Xbox 360 $100 (total) price cut in August
 

Source: Max Console

Would be great news if true, due to the massive list of A-list games set to drop in August through the end of the year.

Sounds like I've just found perfect excuse to get a 360 to play all those games I always wanted to play.

As usual, I'm a bit skeptical about the validity of this at this point in time. But if come August 1st, this turns out to be true, I'll be getting a 360 by September for sure.

Haha, way to piss off Sony ;)

This is actually good, because this way, Sony wouldn't even have to think anymore, because even the most retarded management would come to the conclusion that a heavy price cut is the only answer

It won't happen anyway. I'll try to scrounge up a link, but when asked about a price cut retort to the "price cut" (clearance sale?) of the PS3 they said they wouldn't be making one. It's still cheaper anyway, it doesn't need one and they are finally breaking even with console manufacturing costs so I don't see why they'd want to dig themselves back into a position where console sold = money lost when people are still gobbling them up even at the current price.

If it turns out to be true, then great for people who don't already own one I suppose but I severely doubt it will happen at any rate.

I hope this is true! of course, if it is.. itll be hard to find, like the wii is now.

It'll be sold out everwhere at that price!

Im not really a xbox fan, but games like blue dragon/lost odeyss/eternal sonata.. its tempting to get one.. heh

By the time this goes into effect, the console will be nearing the two year mark of its life, so it isn't exactly surprising that a price decrease is coming, and was probably in the works for a while. The PS2, which you could favorably compare the 360 to, in terms of popularity in its generation peers, enjoyed a similar $100 price decrease prior to its two year mark in the US.

I'm sure this will be true, if not August then definitely sometime around the end of the year. I was going to get a 360 Elite anyway so this just makes it more tantalizing.

I can't see a one-hundred dollar drop, not after the warranty boost they just gave out.

Not only that, but NDP has already reported that MS has lost 1.92 Billion on the Z-box 360 already due to failures and warrenty extensions that a price cut at this point will send them further into the whole. So it's kind of a double edged sword.

-Price cut = higher sales, and further $$ losses
-NO price cut = lower losses and more ground lost to Sony & Nintendo, but brings them closer to making a profit after 1.5 years

So it's hard to pprove or disprove this information with the current state Xbox Xorp is currently in.

I know the core unit doesnt come with a hard drive.. can you do the downloadable content from games.. just by the memory module.. or do you need the HD for that?

I really dont care about xbox live, or watching movies/tv shows thru the xbox.. i have a pc for that :P

The only thing you can do with the memory unit is with your save data. No Xbox LIVE or Marketplace functionality supported.

blah, oh well.

can you add an HD to the core unit pretty easily? if i wanted to get that down the road.. or do you have to open the console for that?

Yes you can and it's as easy as it could be. Simply undo the side panel and clip on your HDD, done.

Snaps on right here ->

wow, pretty easy. Thanks for the pic!

QFT.

Now as long as I can get my hands on the cash, I think I'll do just that. Or maybe I could ask for cash for my birthday, which is mid-August... Either way, this is pretty cool. I never picked one up before because they were too expensive, but if this comes into play... then woohoo!

Here's an even better one for yeah (might not need it). I was hoping to have this one edited before you saw my last post. Oh well.

http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/07d740033e.jpg

is 20gig the smallest? id prob go with the smallest one.. i dont need like an 80g one or anything


also, how does the quaility of the graphics look on a standard 27" nonHDTV, from the cables it comes with?

Ps2ish?

Sony isn't Microsoft's competition nor are they the motivation here (assuming this rumor is true). It's all about competing with Nintendo at this point.

I don't see the billions in hardware repairs pairing with a price cut. Also, my local EB didn't know about it. They'd have posters or something in advance to advertise it.

Assuming this is true, they could be using this to do the same thing Sony's doing, which is to move the old hardware out, while making room for the new 65 nm chipsets and the consoles that will contain three heatsinks. Those would, theoretically, red ring less and maybe save them a bit of cash in the long run.

I'm no analyst, but it's just a thought.

