We got this handy little Xbox 360 Pro cheat sheet sent to us by a GameStop manager, who also forwarded it to
our BFF's at Joystiq, which pretty much confirms those
widely-spread suspicions of a 360 price drop. It looks to be the very real deal, and is good news for the Xbox fanboy looking to at last populate every room in his house with the charming white box, now selling at that magical $299.99 pricepoint, with refurb'd 360s dipping to $279. Obviously it's not happening until Sunday the 13th, but that should give you the requisite time to scrape together those pennies. Unfortunately, it looks like the $279 price on the Arcade isn't budging, but don't stop believing. More promo material after the break.
posted Jul 9th 2008 1:03PM
Who in their right mind would buy an Arcade system when the Pro is just $20 more?
For another $100, I can get a Bluray player and not have to worry about RROD.
You just have to worry about firmware updates bricking your machine and having to install games because the Blu Ray drive isn't up to snuff when it comes to streaming data.
And for less that $100, you get amazing games.
At $299, for what you get, it's still a rip.
With a 2005 design, same build, cheaper parts...this thing should be at $199 already.
$299 at target also, but next week it will be going for $275!
if the arcade stay at $280 it will not sale. it will be become a dust collector
The fact that it doesn't have a mast won't help either!!
soul.. l o l. It took me a second, but was worth it.
The fact that "sale" and "sail" are two entirely different words entertains me. Good try at criticizing someone's poor English skills though...
The point is, it should be Sell, not sale. A sale is a noun, to sell is a verb.
@ Terc:
The fact that you are anal entertains me. Good try at criticizing someone's effective comedic skills though...
....and the fact that both "sale" and "sail" would be incorrect to use in the user's post. It should say "if the arcade stay at $280 it will not SELL"
@Eric... then it shoud be "stays" not "stay"
Maybe he's just speaking with his blaccent?
and sail is an adjective, now that we have our english down.....
Someone is WRONG on the internet!
Oh God, it's like a pun within a pun! Too good.
Just glad to see something else going on this weekend other than the release of a certain mobile device..
I want my BFF to give me a 360.
Its more than likely gonna drop to $250 soon then. If they don't they're out their minds.
I'm not sure if I wished I would've waited for the drop. I got my Pro system back in November. Thats a extra game I could've bought if I waited.
Yeah, but weigh that 1 extra game against 7 months of playing. I'd say the 7 months win.
I'd hold out for a version that didn't RRoD.
Mine has never given any problems, Although it is properly ventilated, unlike the stories I've heard like people having their systems under a blanket... no not the towel trick, a blanket
People, it's a *clearance sale price drop*, not a permanent price drop.
20 GB units are being phaseed out (like last years 60 GB PS3)
Expect that rumored 60 GB Xbox 360 version to maintain that $279/$349/$449 tier system they currently have.
If it was a real price drop, all 3 versions would drop in price about $50.
It's a perm price drop. we're doing the same thing at radioshack. it's all over.
idk last time microsoft had a price drop it happened the same way and i guess it would be good for 60gb premium console with price tag of 300 and the elite drops to 400 would make 360 really appealing and Playstation would drop in sales. Anybody have info on any of the non bricking updates rumored for xbox dashboard?
I just bought an XBox 360 Elite 2 weeks ago. Will the price be dropping for the Elite as well?
Wow seems like a new xbox must be on its way.
If Arcade and Elite aren't changing, then yeah, its a clearance sale.
The 60G comes in at the $349 price, and stability is restored to the marketplace :p
If I were to buy one after seeing this price drop.. I would go to Target and buy it today and go back on Sunday/Monday and get the 50$ back, this way you don't have to wait.
Or you can do like what my plan was and sell your 2yr old 360 that runs hotter and doesn't have HDMI a week ago before the trade in value dropped. Buy a brand new Falcon Pro which runs a lot cooler by the way and had HDMI support. Two weeks later go and get your $50 back from the price drop.
Pro doesn't really speak to the "casual" crowd they've been courting for so long. To them it mean professional, I suspect Microsoft want to go with the "really good at shooting people in the face" meaning.
