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Microsoft is offering a $50 mail-in rebate on the Elite through October 5.

Nobody likes a mail-in rebate, but if you're the patient type who doesn't mind waiting to get your cash back on your purchase, Microsoft will send you $50 if you buy the Xbox 360 Elite between now and October 5 (this is for U.S. customers only).

While you'll have to fill out all the requisite paperwork to get the discount, that mail-in rebate drops the price of the Elite--which only a short time ago cost $400--down to $250. Details of the rebate are here.

As other blogs have pointed out, that $50 might come in handy to buy an HDMI cable, Wi-Fi adapter, or a game. All we can say is, thank you, Sony, for dropping the price of the PS3 to $299. There's nothing like a good price war to keep things interesting in the game-console space.

Comments?

(Source: Joystiq via Major Nelson)

(Credit: Apple)

We're not sure what it will take for Apple TV to really take off, but a $100 price cut certainly can't hurt. On Sunday night, the company dropped the price of the 160GB Apple TV to $229 and killed the 40GB model, which had previously been priced at $229.

Considering Apple had already dropped prices for its Time Capsule wireless networked drives, an Apple TV price drop doesn't come as much of a surprise. On top of that, Microsoft is on the verge of updating the Xbox 360 to stream "instant-on" 1080p movies using Zune video technology, so Apple needs to do something to invigorate its little white video box in the face of increasing competition from plenty of players, including Roku.

Of course, after recently hearing Apple executive Phil Schiller talk about how $199 is a "magic price point" for the iPod Touch, you have to wonder why Apple just didn't hit $199 with Apple TV (I routinely beg Apple reps to drop the price to $199 in meetings).

Alas, in due time. However, before we see that price point, we expect to see a higher capacity, more expensive model in the not so distant future.

Comments? At what price would you consider getting an Apple TV unit? Is 160GB for $229 good enough?

As expected, recent price cuts to the PS3 and Xbox 360 helped boost sales of the two consoles, and a strong showing for both helped propel them past the Wii in the weekly American sales tally. As you can see from the numbers, it's not a huge win, but the price cuts only went into effect in the middle of the week, so we may see a bigger margin of victory next week.

Sony is the big winner. It saw sales of the PS3 jump 104 percent over the previous week, while the Xbox 360's sales spiked 32 percent. Overall, however, it's worth pointing out that the Wii has the lead in terms of worldwide sales and the DS is still king in the U.S. (The PSP also had a nice jump, but that appears to be attributable to the special Dissidia Final Fantasy bundle that went on sale recently).

On a personal note, I picked up a PS3 Slim Thursday at a GameStop in New York. When I asked the salesperson how sales were going on the Slim and Xbox 360, she said both saw big sales last week (especially from preorders on the Slim), but that things had slowed down this week. Interestingly, she said her store's stock of "fat" $299 PS3s was gone. Who bought them? Mainly foreigners who were visiting New York and couldn't wait for the Slim to arrive.

Looking ahead, I think both the PS3 and Xbox 360 will see decent--but not necessarily spectacular--sales over the next couple of months. A lot of people who were waiting for the price cuts will go out and buy systems quickly, but the next big wave of sales will come closer to the holidays.

What do you think? Will Sony and Microsoft will be able to hold a lead over Nintendo? Who will be on top this holiday season?

(Via Engadget via VGChartz)

Additional reading: Will PSP Go keep pirates at bay?

(Credit: Sony)

Updated coverage: Read CNET's full review of the PS3 Slim

Sony on Tuesday finally took the wraps off the much-rumored PS3 Slim and gave it the more affordable $299 price tag consumers have been clamoring for.

Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kaz Hirai performed the unveiling at a press conference in Cologne, Germany, preceding the opening of the Gamescom Expo. He took the stage and announced the PS3 was "getting a new model" and that, indeed, it was called the PS3 Slim.

PlayStation 3 Slim -- photos

The Slim is hitting stores September 1 in North America and Europe and will cost $299 (or for those who live in regions, 299 euros or 29,980 yen). Hirai says the device has the same features and functions as the "old" PS3 but is 33 percent smaller, 36 percent lighter, and comes with a 120GB hard drive. (See photo comparison here).

Sony says that to achieve the new form factor, the internal design architecture of the new PS3 system has been completely redesigned--"from the main semiconductors and power supply unit to the cooling mechanism."

The PS3 Slim is powered by a new 45nm version of the Cell processor, which runs at the same speed as the 60nm processor in the "old" PS3 but is smaller and more energy efficient. According to company reps, power consumption for the Slim has also been cut to two-thirds, "helping to reduce fan noise," which is important.

On the cosmetic front, this model has a textured surface finish that gives the PS3 a fresh, casual look that the company hopes will make it more appealing to a wider audience (read: casual gamers). As previously rumored, the PS3 logo has undergone a redesign and Sony's changing the PS3 brand name from "PLAYSTATION 3" to "PlayStation 3" (we've actually been calling it the PlayStation 3 for a while).

Like the 80GB and 160GB models, the 120GB PS3 Slim has built-in Wi-Fi and two USB ports (sorry, Sony didn't add IR or backwards compatibility for PS2 games). You can also upgrade/replace the hard drive without voiding the warranty, though Sony has moved the hard drive from the side of the unit to the front for "easier access." (To remove the hard drive, you simply unscrew two screws). The one feature missing from the Slim is the ability to install another operating system (i.e., Linux)--Sony is doing away with that feature.

(Credit: Kmart.com)

For all those who've been waiting for the PS3 to drop in price from $399 to $299, that day apparently has finally arrived.

