Gamestop 360 price drop?

[Tap In]

Core $229

Add HDMI (OK needs a new version of the scaler but that could actually be on a new process and cheaper) any more than $20 dollars and I'd be gobsmacked.

Add 120Gb 2.5 Sata Drive currently about $80 retail, much less to MS but lets call it $80 anyway

Add Wireless, probably about $5 but lets call it $20

I make that $349, they charge $479, that's rip-off territory (for a console) unless there is something else in there and it would make the SKU very vulnerable to a PS3 price cut which will probably come this year.

I say it again, something does not add up.

It's wireless g and I put that at closer to $70 ($100 value retail at current peripheral pricing) so $419-$449 and then there is the black.... don't forget the black ... that's worth $30 right there.

also based on peripheral retail (which is how you have to look at it) the 120gb drive is a $100 - $150 "value" depending on how they price it.

Is it a rip off? maybe but then so is all the peripheral pricing. I'd much prefer they open up the HDD options and allow me to put in whatever I choose as does sony.

 

[silhouette]

They might be phasing out the core edition. So, you will have 3 SKUs just for a while. I imagine that at 230$, they will fly off the shelves pretty quickly. At this price, it will be within the impulsive buy range.

Once all cores are gone, they will drop the price of the current premium to 300$ and new zephyr to 400$ towards the end of the year, or maybe before Halo3 launch. So, at the end, basically the current SKUs are updated by this way.

I am not seeing the inclusion of wi-fi. Although it does not cost too much to MS to include, that will kill sales of wireless adapter which is selling I guess fairly well despite its outrageous price.

So, here is the picture:

230$ core
400$ (maybe 350$) premium (core + 20 gig HD+ wireless controller + HD cable)
480$ zephyr (premium + x6 disk space + HDMI + HDMI cable + a game?)

The pricing looks consistent among itself. Things get only complicated if you include 500$ PS3 to the picture. With 20$ more, you can get a blu-ray drive but 1/6th of hard-disk space. So, I do not know. As I just pointed out, this might be something temporary until all cores are gone. Because at 400$, zephyr will be really a nice value.

 

[Tap In]

Core is essential to long term cost reduction and market share.

think 256mb memory card bundle with a $179 core in 2008 Holiday season with Halo 3 and all the other heavy hitters and $19.99 platinum hits on the shelf for Moms and Pops to buy for their kids.

That's PS2-like territory there.

 

[scooby_dooby]

Ya, MS won't be phasing out the core, if anything they'll phase out the premium and make people purchase peripherals seperately. I'm talking waay down the road here...

 

[Natoma]

Waaaaiiit a minute Natoma - *you* don't have a Wii yet?

He can't fight off all the OAPs buying them up

Sad, but true. I'm trying dangit, but whenever I hear that one is in, they're gone by the time I get there or call to confirm.

And I'll be damned if I buy one of those $500 bundles with 4 controllers and pre-selected games.

Well, at least I have my DS Lite in the meantime.

* Natoma huggles Animal Crossing

 

[quest55720]

core to 229 and premium to 299 I like a lot. 479 for the new sku is just stupid and I hope that is wrong. I just don't think MS is dumb enough to take a step backwards like this. The zephyr at 479 makes the PS3 look like a bargin I doubt they would do this.

 

[Zassk]

core to 229 and premium to 299 I like a lot. 479 for the new sku is just stupid and I hope that is wrong. I just don't think MS is dumb enough to take a step backwards like this. The zephyr at 479 makes the PS3 look like a bargin I doubt they would do this.

I don't think it makes the PS3 look like a bargain, but it certainly makes them seem like a tossup. I would hope that the new sku is no more than $449 and it had better include a wireless network adapter.

 

[Carl B]

Well, it makes PS3 look like a 'bargain' vs the new SKU... what what's the point of that sort of relatavist thinking? In the present day, PS3 competes with the current 360 premium SKU. Is the 20GB PS3 a 'bargain' vs the $399 premium? In some ways yes, in some no. But either way a $100 pricedrop in that SKU, regardless of what comes in to take its place at the top and at what price, is a vast improvement in the 360 value proposition vs the current situation. So, nothing but upside IMO were MS to do this.

 

[Rangers]

http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/20/...mited-edition-xbox-with-hdmi-and-120gb-drive/

Read the engadget story. It basically goes like this:

The Elite (120GB/hdmi/black in color) will be $479 and a limited edition of perhaps 200,000. It will be a third sku.

However, after the elite run is over, and sometime in "summer or fall" the Zephyr hardware (120GB/hdmi/white in color) will replace the 20Gb model as the new premium. So you will be back to TWO permanent SKU's with a HDD-less core and a 120GB/HDMI premium, and that sku situation will more or less be the permanent one.

