Microsoft planning Xbox 360 price cuts?
By Evan Blass 
posted Jul 31st 2006 8:57AM
posted Jul 31st 2006 8:57AM
As the PlayStation 3 launch approaches, rumors of an Xbox 360 price cut are once again making the rounds -- but as usual, Team Microsoft is telling us not to get our hopes up. DigiTimes recently reported that a source at an unnamed Taiwanese OEM manufacturer is claiming Redmond has successfully negotiated lower production cost of between 15% and 20% on the 360, thanks to a combination of ramped-up production volume, falling component costs, and decreasing defect rates. While it's likely that Microsoft is aggressively seeking a lower per-unit cost on the consoles -- after all, it's supposedly losing over $100 on each box -- it's completely unclear as the whether these savings will be passed along to the consumer or kept in-house in an attempt to shore up losses on the hardware side of the equation. Since the PS3 will already be pricier than the 360 at launch, it seems that Microsoft certainly doesn't need to implement price cuts to stay competitive -- making the denials all that more plausible -- but then again, announcing price changes too early might hurt short-term sales, making the denials somewhat suspect. In the end, it seems like this could go either way, so if you're looking to save a few bucks, there's still only one surefire way to do so.[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
Ripping people off even though they lose money on each XBox sold? Huh?
I got my 360 for 20% from Dell small business by using a 20% coupon from ebay.
@ Kevin
Yet it is considered the best by most people. Grow up little boy.
This rumor was debunked two months ago. Now it was come up, and it was debunked again. Microsoft has stated officially that there will be no price cuts before the end of this year. When the price of making them goes down, expect a cut. Before then, it is not going to happen. I'm sure this rumor will come up again in three weeks anyway.
Lol. I guess Intrepid doesn't like any game system because that would make him a "Fanboy" of that system, which would make him a hypocrite. Never!
MS really has no choice but to cut the price. Their machine is an afterthought even before the release of the PS3 or Wii. Not that it is a bad system, but there is absolutely no buzz around it and it has yet to release the "must have game" that the general public would buy a system to play. Gears of War and Halo 3 could have been those games but those won't be out until after the Wii and PS3. MS needed to get those out well in advance of Nintendo and Sony to have any chance of winning this generation of the console wars.
The PS3 with it's price and the Wii with its innovative gameplay are going to grab a lot of headlines this holiday season. The only way MS even stays in the conversation is a price drop.
Bill Gates Needs New Diggs... NO PRICE CUTS FOR YOU!
If Wii does sell for $249, I think MS will drop the price of the 360. If someone can't find a Wii at Xmas, I'm sure they're not going to drop $500 for a PS2. If the low-end 360 is the same price as Wii, I'm sure they'll pick up a lot of desperate shoppers this holiday season.
Speaking personally, they can drop the price as much as they want. I don't want an Xbox 360, I want a PS3. No price drop is going to change that for me.
Aww...Don't get ruffled Kev, once the PS3 hits we'll have a new Worst Console Ever. =)
Microsoft might do this, it can definitely take the loss, it's not a small company with a few offices in South Carolina, it's quite possibly the largest corporate entity out there, and if it helps drive home the idea of Microsoft's console being a better bang for the buck, they'll probably do it.
Then again, they might see no reason to, considering Sony's already inflated price making their console look even better by comparison, of course the PS3 will still sell more, but I suspect Nintendo and Microsoft will make a bigger mark than last round, at least at home, if not internationally.
They will probably use the money saved from the lower suppliers cost to have a spoiler for the week that the PS3 is launched, possibly with Halo3 if that is ready. A reduced price Xbox 360 with Halo 3 would probably hit PS3 where it hurts. It would ruin the first week sales figures for the PS3 and that would make the news.
I find it funny people say that the rumor keeps being "debunked" or has been put to rest. Like the article said and like anyone who understands business would know; if Microsoft says, "okay you guys caught us, we are gonna cut prices" then no one is gonna buy until the cuts go into effect unless they are stupid or dont follow tech buzz. Releasing their "Must have games" when they are going to be in competition with PS3 and Wii is a perfectly good idea. They've had no competition up until now with the next gen consoles. So why not take some more time and then bring out the backing power of the "Must Have Games" when they are really needed to help sway customers to a 360 opposed to the other offerings.
