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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."

18 of 723 comments (clear)

  1. losses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    How much is microsoft losing on each xbox 360?

  2. I don't think so. by Godeke · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's time to start gearing up for an expensive Christmas.

    Um, no, I don't think so. I own all three consoles from the current generation. In fact, I have two PS2s... one for the living room and one for dressing room. I didn't originally mean for it to be that way: we kept the Game Cube in the living room because when people come over: it is the best for party games. We kept the PS2 out there so my son could continue playing the games he had become accustom to. I bought the X-Box when the price dropped and put it the dressing room so at night I could play without disturbing others. The Steel Battalions reissue didn't hurt.

    In the end I *had* to get another PS2 so I could actually play games I wanted. I felt like when I was a kid and we picked up an Odyssey instead of the Atari. There weren't enough games that *I* wanted to play. I still have my X-Box but I find myself working really hard to find games that have that slight edge on the X-Box to make buying them for it worthwhile. (Psychonauts is a recent example, one of a small number).

    Combine that with the fact that Live is overrun with punk kids (and now the 360 offers the new "see me flip you off" feature... OH BOY!), the lack of full backwards compatibility and the high price games they are going for... I think I will wait like I did with the X-Box for the price drop and the bargain bins of games. Maybe... if the PS3 doesn't take all my money when it comes out.

    --
    Sig under construction since 1998.
  3. Re:300? by rwven · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's hard to say. It might be two years before they add that feature so the xbox might be selling for 200 anyway. i'd imagine it would only raise the price by like 30-50 bucks, but i may be way off...

  4. $60 games is cheap! by rmccann · · Score: 2, Interesting

    $60 = 50. New games normally cost 60 at launch here in Ireland.

  5. Re:Still $300 by ucahg · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I paid $92 CDN for Ocarina of Time when it came out for N64.

    Let's see, back then that was probably still more than $59 USD.

  6. OT: where'd all the 4/5 comments go? by Damek · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Is it just me, or has something drastically changed here at Slashdot? I'm seeing almost no 4/5-moderated comments on any Slashdot stories for the past few days...

  7. Re:$60 for games too much? by Mr.Dippy · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I remember there was Virtual Racing for Sega Genesis that cost 100 bucks. The reason that cartridge games were so expensive because the game companies would load them up with RAM to make them have pretty graphics. Remember STrider for Sega Genesis. The box for it advertised that it had 8 megs of RAM! I believe the game sold for 70 bucks. There is no reason today to sell games for more because they get stamped on the same CD/DVD disc. Personally, I'm going to hold out on all three new consoles until I know which one is better and which one is more cost effective. I'm already squirmish about shelling out 50 bucks for a new game.

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    -Dipster
  8. Re:Still $300 by DavidLeblond · · Score: 3, Interesting

    *yawn* old news.

  9. No economist.... by mattmentecky · · Score: 2, Interesting

    But isn't there some sort of sticking point price for games? It seemed like it was $49.99, throw down a hundred and you get two, ya know? But $60? That seems way out of the realm. But thats just me.

    Either Microsoft doesn't realize that people will always spend within their means (ie if you have $500 in disposable income a year to spend on games, youre going to spend it if they are $50 or $60) or Microsoft is throwing in the towel and fixing a high price for games because they figure that gamers just won't buy a high number of their games and that there just won't be a large number of games to buy (which was a critique of the original Xbox, not enough games).

  10. Re:Still $300 by The-Bus · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Not only that, but games for $60.00 aren't THAT expensive. I remember Mortal Kombat was over that amount when it first came out, and that was a decade ago. And Nintendo games in the mid-to-late 80's were in the $40-50 range, which makes them about $70-75 now.

    What I do know is that, just like with current games, prices will plummet only a few months later. I bought Burnout 3 recently for $20 and I can't say that I minded waiting a year (or so) to play it.

    --

    Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

  11. It's not $299.99 from Wal-Mart... by rah1420 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...because Wal-Mart never prices anything ending in a '9'.

    I had heard that as an urban legend, but apparently it's true.

    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens.
  12. Re:Still $300 by j-turkey · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Not only that, but games for $60.00 aren't THAT expensive.

    Agreed. They're especially cheap when you consider entertainment time per dollar. A ticket for a full length movie is about $9. That's around two hours of entertainment, or about $4.50/hr. DVD's are even more expensive, not accounting for replayability. Supposing that your average game has about 20 hours of playability (I pulled that number out of my butt...but it seems pretty conservative). At $60, that's $3/hr, not accounting for replayability.

    Even at $60, most games are a relatively good value in terms of entertainment...although books, broadcast TV, and radio tend to trump it.

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    -Turkey

  13. Re:perhaps not as sure as you seem to think by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Kids, fortunately, are also optional.

  14. Re:Still $300 by Lumpy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Which is the unny part. i was a dyed-in-the-wool Sony freak, I have 2 PS-1's and 2 ps-2's and a crapload of PS2 games, I shunned the gamecube for the first year it was out until they dropped below the $100.00 mark, and made fun of Xbox owners that have to pay to play online (PS2 is Free on most games. I still play twisted metal black and the other older games online from time to time). So I got one for the $99.00 blowout price they have. and the last 10 games I bought have been Gamecube games. They simply seem to feel better. (Yes they typically are GC only titles.) Even games that are on both platforms look and feel better on the GC to me... 007 Nightfire for example, looks and has smoother gameplay on the Gamecube, and yes I have it for both systems.

    The fact that I can play 4 people on the Gamecube without shelling out for a special adapter and there are more fun multiplayer games for the GC than the PS2 make it something I can not ignore.

    to the point that I did not buy a PSP but a DS and I am ingoring for the forst time sony's new system that will come out...

    I really hope that sony will focus the developers on gameplay for the PS3, because the PS2 failed miserably by not having even 1/2 the great fun titles that the origional PS1 had...

    unfortunately, most games are headed down the eyecandy over playability road.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  15. Re:No XBOX by DaveCBio · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Well, since I'm married I don't give a crap about getting girls to like my games. My wife finished San Andreas before me so I have no worries there. Also, I like games where my ability to learn and improve has an impact on gameplay. Retro games are fun once in a while, but they are shallow. You want to sit there and play NES while I check out the new GTA go ahead.

  16. Re:Wal-Mart employees by dTox · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Now just how many Wal-Mart employee paychecks would it take to buy an XBox 360...?

    Is that men's paychecks or women's?

  17. Re:Still $300 by dreold · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Many manufacturers have agreements with their distributors specifying a Minimum Advertised Price (MAP). This is why you will never find Sony or Apple gear advertised outside of maybe a 1-5% difference of Manufacturer's Suggested Retail price (MSRP). These agreements can go as far as specifying the Actual Selling Price.

    Mind you this only really works with items that are somewhat high profile ("AAA") as in those cases the market will actually bear these prices for an extended period. And in cases where the actual top level distribution is very tightly controlled (Apple, for example), there may be only so many places where a retailer can purchase the goods. Since a retailer needs to make a specific margin on a product they sell, the "Street Price" can be controlled through wholesale pricing, under above mentioned circumstances.

    If you look at very large distributors/retailers who can take advantage of volume discounts, they sometimes print or say "Call for price" in their advertising which means they have some sort of agreement with the manufacturer or want to maintain a "friendly" relationship with their supplier.

    Note: I use the terms manufacturer and distributor sort of loosely here, you get the idea though.

  18. Re:Funny, by Dirtside · · Score: 3, Interesting

    No, clearly the name "PS3" is merely a number in base 29 (digits: 0123456789ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRS). So in reality, it'll cost $22,710!

    --
    "Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased