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Retail Ads Hint At $50 360 Price Cut

Posted by Zonk on from the next-gen-gamers-rejoice dept.

Following closely on the heels of Sony's $100 cut in price for the PlayStation 3, retail ads seem to indicate an upcoming $50 price drop for the Xbox 360. Gamespot investigates the rumour: "It's clear that a number of retailers are expecting an Xbox 360 price cut next week, so much so that they're willing to buy print advertising for it. If that's the case, Microsoft almost certainly told them to expect a price cut, and when it would be fine to start promoting it. When Microsoft actually decides to announce it remains to be seen, although sources close to the software giant are grousing through back channels that the discounting's cover has already been blown." This comes right on time for the annual release of Madden, Bioshock, and Blue Dragon.

113 comments

  1. How about you fix the problems instead? by Dr+Kool,+PhD · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'd pay $50 more if it meant I didn't have to send my console back for repair every four months. The RRoD rate for 360s is ridiculous.

    1. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'd pay $50 more if it meant I didn't have to send my console back for repair every four months. The RRoD rate for 360s is ridiculous.

      They've had eyes on a subscription model for software for some time, perhaps this is their entry into doing it for hardware

    2. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's why I haven't bought one and modded it. My original Xbox keeps chuggin' away though.

    3. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by MBraynard · · Score: 1

      The revisions you are likely to find on the shelf will not have this problem.

    4. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What the fuck???

      Brand new 360s continue to drop dead daily. Every console discussion board has an active thread with the dimwits who were dumb enough to go out and actually bought a 360 cry about how their brand new 360 RRoDed after 5 minutes of turning it on.

      The 360 is a piece of garbage that only a absolute moron would waste money on.

    5. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by Kazzahdrane · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I work in games retail. Xbox 360s have some hardware problems which result in the RRoD. This used to be a daily occurrence where I work (people returning faulty units) but now it's much less regular (still a few a week, less than 4 usually). Obviously, this is still a bit crap. However, the clip-on nature of the 360 harddrive means we can give customers a new console and have them playing again without losing any data in less time than it takes to serve a grandmother who wants to know about that "double-u aye aye thing". The thing about the RRoD is that while it's a (diminishing, IMO) problem, it's pretty much the only real thing MS haters can complain about with the Xbox 360. It's not a piece of garbage - it's a powerful console with a shit load of games, and a bunch of pretty spectacular-looking ones out between now and Xmas. The PS3 seems to be a very robust machine, I guess MS rushed a bit too much to be first out of the gate.

    6. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

      No, the 360 is a piece of garbage. Any piece of hardware with at 35 percent failure rate is a piece of garbage. Any piece of hardware that the manufacturer has to spend over a billion dollars on repairs is a piece of garbage.

      The console market is not the special olympics where 'everyone is a winner'. The 360 is the worst console ever created in the history of the console market.

      No company will ever have the same combination of utter incompetence and almost unlimited resourced to create such a piece of shit as the 360 ever again. Thankfully.

    7. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by Kazzahdrane · · Score: 2, Insightful

      35% failure rate is total bull. Where that number originally came from I have no idea but I've seen it thrown around online over the last couple of months. If I had to guess, I'd say it's closer to 7 or 8% (still dreadful for a consumer electronics product). I suggest you do some research into the history of the console market, you clearly don't remember anything before the Xbox. Not on the same scale but the early PS2s were pretty rickety, my flatmate had 5 in the first 2 years of the console. Dodgy disc lasers were the main offender. And I shouldn't have to mention the many, many disasters that companies tried to pass off as consoles. Lynx ring a bell? N-Gage? Virtual Boy? 32X? The.....Gizmondo? I play my 360 most days and have great fun online with my many friends who also have one. You don't think highly of Microsoft's build quality, that's fine - I've seen enough faulty units to know they made a big mistake with whatever it is inside the unit that causes so many problems. Out of the 3 current gen consoles I still think it provides the best gaming experience, even factoring in the possibility that your console might break down and you'll be console-less for a short time while you wait for a replacement (unless you live in Europe and can just return it to the store for a replacement there and then). You probably don't agree with my logic, that's fine too. As long as you're playing games we have something in common.

    8. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by grumbel · · Score: 2, Informative

      ### 35% failure rate is total bull.

      That number comes right from Microsoft. They never said that number directly, but they did say that they are going to spend one billion to handle the defects, given that 10 million XBox360 are released into the wild, just do the math and you will see that the failure rate is between 25%-70%, the lowest end is when a repair cost as much as a brand new XBox360, $400, the high end assume that it cost them $140 to repair one, the price they charged for out-of-warranty repairs. The ~30% failure rate was also independently confirmed by a few retailers.

    9. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by Scottoest · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Hi Dr. Kool,

      I see you've taken time out of your day, astruturfing in every PS3 thread, talking about how great it is, etc., to pretend you're an XBOX 360 owner now.

      Unfortunately for your selective reality, Microsoft already allocated $1 Billion dollars towards fixing the console problems. The fact that you would try to complain about their $50 price-cut on these terms, and then pray no one recognizes your username from all of those PS3 threads, is hilarious.

      Seriously everyone, just find any thread about the PS3, and then search for "Dr. Kool". It's rip roaring entertainment.

      - Scott

    10. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And this makes the 360 any less of a piece of shit...how?

      Big pile of dog crap! 50 dollars off!

