Hollywood Reporter - 360 will get a $50 price cut in August (rumor)

[diskoboy]

Here we go again... Yet another 360 price drop rumor.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i75ec4629cfe1313a51e0e767c0ee6860

[Slate]

I'll believe it when I see it.

(And what happened to the smiley box? I want to put the sleeping smiley up!)

[heybtbm]

Maybe they finished the new, cooler running chip and want to clear out the old "3 red ring" 360 stock.

[Oobgarm]

Maybe they finished the new, cooler running chip and want to clear out the old "3 red ring" 360 stock.

Which would be what, exactly? All of them? LOL ;)

[Anthony1]

I don't think a $50 price drop is going to make all that much a difference in the grand scheme of things. Normally, the first price drop a system has, is it's largest. I've always said that they need a $100 price drop, but it appears that they don't want to drop their price that much, right before Halo 3 and GTA IV. I could easily see another $50 drop to follow in March of 08.

The reason they need to drop the price sooner, rather than later, is because the Elite right now is only $20 cheaper than a 60 gig PS3. A 60 gig PS3 includes Wi-Fi (which costs $100 for the official adapter for the 360), and a Blu Ray drive (costs $199.99 for the HD-DVD add on, which is tethered by a cord and not built right in, in one, nice, shiny package). They need the price difference to be greater than $20, because the value proposition just doesn't add up. Still, I wonder what will happen when Sony sells out of all the 60 gig units, and then they drop the price of the 80 gig package to $499.99, which is expected to happen sometime later this year. Also, it's unknown whether Sony will remove Motorstorm and then drop the price to $499.99, or leave Motorstorm in, and just offer an even better package to entice customers during the all important 4th quarter. The Elite would be $429.99, and the 80 gig PS3 with Motorstorm would be $499.99.

[Nesmaster]

They should go for the gold. $199.99 Core, $299.99 Premium, $399.99/$429.99 Elite.

Seriously. Then they would have a SKU that would put them lower than Nintendo, and you would have a really nice package with the Premium or Elite for that much better of a price, when compared to the PS3.

This whole thing Sony is doing is either really smart, or really dumb. I'm thinking that they're going to make everyone think the 80 gig will be $599.99 when the 60 gigs sell out, to get everyone to buy them now because it's $100 cheaper than the 80 gig. Then the 80 with Motorstorm hits the market quietly at $499.99 and gets everyone talking. Take them by surprise and sell a bunch more of the 80 gigs at $499.99.

Because going back up in price now after everyone expected this price drop would be brutal, and dumb. What Sony is back up to $599.99 now? Damn I had $500 ready, guess I'll go grab an elite and some pizza and beer, or a premium and a few used games.

[Anthony1]

Because going back up in price now after everyone expected this price drop would be brutal, and dumb. What Sony is back up to $599.99 now? Damn I had $500 ready, guess I'll go grab an elite and some pizza and beer, or a premium and a few used games.

Unfortunately for Sony, they seem to have too many executives willing to spill the beans. That European executive that said they were just clearing out stock of the 60 gig, probably should have kept his mouth shut. Their plan was perfectly reasonable as long as it wasn't public knowledge. Unfortunately, that dude opened up his piehole, and then all hell broke loose, and Kaz had to answer to the allegations, and they had to admit that yes they were clearing out stock of the 60 gig. Of course, they can't RAISE the price, that would be pure suicide, but they can't outright admit to their real strategy, because they hope to sell a few of the 80 gig and Motorstorm packages at $599, and if it was a known fact that this package would be $499, then how the heck do they clear out all the 60 gigs now, and how the heck do they sell a few 80 giggers at $599? They have to keep quiet about the ultimate strategy, although it makes them look like they don't know what they are doing. I wonder if that Euro executive is still employed?