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Microsoft The Almighty Buck XBox (Games) Entertainment Games

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.
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Microsoft Drops Xbox 360 Pricing

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  • by elrous0 ( 869638 ) * on Thursday August 27, 2009 @02:02PM (#29220845)

    The 360 is nearing the end of the typical console lifespan (which has always been about 5 years, give or take) and is getting a bit long in the tooth anyway. 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). They really should be looking at a new generation console soon (for 2010 or, at least, 2011). If they wait too long, Sony is going to start trouncing them with the stronger hardware of the PS3.

    And this time MS, for the love of God, please put some effort into making a hardware design that doesn't cause another RROD fiasco, or take a step BACKWARDS with no standard hard drive. That was just shameful.

    On a personal note, how about making your online architecture a little more friendly to MMO's? The PS3 has several in the pipeline, and you don't have any. There are only so many FPS's and racing games I can put up with before I want some innovation. Backwards compatibility probably wouldn't hurt either. Just my opinion.

    • And this time MS, for the love of God, please put some effort into making a ... design that doesn't cause another ... fiasco, or take a step BACKWARDS ... That was just shameful.

      Oh, wow. Somehow, this just gave me a really strong feeling of deja vu.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by d3l33t ( 1106803 )
      They cant afford to drop the current software development cycle. Why do you think every other console figures a minimum 8 year cycle.
      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by elrous0 ( 869638 ) *
        The standard has always been 5 years, even through the early 80's console collapse and several recessions. IMHO, any console maker who ignores this (especially in this competitive market) does so at their own peril. It was Sony's attempt to drag out the PS2 cycle to 6 years that allowed the 360 to finally gain a foothold over Sony to begin with.
      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by medv4380 ( 1604309 )
        Given that the PS2 still has a good number of units sold every month and is close to what the 360 sells they are probably thinking this is becoming a 10 year cycle or something longer. Nintendo was right when they said that more expensive hardware wasnt needed for more advanced game development. MS just needs to make their system cheaper and more reliable.
    • by JSBiff ( 87824 )

      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 ne

      • FYI, microsoft has already well discussed the next gen coming in 2012. I gotta get to class, but if you need a reference i betcha google can do it quick.

        Ciao.

    • by alvinrod ( 889928 ) on Thursday August 27, 2009 @02:22PM (#29221173)
      I think that they're going to stick with the Xbox 360 for a while longer.

      First of all, they have previously stated that they wanted to be profitable this go around. Even though Windows and Word are still a large cash cow for Microsoft, they can't afford to continue to bleed money in other divisions. They probably would reach profitability on this current generation and have started making up for the losses of the original Xbox if they hadn't run into the red ring problems. That probably set them back a year or so at least.

      They're also in no real danger of being one-upped by Sony either. The PS3 may have technical superiority, but it's not by a large enough margin to cause people to move away from the Xbox 360. Sony also has a lot of costs to recoup as well and it doesn't appear as though they're in a hurry to release a new console any time soon.

      It also seems as though Nintendo has begun to hit market saturation with the Wii at its current price. The sales have been down over the last few months and there's still no word of a price cut. I'm expecting one around Christmas, but they may be running out of steam. If anyone needs to come out with a new piece of hardware it's Nintendo.

      If they announce a new system in the near future, sales of their current generation will probably tank. At that point Sony will be able to catch them in sales and they'll end up as the also ran of the current generation. It's likely that they're discussing hardware options for a future console at this point and possibly sharing some of that information with third parties that they'd like to keep close. It's also unlikely that they'll rush in attempt to be the first out of the door as it cost them a lot this time around.

      They're also between a rock and a hard place in terms of making a decision of whether they'll move heavily towards digital distribution. They probably don't want to put a Blu-ray drive in their next machine as it increases the cost and justifies Sony's position. A DVD drive likely won't cut it for the next generation of games and the hard drives being included in consoles aren't there in terms of size yet. They'll need at least 500 GB drives if they want to move towards digital distribution and given the drives consoles are currently shipping with it will probably be another 2 years before 500 GB drives come standard. I don't foresee Microsoft using a PPC chip in their next console either which will probably kill backwards compatibility or add to the cost of the machine if they decide to support it.

