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Xbox 360 for $300
Xizer writes "Wal-Mart employees have leaked the price of Microsoft's next-generation console. The Xbox 360 is set to be launched for $299.99. Additionally, games are set to be $59.99 each. Ouch. Looks like the next generation of consoles is going to burn holes in gamers' wallets even moreso than the current generation. One thing is for sure: It's time to start gearing up for an expensive Christmas."
$300 isn't all of too bad for a console, especially considering the hardware present. Looking back, the NES came out at $199 initially, as did the SNES, and N64. The N64 didn't even include any games, just a solitary controller. The $60 price tag for games is what N64 games cost as well.
I'm viewing it as a slightly more expensive initial investment. That, and only that.
and no, I'm not planning on buying one.
Do you understand that buying this, as well as lots of overpriced games, is entirely optional?
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
DVD has been dragging its low capacity ass for far too long. I'll wait for v2.
Transcend Humanity. Please.
Accoding to http://www.westegg.com/inflation/ that Atari 2600 would cost $634.91, and each cartridge would cost $63.49, in 2005 dollars.
So Xbox 360 is actually a great deal compared to the Atari 2600 if you just look at price.
The price of the console is fine, exceptional even considering what you get. That's to be expected since they routinely sell these machines at a loss to get them in the hands of the game buying public.
$60 a pop for the games is insane though. I was raised on video games and I love video games but I'll be damned if I'm ever going to give anyone $60 for a game.
I still think the "optimum price" for a new game should be around $39. Anything more than that turns the game into an instant "I'll look at it again when it gets marked down, or I'll buy it used later on"
Appended to the end of comments you post. 120 chars.
Yeah, but cartridges are more expensive to manufacture than CDs and DVDs. All N64 games were more expensive than Playstation and Saturn games at the time.
This poo is cold.
One thing is for sure: It's time to start gearing up for an expensive Christmas.
Or wait a few months and get a Nintendo Revolution. Which should be cheaper.
I don't need a signature.
don't forget the effect of inflation on your wallet though. XBOX 360 isn't cheaper because the purchasing power of your dollar is also less than it was when the original XBOX came out.
The dollar may be worth less, but I have more of them. Get it?
But if you're cheap like me and willing to wait a year you can still find clearance priced games for $10 to $20! :-D
Don't forget that you will need to upgrade later to get the HD drive and higher def games.
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Who paid $199 for an NES? That was the mega-package with the robot that Nintendo put together to sneak their game console into stores that remembered The Great Video Game Crash of 1983. I bet most people bought the cheaper bundle; I know my NES console cost $80.
So enlighten us - what spooky awsome video action were you using in 1977 that made Combat look so lame?
Here's the history lesson: The idea that you could actually interact with images on a television screen was pretty damned novel back then. Stuff moved around, you shot at it, it went boom.
Which, in the final analysis, describes most of today's popular video games as well. The images and explosions are just prettier now. But it all still boils down to "Push button, go boom", doesn't it?