PS3 is overrated and overhyped. They cant get the hardware to work half the time, the amount of defects that will becomming off of the factory line is horrible and their online offering is gonna be second rate to Xbox Live. From what i've heard its hard to develope for and it can be all yours for only a small nominal fee of $500, Yippy!
I donno how 360 is gonna do with the Wii that is gonna be more economic for families and the whole user interactivity seems really cool, but i know that there are probably gamers much like myself who have given up on Nintendo because of its target market of 7-16 year olds.
PS ~ im no fan boy.. i dont have any generation of Xbox . i have a ps2 and an N64. I was really hoping for a strong showing by Sony with the PS3 but all they've been able to do is keep shooting themselves in the foot. All Im just trying to state a 3rd parties view on what ive been reading.
Exactly what "Must Have Game" does/will Ps3 have at launch? (or even up to a year after? - dont say mgs or ff, they wont be out.)
yeah, thanks.
at least GoW will be out this holiday and most likely before ps3
How many times are we going to see this story? Enough already, goddammit. This is like the twentieth time on the twentieth website I've read this ridiculous story where once again nothing new's been added to what's already been said.
Until we get word from the horses mouth or a highly trusted source from within, DROP IT! I'm sick and tired of this incredibly old story taking up space on my favorite web sites.
I'm looking forward to a new, cheaper Xbox360. It'll go nice with the HDTV I'm going to buy around Xmas this year.
KEVIN, heres the thing, there are opinions and there are half assed opinions. you have a half assed opinion.
now mind telling us why the 360 is the worst system ever? examples maybe? any reasons at all? fanboy?
anyways back on topic, @ FIMSHADY. your what we call the hardcore group, (not meaning that you play video games 24/7. not in that sense) who will buy a their prefered console anyways. but fort he casuals who make up like 70% of the market, it will make a huge difference. wha tthey will see, is that one has more games, and has the same graphics. THATS ALL THEY WILL SEE. and its the truth aswell. they wont see bluray, or wifi or anything else.
The GoW release data has yet to be made. Seeing as though at the moment it's set for Q4 2k6, the earliest we can expect it is October. Either way, there isn't that much buzz for the game in the first place.
The games I'm really looking forward to with my PS3 at launch, if I get one, are GT HD and Warhawk. GT because it's my personal favorite racing series ever, and there's a gigantic selection of cars, and Warhawk because it just looks amazing and I got really excited seeing how easy it was to control the vehicle with the tilt function.
You have to admit, there was really no buzz at the 360 launch. Besides the fact that they were impossible to find, and as always there were huge lines, no one really cared. The biggest news it got was on the MTV special, that whole thing being just sad.
360 launch titles were nothing to brag about. CoD 2 was released on PC a month before it was a 360 launch title. CoD 3 is coming out on PS3 launch day for basicly every console including PS2 and Xbox. It still makes the CoD 2 launch title for 360 look completely irrelavent. Perfect Dark looked really good, but hardly took off like it was supposed to. PGR 3 was great for all the kids that thought a fast car had to have a name they couldn't pronounce...in any case GT just has a greater fanbase.
Every time I buy something it goes on sale shortly after, story of my life.
All you people knocking the 360... I love mine and am very happy with my choice.
Look at how bad Sony is doing with the PSP, what makes you think the PS3 will do that much better as far as games at launch or a year later for that matter?
You people talking about how great the PS3 is going to be will be waiting for about a year before great games come out and will be experiancing your fair share of defects in the console too.
Meanwhile look at the release list for the 4th Quarter on the 360. I will be playing alot of great next gen games. Have fun with your PS3!
I'm in the industry, and I'd like to know your opinions. In all seriousness, those of you who plan to buy a PS3 at/near launch, could you please explain why?
Reducing the price upon PS3 launch doesn't make sense to me. PS3 will be available in limited quanteties, and those will sell out anyway to the first wave of PS fanboys out there. It's all about the second wave of buyers, those that will decide to buy a console once the PS3 is normally available in stores. That's when the real battle for consumers will begin. That's why I think Halo 3 can wait untill february 2007, and any price-cuts will have limited impact before then. Sony can't afford any price-cut before 2008 probably, so why rush it for MS?