Oh, and I'm also 150% sure the 120GB Hd will also be available as an accessory. Because if not, then everybody with a core and everybody with a 20 gig premium would be shit out of luck with regards to a bigger hd, and I'm sure microsoft is not going to do that. Now, unfortunatly I suspect the 120 gig accesory will be $149..

Now, I think there are good and bad to the new 120GB. I think the good is, as I've said many a time when discussing the new sku, dont underestimate the importance to Joe Dumb Consumer of simply having that bigger HDD number tacked on than the competitor. I really think, that will give a feeling that Zephyr is "fully loaded", and provide a marketplace advantage. It's really the first time premium 360 will be able to claim a clear spec advantage in one area over the most expensive PS3.

The bad is, I think it helps to keep the premium price higher, longer, because obviously it's going to be some amount marginally more costly to include than the 20 GB hd. And I think obviously, price is crucial here. As for the core, the premium is really the default sku to a staggering degree, Average selling price of 360 in Jan according to NPD was $392, to give you an idea. So anything that can keep the "default" premium sku at a higher price plateau longer, could be detrimental.

Now, I would seriously love one of these elite bad boys. Already wondering how much my white sys could fetch on ebay..

Oh, also, unspoken in the engadget article but my assumption, is that the permanent premium SKU will remain $399, even after Zephyr hardware is slipstreamed in summer/fall. That's the only way this whole thing makes good sense. In essence, early Zephyr adopters will then be paying $80 simply for a color, but, you know how that type of thing goes. They'll be paying more for being first and getting a "limited edition" color, and they'll like it.

 

[Mythos]

http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/20/...mited-edition-xbox-with-hdmi-and-120gb-drive/

Read the engadget story. It basically goes like this:

The Elite (120GB/hdmi/black in color) will be $479 and a limited edition of perhaps 200,000. It will be a third sku.

However, after the elite run is over, and sometime in "summer or fall" the Zephyr hardware (120GB/hdmi/white in color) will replace the 20Gb model as the new premium. So you will be back to TWO permanent SKU's with a HDD-less core and a 120GB/HDMI premium, and that sku situation will more or less be the permanent one.

Oh, and I'm also 150% sure the 120GB Hd will also be available as an accessory. Because if not, then everybody with a core and everybody with a 20 gig premium would be shit out of luck with regards to a bigger hd, and I'm sure microsoft is not going to do that. Now, unfortunatly I suspect the 120 gig accesory will be $149..

Now, I think there are good and bad to the new 120GB. I think the good is, as I've said many a time when discussing the new sku, dont underestimate the importance to Joe Dumb Consumer of simply having that bigger HDD number tacked on than the competitor. I really think, that will give a feeling that Zephyr is "fully loaded", and provide a marketplace advantage. It's really the first time premium 360 will be able to claim a clear spec advantage in one area over the most expensive PS3.

The bad is, I think it helps to keep the premium price higher, longer, because obviously it's going to be some amount marginally more costly to include than the 20 GB hd. And I think obviously, price is crucial here. As for the core, the premium is really the default sku to a staggering degree, Average selling price of 360 in Jan according to NPD was $392, to give you an idea. So anything that can keep the "default" premium sku at a higher price plateau longer, could be detrimental.

Now, I would seriously love one of these elite bad boys. Already wondering how much my white sys could fetch on ebay..

Some how I think HD-DVD needs to part of the equation.

 

[nintenho]

That makes sense. And I doubt it's going to cost $480, maybe they gave a high estimate to retailers so that people are happy when they see the lower price?

 

[AzBat]

Oh, also, unspoken in the engadget article but my assumption, is that the permanent premium SKU will remain $399, even after Zephyr hardware is slipstreamed in summer/fall. That's the only way this whole thing makes good sense. In essence, early Zephyr adopters will then be paying $80 simply for a color, but, you know how that type of thing goes. They'll be paying more for being first and getting a "limited edition" color, and they'll like it.

I totally agree with your assessment Rangers. I'll further add that the Elite will also run cooler, which probably also means quieter. Compared to the existing inventories that means Elite buyers are not only paying $80 for color, but also for cooler(possibly quieter) hardware. And don't forget the HDMI cable too. I doubt they'll put the HDMI cable in the new Premium SKUs that have the HDMI port.

Personally I think the $480 price for the Elite is right on. $80 more just for an extra 100gb alone is worth it. Plus, you get HDMI and a cooler running machine in a great black color. I think you guys who are complaining are nuts. Wait till you see the eBay sales, they're going to go through the roof.

