X360 Price drop (20GB) bundle all but confirmed........and the crickets chirp

Um.....yeah..... :|

MS still doesn't seem to get it. Is there really any sense of urgency at MS? They're on the verge of blowing away any momentum they had from 2007. In case they haven't been keeping up with the times, the heart of your main rival's lineup is out on store shelves now. Oh yeah, and Blu-Ray is now the official winner of the format war. XBL is no longer alone in providing a premium online console gaming experience, so there goes that advantage.

This was not the way to respond, IMO. Sony has come out guns blazing in 2008 and MS foolishly believes they've done enough. Yeah, yeah, the X360 has gotten a little more Japanese love this gen, and shockingly it looks to be the home of RPGs this gen for games not called Final Fantasy, but the RPG genre is just a notch above niche, still not enough.

The 20GB bundle should have been cut to $199, frankly I don't understand why they're holding back. Am I really that off base here? I'm genuinely puzzled by this half-measure.

The weirdest thing is that instead of having the 20GB replace the core system, they are just phasing the 20GB out and replacing it with a 60GB for what I presume will be $350. Sony and MS need to do some honest price drops instead of merely offering a new SKU with more bells and whistles for the same price as the old SKU.rragnaar

For all I know this 60GB bundle was announced long ago and I just never knew. I stopped keeping track of all the sku's long ago. I'm not a big fan of Nintendo, but at least the Wii isn't being sku'd five different ways.

I can understand providing the consumer with options, but this multi-sku stuff is getting to be a load of BS.

XBL has the marketplace. Sony has a fractured online store, in three flavors, European, North American, and Japanese. The Japanese one is great, the others are run by chimpanzees. MS still wins hands down in regards to the value presented by their online network.VegetaJr

PSN isn't perfect yet, but from my observations, XBL's advantages are rapidly being erased. PSN appears to have come a long way.

At this point...most people who wanted a 360 probably have one by now. I mean, Halo3 and GTAIV have already been released. There hasn't been another game lately that's been marketed like crazy.viewtiful26

The 360 market seems to consist mostly of shooter fans, and specifically, online shooter fans.

If you're a shooter fan, it's unlikely that after Gears of War, Halo 3, and Call of Duty 4 that you haven't bought a 360 yet. It's possible that they've already saturated their core market.

I want one, but I haven't bought one yet. I was set to buy it about a month ago, but I just couldn't find one at the time over here and now I'm delaying the purchase because, well, I just don't need another system right now. I'm solely a PC gamer at this point and I have a pretty big backlog as it is (games like Mass Effect, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Neverwinter Nights 2 and Guild Wars are just sitting there on my shelf for weeks/months now). I don't have a whole lotta free time at the moment and from what little time I do have, I play Team Fortress 2 and a single-player game. I've been playing nothing but Oblivion and Team Fortress 2 for a month now.

So yeah, as much as I want to play Grand Theft Auto IV, Ninja Gaiden II, Forza 2, Dead or Alive 4...I'm perfectly comfortable playing the waiting game. Those games aren't going anywhere. No rush here.

The weirdest thing is that instead of having the 20GB replace the core system, they are just phasing the 20GB out and replacing it with a 60GB for what I presume will be $350. Sony and MS need to do some honest price drops instead of merely offering a new SKU with more bells and whistles for the same price as the old SKU.rragnaar

[QUOTE="rragnaar"]The weirdest thing is that instead of having the 20GB replace the core system, they are just phasing the 20GB out and replacing it with a 60GB for what I presume will be $350. Sony and MS need to do some honest price drops instead of merely offering a new SKU with more bells and whistles for the same price as the old SKU.FUBAR24

[QUOTE="FUBAR24"][QUOTE="rragnaar"]The weirdest thing is that instead of having the 20GB replace the core system, they are just phasing the 20GB out and replacing it with a 60GB for what I presume will be $350. Sony and MS need to do some honest price drops instead of merely offering a new SKU with more bells and whistles for the same price as the old SKU.rragnaar

The 60 GB HDD alone will cost a hundred bucks also, if I remember correctly.

Yeah, the 20 gig system will be phased out, but from what I understood, the upcoming 60 gig one was supposed to be priced at $299. Nevertheless, this is too little, too late from MS, as usual. And it seems that will be the phrase better suited to serve them as this generation epitaph. Too little, too late. SteelAttack

This is too little, too late. Three years on the market and they're just now hitting the price the PS2-era systems launched at. Microsoft has lost a ton on the Xbox brand, and has only recently become profitable, but it still seems pretty ridiculous that the system is still so high-priced so long after release.

Still, I'm not one to shun a price-drop, frankly because they've become so rare these days, but it still seems like Microsoft (and Sony to a lesser extent) don't know the cure to what ails them.