Hmm... I may just end up getting a 360 if it becomes that cheap.

This would be a good reason to get a 360... Even though the Core system looks like a steal at this point, I'd probably still go for the Premium system.

@Guru
Nintendo is on a whole nother planet with the Wii. Anyone who's looking for a PS3/360 experiance is NOT going to buy a Wii, and visa-versa. Their audiences for the most part are very different and therefore not in direct competition. Therefore making the 360 & PS3 in competition for the more hardcore markets. (This applies to only thoes who buys 1 system)


@Lukage
The two things will be related if a price cut makes a sales increase which then in 4 months makes the repairs increase. MS will probably then be around the -2 Billion mark come November.

MS sure has the NA market brainwashed with something, because if any other company had a 30% failure rate, people everywhere would be screaming bloody murder, and then sales would be in the whole. However the only way for MS to start making any headway in the $$ department is to make the shoeboxes start working. Otherwise we're going to have a company in the leader spot with negatice profits, wouldn't that be a riot, lol.

What do you mean "Sony isn't Microsoft's competition"?? Do you have any idea how hyper-nervous they will get at Microsoft once those Sony faggots are clever enough to finally lower the price and throw some good games on the market?

Now if they modified the controller so that it was some stupid ass motion sensor crap, then I might believe that, but coming on the heels of Sonys recent price drop, logic would conclude it's got to do with that.

Also what russ said.

The price drop might convince me to buy a 360 Elite. Then again, the PS3 "price drop" is pretty tempting as well. Do the Elite still suffer the three lights of death as often as the other system types?

Yes, of course they do.

Also, haha, Guru, you gotta be shitting me. 360 competing with Wii and not with PS3? I'm not sure, maybe you were kidding? Wii is in a completely different class, and has been since the very start. 360 is the direct competitor of PS3.

This makes sense. They're slipping the prices down to make it look like it's a huge saving, when actually it's just making the 360 Elite the same price as the 360 Pro.

What's the difference between the Elite and the current 360, aside from 20 -> 120 GB HDD, different colour, and whatever other shit the Elite has differently (internally) about it over the current console?

it as the HDMI output too.

A price drop is always good to me. I just hate when they just do some bundle with games that most people don't want >.>

I figured they'd do this once they rolled out those new fancy 65nm chips anyway.

Plus, Gaylo 3 is on the way, so it'll scoop up the kiddies who have to have mommy & daddy buy their console and game and XBL subscription. I mean, what is Gaylo on XBL without some little kids screaming "FUCKFUCKSHITASSHOLE YOU BITCH MOTHERFUCKER COCK LICKING SHIT ROCKET FUCK FUCK ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAHH!!!~~"

I'll tell you what it is: fun.

At least buying a 360 is now cheaper than upgrading my computer. I was going to upgrade to play Bioshock at decent graphics, but a 360 would shave about $75 or so from my "Bioshock bill" and that's pretty cool.

Next time a game comes around and I don't got the rig to play it and I begin to think 'dis way again, I gonna get me a 360 too. Probably. *_*
Got 'nuff of dumpin' loads of dough on upgrades just to play what? 3 games and then upgrade again for the cost of a new console?

Regardless of what anyone says, the Wii is still a gaming system. And in the gaming business, it's all about market share.

Just because "hardcore gamers" don't see the Wii as serious competition doesn't meant that Microsoft (and Sony) aren't planning on doing things to compete directly with the Wii. To try and deny that is simply idiotic.

Yeah, but you wouldn't exactly say that Fiat is competing with Porsche, would you?

You also wouldn't say that there are only 3 cars in the world that people have to choose from, would you?

Silly analogy.

The Wii will be serious competition when it actually gets some games.

The Elite price drop is looking mighty nice though. I'm getting an HDTV soon and the thought of playing Ace Combat 6 in HDMI is better than sex.

Can we go back to discussing the price drop with a little less Nintendo posing, please.

Tails...tails...tails...