No it's because microsoft cares about the gamers and it's customers in general, unlike sony who says we'll fuck over anyone without a full time job this holiday season, MS knows they will lose money but they have so much they keep doing it, this $100 price cut will show that, not to mention the ps3 totally sucks, now shut up fanboy.
Microsoft needs to lower their prices on everything from games,controllers,HHD,and accerisories in order to shove a wooden stake in Sony's PS3. And would it kill them to make all of their XBOX 1 games playable on the 360? I'm serious Microsoft is that to much to ask for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The PS2 has been out selling the 360 since it has been out.
"Since the release of the Xbox 360, Microsoft has averaged 246,000 console sales each month in the US, while the PS2 has seen an average of 473,000 units—a number bolstered by an estimated 1.5 million sales in December alone. Leaving out December, Sony's average drops to 302,000 per month, still outpacing the Xbox 360 by a healthy margin."
The XBox360 is a great system, the PS3 is/will be a great system (deny it all you want). Considering the fact that the Playstation franchise has billions of hard core fans behind it, I don’t think a price cut is going to pursued them to buy a 360 or increase sales of the 360 so much that it will kick the PS3 in the balls and run away with the best console award. This is going to be a very close race for the better part of a year. As for the Wii, it is going to be awesome (Nintendo is back!).
@Kevin
You are certainly entitled to your own opinion, but your flaming is lame.
"It is about time they stop ripping people off."
I think it is about time you shut up. Microsoft is bending backwards just to please the consumer. They are losing $100+ dollars on each Xbox 360 just so the Xbox 360 is at a reasonable price (which can't be said for another company). So they are hardly ripping anyone off. But what is that you say?
"Ripping people off because it is the worst game system ever."
The Xbox 360 is hardly the worst system ever as proved by sales figures. I think we save that for a console made by Atari, or Sega.
I would also like to point that I am not a Microsoft fanboy as I plan to buy both the Nintendo Wii, and Microsoft Xbox 360.
did you guys miss the meom( MS finchale reports for the last few quarters) that stated the xbox has cost more money then they thought it would and the coast had gone up?
PS3 isn't going have any truly great games at launch either. Story after story talks about how hard it is to develop for and I would guess that it will be just like any console where it takes time and experience for developers to really make it sing.
The same with Wii - there will be some really fun games that, after a year when game makers have really figured out what it can do, will pale in comparision for the great ones to come that can really use the controller to do something innovative.
The biggest advantage the 360 will have is that by the end of the year, after developers have had some real world time with it, the great games will start showing up. I don't think they will cut the price until the first round of PS3 has sold out which will happen no matter what they do.
Saying that there was "no buzz at all" around the 360 @ launch - you just embarrass yourself. As for current buzz - I know a few people that were at E3 and they came away came away jazzed about 1) Wii 2) Gears of War 3) PS3 (kind of just by default, no one was wowed).
For me, I'm actually looking forward to Crysis! Too bad it isn't a console game.
The "losing $100+ dollars on each Xbox 360" is crap, they make up for those with the premium xbox 360 and games in a heartbeat.
Everybody saying that MS doesn't need to have the "must have games" out now or that the PS3 is too expensive/people won't buy need to get some perspective.
Sony is the clear market leader with a boat load of customer loyalty...lack of launch games, rootkit fiasco, price, UMD, or not Sony is going to sell 5-7 million PS3's on name alone.
Lest we forget the Wii, which every parent in america will buy for their pre-teen, and every nintendo fanboy will buy to drool on and post how great it is and how the PS3 sucks on engadget.
To overcome that you need a head start, a killer system, awesome games, and a cheaper price than the leader. MS has the head start and the cheap price (over Sony not Nintendo) but is severely lacking in the system selling games department. Look at the evidence. Since the 360's launch they have sold what 5 million systems when they had the market all to themselves. When the two major competitors hit the market they will sell half that at the most if they keep the current pricing structure.
MS needs a price cut, Gears of War and Halo ASAP.
