Xbox 360 price drops go global on Friday, it's official
By Thomas Ricker 
posted August 27th 2009 4:53AM
posted August 27th 2009 4:53AM
Update: According to the BBC, while the Xbox 360 Elite will drop £30 to £200 in the UK, the price of the entry level Xbox 360 Arcade will actually increase to £160 from £130. Ouch.
[Via Reuters]
What do you mean by price drops go 'global'? Is this just for the USA, or will the 360 come down in price in other countries too? Read link doesn't suggest so...
Here's mention of global http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE57Q17H20090827
Thomas
clearly, none of you guys have heard this 360 degree expression before today. It is SOMEBODY ELSE'S FAIL and is merely being quoted here, it's practically ancient (in internet terms) - it's almost a meme...
Meant to reply to mr.gamewizardguru...
Time to dump MSFT! Margin pressure is mounting!
I suspect not. In the UK the Elite is only £7 more than the lowered US price once you take VAT into account, so looks like the US price is coming down to match the rest of the world.
Pity, I want to replace my 20Gb 360 to get HDMI (for neater cabling purposes) and a colour more fitting with the rest of my components.
While not the most accurate representation...it is pretty neat to watch the console sales in real time....
http://nexgenwars.com/
54.2%
Too little too late. The PS3 will soon become the de facto system while the 360 maintains its 50%+ failure rate.
You know what they say: "It's called an Xbox 360, because when you see it, you turn 360 degrees and walk away."
Ahahahahaha, god I hope you're joking.
(check your maths)
So you turn in a full circle and walk straight into your entertainment center? I don't get it......
I'm afraid you just made yourself look like an idiot.
When you turn 360 degrees, you are back to facing the XBox 360, smartass. That's why it's called an XBox 360. You always end up looking at it.
Dude... you're such a tool. Did you FAIL Geometry?
it's a meme...
अपने आप को मूर्ख बनाया :P
GOD DAMN!!! COPYPASTA IS DELICIOUS!!!!
10/10 /bro.
360 is 4 years old and still lead by around 5 million consoles. By the time Sony is dead even in sales, I wouldn't be surprised if it was time for the next gen of consoles. You're gonna talk about "too little too late" 3 years after PS3 launch?
mr.gamewizardguru: +1
If you want it to at least make sense, what you should have said was: "It's called an Xbox 360 because when you see it, you turn 360 degrees and moonwalk away."
Fail ...
Wrong place, wrong meme.
Self-owned.
It's called an Atari 2600 because when you see it, you turn 2600 degrees, get really dizzy, and vomit.
and this is breaking because.......
It's now official.
it's not.
Sounds official to me.
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/08/interview-microsoft-on-300-elite-hdmi-cables-hard-drives.ars
I'm providing the link to the press release in this reply since people can't seem to find the blue READ link in the article above.
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2009/aug09/08-27RedTagPR.mspx?rss_fdn=Press%20Releases
It's 'breaking' because it's an Xbox 360.
@Jval, Driveshaft and Lando
Damn you guys beat me to it!
Except in the UK where the Elite repalces the pro and the arcade has now gone UP in price!
Nice one - let's raise te price durign a recession while the competition lower theirs.
Although here the PS£ Slim is still £50 - around $80 - more than the Elite.
Yep Europe is simply crazy. The slim PS3 is actually more expensive than the old PS3 in Denmark. 2699 kr. (£319) for PS3 slim and 2300 kr. (£272) for the original. And that was even before the Slim was official.
So much for these pricedrops..
Well, if I had to buy a console today then it would be the PS3. I believe that I would be getting more for my money and I do not want to reward Microsoft for the way that they have developed the 360.
I should probably note that I have very limited interest in gaming so I'm not a good target for either model, plus I do no live in the US and therefore do not get access to services like Netflix.
We didn't buy our Playstation 3 for it's ability to play games... the fact that it has some pretty amazing titles available for it is an area we're only now exploring, and I must say enjoying.
We bought ours as a media centre first and foremost. The Blu-Ray/Upscaling DVD/DivX/XVid/USB/DLNA streaming and user upgradeable HDD made it a no-brainer attached to the rest of our home theatre gear... even at the price it was then!