Just because you don't see the Wii as serious competition doesn't mean that Microsoft and Sony don't. Just because you're not interested in buying a Wii doesn't mean that Microsoft wouldn't like to be in Nintendo's position, being the only console Joe Consumer chooses to buy. That is competition, folks. When people are only picking up one console to meet their gaming needs, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft all want to be that one console.

That's why I don't see this potential price drop as competition with Sony so much as I see it as an effort to get on an equal playing field with Nintendo.

So basically what you're saying is that Microsoft would love to have continuous shortages of their product and a laughable presentation that's geared towards soccer moms and kids. Look, the whole point of this price drop is painfully obvious to anybody who doesn't have blinders over their eyes. Can we just stop trolling the 360 threads already.

I don't understand playing on an equal field with Nintendo. Nintendo isn't even IN THE LEAD. What the fuck.

what we're saying is, we wanna keep up with those guys in second

HUH

The Wii hasn't even been out a year, give it some time and it's just gonna dominate everything alongside the DS.

Mostly because it's cheap and affordable, and doing well in Japan because of it. And there's a modchip available already. But yeah there's just a couple of games for the Wii worth owning.

The 360's been expensive and that's pretty much put a lot of people off buying one. Now there's a price cut, people will either take interest, or they're no longer interested and won't do anything. It's also failing in Japan despite iDOLM@STER, Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata, etc. Japanese Marketplace is also shitty.

I pretty much don't care for any of these "next gen" consoles to be honest, but the cheapest usually wins. Even if the Wii's, like, non-HD and totally not in the same departments (specification-wise) as the PS3 and 360, it's doing so well that it's difficult not to be taken seriously. While in the midst of all this, the consumers are reaping the benefits due to their prices being lowered.

Did I mention Nintendo's profiting from their consoles being sold, yet Sony and Microsoft aren't?

Who is in the lead anyway?

http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/1...otwordsvz3.gif

Could you be on Japans nuts any harder. I don't see how being the "cheapest" benefits if the novelty of the console wears off after a few hours.

It's shit like this that makes our gaming forum look worse than GameFAQs.

There have been multiple big games, be it from a sales standpoint or an entry into a well loved series, or whatever. Just because you don't like them, doesn't mean there isn't "something" on the system.

Pro-tip: Learn to differentiate your taste from fact when you're trying to argue. It'll make you look a lot less retarded.

If Nintendo could keep up with the demand, they could probably easily sell enough Wiis through this holiday season to take the lead. If you count worldwide sales, by the end of August, Nintendo will have shipped more Wiis worldwide than 360s. Nintendo won't suprass 360s in North America until 2008, when (if?) they ramp up Wii production. But WiiFit pretty much is going to ensure market leadership in North America by the end of 2008, no ifs, ands or buts.

That is competition. No matter how much you say the Wii sucks is going to change that.

The 360 was cool at $400 back when they didn't have competition. But now they do, and they're reacting. This is why competition is good for gamers. And that's why I may consider pickup up a 360 for myself at some point ;)

No. We won't be that bad until we have our "Who would win in a fight? Sephiroth, Cloud or Goku?" threads.

PS. All the next gen consoles blow. The Dreamcast is superior to all.

I don't mind competition, it keeps things from becoming a one sided monopoly-ish, but uh

WiiFit is going to ensure...are you, WHERE ARE THE FUCKING GAMES. If I wanted an exercise machine I'd buy one or join a gym. I don't buy a video game console for that kind of nonsense. What's next, Richard Simmons developing an exclusive workout program for the Wii?

Until Nintendo starts putting out stuff actually worth buying, I say they're going to fall flat on their face. With all the releases heading the 360s way this fall/winter, I say the 360 has more than just a chance to keep- if not extend their influence in the market.

Also, complete agreeance with Miles. ALL HAIL THE DREAMCAST.

Bah, we've come pretty close.

Also, fuck you. 3DO for life, dawg.http://colonelskills.belkanairforce....ages/ace/1.gif

The Dreamcast would be superior to all if it had ever seen those seventeen Shenmue chapters that people were promised. =/

Get out. Vectrex is where it's at.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...me_system-.jpg

Superior.

