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Xbox 2 for $400?
An anonymous reader writes "CNN/Money has posted a new Game Over column quoting an industry analyst who suggests the next generation Xbox could cost as much as $400. This is on top of software price increases of as much as $10 per game, which (according to the article) have already been confirmed. Also discussed are backwards compatibility and the lingering question of whether the Next Xbox will have a hard drive."
Microsoft has had no problem selling the XBOX so cheaply they can't make a profit, and there are only three things that will change this:
1) Microsoft gets a console monopoly. $400 would be the low end then, but won't happen this generation.
2) Microsoft loses an anti-trust suit to the Government, Sony, or Nintendo and is forced to raise prices closer to the cost of making the product.
3) Investors start demanding a profit on the XBOX.
I don't see any of these senarios at the XBOX 2's launch anyway. Maybe there are some I'm missing?
One of the ways game console makers used to be able to save money was that they were creating systems to work with the relatively low resolution of NTSC televisions. This saved on the requirements of both the video processor and the CPU. Even in countries where higher resoltions (like PAL) were available, the odds are they were still playing on a 20" (or less) screen from several feet away.
The rising popularity of big-assed TV sets and HDTV resolutions has changed that. You can now create games for use with a TV set which push a $300 ATI card to its absolute limit.
Console systems are not just for people who can't afford a game PC. Many gamers prefer the couch to the computer desk, and are not willing to give up quality just because they are playing in the living room.
I suspect that the next generation of Play Station will cost more, too.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.