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Analyst Says Two 360 Versions At Launch
An analyst with Piper Jaffray believes that there will be two Xbox 360 skus at launch, reports GameDailyBiz. From the article: "Microsoft knows $299 is important...They know that historically that's been the launch sweet spot, but they also don't want to take such large hardware losses this time. Of the 1 million units Microsoft is expected to have available at launch, I expect 80% of them will probably be the more expensive SKU, because that's what early adopters are going to want."
I've seen no evidence for 2 SKUs, and certainly nothing to indicate that Microsoft would release a version without a hard drive, when you need one to run games at all.
His entire argument appears to be based on "the hardware is expensive, so Microsoft is going to have to sell it at $399". Did he not notice how it is no more expensive than the XBox they launched last time at $299?
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parents are who dont know are going to pick up the cheaper one, thinking that store just has a better price. then feel ripped off once they find out they could have bought the extras at once - for 100$ cheaper at the outset.
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Most customers will also purchase one game - bringing the total up to 360.
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Wireless networking perhaps, a few games, possibly a promised free upgrade to HD DVD when it comes out. Any number of things could push the price.
We've already got a good handle on what we'll get with the $299 model, but what extras should we expect in a $350 or $399 model?
Including an HD-DVD drive would seem to jibe with some of their other recent comments. Having two separate versions of the console out there would ensure that no game would ever be produced on the HD-DVD format, but it would mean you'd be getting an HD-DVD player for basically $100. That's a deal I think some people might take. If they also included a larger hard drive and an extra accessory or two, I think it might even be too good to pass up.
They've already said they'll include an HD-DVD drive at some point, and have shown no aversion at all to having multiple SKUs out there. They haven't said they'll do it at launch, but it's at least no dumber to do it at launch than it is to do it any other time.
Unless Microsoft doesn't give users a choice, I'd bet most would go with the $299 model.
It would depend on what's in the higher-priced model. If it's just a bunch of extra stuff I can buy separately later, then no thanks. I'm sure most people would feel that way - people hate bundles.
But if there's an HD-DVD drive and a larger hard drive, for only $100 more, then even I - bundle-hater of all bundle-haters - would probably spring for the higher-end model. But I doubt that's the way it's going to go down. It's probably just going to be a "value pack" with a couple of over-priced accessories.
I do think the "80%" number is kind of out there, unless this analyst knows something we don't. My gut feeling is he's confusing the fact that these early adopters are usually forced to spend more money than they want to with the desire to spend more money than they need to. They are not the same thing. I think 99% of early adopters would love to pay less than they do for the products they buy, it's just that they never have that choice. If MS gives them that choice, most of them will opt for the cheaper model until it's sold out. (And it seems reasonable to expect them to sell out fast, leaving the appearance that there are two models on the market and that MS is trying to please everyone, but in fact there is only in practical terms one model out there and it's $400.)
Not that it matters since the article is pure speculation anyway, but I find it amusing that you take their speculation, add some of your own conjecture, then you talk of how stupid those moves (that you made up) would be, and thus conclude that either the original speculation or MS is dumb.
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Why do we keep seeing these news stories that just turn out to be an opinion from someone who has nothing to do with what's actually going on? Stuff like this should only really count as "news" if it's coming out of the mouth of someone at Microsoft.
"many conversations with Microsoft" aside, his guesses are probably no better than mine.
-"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -EH
I don't think that there has ever been a successful console that launched with more than one version/price point.
Yes. The NES was a dismal failure, as everyone knows. It failed so quickly that nobody has even heard of it. Here's a link to wikipedia detailing it's dismal fall into obscurity.
Hey, Microsoft! Where's the $100 XBox? Some of us "late adaptors" would like a piece of the action.