/denial

See, Tails, the problem is that you're not realizing that Nintendo has gone and done something that nobody has done before, in making a console that appeals to more people than just you. Maybe it doesn't suit your tastes, but it's created a new level of competition for the consoles that do. That's all I'm trying to say. And you just keep telling me I'm wrong because you think the Wii sucks. Great argument there =P

I don't think the Wii library is going to be suffering all that much longer, now that publishers have taken notice about how many people own the system. They were all in denial too, initially. Couple that with great first party games like SSBB, Metroid Prime Corruption, Super Mario Galaxy... we'll just have to agree to disagree on that whole "nothing worth owning" bit.

[14:43] <+Puff> mario kart uses the wii fit pad
[14:43] <+Puff> TRY SNAKING WITH YOUR FEET!!!!!!???!!

excuse me while I laugh at the rest of your post. 360 only appeals to me, got it.

It'd probably be fun. So people will buy it.

Owned.

Yeah, about as fun as trying to play Ace Combat with a Dance Dance Revolution pad.

and by fun i mean tragic

But people will buy it.

That's my point.

(also tails sucks).

I see you have clearly outwitted the boundaries of logic, good sir. I am speechless at your overpowering prowess and command of the use of your gray matter.

Might I inquire as to where I could get some of the drugs you're on?

Ok, we have officially concluded that Tails' opinion on what is cool > sales statistics, market strategy and basic economics.

Competition is good for the gamer. These price cuts are a result of competition. Is there any more way I can plainly say this?

Wait, here comes the retort (lol wii sux who cares if it's creating competition).

Guru is right, people love gimmicky crap, so the millions who bought a Wii to play Wii Sports at parties will probably also get Wii Fit to pretend they're exercising. The question is, will those people buy more than three or four other games during the Wii's lifetime.

Probably not. However, I am HIGHLY ANTICIPATING 1-18-08 when Gurus prediction of the Wii TAKING OVER NORTH AMERICA comes true?

Well, that does remain to be seen. But it's hard to argue that Nintendo has had absolutely nothing to do with the price cuts that we're seeing from Microsoft and Sony.

And all of this is good for the gaming community.

Additional Spam:
All it takes is looking at some projected sales statistics. It's not like I'm pulling this information out of my ass. Why don't you look at some sales figures?

The Wii is a huge phenomenon, and trying to deny that is pretty silly.

Sorry to interrupt the line of thought, but is there any credible source that has information on a price cut (i.e. when, how much, etc.)? I was just about to buy one yesterday when I saw this thread, and now I'm happy I saw it, but I'm bummed out cause I really want it NOW. :(

You say that like every previous system hasn't had a lousy selection throughout the first year or so. I don't exactly remember that many A List titles when the PS2 launched. When I first got mine, I basicly only used it for PS1 games and Dynasty Warriors.

Thing is, the system doesn't have to be about the novelty. Developers have the choice of utilyzing the classic controller or the gamecube controller as well. Fact is ports from other systems should allow regular controllers since they weren't developed with the Wiimote in mind, but not many developers seem to get it. Not to mention, I'm sure their are plenty of "hardcore gamers" that want to download games they grew up with off the Virtual Console.

On a side note, if this does happen... damn. I just bought a 360.

but releasing a game on the wii without using the wiimote is almost like releasing a game on the DS that use only one screen and no touch screen. Just look at reviews on the ds where games didn't use much the second screen and people are complaining about not using enough of the touch screen or the use of a second screen... I already can see people complaining about a game not using enough the wiimote. hell, it already happen with mario party 8 where people complain about to much mini-games not using the wiimote...

If you are a person who is only going to buy one console, and you have three consoles to choose from, you're going to choose the one that has the features you are most interested in. Maybe it is the Xbox Live service, or the unique control method on the Wii, or whatever PS3 has, Blu-ray I guess. Well, if you get the 360 because of Live, and you get a game that doesn't utilize Live, you will be disappointed that it doesn't use the main feature that you were looking for. If you get a Wii for the controls, and the game doesn't make use of the unique controls, you will be disappointed. I guess for PS3, if a new movie doesn't get released on Blu-ray, you will be disappointed {obviously PS3 is different because its main selling point for me was not game related}.

