perhaps now confirmed by Gates in his Time article) that Halo 3 will be released on the launch day of the PS3.

    • Steve Ballmer later stated that Microsoft will release when it's ready in response to the Bill Gates quote. I forget the actual article but you can probably Google it. I don't think Halo 3 will ship as soon as the PS3 is shipping. We haven't heard anything about it besides the name, and I don't think we've even seen screenshots which I think is pretty surprising. There was a bunch of stuff released for Halo 2 a year before they shipped. Granted it was delayed, but there was at least something out there
    • We did it with Halo 2.

      This is obviously some strange definition of "ready" I wasn't previously aware of. Not that the game was bad. But "ready" was not really the impression I got from the making of the game special availible on the bonus disc.

      If it was ready, it was because they cut out hordes of goodies. Again, great game. However, a good number of people dissent about the "ending" and would probably dispute it was "ready".
  • Maybe I missed a story, but last I had heard they didn't even know whether XBox 1 games would play on it.
    • You apparently missed E3 entirely. Go check gamespot or IGN and come back when you're up to speed.
  • I'm guardedly excited. Both Microsoft and Nintendo have thrown down their respective gauntlets with respect to opening up avenues for smaller, independent (read: we're all very poor) development studios on these new systems. Nintendo's release includes:

    Freedom of design [nintendo.com]: A dynamic development architecture equally accommodates both big-budget, high-profile game "masterpieces" as well as indie games conceived by individual developers equipped with only a big idea.

    Microsoft's XNA [microsoft.com] also sounds promising. T

  • Anyone familiar with how much console manufacturers usually eat on the cost of new consoles?? According to rumors, the Athlon 64 dual-core will cost over $500 when its introduced later this summer... and the 360 has a three-core processor. Add in a brand new graphics card, and 512 RAM, and it seems like there will be at least $600-700 worth of hardware in there, if they are getting a sweet deal on all of it. Is it really that common to sell consoles for half of what they cost, or does microsoft plan to not
  • Perhaps part of the reason that the original XBox didn't get adopted quickly earlier is because of that high price point. Of course, the PS2 had already been out for awhile as well. I'm sure the PS3 and XBox360 will be priced in the same ballpark and be released around the same time this go around, so it'll be interesting to see who gets the bigger piece of the gaming pie in the short run.
  • I'm glad I didn't pay $800 [play.com] for it!

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