Rumor: Target done with Xbox 360 Core model

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 7th 2007 at 2:45PM }

Although not mentioned as part of today's Xbox 360 price drop announcement, more evidence is coming in that the Xbox 360 Core model may be finished. An employee of a Target store took multiple images (sadly the clearest one is above) of the store's PDA showing the Core model as "discontinued" in the "status" bar at the top right.

This follows last week's Best Buy information that the Core model was finished there as well. The stories are starting to stack up. We've been told by numerous sources that their various stores haven't stocked Core units in a while, this all feels identical to the way the PS3 20GB death occurred earlier this year.

[Thanks Anonymous]

Tags: core, discontinued, target, xbox360

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Andy @ Aug 7th 2007 2:51PM

Excuse me, I believe I ordered the out of focus pic.

bak8807 @ Aug 7th 2007 3:03PM

Yeah, I mean they just lowered the price. It makes perfect sense to discontinue it now. (Note the sarcasm, though ironically that's exactly what Sony did.)

Lord Chako @ Aug 7th 2007 3:15PM

You can't focus a camera phone, which is what this obviously is.

josh @ Aug 7th 2007 4:17PM

my camera phone has 2 step auto-focus.

Lord Chako @ Aug 7th 2007 4:46PM

All you need now is a job at Target...

Anonymous @ Aug 8th 2007 1:27AM

I snapped a photo while at work after reading the initial report. I have personally never seen a PDA to be incorrect involving discontinued items. The blacked out area is removed to prevent tracing back to the store the photo was taken from. It is a camera phone and it was nearly impossible to get it to focus correctly on the PDA screen.

This is from a Target PDA and I used Adobe Photoshop to make it as readable as possible:
http://www.freeimagehost.eu/image/0bc172738628

Original:
http://www.freeimagehost.eu/image/2a8065738810

Supino @ Aug 7th 2007 2:51PM

I wish MS would be done with it soon also...

hvnlysoldr @ Aug 7th 2007 2:52PM

Issue a beige alert.
If I don't make out of this alive tell my wife Hello.

hydralisk456 @ Aug 7th 2007 4:36PM

Ahhh,there it is, Futurama reference of the day! Good job boys, I'll see you tomorrow!

felixlighter @ Aug 7th 2007 2:52PM

Good Riddance to bad rubbish!

Burritoclock @ Aug 8th 2007 12:39PM

I think I see bigfoot.

Grindstone @ Aug 7th 2007 2:56PM

Let it die already. It's dragging the 360 down.

Diskoboy @ Aug 7th 2007 3:26PM

agreed...

vidGuy @ Aug 7th 2007 2:57PM

Drop the lowest model, drop the prices, release a new high-end model, rinse and repeat every six months. Sound familar?

I'm okay with the core going, as having it out will guarantee that new gamers get the HDD, and the Halo-edition isn't really a high-end model (but the Elite is and it was only introduced a few months ago) but I don't like the way MS appears to be following Sony in the most ridiculous pricing-and-model strategy there is for console gaming.

At least it looks like the price drops will stick for the 360. I doubt few would be interested in the final PS3 model released in 2017 for $599 no matter how Sony markets it.

GRANTED @ Aug 7th 2007 4:50PM

like it or not these pricing strategies work. and no, neither sony nor MS cares if you like it. i can't understand why everyone got so mad when sony dropped the 60g price then said it would be discontinued. if you are so pissed about it, A. don't buy it (really stick it to em...), or B. don't wait until the 60gb is gone.

i got my 60 gig p3s about a month ago, and after trading in my ps2 it cost me 420. omg! i fell for the "most ridiculous pricing strategy ever" i must be a dumbass. well, i'm ok with that, because it fell 30 bucks under an elite and i can still enjoy my ps2 games while i wait for something to play other than resistance (on a side note, what % of 360 owners have/play ps2?).

when sony realizes the 80 gig won't sell that much better (or when it's just not up to snuff anymore), they'll likely drop to 500 for a while and then everyone can have a chance again while they re-stock with an upgraded version. besides, it's not like people are clawing for a 60gb ps3 right now, so it's basically a price point that'll stick around, at least for a little while.

on top of that, these aren't decisions that sony or MS make by themselves. they award multi-mil contracts to FM consultants like bcg, bain, mckinsey, etc. to do market research and come up with competitive price points, promotions, etc. **if anything, the fact that MS is dropping an inferior/slower selling version of their product means that market analysis showed that IT WORKED FOR SONY, and MS feels it can also benefit from such a market strategy.**

vidGuy @ Aug 7th 2007 5:01PM

Good post, and I agree with you. My fear is that the companies are trading price drops for improvements to their models. For example, a likely scenario for Sony in the coming months is to let the 60GB sell out, drop the 80GB to $499, and release a new model at $599. Next spring, summer, they do it again, improving the hardware but keeping the pricepoints of $499 and $599.

