Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter stated in a note to investors today that Microsoft will announce an Xbox 360 price cut tomorrow at the start of the revamped E3 Media & Business Summit, which takes place all week. Microsoft is holding its E3 press conference Tuesday evening. He said that the price cut will affect all three Xbox 360 models. The $299 Core pack will drop to $249; the $399 Premium pack will drop to $349; and the recently released $479 Elite model will drop to $399. Such a price cut would be a likely move for Microsoft following the PS3 pricing announcement today. Sony dropped the price of the 60GB PS3 from $599 to $499 and announced an 80GB PS3 with MotorStorm bundled for $599. The price drop appears to be in response to lower-than-expected sales of the console. The drop in PS3 price puts the standard 60-gigger precariously close in price to the top-end Xbox 360 Elite, which is currently priced at $479. Pachter stated, “…The value proposition for the PS3 is increased at the new lower price point, putting increased pressure on Microsoft to cut the price of its Xbox 360. The 80GB and 60GB PS3 models compare favorably to the 120GB and 20GB Xbox 360 models.” He added, “Last week, Microsoft announced a slight Xbox 360 shipment shortfall (11.6 million units versus prior guidance of 12 million units through June 30), and we do not believe that the company is prepared to allow Sony to erode its pricing advantage.” Pachter said that he expects the Xbox 360 to lose some share to the PS3 next year, mainly due to the PS3’s secondary ability to act as a high-def movie player. He expects $250 Nintendo Wii to outpace sales of Xbox 360 and PS3 until the latter consoles come down further in price. Lazard Capital Markets’ Colin Sebastian said in his own investor note today that such a price cut for the PS3 is likely to generate more consumer interest, but the new $499 price point “still firmly occupies the high end of the current lineup of next-generation video game consoles.” He added, “…We are encouraged by Sony’s willingness to cut the PS3 retail price less than a year following launch as component and production costs have decreased somewhat.” Microsoft is still keeping its plans under wraps. "Microsoft has not made any announcements regarding a price cut on Xbox 360," a rep told Next-Gen in an e-mail today. just a rumor, but quite plausible
im willing to pay 249 for an Xbox360 Core, only 3 days of work, il definitely consider one since i wont be buying a PS3 till next summer for sure
microsoft is losing some profits for the xbox 360, first the billion dollar warranty plan, now a price drop, damn lucky bill gates is rich lol....
Yeah I thought so I won't believe it until microsoft actually does it lol BBC Last Updated: Monday, 9 July 2007, 08:09 GMT 09:09 UK E-mail this to a friend Printable version Sony cuts Playstation price in US Playstation 3 in its box While Sony is faring well in Japan, sales are lagging in the US Sony is slashing the price of its PlayStation 3 games console by 17% or $100 in the US to boost sales. As a result the PS3 will now cost $500 (£249), between $100 and $200 more than versions of the Microsoft Xbox 360 and twice as much as the Nintendo Wii. The Xbox 360 and Wii have been significantly outselling the Japanese firm's PS3 in the US market. The news came as Microsoft said it would not be cutting the Japanese price of its Xbox to lift lacklustre sales. Microsoft made the announcement a week after it said it was spending $1bn to repair problems with the Xbox 360. Japan problems The Xbox price tag of about 38,000 yen ($300) is "very competitive" and below that of the console's US price, Microsoft Japan's vice president said. Xbox sales in Japan have been lagging behind those of rivals - Sony's Playstation 3 and Nintendo's Wii. According to games magazine publisher Enterbrain, Microsoft has sold 122,565 Xbox consoles in Japan during the first six months of the year. That compares with 1.78 million Nintendo Wii sales and 503,554 Sony PS3 sales. However, it is a different story in the US market with Nintendo and Microsoft outselling their rival several times over "Our initial expectation is that sales should double at a minimum," said Sony Entertainment America chief executive Jack Tretton. "We've gotten our production issues behind us on the PlayStation 3, reaching a position to pass on the savings to consumers, and our attitude is the sooner the better." The move also comes just ahead of the launch of the latest version of the PS3. The new console will boast an improved 80-gigabyte hard drive and is expected to sell for around $600. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is expected to make an announcement at the E3 event - one of the biggest conferences in the game industry calendar - about the new console on Thursday.
lol the 80 gig model is stupid.. who would pay 100 dollars extra for 20 gigs more storage... you can buy a western digital 150 gig HD for that price
^ and ps3 exclusives are down in amount but i heard grand theft auto 4 is supported better for the ps3 so that's one reason to get a ps3 over an xbox 360 lol.
GTA4 looks to me like its getting better supported for the 360, didn't MS pay a hefty sum to get some exclusive content.
