Target confirms $299 Xbox 360 Pro; Arcade still $280, says CC
by Christopher Grant 
{ Jul 13th 2008 at 12:32AM }
According to a real-enough looking Circuit City ad for the week of July 27th (note: Soul Calibur IV listed as "in store Tuesday") the Xbox 360 Arcade will still be $280. Depending on how you factor in that $25 Target gift card, the 20GB Pro system could actually be cheaper than the hard drive-less Arcade, at least while it's still on store shelves (note: the Target ad clearly states "Quantity limited"). So, permanent $50 price cut or clearance sale on the soon-to-be outmoded 20GB model?
Update: Microsoft confirms.
Gallery: Xbox 360 $299 price drop
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
SoulBlade @ Jul 13th 2008 12:35AM
Drop the arcade SKU completely or drop it to 250. Otherwise, what's the point?
Replica23 @ Jul 13th 2008 1:34AM
Very simple. Microsoft will announce a new 60GB SKU next week to replace the pro at the $350 mark. This is basically a clearance.
Ridgecity @ Jul 13th 2008 3:10AM
They are probably going to pack it with Singstar at retain the $350 with a 60GB hard drive, since they already said that's their entry to casual gaming...
Jevanzz @ Jul 13th 2008 3:44AM
Singstar? I was under the impression that Singstar was/is a Sony exclusive...
HarDCoRe ManSTuFF tomato STyLE @ Jul 13th 2008 3:52AM
wow that was fast you can get the 60 gig by next mmonth according to gamestop
http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=75060
HarDCoRe ManSTuFF tomato STyLE @ Jul 13th 2008 3:52AM
wow that was fast you can get the 60 gig by next mmonth according to gamestop
http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=75060
eldee @ Jul 13th 2008 1:58PM
there's no doubt in my mind that the arcade sku is going away.
ozkir @ Jul 13th 2008 12:40AM
confidant huh?
OMGOMG @ Jul 13th 2008 1:19AM
Spelling, huh?
The Artist formally known as Jesus @ Jul 13th 2008 12:48AM
I still won't believe it unless Microsoft announces it themselves.
LilTmac2003 @ Jul 13th 2008 3:17AM
Dude, I don't really know if you are joking or not.
It's all but 'officially' confirmed from 'Microsoft' that the 20GB Xbox 360 is going to be $299. So many ads and pics are confirming it.
I hope it does like this.
Xbox 360 Arcade - $249.99
Xbox 360 - 60GB - $349.99
Xbox 360 Elite - $429.99
OMGOMG @ Jul 13th 2008 3:26AM
If they were really smart, they would make the 360 Arcade $200. Cheaper then the Wii would be a pretty cool advertising point, IMO.
mchat2k6 @ Jul 13th 2008 12:51AM
Also the price drop is going to be in effect for the Mid-West retailer I work for. Go to the following link: New Ad
Pick the "Tab" ad, and go to page 3. "New low price" of $299.99
mchat2k6 @ Jul 13th 2008 12:54AM
Sorry, I thought I could post links here. The URL to go to is below:
http://www2.meijer.com/ads/default.aspx?sid=32
Badger_badger_badger @ Jul 13th 2008 2:44AM
Ah yes, good ol' Meijer.
JontheNinja @ Jul 13th 2008 12:55AM
confident confident confident
JontheNinja @ Jul 13th 2008 1:04AM
nvm im the idiot hear dudrrr
ThePerfectCompanion @ Jul 13th 2008 1:30AM
I get what MS was trying to do with the Arcade but I think at this point they should just give it up and cancel that SKU.
Just have the Elite and the Pro. 60G and 120G. Simple and easy to understand.
And don't announce anymore sku's and don't cancel anymore either. Otherwise they'd be entering sony terriotry...
