July 10th 2007 = Xbox 360 core system for $199.99 (opinion, not fact.)

[Anthony1]

I've been calling this shot for a long time now. I keep saying the core system will be $199. So far, I've been wrong, but come July 10th at 8:30pm at the E3 Media & Business Summit, Microsoft will announce a new price structure for the Xbox 360 platforms. The Xbox 360 Elite system will drop $79 to $399.99. The Xbox 360 Premium will drop from $399.99 to $299.99 and the Xbox 360 Core system will finally make it's existence logical, when it drops from $299.99 to $199.99.

I don't have proof positive information that this is going to happen, I just have my gut instinct, and also this:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6172235...newstop;more;3


"Analyst Heather Bellini of UBS AG also predicted a price cut for the console, although Microsoft refused once again to be drawn into commenting. However, Xbox director of project management David Hufford did note, "We are well aware that the sweet spot of the market is really $199."

[ubersaurus]

You really need to stop advertising threads with pure speculation as fact.

[Bronty-2]

Amen to that.

[agbulls]

You really need to stop advertising threads with pure speculation as fact.

Eh, I'm mixed on that. Anthony has been hyping this concept for months -- and he's 100% right in terms of the importance of this potential pricing scheme with Microsoft winning the console war. They are unquestionably linked at the hip, and Microsoft knows this. It doesn't take a genius to look at the Wii sales, the Wii technology and the Wii price to make the connection.

I guess this is Anthony's way of saying, before the announcement, "I told you so." That confident now, huh?

[monkeysuit]

I'm hoping for that Elite price drop. $400 sounds about right for what that package comes with.

[heybtbm]

The title of this thread needs a "?" at the end.

[Trebuken]

Everything with a Blue Diode is dropping in price and summer time price drops are typical throughout the history of gaming so the question should be what will the new prices be?

I think $199 is too low, though the number of copies of Halo 3 that will be sold will likely pay for such a price drop...they might be brave enough to go for market share.

[ubersaurus]

Eh, I'm mixed on that. Anthony has been hyping this concept for months -- and he's 100% right in terms of the importance of this potential pricing scheme with Microsoft winning the console war. They are unquestionably linked at the hip, and Microsoft knows this. It doesn't take a genius to look at the Wii sales, the Wii technology and the Wii price to make the connection.

I guess this is Anthony's way of saying, before the announcement, "I told you so." That confident now, huh?

He's been hyping this concept for like a year now. I'm tired of hearing speculation, I'd rather hear about it actually being announced and happening.

[slip81]

The hardware manufacturer, impressed by the success of the Wii in appealing to women, children, and older people, will be adopting a similar strategy to expand its demographic,

yeah, except that'll never happen since even the most simple 360 game uses way more buttons than the majority of the Wii titles.

Don't be daft MS, old people and housewives don't play games with more than two buttons. The market already has a company that makes games for everyone, they're called Nintendo.

Just put another combat FPS onto the 360 and you'll do okay.

[Insaneclown]

When I see it...then I will believe it


That's that!!!

[goemon]

yeah, except that'll never happen since even the most simple 360 game uses way more buttons than the majority of the Wii titles.

Don't be daft MS, old people and housewives don't play games with more than two buttons. The market already has a company that makes games for everyone, they're called Nintendo.

Just put another combat FPS onto the 360 and you'll do okay.

I've always thought that comparing the 360 and PS3 to the Wii is like comparing the Neo Geo to the Pico. Totally different systems and demographics. The 360 seems to be trying to tap into the PC gamer market, particularly PC game fans who can't afford to upgrade their computers every six months. The Wii, on the other hand, is going for people who play games casually and/or socially. If it wasn't for third party developers trying to milk every cent out of their multi-platform games, I don't think the Wii and 360 would overlap at all.

[diskoboy]

Actually, Joystiq has an article speculating this, too..

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/08/mi...t-spot-is-199/

And with Halo 3 coming sooner than we think, MS would be smart to lower the price. Most people are holding out on 360's for Halo 3. I can't imagine why they wouldn't...

[Lothars]

I don't see Microsoft doing this anytime soon

It's something they should do but I would be surprised if this happens within the next 6 months, if anything it might happen just before christmas time this year. but otherwise I doubt MS would do it.

[chrisbid]

MS should ditch the premium and stick with the core and elite. i dont see a price drop that drastic in the cards, a $50 drop for the core, and an $80 for the elite would probably do the trick.

[swlovinist]

MS will not do a price drop unless they have to. I see a price drop of $50 by the holiday(I expect it)

[hezeuschrist]

The world will end before MS would drop the price of any 360 prior to the release of Halo 3.

[boatofcar]

The world will end before MS would drop the price of any 360 prior to the release of Halo 3.

...coming from the same person who said he would never again post on DP if Microsoft named their next gen console the Xbox 360.

[Trebuken]

The more systems they sell, the more software they can sell. They must drive the sale of systems to drive the sale of software so a price drop in time for holiday selling would make sense. How Halo 3 affects this is interesting...I think the price drop will precede Halo 3 by a couple weeks simply for publicity reasons...

[Anthony1]

I've heard this theory thrown around all over the place. It says that any price drop prior to Halo 3 would be total stupidity. The theory suggests that you don't lower the price right before you are releasing a system selling game. Halo 3 will drive system sales. No question about that. Some people will buy a 360, just because of Halo 3. Even at the current prices, people will buy 360 units specifically for Halo 3. So why lower the price before then?

I can understand the reasoning behind that theory, but I still don't agree with it. Personally, I think the price should have been dropped a long time ago, and it's long overdue. If you look at the monthly NPD numbers, you can see that the 360 is losing a bit of steam. 228K in February, 199K in March and 174K in April. It's trending downwards. I'm sure that May will spike up from that 174K, with the Elite's arrival, but I honestly don't think alot of Elite sales are going to new customers. I think it's more of the hardcore set simply wanting to upgrade.

Microsoft keeps talking a big game about how they want to expand their horizons, and break out into the mainstream market like Nintendo is doing. It's time for them to put their money where their mouth is. If they really want to expand their market, then they need a $199.99 box at retail. If they announce the new price, effective immediately on July 10th, that gives them like 76 days till Halo 3's release. The price drop could really cause a major sales spurt during July and August, months in which system sales traditionally lag. Then with the arrival of Halo 3 and GTA IV, the momentum just continues forward.

[omnedon]

Simple marketing. They will drop it as little as possible.

In Canada, the original Xbox never got below $199CDN. It dropped to $199, stayed there, then vanished.

They need not be cheapest to sell the most. Therefore, they will drop the price no lower than necessary. That leaves room for future price drops.

Simple.