Xbox 360 getting $50 price break in August?

We've been around the block a few times on this rumor, but The Hollywood Reporter is citing an unnamed source that seems to think the Xbox 360 is going to get a $50 price drop in August, so we might as well give it another go. The Hollywood Reporter is saying the pending price drop is because of the traditional sales doldrums that time of the year, and our friends at Joystiq point out the convenient proximity to a certain "Halo 3" being launched in September, but we're sure it's because Microsoft is just sick and tired of making so much dang profit on these here Xboxen. Either way, August isn't far off, so we'll be solving this little mystery right quick.

[Via Joystiq]

[tehpwnmstr @ Jul 25th 2007 2:55PM]

i personally think theyll wait until after teh gfame is out to drop teh price, i mean halos gonna move enough units, then you drop the price bomb and HOLIDAYSALES=^

[melloncollie @ Jul 25th 2007 3:48PM]

Reading your comment made my eyes bleed.

[shelly @ Jul 25th 2007 3:57PM]

look at the price history for the Wii (thanks PriceFad.com) and the whole story will be clearer:
Nintendo Wii

[shelly @ Jul 25th 2007 5:35PM]

link: http://www.pricefad.com/chart.php?n=Nintendo+Wii&u=priceguru

[Chris @ Jul 25th 2007 4:33PM]

I'm amazed you were able to read the story that fast to actually post the first comment.

[Grant @ Jul 25th 2007 6:25PM]

as hard as that was to read...
i completly agree.
a price drop should be used to move consoles when it's dead, but to drop it the month before the biggest console moving event in the 360s life span is just ridiculous.
I would estimate after the holiday season, unless they do it only on the core, and then discontinue it.
the 360 needs no help this holiday season from a price drop... unless MS really is looking to put the nail in the PS3's coffin.

[Spencer @ Jul 25th 2007 2:58PM]

$350 but still only a 20gig HDD? Come on, Micro$oft

[Ian Jardine @ Jul 25th 2007 3:10PM]

Any price drop will be to clear inventory b4 MS drops in te nw more effiecent (less hot) CPU IMHO.

[Revrant2394 @ Jul 26th 2007 5:10AM]

What do you mean? Pulling a Sony and screwing us over, jacking up the price of the new model afterwards? Hm, not Microsoft's style with the Xbox, but we'll see, I suspect the new, updated model will debut at the same price I think with Hardware issues(hopefully) resolved Microsoft is going to be trying to bank on all the negative press Sony is getting and as much as possible for as long as possible

[Homeboy @ Jul 25th 2007 3:07PM]

I wonder why MS doesn't dump the 360 core. Lets face it, barely anyone buys it and those that do regret it at a later stage when they end up having to buy a hard drive for $100.

Sure the core was a great option when the 360 was expensive but now the 360 premium has dropped down to an affordable level and IMO it's time for a change.

I'm quite horny of Halo3 and will probably buy a 360 later this year when MS hopefully has gotten a grip around the 360 heating problem and ring of death issues.

[slicknelson @ Jul 25th 2007 3:18PM]

they haven't changed the prices at all. How was the premium once expensive but now affordable if the price has stayed the same?

[visco @ Jul 25th 2007 3:32PM]

Agreed...will wait till the price drops and issues are sorted out.

[Jonathan Keim @ Jul 25th 2007 3:35PM]

"I'm quite horny of Halo3 and..."

I'm not sure if that is legal

[roc ingersol @ Jul 25th 2007 3:09PM]

Not enough.
With 360 sales down quite a bit from last year, they might want to consider something a bit more meaningful.

[JinKazama @ Jul 25th 2007 3:27PM]

This may be true but it would be crazy for MS to do this. Why drop the price $50.00 when you have a system selling game coming out in September.

If they were smart they'd hold the price until after Halo and drop it $50.00 right before thanksgiving.

[Josh @ Jul 25th 2007 3:45PM]

Econ 101:

Lower price = Higher demand + Killer app - Hardware issues = Higher sales figures = More investors = More money.

[phrank @ Jul 25th 2007 5:07PM]

Josh, I am kind of confused by your equation. Personally I think there are too
many equal signs for it to add up to anything. What kind of math is this?

[Ron @ Jul 25th 2007 7:32PM]

Yeah, Josh’s math is all jacked up. He has no meaningful comprehension of how an equation works. It seems obvious that he is not a master of this ‘Econ 101’ he talks about. When you have an equation with multiple = symbols, that means each section is equal to every other section. Does ‘Lower Price’ = ‘More Money’? Not necessarily, though it could if the lower price caused a sufficient increase in demand (And assuming MS was actually making a profit on each unit.) ‘Lower Price’ is almost definitely not equal to ‘Higher Demand + Killer App – Hardware Issues’. I think what Josh needs to do is to stop trying to wrap his ideas in math and economics when he is competent at neither.

