Rumor: Target ad shows $299 Xbox 360; includes $25 gift card

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jul 9th 2008 at 11:32AM }

The latest evidence of a $50 price drop for the 20GB Xbox 360 to $299 this Sunday comes courtesy of mega-retailer Target. The fine gentlemen over at X3F received a scan of what will allegedly be printed in next week's flyer. As a nice bonus, with the purchase of the Xbox 360, Target shoppers will also receive a $25 gift card.

It's time Microsoft just came out with it.

[Thanks to everyone in the retail world helping with these stories!]

Tags: microsoft, price-cut, price-drop, target, xbox-360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Marty @ Jul 9th 2008 11:36AM

Now why should Microsoft bother coming out with it when they get tons of free press like this when they don't?

If they had just said, 'Hey, the 360 Pro's getting marked down to $299!' Joystiq would have mentioned it once. As it stands, this is about the sixth article I've read about it here. Seems a bit better for MS that way, to me.

4MyFriends @ Jul 9th 2008 1:38PM

You mean just like the original liquidation, and price drop, of the PS3 last year when sales plummeted?

Co @ Jul 9th 2008 11:41AM

This is what happens when sales dwindle.

(i.e. Nintendo Gamecube)

Marty @ Jul 9th 2008 11:50AM

I think it's pretty safe to say that the Xbox 360 is not going the way of the GameCube.

Co @ Jul 9th 2008 11:51AM

You're right. It's actually going the way of the original Xbox (real shocker there...)

It should top out around 25 million just like the first one.

Nigeria @ Jul 9th 2008 11:58AM

Hey, no bad-mouthing the OG Xbox. Fond memories, man.

It blew the GameCube out the water when it came to exclusives.

Dirty @ Jul 9th 2008 12:01PM

at the end of the cycle I was playing almost nothing but the og xbox. It was a great console. Fable, Kotor, halo, just to name a few of the great exclusives.

This is a no brainer for someone that might have been holding out, I use my 360 all the time, my other consoles not so much.

xFenixKnightx @ Jul 9th 2008 12:07PM

Same here, after I won my free Xbox (yes you heard right, I won it at an office Christmas party raffle) I hardly bought any multiplats on PS2. All on Xbox and it just had better eclusives at that time.

Marty @ Jul 9th 2008 12:19PM

Well say what you will about the 360, Co, but it's made up a lot of ground with this generation (a lot more than I expected), and managed to put a pretty big dent in the competition.

The Xbox line has turned from a seemingly random venture into consoles to something pretty successful, and in the end, it's the gamers who win.

Take the 360 out of the picture, and look at where we would be. The PS3 wouldn't have any of the features it has today (trophies, online features, etc), because nothing would be competing with it and forcing Sony to act. The PS3 would probably still cost $600 as well, and who knows, Nintendo may not have pulled out of the console "arms race," and may have still been focusing on making a console with better graphics rather than better control.

4MyFriends @ Jul 9th 2008 12:29PM

The PS3 might not even finish with 25million units sold as well, I wouldn't act arrogant and cocky.

deaftly @ Jul 9th 2008 12:39PM

Yeah , after my 2nd ps2's drive died I picked up a refurb xbox and ninja gaiden. Needless to say after I beat windwaker, the cube never got touched again. Xbox1 was just awesome with the s controller. Sorry duke :(

NATO_Duke @ Jul 9th 2008 1:18PM

NP deaftly.

:P

Co @ Jul 9th 2008 1:30PM

You all make great points.

Still doesn't negate the fact that the 360 sales have come to an increasingly sharp halt (especially outside the US) HENCE the price drop. 1 + 1 = 2.

Marty @ Jul 9th 2008 2:16PM

Could you provide a link to the data you pull this information from?

I mean, aside from all the ridiculous Xbox doom-and-gloom all the PS3 people post now and then, I've not really seen anything official about how there has been a sharp decline in Xbox sales. Why would there be?

If the RRoD scares didn't stop sales, why would the typical summer lull in new titles do it?

It simply makes no sense.

xFenixKnightx @ Jul 9th 2008 11:48AM

Pretty safe to say its not a rumor anymore.

Co @ Jul 9th 2008 1:34PM

Fenix,

You're my boy. But c'mon man. 360 will be a carbon copy of the original. I'm speaking in terms of sales figures and perception. The audience is not nor ever will be 1st place material, as passionate of gamers that they are. The problem is there's just not enough of them.

xFenixKnightx @ Jul 9th 2008 3:45PM

Awe c'mon buddy. I really dont want to get into this argument. I guess I'll have to use a famous Sony Fanboy quote...

"Just wait"

You'll see :P

Co @ Jul 9th 2008 5:54PM

lmao i'm sold. you win!

