Gamestop 360 price drop?

[brawndolicious]

http://boards.1up.com/zd/board/message?board.id=Xbox360&message.id=202728

Got an email down @ my local Gamestop where I manage.  Says, "we are looking into doing pre-orders for the May launch of the new Xbox 360 sku, depending on Microsoft quantities."  Also states that the price will be $479, and the core Xbox 360 sku will see a drop in price.  We got system box stickers in the other week for $479 and $229.
 
Wow.  If the price point for the core drops to that price, that would be insane.  If you look at that then, you are clearly a direct competitor to not only the PS3, but now the Wii.  Honestly, @ $479, you would be hard pressed to choose the PS3 @ $599 over the Zephyr, based on what they both offer as of now.  It remains to be seen how this goes down.  Lemme know what you think.

Zephyr-$480
Core-$229

and it sounds like the current premium is going to be $299.

The core price is Wii territory and while I don't doubt Nintendo could drop the price to $150-$200, Microsoft is likely to win NA with that price.

I think that thet average gamer will start to consider a 360 with it's decent line-up of games and Halo 3 coming out.  Wii, an already hard sell, only has maybe one or two major games.

This plus DMC and maybe more Japanese developer support could start to make Japan more interested in the 360 too (longshot but it might not be a distant third).

[Cheebs]

Doesn't the core sell very little compared to premium though?

[brawndolicious]

That's why you make a Halo 3 bundle with the limited edition and an extra controller for $300.

The average gamer's going to be interested in it if it's $229 and only needs a memory card.

[Mr. Gundam]

If true, I'll definitely snag a $300 Premium before year's end.

As for Japan, barring Final Fantasy going 360 exclusive, I don't think there's anything Microsoft could do increase sales. The rest of the gaming world is another story, however.

[brawndolicious]

Engadget says this will happen with the zephyr:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/20/xbox-360-elite-new-black-limited-edition-xbox-with-hdmi-and-120gb-drive/

• The Elite will be limited quantities only; that may be as much or as little as a couple hundred thousand.
  
• # The case, controller, and Live headset will all be black. It will have all new packaging.
• Eventually Elite hardware (in white plastics) will take the role of the Xbox Premium. That is to say, after the Elite is launched and sold out, future Xbox Premiums will have 120GB / HDMI.
  
• We do not yet know exactly when 120GB / HDMI will become the standard for Premium, but it is loosely estimated to be late summer or fall.
  
• Elite models run cooler than normal 360s, but they are not yet confirmed to have 65nm chips.
  
• Prices may remain the same with the 120GB / HDMI hardware upgrade in the Premium Xbox, but we may still see a price cut on the line when 65nm chips start shipping.
  
• The HD DVD drive will not be internal or bundled -- Microsoft never did or nor does not currently have plans to put an HD DVD drive in the 360.
  
• There are no current plans to integrate WiFi into the Elite or future Premiums (although that can always change).
  

That's kind of what I assumed.