[SimbaDogg @ Jul 26th 2007 5:13PM]

hahaha, i think josh also failed to throw in the part that MS is loosing a lot of money in terms of repairs of those 90 nm based consoles. But that aside, sign me up for the "it'd be stupid to drop the price bandwagon". who out there doesn't know someone who has xbox, has halo 1 & 2, and is just waiting for halo 3 to come out so they can buy a 360. The added sales with the $50 dollar price drop simply wont balance out w/ the lost sales from not dropping the price, and the added margin of $50 when halo drops (hope that made sense?)

[few @ Jul 25th 2007 3:19PM]

well, even at 149 for me this machine stinks too much, and the brand on it is a joke. so let's forget it quickly.

[brad @ Jul 25th 2007 3:28PM]

You are no longer allowed to have an opinon

[Michael @ Jul 25th 2007 4:40PM]

I agree, I wouldn't buy a 360 even if it was USD$99, I don't use precious dollars/pounds on shit

[Veritas II @ Jul 25th 2007 8:10PM]

What's an opinon

[Je2037 @ Jul 25th 2007 3:37PM]

I somehow think the guys who do this stuff for a living, you know, market analysts, are pretty much miles ahead of anything anyone here can think of. No offense, but its important to know when you don't know sh*t about sh*t.

[v1m @ Jul 27th 2007 5:41AM]

"I somehow think the guys who do this stuff for a living, you know, market analysts, are pretty much miles ahead of anything anyone here can think of. No offense, but its important to know when you don't know sh*t about sh*t."

Yes, that's why they've lost billions. Because they know sh*t about sh*t. Bzzzt: thanks for playing.

[melloncollie @ Jul 25th 2007 3:48PM]

Reading your comment made my eyes bleed.

[alexhrose71 @ Jul 25th 2007 3:49PM]

I think they should be looking at a $100 drop myself, $50 isn't going to achieve anything. However, I think an August price drop is plausible considering that it is just getting trounced by the Wii in monthly sales right now. The PS3 is likely going to catch up in month to month sales soon with the $100 price cut and improved games library coming along.

The 65nm chips were already revealed to be in production by Engadget a couple of weeks back so for all we know 360s may already be coming off the production line with the new chipset.

360s coming back from repair apparently now have an additional heatsink for the GPU so its probable that even non-65nm based 360s have the heat issue fixed now anyway. Would I hold off buying ? No longer than Sept. Too many good games.

[DigiLife @ Jul 27th 2007 2:12AM]

I saw last night an article placing the price drop Aug. 8th with a $100 drop on the Elite and $50 on the rest.

[Tim @ Jul 25th 2007 4:14PM]

Microsoft needs to break that price soon.

I, like many others, are going to buy their next-gen system in time for GTA4 and Madden'08. I don't care about GTA exclusives or Halo 3.

Microsoft needs to give me a reason to buy a 360 Elite over the entry-level PS3 - the only real factor is price at this point. They have to make a move now that Sony dropped their price.

[tyler @ Jul 25th 2007 4:38PM]

yeah microsoft needs to drop the 360 core and update the gpu, and a whole mess of other things.

a 50 dollar price drop isnt gonna do anything, how about $299, 80g hardive, 2 contollers and a game

[Chris @ Jul 25th 2007 4:55PM]

Why would they do a price drop before a true next-gen Madden and Halo? Where is the business case? I say price drop in October .

[phrank @ Jul 25th 2007 5:18PM]

I'll be happy if this actually happens. Several of my friends are waiting to buy their first next gen system still. Most of them still eyeing the 360 for it's games and awesome online capabilities.

Especially now that Microsoft has admitted hardware issues with their previous console builds, has extended their warranty, and is most likely building the new consoles with the re-arranged heatsinks in order to aviod future issues, this might be enough to get them to make the next move.

[Chad @ Jul 25th 2007 5:21PM]

I had some good laughs reading these comments....Good stuff guys, good stuff

[ElMAGNiFiCO @ Jul 25th 2007 5:24PM]

Thats a good step, but still not enough, they should release a new version of Xbox 360 with new features, like a faster processor, HD DVD and build in Wifi that will be great!

[phrank @ Jul 25th 2007 5:51PM]

What's wrong with the processors in it now?

[Grant @ Jul 25th 2007 6:56PM]

oh hey,
they actually have that!
it's called the PS3, and it costs too damn much, and no one wants it.
so try again.