    11. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      I think the 10 billion is supposed to be the total cost of the warranty extension, so they're also counting the expected cost of replacements for 360s yet to be sold plus things like customer service and shipping. Anecdotal data about 30% failure rates could be attributable to things like bad batches or statistical fluctuations (i.e. if the real failure rate were 10% the chance of a store experiencing a 30% failure rate would be non-negligible).

      I'm a Wii fanboy and I want to see the 360 and PS3 fail, but let's try to be reasonable about things. The failure rate on the 360 is clearly unacceptable, but I have a hard time imagining that it's in the 30s.

    12. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by PhoenixOne · · Score: 1

      I thought it was bull too until I turned my unit on last month and saw the three lights. Now I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was true.

      --
      Spell cheek you've failed me four the last thyme!
    13. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by JFMulder · · Score: 1

      You must live in fantasy land where shipping a console both ways and paying someone by the hour to fix something, all of this at the cost of Microsoft, doesn't cost a thing.

    14. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by Walpurgiss · · Score: 1

      I don't have a 360, and modded my xbox the day I got it just to play nes/snes/genesis/atari games on it; but I went through 3 PS2s before the slim ones came out due to the laser. First one stopped reading discs and gave me errors, 2nd one couldn't read any of the blue discs (Like Virtua Fighter 4). Third one also developed disc read errors. Slim one so far has worked fine; though I only play GH on it with the rest just stuck in the ps3. But anyway; point is, not only Xbox360 proponents had problems with PS2. There's reasons besides hardware costs and form factor for the 15 (16?) revisions of PS2 hardware out there.

    15. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by Kazzahdrane · · Score: 1

      You slipped up, troll. You almost seemed like a MS hater who just felt strongly about it until you denied the PS2 failures. You know nothing about consoles. Although it's supposedly impossible to win arguments on the Internet, I just did. *smug mode*

    16. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by LKM · · Score: 1

      Microsoft put away enough money to fix 100% of all sold 360s. I have no idea what the failure rate is, but Microsoft clearly expects it to be higher than 7% or 8%.

    17. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by pokerdad · · Score: 1

      You must live in fantasy land where shipping a console both ways and paying someone by the hour to fix something, all of this at the cost of Microsoft, doesn't cost a thing.

      I don't have any knowledge of this situation, but I think I can be pretty sure if the costs you mentioned exceded what it costs Microsoft to build an XBox, they wouldn't repair a single unit; failures would just result in replacements.

    18. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by twistedsymphony · · Score: 1

      35% failure rate is total bull.
      I'm fairly certain that number is exaggerated from the Daily Tech article that was pretty much the straw that broke the camels back before MS admitted the problem.

      They got data from nearly every major retailer about return rates and saw that most stores were getting 1/4 to 1/3 (25%-33%) returned. Some of the stores supplied more concrete numbers than others but it was the first article to actually put a real number behind the failure rates beyond speculation from executive double speak.

      Reading the article it would seem most stores fall on the lower end of the spectrum, more towards 25%, but up until that point the only numbers we had were from MS saying it was between 3 and 5%.

      So while it is exaggerated, it's not complete BS and it is based on something... I'll hold my comment about the people who think they can somehow determine the failure rate from MS's claimed cost of the recall.
      --
      Collector's Edition
    19. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by Kazzahdrane · · Score: 1

      The only thing I can think of is that the problem is more widespread in the USA. It's a well-known problem here, but my personal experience is much lower than even 1/5th of the stock we sell.

    20. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by nullChris · · Score: 1

      I had the RRoD. I immediately researched, and tried a few options. What worked for me: Clearing cache, and deleting a corrupted save game. How these items became corrupted, I don't know (heat or surge causing computation errors? Bug in code?), but research and action combined took me about 20 minutes. No problems since for my January 2006 console.

      All this said, I don't doubt there are some bigger hardware errors out there, but I'd be willing to bet mostpeople see the red ring, and consider it done with.

    21. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by Raenex · · Score: 1

      I wonder how many people just call Microsoft directly without returning it to the retail store?

    22. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by Kazzahdrane · · Score: 1

      In the EU? Probably less than 1%. Here you get a 1 year warranty from the seller on almost all "hardware" (TVs, washing machines, consoles, lawnmowers) and people know that. In fact, IIRC in mainland Europe it's 2 years - here in the UK we haven't caught up yet.

    23. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by PhoenixOne · · Score: 1

      My RRoD doesn't allow me to do anything. So, unless there is some key-combo or hidden switch on the XBox360 I don't know about, I'm not sure how I can clean the cache (and my save files are on the harddrive which I removed).

      Fun side note: when I took it to the UPS store they knew exactly what it was. They said they get, on average, 5 a day! And they are not the biggest UPS store front in my area.

      Maybe 1 in 3 is low...

      --
      Spell cheek you've failed me four the last thyme!
    24. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by nullChris · · Score: 1

      Whoops, forgot some important info. I was able to get the console up and running again by yanking the peripherals (GH2 controller, vision camera), and removing the hard drive. Once it came back up, I tried again with just the hard drive, and proceeded from there. Perhaps some of its drivers also became corrupt.

    25. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by canUbeleiveIT · · Score: 1

      Damn dude, I forgot about you.

      Do you remember this discussion thread? I'm canUbeleiveIT. I meant to answer but a lot of crap has happened in the past two weeks and and now the discussion is closed. If you want to chat, my email is brian.alarcan (omit this part and use the at) gmail.com. I will do my best to answer any questions that I can without the usual Christian evangelizing B.S.