While Sony has yet to make an official announcement, Kmart.com features an ad on its home page that reveals a price cut and appears to announce the arrival of the new PS3 Slim.

Clicking on a preorder button from the Kmart.com home page leads to this.

(Credit: Kmart.com)

Additionally, Kotaku has posted an image of an apparent promotional poster that a reader sent in, announcing price cuts for the 80GB PS3 ($299), as well as for the 160GB bundle ($399).

We're off to a press event at Sony headquarters in New York, where we expect to hear more about all this and perhaps get word on that "new" PS3. We'll update this post as soon as we get more info. (Update: The New York event was dedicated to new line of Sony wireless audio products. Now the focus shifts to Sony's press conference in Cologne, Germany. Check out the live coverage from our sister site, GameSpot..)

Additional reading: Sony's first move--cut price of current PS3 to $299?

(Via Engadget and Kotaku)

(Credit: Kotaku)

Old PS3, new, lower price?

(Credit: Sony)

With rumors flying that Sony will make some sort of PS3-related announcement tomorrow at the Gamescom Expo in Cologne, Germany, we've been going over possible scenarios here at CNET in New York.

If you've been following the situation, you're probably aware that a lot of people are hoping that Sony will bring out a brand-new slimmed-down version of the PS3 and price it at $299. However, given that Sony--or more precisely, retailers--are probably sitting on a stockpile of current-generation PS3s, a new PS3 Slim hitting store shelves at $299 doesn't seem all that likely.

The reality is that Sony needs to cut the price on current systems to make room for anything new that might be coming out. So while it could announce a new PS3 in Cologne, it might actually cost the same as current systems but feature, say, a higher-capacity hard drive (160GB). Just as importantly, the current 80GB system would get the price chop to $299.

This scenario would be similar to what we saw when Sony announced the PSP Go, which will actually cost more ($250) when it comes out in October than the current PSP ($170).

Of course, I could be completely wrong, but I'm going to stick my neck out and say that if anything goes down on Tuesday, it's going to start with a price cut on the current console.

Anybody else want to make a different call?

Additional reading: PS3 Slim fervor hard to fathom

The end of the Xbox 360 Pro is nigh.

(Credit: Kotaku)

Treat this right now as very likely, but still a rumor--a photo of a catalog page posted to Kotaku shows the 120GB hard drive-and-HDMI Xbox 360 Elite going for $299. The Meijer catalog (a Midwest store chain) in question is slated for August 30, which would mean a nice holiday surprise for future Xbox 360 buyers.

Other rumors have it that the price-dropped Elite and the bare-bones, hard-drive-free Arcade system will be the only 360s left on the market. It's a move that makes sense, since 120GB is not exactly a luxurious amount of storage space anymore, and is far more suitable for the mainstream than a fine-in-2005-but-now-piddling 20GB.

The 360 wasn't the system that most needed a price drop, after all. But then again, Sony might be following close behind with a cheaper (and redesigned) counterpunch of their own.

This leaves the Xbox 360 Elite at a price that's only $50 more than a Wii. And, for that price, you get a system that streams Netflix, plays DVDs, has robust online gameplay, and has far more storage than Nintendo's white box (even adding in a mountain of SD cards).

While we have absolutely no problem with getting more Xbox 360 for less, this raises a rather sharp sticking point with the prices of Microsoft's proprietary Xbox hard drives. An impassioned rant from Gizmodo accurately and appropriately skewers the currently ludicrous $160 retail cost of the 120GB hard drive. When half a terabyte can be had for the same--and when Microsoft, after all, wants us to buy more downloads than ever before--this hardly seems logical. Then again, maybe hard drive price drops/capacity increases are also on the horizon. In fact, wouldn't that be expected? If 120GB is the mainstream, there has to be a larger capacity to upgrade to.

Or, even better: Wi-Fi built in, and a slimmer, more reliable 360. How about that?

(via Kotaku)

Alleged spy photo of PS3 Slim's packaging.

With rumors that Sony may announce a new PlayStation at the Gamescom expo in Cologne, Germany, on August 18, Europe has been the most fruitful source of PS3 Slim rumors. The latest: in an interview with French gaming site JVN.com, an anonymous French retailer is claiming that the PS3 Slim is real and will cost 100 euros less than the current PS3. The retailer says he's heard the new system will arrive in stores next month, but no firm date has been given.

The interview with the retailer is actually fairly long and covers a lot of ground--including some thoughts on whether a price cut will spur sales of the console--but there's little in the way of specifics. At one point the retailer says he's been told the new PS3 is a "limited edition," but he says he finds it hard to believe that it will be.

As usual, take this all with a grain of salt. But the evidence continues to mount that some sort of new PlayStation 3 will be announced soon, perhaps as early as next week.

Comments?

(Via Joystiq via JVN.com)

Alleged spy photo of PS3 Slim's packaging.

No sooner had we written about reports that Sony would be dropping its 80GB PS3 in Japan on August 9, that two more PS3-related news items surfaced.

• A Belgian blog, RTLinfo, is reporting that Sony will soon be lowering the price on the European version of the PS3 from 399 euros to 299 euros (that bodes well for a $299 version of the U.S. PS3). At the same time, the site claims that Sony will introduce the PS3 Slim before the opening of Gamescom expo in Cologne, Germany, at a pre-event press conference on August 18.
• In more concrete news, Amazon today shaved $50 off the 160GB PS3 bundle, which includes Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. It now costs $449.99.

(Source: Engadget via RTLinfo)

Additional reading: Sony dropping 80GB PS3 in Japan?, Possible PS3 Slim listing on Amazon Germany?