      They likely have plans, but I don't expect them to make any moves until either Sony or Nintendo does something first. My bet is on Nintendo just because they're flush with cash and really lagging behind in terms of hardware, especially with both Sony and Microsoft releasing motion control features in the near future.
      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by KDR_11k ( 778916 )

        It also seems as though Nintendo has begun to hit market saturation with the Wii at its current price. The sales have been down over the last few months and there's still no word of a price cut. I'm expecting one around Christmas, but they may be running out of steam. If anyone needs to come out with a new piece of hardware it's Nintendo.

        No, they just went without a killer app for too long. Their strategy does not allow for pricedrops that quickly, especially when it's known what needs to be done to restore

      • by thule ( 9041 ) on Thursday August 27, 2009 @03:17PM (#29222161) Homepage

        It also seems as though Nintendo has begun to hit market saturation with the Wii at its current price. The sales have been down over the last few months and there's still no word of a price cut. I'm expecting one around Christmas, but they may be running out of steam. If anyone needs to come out with a new piece of hardware it's Nintendo.

        Nintendo is blue ocean. They are not trying to compete in the red ocean that is Xbox and PS3. MS and Sony have to price cut because they are fighting over the same pie.

        The Wii is finally getting some interesting third party games. The MotionPlus is awesome and makes a huge difference in certain types of games. Less "waggle" and more precision. Nintendo really doesn't need to do anything right now. Sure, they'll have an HD console someday, but for now, the Wii is doing just fine.

        A lot of people think that New Super Mario Wii is going to be HUGE (especially in Japan).

        They likely have plans, but I don't expect them to make any moves until either Sony or Nintendo does something first. My bet is on Nintendo just because they're flush with cash and really lagging behind in terms of hardware, especially with both Sony and Microsoft releasing motion control features in the near future.

        This is exactly why hardware performance doesn't matter. Nintendo *is* flush with cash and has moved many, many more units and they did it with lesser hardware! They weren't fighting over the current "hardcore" market. They were going after expanded market.

        For the "hardcore" crowd, the PS3 is the way to go and MS could end up loosing some share to Sony.

        • by gbarules2999 ( 1440265 ) on Thursday August 27, 2009 @06:42PM (#29224995)
          The expanded market that bought a Wii, and Wii Fit, and Wii Sports Resort, and...oh. Nothing else.

          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.
          • by LBt1st ( 709520 )

            Then it sounds like you bought the wrong system. Most of the people enjoying the Wii aren't exactly slashdot readers. So you don't hear about them but I assure you there are people that exist who love their Wii. Even my Mom enjoys the console.

            And I agree with the poster above. MotionPlus has added a great deal of possibilities to the Wii. Even the launch titles have made excellent use of it and I'm sure there's more to come.

            • by Moryath ( 553296 )

              Sorry, but the statistics bear out the contrary position. My own analysis (based on "nongamer" relatives/friends/etc that bought a Wii) is the same. Generally, they buy the Wii, they buy 2-3 other games tops, and then they don't buy another game for at least a year.

              If they love the games they are playing? Great. I wish more games were like that. I have a VERY short list (perhaps 20-30 titles) of games I deemed worthy to hold on to and re-play, over a 15-year gaming history.

              Unfortunately, that spending model

              • The problem with the wii is similar to the problem with the ps2 towards the end of it's life, yes there are plenty of awesome games, but they are drowned out in a sea of crap.

                As per usual the only games people can trust tend to be nintendo first party games, with others being hit and miss (usually missing).

          • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

            by thule ( 9041 )

            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 targete

          • by ookaze ( 227977 )

            The expanded market that bought a Wii, and Wii Fit, and Wii Sports Resort, and...oh. Nothing else.

            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.

