XBox 360 Price Cut/60GB model*

Arcade includes a wireless controller.

This pricing makes sense though - since it was leaked that MS is going to offer an $100 "upgrade pack" for Arcade owners this fall, which will contain the 60GB HDD + headset + something else I've forgotten.
 
not really

elite is $400 here To get the arcade up to the elite you need


arcade unit + 120 gig hardrive (150 is offical price)

So your at $350 . Then you need a high def cable of some sort , component costs $40 i believe and hdmi varies but i'm sure its around $40 for one in a best buy. Then you need a head set which is $15. Your also still missing a wireless controller .

You don't need to pay $15 for a headset, I paid $6 for a knockoff, but ya if you want the HDMI cable (and dongle) and wireless controllers its still worthwhile.
 
I was going with ms pricing as that is how ms thinks when they price things.


The elite is a godo value as you get everything in the box and don't have to shop around for it of course it isn't a better value than the arcade , but perhaps the elite is going to be tweaked soon
 
Arcade includes a wireless controller.

This pricing makes sense though - since it was leaked that MS is going to offer an $100 "upgrade pack" for Arcade owners this fall, which will contain the 60GB HDD + headset + something else I've forgotten.

Three months free Live card.

Yeah Elite is tenuous at this price point, while the Arcade becomes relatively more attractive. I think the 120Gb HDD currently retails at $180 though. There was the (almost certain to be true) rumor of the 60GB HDD for $100 and 120GB dropping to $149, but that wasn't supposed to happen until October.

I really think Arcade could take off at this 199 point. It might become really attractive to casuals and people who didnt think they could afford a 360. It also speak interestingly to MS hardware costs, that apparently 199 is at least break even on the 360 minus a hard drive. Something I'd always wondered about, since you see video cards with as much silicon and RAM as 360 contains on board for close to $100-$200 nowdays (say, the 9600GT, 8800GT, 3850, not even to mention 4850/70 etc).
 
Elite looks like extremely expensive with this pricing (unless they include something else like wifi module with it). I got the 120 gig drive at 140$ a few months ago. Arcade + hard-drive costs less than Elite itself with this.

Btw, this puts arcade cheaper than Wii :)
the main selling point of the elite (besides the matte black color & large HDD/moniker) is the inclusion of the optical RCA audio adapter for those old receivers which dont have HDMI. I ended up having to buy this since my pro didnt come w/ it & my Pioneer Elite is a little older but it was top of the line when it was new, no need to replace it.
 
A little closer to confirmation, the price cut appears slated for September 7

http://vgchartz.com/forum/thread.php?id=36381

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Could be, the store the spy pics came from is a Fred Meyer, not exactly a hotbed of activity I'd imagine. As well as the Arcade being generally the least popular 360 sku currently. But as it now gets the larger price drop, it will become comparatively more attractive.
 
Took them long enough, but it's finally priced where it should be. I wonder if they regret not dropping it to $199 for the GTA4 launch.
They weren't ready for that at the time. Price cut in Europe was more urgent and they did it in March, but it caused losses for thedivisionin the next quarter, when sales after GTA release were higher. I realise that with current exchange rate 360s in Europe were more axpensive then in the US, but still they bleeded in last quarter. Now, with Jaspers, they seem to finally take the price down in USA as well.
 
They weren't ready for that at the time. Price cut in Europe was more urgent and they did it in March, but it caused losses for thedivisionin the next quarter, when sales after GTA release were higher. I realise that with current exchange rate 360s in Europe were more axpensive then in the US, but still they bleeded in last quarter. Now, with Jaspers, they seem to finally take the price down in USA as well.

I'm not so sure EDD losses are that closely tied to 360 anymore. I think last Q losses wasn't necessarily 360's fault.

But I'm sure this cut is tied into Jasper, yes.

I'm really curious to see if Arcade can catch fire at this price. I started thinking, 199 is about what Sega Genesis used to sell for ages ago, or what Super Nintendo debuted at (never mind inflation). This is a machine that can play Gears of War 2 for that price. You start figured years of inflation in, and this is equivalent to $160-170 in say, 2002.
 
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This is a machine that can play Gears of War 2 for that price. You start figured years of inflation in, and this is equivalent to $160-170 in say, 2002.

I think you have the wrong demographic. I think the core is aimed at the casual Guitar Hero crowd. People who avoid violent shooters. Then again, the 60GB will still be the main seller because you need the HD if you want DLC.

I think the $199 ads will grab attention, but people will then contrast what you get with the 60GB and factor in things like Wi-fi, Live, etc. and see the $199 is not really $199.

I think a $299 60GB will be a much bigger seller this X-mas.
 
I think you have the wrong demographic. I think the core is aimed at the casual Guitar Hero crowd. People who avoid violent shooters. Then again, the 60GB will still be the main seller because you need the HD if you want DLC.

I think you're nuts. The $199 arcade will attract all those people used to paying no more than $199 for a console. A console that previously never came with Wi-Fi or a HDD or the ability to access DLC or anything.