This, I believe, is the most ridiculous strategy ever because most console players don't want to update/upgrade/trade-in their machines like PC gamers do. What's smarter - having a super-tech-heavy PS3 at $499, or having the 20GB PS3 at $299? Keep the low end model and the 20GB could be $299 a lot sooner.

So, say MS adopts this strategy. Soon, the Premium is $299. Awesome. After a few months, they drop the Premium and make the Elite $299, while releasing a new model at $399 or whatever.

I complained about the PS3 strategy because it even after the 'cut' it cost USD$500+ to get a PS3, same as on launch day. That's a price cut on the model but not on the product line.

deslock @ Aug 7th 2007 5:09PM

There is one difference though between what you describe for Sony vs. what MS is doing: Sony's biggest obstacle to getting more customers was the high price which they ultimately didn't address except for the limited time current inventory (no parent wants to shell out $600) which is arguably too high even at $500. Most of us assume that they will lower the new model to $500 and will rely on consumer ignorance to buy up the current obsolete inventory.

MS doesn't have the same obstacle of the barrier to entry being too high for casual parent buyers looking to buy a gift. By making the Core more or less the same price as the wii (with comparable no hard drive feature set and both have a requirement to buy addon controllers) is an easier move. The 360 LE though I just don't get unless they made a very limited quantity (which it appears they did).

hvnlysoldr @ Aug 7th 2007 5:12PM

Do like Nintendo and actually make the game console affordable and profitable from day one... Yeah I know it didn't work for N64 or GCN but it works for everything else.

GRANTED @ Aug 7th 2007 6:05PM

@vid
true, it is frustrating. an even scarier thought is whether 3 years from now, games will only be compatible with, or perform better on, the newer generation (45 nm newer-falcon chip/next gen cell? who knows..). so, that gets me a little nervous. but then again no one had a problem with the slim ps2.

@deslock
great point about the core. and if anything, sony is marketing the 80 gb to ignorant consumers. it's a terrible buy. but rich kids will still get it because parents have better things to do that read joystiq and figure that out.

@hvnly
because i didnt get an HDtv to play in 480p. and im a snob. and i dont want to have to ever buy another video game system--they are all too expensive imo. i sucked it up and got something i thought would last.

i wish i had a wii though, my gf would love it.

Slvrgun @ Aug 7th 2007 3:03PM

There goes the $50 price drop. I work in Target electronics part time and I haven't heard anything about this. But that does look like one of our PDAs.

Boudin @ Aug 7th 2007 11:54PM

Anyone considered the possibility that it may be replaced with something else?
Not everyone is a hardcore gamer and it's at an attractive price point...

mark @ Aug 7th 2007 3:05PM

True. I work at BBY and RSS says it's deleted from our system (No longer getting it in). You guy's should check in with your 'Best Buy sources'.

Evan @ Aug 7th 2007 10:43PM

Mark,

I just got off work and checked it. Indeed the core is being discontinued according to my PDA.

Evan @ Aug 7th 2007 10:45PM

sorry, reply was meant for slvrgun

Badboy1979 @ Aug 7th 2007 3:22PM

Wish a store would do a clearance on the Core models then... something less than $250 would be nice but its probably not going to happen. I'd love to pick another one up to use as a media center extender/dvd player for the home office.

Jake @ Aug 7th 2007 3:36PM

Yeah, the Core can be great for a very select group of people, but the confusion is not worth it. Just drop it.

rom @ Aug 7th 2007 3:40PM

Wait a minute. Does this count as a price increase? Since after the Cores are depleted the lowest price available would be the Premium. It just got $50 more expensive to "Jump In". Oh well, the Core needed to die anyway.

hvnlysoldr @ Aug 7th 2007 3:42PM

No it's a clearance sale... It's all semantics.

TonyBlair @ Aug 7th 2007 3:45PM

Correct me if Im wrong, but with the price drops, it would be cheaper to buy a Premium, than buy a Core and the HD, right?

That kinda seals it then.

baby sea tuna @ Aug 7th 2007 4:34PM

It was always cheaper to buy the Premium since it came with the HDD, wireless controller, headset, and component cables.

