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Xbox Price Drop To $149 Now Official

Posted by simoniker on from the less-money-less-problems dept.

bpitzer writes "It's official - Microsoft is cutting the price on the Xbox to $149, effective tomorrow, according to CNET News. Now, will Sony follow suit on the PS2? And how long until the next price drop? Maybe at this year's E3, making three in a row?" We previously reported on rumors to this effect, and other readers point to the official Microsoft press release, sporting a quote from noted tech analyst P.Diddy: "[I] believe that the system's cultural influence as a social entertainment brand has only just begun."

14 of 527 comments (clear)

  1. Loss by DarkBlackFox · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So what kind of loss is Microsoft taking now to ship these things?

    If they already sold the X-Box for below cost, wouldn't this just hurt them further?

    1. Re:Loss by baudilus · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Not necessarily - This is a standard business tactic, it is an attempt to drive the market by creating more of a demand for the product. Think of it this way: sell 10 units at $100 or 50 units at $75. Still a loss per unit, but now you have 50 potential "investors" (read: game buyers) rather than just the 10. There is significant risk involved, due to the hypothetical nature of this reasoning. (What if people don't buy it at this price?) If the trend continues, they will likely scrub the project and work on Xbox 2.

      On a side note, this is likely a very good move by Microsoft, everyone I know says Xbox > PS2; the price difference is likely to exacerbate this perception, driving those that have yet to buy either towards the Xbox. This is likely behind the hastiness of the decision.

  2. DUMPING by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So we have an established monopoly with $50b in cash in the bank now selling their product way below cost to steal market share.

    how is this NOT dumping? if Sony or Hitachi did this with TV's they would be prosecuted.

    1. Re:DUMPING by GlassHeart · · Score: 3, Insightful
      an established monopoly with $50b in cash in the bank now selling their product way below cost to steal market share.

      Microsoft does not have a monopoly in the game console market.

  3. *Sigh* Here they come... by MacOS_Rules · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Let's restrict the "We'll bankrupt Microsoft by buying the $150 XBox and coverting it to Linux" topics to replies to this post. This includes all cheap PC quotes from pricewatch, as well as arguments to the real cost of the XBox (better graphics, small HD, working from TV instead of monitor, monitor cost, yadda-yadda-yadda.) Not meaning to be a troll, but it seems 3/4 of the conversation revolves around these topics. [Well, there goes the Karma].

    --
    If a man's character is to be abused there's nobody like a relative to do the business. -Thackeray, William
    1. Re:*Sigh* Here they come... by buffer-overflowed · · Score: 4, Insightful

      But you're not costing MS money, you're mitigating MS's loss.

      Say they pay $300 per unit, and are selling it at $150. For you to be able to buy that $150 unit MS has to be out $300 to make it. When you buy it, their loss shrinks from $300 to $150.

      And, if enough people buy it and then buy games for it(since more games are made as it penetrates further), the loss decreases. The only way purchasing an XBox hurts MS worse than not buying one is if it spurs a large amount of manufacturing of new units which then go unsold.

      You are in NO way hurting MS by buying an XBox, you're helping them. Feel free to do so, but stop saying you're costing them money. You aren't.

      --
      The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
  4. Re:This is our chance to strike back!!!! by dead+sun · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Microsoft is sitting on billions of dollars. Everybody rushing out and buying an xbox will only serve to skew the results of who's leading in the console wars and make Nintendo look even worse. Besides, who's going to sink $150 into the thing and not get a game or two for it?

    I don't want to see Nintendo pull a Sega because of some silly numbers being inflated. Nintendo needs to get over the gaming is for kids only thing, but they've made and continue to make some quality games.

    Want to hurt Microsoft's interests here? Everybody rushing out and buying a cube (at $50 less than the xbox no less) and putting the big N into the number 2 spot again will have more of an effect.

    --
    If not now, when?
  5. PS2 Already 150... sort of by samsmithnz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I thought that Sony dropped the price about 6 months ago, but then added in a subsidized modem and slightly increased the price to 170, so that the price effectively stayed the same, but the value of your purchase increased.

    Bunch of marketing crap really.

  6. Cheap Entertainment PC? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    With this new price point and the hacks for the XBox out there, is this worth purchasing as a MPEG, MP3 and PVR entertainment PC? I'm not really interested in the games for the thing, but if I can get a decent computer out of the thing for $150, I'd be game.

    Thoughts?

    1. Re:Cheap Entertainment PC? by BigDish · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Xbox Media Center That application alone is worth the $150 for an Xbox console.

  7. Re:Is this ethical, really? by Coneasfast · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Doesn't this just end up as a war of attrition, where the company who is most able to sustain gigantic losses comes out on top?

    i'm sure once the price reaches a certain point, it will be a war of who can produce the best system, in terms of graphics, games, features, etc... people won't neccessarily buy the one with the lowest price, the market doesn't work that way

    --
    Marge, get me your address book, 4 beers, and my conversation hat.
  8. Re:Is this ethical, really? by faust2097 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It's less of a "who's going to survive?" issue and more of a "how long are Microsoft's shareholders going to put up with this money pit?"

    Of course MSN is still around and that's never even come close to proftiability.

  9. why buy a game machine by sirinek · · Score: 4, Insightful

    For a long time I wanted to play GTA3. I pondered buying a $199 PS2 and then said "Naah, I'll wait for the price to go down". That was a year and a half ago, and they are still $179. Last year I bought GTA3 for my PC and a game controller very similar to the PS2 controller. Together the pair cost me maybe $65 and the graphics blow away the PS2.

  10. Re:This is our chance to strike back!!!! by PhoenixFlare · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Nintendo needs to get over the gaming is for kids only thing, but they've made and continue to make some quality games.

    The people that think Nintendo only promotes "kiddie" gaming are the same ones that won't play a game because they think their friends will laugh at them, playing something with bright colors and/or bouncy music is embarassing, etc.

    And yet again, this PA comic is appropriate.

    I realize you're not (directly) bashing Nintendo, but this rubbish that they only target little kids needs to stop. Just because they make games without massive blood, violence, or sex does not make them any less mature or enjoyable.