Rumor: 360 price cut by $50 in August

by Richard Mitchell { Jul 25th 2007 at 1:30PM }

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Microsoft is planning a $50 price cut for the 360 in August. The unnamed retail source cited claims that the price drop will occur on August 8, two weeks shy of the release of BioShock and just a week short of the release of Madden 08. The reported reason for the price cut is that August is typically a slow time of year for console sales. Industry experts have been expecting a price cut for the Xbox 360 for some time now. Many expected Microsoft to announce one during E3. Given that all three current consoles have had plenty of time to gain their legs, the timing for a price cut couldn't be much better. A $50 cut across the board would have the Core competing with the Wii at $249 and even lower the Elite to $429, much lower than the PS3's $499 price point.

Xbox-Scene has posted the same prediction, also crediting an unnamed source.

[Via Joystiq. Thanks to elmersglue for the Xbox-Scene article]

Tags: business, pricecut, rumors

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

TORO @ Jul 25th 2007 1:38PM

That's cool, as soon as the price goes down, I'll start advertising Xbox360 for anyone who doesn't have one.

Joshua @ Jul 25th 2007 1:59PM

It really is a great time for it with so many great titles on the way.

And my girlfriend wanting one soon...

TORO @ Jul 25th 2007 2:03PM

Lol Joshua I hear ya, my girlfriend is going away for college and she want's one so we can keep in touch through gaming. That's fine with me!

ANt @ Jul 25th 2007 2:06PM

May have to pick up another one....

bigd7387 @ Jul 25th 2007 2:11PM

Buy how does this help me, who really wants "The Simpsons 360". Heck with Halo 3, make more copies of the The Simpsons.

Tony @ Jul 25th 2007 2:56PM

I honestly don't think it's enough. Maybe if they tossed in a cheap-o game too.

BestOfBothWorlds @ Jul 25th 2007 3:01PM

does this really help microsoft in anyway i know 1 billion dollars is just 1 drop in the ocean for microsoft but arent they bleeding money all the disc on all the red rings with that 3 year warrenty i know they feel the burn because that 3yr doesnt cover disk errors, and scratching and they have yet to explain the cause. with a 30%(i havent had any problems yet) failure rate it just seems unwise to drop the price maybe thats why they didnt drop it a full hundred dollars.

Arno @ Jul 25th 2007 3:07PM

$50 is pretty insignificant. I don't know how much impact they think this will make.

Doc @ Jul 25th 2007 3:16PM

seems low IMO...$100 would have been the real sweet spot. with all the games coming out having a core at $199..come on this is what MS needed, it's price that is making the wii sell so well, not games..seems like a wasted oppertunity to gain so more momentum

Dave @ Jul 25th 2007 3:32PM

Now if only I could locate a flipping 360 Elite! These things are harder to find than getting President Bush to make a smart decision!

Titty Pink @ Jul 25th 2007 3:34PM

Maybe the $50 plus Gears, an extra controller, and a year of Live. If you really want to effect the market, go hard or go home. $50 still doesn't make people feel better about the possibility/probability of their 360 dying.

puffin @ Jul 25th 2007 5:03PM

I'm a graphic artist and we just got the marketing materials for the price reduction here at work so it can be printed. Pricing is 279.99 for the Core - 349.99 for the Regular System - 449.99 for the Elite.

Usually when I get this stuff for games it's about 1-1.5 months out from street.

Doc @ Jul 25th 2007 5:07PM

now that is a good idea...if your only give a measely $50 off do yourself a favor..and give a year of live with the damn thing. I mean it's live that separates the 360 from the ps3, so why not get some more people hooked??

E-Rock @ Jul 25th 2007 5:13PM

Of course, my only question is whether any of these consoles will have the falcon in them by August?

AzraelPC @ Jul 25th 2007 7:14PM

If you include a free game (between $40 and $60) and a free year of Live ($50), isn't that like knocking another $100 off?

The reason why the sales have slacked off is because there is a large install base already. We're almost 2 years out from the launch.

Here's what I would rather have:

-- Kill the Core: No point in owning the system if you don't have the HDD, in my opinion.
-- Rename the 'Premium' the 'Standard' and price it at $299.
-- Keep the 'Elite' name and make it $399.

Another thing about people petitioning for a free year of Live. The ability to download content and make a friends list is already free (the Silver membership). I can understand a free 2 months of Gold Live (roughly $16), but not a full year.