Murmurings of another impending Xbox 360 price drop refuse to dissipate, with an alleged photograph of an unnamed retailer's inventory system, showing an early September price drop for the Arcade model, showing up on
VGChartz. The screen seems to indicate a new $199.99 price for the unit --
as was rumored earlier this week -- becoming effective on September 7th, 2008.
With veracity and origin unclear, we'll leave you to debate the likelihood of this price drop. Of course, if you work at an electronics retailer, it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye out for fellow employees taking impromptu snapshots of their monitors.
[Via
Engadget]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Phantom @ Aug 4th 2008 2:26PM
Notice how the new 199 price is next to the "Next Promo Price" I'm assuming this means that it is going on sale , not a new price drop , maybe they're lowering the price early , but this isn't enough evidence .
deaftly @ Aug 4th 2008 2:32PM
Obvious Sony fanboy hopes price drop is fake is obvious
xFenixKnightx (RRoD hath striketh upon me on 08-03-2008) @ Aug 4th 2008 2:38PM
Very nice obvious joke deaftly. Very nice indeed.
;) +1
Altairio @ Aug 4th 2008 2:45PM
It also shows $279.99 as the previous promo price. Guess the $279.99 Arcade was just a sale as well?
severian00 @ Aug 4th 2008 2:55PM
The "unnamed" retailer is Fred Meyer.
Trev @ Aug 4th 2008 3:19PM
The screen would imply that it's a sale and not a price drop. The Arcade has been 279.99 since introduction, so it's previous promo price and 90 day low price are the same as its current perm(anent) price.
Since it's the "NEXT PROMO" price and not the "NEXT PERM" price that's 199.99, it seems more likely to be a sale than a full on price drop.
Maybe they're doing everyone a favor and dropping the arcade in favor of the two (three, if you count both versions of the pro) good models.
Teknocack @ Aug 6th 2008 5:45PM
I will second severian00. The picture is 100% legit and the retailer is indeed Fred Meyer Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of the Kroger Co.
SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread) @ Aug 4th 2008 3:47PM
looks legit but i think it would say $199.00 next to "Next Perm Price" if it was going to be $199....well, permanently. the "Promo Price" is suspect in my book.
either way you look at it though, at least at this retailer, the price is dropping $80 for at least a period of time. this also makes it the cheapest current-gen console out. the casuals would more than likely eat this up. all MS would need was a waggle controller.....
GamerG @ Aug 4th 2008 4:11PM
the price is labled as promo because it initially will be a Promo item and listed as "on sale" after a while the promo price will become the real price
Phantom @ Aug 4th 2008 8:02PM
Thank you GamerG for stating what I thought was obvious .
They might have a sale , but that doesn't mean that MS is lowering the MSRP on Sept.7 .
So even tho it will be cheaper at this store , it won't be at other stores for maybe a few more weeks .
severian00 @ Aug 14th 2008 8:35PM
Actually the way the system works at FM is that initially it goes to a Temporary price reduction and then one the supplier officially lowers their price and FM gets the reimbursement for unsold systems already in the supply chain, it goes to a permenant change of price. BTW the person who took this picture was posted fired for it.
Marty @ Aug 4th 2008 2:26PM
It looks real, and it's inevitable, but... VGChartz? That site is horrible. You've sunk to a new low, Joystiq!
Fernando Rocker @ Aug 4th 2008 2:29PM
VgChartz community is very good, and their forum system works extremely well.
And I don't know why people bash VGChratz numbers... they give some very good estimated numbers.
kingofwale @ Aug 4th 2008 2:34PM
the forum itself is capable, Mods are ridiculously pro-Nintendo.
as for its number. Hardware itself is passable, software number is borderline laughable.
It will get pwned again by NPD, how many months now have they over-tracked 360 number while undertracked PS3's??
Fernando Rocker @ Aug 4th 2008 2:39PM
kingofwale
VGChartz numbers compared to NPD numbers is a little unfair. NPD is only USA.
VGChartz numbers are from the Americas, not just USA. But if you only count US sales, they are usually are on par with NPD numbers.
Shagittarius @ Aug 4th 2008 2:41PM
Fernando likes the positive Nintendo numbers from a pro-nintendo slant site?
what IS this world comming to?
Fernando Rocker @ Aug 4th 2008 2:44PM
Heck, I have won $120 dlls. in Wii Points and Live Points, three VC games, one Live Arcade game and one card of 1 month of Live Gold making bets about sales with Joystiq users. I have never lost I bet. And I use VGChartz numbers and predictions
kingofwale @ Aug 4th 2008 2:45PM
on par??? Are you kidding me?
Go read every prediction of this year. For the exception of 1 month, VGC has horribly favoured 360 while underestimated PS3.
and yes, that is taking account of 8-10% of Canadian sales vs US's number.
Mr Khan @ Aug 4th 2008 3:28PM
The slant there isn't pro-Nintendo so much as it is anti-360, i would think
From what i've seen, it's been accepted that the PS3 will inevitably lock into 2nd place this gen, over there
It's also believed that the PSP is dead and buried, while here it is still seen as a worthy competitor
kingofwale @ Aug 4th 2008 3:48PM
what you have stated, is what "users" believed. which is due to the fact the number of Wii fanboys > PS3 fanboys > xbox fanboys.
what I was talking about, is the biases within the mods/website owner... which are also those who cooks up the numbers.
xFenixKnightx (RRoD hath striketh upon me on 08-03-2008) @ Aug 4th 2008 2:28PM
$199.00 Xbox's are sure to sell a crapload this Holiday Season. Very nice move MS. Even cheaper than Wii!
