Another Xbox 360 price cut around the corner?

From the sound of things Microsoft is busy hunkering down in anticipation of a strong PS3 resurgence, what with the victory of Blu-ray, introduction of DualShock3, and release of MGS4 -- and not just to accommodate Canada. Rumor has it that the Xbox will see another healthy price cut in Europe later this month (March 14th, to be "exact"), lopping off some €50 (~$75), which would put the Arcade in striking distance of the all-selling Wii, possibly making it cheaper in some regions. Nothing solid to go by just yet though, but if you were thinking of buying, be aware.

[Thanks, UnicomClay and Steve, via Joystiq]

[Boostjunkie @ Mar 5th 2008 12:01PM]

It's about time, the only reason they haven't yet is because the PS3 is so expensive.

[demonic_pascal @ Mar 5th 2008 12:15PM]

damn you M$...I just bought one yesterday...

[Jagster @ Mar 5th 2008 11:01PM]

30 day price guarantee FTW.

[Brodie @ Mar 5th 2008 12:15PM]

Dammit... just bought the Elite 2 weeks ago... Running out of time to price match...

[holycow @ Mar 5th 2008 12:21PM]

You can price match within 30 days... 2 weeks ago = 14 days and March 14 is 9 days away..

14+9 = 23 < 30 so you're good to go.

[holycow @ Mar 5th 2008 12:21PM]

that is assuming you bought it from FS or BB in North America

[NxP3 @ Mar 5th 2008 2:05PM]

It doesn't matter how much they low the price, it's still a piece of junk that breaks down all the time. It's almost a guarantee that it's going to break so why even bother.

[Hoov @ Mar 5th 2008 12:26PM]

The library of games and the fact that Xbox Live destroys the Wii and PS3 in terms of online offerings?

[Rob @ Mar 5th 2008 12:27PM]

I hope you realize you'll be flamed by the faithful Xbox followers. However, I do agree with you on the failure issues. That alone has kept me away from getting one.

[Carbonize @ Mar 5th 2008 12:30PM]

Had mine for two years. It's been sat on top of my video all that time with little ventilation space and not a single failure. Guess it's not guaranteed to break then is it?

[Syke @ Mar 5th 2008 12:32PM]

I'm not an Xbox fanatic and I'll take issue with that. It's been great for keeping my husband amused.

[Andrew @ Mar 5th 2008 12:33PM]

The new systems with the new chipsets don't have any problems overheating. I've had my system for over 2 years with no problems.

[ben @ Mar 5th 2008 12:49PM]

Because $8 a month is worth gamerscore and gamercard?

[Boostjunkie @ Mar 5th 2008 12:57PM]

Your not going to be just flamed by Xbox fanboys. I have a PS3, but no way would I give up my 360, failure prone as it is. The online system just blows away the PS3, I've been trying to get into Warhawk and it's just a pile of frustration online. It's got a warranty, I just don't worry about it.

[roach @ Mar 5th 2008 12:59PM]

I work in a room full of 360s and I have never saw a rod. By the way we (and most of the game industry) build games using 360 and later ported to PS3. Major reason multi platform games perform better on 360 than PS3.

[ZombieDog @ Mar 5th 2008 1:10PM]

Ben... $8/month? You're getting ripped off!

It's only $50 (~$4.20/month) if you get your gold membership through the xbox itself, and if you look around, you can buy a 12+1 month XBox Live Gold membership card for closer to $35 (~$2.70/month).

[srw985 @ Mar 5th 2008 1:21PM]

my power button fails (i have to turn on + off with controllers / remote) and I get random disc unreadable errors when the drive just spins down. Happens on several different clean discs which run fine for other people.

as soon as the price comes down ill buy a new arcade and keep the hard drive etc i already have

[m3nphls @ Mar 5th 2008 12:22PM]

woot, if this is the case....then i'll go ahead and finish my collection of all 3 consoles =P

[jP @ Mar 5th 2008 1:10PM]

The failure issues don't outweigh the awesomeness of the console, IMHO.
Awesome gaming experience > failure rate.