    26. Re:How about you fix the problems instead? by PhoenixOne · · Score: 1

      Oh. You may have solved the issue or it may just be random. I got a couple of RRoD that went away if I just powered off then on again. Or your RRoD could be power-related (make sure the power-brick is getting enough air-flow).

      Good luck and, remember, you have 2 more years to turn it in if it stops working. If you can hold out a few months, you might get it back sooner (since they are getting swamped with them right now).

      --
      Spell cheek you've failed me four the last thyme!
  2. Hmm... by Gaerek · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Took them long enough.

    1. Re:Hmm... by Osty · · Score: 1

      Took them long enough.

      I would argue that they're doing it too soon. As of right now, there's absolutely no economic benefit to dropping the price. The PS3 (even with its pseudo-"price cut") is dead in the water as far as competition goes, and unless they can drop $200 the 360 will not be able to compete with the Wii on price. The holiday line-up is going to be killer (GTA4, Halo 3, Mass Effect, etc) and will entice enough people to buy without also dropping the price. As far as I know, the 65nm manufacturing process isn't yet in place, so they can't take advantage of new economies of scale in order to afford this price cut. The $1billion warranty write-off hurt the 360's potentional profitability, and lowering the price limits even further what the 360 could eventually make back (supposedly the 360 would become profitable on the 65nm manufacturing process, though I don't know if the gain is enough to offset the $50 price drop).

      I would suggest that Microsoft hold their ground. The upcoming games and lack of competition (the Wii is complementary to the 360, thus the Wii60) will drive more sales of 360s than any price cut would do. I'd like to see how profitable the 360 could be if it were allowed to stay at its current price while growing cheaper to build via changes like the 65nm process. Have a price drop contingency, but don't roll it out unless real problems crop up such as key games slipping, or increased competition from Sony (ha!).

    2. Re:Hmm... by MBraynard · · Score: 1

      You realize that it is in their interest to sell them at as low a price as they can as the attach rate + XBL transactions are where they will make their money. There are some sensitive curves involved here and MS has the market research; we do not.

    3. Re:Hmm... by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      In Europe the 360 Premium was 300€ for a few weeks around the PS3 launch. Of course that meant you didn't get the extra controller and two games that most stores give you for free with one but since those games are usually launch games that are probably dirt cheap in the barghain bins and not everyone wants those games anyway that might still be a deal.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  3. Xbox Profitable in 2XXX by king-manic · · Score: 1

    Exactly when Duke nukem forever is released.

    --
    "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
    1. Re:Xbox Profitable in 2XXX by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1

      Xbox Profitable in 2XXX

      Bow-chicka-bow-wow!
      --
      Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
    2. Re:Xbox Profitable in 2XXX by Rethcir · · Score: 1

      Isn't that when Megaman 2 takes place?

    3. Re:Xbox Profitable in 2XXX by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1

      My comment is a gag from the Halo-inspired show "Red v. Blue". I thought it was appropriate for the subject matter. :P

      --
      Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
  4. Was I the only one... by Brian+Gordon · · Score: 3, Funny

    Who thought "$50,360 price cut? I didn't think it was that expensive"?

    1. Re:Was I the only one... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, your the only retardo!!

    2. Re:Was I the only one... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      get glasses.
      you're already on slashdot, so technically you skipped a step.

  5. The part the summary misses.... by ivan256 · · Score: 1

    Two separate stores, so it looks legit, but the price drop is only on the Premium, not the Elite.

    1. Re:The part the summary misses.... by I'll+Provide+The+War · · Score: 5, Informative

      http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17603 0

      The Core gets a $20 cut and the Elite is reduced by $30.

    2. Re:The part the summary misses.... by powerlord · · Score: 1

      Okay, you've covered the Premium and Elite. What about the Core, "Halo 3 Edition" and the "Simpsons Movie Edition"?

      Almost as complex as a product matrix as Vista. Is it any wonder the Wii is selling more?

      Heck, even the PlayStation only has two models (at most), for sale at any one time, and the only difference between them now is native hard-drive space.

      --
      This space for rent. All reasonable inquiries will be entertained at proprietors discretion.
    3. Re:The part the summary misses.... by LoverOfJoy · · Score: 1

      Don't forget the playstation 2 is still for sale (and doing quite well).

    4. Re:The part the summary misses.... by Applekid · · Score: 1

      Not sure about those special editions, but the Core is set to get a $20 price cut.

      --
      More Twoson than Cupertino
    5. Re:The part the summary misses.... by Osty · · Score: 1

      Okay, you've covered the Premium and Elite. What about the Core, "Halo 3 Edition" and the "Simpsons Movie Edition"?

      What about them? Nobody buys a Core except to replace a broken Premium where they already have the hard drive, wireless controller, component video cable, etc. The Halo 3 edition is not out yet, and the Simpsons Movie edition is not available for purchase in stores. That leaves us with the Premium and the Elite. The choice between the two is pretty simple -- if you don't know or care why the Elite is better, buy the Premium unless you absolutely must have it in black. If you want and can use HDMI, or if you think the 120GB hard drive would be useful, buy the Elite. It's cheaper than buying a Premium and the 120GB hard drive separately.

    6. Re:The part the summary misses.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What about them? Nobody buys a Core except to replace a broken Premium where they already have the hard drive, wireless controller, component video cable, etc. The Halo 3 edition is not out yet, and the Simpsons Movie edition is not available for purchase in stores. That leaves us with the Premium and the Elite. The choice between the two is pretty simple -- if you don't know or care why the Elite is better, buy the Premium unless you absolutely must have it in black. If you want and can use HDMI, or if you think the 120GB hard drive would be useful, buy the Elite. It's cheaper than buying a Premium and the 120GB hard drive separately.