Just now are we reaching the once standard $300 system price tag, thats insane. The PS3 still has a long way to go as well. dvader654

Sony has proven that when its needed, they'd do REAL price cuts. Having done two $100 pricecuts in a year, one shouldn't be surprised to see a $300 PS3 early next year.

[QUOTE="dvader654"]Just now are we reaching the once standard $300 system price tag, thats insane. The PS3 still has a long way to go as well. D3s7rUc71oN

Sony has proven that when its needed, they'd do REAL price cuts. Having done two $100 pricecuts in a year, one shouldn't be surprised to see a $300 PS3 early next year.

True, but Sony also lost more money on the PS3 in its first year and a half than the PS2 made them in 5 years. That doesn't change the fact that Sony has shown they'll do what they need to in order to make the PS3 a viable platform, but the decision wasn't exactly a tough one. It was either bleed marketshare and money, or bleed less marketshare and more money.

[QUOTE="rragnaar"]The weirdest thing is that instead of having the 20GB replace the core system, they are just phasing the 20GB out and replacing it with a 60GB for what I presume will be $350. Sony and MS need to do some honest price drops instead of merely offering a new SKU with more bells and whistles for the same price as the old SKU.FUBAR24

when will the 60gb be released?

also do you have a link confirming that the 60gb will be 300?

I don't think its going to make much of a difference as far as their sales are concerned. But, it had to happen. The fact that they allowed the Wii to breeze past their WW sales figures gives me the impression that they don't care enough to win this war, and in a way that disappoints me, since their console arguably has the most diverse and well-rounded library of games out of the current gen consoles.

On a different note, $300 seems like a pretty good deal. All they have to do is retrofit the SKUs with the Jasper chipset and I'm sold.

I really don't see why some people keep acting as if things are so dire at MS and Sony is just blazing through the charts. MS was beating Sony by a fairly large margin up until recently, and since Sony has just now become about even to them in the monthly sales, they're making another price drop.

Until Sony starts really putting up a fight, I don't see why they would need to rush into some huge price drop. Especially when they're finally just now becoming profitable. They're sitting pretty comfortably right now and keeping Sony at arm's length, which is right where they want them.

I really don't see why some people keep acting as if things are so dire at MS and Sony is just blazing through the charts. MS was beating Sony by a fairly large margin up until recently, and since Sony has just now become about even to them in the monthly sales, they're making another price drop.

Until Sony starts really putting up a fight, I don't see why they would need to rush into some huge price drop. Especially when they're finally just now becoming profitable. They're sitting pretty comfortably right now and keeping Sony at arm's length, which is right where they want them.

Mash_Affect

I think you might be thinking of North America. Worldwide, the PS3 seems to be closing the gap with the 360 pretty rapidly.

MS built up a decent lead with their year head start and have formed a lot of alliances, but for a while its seemed like they are coasting. They have let talent drift away, took a long time to answer Sony's price cut and then offered a very small price cut. It seems that the people currently heading the Xbox division aren't as driven as their predecessors.

MS built up a decent lead with their year head start and have formed a lot of alliances, but for a while its seemed like they are coasting. They have let talent drift away, took a long time to answer Sony's price cut and then offered a very small price cut. It seems that the people currently heading the Xbox division aren't as driven as their predecessors.

CarnageHeart

It's also possible they've slipped into a profitable groove and are Ok with the rate their consoles are selling. They're raking in those yearly subscription fees and selling plenty of games. Maybe they've realized its going to be impossible for them to become the first place console this generation.

Just found this on gaf, from an article about Sony

Nobuyuki Oneda, Sony's chief financial officer, spoke to investors early this morning at the Nomura Asia Equity forum in Singapore. He reiterated that achieving profitability this year was of the utmost importance, implying that a price cut would interfere with that goal. "Our strategy is not to sell more quantity for PS3 but to concentrate on profitability," stated Oneda. "Our plan is not to reduce the price."

So, no price cut anytime soon.

dvader654

Sony's very good at not releasing info on price drops, and they have to be. If you know a console is going to drop $100 in a month or two, you're going to wait to buy it. Sony understands this and denies every price drop until the last possible second.

For some reason, though, Microsoft has never done a very good job at keeping their upcoming price drops a secret, this generation or last.

At this point...most people who wanted a 360 probably have one by now. I mean, Halo3 and GTAIV have already been released. There hasn't been another game lately that's been marketed like crazy.viewtiful26

Just found this on gaf, from an article about Sony

Nobuyuki Oneda, Sony's chief financial officer, spoke to investors early this morning at the Nomura Asia Equity forum in Singapore. He reiterated that achieving profitability this year was of the utmost importance, implying that a price cut would interfere with that goal. "Our strategy is not to sell more quantity for PS3 but to concentrate on profitability," stated Oneda. "Our plan is not to reduce the price."

