510°

Xbox360 250GB + Natal to become the core box for $249?

VGArabia: There have been a lot of rumors about how Microsoft would market its upcoming game changing peripheral (project Natal) when it will launch next year. Some people are saying that it will launch with a very responsible price with a collection of fourteen games, and a couple of these games being developed by Rare.

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AngryTypingGuy5257d ago

It would definitely be a great move on MS's part if they did offer a package like that. If they made the standalone Natal cheap, that would be smart too. They could always make it up with software sales.

butterfinger5258d ago

this thing finally comes out, we will have had the PS3 sphere controllers for at least a few months, so MS is going to have to bring it out with a low price point in order to compete. They better hope Natal works as well as they were pretending it did at E3.

gaffyh5258d ago

I really doubt it would be price that low, seems like MS would take a massive hit if that was the case.

mjolliffe5258d ago

The gaming industry's guessometer is back at work. Shame.

velcry5258d ago

On the issue of price, I think it *MAY* be possible, given that the core Xbox technology is what, 4-5 years old by then? Even if there are internal redesigns or new motherboards, the cost would have sunk a lot by then.

On the issue of Sony's Wands being out for months by then... nothing's confirmed I think. Sony may have plans to bring it out by Q1 / Q2 next year, but given how these things are delayed, I wouldn't be surprised if it launched back to back with Natal.

Anon19745258d ago (Edited 5258d ago )

It could happen, but analysts right now think Microsoft are still taking a loss on each 360 sold at current prices, and this is after 4 years on the market. Last time I checked, Microsoft wasn't running a charity for gamers. They need to make money at some point and thus far Microsoft has never verified that the 360 was a profitable platform like Sony confirmed with the PS3.

Microsoft cleverly wrote off the billions spent on warranty repairs in advance which got it off the books for future reports, but that doesn't miraculously change the fact that the cost of the warranty program is ongoing and siphoning off any profits as we speak, whether Microsoft has chosen to report it on an ongoing basis or not.

Edit Below: But enough to offset the money being spent on warranty replacements? We don't know if it's doing that right now. Microsoft has certainly never claimed that.

STK0265258d ago

MS might be taking a loss on every system sold, however, the 360 still has the highest attach rate of the 3 consoles at the moment (or I haven't seen reports stating the contrary yet). If they can somehow flood the market with a low price point, and still keep a decent attach rate, it will still be profitable.

Godmars2905258d ago

MS will be sure to hit with major advertising blitzes when PS3's motion controller comes out, and twice as much with Natal's release.

bigrudowsky5258d ago

If they were pretending then how will it work the same?

facelike5258d ago

If the PS3 continues to sell like it is thought the holidays and past, then even if Natal/360 bundle is good, there might be too many PS3's out there for this to matter. People may just ignore it and be satisfied with what they own. And with the wand coming out 5 or so months before, Sony will have a head start in the motion control also.

Microsoft will need this to be something truly special for it to make a difference, but they definitely have time to make it special.

SCThor5258d ago

so I don't think $50 is the final price for just natal, maybe somewhere around $120

PS360PCROCKS5258d ago

Nah $250? I'll go with 300 benjamins, at most 350 or so. I think Microsoft will keep it similarly priced with PS3 with a wavy hand dongle attachment. Making a peripheral that makes the machine much more expensive than the other machines doesn't get them anywhere. They want it to be casual friendly, not wallet heavy. People have to remember that Microsoft is out to win, not to make a ton of money. (Yes I realize how stupid that sounds.) Microsoft though is looking at the big picture here. Right now what they're doing is building a fan base and a "core" audience for their machine. I think that the 360 is profitable if not damn near close. They are down to what 45nm now? or is 65? I'm not sure but the machines can't be that expensive to make anymore. Big picture though = Big Game IP's (Gears, Halo) Natal, Xbox Live and Marketplace. They are growing their base and are looking at the next gen as well. Think about it, if you buy Natal, it WILL be future proofed for the next system. I guarantee that, it's an attachment, letting it work with a new machine INSTANTLY gets all your consumers coming back.

rockleex5258d ago (Edited 5258d ago )

It didn't even work well during all those tech demos. Remember the bottom of that Avatar's shoes and other mistakes Natal made?

