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Analysts: MS needs to issue a 'real' 360 price cut
Hot on the heels of Microsoft's "mock" price cut where they slashed the price of the 20GB HDD Xbox 360s to $299, only to replace the $349 SKU with a 60GB HDD, Signal Hill analyst Todd Greenwald is demanding a true 360 price cut to stay competitive with the Playstation 3."We remain very sceptical [sic] of Microsoft's pricing strategy and competitive positioning versus the PlayStation 3", Greenwald recently told investors saying that "at USD 349, with a 60GB hard drive, we just don't think it is a compelling product compared with the PS3 at USD 399 with an 80GB hard drive (along with more processing horsepower, Blu-ray, Wifi, HDMI, and going forward, more exclusive content)." Greenwald further picked apart Microsoft's E3 strategy mentioning that "Sony's biggest announcement was a strong counter-punch to Microsoft's USD 50 price cut on the 360", adding that "beyond Gears of War 2, Microsoft doesn't seem to have the same library of exclusive, must-have titles."While we don't agree with Greenwald when it comes to the Xbox 360 lacking "must-have titles" or being less of a gaming powerhouse, we tend to agree that Microsoft missed an opportunity with their console pricing. Clearancing out the 20GB HDD models is fine by us, but we truly think a price drop across all models would have helped team Microsoft stay competitive with Sony and Nintendo. Especially in Europe. What say you fellow fanboys? Will a 360 price drop be necessary going into the holidays or will the 360's games library and content partnerships be enough to win the 2008 console war?
Nokia's N810 stoops to a mouthwatering $299
It's a common problem, really. You're eager to get Windows 3.1 back into your life, but you've no N810 to install it on. Good news retro software aficionados -- said internet tablet has just tumbled to $299.99 (at CompUSA, at least), a full $90 less than the price we cheered over in March. Yeah, that 800 x 480 resolution display, VGA camera and full QWERTY keyboard is more attainable than ever, but with the possibility of a bombastic successor just around the bend, would it pay off even more to wait? The world may never know (although that's highly unlikely).[Thanks, Vamsi]
DS Daily: The latest rumor
The redesign rumors just won't stop, will they? The latest cuts the GBA slot, may or may not add an accelerometer, and reduces the size of the already-slim handheld ... and may just come with a sizeable price cut. Think it's viable? If you wanted a redesign, is this what you had in mind?
Confirmed: 60GB Xbox 360 and $50 price-cut on outgoing 20GB bundle
At this rate our Bingo cards will be filled before Microsoft takes the stage on Monday morning! Microsoft has finally confirmed the much-talked about rumors of a $50 price-cut to the 20GB Xbox 360 Premium bundle ($299.99 in US and Canada) and introduced a new bundle outfited with a 60GB HDD -- set to replace the outgoing 20GB model. The 60GB model will retail for $349.99 while the Arcade and Elite bundles will remain at the current price-point of $279.99 and $449.99 respectively.For those keeping score at home with your official X3F E3 Prediction Bingo Card, you can mark off the Xbox 360 Price-cut, the new Xbox 360 SKU, a 60GB HDD and the Too Human E3 XBLM Demo squares. It's a shame those weren't all in a line together. It's almost as if we planned it that way![via Joystiq]
Microsoft confirms: Xbox 360 60GB for $349, 20GB now at $299
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/xbox/Microsoft_confirms_Xbox_360_60GB_for_349_20GB_now_at_299'; Microsoft has confirmed that the 20GB Xbox 360 console has received a $50 price cut to $299, and taking its place in the $349 tier is a new 60GB console arriving early August. The Xbox 360 Arcade (i.e. no HDD) will continue to sell for $280 and the Elite (120GB) model will sell for $449. We wouldn't blame if you if you felt this was old news: rumors of the 60GB model date back to mid-June and it seems like every major retailer confirmed the price cut in the last week. Now if only someone can explain to us why anyone would continue to buy the HDD-less Arcade model when you can get a 20GB hard drive for only $20 more ...%Gallery-27273%
Arcade 360 not receiving any price cut?