I remember reading an article on GameSpot with some exec. in Microsoft's Game Division -- hell, it might've been Peter Moore before his departure -- who said that there would be no price cut.

Dropping the price after extending the warranty makes Microsoft look like they're admitting to faulty, unreliable hardware, and that's not PR they want floating around for analysts and share holders to get a hold of.

Lawl I'm way off the current discussion. Oh well.

This time around (i.e. console generation) I don't think their will be too many single console owners, especially if you consider the expansion of PC gaming. As far as which console someone'll buy first, I'll support your opinion and say that yeah, you buy based on the one with the most features. More to the point, games are a feature of the system, and people generally buy the systems according to the games they wanna play, be it by title, genre, or whatever else you can factor in.

Of course it is, and I don't really see anyone denying it in this thread. I am just not sure whether the current price cut rumors have anything to do with Nintendo's Wii in general. I don't think that Microsoft fears that people who would buy a 360 buy a Wii instead because it's cheaper. Same for Sony and potential PS3 buyers. It's simply a different league. If you want a next-generation HD console, you don't really have a choice between 360 and Wii or PS3 and Wii.

However, I would never buy a Wii because I think that it is an extremely homosexual console that actually makes people think they're gonna lose weight by jumping around in their living rooms, waiving with some input device that looks like a dildo and playing games that look like they're imported from PSX. If you wanna be cool, trendy and hip, I guess you should buy a Wii. If you wanna own a good gaming console, you shouldn't. Also: No kidding Nintendo is making a fortune, I don't even want to know how high the production costs actually are. My guess would be something like 50 bucks.

Anyone who enjoys Marvel Ultimate Alliance while being forced to use the Wiimote has more patience then a saint. My point is I love games that are specifically made for the Wiimote, but do not force me to use it for a game where it hinders the gameplay. Midway had enough sense to allow regular controls for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, regardless of whether or not people want to say the game sucks at least they had some sense. Also my point wasn't that they should disable the use of the Wiimote, simply give you the option of which you want to use.

The Wiimote is also not quiet the same as the touch screen, seeing as how that's a whole screen on the handheld that's going to waste if you don't use it. Not to mention the touch screen leaves alot less room for error then having to swing the Wiimote a certain way for EVERYTHING.

Yes, clearly recognizing that Japan is where Sony and Nintendo are based, and where they sell their merchandise first, and where they base the majority of their profits off, means I'm "on their nuts".

It's cheap so people will buy it. Parents will buy it for their kids. Kids will be able to afford it. Teenagers will too. It doesn't have very many games at the moment, but it's still something people will enjoy that others haven't.

Ask any kid or teenager if they were interested in the Wii, which is most affordable, the cheapest, has VC, and has a lot of easy/anime/cartoonish games, which is the cheapest console, and which has recently been released, and they'll identify and go for the Wii.

If you want to get really fussy about it, it doesn't matter what games the Wii has because once it's sold from the store to the customer, Nintendo make a profit. Nintendo will continue to make profits from selling consoles, even if people aren't making use of them, or playing them. Sony and Microsoft are not.

The people who ARE making use of them, haven't finished games which others have. Like TP.

Your comments demonstrate you really don't get it. You are the type of gamer who is only satisfied with AAA titles of epic proportions. Your list is probably filled with games like Lair, Mass, Effect, Too Human, Bioshock, Halo, Haze, or a million other epic fantasy or shooters. You're the type who would say the "TP is the only good game on Wii and its a gamecube game LOL".

People like that don't "get" the wii. Most gamers don't need big budget mega-games that are hyped for 3 years. They don't even know what a AAA title is. They see a game on a system that looks interesting and they buy it and either they like it or they don't.

They don't read reviews, and they don't know if the game they bought is a port. I know, it's hard to imagine, but that's the average gamer on the Wii (and the PS2 for that matter). I used to be hardcore, I used to care if something was a port or if there was exclusive content on my system. Now, I just like games to be fun on whatever system I own.

