MS X360 Pricing/Hardware Strategy

[Johnny Awesome]

I'm curious about what everyone thinks of this. Personally, if I were MS I'd probably do the following:

Reduce price to $299/$199 on the Premium/Core after the 65nm process comes online (Summer '07)
Introduce a new SKU at $399 with HD-DVD/60GB HD/HDMI as soon as they can do this for sub-$100 cost (Fall '07 I'd imagine).

I think this would be pretty huge. A lot of diehards fans would upgrade to the new SKU and sell their other system to brother/cousin/friend etc... and this would give MS a very compelling SKU to offer high-end buyers that are looking at PS3 60GB for $499 (after Sony drop).

That along with Halo 3, GTA IV, Blue Dragon, Banjo, Mass Effect, Forza 2, they'll be pretty unbeatable in the US/EU market in Fall '07 IMO.

 

[London Geezer]

I'm curious about what everyone thinks of this. Personally, if I were MS I'd probably do the following:

Reduce price to $299/$199 on the Premium/Core after the 65nm process comes online (Summer '07)
Introduce a new SKU at $399 with HD-DVD/60GB HD/HDMI as soon as they can do this for sub-$100 cost (Fall '07 I'd imagine).

I think this would be pretty huge. A lot of diehards fans would upgrade to the new SKU and sell their other system to brother/cousin/friend etc... and this would give MS a very compelling SKU to offer high-end buyers that are looking at PS3 60GB for $499 (after Sony drop).

That along with Halo 3, GTA IV, Blue Dragon, Banjo, Mass Effect, Forza 2, they'll be pretty unbeatable in the US/EU market in Fall '07 IMO.

No, they really won't be unbeatable in the EU just for those reasons. Heck, out of those games, i can only think of Halo 3 and GTA that would make a big commercial impact. And two games don't make a console "unbeatable".

 

[Tap In]

the Eu market is tough for MS to crack.


losing the F1 rights to sony and focusing so much on Japan devs , possibly at the expense of the EU market has been a setback IMO.

they have had an amazing opportunity to win market share in EU and they seem to be falling short relative to what sony will most likely do.

OTOH, when the PS3 hits EU, it's possible that the reality may set in that the fantasy does not meet the expectations (of a much greater gaming experience) which may lead some back to the more appetizing priced 360.

but MS needs to get EU game franchises moving (football, racing etc)

 

[blakjedi]

What are the EU's prized genres?

Soccer?
Racing? (rally and F1)
Platformers?

Europeans are very fanciful and artistic. You have to appeal to their ingenuity(they love clever little things) as well as aesthetics to be succesful in anything with them... lol

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I was wondering more how the distribution of devs worldwide fares regards the platform. That is, Jap devs will appeal to the jap market, and US devs to the US, and EU devs to the EU, in simple terms. Thus whoever has strong support from those regional devs will also have regional support from the markets, no? MS have invested heavily in Jap devs. What about Europe? XB360 certainly has great support from Ubisoft. There's also Lionhead and Rare, right? Sony certainly seem to have a far stronger EU developer base it seems to me from my limited knowledge, which would suggest better EU market support.

 

[Tap In]

What are the EU's prized genres?

here we are

European software charts week ending 30 December 2006


Top 20

1 FIFA 07 EA CANADA EA SPORTS ELECTRONIC ARTS
2 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 6 KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT KONAMI KONAMI
3 NEED FOR SPEED: CARBON EA CANADA EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS
4 THE SIMS 2: PETS MAXIS EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS
5 CALL OF DUTY 3 TREYARCH ACTIVISION ACTIVISION
6 WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2007 YUKE'S THQ THQ
7 GEARS OF WAR EPIC GAMES MICROSOFT MICROSOFT
8 CANIS CANEM EDIT ROCKSTAR VANCOUVER ROCKSTAR TAKE 2
9 DR KAWASHIMA'S BRAIN TRAINING NINTENDO NINTENDO NINTENDO
10 CARS RAINBOW STUDIOS THQ THQ
11 GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY STORIES ROCKSTAR LEEDS ROCKSTAR TAKE 2
12 TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 07 HEADGATE STUDIOS EA SPORTS ELECTRONIC ARTS
13 TOMB RAIDER: LEGEND CRYSTAL DYNAMICS EIDOS EIDOS
14 LEGO STAR WARS II: THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY TRAVELLER'S TALES LUCASARTS LUCASARTS
15 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. NINTENDO NINTENDO NINTENDO
16 GRAND THEFT AUTO: LIBERTY CITY STORIES ROCKSTAR LEEDS ROCKSTAR TAKE 2
17 TOM CLANCY'S RAINBOW SIX: VEGAS UBISOFT (MONTREAL) RED STORM UBISOFT
18 TONY HAWK'S PROJECT 8 SHABA ACTIVISION ACTIVISION
19 FOOTBALL MANAGER 2007 SPORTS INTERACTIVE SEGA SEGA
20 THE SIMS 2 MAXIS EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS

 

[Dave Baumann]

losing the F1 rights to sony...

Funny that MS have won the contract for the control ECU's that will be implemented in F1...