So, no price cut anytime soon.

dvader654

Not too surprising. But I'd be shocked if 2008 passed without the PS3 seeing a meaningful pricecut. 400 is better than 600, but it still isn't a mass market price.

I suppose the reason I bought my 360 is that a lot of my friends have one...and they play against each other of Xbox Live. Hm...I think it would make more sense to reduce the online prices rather than the actual system.viewtiful26

[QUOTE="dvader654"]

Just found this on gaf, from an article about Sony

Nobuyuki Oneda, Sony's chief financial officer, spoke to investors early this morning at the Nomura Asia Equity forum in Singapore. He reiterated that achieving profitability this year was of the utmost importance, implying that a price cut would interfere with that goal. "Our strategy is not to sell more quantity for PS3 but to concentrate on profitability," stated Oneda. "Our plan is not to reduce the price."

So, no price cut anytime soon.

CarnageHeart

Not too surprising. But I'd be shocked if 2008 passed without the PS3 seeing a meaningful pricecut. 400 is better than 600, but it still isn't a mass market price.

Why should Sony cut the price? To compete against a now, barebones junk bundle that's likely getting phased out? This is one of the few times I'll compliment Sony for their prudence. Besides, they took the big hit on a premature price cut (as in sooner than Sony would have preferred) while they were still in the red just to salvage something from this gen. MS' price cut will have a moderate effect at best, IMO.

MGS4 will likely give the PS3 the boost that Halo 3 did for MS.

[QUOTE="dvader654"]

Just found this on gaf, from an article about Sony

Nobuyuki Oneda, Sony's chief financial officer, spoke to investors early this morning at the Nomura Asia Equity forum in Singapore. He reiterated that achieving profitability this year was of the utmost importance, implying that a price cut would interfere with that goal. "Our strategy is not to sell more quantity for PS3 but to concentrate on profitability," stated Oneda. "Our plan is not to reduce the price."

So, no price cut anytime soon.

Dire_Weasel

Sony's very good at not releasing info on price drops, and they have to be. If you know a console is going to drop $100 in a month or two, you're going to wait to buy it. Sony understands this and denies every price drop until the last possible second.

For some reason, though, Microsoft has never done a very good job at keeping their upcoming price drops a secret, this generation or last.

MGS4 will likely give the PS3 the boost that Halo 3 did for MS.

MarcusAntonius

I think its working. I mean, from where I live, those MGS4 bundles are pretty damn hard to find.

[QUOTE="Mash_Affect"]

I really don't see why some people keep acting as if things are so dire at MS and Sony is just blazing through the charts. MS was beating Sony by a fairly large margin up until recently, and since Sony has just now become about even to them in the monthly sales, they're making another price drop.

Until Sony starts really putting up a fight, I don't see why they would need to rush into some huge price drop. Especially when they're finally just now becoming profitable. They're sitting pretty comfortably right now and keeping Sony at arm's length, which is right where they want them.

Dire_Weasel

I think you might be thinking of North America. Worldwide, the PS3 seems to be closing the gap with the 360 pretty rapidly.

MGS4 will likely give the PS3 the boost that Halo 3 did for MS.

MarcusAntonius

The weirdest thing is that instead of having the 20GB replace the core system, they are just phasing the 20GB out and replacing it with a 60GB for what I presume will be $350. Sony and MS need to do some honest price drops instead of merely offering a new SKU with more bells and whistles for the same price as the old SKU.rragnaar

Very true. But that is also a perspective of someone deep in gaming. To the non-gamer market low price point is key -- look at how many PS2's have sold since the 360 came out. We may all shake our heads and wonder how people can be buying a PS2 for the first timein 2008, but from their perspective they can drop $129, get the best version of the console and start picking up games for $4-$9 at Gamespot.

[QUOTE="MarcusAntonius"]

MGS4 will likely give the PS3 the boost that Halo 3 did for MS.

Mash_Affect

No doubt MGS4 won't put up Halo 3 numbers, but Halo 3 was (at the time of its release) the latest in a string of quality first person shooters for the X360, whereas MGS4 is the first quality stealth action game on the PS3 so the boost might be in the same ballpark.

[QUOTE="MarcusAntonius"]

MGS4 will likely give the PS3 the boost that Halo 3 did for MS.

Mash_Affect

I wasn't implying the same numbers as Halo 3.

[QUOTE="rragnaar"]The weirdest thing is that instead of having the 20GB replace the core system, they are just phasing the 20GB out and replacing it with a 60GB for what I presume will be $350. Sony and MS need to do some honest price drops instead of merely offering a new SKU with more bells and whistles for the same price as the old SKU.aspro73

Very true. But that is also a perspective of someone deep in gaming. To the non-gamer market low price point is key -- look at how many PS2's have sold since the 360 came out. We may all shake our heads and wonder how people can be buying a PS2 for the first timein 2008, but from their perspective they can drop $129, get the best version of the console and start picking up games for $4-$9 at Gamespot.