P.S. - It's funny to me that everyone complains about the PS3's price when people pay $399 for an ipod that only plays music.
To:Colin
I'm not saying the PS3 is a bad system, in fact I was interested in actual buying it until Sony decide they needed to give it $600 dollar price tag. Do they actual think they can stop MS and Nintendo by raising the DAMN price tag? Not only that but they barely have any first party games for the PS3 (Killzone maybe,MGS4 if they fix the camera angle issues,)
MS doesn't have to drop the price - they can just start bundling in HD-DVD drives - I'd definitely pay full price for that.
Besides the fact that the Sony unit is going to cost more than a decent low-end PC, they've also committed to raising the price-point on games too (up to $100 IIRC). I guess that means paying ridiculous on-line subscription fees in addition to ridiculous prices for the games themselves. Sony should be giving these units away.
for the fanboys - competition in this space is good.
I'm glad i'm never a first adopter of new technologies. There is a huge local electronic store here in my town {Not Best Buy or Circuit City} were i get most of my HDTVs that's currently selling the core system for $378.88 the Wireless controller for $34.88 and games for $10.00 off to compete with Costco's complete core system that includes a second wireless controller and 2-games and i believe the component cable all for $489.99. This new price drop will get it even lower. Now I'm in!
@JinKazama :
In the first two years of its release, the iPod sold less than 1 million units. Wanna make a different comparison now? =)
Also, why is the Xbox 360 selling at modest rates? Well, mainly because it's expensive. (Yes, $400 is expensive, people.) That's why Microsoft should drop their price as soon as possible, irregardless of what their competitors are priced at.
@Colin
"Considering the fact that the Playstation franchise has billions of hard core fans behind it"
They wish. Let's see there are roughly 6.5 Billion people in the world. Are you trying to tell me that more than 30% of the world population are hard core Plastation fans? (since you said billions, i'm assuming at least 2 billion people) are you 12? 30 % of the world don't have a pot to piss in, or shoes on their feet, and you dream to say that they are hard core PS fans.
FYI http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/data/bizdataps2_e.html
The PS2, has a bit over 100 million units sold since spring of 2000 when it was released, and its a great success, so I wonder why those billions of hard core fans arent rushing out and buying up the PS2, are they waiting for the PS3? Have they been wating for the PS3 for damn near 6 years? Thats some delayed gratification, I didn't know Sony fanboys was were so restrained. Grow up.
Arg.
The Xbox 360 will not get a price drop, just as the PS2 didn't get a price drop when the first Xbox stayed out (they both stayed at $299 for some time). The Xbox 360 doesn't need a price drop - it's already cheaper than the PS3 (and there's no way they could make it cheaper than the Wii).
This holiday season, we'll probably see systems at $199, $299, $399, $499, and $599. Price drops come next year.
That said, I could easily see the rumored $399 XB360/PGR3/1,250 Microsoft Points bundle becoming a reality. That'd be an easier and cheaper way to give the Xbox some holiday buzz.
I don't see the 360 core system going down to $199, but a $249 price might get a nice amount of people to pony up, especially if they did it a month or two before the Wii & PS3 are released. It's a tough call for them, they have the head start, but not the killer app yet.
MS needs to bundle a HD-DVD player with a premium 360 and sell it for less than 600$. Call it the super premium pack or something.
"I'm in the industry, and I'd like to know your opinions. In all seriousness, those of you who plan to buy a PS3 at/near launch, could you please explain why?" ~ Foo Man Chu
You're NOT in the industry, unless maybe you're a tester or something even lower in the ranks. There's just no way someone in the industry starts a sentence with "In all seriousness" so just shut up you lying liar.
Ok, back to the topic. I'm predicting that Microsoft will lower their console price once sales of Halo 3 start slowing down. Oh, and there's nothing wrong with PS3, it just costs too damn much. I own an Xbox 360, and plan on buying a Wii at launch. I also plan on buying a PS3, but not until the price for the fully featured system drops down to $400. I can probably put off buying a PS3 for a while (Twilight Princess and Fable 2 will keep me plenty busy, and is anyone else psyched about the rumored Banjo Kazooie 3 game? ZOMG!) but in all seriousness I'm sure Sony will eventually have me as customer, even if it takes 5 years.