[Frankenstein Black @ Mar 5th 2008 12:35PM]

MEH! Wanna get me amp’ed about Xbox 360? Print clearly on the box which SKUs have new hardware that doesn’t suffer from all the past (and present) woes! I can afford to be playing Russian roulette with my hard earned cash. The economy is rough enough!!

[kewl goup kid @ Mar 5th 2008 12:47PM]

@Frankenstein Black, if u want a falcon (only have 10% if not less failure rate)u should go here http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3152&p=3 that's how u can identify a falcon.
Onto other news MS definitely is in trouble they better do something to lower or at least combat the sucess the ps3 will see in the near future.

[Frankenstein Black @ Mar 5th 2008 12:49PM]

can't

[Boostjunkie @ Mar 5th 2008 12:58PM]

You don't have any financial risk, just time, 3 year warranty. By the the 360 will be cheap.

[Frankenstein Black @ Mar 5th 2008 3:23PM]

Time for me is money ;^)...

[chris @ Mar 5th 2008 12:43PM]

Thats the original xbox's uk release date! Happy birthday!

[rene siller @ Mar 5th 2008 12:45PM]

Boostjunkie, how do you figure that the PS3 is so expensive?? You get Blu-ray, Built-in Wireless, and a 40 gig HD for $399. The Xbox Core system is 349.00 and you still have to dish out the funds wireless.

[Boostjunkie @ Mar 5th 2008 1:01PM]

I didn't say the PS3 was expensive for what you get, it's an amazing price, I just got a 40gb for $299 after Sony Card rebate. But the truth is, the fact that the PS3 is $399 is what has kept the 360 at $349. In many consumers eyes, not us, it just seems cheaper. The 360 could be $299 or $249 for sure by now if the PS3 hadn't released at $500+. I think how M$ has Sony is their system is so much cheaper to product, if the PS3 drops in price, M$ can just drop that much more.

[Dart chizzle @ Mar 28th 2008 11:39AM]

If you are going to make an argument, at least make sure th argument has correct info. the premium is $349 the core it $299. Check it out.

http://www.walmart.com/search/browse-ng.do?ic=24_0&ref=125866.183467+500524.4293873225&fromPageCatId=482412&catNavId=482412

[Burrens @ Mar 5th 2008 12:45PM]

I would think the drop in price is a response to the weakening dollar, just like when they dropped the price of the Xbox in Canada.

[PeterF @ Mar 5th 2008 4:07PM]

doesn't make sense. Either they would increase the price to make up for the lost profit, or leave it alone. I doubt they would drop it because they are making less.

[Raheem @ Mar 5th 2008 12:46PM]

I'm guessin' that roughly translates to £30, for all my fellow countrymen, making the Arcade £169... £10 cheaper than the Wii?

[Liam @ Mar 5th 2008 3:08PM]

If it gets cheaper than the Wii, expect a big price drop from Nintendo. I reckon they could sell it at about £120 if they wanted.

[Blake H @ Mar 5th 2008 12:49PM]

Fire sale!!!!!!!!!!111

[Curtis the Claw Game Master V2 @ Mar 5th 2008 5:36PM]

What's a firesale 111?

[Xbox360kid @ Mar 5th 2008 12:57PM]

The main feature ppl care about is GAMES.Not BR or wifi the ps3 is priced fairly,but it's still too EXPENSIVE for the average consumer.The ps3 at $600 is honestly fair depending on the features u want,but all MOST ppl buy video games for is to PLAY GAMES.That's why he's saying it's too expensive.He only wants to play games so I think it's fair for him to say.The ps3 should be much cheaper still regardless of it's feature MOST ppl won't even consider buying a ps3 until it's AT LEAST $249.Which is fare.The ps2 was a cheap dvd player,but ppl didn't care bout that until it was $199.That's how ppl are bout game systems they should be cheap regardless of features.That's one of the reasons Wii sell like hotcakes.

