Rumor: New $199 360 SKU with motion controller
by Dustin Burg 
{ Aug 22nd 2008 at 10:30AM }
Take it for what it's worth, but we've received a tip from a source close to Microsoft's marketing department who has shed some light on the Xbox 360 price cuts that are rumored to be going down in a few weeks time. More specifically, the $199 Xbox 360 Arcade bundle.According to the source, Microsoft will be positioning the Arcade bundle to be in direct competition with the Wii, meaning that the marketing push behind it will focus on family friendly entertainment. With family oriented games on the packaging, the Arcade console will come packaged with the traditional Arcade goodies (512MB memory card, etc.), the new Fall update pre-loaded as well as a motion controller and a few motion controlled mini games developed by Rare. That's right, a motion controller! Supposedly, the motion controller will work with all 360 consoles and will even be sold separately, bundled with an even more expansive list of mini motion controlled games. This new $199 Xbox 360 Arcade bundle is said to release Holiday 2008.
File this all under rumors'ville for now, but don't totally discredit the information. $199 Arcade's are sounding very likely and, with Microsoft's push to undercut the Wii, matching the Wii's motion controls sounds like a total possibility. We'll just have to wait and see.
[Thanks, Keyser Söze]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Neuromancer @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:36AM
I'm going to go ahead and say no way on this one.
Kevin Gass @ Aug 22nd 2008 12:52PM
Agreed Plus if it did that leaked Flyer would have mentioned something as dramatic as Motion Controllers
Jason @ Aug 25th 2008 1:44PM
The fact of the matter is that this will not do what Microsoft wants it to do. Does it come with Wii Sports? No, it'll come with "We wish we were Wii Sports". Heck it may be even better than Wii Sports, but nobody will notice or care.
Will Wii Fit be available for it? No, Third Party Exercise game deluxe will be available for it. You see, the problem with targeting Nintendo fans is that Everything is third party on a 360. (Even MS games from a Nintendo fan's perspective)
Rick @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:41AM
Yeah, and something like that would not be announced at any of the major media events in the past couple months? Not bloody likely.
joeybeast @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:06AM
The audience they are going after doesn't care about E3. Wasn't that exactly what Nintendo did wrong?
Rick @ Aug 22nd 2008 12:16PM
First up, let me clarify that I'm only referring to the motion controller, not the price drop. I'm not going to be surprised about a price drop in the near future...seems pretty likely.
But about the rumored motion controller...
It doesn't matter if the target audience pays attention to E3 or not. The whole point of having E3 is that it gets the word out about big new products. Down the line, that news spreads to other outlets that the general public is more apt to notice, so if they want to get non-hardcore gamers to take note, they won't drop some totally new product at the last minute before the holidays. Instead, they'll build up tons and tons of hype and marketing for months on end until people everywhere have heard about it.
There's no way a K-mart flyer will be the first outlet for a product announcement like a motion controller...that's big news.
joeybeast @ Aug 22nd 2008 1:47PM
You meant they should announce the motion controller at E3 like they did with Avatars? Please see all the hype around Avatars.
MS is not going to build hype by announcing these copy cat products at a trade show simply because the only people that follow the trade shows are hardcore gamers like us, who doesn't give a crap about these things.
My mom bought a Wii and Wii Fit because she saw it on TV.
Remember we are in August, the holidays are still a few months away. So there are no Ads to leak yet.
I do wish the motion controller comes to 360 if only to see a more entertaining console COPY-cat fight. I use the word "fight" very loosely.
emirabal @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:42AM
As long as this motion controller also comes with the updated d pad, ill get it as a single buy for SF4
Fenix @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:45AM
Awesome?
deaftly @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:55AM
nah :(
Brian @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:46AM
Like the deal you posted a while ago (xbox live + 60 hdd and headset) i'm going to call bullshit on this again.
PeacefulOutrage @ Aug 22nd 2008 2:39PM
That was more believable. With the arcade prices at $199 with a memory card, wireless controller, and 5 arcade games, there has to be a reason why the pro model would be priced $100 more than the arcade.
Haze @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:49AM
omg, another rumor of another motion controller for xbox360, jesus plz stop this sh*t...
bunker6 @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:58AM
I bet it plays blu-ray discs too.