The Core is an abomination and still stands as one of the worst ideas MS has had with their gaming division so far (not counting the 360's shoddy motherboard apoxy.)

deaftly @ Aug 7th 2007 3:52PM

the core was always pretty pointless , the only guys i know have a core got it at launch because the premiums were all sold out

Mr Khan @ Aug 7th 2007 4:11PM

It would be better for all concerned if the core were dropped. The only reason i thought they were preserving it was so they could, upon the first price drop, tout "It costs as much as a Wii to jump in to a higher level of gaming" or something like that

Of course, for some reason, they only lowered the core by $20, so they can't even use it for that claim

BPM @ Aug 7th 2007 4:24PM

What they should do is recall all Cores in the wild, and then repackages them as Premiums (adding the HDD, wireless controller, headset, and chrome disc drive). It'd be the easiest way to get rid of unsold Cores.

Then, maybe, offer a coupon for existing Core owners that have yet to get a HDD. This way, every 360 is guaranteed to have an HDD, and making things easier for developers.

baby sea tuna @ Aug 7th 2007 4:31PM

Burn in hell, Core. Burn in hell.

Donato @ Aug 7th 2007 9:59PM

I don't know who is seriously buying it any way. I mean with the money you would have to spend to get a hardrive, wireless controller, and HD cables, you are better off getting the Premium or Elite

Spartacus @ Aug 7th 2007 5:10PM

Uh, am I one of the few who sees this as a bad thing? It's now more expensive to buy a 360 than it was at launch, which is even worse than the Sony shenanigans. While I'm no fan of the Core model, it did serve a purpose and didn't limit the Premium system like some people claim.

Heat is about the only thing that's really limiting the system... DANG YOU MS!!!

Water cooling FTW.

dsub @ Aug 7th 2007 6:57PM

Hey guys!

Here's more proof that the Core is discontinued!

http://www.imageviper.com/displayimage/93712/0/101_0160.jpg

Voodoo65 @ Aug 10th 2007 4:56PM

I can't remember the last time I saw a core system in stores around here.

samfish @ Aug 7th 2007 7:28PM

Aww...that's so sweet of Microsoft to just GIVE the holiday season to Nintendo like that.

*sniff*
It warms my, cold, black heart...

ZippyDSMlee @ Aug 8th 2007 5:57AM

No real surprise with the console war full scale retailers need shelfing space and everyone is dropping the uneeded models.

Bill Jones @ Aug 8th 2007 8:14AM

Yea nice try guys. Core is not discontinued (for the 400th time) Keep pretending like it is in the comments though.

Ben Capizzo @ Aug 8th 2007 8:19AM

I will say, it will be funny to see how many times Joystiq runs this lie.

This makes at least twenty times in the last two years so far doesn't it? Nice standards, Joystiq. Printing lies for fun and profit.

BTW the pic looks fake as shit LOL. How convenient how blurry it is (photo shop *cough* photo shop) which Joystiq Ed did the dirty work this time? The same one who did the Best Buy photochop?

Core is going to RAPE PS3 eventually AHAHAHAAAA!!!!

Lord Chako @ Aug 8th 2007 4:27PM

Not everyone brings their digital camera to work.

Second, although blurry, he said the person took MULTIPLE photos of the PDA (probably from different angles).
That is usually somewhat a sign of legitimacy, when a person takes multiple photos from different angles, and sends in all the photos.

Third, I (and others) work at Target, and can confirm that the Core is labeled as "Discontinued" in the status section of the PDA.
The Premium and Elite are still labeled as "Active".
I checked today.
Lying about this would gain me nothing.

Lastly, you put the *cough* at the beginning and end of the word you're saying, not in the middle.
(*cough* photoshop *cough*)
NOT
(photoshop*cough*photoshop)

(moron *cough* moron)

Ben Jones @ Aug 8th 2007 8:32AM

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7457744&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat66900050001&id=1125465187568

Here is a online link to Best Buy if anyone is looking to purchase a core system BTW. As you can see it is in stock for immidiate shipping.

Here is a similar link from Wal Mart.com:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4196274

Here it is from amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-882224035835-Xbox-Core-System/dp/B000B43OXU

All in stock. Just helping anybody out that needs to pick up a core system.

Lozer47 @ Sep 14th 2007 11:04PM

I bought a core and got shit on by MS cuz I am having to buy all the other stuff that goes with it, and its cost me about 150$ extra so far and I still don't have an HDD or a wireless headset or an HD/A/V Cable.It doesn't even look the same as the premium. So as far as I am concerned, the Core can just die a terrible death while I laugh.