 

[Tap In]

Funny that MS have won the contract for the control ECU's that will be implemented in F1...

did not know that.... :smile:

too bad they couldn't do both.... it would be quite a tie in.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

I disagree about Europe. I think the PS3 price will be a pretty big deterrent in Europe. I also think that it's funny that the list posted is almost the same in NA except NA would have Madden up there instead of soccer. The big problem for MS in Europe right now is that the X360 is competing against the mythical super-console known as PS3. Ironically, once the PS3 launches in EU MS will actually do better with X360 than they are right now IMO. Especially when consumers stop looking at specs and start looking at game line-ups.

 

[avaya]

Gran Turismo is much much bigger than all the games you listed in the OP, with the exception of GTA, in Europe.

PS3 will have GTA and Gran Turismo. The 360 will not have that. Halo's impact in Europe is very small, since it is an FPS.

 

[superNoid]

^^ 360 has GTA, and Forza 2. Forza > GT.

 

[Tap In]

Gran Turismo is much much bigger than all the games you listed in the OP, with the exception of GTA, in Europe.

PS3 will have GTA and Gran Turismo. The 360 will not have that. Halo's impact in Europe is very small, since it is an FPS.

FORZA 2 is MS's only hope in that regard.

I think since they already have a great sim/physics/damage model in place, they may do well with the new version

 

[avaya]

From a sales and brand perspective saying Forza has a chance to take GT in Europe is the direct equivalent of claiming "XXX" is a Halo killer. This is not a question of what you consider the better game and boy is that a helluva debate that I will never dip my toes into! (Neither should anyone here since it would undoubtedly push this thread off-topic)

Gran Turismo 3 is the top selling game not called GTA of this generation. GT4 sales dipped in the US. In Japan it fell compared to GT3 but that ignores the near million that GT4 sold. However in Europe GT4 was more or less inline with GT3.

There is a huge chasm between GT and Forza, and in Europe there is a huge chasm between Halo(FPS) and GT.

Nothing is guaranteed. But just from a game vs. game basis (talking sales here NOT quality), for the European market, PS3 has the win over 360 since Halo is pretty much nullified as a killer app outside of the UK. Sony should be worrying more about Wii than 360 in Europe since low HDTV adoption (and even widescreen adoption!) in mainland Europe plays into Nintendo's hands.

Sony needs to rapidly price cut in Europe if they are to secure the territory. Microsoft's biggest advantage is price and multiplatform titles. They currently have no exclusive IP's that will definitely sell the console in Europe - FPS’ are niche, but I'm curious to see how Blue Dragon does.

 

[archie4oz]

Funny that MS have won the contract for the control ECU's that will be implemented in F1...

Oh dear god...

 

[avaya]

Oh dear god...

McLaren are building the damn things, you should be FAR more worried about that given their great quality control.

 

[Dave Baumann]

McLaren are building the damn things, you should be FAR more worried about that given their great quality control.

Actually, its the control unit that gathers the data from the senors on the car - this is usually fairly reliable as it kinda has to be on a McLaren!

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I disagree about Europe. I think the PS3 price will be a pretty big deterrent in Europe. I also think that it's funny that the list posted is almost the same in NA except NA would have Madden up there instead of soccer.

That's a UK list, which does share strong similarities with US tastes. Europe as a whole is larger and would require it's own lists. Furthermore that list only covers games out in that period. An 'all time bestsellers' list would be more accurate (you're not going to get genres appearing in a sales list if there's no versions of that genre out, for example). I think things like EyeToy and Guitar Hero do better in Europe than the US, for example. I certainly think diversity is the key concern to win over Europe, appealing to all those bizarre continental tastes (their biscuits and sweets are sooo weird!)

 

[Tap In]

That's a UK list,

sorry, correct

 

[blakjedi]

That's a UK list, which does share strong similarities with US tastes. Europe as a whole is larger and would require it's own lists. Furthermore that list only covers games out in that period. An 'all time bestsellers' list would be more accurate (you're not going to get genres appearing in a sales list if there's no versions of that genre out, for example). I think things like EyeToy and Guitar Hero do better in Europe than the US, for example. I certainly think diversity is the key concern to win over Europe, appealing to all those bizarre continental tastes (their biscuits and sweets are sooo weird!)

I knew Europe was weird ever since they chose the Atari ST over the Amiga and I saw those Psygnosis games...

Maybe 360 needs a Sword of Sodan/Shadow of the Beast type of game (XBLA?) and a proper overhead shooter to rival or exceed the Gradius series. And definitely a Great Soccer game...

In a weird way I fully expected Viva Pinata to do well in Europe... any word on that?

 

[JasonLD]

I'm curious about what everyone thinks of this. Personally, if I were MS I'd probably do the following:

Reduce price to $299/$199 on the Premium/Core after the 65nm process comes online (Summer '07)
Introduce a new SKU at $399 with HD-DVD/60GB HD/HDMI as soon as they can do this for sub-$100 cost (Fall '07 I'd imagine).

I think this would be pretty huge. A lot of diehards fans would upgrade to the new SKU and sell their other system to brother/cousin/friend etc... and this would give MS a very compelling SKU to offer high-end buyers that are looking at PS3 60GB for $499 (after Sony drop).

That along with Halo 3, GTA IV, Blue Dragon, Banjo, Mass Effect, Forza 2, they'll be pretty unbeatable in the US/EU market in Fall '07 IMO.

Not Gonna Happen period. I think there won't be price drop til late 2007. And when that happens, it will be more like $349/$249 range...and if there is new SKU with HDDVD/60G HD/HDMI, then it will be priced at $499, not $399...MS will not want to bring another loss leader.