      I'm not so sure.

      The pro is set at $280 at ebgames, and I can pick up a 120GB laptop SATA hard-drive for ~$80 for a total of ~$360.

      The Elite is running $450.

      What? You mean I can't just add/swap a hard-drive? Why the hell not? Even the PS3 lets you do that.

      Either MS is really screwing the customer, or ... no, wait ... MS is really screwing the customer. Same old, same old.
  6. Get a broken game system for $50 less! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Neato! Now I can get a machine that will inevitably self-destruct (see various red-ring articles... thx) for less money!

  7. Coincidentally.. by Klickoris · · Score: 0

    I ordered an Xbox 360 last night. (Got the works, X360 Premium, VGA cables, and Gears of War) I don't really care if it's legit or not, when you're spending upwards of $420 for the works, fifty bucks isn't a whole lot. If I didn't have a job $50 could make the difference, but I have the honor of working at a local Radio Shack (I'm still surprised they hired me - I'm only 15) so being a high rolla' is just a perk.

    1. Re:Coincidentally.. by Applekid · · Score: 2, Insightful

      $50 represents a 2nd game for you. Return that console and pick up a reduced one in a week: they don't announce price drops until very close to when it happens. Unless your time in waiting in line to return it is worth more than $50, of course.

      --
      More Twoson than Cupertino
    2. Re:Coincidentally.. by Klickoris · · Score: 0

      The closest place where I could physically go and pick up the 360 is about two and a half hours away, so yes, my time would be worth more than fifty bucks with the cost of driving there and back.

  8. $50 cut already here? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Haven't most stores been running a "buy a 360 and get a $50 gift card" promotion for quite a while now? Although its not the same as a price cut it almost ends up as the same thing since you usually go out and buy a game anyway.

  9. I can't believe... by suv4x4 · · Score: 4, Funny

    So it'll drop from $400 to 350? I can't believe they aren't taking the opportunity to sell it for $360.

    "XBox 360 - for $360"

    niiiiiiceee....

    1. Re:I can't believe... by GrayCalx · · Score: 1

      niiiiiiceee....

      God help me I laughed out loud at that. Bravo sir... bravo.

    2. Re:I can't believe... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "niiiiiiceee...."

      Was that supposed to be Borat? What a fucking dork you must be.

    3. Re:I can't believe... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      niiiiiiceee....

      God help me I laughed out loud at that. Bravo sir... bravo.

      I don't get it. Why is "niicee" funny :P ?

    4. Re:I can't believe... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It isn't. GrayCalx is a moron.

    5. Re:I can't believe... by GrayCalx · · Score: 1

      Heh, no clue. It just felt like his tone came through his post and I laughed, so I figured I'd give him some feedback.

  10. Works? by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    Wouldn't the "works" technically be the elite instead of the premium?

    Not that I mean to criticize the purchase, the wording just struck me as odd. I know there's not much difference between the two models so I guess technically they are close...

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Works? by Klickoris · · Score: 0

      I suppose if you wanted to get technical about it. :)

  11. RRoD is sporatic at worst by Pojut · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I know I know I know, "The 360 self destructs! The numbers don't lie!"

    True, but I think people exaggerate them a bit...I myself own 4 different 360's, and know of no less than 30 people that own at least one...out of everyone I know that has had one, only two people have gotten the ring (one of which is me)

    My one RRoD came after I cracked the case open on one of them to clean out the dust...unbeknown to me at the time, I had accidently loosened two of the CPU heatsink screws a half-turn, and within 2 hours I had the rings...the other 3 that I own have never had an issue. THe only friend I know that has had an RRoD had one on a launch unit.

    I'm not saying it's not a real problem. I'm saying people have exaggerated it a bit. (yes, I am aware that my 30 friends hardly constitute the entirety of the market, but those friends know people and those people know people and so on)

    Basically, what I am getting at is don't balk at buying a 360 simply because of all the red ring talk...I own all three next gen systems and my 360 by FAR gets the most play time out of the three (not to mention IMO the 360 has the largest lineup of exciting games on the horizon)

    --
    Living With a Nerd
    1. Re:RRoD is sporatic at worst by king-manic · · Score: 1

      I think it's related to how defective units bunch up. It might be the 360's are less resistant to jostling due to how it was designed and it's heating issues. So a little violence on the way to the store and you have a eventually defective unit. Since they bunch up it may be that some groups are exposed to it more then others. So while in my social group we're 5/5 for defective 360's you may only be 2/30.

      In either case the exact failrue rate is undisclosed but speculated to be high.

      --
      "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
    2. Re:RRoD is sporatic at worst by whodunnit · · Score: 1

      Well, I must just have really crappy luck then.

      I keep my 360's isolated on their own table, power brick on the cool tile floor. And yet I'm on my 4th one. First 2 died from RRoD (day of purchace, and then 8 months later), Third one died of a dead DVD drive.

      I play a lot of games, and watched a lot of DvD's on the last one. But in any case, a $400 piece of hardware should not fail this often.

      OH, and BTW each of my consoles that died were returned to BB for a brand new one, so I'm not talking about refurbished crap, these were all brand new consoles.

      So, while you may not have had any problems LOTS of people have, or microsoft would have never caved and extended the warranty, so don't try to downplay it.

      PS... wtf do you own 3 of them?

    3. Re:RRoD is sporatic at worst by Pojut · · Score: 1

      4 of them...two are modified, two are not. one modified and one "vanilla" console are at my place, and the other modified/vanilla mix are at the ladyfiend's place.

