It looks like Microsoft is planning to crash Sony's PS3 launch party by dropping the price of the Xbox 360 this coming Christmas. A source close to Microsoft says consumers can expect a price drop of almost $100.
The source also revealed according to Britxbox.co.uk that the Xbox 360 hardware team are now busy redesigning the chips supplied by ATI and IBM to cut costs and allow a price drop to coincide with the release of Sony's Playstation 3.
If this holds true you will be able to buy an Xbox 360 for half the price of the PS3 this Xmas. This will certainly put Microsoft in a very lucrative position when the next-gen console war starts for real later this year.
Source: Britxbox.co.uk
MS will do anything to make sure the 360 survive. They're a very organized company. There will be no reason why parents can't afford a 360 now for their children.
for the GayStation 3...
I wonder if Britxbox.co.uk is just late gettong on this news bandwagon?
Rumors to this effect hit weeks ago when MS announced that their chip manufacturing was going from 90 to 65nm.
Also, the quote on their site from the "inside source" reads an awful lot like an financial analysis, also, it talks about '2006' in the future tense - IMO, I think this quote is about a year old (probably back when sony was still considering a Spring launch and all the analysts were chiming in)
Anyway, although redesigning/remanufacturing the chipset does reduce costs, there is no reason MS has to pass those savings along to the consumer. They'll probably put more money in their own pockets. The reason I say this is that the XBOX is already 100-200 dollars U.S. cheaper than the PS3 and MS will probably see how sales go at that price difference before they go dropping prices for no reason. They will only drop the price if sales decline because of the PS3.
That, or it is possible that this will be a Europe only price drop. Dropping the price in the EU would bring the console in line with US pricing (something EU gamers frequently complain about - higher prices in the EU result from higher tarriffs on imported consumer electronics - not because MS just wants to charge more). MS has already stated that America and EU are more important markets than Japan (becasue they are both larger and are growing, as opposed to declining like the Japanese gaming market).
Anyway, we'll see I suppose. I've already got my 360 and I'm delighted with it.
can now spend the extra $100 to buy more games IF its true of course lol
They won't cut the price with 100 dollars for sure.
These are rumours going round for a long time, but are totally based on no real facts.
There's no use either. It's already 200 dollars cheaper then it's main upcoming if not delayed or cancelled competition.
If they cut prices, it will be 50 Euro's I think on Premium, to get it @ 349 Euro's. The Core could be pushed to get some marketshare on the bottem of the market in Wii markets, so maybe we see there something close to 100 dollar cut just about 219 or 229 Euro's. Maybe just the 249 Also 50 dollar cut so it's head to head with the Wii.
But 100 dollar on the premium? I don't see it happen. Maybe special packs will come out also, with 2 WiFi controllers, and ofcourse special Gears of War packs, with a unique GoW front on the 360, the game and so on. Expect the same of Halo 3 to come also in 2007