The only times that Natal "worked well" were during those pre-recorded videos.

I think the least a 360+Natal bundle would go far at launch is $299. 250gb? Nope.

ABizzel15258d ago

I doubt it. More like 120GB HDD and Natal for $299

butterfinger5258d ago

Those pre-rendered videos are what I was referring to when I used "pretend". If Natal is even slightly worse than those videos showed, you can expect this to be a massive failure. MS dangled special effects in front of people then went on Jimmy Fallon and continued to show it off, so they better be bringing this thing with all the bells and whistles. I can't wait to see how they will nickle and dime us, though.

5258d ago
likedamaster5258d ago

"300 benjamins isn't $300..."

LOL.

vhero5258d ago

The only way they would lower it to this price is if they really do hike the price of live to $10 a month.

HammockGames5257d ago

Especially with the Wii and PS3 motion control options already being on the market by the time Natal hits.

But regardless, I'm not sold on motion controls and I'm not sure most hardcore gamers are either.

There are 2 things I think are key for a good game: 1) Fun and 2) Immersion

If motion control doesn't respond exactly as it should or for that matter even as precisely as a standard controller then it takes away from the immersion. If that happens, you can count me out (and I'm not just talking about Natal here).

I'm going to wait for reviews of the motion control products & games before jumping in.

PS360PCROCKS5257d ago

Lol oh ya oops, I meant benjamins for hundreds, not sure why I put 300 lol

+ Show (16) more repliesLast reply 5257d ago
immortal845258d ago

I think Sony will make something about this if that happens with Magic wand.

alaa5258d ago

Everything could happen.

MetalGearRising5258d ago

Natal is the future as soon as u non believers accept that the better u will feel. When Natal launches the ground beneath your feet will tremble. The word Natal would be spoken around 4 corners of the world it will be broadcasted on national news and on and on and on but trust me Natal will be the end of ps3 as we know it u can make joke's about it but at the end u know it's gonna happen.

bot slayer5258d ago

LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL PLEASE STOP YOUR KILLING ME LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL .

butterfinger5258d ago

360-only owners are the only ones excited that their console will have Wii-like features.

avengers19785258d ago

The future, it is the playstation eye, and everything I've seen for it could already be done on ps2 with kinetic. And microsoft will not be selling anything cheap. There wifi adaptor cost 100 bucks so you really think that a natal and 250 gig will cost 250$ NEVER GONNA HAPPEN. You bots don't even relieze that by the time Natal comes out the 360 will be in last place again.

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60°

Pacific Rim Pinball comes to Pinball FX

This could be fun as they make great tables. Go big or go extinct. Prime your senses for a neural handshake and step into the cockpit of a Jaeger. It is on you to cancel the apocalypse when Pacific Rim Pinball comes to Pinball FX on May 16.

260°

Microsoft’s Surface and Xbox hardware revenues take a big hit in Q3

Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent.

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darthv7223h ago

Xbox content + services up 62% while hardware down 31%... seems about right with the way they tout you don't need the hardware to play. People can play on their phones or smart tv or other means. I don't hardly play on my consoles directly since getting devices like the logitech g-cloud and ps portal. Which is to also say I have been playing more digital than physical because of these devices.

solideagle10h ago

you should apply in MS PR team buddy, I think you will do a great job in my humble opinion :)

Sonic18818h ago

I thought darthv72 and Obscure_Observer already work for Microsoft 🤔

dveio7h ago

MS: "Xbox services and content without AB up 1%, with AB up 62%. Hardware down 31%. In total a loss of 350 mill."

darthv72: "Seems about right."

MS: "Excuse m ..."

darthv72: "I don't hardly play on my consoles directly."

MS:

Lightning772h ago

What he said was facts. How he plays games is no concern of you. Don't get too mad about it.

Cacabunga10h ago

I can tell people like you are an absolute minority..

