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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.
...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!
To answer your first question, I found a refurbished 20GB hard drive on Gamestop.com for $60. To answer your second question, no, GTA4 does not require a hard drive (the box says it requires 1 MB of space to save). AFAIK, the only boxed 360 game that requires a hard drive is Final Fantasy XI.
That's the sad thing about the Wii, it's in a small slump because developpers laughed at it (now the assholes are paying with blood), and Nintendo can't release smash hits every year.
The Wii's been out for almost 2 years, which is longer than the development cycle of a game, so I don't think that's it. And Nintendo has a 30 year history of screwing over developers, so I think there's a natural resistance to develop for them on the part of some people. There's also the problem with the Wii being underpowered in terms of hardware, which discourages multiplatform development.