Yea i have a really hard time believing they arent currently making money off the new Premiums and Elites which they stubbornly claim they arent. They may be incurring losses still, infact they are, but i seriously doubt its from the cost of putting together a new xbox360. I think they've been way too conservative on their hardware prices. Even thats an understatement. Microsoft trying to turn a buck on the systems themselves comes across to me as very cheap.
Xbox360 $50 price cut August 8 rumors
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Yea i have a really hard time believing they arent currently making money off the new Premiums and Elites which they stubbornly claim they arent. They may be incurring losses still, infact they are, but i seriously doubt its from the cost of putting together a new xbox360. I think they've been way too conservative on their hardware prices. Even thats an understatement. Microsoft trying to turn a buck on the systems themselves comes across to me as very cheap.
Fu3lFr3nzy
Regular
Rumor: Core to be discontinued?
Im somehow inclined that the "discontinuation" means that it'll be reintroduced at some point when the 65nm falcon versions arrive?
Eh, I dunno
Im somehow inclined that the "discontinuation" means that it'll be reintroduced at some point when the 65nm falcon versions arrive?
Eh, I dunno
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quest55720
Regular
Rumor: Core to be discontinued?
Im somehow inclined that the "discontuniation" means that it'll be reintroduced at some point when the 65nm falcon versions arrive?
Eh, I dunno
You are right because there is no way they give up on the core now that it can be a big seller come the falcon revision. My guess is they quit shipping cores a long time ago and hoping they are cleared out before the falcon hits. The core was made for this fall and next fall IMO a cheaper alternative to get some casual gamers who don't care about online.
Oboro Shogun
Newcomer
As much as the Core has been portrayed as a commercial dud, I think they'd just add more confusion in some ways by getting rid of it.
Fu3lFr3nzy
Regular
Well technically its not going to be gone forever. By the looks of things, theyre simply not shipping any more Cores and just waiting for the remaining ones in stores to run out, then come out with the falcon cores this fall-winter.
Kinda like what PS3 is doing with the 60GB SKUs
Kinda like what PS3 is doing with the 60GB SKUs
Looks like this is all but done for all SKUs.
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/31/circuit-city-flyer-shows-xbox-360-price-drop-on-all-systems/
$50 off the premium
$20 off the core
$30 off the Elite
20 and 30 off the core and elite? (and even the 50 off the premium) Why bother. MS has spent 6 years and billions of dollars to get to this point right now and theyre pissing it away.
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/31/circuit-city-flyer-shows-xbox-360-price-drop-on-all-systems/
$50 off the premium
$20 off the core
$30 off the Elite
20 and 30 off the core and elite? (and even the 50 off the premium) Why bother. MS has spent 6 years and billions of dollars to get to this point right now and theyre pissing it away.
The key to MS success is the Premium not the core and the elite. Late summer and fall isn't really the ideal time for price cutting. September sales are going to be boosted by the release of Halo 3 and Oct, Nov and December are going to boosted due to holiday sales. The holiday season represents the part of the year where consumers are the least price sensitive.
A small price cut now with another in the spring may be a better choice as the falcon 360 aren't going to hit shelves before the first price cut anyways.
scooby_dooby
Legend
Obviously designed to clear the surplus premium's out of the chain.
I think a $350 premium will still be a strong seller this holiday. MS is being very timid, but a $50 pricedrop along with their strong 07 game library is just good enough to stimulate some great sales IMO.
On a percentage basis, the core cut is more reasonable. 6.7% core, 12.5% Premium, 6.2% Elite.
Really chintzy cuts except on premium. Also really makes the premium more desirable than ever versus other sku's.
Now I just wonder if the rumor of a 2nd wave of price cuts in late October for 65nm are true (the rumor is 249/299/399). If not, it's fairly sad. I kind of doubt MS would cut twice within about three months.
Another possibility is MS is greed crazed, really believe all that talk about how it's all about their great lineup, and aim to clean up Ipod style on hardware.
On the other hand, it is a decent drop for the primary premium sku, if you just look at it like that. The base sku that most people buy is now $50 cheaper.
Well, if we're going with the thought that this the pricing through 2007...
Does lowering the point of entry for the 360 by $20 really open the console up to a new market? Thats not even enough to buy an overpriced memory card with.
I guess instinctively, the middle SKU being the centerpiece of the 360 sales drive in '07, isnt computing for me.
What this is pointing out to me is that 3 SKUs is just too much for mainstream consumers, theyll be driven to the cheapest point of entry or the most feature laden model IMO. Will they be able to figure out, on their own, that the one stuck in the middle is the one they should be buying?
In the end, I think MS is thinking more about the perceived value by their pricing than anything else. They dont want to match the Wii because they need to convince people that there is WAY more 'under the hood', and a 249 price may not do that. Subsequently, going too far below the PS3 in price, may give the impression that the PS3 has 'way more under the hood'.
I'm not sure i would agree with that though. Be agressive and sell boatloads if possible would be my tact.
So far, they haven't had much choice. MS has shipped few Elites, and they're usually very hard to come by.
If you ask me they REALLY need to drop at least one sku. Something like a 249 Core 349 Elite.
Well MS has just ruined a lot of good will ala Sony with a lot of people whining now.
Then again those are message board people, and I dont know if they matter.
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scooby_dooby
Legend
Agreed. They are showing horrible market leadership.
At the same time, with all the 1st party stuff, plus GTA4 they are going to sell a ton of consoles this fall.
thatdude90210
Regular
What? it's a combined $100, just like Sony.
What? it's a combined $100, just like Sony.
Funny but on a more serious note, Premium dropped 12.5% versus 60GB PS3 dropped 16.7%. Not as big a difference as made out.
And remember kids, a key to keep in mind is rumors of that late Oct/Early Nov cut in store for 360.
Of course, we dont know if that is true, and for right now we have to assume this is the only cut coming.
I'm just saying, this drop can be judged differently depending on what happens in 3 months.
But the fact that this guy ended up hitting the final prices directly on makes me wonder if he has some credibility.
thatdude90210
Regular
The rumored oct/nov cut makes sense. It's just in time for the biggest shopping season, and they can avoid the "desperate - 2 cuts within months" label by saying that they've transitioned to .65, therefore they can pass on the savings.
And with the current modest cut, MS can stimulate some sales right before the heavy hitters - Madden & Halo3.
And with the current modest cut, MS can stimulate some sales right before the heavy hitters - Madden & Halo3.
Clearly another drop in Nov changes everything. Also, we still dont know the price of the Halo 3 20G/HDMI model and how that will slot in here. I cant imagine it being less than 379 though.
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