[mike h. @ Jul 25th 2007 7:46PM]

still too much. 360 after price break- 350+100 for wireless connection + 200 for hd-dvd = 650. I think my wallet is going to vote for the PS3 even though I would have much more fun with the xbox360.

[alexhrose71 @ Jul 26th 2007 9:13AM]

Anyone serious about online play (and most 360 owners are) wouldn't even think of using wifi for their connection, a dropped packet due to interference can cost you a game. Adding in the $100 wifi is a bit dubious in a cost calculation as it is not the preferred configuration for most gamers.

Really you have to look at the games coming and decide on that, not a $100 price difference. On the 360 this fall alone there is Bioshock (GOTY material IMO), Mass Effect (RPG OTY IMO), Eternal Sonata (RPG with based cell shading ever, seriously), Lost Odyssey (RPG by the original makers of Final Fantasy), VF5 (with online multiplayer unlike the PS3 version), Ace Combat 6 (now a 360 exclusive, again 16 player + online via live), GTA4, Madden08, Halo 3, Fatal Inertia (now 360 exclusive), Blue Dragon, COD4 (xbox 360 exclusive online beta coming in a few weeks)...

Great lineup and that ignores whats on the live arcade, the best version, ever, of Bomberman just hit this week, the spiritual sequal to Tempest 2000 is coming very shortly (Space Giraffe), the best version of PacMan came a few weekc ago (first new Pacman by the original programmer, really really good).

The 360 is all about the games. Arguing over wifi misses the point completely.

[ohne hosen @ Jul 26th 2007 5:06PM]

"I think my wallet is going to vote for the PS3 even though I would have much more fun with the xbox360."
Your logic baffles me. Isn't the point of a game console to have fun?

[Captain Lag @ Jul 25th 2007 7:47PM]

Bull Honkey 101:

Hollywood reporter + Unnamed source = The blind crippled roller skating dude, heading toward a meat grinder.

[Unboring @ Jul 25th 2007 10:47PM]

Microsoft makes bet: Sony will unveil 399US PS3 this year pre christmas http://www.ps3fanboy.com/2007/07/25/microsoft-makes-bet-sony-will-unveil-399-ps3-this-year/

hahaha, this should be interesting, heard this rumor alot lately, 60GB unit sells out at 499, 599 80 GB ps3 drops to 499, 399 40 GB unit comes out for holidays. along with the slew of games coming out this season for sony, sounds great to me? and hey, less then 1% failure rate compared with 33-50% and disk scratching? MS is in trouble, and a speculative 50 $ price drop won't do anything to get in its way.

[RemzVkru @ Jul 25th 2007 11:13PM]

who cares about crack box 3fixme, only brainwashed microsoft supporters!!

[Revrant2394 @ Jul 26th 2007 5:12AM]

Just gonna...Yeah...Negative, there we go, much better.

[alexhrose71 @ Jul 26th 2007 11:07AM]

RemzVkru : Wow probably the dumbest post I've read in here in a few months. Tell me you're a kid, must be.

Anyway, most people buy consoles to play games. The 360 has a great lineup and a lot of must have titles hitting this year.

Don't know how long you've been gaming but both my PSX and PS2 died on me...and Sony never bothered to extend their warranty. Ever wondered why the PS2 is still selling - thats a Sony warranty - buy it yourself.

[RemzVkru @ Jul 26th 2007 1:18PM]

I'm glad I could entertain you with the dumbest post you've read in a few months, I figure you'd need some other form of entertainment since you think xbox has great games and is a great system!! I can guarantee you I've been gaming longer than you and my psx and ps2 are still going strong!! By the way why do you think microsoft offers an extended warranty, cause their box breaks alot. Have fun trying to play those great games on the crackbox!

[alexhrose71 @ Jul 26th 2007 2:15PM]

RemzVkru - highly unlikely, I've been gaming since '77. Were you born then ? Didn't think so (hope note for your sake)

:)

[RemzVkru @ Jul 26th 2007 2:18PM]

You're a funny guy, so tell me what games were you playing in 77' and yes I was already born!

[VladTheImpaler @ Jul 26th 2007 6:55PM]

You guys are both idiots. No one cares how long you've been gaming...

[shockedboy @ Jul 26th 2007 10:35AM]

Hmm.. I'm waitingl for psp2

[mike h. @ Jul 26th 2007 9:19PM]

I have played both games systems and both are fun. If both systems were equal in standard features and price then I would choose the 360. It has a ton of games out. I'm still a month or two away from buying so things might change by then.