Slashdot Mirror
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. "
Well, there's always Christmas of '06, right?
What on earth is a 'skus'?
A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
...for the PSP, didn't it?
Consumers aren't going to bite on this. There's a limit to what people will accept. Forced bundles worked for the PS2 but that's really the only time they've worked, and everybody knows now that if you just wait 5 minutes there will be plenty of bare systems around to buy if that's what you want.
I have no doubt - none - that you'll be able to walk into a store on launch day, plunk down $300 or $400, and walk out with nothing but an Xbox 360 box if that's all you want. That's the way it was on PSP and DS launch day, and MS is saying they'll have a million Xbox 360's on sale at that system's launch. Save your money - don't preorder. Don't be a sucker. Show these idiots that forced bundles don't work anymore.
Not that Microsoft people read Slashdot, but in case one happens to...
That's just too much for a game system. I usually buy the new consoles when they come out (proud owner of a PS2, XBox, and Atari 2600), but these prices have pushed them out of the realm of game system and into the realm of major electronics investment. Even the so-called "core bundle" is as expensive than what I paid for my surround-sound system. More expensive bundles are pushing what I paid for my flat screen HDTV, which is the centerpiece of my whole entertainment system.
I know that Microsoft is trying to push the XBox 360 as a high-end electronics component, but the vast majority of people are going to just see it as a fancy game system. If you look at the official fact sheet, there is little to support anything more than that. A Windows Media Center extender? How many people do they think own Windows Media Center PCs anyway?
I guess what I'm saying is that while the XBox 360 looks like a really kick-ass game system, $600 to $700 is just too much money to pay to watch the Dead or Alive girls do their thing.
Am I the only one thinking "holy crap I could buy a half-decent PC for that price?!"
Here's an idea... why don't you just buy the core system AND Halo 3? Or better yet, WAIT until Halo 3 is released when PS3 is launched, and after Microsoft slashes prices. I'm buying and XBOX 360 Complete/whatever pack that has the HDD and wireless controller/headset whatever, plus Halo 3. Total cost = XBOX + Halo 3. Which, when the time comes, will be something like 300 to 400$
I'll subscribe to Slashdot when I see a month without a dupe, a typo, or an article the "editors" didn't read.
I never bought an XBox from them, and I'm just waiting for the 360 to come out so I can pick up an XBox on the cheap - used, the day after the 360 comes out so I can drop Linux on a couple of them for MythTV.
:\
The only reason I might ever have considered the XBox is due to the fact that it could do real HD output at 720p, where my PS2 couldn't.
That's not enough to make me do business with Microsoft though. Sorry.
The people I would love to hurt are the ones at Square-Enix. If I understand right, Final Fantasy is now 360-exclusive. So much for Final Fantasy.
Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).
Christmas or not, I'd definately get my games off ebay.
I see another video game crash coming. I certainly won't be buying any of the Next Big Systems, and I don't think I'm the only one.
No its not exclusive, infact they have stated just the opposit, that they hope to be getting it onto any system that can support it (which leads people to beleive a PS3 and Mac version is comming)
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
Ugh! Are they crazy? It looks like Xbox 360 is going to price its way right out of many living rooms. There's no way I'm paying $600-$700 for this. Where is the market they seem to be aiming for? What launch games will justify this? And quite honestly, what is the current Xbox not doing that is going to make people go out and buy a much much more expensive console without a lot of games? This bundling madness has got to stop or else it's going to put a real damper on the launch much like expensive bundles did for the PSP launch.
To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
If I understand right, Final Fantasy is now 360-exclusive. So much for Final Fantasy. :\
There's no way Square-Enix would go Xbox exclusive unless the 360 manages to gain significantly more than 1% market share in S-E's home country. It's just begging to cut out half your consumer base. However, note that in the article I just linked to it states that a separate company, run by one of the creators of Final Fantasy, will be making at least two RPGs for the 360. It doesn't state whether or not they will be exclusive but I assume they will be. That may be the source of all the FF is now Xbox exclusive rumors I've been hearing for awhile.
