July 13, 2008 9:50 AM PDT

Microsoft cuts price of Xbox 360

by Steven Musil
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Microsoft on Sunday cut the price of its best-selling Xbox 360 Pro model game console with a 20GB hard drive from $349 to $299.

Microsoft on Sunday unveiled an Xbox 360 with a 60GB hard drive. It's expected to go on sale in August.

(Credit: Microsoft)

The company also introduced a new Xbox 360 model with a 60GB hard drive. It will go on sale in stores in the U.S. and Canada for $349 in early August.

Microsoft's announcements, which were widely expected, come on the eve of the start of this week's E3 video game industry trade show in Los Angeles.

Rumors of the Xbox price cut swirled on popular gaming blogs Joystiq and Kotaku last week. The two sites received snapshots of Kmart and RadioShack fliers advertising the $299 price.

Microsoft announced in May that Xbox 360 had become the first next-generation video game console to hit 10 million units sold in the United States. All told, Microsoft said it has sold 19 million Xboxes worldwide.

Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. Before joining CNET News in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers. E-mail Steven.
Topics:

Gaming

Tags:

Microsoft,

Xbox 360,

HD DVD,

game consoles,

HD video

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by benjaminstraight July 13, 2008 2:03 PM PDT
benjamin straight writes: It's about time!
Reply to this comment
by bobmarleypeople July 13, 2008 2:03 PM PDT
Question is, will they cut the price here in the UK? I'm thinking about getting one once I upgrade my TV, but I want it to be cheaper than it is at the moment. **crosses fingers**
Reply to this comment
by Kwasiowusu July 13, 2008 6:15 PM PDT
The UK already had a price cut in March, just 3 months ago, before the massive GTA IV launch. 360 sales proceeded to double there after that.
by Penguinisto July 13, 2008 5:05 PM PDT
I figured it would happen sometime... the xbox is falling behind in sales to the PS3 and Wii, and MSFT can't channel-stuff their way back to #1 like they did at their launch (the current economy means that stores can't --and won't-- eat the excess inventory no matter what MSFT threatens).


Also, I wonder if they still sell the HD-DVD add-on drives? The HDD addition will bring it partially on par with the PS3, which is what it's been shooting for (though the PS3 still has the Blu-Ray drive, which the xbox does not).
Reply to this comment
by Kwasiowusu July 13, 2008 6:23 PM PDT
Ummmm..the 360 is solidly ahead of the PS3 worldwide. In the US, the 360 is massively ahead of the PS3. Since the PS3 was launched in November 2006, its only outsold the 360 3 times, even after a pretty big $100 PS3 price cut after just 7 months on the market.
As for the so-called Microsoft ?channel stuffing? their way to the top, the 360 was consistently sold out in most shops during Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan and even Feb. far from ?channel stuffing?.. its seems Microsoft didn?t supply the retail outlets with enough 360?s. Stop repeating PS3/Ninetndo zombie propaganda
by Vegaman_Dan July 13, 2008 7:20 PM PDT
Kwasiowusu: SHhhhhhhh, you're embarassing Penguinisto with the facts. He doesn't like that. Let him live in his outdated survey world. You'll only anger the troll.
by Penguinisto July 13, 2008 8:36 PM PDT
You're both idiots: http://vgchartz.com/hwcomps.php

In other words, yes the xbox is falling behind, as I have stated. Prove otherwise using objective stats... I dare you both to try.
by Penguinisto July 13, 2008 8:39 PM PDT
PS: Yes, MSFT did channel-stuff the xbox, as proven here:

http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/04/xbox_360_elite_.html
http://www.informationarbitrage.com/2007/04/microsoft_phili.html