      --
      Living With a Nerd
    4. Re:RRoD is sporatic at worst by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The 360 doesn't fail all that often.

      The problem is, when the 360 DOES fail, you will recieve a refurb. But, it fails in such a way that most repairs are at best temporary. That way you get stories of people on their 3rd of 4th machine.

      Not that the 360's failure rate is low, it's way too high. But the idea that they all die sooner than later is stupud

    5. Re:RRoD is sporatic at worst by Pojut · · Score: 1

      Apparently, I'm pathetic enough to garner the attention of the slashtrolls.

      I take it I should just go /wrists then?

      --
      Living With a Nerd
    6. Re:RRoD is sporatic at worst by Pojut · · Score: 1

      What you described is the exact reason I sprung for the 50 dollar replacement plan on all of mine.

      I've only had to use it on one of my 360's, but in the event that one of them did die I figured it better to get a brand new in box system rather than ship it out...that is worth 50 extra dollars to me.

      I do agree with what you are saying though, insofar as the replacement refurb units are concerned.

      --
      Living With a Nerd
    7. Re:RRoD is sporatic at worst by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      shut up man, he has 30 friends!

    8. Re:RRoD is sporatic at worst by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Back before the spring update that allowed the unit to download in a low power state, there were two separate instances where I'd queue up a big demo, turn off the TV and receiver, and leave; only to find when I got home, that my wife, while cleaning up, had closed the doors to the entertainment center, leaving the 360 running, on full tilt, in a fully enclosed space about, oh, maybe two to three times the size of the 360 itself, with naught but a three-inch-diameter cable hole in the back for ventilation.

      Diggity damn, could you hear those fans just a-roaring away, but the 360 itself doesn't seem to have been adversely affected by either of it's own personal trips to Hell....

      --
      Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
    9. Re:RRoD is sporatic at worst by Xtravar · · Score: 1

      30 in base 2

      zing!!!

      --
      Buckle your ROFL belt, we're in for some LOLs.
    10. Re:RRoD is sporatic at worst by ThosLives · · Score: 1

      2 failures in 30 opportunities is a tragically bad failure rate. Even one failure in 30 is tragically bad. 1 failure in 30 is no better than a failure rate of 1 in 10 to a 95% confidence (if actual defect rate is 1 in 10, odds of 1 failure in 30 chances is 95%). If the actual defect rate is one in 100, the odds of one failure in 30 chances is only 26%.

      So, even though you think 1 in 30 is "good", it's horrendously bad. What you want is a real defect rate of around 1 per 10,000 or so, which would only have a 0.3% chance of seeing 1 defect in 30 units.

      --
      "There are a dozen opinions on a matter until you know the truth. Then there is only one." - CS Lewis (paraprhase)
    11. Re:RRoD is sporatic at worst by MeanderingMind · · Score: 1

      How fucking pathetic do you have to be to sit around on Slashdot typing out damage control for the worst console hardware ever designed that has already had enough cash, 1.1 billion, set aside from the manufacturer themselves to fix ever single 360 ever manufactured?


      About as pathetic as one has to be to sit around on slashdot replying to such comments.

      At least he's not AC.
      --
      Thunderclone: ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE! ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE!
    12. Re:RRoD is sporatic at worst by Pojut · · Score: 1

      Not saying it isn't bad, I'm saying it's sporatic... I have seen people on here claim that every person they know with a 360 has had to return it at least once, and then there are others (such as myself) that barely know anyone with any issues. Hence the phrase "sporatic".

      Ironically, those that tend to have issues themselves tend to have friends that also have issues with the 360...as others have mentioned, this is likely due to "bad batches"

      --
      Living With a Nerd
    13. Re:RRoD is sporatic at worst by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You work for Microsoft, don't you?

    14. Re:RRoD is sporatic at worst by GregPK · · Score: 1

      If it weren't for a non disclosure agreement I could show you an excel file that shows every single console in the retail stores replaced at least once since launch. Some stores have had it replace 5 times or more.

      Granted though, its retail, more dust, more problems. Though the number one problem is still the same as the first generation. Dirty disc reader.

    15. Re:RRoD is sporatic at worst by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It sucks that "sporatic" isn't a word no matter how much you use it, and I don't see how it's ironic at all that people who have issues tend to have friends who have issues (unless by "ironic" you mean "as can be expected").

      In any case, while the failure rate may be unevenly distributed, that's no consolation at all, and the rate of failure - whether it's two in thirty or thirty in a hundred - is still absolutely absurd. It's pretty clear that Microsoft thinks so too.

    16. Re:RRoD is sporatic at worst by king-manic · · Score: 1

      Not saying it isn't bad, I'm saying it's sporatic... I have seen people on here claim that every person they know with a 360 has had to return it at least once, and then there are others (such as myself) that barely know anyone with any issues. Hence the phrase "sporatic".

      Ironically, those that tend to have issues themselves tend to have friends that also have issues with the 360...as others have mentioned, this is likely due to "bad batches"

      The PS2 was said to have a bad fail rate but the only one I saw "fail" was my best friends. Mine is a launch one that served me faithfully without a glitch while his ate FFX and gave up the ghost. No one else "Failed". Even his is suspicious because he has cats so the air was filled with fur and he had a rather violent temper in relation to inanimate objects that induce frustration. The rest of us either have our original PS2 or the one we got to replace it after mishaps with drinks or moving. Considering I know 5 people who own 360's who've replaced them and they happen to be the only 5 who got them I sure it is at leats as bad or worse. And by most indications it's worse.