            So much anger and rage that it becomes nonsense.
            Nothing else eh ? Let's see :
            Mario Kart Wii : 17+ millions sold
            Super Mario Galaxy : 8+ millions sold
            Super Smash Bros Brawl : 8+ millions sold
            Mario Party 8 : 6+ millions sold
            Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess : 5+ millions sold on Wii alone ...
            The list of huge million sellers is going on.
            Well, but that's nothing (LOL!).

            Some people like to live in their fairy tale world.

      • by steveha ( 103154 )

        If anyone needs to come out with a new piece of hardware it's Nintendo.

        I'm not sure this is true. Isn't the console market sort of a "not much profit on the razor but huge profit on the razor blades" sort of market? In other words, given that the Wii has been a huge smash success, aren't they cleaning up on game licensing revenues? Given how many units they have out in the market, do they really care if sales slow down a bit?

        [Microsoft may] move heavily towards digital distribution.

        Yes, everyone will. A

      • by CAIMLAS ( 41445 )

        Agreed: Nintendo really needs to drop the Wii price, probably in tiers up through Christmas. It's been the same price since the Christmas before last Christmas, which is kinda nuts considering (as the other guy said) there've been no 'killer apps' for a while.

        Regardless of whether they targeted the Wii at kids or not, there is only so much that can be done with cinematic-brandings using LEGO concepts. They haven't even bothered to release (and improve upon) that many Nintendo classics, for that matter. If t

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by ookaze ( 227977 )

        I think that they're going to stick with the Xbox 360 for a while longer.

        I think if they do that they will continue to crash and burn.
        Seems like they think Natal is their next console, their console rebirth.
        I bet this will crash and burn badly, and finish destroying their hopes of breaking even.

        First of all, they have previously stated that they wanted to be profitable this go around. [...] They probably would reach profitability on this current generation and have started making up for the losses of the original Xbox if they hadn't run into the red ring problems. That probably set them back a year or so at least.

        No!
        Their only profitable fiscal year, they made less than $500 M (million) profit, and this was the Halo 3 fiscal year. They already lost $3 B (billion) dollars this generation on XB360, and lost $4 B on XBox (that's $7 billions in the hole for XBox brand at the very least). So the RRoD s

    • by Cornflake917 ( 515940 ) on Thursday August 27, 2009 @02:22PM (#29221177) Homepage

      On a personal note, how about making your online architecture a little more friendly to MMO's? The PS3 has several in the pipeline, and you don't have any.

      Wrong. [teamxbox.com]

      If they wait too long, Sony is going to start trouncing them with the stronger hardware of the PS3.

      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?

      • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 27, 2009 @03:12PM (#29222057)

        The PS3 no longer costs $200 more? It also plays Bluray movies? People already have 360s and it seems like an upgrade?

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by 222 ( 551054 )
        Hardware sales have more or less been in line with each other when release dates are aligned. The Xbox obviously has higher total numbers given its earlier release. Cost wise the PS3 has a substantial advantage (Free online play, built in wifi, blu-ray player)

        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 :- ) Feel free to add me.]

        I think a lot of hardcore gamers wou
      • 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?

        I agree with your general sentiment, but this concept still seems valid. It's not that the stronger hardware will kick in "all of a sudden", but rather than over 3 years, gaming companies have been producing games for each platform, and every game release faces the pressure to be better than the last. If the big video game studios start to find themselves more limited by 360 hardware than PS3 hardware through their own natural process of bigger, more impressive games, then Sony could possibly gain advantage

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by ookaze ( 227977 )

        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).

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      The 360 is nearing the end of the typical console lifespan (which has always been about 5 years, give or take) and is getting a bit long in the tooth anyway.

      I disagree. I'd rather not have to buy another console, the wii has, for better or worse, seems to have shifted console makers' focus off of cutting edge graphics to making it appealing to people who play fewer games. See project NATAL: that's not for people who play a lot of games, that's for the families, for parents, for party games, etc.