Since it's been pretty much confirmed that the 20GB 360 is going to be getting a price cut down to $299.95, we hoped that the Arcade SKU would be getting a similar price cut. In light of the rumors of a 60GB HDD SKU though, we did speculate the price drop was simply to clear shelves of the older 20GB units and that the future 60GB unit wouldn't debut at $299.99. While that could all still be proven wrong, as more info comes in it seems to be the most likely scenario. Thanks to a tip from our good buddies over at ps3fanboy we've got an advertisement from Circut City that seems to confirm that by the weekend of July 27 the Arcade unit will not have gotten a price cut. Makes you think about why someone would buy that over an HDD equipped unit at $299.99; unless of course they'll all be off the shelves by then .... Only time will tell, but look for E3 to clear up a lot of these uncertainties.
Xbox 360 Pro hits $299 in Target stores
We're not exactly sure what kind of behind-the-scenes relationship Target has with Microsoft, but this marks the third time by our count in which it has revealed something pretty important about the Xbox 360 before Redmond told anyone else (on the record, that is). Whatever the case, the Xbox 360 Pro is being let go at Target's brick-and-mortar locations (read: not online, so you'll actually have to slip some shorts on and leave the basement) for $299.99. Guess that confirms the US price drop, huh?[Thanks, Ryan]
Sony CFO: PS3 'plan is to not reduce the price'
Prospective PS3 purchasers pining for an Xbox-360-style price reduction for Sony's system during next week's E3 show probably shouldn't get their hopes up. Talking to a forum in Singapore, Sony CFO Noboyuki Oneda said point blank, "our plan is not to reduce the price," according to the Agence France-Press report. The report also quotes Oneda saying that Sony's focus for the coming year would be "not to sell more quantity for PS3, but to concentrate on profitability."Of course, Oneda is a Japanese executive speaking to an Asian audience, so his remarks may not apply directly to American pricing. Keep in mind too that Sony has played coy about price drops in the past. That said, if we were betting men, we wouldn't bet on getting a PS3 for less than $399 any time soon.[Via Engadget]
Palm Centro drops to $70 on contract with AT&T
Remember how we told you to expect some totally edge-of-your-seat, riveting price news in regard to Palm's Centro? Yeah, how's about $30 off? Presumably in conjunction with the iPhone 3G launch, AT&T has hacked the Palm Centro down to $70 after rebates (from $100) with a two-year agreement. There's no telling if the new price will sashay on over to those CDMA carriers or not, but we've got our fingers crossed real tight.[Via Electronista]
Sony CFO reiterates profitability over sales numbers
In spite of Xbox 360's upcoming price drop, expected to be officially announced during Monday's E3 keynote, Sony is insisting that they will not reduce the price of the PS3. Over recent weeks, executives from the company have continued reiterating the same mantra: Sony's new focus is on profitability, and reducing the price of the loss-leading PS3 is not on their agenda. "Our strategy is not to sell more quantity for PS3 but to concentrate on profitability," Sony CFO Nobuyuki Oneda told investors at a Nomura Asia Equity forum in Singapore. "Our plan is not to reduce the price."When Microsoft's price cut goes into effect, the cheapest PS3 model will be $100 more expensive than the Xbox 360. Will this lower ever-increasing PS3 sales? Or will the value proposition of the included Blu-ray drive, free access to PSN, and growing number of exclusives, maintain PS3's current momentum?[Via GI.biz]
Mainstream jumps on Xbox 360 price cut bandwagon
The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and we expect a few other mainstream news outlets, are finding it in vogue to report the $50 price drop for the Xbox 360 Pro is imminent. As evidenced by our gallery below, we're fairly certain that the new $299 price for the Pro console will be in effect by this Sunday.Microsoft still has not confirmed the Pro price drop, which is making us wonder. We're slowly gathering evidence, and it's still too early to say for sure, but there's a niggling suspicion that Microsoft is pulling a repeat of Sony's great PS3 clearance sale switcharoo from 2007, but that's just a rumor for now.Source -- WSJ (Subscription required)Source -- Reuters%Gallery-27273%
Sony's CFO says no PlayStation 3 price cut is planned
Sure, we've heard Sony fib about a forthcoming PS3 price drop before, but we're inclined to believe Mr. Nobuyuki Oneda on this one. The aforesaid chief financial officer told a forum in Singapore that "this year, [Sony's] strategy is not to sell more quantity for PS3 but to concentrate on profitability." He outrightly added that Sony's "plan is not to reduce the price." Yeah, we all know the Xbox 360 will be getting a little easier on the wallet, but with the public's newfound interest in the PlayStation 3's Blu-ray abilities, we too see no reason for Sony to take an even bigger hit. After all, this console is still widely regarded as the best deal going for those interested in a Blu-ray deck, and we don't see that changing in the very near term.Update: In somewhat unrelated news, Sony will be fixing consoles bricked by firmware update 2.40 for free.
