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Xbox Price Cuts Confirmed

Kotaku notes that the suspected price cuts to the various Xbox 360 systems have been confirmed. Xbox Live's Major Nelson posted the new prices ($199 for the Arcade, $299 for the Pro, and $399 for the Elite) and pointed out a BusinessWeek story discussing the changes. The price cuts will take effect on September 5th.

3 of 196 comments (clear)

  1. Place your bets... by AKAImBatman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...the Wii will still sell better.

    Even at $199, the majority of consumers feel like they're getting half a system when they get the 360 without a hard drive. As a result, they're going to be looking at the higher $299 price tag. The Wii doesn't have that problem (at least not yet) because the system has the exact same fixed storage on all systems. What you get is what you get. You do not miss out on anything because you purchased the cheaper model.

    (Anyone reminded of Henry Ford's, "You can have any color you want as long as it's black"? ;-))

    1. Re:Place your bets... by Cathoderoytube · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I'm not so sure this is a shot at Nintento so much as it is a shot at Sony. Just a guess though.

      --
      I have nothing compelling to say
    2. Re:Place your bets... by MooseMuffin · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Basically the opposite situation here. I'm a Wii and 360 owner and the only game I've finished on the Wii was resident evil 4, which I never played on any of its other platforms but can't imagine it was half as good without the wiimote. I was excited for Mario and Zelda but really never picked them up after the first few days I had them. They were well done for sure, but they just didn't hold my interest like I thought they would. Maybe my tastes have changed since the n64 days. I picked up smash brothers for cheap one day, but it plays far too loose to appeal to my fighting game loving side. Generally, the Wii is now used to show friends who come by who haven't played with one very much. I certainly don't discount the Wii though. RE4 proved that they could definitely utilize the machine in a way that would interest me; They just haven't done it since.

      The 360 gets played all the time though, largely due to the friends list I think. I turn it on for a couple of quick geometry wars games and end up being invited to some other gaming session that ultimately lasts 4 times as long as I planned on gaming. Halo is a big culprit here, not because it's a particularly great shooter (I'm partial to cod4 on PC), but its good enough and nearly ubiquitous among 360 owners. If you know some 360 owners, you probably all have halo and can play that together. Between the friends list and voice chat, I've probably maintained friendships with college buddies who I may have otherwise lost touch with.

      Additionally, soul calibur handles my fighting game fix, putting friends-filtered high score lists on the main screen in geometry wars turned it into an ever-present obsession, and the draw of the online music store within rock band is downright lethal once I've had a drink or two...