The laws of probability forbid it!
It's too diversified. How many gamers are interested in *all* of these titles? Because otherwise (remember, you only save 20$ on the bundle) the bundle doesn't save you a buck over the suggested retail price.
I never spellcheck and I freely admit it. Save your karma for more worthwhile "lol erorrs" replies
Yes, but said PC wouldn't look pretty under the TV. Only since living with my significantly better half have I realised how important that feature is.
If I've learn't one thing over the last few years: wireless controllers were invented for men who live with women. Women hate wires. They see them as mess. Mess means grief. Its worth paying more for less grief - even if it means there is a little bit of lag, and extra batteries to buy.
Consoles tend to be quieter than PCs. Again this is important. If said better half is in the room whilst you're playing (a rarity) all they can hear is the fan, even if you've got the 5.1 turned up to 11.
Consoles have near instant on. This is important because a good women demands a lot of attention, and doesn't like to think that her precious 'you and me' time is shared between her and a 'stupid box in the corner'. You need to be able to grab every moment you can when and if you can, instant on is important for this.
Consoles can be bought as presents. If you live on a budget, and the better half wants to splash out on you don't ask her to buy you a new PC. She'll get it wrong. Ask her to buy you a XBox 360 and 9/10 she'll get it right and everyone is happy.
Scared of flying, pointy things snce 1979!
People need to realize that there are other stores out there, and these are the bundles that EB are offering now. People who are pre-ordering now are probably the idiots with money to burn, and they're taking advantage of that. Most likely they'll be offering non-bundled preorders. Even if they don't, and the other game retailers don't, you can always buy an Xbox at non-game retailers (Best Buy, Walmart, Target, etc, and from my experience they usually don't sell out as fast). I got my PSP, minus the bundle, on launch day pre-ordering from Compusmart (a canadian retailer). The day after launch I walked into Futureshop (a canadian Best Buy like store, that was bought by Best Buy...) and they had unbundled PSP's for sale. So it ain't the end of the world.
People get so freaked out over what is a package at a retailer. It's not like the EB death squads will be coming around to collect your $700 for the evil M$FT!!! Buy the console, get a game or two if you like and relax. These packages are gonna be all over the place, hopefully we are only seeing hysteria because it is more or less the first one out there.. Do you honestly think these packages are gonna make up a large percentage of 360 sales? I really can't see that being the case.
You can fool some of the people all of the time
It only tops $700 when you include shipping and handling, and the article blurb itself shows a price of $618. Misleading title.
I wouldn't have bothered quibbling, but I'm still nirged with the earlier "Planescapes Torment" gaffe.
#19845
I have to wonder if this is EB Games' harebrained idea or Microsoft's. My money's on the former. With the EB/Gamestop merger coming up suddenly Best Buy and Wal-Mart are starting to sound like better places to buy games now. -shudder-
A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men... --Willy Wonka
And some other points:
Media Center PCs ARE this price. People still aren't buying them.
Wireless controllers are like remote controls you never have to share. And when the children and pets come, it's a lot easier to hide/move/keep out of reach.
I just don't think instant-on applies. My XP laptop wakes up nearly instantly, then the boot-up time for WCIII is no worse than GT4 - and GT4 takes longer with all the individual races to load. It's just a lot nicer to play laying back on the couch than using a dinner tray as a desk.
Are any stores offering financing for this thing? There's no way in hell I can afford to hand over $700+ on a system and games, all at once!
-==- Buy a Mac and leave me alone!
You do realize that this is EB Games creating the bundle, and not Microsoft, right? Wait until launch day, come in a little late to work, and stop by a Best Buy or Target first thing in the morning. Cost to you: 399 plus tax. Seriously, nobody ever goes into Target the first day to buy game systems. When PSPs were hard to come by at game stores the first couple weeks, Target was overloaded with them. Best Buy will sell out pretty quickly, but they always do a preorder card months before, which will be for the system only.
