Xbox 360 Pricing and Models Announced

#1 Yup, bad move indeed. Why take step backwards from where they were with the Xbox?

#2 Argh ... this is infuriating. The Xbox wasn't broken so I don't know why they are trying to fix it. Hopefully, this won't kill Xbox Live. PC gaming is all of a sudden looking a lot better when you consider that you can build a great system for only a little more than an Xbox with a Hard Drive.

#3 Well we know why they did it... the cost savings per 360 sold. Sony had *one* killer app when it tried to push it's hard drive accessory... Final Fantasy 33 1/3 or whatever. Xbox has several... XBox live... custom music in your games... no need for memory cards... download additional levels... and now Xbox Arcade. Sill i don't know if that will be enough to get them over the utter failure of console accessories in the past.

#4 Well... now I know which one I'll be getting(the HD version).

#5 Yeah true ... stinks that it's going to cost $400 though. I have a feeling they'll still be successful due to the average age of the gamer going up and most of us know we love our Xbox HD. Too bad it's going to cost us this time around :(

#6 I'm sure you are all aware that this is the "early adopter" pricing.

the price will go down by $50 or so 6 months after xbox360 is released (whenever ps3 ships)

#7 The HD was by far the most expensive piece of hardware in the Xbox 1, and is why they sold it at a loss. They also found that developers didn't really use it the way it was intended (downloadable content was minimal, episodic games were non-existent, etc). They played chicken with Sony on this one as long as they could and when they felt like the PS3 wouldn't have a built in HD for sure, they made it optional. Makes perfect sense, and saves them a lot of money per unit.

While it may not be great for us indies hoping to get our games onto the 360, it's probably the right move for them.

#8 I don't like this backwards trend... Really, the only thing I used the HDD for was near infinite save capacity, but man was it nice never having to buy a memory card.

Ah well. I wish the next-gen consoles supported USB flash drives! I just bought with a gig capacity! :D

#9 What follows is strictly a gamer's opinion. I understand the reasons why they did this...but it just annoys me.

I bought an Xbox on day one, for one thing : Halo. Didn't want to upgrade my computer for the newer games($$$), and I had been following Halo's progress since the early screenshots. So you could say I was hyped. For 2 years me and my buddies got together EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND and played halo, played with the physics...hell, we even discussed halo legendary tactics over dinner. And these guys weren't even gamers. It was pricey, sure...but it had a lot going for it too.

This launch seems...premature...no Halo...useless bundling that smells way too fishy. two levels of Xbox live subscription? No launch games....I mean...I have both project gotham racing, I have doa 3...I won't buy a costly new system to play the newer version. I reallly don't care about anything that's coming out for the system so far.

Buy a lower-cost system...you still have to get the memory card....AND the live subscription..AND the hard drive eventually....So it ends up being pricier than the initial 399 bundle.

Sorry guys, I'll get back to PC gaming for this generation. Can't wait to see what the Nintendo revolution is all about though...

#10 I think that you and I were reading a different article. :/

I don't remember Microsoft ever mentioning Halo 3 coming out at launch, nor do I remember Microsoft denying that they have launch titles.

#11 A no hard drive package? So much for Xbox 360 supporting indies and online distribution. I'm sure there are lots of people who would like to play indie built games on their 360 but who can't afford or could live without paying $100 more for a hard drive, HDTV, and a headset (a headset is a headset right?) they already have from the first Xbox.

I'm gonna wait until the system has something worth playing because most of the launch titles look like Xbox 1.5 if you ask me. But when I do get it, I have no choice but to buy the $400 set up even though I don't care for HDTV right now and I don't need a headset (unless they make the current one incompatible with the 360). I have to have a wireless controller because I like the Wave Bird so much for the Game Cube I can't go back to wires.

Tough break for us indies. The market is now split in two. But I'm sure the majority of people will buy the $400 package, and if they don't, the hard drive will still be sold seperatley as well. There's still hope.
-Ajari-

#12 To quote my wife "if you're willing to spend 300 on a game console, then you're willing to spend 400".

And remember the gamecube. The less expensive console with fewer features. We all know how 'well' that sold. Two types of people bought the gamecube:parents and people who owned another console.

As for PCs. There is no 400 PC that comes close to competing with the 360. Not even close.




Finally. Is it just me or is this how the 360 got it's name:

marketer 1 - i'm worried that the xbox 2 sounds like it's a generation behind the playstation 3.

marketer 2 - why don't we just call it the xbox 4 then, like when we skipped 4 generations with directx?

marketer 1 - why didn't we think of a cool name like the nintendo revolution?

marketer 3 - revolution is the perfect name for the next generation console.

marketer 2 - i still don't see what is wrong with xbox next.

marketer 3 - couldn't we just steal the name revolution? change it a little? get it out on the shelf first and nobody will ever know the difference?

marketer 1 - hey. good idea. now we're getting somewhere.

marketer 2 - how about... xbox resolution? that sounds like revolution.

marketer 1 - it doesn't make any sense. plus it's too obvious. remember the last time we stole something and named it something too
obvious?

