Microsoft Readies Cheaper 360 [Slashdot]

[DP ServBot]

Officially Microsoft is putting on a brave face, saying they won't drop the 360's price even in the console's weakest market: Japan. Just the same (probably in anticipation of Sony's PS3 price drop), the San Jose Mercury news says the company is secretly working on preparing a lower cost Xbox 360 SKU. Called 'Falcon', it's a cost-reduced system using 65nm chips instead of the at-launch 90nm electronics. This ties right into Michael Pachter's expectation of such a cut; it should be noted he doesn't see the DS or Wii prices moving any time soon. Related to all of this, Newsweek's LevelUp blog has two great interviews today: a Peter Moore discussion harkening back to last week's warranty announcement, and a chat with Jack Tretton about the price cut and the 360's hardware issues.Read more of this story (http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/09/1634221&from=rss) at Slashdot.
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[Richter]

"Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter stated in a note to investors today that Microsoft will announce an Xbox 360 price cut tomorrow at the start of the revamped E3 Media & Business Summit, which takes place all week.

Microsoft is holding its E3 press conference Tuesday evening.

He said that the price cut will affect all three Xbox 360 models. The $299 Core pack will drop to $249; the $399 Premium pack will drop to $349; and the recently released $479 Elite model will drop to $399."

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6299&Itemid=2

[Nintendo Gamer]

.....

[roushimsx]

Before they make a cheaper 360, they better fix the hardware problems.

Perhaps in making a cheaper Xbox360, they'll be able to correct the deficiencies that caused the failures in the first place. For example, isn't the rumored 65nm chip supposed to run cooler (in theory) than the 90nm?

[AMG]

The X360 is due for a price drop, so I wouldn't be surprised to see this come true.

[ZackyH]

Hopefully it's true. I've been waiting for a price drop for awhile now. So many games I'm missing.

[heybtbm]

Perhaps in making a cheaper Xbox360, they'll be able to correct the deficiencies that caused the failures in the first place. For example, isn't the rumored 65nm chip supposed to run cooler (in theory) than the 90nm?

Wouldn't that be hilarious? The cheapest 360 ends up being the most reliable.

[Nintendo Gamer]

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[Cobra Commander]

Perhaps in making a cheaper Xbox360, they'll be able to correct the deficiencies that caused the failures in the first place. For example, isn't the rumored 65nm chip supposed to run cooler (in theory) than the 90nm?
What exactly does that mean in practical terms? Also, if I buy this ultra cheapo version, would I be able to use my current HD with all my saves in it?

[j_factor]

preparing a lower cost Xbox 360 SKU

Hopefully this part is wrong, and it's an actual price drop, rather than a 4th SKU.