Why is everyone saying that microsoft is behind these bundles? It's EB that has created them not MS.
Is the whole slashdot community really full clueless asshats?
Like many rational people above mentioned, no one is going to hold a gun to your head and make you go to EB to buy an Xbox Bundle. Buy one wherever you want, it won't be that hard. Christ...
This is why I gloss over nearly everything in the gaming forums anymore. Rumor comes around, talking heads take it as fact and run around saying, "Oh my god the new systems are gonna cost a MILLION dollars?!?! Holy fuck!!! I smell a gaming crash."
The industry is more healthy that it's ever been regardles of what JoeSlashdotUser thinks. Try to think of someone you know that hasn't at least played the with the big 3 systems or PC, much less owns them, hard eh? Plus, think about the technology you're actually getting in these little boxes, and what they used to cost with inflation figured in and all, and it's not THAT bad. Christ. Again. Calm down people.
People bark about "playing the same damn game over and over", well hell, think about it. Has there ever been a time in gaming history that you can really look back on and see the absolute flood of games for multiple systems and platforms that's around currently? There really is something for everyone, really. Don't play Madden 0x, or GTA:IX Bagdhad if you don't want to...given the variety and creativity that's really out there if you just look, everyone can find something they like. And they will. Come release day for all these systems, people will be buying them, playing games...unlike you Curmudgeon Gamer hearkening for the old days of Pong.
The people I would love to hurt are the ones at Square-Enix. If I understand right, Final Fantasy is now 360-exclusive. So much for Final Fantasy. :\
Where in the world did you get that idea? FF XI is going to be ported, but that's pretty much it for the moment.
There's another "main" FF game coming out for the PS2, as well.
"Is the whole slashdot community really full clueless asshats?"
Nah, some of them haven't eaten yet.
This is just EB Games testing the waters. Game Stop and Amazon will also be taking pre-orders. Chances are, they will use bundles too. Note to retailers: if you must do a bundle why not offer the system plus, say, two games, and have a drop-down menu so people can choose their games? I understand you don't make much on the console, but this way you could still make a profit on the games without forcing people buy games they don't care about.
The preview button is my friend. Hello mister preview button...where were you on that last one jackass......
Shhhhhh! I'd like used XBoxen to be 5 for $100 come Christmas time...
This rating is Unfair ( ) ( ) Fair (*) Funny
Sigh... If only. Modding would be so much more fun.
Most likely, you only need one game and a memory card. The rest is unecessary, especially if you don't want all the titles.
Here's a "honey" offer to their "vinegar" offer. How about core or deluxe XBox360 and $5 off the total price for each game (no duplicates) and controller. The PSP bundles were high-priced, but you got to choose your games. Since the games are by Microsoft and affiliates, they don't have to pay the licensing fee. The MSRP of $59.99 is for licensed games and the bundle games are MSRP $49.99. So $618 - $40 is $568. Hey, I'm paying $30 for the privelege of the bundle!
I think EB will soon see that heavy-handed tactics do not work.
The people I would love to hurt are the ones at Square-Enix. If I understand right, Final Fantasy is now 360-exclusive. So much for Final Fantasy. :\
Making a major RPG Xbox exclusive would be a major mistake. The majority of RPG sales come from Japan, where the Xbox doesn't sell very well.
Considering Square-Enix is the biggest name in RPGs, I would think they would know better than anyone what a mistake that would be.
Final Fantasy will NOT be 360-exclusive, however they said that they may make a single FF 360-Exclusive game.
If you're in Canada, I'd suggest Canadian Tire. On PS2 launch day, when every other store in the city was sold out of PS2s, every Canadian Tire in the city had at least ten consoles sitting on the shelves.
Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
The same package in the UK will cost the equivalent of $948.47 - based on an assumed game price of £49.99.
So please stop your damned moaning.
My Mind Is Rewired. Is Yours?