      DVD player holding it back? Maybe there are some people who get irrationally angry and violent when they have to change discs, but I managed to play many games on the

    • by moon3 ( 1530265 )
      with the stronger hardware of the PS3

      Sony's marketing team trumpets many things... but the fact is that Xbox 360 is more powerful then PS3 if you mean to use it for programing and rendering games, Google Valve or Activision and read their opinions regarding the matter.
      • In point of fact they're lying through their teeth if they're actually claiming that it's less powerful for such activities. It's much more powerful, the problem is programming for it is completely different than programming for a strictly CISC platform. This means all the guys you have programming for the PC have to learn a new programming set, or pass the work off to people who weren't initially involved. From Valve's standpoint, it certainly would have been a better move never to develop for the PS3, but
        • by moon3 ( 1530265 )
          I would still trust more western developers then Japanese marketing trumpet here.
        • It has nothing to do it CISC. All the present generation consoles (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii) use IBM PowerPC derived RISC CPUs.

          It has to do with Cell being bandwidth and memory constrained. You cannot even access the main memory directly with one of the Cell SPUs, all access must pass by the single CPU first, causing a bottleneck. The Cell SPUs are not full fledged general purpose units either. Even Sony could not program Cell for what their originally perceived uses and had to graft a NVIDIA GPU on it because

          • Good point with mentioning CISC having nothing to do with it. It's 1999, and apple and sun want their (RISC vs CISC) marketing back. What's incredibly ironic, is that the original poster didn't realize that the 360 is using a PowerPC core. Even more ironic is that even apple gave up that battle and is using intel chips. Worse, as I would always mention to my apple fanboy friends, there is no such thing as CISC as it's described in marketing literature, as modern CISC CPU's break instructions down into m

          • Even Sony could not program Cell for what their originally perceived uses

            I seem to remember ibm touting cell as a multi-media chip? for those kind of fixed pipeline things with no branching or jumping around in memory too much the cell is perfect. Yes the SPU's are not full fledged general purpose units, but they are perfect for use as DSP's in media bits.

    • Why does every console seem to be a complete , from scratch, design. Why couldn't the next Xbox 360 be evolutionary. Upgrade the 3 core PowerPC chip to a 4-6 core at higher clock rate. Upgrade the ATI GPU to the correpsoding latest tech.

      That way the developers could hit the ground running with slightly modified dev tools and "A" rated titles could be available very early on in the consoles life which helps decide a "victor".

      Like wise sony could do the same, I am under the impression that cell was designe
      • by tepples ( 727027 )

        Why does every console seem to be a complete , from scratch, design.

        Because developers discovered that the old design had run into fundamental bottlenecks after three Moore density doublings. That's why the GameCube and Game Boy Advance were redesigns. But the Wii, DS, and DSi were evolutionary, just as you recommend.

        That way the developers could hit the ground running with slightly modified dev tools

        That worked for Wii developers (Wii is an overclocked GCN with more RAM and a USB controller). It worked in a different way for Xbox and Xbox 360 developers (they use a variant of DirectX).

      • At that point, it's called a desktop computer and not a console.

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by tepples ( 727027 )

          At that point, it's called a desktop computer and not a console.

          It's a console as long as it uses cryptographic methods to shut out any development that is not part of a day job, such as development done by students and hobbyists. If it were a computer, I could load GCC onto it.

      • Microsoft made a mistake using a PowerPC chip, that's the problem. They should have stuck with x86 chips. Then they could load up a 32nm, 8 core CPU in late 2010 and have NVidia and ATI compete to pick the graphics chip, and developers would see more power, a new DirectX version, but otherwise a similar development experience.

        PowerPC... Seriously, smart decision there Microsoft.

        For that matter, Cell was a stupid choice too. Mainstream x86_64 chips are now the only logical choice for a high end console, b

        • by tepples ( 727027 )

          Microsoft made a mistake using a PowerPC chip, that's the problem. They should have stuck with x86 chips.

