Rumor: Xbox 360 at $349 in advertisement

46 Comments by Alexander Sliwinski Jul 28th 2007 3:45PM
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

A post on CheapAssGamer allegedly shows an ad of a "Wal-Mart" flyer -- although you really can't tell what it is -- indicating an Xbox 360 with a $349 price tag. The resolution in the image is complete garbage and it's very difficult to tell if this has anything to do with the supposed Aug. 8 price drop. An even larger and worse image can be found after the break. Although we are working to nail this date and the $50 reduction down, there really hasn't been a solid piece of evidence we've seen yet.

In another thread done by the same CAG poster who exposed the Circuit City PS3 price cut, the Xbox 360 price drop doesn't appear in either the Target or Circuit City flyers for that week. Best Buy's flyer will be uploaded Monday. Just keep picking up those grains of salt as the information flows in going toward that supposed Aug. 8 date.

Update: Apparently the CC and Target info is for the week ending Aug. 10, so the info for the Sunday following Aug. 8 is still up in the air.

Tags: circuitcity, price drop, target, walmart, xbox360

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(Page 1) Reader Comments

happygolucky: Jul 28th 2007; 3:53PM

im more suprised their even listing the wii in that flyer. in the futureshop flyers for canada, they havent even been able to display it in the pages for how little supply they have of it.

Paul: Jul 28th 2007; 3:54PM

like someone else posted on xbox360fanboy if you look closely at the ad the 360 price with the supposed price cut doesn't have the small "99" representing cents after the 349 and if you look at literally EVERY other item in the ad it has at least 2 digits of cents after the whole number for the price........so yeah i am going with fake

pockyninja: Jul 29th 2007; 6:35AM

Actually, Walmart usually does their ads like this, with 3-digit amounts. The numbers are supposed to look prettier, or something.

Brad Lee: Jul 28th 2007; 3:57PM

I wouldn't be surprised if this is true. I'm under the assumption that there will be a price drop before Halo 3, and of course there will be a (probably overpriced) 360 Halo 3 bundle with Halo-themed extras and goodies for the diehards.

If MS doesn't drop the price before the holiday season I think they're crazy. They've already broken records for "longest run without price drop."

harrison_schaerr: Jul 28th 2007; 3:58PM

you know, the 360 really does blend in well on that wii flyer... the ds the wii the 360, they all look like they're made by the same company...

that's definitely a boon for microsoft right now, imo.

required: Jul 28th 2007; 5:57PM

which company iwannabe or iapple?

Woofer: Jul 28th 2007; 4:00PM

Why is the 360 price the only one with a $ sign before it and no cents in the price?

IMO it's fake.

Taylor B: Jul 28th 2007; 4:02PM

There's no HD on that 360 either. Do they usually display them that way?

Brian Hoyt: Jul 28th 2007; 4:05PM

As someone pointed out on Joystiq the only price that doesn't have cents is 360 one, to go along with the above about it being the only one with $.

Brian Hoyt: Jul 28th 2007; 4:06PM

meant 360 fanboy not Joystiq.

manford: Jul 28th 2007; 4:07PM

$349 is still way too much to pay for something that has a greater then 50% chance of breaking down within 1 year.

jimy: Jul 28th 2007; 4:15PM

my launch day system still works ;)

Ben Hobbs: Jul 28th 2007; 4:17PM

lol,

Obviously it's only people who are UNLUCKY have 360's that break, I'm on my 5th and no problems yet - In fact I don't know a single person who's had problems.

But then again, my friends and I aren't UNLUCKY people, better get used to it if you are, its gonna be drama after drama in your life.

harrison_schaerr: Jul 28th 2007; 4:57PM

dude... it's got a 3 year warranty now... in 3 years, the next xbox will be out... so really... no reason left to complain...

blooh: Jul 28th 2007; 7:22PM

you just send it to ms and get a new one in a week or 2

i got a rrod about a month after launch, but haven't had one since, since I don't keep it on for more than about 6 hours at a time. just dont let it overheat and it's fine

Justin: Jul 28th 2007; 7:45PM

I'm on number 3, yeah, RROD.

I try not to play mine for more than two hours straight. Then I give it a 1 hour break. So, two hours on, one hour off.

I bought my original one on launch day, so as of November, that will be two years, guess I'll have 12 months left on my warranty. Right? or do they warranty for three years after it fails?

Jono Stars: Jul 28th 2007; 4:30PM

Honestly, $50 is not enough to make me get a 360. If it was the new model AND the price drop maybe. If it was a $100 price AND the new model...then hells yeah I'd get one.

KenshinSlayer: Jul 28th 2007; 5:00PM

Also, theirs no description under the price tag. I call fake. It's just too inconsistent. Marketing probably won't leave such a large space. That's just how advertisement works. It would've been nice if this was real though, I've been wanting to play Lost Planet for awhile.

tommy: Jul 28th 2007; 5:23PM

50 bucks what the hell? Thats not a price drop. Besides it would be stupid to drop the price just before Halo you drop it before Christmas not before your biggest game ever!