Vidikron (FU) @ Jul 13th 2008 1:24PM
They've been in Sony territory for a long time now... Core, Arcade, Premium (with and without HDMI), and Elite. Now they're changing the Premium from 20 GB to 60 GB. Plus, ever since the Elite, they have actively sold 3 SKUs (not counting bundles). Sony has only sold 2 SKUs at any one time.
kinshadow @ Jul 13th 2008 1:31AM
They'll probably just drop the Arcade SKU all together in the near future.
J.Goodwin @ Jul 13th 2008 1:31AM
"Limited supplies" is also a code word for "no rain checks, bitches."
On it's own, it doesn't mean anything.
uh-oh polio @ Jul 13th 2008 1:43AM
300$ for 20gb..no thanks:)
Bluebrake @ Jul 13th 2008 1:45AM
It'll be interesting to see how they handle this transition. I think it would be a mistake to simply phase out the 20gb and introduce the 60gb at the old price. That would piss consumers off, and the 360 after all *does* need this price cut. So will they phase out the 20gb and replace it with the 60gb at the $299 price point, a la Sony and the 80gb Motorstorm bundle? Or will they phase out the Arcade, and keep the 20gb at $299 and the 60gb at $350?
That seems like the wisest choice, but who knows. They obviously can't keep two SKUs within $20 of each other when the bloody hard drive that differentiates them costs $130...
Ridgecity @ Jul 13th 2008 3:13AM
Look at what Sony does, keep the price and just add a bigger hard drive, It works for them, so Microsoft is following the trend.
Vegnagun bwf @ Jul 13th 2008 1:58AM
The arcade sku is dead weight, even if Microsoft wants it to be competing with the Wii. A price drop for the arcade would be extremely beneficial to Microsoft.
Will @ Jul 13th 2008 2:20AM
I hope the price will drop at Japan retailers too.
COKTOE @ Jul 13th 2008 2:41AM
Entering Sony Territory?Isn't this the 360's 4 sku?I think PS3 has had 4 as well.
Badger_badger_badger @ Jul 13th 2008 2:47AM
Even though I consider myself a "gamer" I still have yet to purchase a next-gen (well I guess current-gen by now) system. So if the arcade was dropped to $250 or below I would be very tempted.
Dwag @ Jul 13th 2008 3:05AM
Alright i'll say it again but modified.
Arcade should go goodbye or be dropped to 250 no HDD equals no buy in my book.
20GBs get a clearence which will hopefully sell all the non-Falcon chip ones(they should've destroyed those pieces of garbage) and all the 20GBs. If they do plan on releasing a Jasper chip anytime soon they should hope this sells away all the Falcon chips.
20GB HDDs should be recycled and used to make the 60GB ones if thats even possible.
60GBs should be introduced at $300 dollars cause I'm pretty sure it doesn't cost over 400 to make a 360 or a 60GB HDD with special casing. Plus what's the point of introducing a new SKU if its just gonna be more expensive seems dumb if Sony can drop the price of the 60Gb just to release a 80Gb at the same price then MS should be able to. MS take a play out of the Sony playbook. I think its not smart to release the 60Gb now if everyone is gonna be buying the lower costing 20GB they should release it around the time they plan on releasing the Standalone 60GB HDDs which is Oct-Nov supposely and plus Gears 2 come on that equals cash in the pockets.
Lower the Elite to $400 I seriously doubt anyones buying these cause they can get a 40Gb PS3 and a game(if the Kmart thing is to be believed) or even a 20Gb and a controller/game+recharable kit and thats before the price drop of the 20Gb.
120Gb needs to be atleast 140 or less. 150 is too expensive for a HDD.
And again lower the freaking accessories nobodies gonna spend 100 bucks on a piece of plastic AKA Wireless adapter when Pelican is making them for 30(last time I checked at Best buy) and come on the controllers ain't worth that much when I've seen them sell a Headset+controller bundle for like $10 above the actual control(gameexpress). Wireless headsets that aren't Bluetooth need to stop being sold for $60 it should be sold for 35 if not 30 and where's my colors at? I'm still missing my black one. Stop selling memory cards when you got HDDs. LOL a piece of plastic and padding should be 10(wired headset).
