XBox 360 Bundles Top $700

Gamespot is reporting that, with some idea of the skus that will be available for the Xbox 360 when it launches, game retailers are now prepping incredibly expensive console bundles for the first of the next-gen systems. From the article: "...when hot new gaming systems come out, supply is short, and demand is often so high that retailers can elect to sell the units only as parts of bundles that include accessories and games of the retailer's choosing. EBgames.com unveiled its holiday offerings today, and the prices may make some gamers feel as though they're getting 'scrooged.' Like Microsoft, EB Games is offering two bundles, one for gamer's interested in the Core System and one for gamers eyeing the premium package. The Xbox 360 Core Bundle is priced at $599.93, and it includes everything in the standard package, plus an extra wired controller, a 64MB memory unit, and four games: Perfect Dark Zero: Limited Edition, Dead or Alive 4, Project Gotham Racing 3, and Kameo: Elements of Power. Using Microsoft's announced pricing for peripherals and an assumed $59.99 price point for Xbox 360 games, the package unbundled would come to $618.94. "

Comments

Re:Jesus, that's a lot for a game system

[Red Flayer]

Retailers fully understand that sales of the 360 will be abysmal at a price point of $600 (especially once they've bundled the accessories and games), which is why they've pressured MS to release a scaled-down version.

Base model of the XBox 360 will retail for about $400. Full functionality will require spending another couple hundred bucks -- want to play XBox games? Better have that hard drive. Want a second controller? How about a memory card?

The decision to bundle XBox 360 consoles is made by retailers, but the decision to do so is enabled by MS's pricing and distribution policies -- a limited supply at product release ensures that fanatics will pay whatever the retailer wants.

It remains to be seen if the market will bear a price so high.

IMO, the only reason to purchase the XBox 360 is because of the extra potential that 2nd generation games will (hopefully) utilize. Without buying the full-fledged model, all I can say is... good luck with that.

From a sales standpoint, there is a world of difference between $249 and $399. Much of the market for consumer electronics balks at paying more than $300 for an appliance. I, for one, will not pay more than $200 for a game system, period.

Does this lock me out of a new console for a while? Sure.

But are the games that take full advantage of a console's power available within a year of launch? No way. And until those games are released, I have a better time with tried-and-true games on the previous generation of consoles.

Re:Jesus, that's a lot for a game system

[KDR_11k]

TFA mentions that it's 600$ for the "core" version with all the crap you don't want thrown in. Want a harddrive and wireless? Well, that's 700$.

Didn't the 3DO fail because of similar prices?