Patcher expects Xbox 360 price cuts - premium at $399 and core at $249

[Zeus]

High profile games industry analyst Michael Patcher has revealed that he expects Microsoft to drop the price of ALL their Xbox 360 versions. Patcher expects the Elite to be reduced to $399, the premium to be priced at $349 and the core a direct threat for Wii at $249.

[pezjono]

Title reads Premium at $399... I know you have a lot of stuff to post, but try to proofread and spell check before posting. It happens in the majority of the news posts here.

[GigaClon]

they are going to lose money on warranty cost. so I don't think they are lowering prices any time soon. also the core set is not a threat to the wii cause its crippled.

[daps83777]

i think if the core version of the 360 gets to the same price point of cheaper than the wii then the wii will drop the price. or they will bundle more stuff in the current consoles. perhaps a second wiimote and nunchuck. they would counter in some way.

it would be nice to see a 360 price drop though. now if ms could just get the revised hardware out, especially the 65nm processor that runs much cooler solving most of the 360's problems.

[Knaledge]

i think if the core version of the 360 gets to the same price point of cheaper than the wii then the wii will drop the price. or they will bundle more stuff in the current consoles. perhaps a second wiimote and nunchuck. they would counter in some way.

it would be nice to see a 360 price drop though. now if ms could just get the revised hardware out, especially the 65nm processor that runs much cooler solving most of the 360's problems.

Currently an owner of an original Nov 05 Xbox 360, I feel the same way. This is good news all around, regardless of how you may feel about the Xbox 360.

The Xbox 360, is by far, the leading console outside of the Wii's demand. By having the Xbox 360 drop price and force competition at direct price points, let alone library, etc., the other software/hardware houses will have to follow suit to remain competitive (Nintendo, Sony).

This translates into very good things for the end user (lower prices, potentially better hardware, cheaper software, etc.)

Again, good news all around.

[daps83777]

Currently an owner of an original Nov 05 Xbox 360, I feel the same way. This is good news all around, regardless of how you may feel about the Xbox 360.

The Xbox 360, is by far, the leading console outside of the Wii's demand. By having the Xbox 360 drop price and force competition at direct price points, let alone library, etc., the other software/hardware houses will have to follow suit to remain competitive (Nintendo, Sony).

This translates into very good things for the end user (lower prices, potentially better hardware, cheaper software, etc.)

Again, good news all around.

well sony is still in a little trouble. the PS3 launch price was so high they have given there competition the ability to manipulate the market after any price drops they make. so if ms and nintendo drop prices it counters most of what sony has done, unless sony can get a bunch of AAA titles out and soon. though putting a second version of the PS3 is bad news i think. it could have the same effect as when there where two versions of the PS3 before. in reality the price stayed the same as they where with launch. sony just put out one with a game and bigger hd and took the other ones place. so you get a few more features for the money on both versions than you did before but still the same prices.

its actually pretty sneaky of sony.

[busboy33]

Hell, for 250 the Core system makes a pretty good home entertainment appliance; DVD, music (w/visualizer), stream from a PC, get a HDD and watch HD movies and TV, text and videochat. Not a bad little toy, even minus the games.

[Ichinisan]

I think it's a little more realistic to imagine the Premium at $329.99 than $349.99. #1: It doesn't need to match the PS3's drop, but it would maintain a similar "distance." #2: It doesn't make sense to have it be $100 more than the Core and only $50 less than the Elite. Put it right in the middle or at least closer to it at $329.99. "right in the middle" would be $324.99 (also reasonable).

That's my prediction. We know the 60GB PS3 is now $499.99. The Core at $249.99 will end up invading the Wii's price territory which will quickly drop the Wii's price to somewhere in the $199.99-$229.99 range, though I can imagine them maintaining the Wii Sports bundle at $250 and selling a cheaper one without (for now, I can't see the Wii's casual popularity sustaining without Wii Sports, and Nintendo knows this). I see this happening because the Core will likely be more popular now that 20GB HDDs will be more common on the "used" market (nearly everyone has a 20GB HDD already; who else would you sell it to after upgrading?). The Premium will sit comfortably under the Elite at $70-$75 less. The Elite will nearly maintain the $120 price advantage on the PS3 at $499.99 ($100 advantage) while the Premium will nearly maintain the $200 price advantage it had on the PS3 at $324.99-$329.99. ($170-$175 advantage). Makes much more sense than letting the PS3 get even closer to the Premium in cost when you've been making your hardware for a year longer with no price-cut.

Of course, all this changes if they decide to drop the Core (VERY likely). I have my own set of predictions for that outcome. ;)

[poisonousjuice]

wow, "Michael Patcher has revealed that he expects..." this is such a shocking prediction. it's not like every nerd and casual gamer has predicted a price drop. how about some facts?

[harryisme]

Price cut would be great.

Why does everyone say the Core should be dropped? I went to buy one this weekend and they were all sold out, But then again they had an offer with 3 games for £200, which works out like per like £70 cheaper than the Wii.

[Ichinisan]

Price cut would be great.

Why does everyone say the Core should be dropped? I went to buy one this weekend and they were all sold out, But then again they had an offer with 3 games for £200, which works out like per like £70 cheaper than the Wii.
Low stock? Special deals to MAKE it sell? Probably being dropped.