(and a quickie googling for "Microsoft Channel Stuffing" produces many, many more.)
by Kwasiowusu July 13, 2008 8:56 PM PDT
@ Penguinisto , vgchartz? That the best you can do? When did vgchartz ever produce any accurate figures ever? Vgchartz are the world's biggest fraudsters. They simply pluck figures from thin air. Now if you will show me NPD or chartrack figures, that actually say that the 360 is behind the PS3, then we can start talking, Untill then, you are simply blowing hot air, and little else,
by Kwasiowusu July 13, 2008 9:12 PM PDT
Ummm..about your ?channel stuffing? claims..the 360 was sold out at plenty of stores in Oct 2007, Nov, Dec, Jan, even up to Feb: I used to check Amazon every day only to find the 360 sold out. Same thing with Circuit City and Best Buy:
http://news.punchjump.com/article.php?id=4931
http://news.punchjump.com/article.php?id=4652
http://news.punchjump.com/article.php?id=4912
You can?t be sold out and be ?stuffing the market? at the same time. The 2 events just happen to be mutually exclusive.
by Penguinisto July 14, 2008 8:41 AM PDT
ad hominem is not an argument, Kwasi... you'll have to try harder (like producing figures yourself - figures that don't come from MSFT's PR department or from your nether regions. ;)).

Also, anecdotal evidence on your part cannot refute industry evidence from (literally) everywhere else.

IOW, you're going to have to try harder if you're wanting to produce a convincing argument... much harder.
by DrtyDogg July 14, 2008 1:07 PM PDT
funny the links you provided come with absolutely 0 evidence. They are blogs that point to each other as sources.
by DMMedia July 13, 2008 5:18 PM PDT
The real question is have they solved the issues of it breaking all the time. My xbox is at the service center right now. This will be my 6th xbox returned from the dead, and I'm beginning to get sick of calling that support number and having the ups guy show up at my house every year. The weird thing is that it happens ever June like clock work. Until they address the poor design they shouldn't be allowed to sell any at all.
Reply to this comment
by Kwasiowusu July 13, 2008 6:28 PM PDT
Since the falcon 360's werwe launched a year ago, rrod breakdowns's on Flacon 360's have been close to ZERO. They have ben as reliable as any consoles out there if not better. On the other hand, if you are still claiming that your 360 is still breaking down, well teh 360 has had the best warranty amongst all video game consoles out there since last, giving free repairs for any breakdown up to 3 years after purchase. That is a dran site better than Sony did when their PS2's kept breaking down practically all the time after the PS2 launch in 2000.
by robvme July 13, 2008 6:55 PM PDT
Nice move to get the old xboxes off the shelves in time for the launch of the next generaton perphaps? With PS3 struggling to catch up, the flop of Blu Ray so far, and the dismal game selection for Wii, will propel the Xbox further ahead. Now with it more in line with a price point that will tap a whole new audience look to see an expansion for the Online services as well, which are far beyond Sony or Wii. I am glad that we will get an injection of fresh new players right before the holiday season. Also looking forward to the formal annoucement of the partnership between Xbox and Netflix. I expect that by 2011 we will see a game console that is also a fully integrated IPTV box. For those that have Uverse TV you can kind of get a very small sample of how that integration will come about. Woo-hoo!!!
Reply to this comment
by Penguinisto July 13, 2008 8:40 PM PDT
robvme: it appears that the PS3 already has caught up, and then some: http://vgchartz.com/hwcomps.php
by Penguinisto July 13, 2008 8:45 PM PDT
Oh, a question: Nobody sells HD-DVD drives anymore, so how do you figure Blu-Ray to be a flop? Sure, it hasn't replaced bog-standard DVD's, but that's to be expected. Until 1080p televisions are cheap and in quantity, and until Blu-Ray players are cheap and in quantity, and (yep, another one) until Blu-Ray movies are cheap and in quantity (ab't the same price as DVD's), I don;t expect it to exactly explode in sales.
by dakuma July 13, 2008 8:45 PM PDT
The Xbox360 will not only win the war but in 5 years it will only be them and Nintendo!
Reply to this comment
by MrTangent July 14, 2008 8:19 AM PDT
Tell that to Sony, who is selling more than Microsoft for several months now. Trust me, Microsoft will not win this war, just like they didn't win the last one. I believe it will be Wii or possibly PS3 and then in fairly distant third the RROD, I mean, Xbox 360.
by Penguinisto July 14, 2008 8:42 AM PDT
Really? That's a whole lot of faith on your part, since the 360 is dead-last in the console wars at this point in time.
by dakuma October 6, 2008 5:12 PM PDT
Looks like the 360 is doing just fine, even with the RROD issues Microsoft has moved close to twice as many consoles as Sony. Interesting to see Sony dead last in the race.
by IsoMedic July 13, 2008 9:52 PM PDT
What this article isn't telling: The price drop is almost certainly a clearance. $300 Premium consoles until they sell out. The 60 gig version is taking its place at the $350 price point. Also, Microsoft doesn't count the Wii as a "next generation" console. The Wii sold over 10 million units long ago.
Reply to this comment
by Kwasiowusu July 13, 2008 10:12 PM PDT
Bottom line: if you buy a Premium today, you are paying $50 less than if you bought a Premium last week. That is as real a $50 price cut as you can get. Furthermore, how do you know that the 60GB Premium won't get a price cut to $300 after the 20GB Premiums sell out? After all, Sony did a similar thing just last year with the 20GB PS3. As for the Wii selling 10 million in America long ago, that is patently FALSE. According to NPD figures, the 360 was the first console to sell 10 milion in america, and the wii has YET to sell 10 milion consoles in the US. Stop lying.
by Penguinisto July 14, 2008 8:45 AM PDT
It honestly doesn't matter what Microsoft calls next-gen or not... the Wii is considered as such by the industry at large.
by Penguinisto July 14, 2008 8:58 AM PDT
Good prediction, though I suspect that MSFT will have to drop prices and keep them down considering that they're #3 in the console wars and slipping. The only thing that will change that metric is if the xbox gets some kind of 'gee-whiz' feature that gets eyeballs attached and wallets opened. Problem is, I don't think that MSFT can pull that off.
by fuzzywombat July 14, 2008 2:43 AM PDT
Despite the price cut, XBOX 360 has lot of things going against them. The question of reliability is a big one. I know multiple friends that had to deal with dead XBOX 360 consoles and it seems like MS is trying to back out of trying to repair them now. I hear MS support staff are asking more questions now and they are trying to charge people for repair whenever possible. I guess MS thinks that by this time gamers have purchased bunch of games and people will just go out and buy a new console to play those games even if MS refuses to repair the broken console. Everyone I know are all ditching XBOX 360 because this and they've been very soured by it. Many of my friends have already jumped ship to PS3 side and I think most will buy PS3 come this holiday. I don't blame them because imagine if you've bought a $60 game and suddenly your XBOX 360 goes dead and you're left with pile of expensive coasters until you have to jump through the ring of fire to get the XBOX 360 repaired or buy a new one which may also die on you.
Reply to this comment
by Vegaman_Dan July 14, 2008 7:53 AM PDT
Ow, Penguinisto. You just got seriously pwned there.