      --
      "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
  12. ps3 did not have a $100 price drop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Sony's $100 cut in price for the PlayStation 3"

    sony's $100 short lived sale for the ps3. it's still gunna be $599 - you just get 20 extra gigs of hard drive space for the same price.

    1. Re:ps3 did not have a $100 price drop by ivan256 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Nobody with more than half a brain thinks the price of the PS3 is going to go back up to $599. Pretty much everybody accepts that they will start selling it for $499 but without the freebies after the 60GB models are sold out. (Which is almost everywhere now, though I personally have yet to see an 80GB model for sale in the US)

    2. Re:ps3 did not have a $100 price drop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please, let the idiotic Xbots keep trying to convince people of that bullshit. At worst it is wonderfully funny to laugh at them. At best it is helping people who were still finishing up their PS2 backlogs to go out and upgrade to a PS3 'before the price goes back up'.

      Heh. Xbots == Morans.

    3. Re:ps3 did not have a $100 price drop by trdrstv · · Score: 1

      Nobody with more than half a brain thinks the price of the PS3 is going to go back up to $599. Pretty much everybody accepts that they will start selling it for $499 but without the freebies after the 60GB models are sold out. (Which is almost everywhere now, though I personally have yet to see an 80GB model for sale in the US)

      Nobody with half a brain? This IS Sony we're talking about...

      PS: The 80 gig version was announced for an August release.

    4. Re:ps3 did not have a $100 price drop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nope, you get 20gb extra HD space but no PS2 hardware back compatibility. So it's actually a negative price cut as far as Sony are concerned - a bait and switch - since the new models actually cost them less to make.

    5. Re:ps3 did not have a $100 price drop by 7Prime · · Score: 1

      I completely dissagree, as do most people around here. It's completely unecconomical for them to sell the 80GB version at $500. I saw this comming even before they announced the drop. It's basically a repeat of what happened at launch: as a publicity stunt, drop the price of one unit, but then sell 20x more of the expensive model. That way, you can CLAIM that the price is $500, but in actuality, 95% of the population is forced into paying $600.

      Honestly, I don't think anyone with half a brain thinks that the price will change to $500 after the 60GB versions are gone. Sony has given us NO reason to assume this will happen, and the ecconomics just don't add up, either. They're already losing almost $200 on each model, why would they stand to lose even more?

      --
      Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
    6. Re:ps3 did not have a $100 price drop by MeanderingMind · · Score: 1

      I honestly don't expect it to be $499, but then again it's hard to predict console prices these days.

      I'm not sure it matters either. Anywhere between $499-$599 dollars is still too much. So long as the bar for entry remains that high the PS3 will remain where it is. Even when the exclusive titles hit, it's going to be hard to keep momentum rolling at that price point.

      As it stands, the PS3 is gaining slightly on the 360 (according to vgcharts.org). From approximately April to present, the PS3 sold 1.261m consoles vs 1.183m for the 360. At that rate (approx. .1m per 3-4 months) it will take the PS3 another 16-21 years to catch the 360. At the same time, the Wii sold 3.892m consoles during the same period (2.467m more than the 360 per 3-4 months). Within 1-2 months there will be more Wiis sold worldwide than 360s.

      Obviously this doesn't account for spikes from AAA titles or the machinations of any of the three companies. That said, Microsoft and Sony both need to set plans in motion, or concede this console generation to Nintendo. Unless Halo 3/GoW3/Other-AAA-Title are feats worthy of angelic praise they aren't going to turn around a 3 to 1 ratio of console sales, and I don't think praying the Wii will become the 'gimmick' many people claim it to be is a viable corporate strategy.

      This generation can still go many different ways, but nothing will change without action.

      --
      Thunderclone: ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE! ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE!
    7. Re:ps3 did not have a $100 price drop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      20GB PS3 vs 60GB PS3 360 Core vs 360 Premium 60GB PS3 vs 80GB PS3 God I hate marketers.

    8. Re:ps3 did not have a $100 price drop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      vgcharts.org?

      You mean the fanboy site that had the 360 at 10.5 million sales six months ago...Yeah, people should really listen to your input on console sales.

      The only thing certain this generation is the 360 is going to be dead last due to the system being dead in two of the three console regions. The only real question this gen is how much longer the waggle hype will last.

    9. Re:ps3 did not have a $100 price drop by MeanderingMind · · Score: 1

      I believe you're confused with nexgenwars.com, which extrapolates based on previous trends and tends to have varying levels of accuracy in its numbers. Otherwise I'm not sure where you're coming from.

      Additionally, if you could link sources/articles relating to you statement that the 360 is dead in two regions it would be appreciated. I'm aware that it is doing very poorly in Japan, but haven't seen sales numbers for elsewhere that indicate a pronouncement of "dead".

      As for the "waggle", we will have to see. Using your assumption that it is purely hype, it is entirely possible that Nintendo can stretch it for another decade or so (see: pokemon) to great success.

      --
      Thunderclone: ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE! ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE!
    10. Re:ps3 did not have a $100 price drop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      vgcharts is fine for Japan and US sales since all they do is post the totals of media create and npd monthly sales. It is in the third category where they go crazy with the made up numbers. The Others category is essentially used to pad out sales to whatever size they want a particular platform to be at.

    11. Re:ps3 did not have a $100 price drop by ivan256 · · Score: 1

      /me hands you some reading glasses...

