$199, $299, $399 - Xbox 360 Price Drops
The rumor mill has been constantly flowing over the past few weeks of a pending price drop for the Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 Arcade will move to $199, the Xbox 360 Pro (60GB) to $299 and the Xbox 360 Elite will round out the adjustments at $399. These are US prices set to take place during the first week of September. Yep, that $349 that some of you might have already spent since last month’s announcement of the 60GB Sku is about to be adjusted again.
Will this matter during the holiday season or has Microsoft missed the boat on pricing? There are specific times when the consumer wants an adjustment and it doesn’t seem like there are too many people thrilled about the Xbox 360 dropping in price. My opinion is that they should’ve adjusted prices long ago to take advantage of the momentum they once carried. We’ll see this holiday though if these adjustments will be the catalyst Microsoft needs to increase its user base.
What say you?
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August 28th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Deac, you just wanted to say speckle.
August 28th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
I must be alone in the belief that the $199 Arcade system is a farly decent sell to casual gamers.
Think about it: Us hardcore gamers wouldn’t go near the Arcade - without at least buying the hard drive. Casual gamers have shown with the Wii that it doesn’t matter if you have a hard drive. The Arcade comes with a memory card also, so there’s a little bit of storage there.
Will the 360 carry the “I’m the only good console in town” momentum it once did? I doubt it. The PS3 “not having any good games” argument is out of date, so the 360 won’t sell as if it has no competitors like it once did.
So yes, I expect the price drop to give the 360 a bit more momentum. The question is how much momentum will they gain. It will be the first system to hit the $199 mass-market price point, and the Wii will likely be sold out this holiday season as it has been since it released. Which could likely lead gamers to the next best thing…
We’ll see, but I expect big things.
August 29th, 2008 at 6:01 am
At this point, the price cut won’t make any difference at all in mindshare or momentum this holiday season. Many potential 360 owners have been scared away to Wii-land because of the hardware reliability problems. No one wants to spend money on a console that will be a brick in 12 months. In addition, when was the last time the 360 was advertised on TV, or at the movie theater with a good ad campaign? This is another case where S & N have the advantage.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:26 am
What many of you guys forget is that the $199.99 Arcade Core will sell millions to all those who NEED replacement consoles after the 3 year free warranty starts becoming null & void in November.
I know that I would rather buy a NEW 360 system (Get a memory card/Arcade games) then send in a broken 360 & pay $120+ to only receive an old almost broken one back = How many times would I need to keep sending it in to get a new one back, & would Microsoft keep charging me?
August 29th, 2008 at 11:06 am
you really think the Arcade will do well?
August 29th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Yes Deac… Many will also be replacement systems. I just wonder if Microsoft will have enough on store shelves.
The Wii doesn’t have a Hard Drive either, & it sells buttloads
August 29th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
If they make an HDMI Arcade SKU, I will probably buy one!
August 29th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Where have you been Nu… The Arcade SKU has had HDMI for awhile now.
September 3rd, 2008 at 4:06 pm
[...] those Xbox 360 price drops I posted about a few days ago? The prices that had the Xbox 360 Arcade at $199, the Xbox 360 Pro at $299 and the [...]