[kneehighspy]

the core will probably be dropped in favor of a $299 premium and a $399 elite. that way, microsoft will have a hard drive in every bundle and still remain at their current pricing and sku tier.

sony will drop their 60gb bundle by christmas and only offer the $599 80gb model and still be at their same tier as now (with the discontinued 20gb model).

nintendo will keep the current wii model and offer it at $199 (by christmas)

[stormuk]

The other reason for cores selling could be people replacing banned premiums!

[Ichinisan]

the core will probably be dropped in favor of a $299 premium and a $399 elite. that way, microsoft will have a hard drive in every bundle and still remain at their current pricing and sku tier.

sony will drop their 60gb bundle by christmas and only offer the $599 80gb model and still be at their same tier as now (with the discontinued 20gb model).

nintendo will keep the current wii model and offer it at $199 (by christmas)
That'd be a little too much too fast I believe. I mean, the price difference between the Elite and the Premium is already hard to justify ($80 for HDMI and a HDD only finally reaching a decent capacity). Why increase it to $100? Looking at the price that they charge for a 120GB HDD, people will start to consider it a deal, but 120GB HDDs do not cost any more than 20GB HDDs considering that they don't really continue to make 20GB drives except for purposes like the XBOX360. Even then, most are high-density single-platter drives with massive amounts of sacrificed space (single-sided?). ;)

I do believe that the Wii will be $199.99 by Christmas, but I was once saying that it would be that price by Spring 2007 (before it was clear that shortages would continue).

[kneehighspy]

my reasoning is that the elite will be the replacement for the current premium system, and the current premium system will become the new core, then the core can be dropped altogether or decreased to $250.

microsoft really needs to just offer skus with harddrives so the developers will have a standard to develop to that includes a hard drive. right now the developers have to develop for the lowest system (core / no hard drive).

with the costs of hard drives, they could easily do this and just either drop the core, or price it at the same price as the wii. so a user who really wants a 360, but can only afford a wii will have a choice and most users will go "hmm, $250 for a wii or $250 for a true next gen system?" the choice would be obvious.

with this pricing setup, microsoft would be either breaking even with cost vs sales, or just be over a little, then when the 65nm fabs are ready, they will be under the cost vs sales and then be making profits on each system as they are now.




That'd be a little too much too fast I believe. I mean, the price difference between the Elite and the Premium is already hard to justify ($80 for HDMI and a HDD only finally reaching a decent capacity). Why increase it to $100? Looking at the price that they charge for a 120GB HDD, people will start to consider it a deal, but 120GB HDDs do not cost any more than 20GB HDDs considering that they don't really continue to make 20GB drives except for purposes like the XBOX360. Even then, most are high-density single-platter drives with massive amounts of sacrificed space (single-sided?). ;)

I do believe that the Wii will be $199.99 by Christmas, but I was once saying that it would be that price by Spring 2007 (before it was clear that shortages would continue).

[daps83777]

if they only offer sku's with hd's and devs start using the hd, then you present a problem for all the 360 owners that don't have an hd because they bought cores.

[kneehighspy]

yeah that's true, but owners are usually forced to upgrade sometimes in a consoles life. i wonder what the current percentage is of core owners with no hard drives?

with a new pricing structure, microsoft could offer the new 120gb drive for $125, then drop the price of the 20gb to $50 or less, then i think most core owners would buy one cause the 20gb drive would be priced at the 512mb memory card level.

what microsoft should have done was make the 2.5" drives a standard drive like the ps3, then put the "priority" electronics in the external shell / case, that way users could upgrade the drives when they wanted. they could have also sold empty external shells / cases with the "priority" electronics in them, and let the user buy whatever drive they wanted.

it was crazy for microsoft to limit the storage upgrades the way they did, but they did this as a way for them to make money back that they lost on console sales, along with the overpriced accessories.

i'm not knocking the 360, i love my 360, and i enjoy my ps3, i just wish their were more titles available for it (ps3). my wii is a different story, cause it's my daughters.


if they only offer sku's with hd's and devs start using the hd, then you present a problem for all the 360 owners that don't have an hd because they bought cores.

[alexandro98]

to bad even with a price drop, neither me or any of my friends will be getting a 360 till they fix their hardware and no more red ring of death.
Even with that 3 year warranty extension, thats BS, my Snes still works, my Genesis, my game gear works, heck even my original nes works if i blow on the cartridges first.
Fix the hardware, and get some good games that aint FPS or sandbox crime games and then we will talk...

[SteveNZ]

His name is still "Pacther", not Patcher.

[Xenogears V]

The 360 sells few, rather little, after the problems of overheating and the ban from live, Microsoft to sell should give free.:rolleyes:

[felixm477]

they are going to lose money on warranty cost. so I don't think they are lowering prices any time soon. also the core set is not a threat to the wii cause its crippled.
crippled how so? the wii doesnt have a hard drive so that makes it about even. the core would just be a more graphically powerful wii in terms of capabilties. also they may be losing money on warranty but its chump change compared to what sony has lost as a whole with the ps3 sofar along with their other devisions. MS can afford a big pricecut since at the moment production costs are really low for them now that its been over a year.

[CZroe]

crippled how so? the wii doesnt have a hard drive so that makes it about even. the core would just be a more graphically powerful wii in terms of capabilties. also they may be losing money on warranty but its chump change compared to what sony has lost as a whole with the ps3 sofar along with their other devisions. MS can afford a big pricecut since at the moment production costs are really low for them now that its been over a year.
The Wii does have internal storage though. I filled mine up long ago witha few hundred dollars worth of Virtual Console games. :)