      It says "more than half a brain". People with only half a brain are expected to think whatever nonsense they'd like.

    12. Re:ps3 did not have a $100 price drop by trdrstv · · Score: 1

      /me hands you some reading glasses... It says "more than half a brain".

      Thanks for the glasses. I'm getting old I guess....

      People with only half a brain are expected to think whatever nonsense they'd like.

      Stuff like "We will be the market leader by selling a $600 console?" for example?

  13. Price cut will take the form of . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    a $50 dollar gift certificate good for an XBox 360 game

  14. 65nm anyone? by nuzak · · Score: 1

    Price drop, that's nice, but it's not why I'm waiting. What I want to know is, how do I know for sure whether the units shipping (and the one in the store I'm getting) has the new 65nm chip? Less power consumption means less heat and less Red Rings. I know whatever I get will be warranteed anyway, but I don't feel like sending mine back.

    --
    Done with slashdot, done with nerds, getting a life.
    1. Re:65nm anyone? by hudsonhawk · · Score: 2, Informative

      You can be 100% positive about whether or not they will have it, seeing as they haven't made a single 360 with that process yet.

      For when they do, you can view the manufacturing date of the console by flipping up the little cardboard flap on the side of the box.

    2. Re:65nm anyone? by nuzak · · Score: 1

      Thanks for the pointer. I decided I may as well just get one now since it might be next quarter til the new process actually hits the shelves, so I went out and grabbed an Elite last night. From an ebGames that sells out of 'em weekly, so I should imagine they at least have the extra heatsinks. That thing sure is a space heater.

      And boy howdy is the DVD drive on that thing loud as sin too. I wish games would buffer more, or actually install to the HDD. Can't stuff it in a cabinet either, too hot (yeah I could engineer something with a box fan but the Wife Acceptance Factor of that sort of hack is below sea level). Actually I most wish I could just buy full games online on XBL (XBLA doesn't count). That'd also force 'em to run off the HDD.

      My luck, the 65nm boxes will be on the shelves in a week and they'll be ice cold and whisper quiet. No, my luck, they'll be on the shelves in exactly 30 days, when my store return period expires.

      --
      Done with slashdot, done with nerds, getting a life.
  15. Plenty of time by Eponymous+Crowbar · · Score: 1

    Now I can get a second 360 and let the kids take over the first one. All I have to do is to verify somehow that I will get one of the 65nm designs. My wife forced me into doing this when she got suckered into pre-ordering Halo 3. For some reason, she ordered two copies...

    1. Re:Plenty of time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      pics or it didn't happen

  16. Circut city's cuts by Reddragon220 · · Score: 0
    http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/31/circuit-city-fly er-shows-xbox-360-price-drop-on-all-systems/

    Premium is down by $50 to $349.99
    Core falls $20 to $279.99
    Elite drops $30 to $449.99
    Pretty nice drop all over the board if you ask me. Though I think a $250 core would have really given quite a lot more parents pause when buying a Nintendo wii for little Jimmy.
    1. Re:Circut city's cuts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Though I think a $250 core would have really given quite a lot more parents pause when buying a Nintendo wii for little Jimmy."

      I know I'm picking on a minor point, but don't tell me you can't see the big picture.

      Parents aren't buying Wii for little Jimmy. They're buying it for little Jimmy, *and* little Jill, *and* themselves.

      It's only their teenage son Jake that wants a 360 with all that cashflow from his afternoons spent frying his fingers together at Mickey D's. He's the only guy in the family Microsoft is really aiming their guns at in earnest, regardless of anything they say in press releases or token E-rated releases like Viva Pinata.

  17. Re:What You Get For Your 20-50 Dollar Savings! by Pojut · · Score: 1
    ::sigh:: the shills are out in force today...when are you fuckers gonna start posting under an actual username? Just for kicks (and because I have one more hour at work and I'm bored out of my mind):

    * Weeks to months of sitting around waiting for your 360 to be returned from Microsoft for its latest RRoD repair!
    ::shrug:: only had one of mine die on me, and I had the replacement deal from gamestop

    * Forking out 50 dollars every year just to be allowed to play games online!
    In my mind, the service that Live provides is very much worth 50 dollars a year...apparently, it's worth it to millions of other gamers too

    * No dedicated servers for online games!
    ??? It's not like the Live servers are running everything off the same shit..I don't think the servers you download a movie off of would be the same servers that a game would run on...

    * Disc scratching DVD drives!
    if you are dumb enough to move ANYTHING that spins while it is turned on (unless of course it's a laptop, in which case you don't really have too much a choice) then you deserve to have your shit scratched.

    * Jet engine loud DVD drives!
    Agreed, but just like the PS2 (which, if you ever owned one of the originals, you would find that the fan is loud as fuck which Sony later replaced with something much quieter) there are BenQ drives now that are MUCH MUCH quieter.

    * Shitty last gen looking graphics in Microsoft's big first party titles like Halo 3 and Forza 2!
    You can't judge a games graphics based on it's BETA. That is an exercise in stupidity. As for Forza 2, you quite obviously haven't seen a single screenshot of it.

    * Completely botched backwards compatibility!
    I own ~70 Xbox games, 63 of which are on the list. I would hardly call that "completely botched". It's not as robust as the Wii's or the PS3's backwards compat, but then again Microsoft never claimed that it would be 100%.