[Evan @ Mar 5th 2008 2:04PM]

No, the MAIN feature many people care about is Blu-Ray. That's the sole reason I bought a PS3. Ask at avsforum.com and you'll find hundreds of people just like me. I recently talked to the rep at a local A/V specialty shop, and he said that many people who come in looking for 7.1 receivers and home theater projectors are commecting them to PS3s. I'd love to know the split between game and movie usage, but it wouldn't surprise me if the majority of PS3 were used primarily as Blu-Ray players!

You are right that the PS3 is too expensive for gamers, but it's a bargain for people who drop $1K on a receiver and $3K on a tv or projector.

[Whaleman @ Mar 5th 2008 2:38PM]

I know I'm getting a PS3 for BluRay primarily later this year now that the format is over. This doesn't mean I won't play games on it... but unlike the Xbox 360 that I bought solely for games, the PS3 will actually have more than one use. This does not mean I would recommend either console over the other to everybody. It all depends on what you're looking for. If people had the money I'd recommend them to do what I do and get all three and just have fun without risking fanboisim that usually just deter from fun.

[Zach @ Mar 5th 2008 3:56PM]

@Evan,

You mean... members that are at an a/v form care aboue Blu-Ray? Let me go get you the Duh Stick! How about the average person? I don't have an HDTV and evne if I did, playing blu-ray movies doesn't get me all that excited. What people want is not going to be calculated what the nerds want on an A/V form.

I want great games from a GAME CONSOLE. Sony just hasn't sold me on that yet. Nintendo's Wii is FUN to play, but I'm worried about the single player value. The Xbox 360 has a great LIVE system set up and quality titles like Call of Duty and Halo. For the price, PS3 could do a whole lot better :( Maybe with more titles coming out I'll consider, but I can go ahead and clearly declare Nintendo the winnre of this console generation.

[ReggieXuk @ Mar 5th 2008 1:02PM]

im definitely selling my 360 when 2010 is near!!!

i hope the next one will be backwards compatible so i can play my old games!

[Syn @ Mar 5th 2008 3:25PM]

Sweet, the Online Heater just got cheaper.

[PhilxBefore @ Mar 5th 2008 4:03PM]

You shouldn't be so hard on your mother like that.

[Syn @ Mar 5th 2008 4:09PM]

Well, I'm sure her cremation was hot.

[Kamal @ Mar 5th 2008 1:18PM]

MS better do a price drop here in the States as well to win the impending GTA IV war.

[Raheem @ Mar 5th 2008 1:25PM]

Buy GTA IV get a 360 free? :P

[Ian @ Mar 6th 2008 5:08AM]

@raheem
id do that just to play anything over lan, that would be SWEET

[ZeroCorpse @ Mar 5th 2008 1:43PM]

I think they need to stop dropping the price on the console, and start dropping the price on accessories. There's NO GOOD REASON why the hard drive, WiFi, and controllers should be 50% more than non-Microsoft proprietary versions of the same devices.

[Whaleman @ Mar 5th 2008 1:53PM]

"which would put the Arcade in striking distance of the all-selling Wii, possibly making it cheaper in some regions"

Actually, here in Euroland the 360 arcade is already within striking distance of the Wii. Usually only about €10 away. I'm pretty sure I can already find it cheaper new than I can a Wii... so a €50 cut would be pretty darn sweet for MS. Then I might soon consider getting an arcade to replace my original 360 premium and get HDMI.

Hopefully it could also push Sony to finally lower their prices on the PS3 that border on insane in Scandinavia (approximately €480/$730 for the 40GB base package without games). That the rest of europe pay €400, that equals about $600 isn't too nice either...

[ruisu2012 @ Mar 5th 2008 2:01PM]

Never mind a pricecut, they should sort out the hardware so there isn't so many RRODs.

[Timmy @ Mar 5th 2008 2:12PM]

They should create an Xbox 360 Lan Party addition where its cheap, no hard drive or DVD drive or internet access and will run off a shared copy of the software.

No need to copy disks so no need to boot leg extra copies and all party units need to be locally set up.

[The Fuzz 53 @ Mar 5th 2008 2:37PM]

That is a sweet idea. I would definitly buy one for every TV in my house, especially if they are all WMC capable.