Well yeah of course they do, I mean, if I was 13/M/CA, I would go for the Wii as well, but you know, the older you get, the more ambitious you become ;)

Whatever, you both know that if you ask nearly any 12 year old boy what his favorite game is, you'll hear a whole hell of a lot more Bungie-shooter 2 than some Zelda crap. You ask almost any 12 year old boy what games he is looking forward to and you will hear Bungie-shooter 3 and GTA 4, not Mario Party 41 or Ace Attorney 3 or tooned-up-jap-disco-ball-4.

Umm so what? I mean, are you trying to say that it's the group of retirees that Wii has to care about or what?

Ohh, rumored price drop? Nice... either way, I think I'm getting my 360 next month, so a drop would be convenient. I'm already late for All Pro and NCAA Football 08, but this year I definitely gotta get dat Madden. Right, Tails?

Well until someone can name me 10 original BIG 3rd party games for the Wii, and first party games outside of '07 then I'll believe that the system will be more then a 1 year fad.

In the mean time it's a fun system that keeps me busy during 360 repair periods. It's also the system appealing to kids and soccer-moms, while ignoring thoes who got Nintendo to where they are today.

-> Back to topic though. I still say that a price drop can only be good for sales, but it's definately going to put MS in a rugh financial spot when they're already in the hole almost 2Billion dollars, and they're the market leader.

Since we're off topic, the reason the Wii is competition is because developers are going to follow what sells well. If Nintendo sold a pile of shit that you put a disk into, they'd make games to shove in the poo.

If the PSP suddenly sells a bajillion and the DS's get returned and sold back in alarming numbers, more PSP games will be coming out for there.

That's mostly what my problem with the Wii is. The system is a great money maker, but it has yet to really move the industry in any forward direction. Other then a couple well designed games, 90% of Wii games are ports and cash ins. The PS3/360 may right now only be moving us in a better graphics direction, but at least it's going somewhere that benefeits the gamers.

Really all Nintendo did with the Wii is made you buy a second GameCube and a new periphriel. Which is good for the bottom line, but doesn't really rejuvinate the market for any long term benefeits.

Don't take me the wrong way though, I'm glad that more people are getting into gaming which helps bring things more main stream unlike the PS3/360, however for thoes who've been playing these things since the NES days or earlier, Nintendo really have yet to bring anything other then the big four to the table for us. Really makes me feel shunted by them.

The Wii is crap and I am sick of hearing about how well it is selling. It's a Gamecube with a couple of additional gags, and the system's game library can't compete with anything outside of a cell phone. The real problem I have with the "console" is that it is regarded as a kiddy, overly-simplified and braindead system, and there no intention by Nintendo nor any developers to change that.

If y'all don't agree, just look at what Capcom has done with Resident Evil. It was originally supposed to play like RE4, aka one of the best games of all time, but they felt compelled to dumb it down for Wii fans, because the developers were confident that the userbase was either universally dumb as a rock, or just old and shouldn't be operating any electronic equipment in the first place.

I will simply pity the game industry if Wii becomes some kind of leader or influential force. You're just going to get heaps and heaps of simple, Tiger handheld-level crap games, and everybody is going to be overjoyed except for the people who really matter in the industry: GAMERS.

Oh wait. Nintendo is releasing Mario 2 on VC next week. Everything is fine now.

The Wii's "library" isn't even a year old.

Yeah but really. How many games are there announced for the Wii that are looking to be deep and memorable games. 4 that's how many. SSBB, Metroid 3, Mario Galaxy, and Zelda. Now what does Nintendo have scheduled for '08 that match these titles? Oops... we forgot about after '07. Same can be said for the 360 so don't think I'm just bashing the Wii.

Only system that I see right now who has ANY future looking plans is Sony with MGS4, two Final Fantasy games and KillZone 2. Sure the PS3 may not have many titles now (which YES, is a problem for what? Three more months?). But their library is looking a lot brighter further down the tunnel then the other two after '07.