    * That wonderfully secure confidence in the Xbox brand that Microsoft could pull the plug on the whole mess at any moment like they did with the first Xbox disaster!
    That didn't really bother me much...I was ready to move on to the next set of consoles...besides, the original Xbox had some AMAZING games on it...I would hardly call it a disaster (unless of course you are looking at it from a money point of view, but I doubt you have stock in Microsoft so this shouldn't really bother you at all)

    Anything else? I'm really bored at work, I would love to respond to more of these....
    --
    Living With a Nerd
  18. Yeah! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who do they think they are selling something that expensive? Sony?

  19. Re:What You Get For Your 20-50 Dollar Savings! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Anything else? I'm really bored at work, I would love to respond to more of these...."

    No need, you've easily won the "Most Pathetic Fanboy Of The Day Award" already...

  20. Re:What You Get For Your 20-50 Dollar Savings! by Pojut · · Score: 1

    How do you figure? Because I was rebutting a system that I love?
    Had you used the Wii or the PS3 in the same shill-like fasion, I would have defended both of those equally as well.

    I'm a gamer. I enjoy any system that lets me play games. Being "brand loyal" as a gamer is completely stupid and pointless...You miss out on all kinds of games if you limit yourself to one brand.

    It's especially depressing when you see people get payed to drill one console while applauding another. If consoles could shit, it would still stink regardless of what the name on the front says. ALL consoles have their drawbacks, just like all consoles have their advantages and high points.

    --
    Living With a Nerd
  21. Re:What You Get For Your 20-50 Dollar Savings! by Pojut · · Score: 1

    and by "rebutting a system I love" i meant "rebutting what you said about a system I love"

    Must be all that toner dust floating around in my office...

    --
    Living With a Nerd
  22. XDK 360? by tepples · · Score: 1

    Who do they think they are selling something that expensive?

    How much does it cost to become an authorized developer of commercial Xbox 360 games? The devkit alone probably doesn't cost 50 kUSD, but the required business overhead to qualify for an official console devkit (forming an S-corp or LLC, leasing office space, etc) is expensive even if you have already developed titles for Windows DirectX.

  23. Re:What You Get For Your 20-50 Dollar Savings! by nuzak · · Score: 1

    > I would love to respond to more of these

    Honestly, why even bother? These aren't people out to be convinced, and the screaming matches just dumbs down the forum even more.

    --
    Done with slashdot, done with nerds, getting a life.
  24. Re:What You Get For Your 20-50 Dollar Savings! by Pojut · · Score: 1

    I enjoy defending any gaming system because they all can be defended...like I said, they all have their positives and negatives. As a person whose life centers around gaming, it is disturbing to even consider someone would be a brand whore as a gamer (well, I mean it does in general, but ESPECIALLY with gaming, a culture that needs as much cohesion as possible)

    More than any other reason though, it's because I'm bored at work and it amuses me:-)

    --
    Living With a Nerd
  25. Re:What You Get For Your 20-50 Dollar Savings! by desenz · · Score: 1

    I'm not a 360 owner, but doesn't it seem like theres a flaw in saying that its okay your 360 broke, because you had a replacement plan? A defect is still a defect, I think.

  26. E-rated 360 games? by tepples · · Score: 1

    Though I think a $250 core would have really given quite a lot more parents pause when buying a Nintendo wii for little Jimmy.

    Not especially. Look at the ESRB ratings on the boxes in the Wii section and in the Xbox 360 section. How many Xbox 360 games are rated E, other than sport sims and Piñata Crossing ? On the other hand, isn't the $280 Xbox 360 Core going to be in stock much more often than the $250 Wii?

    1. Re:E-rated 360 games? by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      From what I can see there's a lot more Wiis in stores than 360 Cores. Not surprising since noone wants a Core and without demand stores won't stock them.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  27. Re:What You Get For Your 20-50 Dollar Savings! by Pojut · · Score: 1

    In this instance, it broke due to my own stupidity (not tightening the heatsink back down again) Still, defects are to be expected...happens with everything. I'm not saying that they should be happening on a mass scale, but in my own personal experience with the 360, I haven't had any issues and as such I don't care. Good example is sushi. I love sushi. I have also never gotten sick from eating sushi. I would imagine people that get sick from it the first time just plain don't like it. At this point, if I got sick from sushi, I'll still eat it and love it

    --
    Living With a Nerd
  28. Seriously... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If the RRoD problem is still the only fault after all this time that the Sony fanboys like yourself (you only have to look at your post history to realise that as fact) can whine about that it should really be taken as a complement by Microsoft. With 3 year warranty covering those whose console might fail and the ones on the shelves now (and for a while) being free of the RRoD problem it really is clutching at straws to try and defame the opposing console with such now largely irrelevant cries.

    Perhaps your time would be better spent convincing Sony to actually get someone to make at least one decent game worth buying for the PS3 before you start criticizing Microsoft's offering? Still, at least you haven't been so stupid as to slag the Wii off allowing you some credit at least, but I guess that's because whilst you realise that although the Wii is superior to both the PS3 and the 360 you also understand it's a console that fills a different gaming niche.

    Look, I'm sorry you bet on the wrong horse and chucked $600 down the drain, but the fact is there's about 8 million more people enjoying their 360s than there is a enjoying PS3's with the gap widening every day as whilst the Japanese 360 sales are lacklustre, the worldwide 360 sales are beating the PS3's. Perhaps instead of wasting so much energy slagging off the opposition as you see it you'd be better of accepting that maybe your precious Sony offering really isn't actually as good as you might hope it would be and perhaps even invest in a Wii and/or 360 so that you can actually have some fun in your life rather than push your apparent PS3 protectionist misery on Slashdot in every single 360 post that comes up?