As for Blu-Ray.. that doesn't seem to be actually going anywhere. The market is clearly showing that when you present two versions of a movie out at your local Walmart for $15 for DVD versus $30+ for Blu-Ray, people go for the standard DVD. That's market force economics at work and unless something happens to drop the price of Blu-Ray discs and players, that's simply not going to happen. It doesn't help that after the DVD format war was settled that Blu-Ray players went *up* in price as a result. I don't think we've seen the end of that mess yet. Time will tell.

Reply to this comment
by Penguinisto July 14, 2008 8:45 AM PDT
Dan, Dan, Dan... you have yet to refute the facts: http://vgchartz.com/hwcomps.php The xbox is dead-last in the console wars, as I have stated. Also, "pwned"? ROTFL - 2003 called, they want their petty n00b insults back.

"The market is clearly showing that when you present two versions of a movie out at your local Walmart for $15 for DVD versus $30+ for Blu-Ray, people go for the standard DVD."

I've never said otherwise... you've pretty much just mirrored everything I've said on that subject.
Reply to this comment
by DrtyDogg July 14, 2008 1:13 PM PDT
Wow again you link to something and miss quote it. Even vgchartz.com shows the 360 in second place behind the Wii, not dead last as you want it to be.
by superbob2122 July 21, 2008 10:08 AM PDT
Price drop! YAY! it looks like everyone else is selling there xbox 360's for lower as well, i went to www.consumerdepot.com to get mine.
Reply to this comment
by Jon0007 September 14, 2008 2:44 PM PDT
excellent

www.assasinpad.co.uk
Reply to this comment
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