This entire generation has been a race to $199 and then to $149. The Core/Arcade was designed specifically for this purpose. The majority of the market does not care about Wi-Fi, they don't care about online access or DLC. Yes, they want to play guitar hero, but they also want to play Halo and Gears and GTA IV. They most certainly aren't limited to the party-game crowd.

Don't confuse the Wii's demographic to that of the PS1 and PS2's traditional territory that the 360 is moving to compete in.
 
the arcade is great for people who don't believe they are interested in dlc or what live has to offer . However when they start playing games like rockband and scene it and what not and thy see the content offered they may want to upgrade for that stuff. The 60 gig hardrive bundle is a good way to get them to do that. For $100 bucks your brought up to the pro sku only lacking hd cables . then of course 20 gig drives will be cheap as many people will be upgrading to bigger drives as they start installing games. I wouldn't be surprised if you can start to find 20 gigs in the $40 range soon .
 
I'm not so sure EDD losses are that closely tied to 360 anymore. I think last Q losses wasn't necessarily 360's fault.

IIRC, the "reason" they gave for losses were increased R&D investment and 360 shipments.

I think you have the wrong demographic. I think the core is aimed at the casual Guitar Hero crowd. People who avoid violent shooters. Then again, the 60GB will still be the main seller because you need the HD if you want DLC.

I think the $199 ads will grab attention, but people will then contrast what you get with the 60GB and factor in things like Wi-fi, Live, etc. and see the $199 is not really $199.

I think a $299 60GB will be a much bigger seller this X-mas.
You'd be surprised, but there still is a sizable market of those who haven't "jumped in" but find GoW2 and other hardcore games appealing. Still, those who aren't interested in this kind of games are a much bigger population and it's interesting if MS will ever be able to reach them (assuming that they have some interesting software for them in the first place ;) )
 
There's no doubt that halo3, GTAIV, GoW and CoD4 aren't done selling copies yet. There will always be some renewed interest with sequels, pack ins and lower price points.
 
There's no doubt that halo3, GTAIV, GoW and CoD4 aren't done selling copies yet. There will always be some renewed interest with sequels, pack ins and lower price points.

large dlc packs also. the gta 4 stuff could make it a big seller this holiday if they get it out that is
 
I think you're nuts. The $199 arcade will attract all those people used to paying no more than $199 for a console. A console that previously never came with Wi-Fi or a HDD or the ability to access DLC or anything.

How many is that? Sure sales will pick up, but most sales will be of the 60GB as has been the case for three years. The core is already the cheapest HD console on the market and cheaper than the Wii in Europe (I think), does that mean it's selling well?

There will always be a segment of the population that see "$199" and think it's a deal, but most people who spend $200 will do five minutes of research and find the other model(s) a better value, despite the price.

All this talk is very reminiscent of the core when it hit $279 and included the memory card.
 
How many is that?

Take a look at the sales spikes for the Xbox and PS2 when they hit the $199 market and then the $149 market and then you'll have your answer. Don't expect me to do your homework for you.

There will always be a segment of the population that see "$199" and think it's a deal, but most people who spend $200 will do five minutes of research and find the other model(s) a better value, despite the price.

All this talk is very reminiscent of the core when it hit $279 and included the memory card.

You act as though this is the first generation that video game consoles have been on the market. I must have missed the talk that the $279 price point would spur Arcade sales because it was clear that was only a stepping stone. In fact, while a certain segment of fanboys have continually bemoaned the existence of the core/Arcade, others of us.. (most notably those on these forums), realized that the base model was meant to win the race to $199 and then to $149 which is where the majority of consoles have gotten their sales in the past.

There is a significant difference both practically and psychologically in $199 and $279 or $249. Value is meaningless, unless your Sony who likes to present bundles as 'price drops'.

If the net cost to the consumer doesn't drop, it isn't a price drop. Adding value is a way for manufacturers to maintain their price structure, but it doesn't provide much to any consumer who wasn't already looking to make the purchase.

The $199 Arcade will provide not only a superior value to the $199 PS2 (taking into account inflation) but also a superior value due to the inclusion of a memory card and number of included family-friend easily-accessible arcade games.

Your stated position would have us believe that there aren't people who want to play GTA IV but haven't done so yet because of the cost of entry. Or, that the significant majority of those people would require a HDD if they wanted to play online. The first isn't true and the second is questionable since GTA: SA had no online mode. The same is true for Gears, and a number of other games, even including Halo3 which (while noted for its great online play) is also noted for its rich campaign mode and once again should be noted that gained such a large fan base on the Xbox that had no online component at all.

I can tell you there are people who are very interested in playing GTA IV, Bioshock, Halo, etc.. that aren't interested in Live! or online and haven't been able to play because the cost of entry is simply too great. These games are going to continue to sell for quite some time, and will probably sell more copies from now until the next of the generation than they've sold in their lifetime up to this point. Those sales are going to come from people who couldn't afford to play them on $299 consoles.
 
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