When has Microsoft been "courting" casual gamers? Do you mean the "Arcade" version that they never promote? Or, all *two* exclusive casual games they never advertise?
Microsoft completely failed at "courting" mainstream casual consumers. It takes more than a different hardware bundle, they need to start promoting games that don't involve "shooting people in the face". But that would piss off all the hardcore gamers! (Just look at the hatred from hardcore gamers towards the Wii.) Nintendo has shown that attracting casual gamers pisses off hardcore gamers, and Microsoft has shown that appeasing hardcore gamers scares off casual gamers! I think they are better off focusing on their own audiences.
Who cares about the casual gamer. Yeah, they will buy your console but they do not buy games. Just ask Nintendo. The Wii has the lowest attach rate and their software, especially third-party, rarely sees a top 20.
All three companies are going to do fine, though.
Xbox for their Live aservice and large amounts of games.
PS3 for its shear power and Blu-ray player (plus it plays some games).
Wii for its gimmicky controller appeal to the casual gamer.
Personally, my xbox just got sent in for repairs, I have had it just under three years. I love Live and love the games. My Wii only gets played when there are people over (I am playing some games now b/c the xbox is in the shop but I don't really have fun playing with the controller). I am just waiting to pick up the PS3 for my christmas present this year.
Some ppl like to game (on a screen slightly larger than 3 inches)
It means... Coming soon: a new XBOX!
As someone who only casually watches the gaming market waiting for a current gen system to get into the truly affordable range, I'm surprised that it's still this high (and, from the comments, its the craptastic package).
Am I the only one who thought that - what, 2 years since launch? - that it would be down to $199 or less by now? Then I'd be thinking about jumping in.
Hmmm, I'll check back in a couple of years (probably about the time it's 720 time, and I'll be back in the same boat)
Why is he low-ranked? I'm pretty sure he was joking, guys...
Based on my sources in retail, the Arcade is dead, they're selling out of them right now with no new shipments coming in.
Do you reckon this price drop will occur just in the US or will we a see a price drop in other countries (i.e. the UK) at the same time?
Plus any ideas on when is the new 60gb 360 scheduled to arrive?
The UK has already had it's price cut. If you take away the 17.5% vat then the US/UK prices are petty much the same
The UK and Europe already had it's price cut, and it did naff-all to stop the flood of people flocking to PS3...
Microsoft are indeed getting desperate, next thing you know they will be launching Wii-like controllers...
Just in time! I was going to buy one this weekend anyway!
coulda fooled me....
Maybe my sarcasm meter is broken, but I honestly wasn't sure if Stef was joking or not :-/
From dealsea...http://www.dealsea.com/txt/targetxbox.jpg
I'm wondering too...
oh what the hell, Engadget! damn reply button going gonzo...
Buy it now at Circuit City. Then, on Sunday, take in an ad and get your $50 back, plus 10%, plus sales tax. You'll get a little over $55 back.
Or just buy it after the price drop? Its not going to run out.
Wow, what a rip-off. It's $200 too expensive for what you get.
This isn't a PC we're talking about. It's a POS game console.
Yea find a Tricore PC for this price.
Then don't buy one.
Also: where can I get a PC as powerful as a 360 for $200?
Congrats, you've just won the "Most Bafflingly Moronic Statement of the Year" award. Now go back to your Atari Jaguar and STFU, thanks.
I'll find a quad, idiot
I'm sure Microsoft is just tickled pink that a manager of a major retail outlet is leaking out unofficial information. I'm sure some back-of-the-hand slapping will be coming.
Sunday the 13th! *murder music*
lmfao, mmm yeah, that'd be greeaatt...
LoL they should had lowered the arcade to $249 or discontinue it because nobody wants that shit everybody wants the Pro!
You make no god-damn sense Arley. Nobody wants that shit? The Pro is that shit* I think you are referring too, and its the most widely sold out of the 3. It is going for $299. The arcade is not the focus. Geez take a marketing class.
