Microsoft confirms Xbox 360 price cut: $300 Elite on Friday; $250 Pro 'while supplies last'

by Christopher Grant on Aug 27th 2009 4:00AM

Surprising ... well, surprising exactly no one, Microsoft has announced a $100 price cut on its Xbox 360 Elite model, bringing the 120GB console down to price (if not feature) parity with Sony's recently revealed PS3 Slim. While the Elite will take the place of the 60GB Pro at $300 beginning this Friday (that's tomorrow!), the Pro will enjoy a temporary $50 price drop. We say "temporary" because, once those are sold out, that's it. The hard drive-less Xbox 360 Arcade unit remains at $200.

While this $300 Xbox 360 Elite may have a fancy new package (see above) it's the same ol' Elite inside the box. But the rest of the bundle isn't quite the same: taking a page out of Sony's PS3 handbook, this cheaper package ditches HD cables entirely (accessory sales ahoy!) in favor of bundling a standard AV connector. Want HDMI? Get thee to Monoprice.

Most disappointing is that Microsoft continues to leave WiFi out of the Xbox, a console that – more than any other – excels in the online department. Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg told Joystiq, "We have not announced any change to our accessory pricing as part of this announcement." In other words, the WiFi adapter is not only missing from the console but, at $100, it's still insultingly expensive. Despite our misgivings about some of Microsoft's cost control measures, a $100 price drop on the 120GB Elite is nevertheless a welcome change ...

... even if it's just (barely) keeping pace with Sony's WiFi-packing, Blu-ray having PS3 Slim. Look for more from our chat with Greenberg later today.

Xbox 360 Elite / Arcade Bundles (August 2009)

The Xbox 360 Elite price cut?
It's time to Jump In!	845 (9.4%)
I've already jumped in. I can't jump in any further!	3215 (35.7%)
No Blu-ray? No WiFi? And you still want $300?	4948 (54.9%)

Tags: business, microsoft, price-cut, Xbox-360, xbox-360-arcade, xbox-360-elite, xbox-360-pro

Reader Comments (186)

@ kevon27 - Right on man. A business indeed. And not to get off point, but just look at the avatar "store" to see how deep the hooks are in. 400 pts for a light saber?

And the person who brought up the amount of "accessories" for the Wii. Yikes.

I'd love to finally get a PS3 now that it's a lil lower. Or maybe another Elite.

Where's the "I don't knowingly buy faulty hardware." option?

If you see a system failing a lot and you have not purchased that said system.... I would be wise that you stay away. In my opinion, it's just common sense.

I was... no, still a 360 fan. But after having my machine fail a couple of times I sold it after the last repair
I now own a PS3 but I do miss the 360.

If you want Halo, Gears, Mass Effect, others you simply have to own a 360. If you want God of War, MGS4, Killzone, others you simply have to own a PS3. Girls, you're both pretty.

I used a wired 360 connection. I know I'm rare, but wired is a tiny smidgen superior to wireless in my opinion. MS will likely make wireless standard on the next console and I'll continue to used wired anyway.

I don't care about physical media anymore and welcome it's death. I'd rather go to portable hard drives using account-based digital downloads (if my hard drive dies - I download it again) -- 1 center for all music, movies, games, etc. So I don't care much about blu-ray and welcome it's death too...I don't feel like replacing my entire collection yet again. if I was much younger, just starting a collection, I'd be all over blu-ray. I went from VHS, skipped LaserDisc, got into DVD, skipping blu-ray.

Apple and MS seem to be headed in the digital download direction -- I hope they figure it out and leapfrog physical media completely. Once they start bringing out multiple terrabyte HDDs for consoles, I'll be a happier guy. My 120gb HDD is almost out of space...

If they're phasing out the Pro model, and forcing people to pay $299 for a decently-equipped xbox...I don't see how this can be seen as anything but a price hike.

Self-correction: I was under the impression that Pro models were currently $270 (before this price drop)...

So if that was the case...the elimination of the Pro at my mistaken price point of $270, leaving only the Elite at $299...

yeah...the point is: I was mistaken.