          Microsoft tried this with the original Xbox, but I seem to remember that Intel price-gouged Microsoft near the end of the Xbox's life cycle, and Microsoft couldn't keep up with Sony's price cuts on the PlayStation 2. The switch to an IBM CPU was to keep this from happening again.

          • And now who will they turn to if IBM gouges them? At least there are 3 x86 CPU suppliers...
            • by tepples ( 727027 )

              And now who will they turn to if IBM gouges them?

              If I remember correctly, the difference is that Intel insisted on producing chips in its own fab. IBM, on the other hand, was willing to license the "Waternoose" 3-core, 6-thread PowerPC CPU design to Microsoft so that Microsoft could choose its own fab, and Microsoft chose Chartered Semi.

        • by smash ( 1351 )
          That defeats the purpose of buying console hardware in the first place. You'll just end up with lots of different spec machines floating about, and your developers will not know which one to target. If they target the top end, people have to upgrade hardware more often, which means they may as well have just bought a PC. If they target the baseline then there's no point in upgrading the hardware.

          Sega found this out with the 32x, mega-cd, etc.

          Put out one half-decent hardware spec, pump out huge number

          • The two aren't mutually exclusive. A console upgrade can still be a major event. They would still only do it every 5-7 years. But when they do it, the changes would be deterministic. I as a developer would know "OK, they'll have more cores, faster processors, more memory, and a much faster GPU but otherwise the way I do my work hasn't changed a whole lot".

            I'm not saying they upgrade willy nilly or allow users to upgrade, I'm saying pick a mainstream architecture so that when they do update it with a new

    • by tgibbs ( 83782 )

      My XBox 360 has actually been more reliable than my PS3, which has died twice (one a failed HD that I replaced myself, once YLOD that required a $150 replacement from Sony). Of course, that may in part be because the 360 is so noisy that I never forget to turn it off when I"m done using it, while I leave the PS3 running continuously and donate time to the Folding@home project

    • Final Fantasy XI works fine on the 360. No live gold required...
    • by not already in use ( 972294 ) on Thursday August 27, 2009 @03:59PM (#29222949)

      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??

    • by brkello ( 642429 )
      Ugh, I totally disagree. Games on the 360 are just fine for this gen. Graphics are good and I enjoy the box. If people have to put games on multiple discs, fine, that isn't a big deal. It doesn't look any worse than the PS3. The lifecycles of game consoles need to be longer both for the company's profits and because there isn't anything that is going to give the consumer a significant change. We aren't seeing the NES to super nintendo differences anymore. So let's give more time for the technology to
    • by ookaze ( 227977 )

      The 360 is nearing the end of the typical console lifespan (which has always been about 5 years

      This is not true.
      5 years is the typical lifespan of the losers home consoles.
      The winner home console is defined by the one that sells the most, and the losers are the other ones.
      The winner typically lasts 10 years or more.

      • by elrous0 ( 869638 ) *
        Yes, it is true. You can see the list for yourself [slashdot.org] from an old post of my (I'm too lazy to repost it). Five years has been the standard for console generations since the 70's.
        • by ookaze ( 227977 )

          Yes, it is true. You can see the list for yourself [slashdot.org] from an old post of my (I'm too lazy to repost it). Five years has been the standard for console generations since the 70's.

          It's wrong from the simple fact that the lifespan of a console is not defined by the fact that its successor is out. The PS2 has not finished selling, but the PS3 is out since 2006.

  • The price drop does make the unit a little more attractive, especially since it now does Netflix streaming as well. I was thinking about getting another Roku box, but this makes the Xbox 360 a more likely purchase. The fact that it can play games is a spiffy feature as well. :)

    Although, "Left 4 Dead" might eat up what little free time that I have....

  • by Nerdfest ( 867930 ) on Thursday August 27, 2009 @02:14PM (#29221057)
    Low-end HDMI Cables are about $3 on MonoPrice.com, etc. Not a big loss, but a bit inconvenient if you don't have a couple lying around. I hope this doesn't boost sales of Monster cables.
    • If you have an older television that needs component cables though, you'll have to shell out $35-40 for the XBox specific ones.