Also, $229 for Core? That's just damn cool. If I hadn't bought the Premium when I did, I might have gone for this.

Tommy McClain

 

[J_Saint]

well the rumor was 20Gb $50, 120gb $100 but we'll see.

I'd be surprised if the 20GB HDD dropped to $50 when the 512MB memory card is about to release at that same price. Perhaps they drop it to $80.

 

[Capeta]

I don't think Nintendo needs to worry about a price cut until they can meet demand.

Well this is what consumers on a budget face which is the market Nintendo is targeting:

1. Buy the Core then buy a Wii later or
2. Buy the Wii then buy the Core or Premium later

With all of the big games coming to X360, it looks to be the more desirable purchase. One of Wii's main advantages will become a disadvantage when the Core ends up being priced lower. Sure if Nintendo is supply constrained they may not need to price drop, but they will surely lose more potential sales to the lower priced Core.

 

[Acert93]

That Joshua Luna guy projected $229/$299 in January

Xbox 360: MS has a number of process node changes slated for 2007. The Xenon CPU will tranistion to 65nm in Q2, and 55nm eDRAM from NEC is projected to hit mass production in H2. ATI has a number of GPUs on tap for 65nm in 2007, so moving the Xenos over to 65nm in 2007 seems likely as well. 700MHz GDDR3 has also become mainstream and is included in GPUs, the PS3, and Wii. So how much money can MS cut from the Xbox 360 retail price? MS seems to be following the PS2 script, especially if they unleash a Spring 2007 price drop. Sony dropped from $299 to $199 after being in the NA market for 18 months. Could we see the Xbox 360 SKU drop to $199 as well? While I would like to see this, I get the feeling a pricepoint like $229 may be in the cards. I think this may be likely due to the number of games MS is releasing will, I am guessing, create strong demand for the console. Similarly there will be a large gap between the PS3 20GB SKU and the Xbox 360 Core SKU, so even a $100 pricecut by Sony (to $399) will still be significantly higher than a $229 base SKU. MS may bet that price conscious consumers looking for their GTAIV, Halo 3, and Madden 2008 fix that there will be a strong demand for the Core SKU, enough to offset the potential customers turned off by the jump from $199 to $229.

Although MS will most likely be the first company to initiate a price drop, MS will be mindful of the Wii's pricepoint. Another factor will be the Premium SKU. Currently MS adds a HDD, component cables, and a wireless (instead of wired) controller into Premium Xbox 360 packages ($399). It appears that MS makes more profit on the Premium SKU than on the Core SKU. MS will have a hard decision: do they keep the $100 buffer (and possibly include more free content with the Premium pack) or do they make the price gap a more appealing one, something like $199 vs. $259? My bet would be on a $299 Premium SKU with more extras.

Still no word on Xenos moving to the 65nm node, and an eDRAM move is most likely a 2008 event, but MS is lined up for a 2007 drop followed by another in Spring 2008.

Of course I am not all magic, e.g.

Imo, if MS doesn't hit $199 with the Core SKU in 2007--and possibly drop the price on the HDD--I think they have dropped the ball. Process shrinks or not, it is necessary. $229 doesn't cut it IMO.

Two factors have had me leaning toward MS going for a $229 core. First is Sony's weak showing, much weaker than I had projected (i.e. they would sell the first 5-6M units without issue only to meet real resistance to the price point from there out which would require more software / pricecut maneuvering by Sony), probably is playing a big role. With Sony hoping to break even this year a sizable price drop ($349 or bust imo) doesn't really put much pressure on MS. On the Wii front Nintendo just cannot make enough of them. Why would Nintendo drop to $149 any time soon if they can sell all they can produce at $249? I am not even sure Nintendo will drop to $199 this year if demand stays like it has. So $229 is lower than Wii's price and sizably lower than the cheapest PS3 SKU... so why aim for $199? And my not make an extra $30 when you should have the software (Halo, GTA, Mass Effect, etc) to offset the price to a degree?

I really wish I had time to collect all my notes and contribute something to B3D on this Off to bed...

 

[Rangers]

Yeah but now we have posters saying those $229 stickers were for Wii.

That's why you really cant generally trust forum chatter, gamespot manager told my friend... It's bad enough as we try to trust these rumor blogs, but at least they have some small level of published credibility, forum posts are the lowest rung (in most cases).

I have a bad feeling there wont be any near term price drop from MS. Maybe one in the fall..

 

[Fu3lFr3nzy]

Yeah but now we have posters saying those $229 stickers were for Wii.

$229 Wii doesnt make alot of sense though. They still cant keep up with the demand, so why drop the price?

If they were in a PS3 situation(in stock but low sales), then maybe the price cut would've made sense