I won't even mention the fate of my 1st 360. Thankfully, only once. But the Jasper chipset seems to have done the trick imho.

so will the prices of hard drives drop?? i gotta 20gb and want to get a 120gb cheap

Blunt instrumentation, FTW. I knew that thing would be good for something...just didn't know it worked better as a club.

@ lazyykid I doubt it. I couldn't wait any longer and just got a 60 for $75 at Amazon. And don't forget to BUY the xfer cable cause it's only included with the 120.

*milk, rinse, repeat*

MS will send the cable for free, but it takes over 2 weeks usually. Though they may not anymore.

My thoughts:

The 360 has better games.

The PS3 has better capabilities.

That is all.

Lol your thoughts are quite wrong. If you haven't noticed (and I pay attention to 360 and PS3 equally) all the best exclusives in the next year are announced for PS3 only now. I'm getting a Slim:

Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
Gran Turismo 5
MAG
God of War 3
ModNation Racers
The Last Guardian
Final Fantasy XIII Versus
Heavy Rain
Agent

Please don't lol at my thoughts. It hurts me.

I just bought a new PS3 about 2 weeks ago. I like both consoles. I actually own all 3 this gen - there's no fanboy here, just my opinion. I bought a PS3 recently because of the price cut and the fact is that they have an awesome line up of games coming out in the next litte while. But for the moment, as of right now, I think the 360 has a much better library to choose from. That's all I was saying. I guess you could just add "at the moment" after my 360 comment.

I just enjoy gaming a bit more on my 360, plain and simple. It's just my preference. No need to get defensive. Like I said, in the future, I might be using my PS3 more than my 360.

The people who are deciding between the 360 and the PS3 should probably buy a PS3. My reasoning is that the 360 is near the end of its life cycle. Soon Microsoft will make a new console and do the same thing they did with the original Xbox, cut off support for it. While the PS3 is expected to have a 10 year life cycle and the PS3 has only been out for almost 3 years. That means for you'll be getting games for the PS3 for atleast other 7 years. And besides the PS3 Slim has more bang for your buck than the Xbox 360 with its Blu-Ray player, built-in wifi, free online, etc.. So for person who still hasn't entered the next-generation of gaming or maybe has a Wii, I suggest you get yourself a PS3.

i just got my ps3 slim and it was quite nice to be online withing 15 minutes. after a year, i still haven't gotten my xbox360 online because i refuse to spend $80 on a $6 wi-fi adaptor that should be part of the system.

In my opinion, anyone who complains about the 50 dollars a year (usually less with cards) for LIVE shouldn't even be buying games to begin with. 50 dollars a year is practically nothing, for a far superior service. And I've owned every console after the Sega Genesis. The 360 is my new PS2, essentially. And my PS3 is a blu-ray player, lol.

$50 a year is a lot when compared to $0 a year. And when you get right down to it, you pay $50 a year for cross game chat, don't fool yourself sir. You pay for cross game voice chat.

I pay for an integrated and streamlined service. 50 dollars a year is the same thing as 0 dollars to me. Everything of value has a price. Playing video games is a luxury, and I don't mind paying for it. A typical restaurant bill is at least 90 dollars; a nice shirt can cost 60 -- all luxuries in life have a price. The problem occurs when people live above their means. In the end, PSN does not compare to LIVE, and until God of War 3, and Gran Turismo 5 come out, I will not be using my PS3.

But everyone knows that you need hardwire for decent multiplayer right? Otherwise you're latency will be too high in teh Haloz.*

*This only applies if you are legitimately good. Most people are good enough for latency to matter (including me, but I'm hardwired anyway).

Wow did the entire internet decide to wake up and be stupid today? This is NOT a price cut, this is just like 2 years ago when Sony dropped the price of the disontinued PS3 models, all they are doing is blowing out the huge stock of unsold 360 Pros, and making the Elite the new Pro. Its not a real price cut because it does not cover their entire line up of SKUs. Also I am the only one who feels the "Elite" should have always been 299? Seriously outside of MS's price gouging with their proprietary HDDs what else came with the Elite to make it 100 more? HDMI cables can be had for $6 to $14 on Amazon, Component cables can also be had for cheap, so what the change to black colored plastic cost them so much more to make? Not to mention outside of their insiane HDD prices all that other stuff has been removed from the Elite's packaging. Elite? No, what should be the ONLY 360 available? Yes.