If service is up means their fans and fanboys accepted this model and subscribed to it. The near future you will see a big decline because the service is saturated.

shinoff21839h ago

But that's been ms for years. When things aren't going their way they try to change the way things are said. For instance console sales are down, they stop telling how many sold instead telling us how many hours spent in halo or headshots. So it makes sense console sales down just say people are playing on more devices then previous. What they won't say is how many xbox players jumped ship to ps5.

Cacabunga8h ago

Hardware sales are so bad that Sony and Nintendo are blowing the sales off the water with their hardware.

If Xbox are losers, others aren’t..
Xbox already tried everything with Xbox live then subscriptions went down so much that they had to find something else. Their fans subscribed then reached saturation rather quickly.

Hardware and exclusive games is where it’s at! Keep gamers excited, announce decent software and people will support you

itsmebryan4h ago

@shin
Well keep it simple Sony 's operating income is down 26% and Microsoft's is up 32%. No MS spin there, just facts. 😉
Cheers

romulus233h ago

Odd that a company that touts you dont need the hardware to play is already touting another console in the works.

darthv722h ago

They are not reliant on the HW but still want to maintain a presence (no matter how small) is a good thing. It shows commitment to the craft. It reminds me of SNK and how they made games for their own hardware (Neo Geo) while also making them for others because they knew there was a market to do so. They knew they would sell more to others but also sell to their own niche fan base.

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purple10113h ago

Xbox hardware revenue tanks to lowest point of Xbox Series generation

Profchaos12h ago

I'm not surprised surface is struggling they aren't relevant anymore

DOMination-2h ago

In the last two years they've started exiting the consumer market altogether. All of the newest Surface products are business models only. They can't seem to work out what they want to do with it.

XBManiac11h ago

Too expensive hardware when others offer the same or more for less? Good work, Green Team.

SimpleDad11h ago(Edited 11h ago)

"Despite some early successes for Xbox games on rival platforms, Xbox hardware is down by a massive 31 percent this quarter."
"Without Activision Blizzard, Microsoft’s overall gaming revenue would have actually declined this quarter."
"Xbox content and services would have only been up a single percent without Activision Blizzard..."
"It looks like next quarter is going to be a similar story for gaming at Microsoft, too."

That is crazy... so A/B/K is carrying the whole Xbox gaming.
Oh and Microsoft will be fine. Windows, Office and Cloud are growing with each pc purchase.

purple10111h ago

Activision: "we gonna need a bigger rucksack/backpack please"

Microsoft: "why's that"

Activision: "to carry yo' weak ass'

Profchaos10h ago(Edited 10h ago)

Top brass have also wanted to start seeing returns on the 100 billion they have put into various Xbox related moves so seeing more multiplatform games is highly likely especially from abk

It's basically saying that PlayStation is the reason Xbox is afloat right now thinks to Ps5 versions of COD

Kornholic9h ago

So basically PS and PC gamers' money is keeping Xbox on life support.

MrDead2h ago

The only growth MS will get out of the console industry is if it supports it's rivals platforms. Xbox is a pointless machine now. I can see them on a big push for live next, and they won't give up on trying to buy Steam.

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140°

Why Monopolies In Gaming Must Not Be Allowed

As of right now, there are no monopolies in the games industry, and for the sake of the medium as a whole, they never should either.

thorstein22h ago

Shouldn't be allowed in any field.

Inverno18h ago

And yet the biggest tech companies in America are essentially that. They buy up all the small comps only to kill them off and steal what they have, and if they can't buy em they bleed them to death.

jwillj2k417h ago

Eventually they’ll realize the value is with the employee not the company. Buying an IP means nothing if the people who contributed are let go. They’ll get it one day.

MrCrimson16h ago

tech is different because they buy threats and then kill them. Twitter bought Vine and did nothing with it. Despite people seemingly liking it. Could've had tiktok a decade before bytedance. go figure.

Zenzuu17h ago

Monopolies shouldn't be allowed regardless. Not just for gaming.

MrCrimson16h ago

They buy IPs not talent. That's why these buyouts never work and the IPs die. Right now it's too expensive to develop games - but I expect that to shift maybe as AI tools can make it easier. The best games have been indie games for awhile as big developers fuck their ips to death with "games as a service" -