Xbox 2 may include price hike

We've gotten used to the idea that each new rev of a consumer electronics product either gets a lower price tag, or you get more features for the same price. But it looks like the world of game consoles is about to challenge that model, led by — you guessed it — Microsoft, which may bump the price of the Xbox 2 above the current $299 ceiling for console launches. One analyst speculates that a version with accessories might go for as much as $400. The extra hundred is probably to make sure that the console doesn't get the blue screen of death like that Xbox demo that crashed during Bill Gates' big keynote at CES last week.

[Via Joystiq]

[Joey Geraci @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

does anyone know how much the ps3 will go for

[Brian Behrend @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

I haven't seen it anywhere, but my guess is it'll be the exact same price if they're released close together. Or MS will drop the price to match if it's any cheaper.

Neither Sony or MS can afford to have thier system priced higher.

[Rick James @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

Yeah and the crashes last week were with intel chipsets which they've had 25 years developing OSes on. How bad is an OS working on IBM chips going to be!!

[Adrian @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

Geeez.... I hope this isn't true. The last console to launch at $400 was the Sega Saturn, and... well, we all know how that story ended.

[Recoil @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

That's interesting when the XBOX launched the in the UK I paid the full whack �299 RRP for it, which is around $560 the price was dropped a few months later to half that.. The dreamcast also when it launched here was �200 ($374).

If anything a $400 starting price wouldn't too bad compared to the launch XBOX price..

[Howard @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

A $400 game system when a basic PC box can be now had for $399...and that includes Windows XP Home. Man, I suppose the Halo and gangsta sports gaming franchises are pretty strong driving points for the Xbox to its fans/defenders.

[Ron Scott @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

Bah. It's pointless to speculate about price point at this juncture. Remember how the PSP was going to cost $500? Let's just wait until there's an actual announcement, then we can start getting all fanboi.

[mike @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

Rick James...

You're inviting Mac zealots..

oh yeah, and don't say Beetlejuice three times...

... bi-yaatch..

;)

[raulr @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

#6 Howard, a basic PC may cost $399, but one with the graphics capabilities that Xbox2 will have would be much more. The graphics card alone is worth a couple hundred bucks, not to mention the three processor configuaration.

Anyway, they business model has always been to subsidize the hardware, and make up the money on software. Anything above $299 is too rich for my blood.

[Tom @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

For four bills, I better get two controllers.

[Dralt @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

Well, I would pay up to a $1K for a lean mean gaming machine.
That would still be half the price of a lean mean gaming PC, and I would have to run games on my PC.

If you want exceptional hardware, I don't see how you expect it to be cheap.

[Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

For four bills, I'd better get FREE XBOX LIVE. Forever. You hear me?

There's never been any reason that I can see for charging money to access the INTERNET, for god's sake, when I'm already paying a monthly fee to my ISP. If MS is going to up the price of the system itself *and* still charge $50 a month to enable the broadband connection built into the system, well, they're gonna have a rude awakening when Sony undercuts them by about $100 on the system itself and by $50 a month (again) on the network.

Does MS even actually care about being #1 in game consoles? Their recent actions suggest that they don't.

Or is this simply an orchestrated "leak" to feel out the potential market for something like this? If it is, then I'm sure their marketing department is reading sites such as Engadget, and I'm here to tell them they're a bunch of morons if they think this is gonna fly.

[Kevin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

Jeff:
$50 a month? Jeez, who are you buying your Xbox Live from? I'm paying $50 a year.

As for the price, I'll pay up to $400, if it includes a 40+ GB hard drive and 802.11g networking. Those two features had better be there. As previously mentioned, an extra controller for the deluxe model would be nice.

I don't think I'd put up with any increases in accessory costs though... $30 for controllers, $20 for A/V cables, and $50 for Live are fair prices, but I'm not willing to pay more than that.

[adam @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

id gladly pay 2x that fee for xbox live. play a game on the ps2 and then on xbox, both over the net, and you'll see why it costs that much. its the service that comes with live (developing, upkeep, managing their own servers, etc). thats where the pricetag comes from. and rightfully so.

[dig dug @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

So much shit they had to start second pile......

[Andy Stowe @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

Is this the official look of the XBox2 or just speculation. I have seen other pics and it is nothing like this. Thanks. Andy S
www.andystowe.com
http://andystowe.typepad.com

[TheRealMaxPower @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

Who is old enough to remember the price of the Genesis console. You guessed it, $299.99. That was back in the 80's. If i am not mistaken the Nintendo NES sold for the same price. If Xenon is sold for $399.99 I would not even hesistate to purchase it. Inflation factored into Genesis, it would be over $600 today. The intial cost usually reflects what serious gamers can pay. Most of us are in our mid 20's or older and have real jobs. The people who can't afford it initially can buy it when the price drops( when Sony releases it's system). Xenon will be surprisingly better than most think and PS3 will not be much better. I will own them both anyway so who cares.

[Kenny @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

They said the same thing on http://www.xbox2-news.com
I think it is still worth it though considering what it will be able to do!