      But -$100 +$40 +40GB = still a better deal than before the price drop.

  • For one (Score:5, Interesting)

    by OrangeMonkey11 ( 1553753 ) on Thursday August 27, 2009 @02:14PM (#29221067)

    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.

    • Ever notice that there are far less free demos and dlc on Sony's network. In the past I wasted several times the cost of live in an average year buying games that I would have skipped had demo been available, in the long run Live has saved me money. Besides that I have averaged enough freebie's each year to make it worth while anyway.

      Sony's business model is why its inferior...the developers have to foot the costs of hosting and bandwidth which causes many of them to just not bother. Add in a more refine

      • Sony's business model is why its inferior...the developers have to foot the costs of hosting and bandwidth which causes many of them to just not bother. Add in a more refined interface, full chat, netflix, etc and I will gladly pay my paltry $40 a year for Live.

        I thought Microsoft also charged the developers for demo/patch bandwidth?

      • Sony's demo selection is much better in Japan. I expect to see that migrate over here in time.
    • This has been something that has perpetually annoyed me. For instance, subscribers are sending $50 a year to Microsoft to play Infinity Ward's online content. It would be one thing if people were sending that $50 to Infinity Ward but this is going to Microsoft. It always seemed weird gamers where eager to pay Microsoft when they aren't responsible for content or fixing games like Modern Warfare 2 and yet are getting payment for it.

      This is compounded by the PC vs console experience where a lot of the feat

    • PSN is totally fine. The 'issues' arguments are an artifact from launch-year era functionality that is since fixed/improved/expanded.

  • I predict at this new price point, sales will skyrocket once MS hits the kill switch on all the remaining XBox360s. With a 54% failure rate [slashdot.org], people will just figure it's business as usual from owning a 360 and 96% of those people will go out and purchase a new one.

    • They do have a decent guarantee. It sucks to have to send them, but it's free, and reasonably quick.
  • by 8127972 ( 73495 ) on Thursday August 27, 2009 @02:28PM (#29221267)

    .... 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.

  • by thetoadwarrior ( 1268702 ) on Thursday August 27, 2009 @02:30PM (#29221313) Homepage
    Thanks for using the UK and the exchange rate to boost your profits, cunts.

    http://www.edge-online.com/news/xbox-360-elites-price-cut-arcades-raised [edge-online.com]

    I'm sure the reason they haven't done this all over Europe is because they're only popular in the UK so they feel they can get away with this.
  • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • by tepples ( 727027 )

      they are the only system with a flagship online game of magnitude.

      True, World of Warcraft runs on a Microsoft platform, but you might have forgotten that it also runs on Macs.

  • 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 suspecte

  • by Sobakus ( 1626345 ) on Thursday August 27, 2009 @02:53PM (#29221693)
    The most required price cuts are for the outrageously expensive wifi adapter and the absurdly overpriced 120 gb hard drive. I have an original xbox 360 with 20gb hard drive (only had 1 RROD, hoorray) and I can barely install 1 game, and forget about movie downloads or a couple of demos unless you uninstall that game. Right now in spain a 120gb harddrive + wifi adapter will actually cost you more than the full xbox 360 arcade pack. To all you PS3 fanbois, bless Sony for letting you put any hard drive you wish. Believe me, after years fighting with a ridiculous 20gb drive thats one hell of a feature (...insert envy emoticon here...) WTF Microsoft??!!!!
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      The most required price cuts are for the outrageously expensive wifi adapter and the absurdly overpriced 120 gb hard drive.

      Wait a minute... is that correct? The 360 doesn't even have wireless networking built in? You've got to be kidding!