I've been trying to figure out what exactly makes this Elite console "elite"?

Doesn't have a next gen, built in drive. The highest hard drive you can buy is 120 gigs (which means with the elite you can't get any bigger HDD), Double A battery powered controllers that aren't bluetooth (so they can get interfered with), doesn't have built in Wi-Fi, doesn't have an internet browser, have to pay for an ad riddled online experience, NXE isn't as big of a switch as Playstation Home was (in terms of bigger after console has been out addition), games on PS3 are starting to leave 360 behind (God of War III, Uncharted 2, Gran Turismo 5, Metal Gear Solid 4, KillZone 2, etc.)

So what makes this 360 elite, "elite"?

it's elite because they said so silly rabbit.

Its really interesting when you look at how fanboys take over a whole topic whether its a good deal or not what matters most are the games for the system.

If you are a gamer a true gamer you would own both. I love my 360 but that did not stop me from getting a PS3.

What ever happens between both consoles I could care less I just want A+ games from both systems.

I've been wanting a 360 for awhile and I'm happy I waited cause I've been wanting the Elite since it was first announced. Now, i can get 1. I wonder though, since the Sexy Red RE5 Elite is considered as an Elites, I wonder will those get a price cut too.

(Hmmm....)

I found out today that all Elite bundles are dropping to $299 so my RED 360 w/ HDMI included and RE5 will be 300 bucks. Yay for me!!!

Hey, Microsoft, will you please just make XBOX Gold free now? How does that not make sense? Everyone can (or should) obviously see that the PS3 slim at the same price is clearly the better deal. You need to do something else or PS3 is going to do more than just close the gap they'll overtake you in this console generation especially with their motion controllers coming out sooner. Quit holding out for Natal to be your Savior. (that's my plea because I just bought a 3 month Gold subscription and I don't want to keep paying and it'll run out by the time I get Left 4 Dead 2)

The whole 'no WiFi, no HDMI' is REALLY bumming me out. Still getting one though... grudgingly...

NO Wifi adds another 60 bucks to 300. As well literally NO online till I pay another 60 toll. Harddrive, vga cable. Less interested.

On top of that I'm paranoid of giving a company with subscriptions models my Credit Card.

My friend used a credit card of mine to "initiate' an online subscription that he purchased for 40 dollars from a store. They proceeded to charge my credit card after one year without permission. I still get emails that they've renewed his account despite my credit card number now being bunk. CREEPY.

@dan.da.trk - i have a decent portfolio & some nice Cds that earn some interest. plus my only vice are gamming,work & my fiancée .

@Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO Don't get me wrong sonys ps3 is good for people that are into that i can watch movies on my console, but i have 2 stand alone LG blu-ray players . the reason for the 360 in those rooms is part of let's support the new kid on the block mentality & see what they can do .

Im really not trying to be a fanboy but I gotta tell you, the PS3 still is the better deal if your wanting to go with prices.

PS3 WiFi built in > 360 WiFi sold separately
PS3 free Online > 360 Gold Member Status $50 yearly

The new PS3 Slim is really tempting to buy, but I have my 360 and im sticking to it until it goes KIA.

I think an Elite for $300 is a fine price, while a PS3 for $300 is a steal. I do not have an Xbox yet, but this price cut is probably the last push I need to pick one up, even if I won't use it that much. There's Wipeout to be played, son.

@Hife
As those installs start to eat up more and more of your drive's space they start to become a big deal. Not all ps3 games have a mandatory install, just 90% of them. I guess they're not a problem if you play one game every 6 months or so. But if you switch between games, it can get quite annoying.

I am excited about this - http://bit.ly/kBZGY

Yes! And I saw is already available at Amazon, check out Xbox 360 price cut!

Power? longevity? The 360 games look better than the PS3 games, they run at a better frame rate on the 360. The 360 is ahead of the PS3. Blu-Ray...pfft the discs are too expensive, I already pay $60 a game. 360 = better looking, better performing games and more games overall. Xbox live is so much more polished than Playstation Network.

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Microsoft confirms Xbox 360 price cut: $300 Elite on Friday; $250 Pro 'while supplies last'

Xbox 360 Elite / Arcade Bundles (August 2009)

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