Neil @ Jul 9th 2008 11:55AM

Can I just say, as someone from the UK how trivial this all looks?

This site and others are running news story after news story about a cut which equates to little more than £25?

If you were holding off on an Xbox 360, is this tiny amount really going to matter?

xFenixKnightx @ Jul 9th 2008 12:02PM

Exactly, sales will explode when it gets to $199 or less IMO.

Co, you're funny. "the way of the GC". Dude for soooo many reasons theres no chance of that happening. Oh and trust me by the time the new Xbox is launched 360 will still be in second place.

Marty @ Jul 9th 2008 12:26PM

It's all relative, Neil. You aren't paying as much for an Xbox (numbers-wise) in £ anyway, because the dollar is worth less.

Looking at Amazon.co.uk, they've marked the 20GB model to £189.98, down from £249.99. I'm not sure if that's the price cut in effect or not, but even if it's not. £25 down from £189.98 is 14% price cut.

JerJerBinks @ Jul 9th 2008 1:09PM

Well, technically, yes. I already have a primary console and was possibly just looking to get a 360 to play the exclusives that dont make it to PS3. A 50$ price drop plus a $25 gift card makes the purchase a bit more palatable.

CAHLITO @ Jul 9th 2008 11:55AM

I'm tempted to buy one, but what a kick in the teeth would it be if an updated 360 were to be announced at E3

Vince @ Jul 9th 2008 11:59AM

Actualy the price drop is because the new jasper chipset is going to ship, which runs cooler than all previous xbox 360's thanks to the new 65nm GPU and smaller memory chips and is much cheaper to make

Bye Bye RROD

I'm also sure microsoft will make the arcade 229.99 and the elite 399.99

CAHLITO @ Jul 9th 2008 12:02PM

so these $299 units are including the new chips? or are they just getting rid of the RROD prone consoles?

Dirty @ Jul 9th 2008 12:04PM

I think they are actually going to be making a 60 gig hard drive, the sale is to phase out the old consoles.

All speculation of course. Still a good buy, a bigger hard drive would be nice but not a must have for me. I just delete stuff when Im done with it. If your one of those people who need to keep things then wait for the bigger drive.

Vince @ Jul 9th 2008 12:07PM

well a bit of both

once the rrod prone consoles are gone then the new chipsets will be widely available and people wont have to worry about playng a console for one week and replacing it.

overall the failure rate of the falcons is 10-16% and the jasper should reduce this to a mere 1%

Trev @ Jul 9th 2008 12:07PM

But is it an actual price drop, or are they just clearing them out for a new, 60GB pro?

I think it's the latter, because nothing about the other two models has been mentioned yet. It also suspiciously mentions "20GB Xbox 360" and not just "Pro" as I would have expected.

Vince @ Jul 9th 2008 12:09PM

the only way we will know this is at e3

PojoMofo @ Jul 9th 2008 12:30PM

because its not a price drop, its a clearance sale. They are temporarily dropping the price to get rid of the 20GB, so that they can get the 60GB on the shelf and charge $350 again.

Also, No die-shrink = no sale

Shape @ Jul 9th 2008 12:47PM

The current 360 has already had both the GPU and CPU shrunk to smaller sizes than what they were at launch.

DiddlyKong @ Jul 9th 2008 12:30PM

I bought my Xbox360 for $399.99. I got Call of Duty 2 and a 1 yr. warranty from Gamestop for free. This was black friday 2006. I got the RROD in July 2007. Been fine ever since. I

Chase @ Jul 9th 2008 12:31PM

I'm more interested to see what becomes the Arcade bundle price. I think $199 would turn heads.

dave @ Jul 9th 2008 12:34PM

sweet deal

Russ @ Jul 9th 2008 2:18PM

As someone who bought the arcade bundle last Christmas I'm also hoping this price drop will also include stand alone hard drives. But I doubt it...

Cyro @ Jul 9th 2008 2:50PM

So you are one of those people that actually buy an arcade model.

Nice to meet you. You are the first I know...

Russ @ Jul 9th 2008 2:54PM

The pleasure is all mine.

aahatimy @ Jul 9th 2008 5:55PM

How much would that be in pound sterling (and Euros I guess) if we get a price drop too?

FOXHOUND @ Jul 10th 2008 7:48AM

I have to admit, this is the first E3 where it's a deciding factor for a couple of things...

» Buying into this particular deal or holding out for a possible GEARS OF WAR2 bundled X360(hopefully an elite version)
» Whether or not Sony truly gives a rat's ass about the PSP's software decline or if the North American PSN Store getting even *remotely* close to the immense library the Japanese one has
» THE CONDUIT and MADWORLD are the only Wii game of interest for me on the immediate horizon, so it doesn't look like I'll be doing much on that console for awhile