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Lectoid ( 891115 )
      Do what I did for me and two people I know, hack a cheap 120 GB WD hard drive to work. http://www.pcworld.com/article/150970/upgrade_your_xbox_360s_hard_drive_on_the_cheap.html [pcworld.com]
    • I've heard that there are USB wifi adapters out there that work with the 360.
      A friend of mine got one, and I've heard no complaints.
    • Get yourself an inexpensive ASUS WL520gu router [newegg.com] and install the latest tomato firmware. [polarcloud.com] Blammo! Instant wireless bridge for 4 ethernet devices, no client drivers required. You're welcome.
    • I know how you feel. Not because I've experienced it, but because I've seen how cheaply PC stuff has become.

      First off, I'm in Canada - where prices are more expensive than the US. I picked up a brand new 1TB HDD for $70, and a Saitek P3200 for $6. That includes shipping. Great quality PCI wireless cards can be found for under $25, and I got my SennHeiser PC161 headset for just over $40. :)

      So when I see the prices you have to pay for console peripherals, I shudder. And then when I see the prices in other cou

  • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 27, 2009 @03:05PM (#29221927)

    They are phasing out the Pro model at $250 and dropping the Elite model to $300. However, once the Pro models are gone it's still going to cost you $300 to get a Xbox 360 (the Arcade model doesn't count). So, how exactly is this a price drop? I suppose you could argue that it is a value increase (as you are getting 120 GB instead of 60 GB), but I certainly wouldn't call it a price drop.

    I bought a Xbox 360 Pro a year ago for $300. I've had no problems with it and enjoyed it a lot. However, if I were to do it all over again today I would go with a PS3. Back then a PS3 was $500. Today, however, for the same price as a Xbox 360 you get built-in Blu-ray, WiFi, and a standard hard drive interface. On the hardware front it's not even a contest. Xbox 360 has some great exclusive games, but so does PS3 (I hate exclusive games, but that's the world we live in). On top of that, Xbox Live is $50 a year. Xbox 360 was killing PS3 from the start (and rightly so; who pays $600 for a console?), but now the PS3 is in position to reverse that trend. Meanwhile, half of all Xbox 360s are failing. The future doesn't look so bright for the Xbox 360...

  • ...won't even compensate for the DVDs that it will destroy during the Xbox 360's lifetime.

  • Illustration: The new accurate Xbox 360 logo [today.com]

    Microsoft has discounted the entry-level Doesn't-Do-Much Xbox 360 to $200 from Friday, $50 cheaper than the Nintendo Wii. (This will translate to a GBP250 price point in the UK.)

    "We are thrilled to be the first next-generation console on the market with a big 'Microsoft' logo on it to reach $199, a price that invites everyone to enjoy Xbox 360," said Aaron Greenberg, marketing marketer for Xbox. He says this will cause a "smash and grab" mentality amongst consumers. "And not 'grab and smash' as they throw it out the window when it gets a red ring of death again."

    The models that actually play anything worth playing will, of course, stay at $300 and $400. "But history shows that more than 75 percent of all console sales happen after the price falls below the $200 mark. Which would be the PS2, PSP and DS ... uh, forget I said that."

    Greenberg assures consumers that the new cheap Xbox 360s will not be refurbished red ring of death casualties. "Not all of them. Honest. However, twenty Xbox lifts every morning will be much better exercise than Wii Fit."

    Microsoft Japan is already actually paying people to take the machines, with little success. "We hope more people will be able to enjoy Xbox 360," said marketing marketer Takashi Sensui, "and we can stop enjoying quite so many of them. We also have this fine pile of HD-DVD drives ... Wait! Come back!"

    Greenberg further assured consumers that "the Xbox 360 will kick the PS3's ass every way from Friday, you wait and see." Nintendo were unable to comment in time for this story as they were still too busy trying to make Wiis fast enough to keep them in the shops.

  • In the UK, at least, Microsoft's dropping the 360 Elite price but it's discontinuing the Pro. Combined with the changes to the Elite box contents post-price-drop it means we're basically paying £30 more if we want the system with a hard drive, and in exchange we only get a measly 60GB extra HDD space. It's not like HDDs are expensive on their end.

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