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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.
...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"? ;-))
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
"Here's to hoping that helps Microsoft's recent hardware sales woes." - Kotaku
Hardware sales woes? Its the summer season, a time that has historically shown a decline in sales due to the fact not many publishers release at this time. September through December are the hot months for releasing a game and a perfect time to lower a console price to make the system more appealing.
I think the RROD started being much less common with the HDMI-equipped models, but then again I have a first-gen that has been fine since day one. They have been updated a few times since they were introduced, and each generation has been more reliable.
It's called super smash bros!
I'm still not buying a 360, anyway. I do hope this moves sony to panic and lower the price on anything able to run anything with "metal gear" slapped on it, though.
...did I mention I work in XBox Support?
Microsoft already switched to 65nm parts from the original 90nm parts quite awhile back.
http://www.google.com/search?q=Xbox+360+goes+65nm
From what I remember, after that people were liking how cool the systems ran. There also were some obvious ways to check your system, to identify which it was. (I think this was aimed at those getting potential refurbs from the RRoD)
I'd never buy one without a HDD, but that is just me. Even with the new avatars and dash, the XBox is aimed at a different audience than the Wii. I don't think they honestly compete directly. The real competition here is Sony. Microsoft still has a larger install base, though Sony was catching up.
Now if Sony wants to honestly compete in this generation, they need to drop their core model to $300 before Black Friday. Microsoft is losing tons of money on the hardware because of RROD problems (which continue to persist, even on new Elite models) but Sony is also losing quite a bit.
The difference is that Microsoft has other business models to produce plenty of profit. Sony's other divisions are doing decent, but they aren't producing Microsoft-type revenues.
They're both shooting themselves in the foot to see who will lose the most money before the other one pulls out of the race. Why?
Because next generation, if only one competes, they don't have to lose so much money. Nintendo is competing for another segment, and either Microsoft or Sony could in theory run away solo with the high-end, hardcore console market.
Then again, neither see the true solution. Sony has BluRay, and Microsoft doesn't want to pay to license it. Microsoft has DirectX, which Sony doesn't want to utilize, even though it makes development easier for PC/Console games. Microsoft also bought the rumble patent that Sony didn't want to pay for. Neither have incredible first-party titles, and both end up shelling out money to bribe third-party developers for console exclusives, killing potential profits.
The solution really is one console. Developers would love to have a larger install base to develop for, and not worrying about porting to two platforms.
Imagine a console that could be developed for easily (DirectX), that had BluRay, and featured both Halo and Metal Gear Solid? Both Sony and Mirosoft could turn a profit on the venture. They both put their best technology in the box, with their combined patent portfolios and also combine console exclusives. Together they'd reclaim some of the market share they lost to Nintendo, even though most of Nintendo's market really is a different audience.
http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
Slashing the price of the 360 to below Wii levels isn't going to do anything.
The first Xbox sold around 24-25 million between November 2001 and June 2005 when it went out of production.
The Xbox 360 has sold just over 19.5 million worldwide(sorry vgchartz fake sales numbers) with about 9 months left before it reaches the same point in the Xbox's life where Microsoft pulled the plug on the console.
The Xbox and Xbox 360 are selling at a virtually identical rate.
Microsoft only shipped 2.3 million new Xbox 360's worldwide for the first half of 2008.
The Xbox 360 is selling at a virtually identical sales rate in the three major console regions, Japan, US, and Euopre.
Dead in Japan.
Dead in almost all of Europe outside the UK
Almost all the remaining sales coming from the US.
The Xbox 360 is selling to the exact same people who bought the first Xbox. Cutting prices isn't going to do anything. The demand simply isn't there. Just like the first Xbox there already is talk of the next Halo on the next Xbox being the savior of the platform.
Microsoft is letting PC gaming die from neglect while they waste their time getting nowhere in the console market. The 7 billion dollars Microsoft wasted in the console market could have been better used to revitalize they dying PC game market and keep PC developers from jumping to the console market.
Think of it in terms of how much porn they can store.
Arcade: public place; most people don't keep their porn stashes in public. No HDD.
Pro: somewhat private; maybe you've spent one or two afternoons entertaining yourself on company time. Small HDD.
Elite: parent's basement; pretend this is spelled "1337" and everything falls into place.
Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
Budweiser it is!
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Now I'm tempted. Is there a way to upgrade the basic version (paying less than $100) to put a harddrive in? And the basic play GTA4 without a HD?
Computers allow humans to make mistakes at the fastest speeds known, with the possible exception of tequila and handguns
I hear from an anonymous coward claiming to be a walmart higher-up
I'm not sure who I trust less - an anonymous coward or a Walmart higher-up.
why is a new platform needed? provide new and backward compatible graphics API and the same, but faster CPU (maybe multi-core, if really needed) and developers can start with their feet on the ground, running.
That's a good idea, and if I ran console design that's what I would do.
sony said "hay lets change it all again and then make even double hard to do - w00tz cell pwn ftw n00b" (*choke*)
To be fair to Sony, the PS1 was notoriously hard to develop for, but that didn't stop it from being extremely successful.
nintendo said "know how to develop for a gamecube? great, the wii is mostly the same, with a bit faster hardware and a new input device"
Well that's the problem, the hardware just isn't as fast as it should be. They should have gone with something faster and more powerful, and they definitely should have put in HDMI/DVI support.
Well that's the problem, the hardware just isn't as fast as it should be. They should have gone with something faster and more powerful, and they definitely should have put in HDMI/DVI support.
Somethings gotta give.
If they'd put in Hidef support, on the existing CPU/GPU, the framerate would have sucked. You can't just pump 5x as many pixels by adding an HDMI connector.
So they would have had to significantly bump up the CPU/GPU just to deliver the same performance on HD.
And then you want more available CPU too? Well, we just bumped it up to keep up with HDMI, but all the extra horsepower is used up just keeping up with the HD.
So we have to bump it up again to give you some more horsepower to actually work with.
So now we need to quadruple the processing and video power, license hdmi, probably need to worry about cooling the damned thing now too. Something's gotta give...
Price.
So now instead of $279 its $399 at launch, and competing directly with the PS3, sales are significantly lower, and 4 out 5 users don't have an HDTV anyway. Oh and the hidef games cost mroe to develop too... so those go up in price too.
Epic fail.
For what its worth, I'd love a hi-def Wii too, and if they were launching NOW instead of 2 years ago, we'd probably have gotten one. But I think Nintendo made the right choice this 'generation'. Its obviously served them better than chasing the 360 and PS3 hardware. They are the ones that actually make money in this business.
If they'd put in Hidef support, on the existing CPU/GPU, the framerate would have sucked. You can't just pump 5x as many pixels by adding an HDMI connector.
You don't HAVE to transmit in 1920x1080 mind you, but having that option would be good. Action games with a lot of things on screen could use a lower resolution, but static images and puzzle games could take advantage of the higher resolution.
I don't know at what level they should have done the CPU, but I do know the level they did do it at was too low. My Wii just struggles on things that no console younger than 8 years old should struggle on. I see very little difference graphics-wise between the Wii and the Dreamcast, and the Dreamcast is close to a decade old now. I mean, if you're not going to do that why not just develop the wiimote for the gamecube?