Yeah, a sub-$300 price point is crucial for putting up PS1/PS2 type numbers no matter how good one's library is.

Well, personally i already own a 360 so i don't really care. my friend owns all three consoles and all he plays is the 360. The fact is that the 360 is covering more genre's right now than the other two consoles. For jrpgs they have eternal sonata, blue dragon and lost odyssey (which was fantastic in my opinion). They own the shooting genre, Halo3, COD4, bioshock (although it is coming to ps3), unreal tournament 3, gears of war, soon to be gears of war 2, far cry 2, fallout 3. The fact is right now the ps3 only has one game that im itching to play and thats MGS4 otherwise there either on the 360 already or dont really catch my eye. im no fanboy either i own a ps1, and 2 and love them both, i just dont see any games besides MGS4 that really excite me other thsn FF13 which who knows when thats coming out. Hopefully we'll find out soon. As for online i dont know much about ps3's network, but i love Microsofts and i really dont mind paying the $3.84 a month to play it (this is based off the 12+1 month card). I mean its really not any different from Wow's monthly cost except WOW is more. Thats like saying why play WOW when guild wars is free. The answer is game preference and i believe the 360, so far, is offering more in terms of quality games and is hitting all genre's.

Do i want a ps3, well yeah i really want to play mgs4, but i cant purchase a 4-500 dollar system for 1 game.

I mean 360's lineup is pretty impressive again, granted ps3 also has some of these games coming on there system to, but MS exclusives in my opinion beat ps3's again.

soul caliber 4 (i would rather be yoda haha)

tales of vesperia

too human

fable 2

infinite undiscovery

rock band 2

fallout 3 (very excited for this one)

far cry 2

halo wars

gears of war 2

and left 4 dead. Those are just the games im excited for, So for me the ps3 isn't quite worth getting, for now.

[QUOTE="VegetaJr"]XBL has the marketplace. Sony has a fractured online store, in three flavors, European, North American, and Japanese. The Japanese one is great, the others are run by chimpanzees. MS still wins hands down in regards to the value presented by their online network.MarcusAntonius

PSN isn't perfect yet, but from my observations, XBL's advantages are rapidly being erased. PSN appears to have come a long way.

Yeah, a sub-$300 price point is crucial for putting up PS1/PS2 type numbers no matter how good one's library is.

CarnageHeart

Not to mention instilling a certain perception through the use of clever marketing.

[QUOTE="CarnageHeart"]

Yeah, a sub-$300 price point is crucial for putting up PS1/PS2 type numbers no matter how good one's library is.

BladesOfAthena

Not to mention instilling a certain perception through the use of clever marketing.

I'm not a big believer in the power of advertising. It creates awareness, but if a library that appeals to the target audience isn't there, it doesn't matter. The PS1 and the PS2 were the best supported systems of their time and the Wii through its interface and some of its games, really appeals to casual gamers.

I would love to get a new 360 but there is no way I'm going to get this 20GB one. It doesn't make any sense to get the 20GB if I already have one. What MS needs to do is lower the price of the Elite. princesszelda

I'd like to get a new hard drive for my 20 GB X360, but even the new, lower price of MS's 120 GB hard disk is ridiculous.

[QUOTE="MarcusAntonius"]

[QUOTE="VegetaJr"]XBL has the marketplace. Sony has a fractured online store, in three flavors, European, North American, and Japanese. The Japanese one is great, the others are run by chimpanzees. MS still wins hands down in regards to the value presented by their online network.Toriko42

PSN isn't perfect yet, but from my observations, XBL's advantages are rapidly being erased. PSN appears to have come a long way.

The big advantage XBL has over PSN is on XBL everybody has a headset. But as a fan of big battles, I like the fact PSN allows for dedicated servers (which allows for more players in a round).

[QUOTE="Toriko42"][QUOTE="MarcusAntonius"]

[QUOTE="VegetaJr"]XBL has the marketplace. Sony has a fractured online store, in three flavors, European, North American, and Japanese. The Japanese one is great, the others are run by chimpanzees. MS still wins hands down in regards to the value presented by their online network.CarnageHeart

PSN isn't perfect yet, but from my observations, XBL's advantages are rapidly being erased. PSN appears to have come a long way.

The big advantage XBL has over PSN is on XBL everybody has a headset. But as a fan of big battles, I like the fact PSN allows for dedicated servers (which allows for more players in a round).

Also, where did you get the impression that XBL does not allow for dedicated servers? Of course it does.