marketer 3 - so. we need something that sounds like revolution.

marketer 2 - or means the same thing.

marketer 1 - and preferably, also sounds like it's in the same generation as the playstation 3.

marketer 2 - so, the xbox 3 revolution.

marketer 4 - sorry i'm late to the meeting. I had the HOTTEST chick chatting with me! But then she turned out to be a guy. How many times
is that going to happen to me?

marketer 3 - what's another name for revolution?

marketer 4 - oh, are we talking about the next e3 speech? let me look it up on my laptop. revolution... 360 degree... no, no, wrong kind of
revolution... hey... they could call the next e3, e360 and have a little word play going.

marketer 1-3 - 360!!!! the 360!!!

marketer 4 - you like it? it's sounds kinda cheesy to me. I was just kidding around.

marketer 1 - no! not e3! the next xbox. will be the xbox 360.

marketer 2 - we have our xbox 3...

marketer 3 - and our revolution...

marketer 4 - huh? xbox 360? I don't know. sounds like a lame movie title.

marketer 1 - well that's the kind of thinking that got you fired.

marketer 2 - security. we need you to dispose of an ex-employee.

marketer 3 - bye bye.

marketer 4 - wait.... don't take my laptop... i have another date with the hotchick in an hour!!!!


For the record. That is just humor for humor sake. I am not trying to make a dig at Microsoft. I am a huge fan of Microsoft. I thought this up while trying to figure out for myself what the heck 360 stood for. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a Microsoft bitch. So. Just stating this for the record so I don't find myself being turned down for a job someday because they looked up shit that I said on the internet. Plus. You know that this is how it happened.

#13 Anton - when can I buy Microsoft Marketing Sim 3000? My Credit card is waiting! :P

#14

Quote:To quote my wife "if you're willing to spend 300 and a game console, then you're willing to spend 400".

For me, yes... but I would rather have the PS3, regardless, and the Xbox 360's low price was what was keeping me on the 360 side of the fence, but now that it will (essentially) cost the same amount as the PS3, I see no reason for me to stay with the XBox... Now I just have to figure out which number to call to cancel my XBox Live service before they charge me for my 3rd year.

(I was rootin' for you, Microsoft. I bought the XBox the day it came out. I bought XBox Live that very same week when it was released... and yet...)

(Greed.)

Or profits. Whatever you want to call it. ;)

That tied in with the fact that it will cost me well over $100+ to get my XBox repaired.

#15 In UK Pounds, the most expensive package is around

#16

Quote: The $399 version will include Xbox Live Silver membership, a wireless controller in place of the wired one, a headset, an Ethernet cable, and a wireless television remote control for a limited time, and also adds a 20Gb removable hard drive.

At first I thought the price was a tad high but that is a good deal imo because the xbox-live membership and headset and remote sold seperately would probably be $100.

I still think there should be a HD no matter what. Hopefully MS know something we don't.

#17 Cannot wait. This is a great time for gamers; Xbox 360 this year, PS3 next - I don't understand the complaints. Now if we could only get a PC for $400.00 that played Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 with all the options acitivated!

#18 They should have at LEAST followed Sony and Nintendo's lead and used at least a somewhat standard memcard insead of their custom ones if they were gonna ship a system without a HD.(SD cards for Nintendo Revolution and Memory Stick Duo for the PS3).

Cheaper in the long run to get the $399 package anyway, especialy when you consider how overpriced the peripherals are.

The official 64 meg memcard has an MSRP of $39(way to pricey for 64 megs of flash IMHO).
Headset is $19(more reasonable than the memcard)
If you decide you need a HD later, that's another $99
Wired controller is $39(I know it comes with one, but I just don't see what's so special about their wired controller that warrents a $39 price tag.)

#19 I don't see what all the complaining is about, I think the price is perfect. I'll be picking mine up on launch day (with hard drive).

If someone goes for the core system then that doesn't mean they'll never be able to play live or download a game from xbox arcade. The system is upgradeable and at least by buying the core system they have committed to the 360 rather than a different console. The 2 packages are a smart move in my opinion.

Also, the PS3 is going to cost at least $500, thats without a hard drive and their memory sticks are the most expensive you can buy! Expect to get a great deal on an XBox360 with Halo3 just as the PS3 is launching.

-Greg.

#20 Actually, the PS3's cards will be a good deal cheaper than the XBox cards.. It will use magic-gate enabled Memory Stick Duo's for game saves. A quick check at pricewatch shows that you can get a 256 meg memstick duo with magic gate manufactured by sandisk for the same price as an XBox 360 64 meg card. SanDisk knows their flash memory, so it's not like your buying one from Pelican or MadCatz.

The PS3 also has an SD and Compact Flash reader, though I don't know if you'll be able to save games on em.

The estimated $500 price will definatly scare away a lot of potential customers though. No doubts about that.

As for Halo 3, that's probably one of the games I'm looking the LEAST forward too. I do want to see how Burnout looks on the 360 though :P