As I recall, the launch bundles for the original Xbox were $500 to $700 on EBgames.com back in 2001 and the technology has certainly come a long way since then. I've watched several launches come and go on EBgames.com and they always start out high at launch and then trickle down to unbundled systems after the demand dies down. Damn capitalists! I do appreciate that they don't include a lot of unnecessary crap in their bundles, but I wish I could pick my own games. I heard through a well-connected source that when they tried that for the PSP they ended up with over 2,500 bundle combinations. Apparently a logistics nightmare. The good news is that if you don't like forced bundles (I don't) you can always go into an EB store and pre-order an unbundled system.
The intelligent time to buy a 360 is the PS3's launch date, not it's own. Ian
IIRC the Neo Geo was $600, just for the CONSOLE. Games were an amazing $200 each.
Yeah, that sold well. And that was many moons ago.
Makes the Xbox bundles a great deal by comparison.
"Game is art." If only it was him talking instead of J Allard...
"This is considered plagiarism."
Game Stop now has a $1,199.83 bundle available. And theirs start at $799. Stop the insanity.
Do you really think that EB and other stores won't be pushing PS3 or Revolution bundles? They want to rake in as much launch cash as they can and bundles are how they do it. The thing is, as much as people bitch and whine many would have bought the same configuration anyway and you will be able to find unbundled versions as well.
Memory card, four games (all of which are ports), wireless controller, tote bag with Bill Gates face on it, 6 action figures from unrelated Sega Genisis games, a 14 inch orange latex dildo (the colour didn't sell well), and you have to pack away the green-fuzzy 6-month-old left over lunches from the EB staff fridge.
Whatever. Local retailers (including EB) pulled the same crap with the PSP. I'll just wait till the hype is done (again) if I decide I want one of these things.
To correspond with the title of the article, the next paragraph is really the interesting one.
"The Xbox 360 Ultimate Bundle weighs in at just under $700. Gamers (or generous parents) willing to shell out $699.92 will get the Xbox 360 "premium" package, plus an extra wireless controller with a Play & Charge Kit, a rechargeable battery back for wireless controllers, and the four games mentioned above. Doing some quick math, the sum of the bundle's pieces would be $720.93, again assuming a $59.99 price point for games."
While the $600 dollar bundle is only for the Core system, to get the premium bundle with the hard drive, head set, etc., you're over $700 with tax and shipping.
Too right. The bundling thing was just obnoxious with the PSP. They attempted something like that my local at Toys R' Us. The cheapest bundle that they had was around $400, and it was the only way to pre-order.
So a friend and I stop by on launch day thinking it's a lost cause. Instead, there was an overstaffed crew standing in front a ton of PSP's and even more games. They still had the ads claiming that you needed to purchase a bundle, but by the time we walked in the writing was on the wall and it had just become a "suggestion".
I can see how console makers and retailers benefit from the perception of a shortage because it creates a sense of "gotta have it" hysteria in the consumer base. However, an actual shortage would be disastrous because your profits rely on as big of an installed base as possible. You can do all the hand-waving and gloomy press releases you want warning of a shortage, but on launch day you better be loaded to the gills with product. And that's when supply-and-demand takes over and exposes these bundles as a joke.
I'm surprised that Sony and Microsoft allow retailers to do these things, because people tend to blame the console maker even though it's really the retailer's scheme. Just look at some of the comments here.
You don't think there haven't been people saying this for every single platform launch for the past 20 years? The Xbox/PS2/GC generation was supposed to be the death of creativity and the video game market too, but it hasn't happened yet.
Flash! Slashdot headlines inaccurate reporting about hugely inflated price of microsoft product; Apple/Sony/Nintendo geeks rejoice!
I enjoy slashdot's story comments, but no one takes any of you seriously anymore - there's a line between fanboys and minutemen, and we passed it about 4 years ago.
"News for idiots, stuff thats irrelevent"
Is sticker shock supposed to be a thing of the past? I don't think it is...
True story.