Robert @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:17AM
no, MS will remove the DVD playback to make it more like the Wii
Sean @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:14AM
I don't suppose this means that the Fall update will release on September 7th. Though it seems like this new SKU is a different push than the supposedly upcoming price cuts.
Sean @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:16AM
And wasn't the Live with Hard drive an official announcement? It was a way for Arcade owners to upgrade (when they feel that they need to)... I thought that was announced at E3.
diplomatshomie @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:16AM
wow
rishid @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:33AM
I could actually see this happening, somewhere around End of Oct / Early Nov. I am sure MS is working on a motion controller; this will be sweet 360 graphics with the Wii controller.
silentshadowxp @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:41AM
does this mean fall update in the next couple of weeks?
ubermod @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:47AM
Considering they've already confirmed motion control of some description in the Lips mics, I wouldn't write this one off just yet.
My cat @ Aug 22nd 2008 12:01PM
Family friendly?
Xbox?
Thats a good one.
Vcize @ Aug 22nd 2008 12:02PM
Do not want.
Keep the crappy gimmicks on the Wii. We don't want your shovelware over here.
insane_cobra @ Aug 22nd 2008 12:40PM
Well, I'm not saying this is or isn't happening, but Microsoft might announce it at E4All (they signed up for this year, after skipping it last time). They might even hold an event of their own (X08?) and announce the console is already in stores, Sega Saturn style. Whatever happens, we'll find out soon enough.
The_Punisher @ Aug 22nd 2008 12:56PM
Motion control on the 360 would just be dumb. The PS3 and Wii had it since launch, so all of the games support it in some way. Do you honestly think MS is going to patch every 360 game so that motion controls will work? F**ck no, it'll just be a stupid gimmick, like this rumor :)
MetalGearsOfSolidWar @ Aug 22nd 2008 1:08PM
Poor Nintendo, MSoft and Sony stole the gimmick that kept it sales up.net
If this is true 360 fanboys can stop saying PS3 ripped the Wii because thats obvious, if this happens 360 will rip the Wii also.
I'll probably buy this for my little brother around Christmas time.
If 360 goes in a casual direction for 09 I might have to start playing PS3 more.
Seriously, take away the exclusive jrpgs, Gears 2, Halo Wars, and Fable 2. What do you have left? Viva Piniata? Lips? Banzo Nuts in bolts?
If M-Soft goes casual to get money like Nintendo has been doing with the gimmick Wii and drops the hardcore fanbase. I might just stop gaming and put it all on hold.
e.Missark @ Aug 22nd 2008 1:44PM
@MetalGearsOfSolidWar
I wouldn't call the Sixaxis controller a Wii rip-off. It doesn't do 1/4 of the things the Wii mote can and it is most certainly not supported (at least not in the right way) by developers.
Sony has created its own market of motion sensing games with the PS Eye which is a different approach than Nintendo is taking.
MS on the other hand is taking from Nintendo with the Miis and Wii mote and from Sony with the PS Eye-type games.
I'm not saying that Sony doesn't take things from MS because they are guilty too.
e.Missark @ Aug 22nd 2008 1:37PM
I'm not surprised. MS is doing what it does best. Right guys?
@MS execs
Why don't you just cram a Wii inside the 360 while you are at it complete with Wii channels and Mii parade. Also, steal the PS Eye and all the games it supports and just make them compatible with your system. Why don't you replicate the way the XMB makes it easy to access your media and superimpose an Apple store look to it.
Oh wait. You've already done that.
Ejab @ Aug 22nd 2008 2:34PM
stfu you idiot, Wii didnt invent motion controls, thats why they are getting sued, MS has had motion sensing cams on pc for years. 1 Xmb is not easy at all its cluttered garbage, and MS did not copy xmb or apple, you might want to look into a little thing called windows media center and flip 3d, fucking idiot.
Chuck @ Aug 22nd 2008 1:41PM
False.