Behold: The 360 $299 price cut gallery of proof
While we generally operate on the principle that all rumors about Microsoft are true, we still get a thrill when we start to dig up real proof. What could be more thrilling than proof? How about a whole gallery of it? Our compatriots over at Joystiq have assembled just such a gallery, a veritable mosaic of "$299," the supposed new price of the Xbox 360 Pro system. Check out the images and believe. Gallery: Xbox 360 $299 price drop
The Xbox 360 $299 price drop gallery
As we patiently wait for Microsoft to acknowledge the $299 Xbox 360 price drop, we'd like to thank everyone who helped by sending us information. We've put together the gallery below to store all the (non-duplicate) images we've received about the markdown.Thanks, once again, to everyone who assisted.%Gallery-27273%
GameStop memo details Xbox 360 price drop
click to see full page Thanks to an anonymous GameStop manager we now have an internal corporate memo detailing the Xbox 360 Pro's price drop to $299 for this Sunday. We're currently trying to get a better resolution scan, but the whole shebang is detailed in black and white on the page.We now wait for Microsoft to acknowledge the price drop, which has gone from leaks to full blown flood of retail flyer confirmation.[Thanks again to everyone helping; special thanks to our Anonymous source.]
Xbox 360 Pro for $299 all but confirmed
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.
Rumor: Target ad shows $299 Xbox 360; includes $25 gift card
The latest evidence of a $50 price drop for the 20GB Xbox 360 to $299 this Sunday comes courtesy of mega-retailer Target. The fine gentlemen over at X3F received a scan of what will allegedly be printed in next week's flyer. As a nice bonus, with the purchase of the Xbox 360, Target shoppers will also receive a $25 gift card.It's time Microsoft just came out with it.[Thanks to everyone in the retail world helping with these stories!]
Target to offer $25 gift card with $299 Xbox 360 Pro
Seeing that we're 99.89% sure an Xbox 360 Pro price cut is headed our way this weekend thanks to a flood of leaked retail ads smacking us in the face, one wouldn't be all that surprised to hear that Target is planning on selling the Xbox 360 Pro for $299. But one would be surprised to hear that Target is also throwing in a FREE $25 gift card on top of the deal, and that's exactly what they're doing.According to an "alleged" ad-scan that was sent our way, beginning this Sunday, Target stores nationwide will be selling Xbox 360 20GB Pro consoles for $299 and tossing in a $25 Target gift card to sweeten the deal. So, if you, a friend or family member are in the market for a 360 and don't care about getting a 60GB HDD, then hit up Target next week. A cheap console and a free gift card sounds like major "good times" to us.[Thanks, NeoRaiden]
Gamestop gears up for the price drop
As you can see, you shouldn't know about this until Sunday. After all the other leaks surrounding the issue, one wouldn't think it'd be such a big screaming deal. Still, the phone cam shot above looks to confirm what we've already known. However, we shouldn't forget that the majority of gamers don't exactly comb the internet for this stuff, and "window signs," "Pop-ons" (whatever those are) and a gigantic stack of boxes with "oversized price labels" will likely be the first many folks hear of the price drop.[Thanks Kris]
Rumor: Leaked MS email confirms 60GB SKU, more
Well as E3 approaches, it looks Microsoft just can't keep a lid on their announcements. The lowered price on the 20GB unit has been rumored for a while now, and the idea has even been bandied about that its purpose was to clear the shelves to make room for a 60GB unit. While this of course is still waiting on some sort of official word (likely coming around or at MS's E3 press conference), a leaked email supposedly sent out to GameStop and Blockbuster company buyers seems to confirm both the new 60GB SKU as well as a "Live Starter Pack" for Arcade owners, which consists of a 60GB HDD, 3 Months of Live, a Headset, and an ethernet cable, all for $99.99.Additionally, the email states the 20GB HDD is being phased out altogether and that the 120GB stand alone drive will receive a price cut to $149.99 (HA!). Word is that the 60GB Pro Unit will hit before the month is out and the Live Starter Pack will hit late October or early November. Whether or not the new 60GB SKU will be subject to the new price drop is unknown, but doubtful. Likely the 20GBs at $299.99 are a fire sale, and the 60GBs will still be $349.99.The full text of the email can be found after the break.