Btw, as you know the PS3 has been out as long as the Wii so Nintendo has no excuse to not have plans reaching outside of '07, sorry.

The only reason Sony has these so called plans for after 2007 is because the release dates on their big named titles got pushed from 2007 to 2008.

Yeah, because KillZone 2 and FinalFantasy VS XIII, and the 2 team ICO projects were originally slated for '07 ya know.

Continuing to get further away from topic, here's some food for thought.

Recalling the Gamecube's library, do you think it's such a good idea that Nintendo's bringing out 3 of their big 4 titles all within a nearly 3-month period of each other? By releasing Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3 so close together, do you think Nintendo's effectively reduced their own consoles for the next 2 to 3 years, barring any major third-party exclusive releases?

When you really sit down and think about it, a good part of what can make a system successful are the quality and quantity of first-party titles -- releasing a fair amount of pretty close to triple-AAA quality titles during a system's lifespan is the logical key to success. During the GameCube's years, Nintendo kinda...failed to do that. Super Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime, Zelda: Wind Waker and Smash Bros. Melee were released pretty close together if memory serves, and it was a good year and half/two years before Metroid Prime 2 was released, and then Twilight Princess was moved to the Wii first, in favor of strengthening new console sales at the cost of the GameCube.

My question again is: is it wise for Nintendo to release their console-selling first-party titles so close together instead of spreading them out over a 6-month or year-long window?

In the West? Maybe not. In Japan, though, I don't think they care. They're biggest sellers are Mario, Pokemon, and their increasing line of brain training games .

Also, I've always believed a big reason for even making first-party titles is to advertise to third-party developers. Now that every major Japanese (and Western) developer has signed up to make games on the Wii, they no longer need to try so hard. It's okay if Nintendo doesn't release another Zelda/Metroid/Whatever for a year or two, because Square-Enix, Sega, Bandai, etc. will be releasing plenty of games during that time.

Anyway, back to the 360. Assuming they're was a price drop, is it possible that MS would scale back the premium SKU? Lower hard drive size, or just producing a much smaller batch of units overall? Could it be like the Wii situation is now? Or would they pull a Sony, and use the price drop to phase in the Elite as their primary model?

So far that's the strategy I thought they were already using: phase out one to introduce the other.

How many quality first party games did they even make for the SNES other than one Zelda, one Metroid, and two Marios?

Don't forget F-zero and Mario Kart.

So of all these, the only one which wasn't released early on in the console's life was Yoshi's Island.

(Unless you want to count Earthbound which I don't think is fair since they didn't bill it as an AAA++++ title, it just turned out to be a really sweet game.)

Wasn't Street Fighter II one of the games that was released within a year of the SNES' launch? I know that it was one of the reasons we got one in the first place.

Controlling the Diskarmor in Rygar for Wii with the Wii-mote will make us forget all other consoles. It will even make the WoW kiddies stop playing WoW and eat something so they can build up the strength to wield the Wii-mote through ancient Greece motif levels. Seriously if the Diskarmor responds naturally to the Wii-mote instead of just having a "standard" attack no matter how you move the Wii controller we will only remember what has come before that point in gaming in order to more fully appreciate hot Diskarmor-swinging action. The end.

Seriously though, if I could get a reliable Xbox 360 Premium for $300 I would be able to skip getting a $300 videocard with my next PC upgrade and at this point I would be fine with this route. I would rather buy a $200-$300 console every three years than spend $1500 to upgrade my PC every three years.

What is Rygar?

Unless I'm mistaken, an attempt to revive a really really old game. The original was on the NES if I'm right.

Rygar was awesome. Rygar's revival on PS2 was even more awesome. It was the PS2's God of War two years before God of War became the PS2's God of War (??)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...6/Rygarbox.jpg

Hopefully the Wii version won't be crap, but Tecmo's been pretty hopeless at everything lately. Coming soon, a 360 port of the PS3's Ninja Gaiden Xbox port.

The 360 is ironically in the lead in console sales at the moment, with 10.8mil. However the Wii is closing in with I think...8mil sold. PS3 is no where around 5 mil.