Duke @ Aug 4th 2008 3:08PM
I saw 2 wii's for sale at Meyer's in St. Joseph Michigan this weekend and was in total shock.
xFenixKnightx (RRoD hath striketh upon me 08-03-2008) @ Aug 4th 2008 3:18PM
I've actually seen them at Target and Walmart behind the glass recently as well.
Vidikron (FU) @ Aug 4th 2008 3:23PM
I don't think Wiis are all that rare at the moment. I've seen literal piles of them at places like Best Buy on a fairly regular basis recently. I still have yet to see a WiiFit though... and I'm sure the Wii supply will dry up again as the holidays approach.
BPM [MSN: BPMdotEXE @ hotmail.com] @ Aug 4th 2008 3:29PM
I haven't seen any Wiis EVER here in Phoenix, AZ.
Guess its availability varies depending on location, eh?
samfish @ Aug 4th 2008 3:37PM
I haven't seen them, but I know two people who said they were able to walk into the store and buy one.
...that was when Wii fit came out, though, so there was probably increased stock.
Zertoss @ Aug 4th 2008 2:29PM
My birthday is awesome this year. Spore releases and now it looks like the Arcade model that no one wants is getting a price drop.
McWeen @ Aug 4th 2008 2:29PM
Too bad the arcade is pointless.
GoonieGooGoo @ Aug 4th 2008 3:09PM
The arcade is not pointless...in fact it's genius...
How easy is it to pickup a core and just put it in another room / another house / office / etc., and just bring your hard drive to play there???
How easy is it for someone upgrading their hard drive to pass their old one to a friend so that they can purchase an Arcade 360 and have a fully functional system.
Good move on Microsoft's part....I'll pickup another machine for the beach when it drops in price again.
ttocs @ Aug 4th 2008 2:30PM
Too bad it's only the arcade version. When the PS3 makes a significant price drop, I'd prolly pick that up for the blu ray capabilities. As of right now, I'm happy with my 360 I bought when it came out.
Cyro @ Aug 4th 2008 2:32PM
Sounds like a good deal to me ! :)
Chase @ Aug 4th 2008 4:47PM
Amen.
baby sea tuna @ Aug 4th 2008 2:32PM
Good. Maybe when they finish selling off their remaining stock at $200, they can discontinue the model altogether.
Boom! @ Aug 4th 2008 2:36PM
Does VGChartz still have that virus or did they finally fix that?
And to answer Fernando's question, the site gets the bad rap because it makes up numbers. It's just a script running that keeps adding to them. Even one of the megaten games was reported as selling MORE in the US than in Japan, which is just not true because its niche over here and Atlus is well known for having low print runs.
kingofwale @ Aug 4th 2008 2:50PM
no, that's nextgengaming.com
VGC is just one guy making up the number.. not as bad as a random number adder.
HighFiveJesus @ Aug 4th 2008 3:04PM
i had a virus warning about a week ago. either way, i quit visiting that site.
EliteBeatsAgent08 @ Aug 4th 2008 2:41PM
Interesting....
Doubt it will really affect the sale of Wiis.
But it does make the 360 look better than the ps3.
samfish @ Aug 4th 2008 2:57PM
Feh. Drop the Pro to that price and I'm in.
xFenixKnightx (RRoD hath striketh upon me on 08-03-2008) @ Aug 4th 2008 3:01PM
Aye aye aye Samfish! By the time you actually 'Jump In' we'll probably all be 'Jumping Over' to next-gen that is...
:P
samfish @ Aug 4th 2008 3:25PM
It better not take that long for Bayonetta to come out!
3cubed @ Aug 4th 2008 3:01PM
Maybe this will make Sony drop the PS3 price so I can finally buy one.
Mr Khan @ Aug 4th 2008 3:30PM
Seems like a clearance deal imposed from the manufacturer
Though, if true, it could prompt Nintendo to drop price as early as Q2 2009. Whereas otherwise they could've held out at $250 for the foreseeable future
Drkstrider @ Aug 4th 2008 4:03PM
If MS want to make a mark, they would make the 20GB model their arcade system and the 60GB their "pro" and then there will be the Elite. The price should be $199.99 for the new arcade, $249.99 for the new 60GB Pro and $299.99 for the Elite model. You cannot beat those price.
flameofdoom666 @ Aug 4th 2008 4:29PM
You also cannot turn a profit easily. It would also make their systems look 'cheap.'
No one wants a too expensive system, but not a cheap one either. Cheap in most peopls mines equal in poor quality.
Duke @ Aug 4th 2008 4:32PM
"You cannot beat those price."
Unless you give them all away free! Then everyone will want one and the other consoles will have no choice but to follow suit. A true revolution!!!! Every house will have a 360 and children will walk hand and hand in the streets singing songs and living in peace.
Drkstrider @ Aug 4th 2008 4:33PM
MS already have a proven system and the pricing will have to come down as dev. complain about lack of storage on DVDs. They will have to make a move to make soon or later and I think they should reprice sooner. That would be a great way to kick off the holiday season, especially with higher fuel cost, etc. People will flock to the cheaper consoles.
whistlepig @ Aug 4th 2008 4:11PM
that screen is from the sony store
Lansing @ Aug 4th 2008 6:53PM
Think of it as a 200 dollar replacement plan when your 360 finally red rings. And trust me, it will.
doc j @ Aug 4th 2008 6:57PM
As more or less a PS3 fanboy, I could see myself picking up a $200 360 for the few games I'd want for it. Although, I'm not going to buy an Arcade version.
None of the games I want have been released yet though, so this is barring they don't end up sucking. (Too Human, Alan Wake, Fable 2)
Evan @ Aug 4th 2008 8:41PM
The last several price drops we've seen with the 360 and PS3 have been associated with discontinuing a model or reworking the models. Therefore, I wouldn't get our hopes up.