Maybe it's a small point, but why does Engadget round 99 cents down to $299 rather than rounding one cent up to $300? Doesn't this do Microsoft's marketing work for them? (Not that this is a pro-Microsoft thing -- Engadget does this for pretty much everything.) It would be more accurate and less deceptive to bill the new Xbox 360 price as $300, which it is, for all intents and purposes aside from slippery consumer psychology.
Amen. Stuff like that pisses me off too. I'd pass a law against x9.99 pricing if I could.
One place:
Delaware.
AKBlade13
It doesn't piss me off nearly as much as that damn 9/10 of a penny they put on the price per gallon at gas stations.
$3.82 9/10....how do they get away with that?!?
actually, it is best buy and others ripping you off. The price is $299.00, but if I remember right, the price usually gets stickered on the box as $299.xx.
Best buy does the same thing for Apple stuff. MacBook at Apple store is $1099.00, Best buy it is $1099.99. Blame the greedy corps that mark over MSRP.
Really nice
About time the price came down.
wonder if the price will go down more?
You know it's funny because you would think he is joking.
But if you blog here often you would know that this dude is something else.
Stef, dude get a life. Life doesn't revolve around apple products, there are bigger and better things in this world.
Like sex and drugs.. jaja
He got low ranked cause the gag has been done a million times and has now become old.
Why not wait for the price to come down even more.
Say it as many times as you want. Microsoft's not listening to you though.
I hear you still get the 3yr RROD warranty with these. My guess is this is a way of clearing refurbs and old stock, to make room for newer versions...
these aren't refrubs.... as mentioned in the article its for new ones.
http://www.unscripted360.com/2008/05/28/call-me-an-analyst-what-lies-ahead/2/
predicted this & other things that may still happen. ;) yay for analyst skillz.
So IF the Elite comes down to $400, would it be worth the cash for all the extras? Or is a $300 Pro still the best deal?
seriously...i upped ranked the guy, i thought it was funny. cookie sale, 20 mile asteroid haha
Sweet, too bad I already have one. :(
How about making them reliable first.. The 360 is still unreliable junk, and it's only saving grace, is the early launch (which caused the unrelability) gave it a few more games than the competition.
Shouldn't Microsoft be spending it's resources making the 360 more reliable, and perhaps fitting better quality components, rather than fitting even cheaper components, and reducing the price?
And before the usual idiots come along claiming that the 360 is reliable, it's not, even the latest Falcons fail way more than the industry standard (15-20% is rumoured)...
http://gamer.blorge.com/2008/07/07/xbox-360-elite-now-suffering-from-red-ring-of-death/
"The problem is, the evidence we have for this is a report in a British tabloid newspaper, which only talks to one gamer experiencing the problem."
So tabloids are now insider news articles? Wow.
So from an article in a TABLOID about a single gamer who's 360 RRoD'ed... we come to the conclusion that 15-20% of the falcons fail...
FAIL at research.
wow, gotta love your investigative journalism there. I'm sure you believe everything you see on tv as well!
While this isn't too "investigative" either (yet more reliable than a tabloid with 1 gamer...), I've personally spoken with several different staffers at different GameStop locations while determining if I'll get a 360 soon, each has told me they have *never* heard of an Elite being faulty for any reason, cited the higher quality components, and said they heard the Pro was being updated to Elite-quality components to reduce RROD issues as well.
I'll be waiting a bit longer to see if Elite drops in price as well, then I'll be buying :-)
Great deal, but yeah, hopefully they lower the Arcade system way down.
So the iPhone is asteroid bad huh?
Step 3 made me lol, especailly when it said "appropriate oversized price labels"
Anybody know if this new price is gonna be reflected in Canada?
I was just thinking about finally getting a 360. This may close the deal for me
I'm not much of a gamer, but which system is REALLY better, X-Box or PS3? And isn't that a good price for a system? And what GIGS should I look 4? Need info, let me know?
It's a good price to get one, and the 20GB space is more than enough if you'll be using it primarily for gaming. I've got MP3s, game demos and a few vids on mine and I don't think I've gone beyond 13GB of usage. If you plan on saving your entire MP3 collection on it though, I'd recommend an Elite with the 120GB capacity.
I wonder if elite is going down in price