It really is a very accomplished bit of kit, despite the 'popular opinion' of Westerners who've seen no more than the price tag to then be judging it otherwise.
To be honest, I've been looking to buy an Apple TV for the last year or so but have never "pulled the trigger" because the price is so high. Now that the PS3 is the same price as a basic Apple TV and provides much more, the PS3 definitely looks like a more attractive proposition for use as a media centre, particularly if we end up moving back to the UK soon.
The 360 really shines as a media center also. Except for the Blu-Ray it does it all.
with MCE you can extend the 360 into home automation systems - using it to turn on and off lights, alert you to events, look at the front door camera, etc.
the 360 can also tune into Live ATSC television through WMC, and act as a networked DVR/TiVO device.
plus it does the whole Upscaling DVD/DivX/XVid/USB/DLNA streaming thing.
and it has Netflix.
I bought an XBox 360 and don't game much. I spent $20 total for Chessmaster and Magic the Gathering. Mostly I use it as a media center for DVDs, Netflix, downloaded videos, and as an extender for Windows Media Center.
I know people tend to get their knickers in a twist over this but I will never buy a 360 due to the shameful way that Microsoft brought this product to market. It was a rush job and not fit for purpose for a considerable period of time. I do not care that Microsoft agreed to provide a long warranty and repair failed units - they never should have been in that position in the first place, particularly since Microsoft knew about the quality issues in advance of the launch. It's a shame since otherwise it looks reasonable. I just find the whole episode unethical and due to this I will not give Microsoft my money for this generation.
@Kelmon:
Interesting as that is almost the same line of reasoning preventing me brom buying a PS3, Bravia, etc.
Sony really went downhill as a company when they made the transition from an electronics company to a media company. The conflicting interests have lead Sony to do some very unforgivable things.
From their use of DRM to suing their own customers to pushing restrictive proprietary formats to blaming the internet for all their trouble. It reached the tipping point for me when they released the rootkit infested CD's that destroyed other people's private property and they actually tried to defend the practice.
No, I don't trust Sony.
I think both systems are great, but when you compare the current xbox360 and the slim ps3, the slim ps3 wins hands down. If Microsoft really wants to compete, they need to add wireless and a larger hard drive while still maintaining a 300 price tag. If the prices and console hardware stays as they are currently, it'll look like Sony will win the holiday season.
I always struggle to validate any direct comparison in sales between the two units when they didn't even launch in the same fiscal year, yet are regarded as being of the same generation. Adding the Wii into this 'generation' argument just makes it even more bizarre when they are all so different in their inherent capabilities and years.
i'm an xbox fan, but i'd have to agree. i felt that if MS lowered the Arcade to $150 and the Elite to $250 (and included an HDMI cable; dropping component isn't a big deal if they did), they could successfully stop this push from Sony. It would be pretty close to the last nail in the coffin for the PS3.
but MS dropped the ball. if i were an average consumer who did not own a 360 or PS3, i would probably pick the PS3. personally, though, i already have blu-ray in my laptop, and i love the Xbox exclusives too much, so i would get an xbox.
bottom line: pick what you want. they're both fine systems.
if you're worried about 360 failure, all Arcades have the newest Jasper board, as should the new Elites. while not perfect (PS3 failure rate isn't perfect either), the Jasper are definitely more reliable than the previous two revisions.
Are those two Xbox controllers humping each other?
maybe, but where is that ad from walmart? i might get a second 360 for school if they're giving away free controllers....
ATTENTION ENGADGET TEAM!
Will you guys please revamp the comment system? Otherwise it's worthy of being in the top 5 worst apple products :-P
+1
at least we got "highest ranked" back. and that only took them what, like six months or so? at that rate, it's only three (or ten) short years until we get a new comment system!
i don't think it's all Engadget's fault, though. my guess is that all the blogs in Weblogs have to built their comment system on something AOL gives them, which is inherently flawed. that may be why the comment system in Joystiq has similar problems.
It not just engadget, its joystiq, autoblog, TUAW, Asylum, Switched, etc. They are all built on the same framework so AOL would have to revamp all of them and all would experience downtime.
In other words, i dont think AOL is going to spend the money to fix the comment system anytime soon