@Rayonic
Irregardless is not a word. Stop using made up words that illiterate people use who don't actually know what words exist or don't exist in a damn dictionary.
And back to the topic. I'm anticipating the Wii and supply problems really putting a damper on PS3 madness this holiday season.
A lot of frustrated shoppers will buy an X360 or Wii when they can't get a PS3 without spending $900 on some ripoff bundle that includes 2-3 lame games, extra controllers, memory cards they don't need, etc.
Remember that retailers can make as little as $20 on the console itself, they make all their real profit on all of the add-ons.
Sony is so obsessed with making Blu-Ray a success that they've priced the PS3 into the stratosphere. The majority of people who buy a PS3 this year can't even afford it.
Ahem...
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2 entries found for Irregardless.
ir·re·gard·less P Pronunciation Key (r-gärdls)
adv. Nonstandard
Regardless.
adv : regardless; a combination of irrespective and regardless sometimes used humorously
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Better check your facts next time Jason before throwing stones...
If the PS2 is outselling the XBOX360, that tells me that people would rather buy the cheaper PS2 with a large line of games then wait for the high priced PS3. Who is going to buy a PS2 now, then a PS3 in a couple of months? I think the PS3 will be a disaster. No rumble controller = LAME.
lets please not forget that the PS2 right now is selling for $129.99 versus the 360 core system at $299.99 or the premium at $399.99. So no matter how much the PS2 is selling this is comparing apples and oranges. The 360 console should be compared to sales of the other consoles that are their equivalents (once they come out). Many parents are hesitant to drop 300 or even 400 dollars on a machine that solely, in their eyes, is for playing video games. Compare sales of ps2 and the sales of Xbox. I have a feeling alot of consumers are waiting to see what actually becomes of the Wii and the PS3 before they choose to drop 300-400-or even 500 dollars on a gamming console. Its getting too expensive to be able to make a bad choice in which console one wants to support. I definately am looking to buy a console, but im sure and h3ll waiting for the dust to settle before i drop a few hundred dollars and end up getting burned.
It is funny that people are saying worst console ever and that it is overpriced and that Sony will dominate. From being a reviewer and also having alot of friends in the gaming industry, I can tell you that the 360 is not a horrible machine and definitely not a failure. I am in no way a MS fanboy. I owned GameCube, PlayStation and XBox and the one thing I can say is that MS is trying to take the lead. Sony is shooting themselves in the foot by limiting the entry level console to no WiFi, No HDMI, No SD Reader and no way to add these features. Sony doesnt have an big exclusive titles except Gran Turismo and Metal Gear, both of which I don't think are big system pushers. GTA is now coming to XBox and titles such as Assasin's Creed have decided to not be PS3 exclusive. Sony is already killing themselves with the PSP. My friend that works at EB Games has told me they take in anywhere from 3-10 used ones a day, most of which once the person gets the credit they turn around and buy a 360. Last week as I bought games I saw two people turn in a PSP with multiple games to buy a 360 and a couple of games. The PS3 is Sony's next nail in the coffin, especially when PS3 is Blu Ray only and if the format bombs the system is USELESS.
read this guys http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/617/617951p1.html
if xbox 360 cuts its price i will buy it this holiday season. my reason being i will see a better value and if i wanted to spend 600 i would build a computer...
I'm buying the PS3 and Nintendo Wii, but I'm not getting a Xbox 360... it doesn't offer anything new or special... and a price cut would have to bring it down to about $150 before I'd ever consider it...The PS3 has blu-ray and 1080p to over so that means longer games and better detail and not to mention 7 possible players on one console without having to buy multitaps... the Wii has classic characters like Mario and Zelda that I grew up on and it's low price range is great too... xbox 360 has halo 3... which i'm sure will be great but it'll just settle for unreal tournament and if i have to play halo 3 I know people who have 360's i'll just play there and own my prefered systems.
dude you are such a dumbass.
the ps3 games are going to range 60-80 bucks
and you are alrady 600+ dollers when you first buy it.
you just must be a ritch spoiled bitch.