So I guess that $199/299/399 360 rumor was real

[AdmiralViscen]

This treads close to fanboi warz but it's still worth pointing out here.

Elite looks pretty distinguished mentally-challenged now IMO. But at least it's not distinguished mentally-challenged vs PS3 like before.

[GilloD]

If they don't sell at least 500k in Sept, they're finished.

Can we have one thread where it doesn't turn into a SALES WAR?

[duckman2000]

I bought my 360 for $150. It's loud though, and I don't know what kind of warranty it has. Still, good price, and it works.

[siamesedreamer]

You can finance that shit too...no excuse now people!

[Kestastrophe]

I still don't think it's enough, but it will be interesting to see how the Arcade competes with the Wii (or rather if it competes).

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

It isn't enough but Microsoft will be able to say that they have a system that is now cheaper than the Wii.  $199 for the Tard Plus is a good price point, although probably a year too late.  $299 for Premium is an acceptable price point.  It is still $100 cheaper than the PS3 offering and cash strapped parents may pick it up due to that reason alone.  After all, GTA, Madden, etc. are all on the same systems and little Billy can go fuck himself if he bitches about it.

Microsoft should sell at least 4 million of these at this price point by the end of the year.  If not, they are fucked.

[y2kev]

I still don't think it's enough, but it will be interesting to see how the Arcade competes with the Wii (or rather if it competes).

at this point you just have to consider that price is irrelevant wrt: wii

A price drop could potentially boost it to PS2-selling-levels-in-its-prime (though I doubt it with the market so split), but nothing is going to detract from the wii. people want wii.

for some reason.

[Van Cruncheon]

price drop won't help. the cheapies want wii, and the uninformed idiots think higher price = better hardware. this will change nothing in any significant way, although i'd love to be proven wrong.

[Mrbob]

Pro and Elite are still at least 50 dollars too expensive.

MS waited too long. 

[Bocsius]

Microsoft should sell at least 4 million of these at this price point by the end of the year.

I doubt they get there. (I assume we're just talking about this here US of A)

3 mil might be doable, but I think they'll top out around 2.5, 2.6 million in the Sept-Dec timeframe.

[Smooth Groove]

Pro and Elite are still at least 50 dollars too expensive.

MS waited too long. 

Yup, they should have dropped the price more last year when Sony couldn't afford to do so. 

[Brehvolution]

I was thinking of getting an arcade and a used 20gb. I wonder if the arcades are the old board.

[AdmiralViscen]

No, they have HDMI.

Nice avatar

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

Microsoft should sell at least 4 million of these at this price point by the end of the year.

I doubt they get there. (I assume we're just talking about this here US of A)

3 mil might be doable, but I think they'll top out around 2.5, 2.6 million in the Sept-Dec timeframe.

Perhaps but I think the sales need to double from last year (except December, which sold 1.6 million) if it has a chance of sustaining itself.  Since there is a version now cheaper than the Wii, the 360 is finally starting to be affordable.

[Bocsius]

I think Microsoft is too far behind on the pricedrop curve to see such a dramatic shift in sales. They've lost momentum this year, they'll be lucky to match the boost provided by the drop/Halo/holidays last year. They'd need a bigger drop to make huge gains.

Incidentally, last year's December number was 1.26 million (according to this).

I see 400k for September, 300k for October, and 1.8-2.0 million for November + December.

(If the arcade model actually gains traction, all bets are off.)

[Smooth Groove]

Well, there is Gears 2.  I could see it matching Halo3's impact.

[Bocsius]

You'd think people that would be interested in Gears 2 would be interested because of Gears 1, meaning they would very likely already have a 360. But then again, gamers don't always behave in sensible ways.

[Smooth Groove]

I have some friends who thought highly of Gears who didn't get a 360 because they thought it was still too expensive.  A lower price + a sequel might push them over the edge. 

[hyp]

gears 2 is gonna be huge, and it will push consoles.

[cool breeze]

Yeah, Gears is the most popular series the Xbox has outside of Halo.  I think it will sell really well.

[duckman2000]

Since I'm a lazy person, can someone educate me on this hoard mode? On paper, it sounds exactly like Invasion from the UT games. Not that it's a bad thing at all if that's the case, just wondering if that's what it really is.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

I do agree that 2008 was a setback for Microsoft.  It has lost a lot of its traction.  A price drop last year would have perfect to keep the momentum going but instead they chose to just sit on their hands.  I understand that they would want to get back to black for the 360 but it was a very short term decision.

I think Gears 2 will do well if Microsoft advertises it well enough.  Gears 1 fans will get part 2 no question but it is about getting the ones who didn't get the first and that will take some marketing legwork.  They can pull it off if they don't do it half assed but this is Microsoft and they've been making stupid and shitty decisions this entire generation.

[duckman2000]

Well, I just bought another 360 for the Fall line-up (and to Finish The Fight), so I'd imagine there are some others like me out there. Granted, mine is a budget system, but I'd imagine a price drop will be enough for many.

[Purple Filth]

Well the MS motion controller rumor is back. To be bundled with the new $199 arcade later?

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/08/22/rumor-new-199-360-sku-with-motion-controller/

According to the source, Microsoft will be positioning the Arcade bundle to be in direct competition with the Wii, meaning that the marketing push behind it will focus on family friendly entertainment. With family oriented games on the packaging, the Arcade console will come packaged with the traditional Arcade goodies (512MB memory card, etc.), the new Fall update pre-loaded as well as a motion controller and a few motion controlled mini games developed by Rare. That's right, a motion controller! Supposedly, the motion controller will work with all 360 consoles and will even be sold separately, bundled with an even more expansive list of mini motion controlled games. This new $199 Xbox 360 Arcade bundle is said to release Holiday 2008.



You know the usual "take with a grain of salt" routine.

[cool breeze]

Please be true! Xaggle with RE5 support 

[Mrbob]

Why do fratboxers want xfaggle to become a reality?

[AdmiralViscen]

if it's bundled with arcade only at $199, at least it would give loser casuals a reason to buy a console that they might accidentally buy some real games for on the side.