You know, as far as I can tell, these bundles are only being offered online and are not going to reflect the kind of thing gamers and other consumers shopping for gamers should expect at brick and mortar stores.
It's absolutely ridiculous that this is even a story, if you ask me. The bundle SKU that Microsoft is offering is $399.99. Any additional items bundled are up to the discretion of the retailer and if you choose not to buy into it, you don't have to. If you want to buy the core system, that'll run you $300. If you want the bells and whistles, pay the extra $300. If you think a bundle is a good deal for you and you want all of that extra crap, go for it.
Gamestop has been taking pre-orders for the stand alone units for awhile, EB has been doing the same, and there's been no mention of "bundles" anywhere but online. So you know...relax.
Even $400, if the system is kick-ass, is doable. But as someone else pointed out, the point of TFA is that we won't be able to get an Xbox 360 for $300 or $400.
For a while, the only way anyone will be able to get a system will be to either a) steal one, b) buy one off of eBay (good luck paying $299 or $399...), or c) buy a bundle priced at $600.
Why? Some people blame the stores (and make no mistake, I do too), but Microsoft shares some of the blame, too. As TFA said, "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." Bundles that, according to TFA cost at a minimum $599.93 for a "Core Bundle," which includes an extra controller, a 64MB memory card, and four games.
Well, you've got me there. I guess my defense is that the Atari 2600 was pretty revolutionary at the time; it offered a lot the no one had ever seen before. The Xbox 360 has fancier graphics, but is otherwise pretty much just the next in a line of products, ho hum. Is it really worth the extra moolah? I guess everyone will have to decide for themselves, and maybe it is for some people, but I personally don't think so.
but you'd do business with MPAA + RIAA member, Sony?
why do business with any evil company in the first place (if you can help it).
Science : Proprietary , Knowledge : Open Source
Well, there's the rub. I don't really play PS2. I play online football, and that's about it. Up till recently, I played nfl2k online. Of course there's no new games in that series until at least next season, so I'm not really big into buying new games.
:\
I had a choice once upon a time, and Sony was still the lesser evil. Whether that's slated to change is beyond me.
Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).
fair enough - but I'd blame that on the developers, no?
Now I'm stuck with 4 crap games, and 1 crap portable game player I never use.
Stay away from bundles like these, they just make you pee money.
A fool and his money are soon parted.
I find it amusing that so many people like the xPox here considering all the microsoft bashing we see on slashdot...
Back on topic: i think the price is ridiculous and i can't see around me who would want to spend even the 300+$ for the core system. I mean the other systems now are around 100$, right ?
200$ is stretching it for a game console, anything over is way out of reach of kids (imagine having 2 kids each asking you 300$ gifts..)
And from what i read, you can change the memory module on the console ? I can't wait to have to upgrade my game consoles to play newer games... NOT!
Good strategy tho, sell 300$ console, sell 100$ hard drive, sell 100$ memory upgrade. A year later release another 100$ memory upgrade with twice the ram.
100% of statistics are wrong.
This type of bundling and pre-ordering is soley for the retailers to profit more. As it is, the margins on video games and consoles is very very small. So in order for a game retailer to make money they need to sell a lot of used games and they need to sell popular new games in high quantity.
Most importantly they need to know exactly how many copies of a game to order. Buying a few extra copies of a game and never selling can eat the profits earned of all the copies sold. That's why stores like pre-orders. They can order exactly the right number of items they are going to sell. And places like EB know that they are the only game in town for guaranteeing people their hardware will be in store on launch day.
So to maximize profit they toss in a bundle. That way they can sell copies of games they normally wouldn't sell. The people who absolutely must have the system ASAP will buy it anyway.
Personally I'll buy a bundle as long as everything in the bundle is things I would buy anyway. But if there is even one item in the bundle I don't want I wont do it. The reason is that the bundle price is usually less than the sume of the prices of the separate items. But I hate it when they throw shitty games and 3rd party controllers in there.
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