2more days is when "the" rumor said that the annoncement of this so called price cut? If not, I guess its fake.

Hasn't it already been confirmed that it's just going to be a $50 price cut?

According to that scanned flier that's been around, yeah. No official word on that yet, though, to my knowledge. http://colonelskills.belkanairforce....ages/ace/1.gif

I think Zeal said it was confirmed. Why do we care when we have the system already though.

uhhh.. not everyone has it.

im one of them

Nor do I. I'd like to see if the mass-porting of what were once PS3 exclusives is just a temporary thing.

Holy shit, relevant discussion lol

Don't worry, Microsoft is willing to spend enough money and the Sony officials are currently fucking up everything they can.

Bahahahaha. WHAT.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...01/ccproof.jpg

Ok, someone change the title to "Xbox 360 $100 TOTAL price cut in August."

Core is now down 20 bucks, the Elite is down 30 bucks, and the Premium is down 50 bucks.

Whoopdeefuckingdo. Core is now an even BIGGER ripoff. (Core + memory card = 20 bucks less than a premium), and the difference in price between a Premium and an Elite is larger.

Phase out the Core you fucking morons, damn.

eww, guess ill wait on the 360 for awhile longer.

Why? The premium is a decent price. It's the OTHER two that should be avoided like the plague.

well.. 199$ sounded nice, for a cheap ass like me. :P sure it doesnt have the HD.. but that could be added later.

The core was never a viable solution or a worthy purchase due to the requirement to add either a 50 dollar memory card or a more expensive hard drive to the final purchase. Assuming you'd want to save any of your progress in ANY game or want to access Live, you'd need a storage solution and that just makes the Core pointless on it's own.

The Core is commonly called the "'tard pack" for a reason. Any savings you get from purchasing it is negated in the near or immediate future.

Why would they want to get rid of the Core? That's the one they probably make the most money on. The price to hardware ratio is more in favor for Microsoft here, and I'm willing to bet that a large number of people accesorize the Core up to near what the Premium is anyway.

What I posted was obviously wishful thinking and hope, not business sense. I'll make a note to point that out next time so it's a bit more obvious.

This first price cut is definitely to sweeten the deal just in time for Madden and Halo 3. I'd wager after all that excitement has dried out, they'll do a second price cut right before the holiday season kicks off. Consider it a clearance sale like Sony's doing with 60 GB PS3s, to make room for the 65 nm SKUs!

The 65 nm's have been too long in coming. They need to crank those out soon before. Intel is already set to release their 45 nm process chips soon. 65 nm is old news...

uh most retailers refuse to carry the core unit... I haven't seen a core in a store in a year or two... no one wants the tard pack.

I'm really wishing the Core dropped by more. $20 is crap, and while the Premium is a better deal directly, you can actually get used 20GB hardrives for pretty cheap at Gamestop if you do it right (combine the harddrive with a Buy 2 get 1 free offer, and you could get it along with 2 new games for around $110). For $250, the Core would've been a good option to look at, especially if you don't need the component cables/headset or preferred a wired controller.

They should just clearance off the Core for $200 and discontinue it though, then everyone would be happy.

What do they mean by "free table tennis game"?

I'm pretty sure it means you get a free Table Tennis game.

The game is called Table Tennis. Its actually pretty highly rated, but I never played it personally. http://gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/9...table%20tennis

It's probably that Table Tennis game by Rockstar. Titled "Table Tennis" (oh shit oh shit) and features tennis on a table.

I've played it and it was seriously terrible. Possibly the worst 360 game I've ever seen and one of the unfortunate experiences of gaming I've had in my entire lifetime. You'll never see any bundles with good games which are "free" unless they're compensating for the cost of the game somewhere in the overall price.

That Eurogamer review fucking rocks, you should read it!
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=64906

(they rated it 9.0 btw)

But but, the game's a riot in two player! All the ultra creepy attempts at realistic looking people make a confusing "I'm in the process of shitting my pants" expression when they hit the ball.