Why does MS not had an internet browser but yet they made IE and have a messenger kit which will do pretty well with an internet brower?
end of my rant.
Legacy @ Jul 13th 2008 3:24AM
This was just put up on Xbox.com. Microsoft has confirmed it.
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/news/2008/0713-consolestorage.htm
Dwag @ Jul 13th 2008 3:36AM
MS just kicked me in the balls WTF!!! why 350?
Dwag @ Jul 13th 2008 3:42AM
not a good market strategy MS and the elite still cost 450 just not smart MS. PS3 definitely ain't gonna want to lower price now.
blahblahbloo @ Jul 13th 2008 4:18AM
Do the new Xbox 360's still make it sound like you test jet engines in your living room?
Snowblind @ Jul 13th 2008 9:10AM
I never understood these complaints about the sound. It makes a noise, yes, but it's easily drowned out by the sound of my TV, or even just talking over it. It's no where near the level of the DC.
My brother did have a unit that was REALLY loud, but that was a fault, he sent it to be repaired and now it's fine. If you guys are having so much problems, maybe you should contact Microsoft?
Also, I have to say, once my PS3 has been on for a decent amount of time, particularly while watching movies (or playing MGS4) it get's a LOT louder than the 360 ever is, as it tries to cool itself down.
But again, I wouldn't consider it a major issue with either system.
juju187 @ Jul 13th 2008 8:52AM
no and it doesnt feel like jet engine exhaust coming out neither
Mr Khan @ Jul 13th 2008 12:19PM
Missing their opportunity to get mad bragging rights against Nintendo
"So much more, all for the same price"
Unless what others contend are correct, and they're just going to drop the Arcade, so that they can start competing levelly with PS3 on the whole issue of mandatory HDD
Procris @ Jul 13th 2008 2:26PM
So the question is: Who in their right mind would ever buy an Arcade now? The pricing is silly. Go for the 20gb, its not like they will run out on stock for it for months.
Saria the Cat @ Jul 13th 2008 4:30PM
I like how we all assume we know more about what MS is doing than they do. I am sure they have a plan for the Arcade; it's not like they could have overlooked this or forgotten about the system. If it takes them a while to pick up the slack, though, their intentions will become more questionable.
obo @ Jul 13th 2008 6:28PM
I hit my target at 9:30 a.m. There was only one Pro in stock, and the sales guy on duty had no idea there was a price drop or gift card. The shelf tag still listed $349.
When I checked out, I asked if I could apply the gift card to the purchase. They said absolutely not, that any purchase on the gift card would have to be rung up separately. So it's $299 no matter how you slice it, but you get $25 off whatever else you're going to buy with it.
Still a better deal than Circuit City's NCAA budle rip-off.
obo @ Jul 13th 2008 6:32PM
I doubt the Arcade's going anywhere, either. This is just a stock reduction. The 20Gb model is discontinued and will be replaced with the 60Gb, just like Sony did when they discontinued the 80Gb PS3.
In other words, there'll still be Arcade, Pro and Elite. Elite might get a price drop with the new motherboards, but Pro will stay at $350 with a bigger hard drive, and Arcade will either stay at $279 - still $80 less than the Pro - or drop, at most, to $250.
The real question is when, or if, Microsoft will release a larger-capacity hard drive, or drop the prices on hard drives. A $30 20Gb hard drive makes the Arcade make more sense.
Mal F4cti0n @ Jul 13th 2008 11:15PM
I had to ask at Target, then they had to go to the storeroom for ten minutes to get it. In fact, there were no Pros in the case at all, and the price still said $349.99.
These 'leaked' rumors just got target and MS a sale today!
Had to buy a new one. My first (previously, the one and only) 360 is now on its way back from MS after my very first RRoD. Going to give that console and all the cables and controllers from the new Pro to someone for a present.