VGguy @ Aug 22nd 2008 2:33PM
*sigh* Why did you guys have to report this fake rumor? We were just getting past this motion controller nonsense and now you have to put it right in the spotlight again.
mark @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:06PM
christmas time is the family season and they know people want wii's , with this motion controlled 360 u get better graphics too.
this actually isnt a bad idea and its not ludacris, i mean m-soft e3 was all casual and 10 mins of hardcore audience. plus arcade isnt selling were its at this would make it a reason why pro would be 150$ more.
and m-soft wont drop hardcore there just doing both at the same time. with a few upgrades even the arcade can become hardcore/and casual at the same time vice versa with the pro and elite. by attaching to a broader audience m-soft will sell consoles even more.
Conor @ Aug 22nd 2008 6:23PM
I think this would make sense for Microsoft.
I know we all hate that 3rd party shovel ware the wii gets but it sells like hot cakes and its cheap to make too.This could get more attention to the XBL Arcade if lots of motion controlled games were released on that.
Also the wii would have trouble if the Arcade sku was the same price with this "motion controller" since the 360 has DVD playback.
I really don't think this is bullshit guys.
corndog @ Aug 23rd 2008 12:28AM
[qoute]joeybeast said...
You meant they should announce the motion controller at E3 like they did with Avatars? Please see all the hype around Avatars.[/qoute] Just because everything does not stick does not mean E3 is not the place. Was not the ,SNES, SEGA SATURN, PS1, , DREAMCAST, XBOX, PS2, XBOX360,GAMECUBE, WII,PS3, All announced at a E3? The answer too all of these questions is YES. So, it is the place for big announcements.
corndog @ Aug 23rd 2008 12:37AM
Also Kmart is almost always one of the companies that leaks new products. And almost every major site HAS had at least one story about a motion controller for the 360 since a couple of months before E3.
metoo @ Aug 23rd 2008 12:42AM
Microsoft is the FIRST company to have a motion controller. They released the first motion controller in 1998 way before the wii or the ps3 was even on the drawing board,so they are not the ones copying!!
Khaled @ Aug 23rd 2008 3:33AM
Yeah also some other older controller in late 90's used to work with motion control with the Playstation 1.
Chase @ Aug 23rd 2008 1:47AM
I sincerely doubt it---at least about the motion controller. Why wouldn't they announce such a big idea at E3?
Khaled @ Aug 23rd 2008 3:36AM
How would this happen? Is the controller going to be wired or will it be wireless then come with a motion sensing bar like the Wii? It doesn't have bluetooth so....(?)
mark @ Aug 28th 2008 5:07PM
how does a 360 controller hook up? not bluetooth. and the sensor bar on the wii is for infared pointing not the motion.
i think a motion controller would be a cool idea i would buy it over a wii any day just as long as its 1:1 motion, like wii is getting with wiimotionplus.
think about it u can get a 360 with a 360 gamepad and a motion controller for $200 and a 20GB hdd used will cost around 20$ by november, and the motion controller supposidly has a mic so that could be used as a room mic since arcade doesnt come with headset ,just like wii is getting wiispeak.
and then christmas time you walk into a store and see a 512MB wii without 1:1 motion, and wiisports for $250 still and classic controller sold seperatly for $20,
or next to it a $200 xbox 360 arcade with 512-1GB mem card, 1:1 motion,360 gamepad, the 5 arcade games and possably 10 rare games that use the motion.
plh2034 @ Aug 23rd 2008 5:53AM
I don't know if this motion control rumor is true but I hope MS does it right.
If they totaly rip the Wii remote+nunchuck or somehow improve it I would pay for one as long as i can play 1st person shooters and games like GoW, GoW2 and RE5 with it.
If they do the same S*** that the PS3 tried to pull, by just putting an accelorometer in a normal remote, they can keep that S***
Tatsukishi @ Aug 23rd 2008 10:30AM
I don't think a motion controller is likely atm. I also hope it never happens! The WII is a shining example of a fluke. It has a huge game library and everything sucks cause the motion controls are so badly done in almost every game. The ps3 has there but luckily does not ad much with it in very many games and I hope it stays that way. I will never want to play a game where instead of hitting a they make me fling my controller around to make the same option. If its not full motion control leave it out of the game!
Nitin @ Aug 23rd 2008 11:09PM
test