Moe: Jul 28th 2007; 5:40PM

This is a fake. There's no .99 cents after the 349 price tag.

Mike show!: Jul 28th 2007; 6:06PM

not only that but if you look closely, behind the $349, you can tell it was brushed.
no background print is found.
it was blurred to erase what was found under it.

Brad Lee: Jul 28th 2007; 6:06PM

Upon second glance, yeah it probably is a fake.

I still think the price will drop before Halo 3 though.

Burnt Meatloaf: Jul 28th 2007; 6:27PM

Why would someone go through so much effort to make a fake image, and do a pretty good job of it, and make two boneheaded mistakes -- the dollar sign and the lack of cents?

It's more likely the person who updated the ad just did a typical copy/paste job.

Anyway, I'm waiting for the new chips, not a lower price.

cybereality: Jul 29th 2007; 8:01AM

I was thinking the same thing. Forgetting the 99 is so obvious it almost has to be real. Why go through all that trouble to make a mistake like that?

Gavin: Jul 28th 2007; 6:55PM

Fix the chipset problems and I would buy one for $349 in a heartbeat.

alesul: Jul 28th 2007; 6:58PM

They usually put a dollar sign on the items that dont include cents

http://alesul.com/fotos/walmart.jpg

Jay: Jul 28th 2007; 7:44PM

You are correct, sir! I applaud you for your astute observation. I just pulled up my local Walmart flyer from Walmart.com and ... yes, prices that are whole dollar amounts do have a $ with no cents.

spoo: Jul 28th 2007; 7:56PM

Good eye alesul, I'm now positive it isn't a fake.

waynski1457: Jul 28th 2007; 11:05PM

wow i was ready to sit here and call fake like everyone else but i am now ready to believe... great find!

mike: Jul 28th 2007; 9:43PM

Rumour has it the date is actually aug 14th, NOT AUG 8th. This explains when other retailer flyers do not have it for the week of aug 8th. Wait for the 14th. If after the 14th no price drop, all these rumours were BS

thrillho: Jul 28th 2007; 10:46PM

if this is true, they will probably be discontinuing the core, and your choices will be the premium or elite (and the halo one, which is a premium in halo colors, while supplies last)

ScreamingSkull: Jul 28th 2007; 11:07PM

But premium with HDMI out right?

Slvrgun: Jul 28th 2007; 11:37PM

Yes, newer Premiums will all have HDMI.

thrillho: Jul 28th 2007; 11:32PM

that's true about the halo one with HDMI, maybe the pricecut + loss of core will also = HDMI on all premium models, since they are changing the chip to be the falcon one anyways.

mrfong: Jul 28th 2007; 11:46PM

This obviously is a Wal-mart ad, look just above the price, there is a little "rollback" symbol. That sort of leads me to believe that the ad is real; the fact that it is a rollback constitutes the loss of cents.

Snukadaman: Jul 29th 2007; 12:53AM

this goes well for me since i just sent in my broken xbox to best buy for my 2 year warranty.....now i can use that extra 50 bucks for another warranty or game...if anyones planning on getting a xbox i suggest the 2 year warranty...just for this reason

blooh: Jul 29th 2007; 1:09AM

why buy bestbuy's 2 year warranty? the 360 comes with a 3 year one now

MikeM: Jul 29th 2007; 1:09AM

The trade in value at gamestop and ebgames just dropped on the 360's. Usually it suggests a price drop is in the near future.

Snukadaman: Jul 29th 2007; 1:11AM

yeaa but them 2 years you get a gift card for the whole price you paid for the xbox 360...the last year is extra and you just get a replacement with microsoft blooh

John Doe: Jul 29th 2007; 2:07AM

IMHO anytime I see blurry pictures they automatically go into the BS pile. This day and age even some of the cheapest camera phones do a better job then this unless you are actively trying to pull something.

alesul: Jul 29th 2007; 2:19AM

I guess this pretty much confirms it, a new TRU ad, thanks to CAG

http://alesul.com/fotos/TRU.jpg

Curmeo: Jul 29th 2007; 3:28AM

this is most prolly a fake, as some people have pointed out. but even if its real, i still wont be comfortable buying system that has a 33% RRoD defect rate and other problems like disc scratching/damaging even when the console is stationary and other defective parts.

release the Falcon and if it runs as smoothly as the PS3, i'll gladly spend $480 on an Elite.

Chainblast: Jul 29th 2007; 5:09AM

Fire sale! Got to clear out all those 90nm RRODing units out of the system!

cybereality: Jul 29th 2007; 8:02AM

So I assume this means the core is no more?

aylera: Jul 29th 2007; 11:40AM

Why does everyone call it the "premium" Xbox ? It's the regular Xbox 360 system. The Core system, which everyone correctly refers to, is the Xbox 360 Core system.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/compare101.htm?WT.svl=nav

Zack: Jul 30th 2007; 10:57AM

Wal Mart prices NEVER end in .99

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