Price cut official: Xbox 360 Arcade $199
Wed Sep 3, 2008 6:40PM EDT
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After countless rumors and leaked advertisements, Microsoft confirmed that the Xbox 360 Arcade bundle will retail for $199 starting September 5. The 60GB pack will remain at $299, as will the Elite at $399.
Microsoft is clearly throwing down the electronic gauntlet for this upcoming holiday season. The Xbox 360 Arcade now lies $50 dollars cheaper than the still-selling-out Nintendo Wii, and Sony repeatedly denies any price drop to its $399 and $499 pricing scheme (hard drive sizes increase, but prices stay constant). Sounds like an interesting set of choices for gamers this year.
Several rumors suggested that the updated $199 Xbox 360 Arcade would be bundled with a new motion-sensitive controller along with several mini-games (all developed in conjunction with Rare) to compete directly with the Nintendo Wii, however, those rumors failed to materialize.
So now the big question: If you had a choice between the Xbox 360 Arcade and the Nintendo Wii, what would you choose and why? Do you think the Xbox 360 is still too 'hardcore' for the general audience, or will the new price will convince novice gamers to give it a shot over the Wii?
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7 Posted by ninjamafia3142 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:39PM EDT Report Abuse
60GB Xbox 360 bundles are $349 not $299. The 20GB are $299.
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8 Posted by raidergreg3079 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:27PM EDT Report Abuse
PS3 is the best unit to buy but even with the blu ray player people arent buying blu ray dvds. They are still too expensive. I agree this Arcade unit is not going to make xbox the thing to buy. Maybe it will trick parents in buying it for their kids because it is the cheapest system and they wont know what to get. Also I dont think the wii is that hard to find. I live in the bay area and places seem to have them. Not stocked like the xbox's or ps3's but they have them.
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9 Posted by cruzemilio46 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:31PM EDT Report Abuse
the reason the wii and ps3 will sell more is because everyone has an xbox 360. everyone i know has a 360 and an ps3. i have a 360 because that was the original for a lot of things like the guide and the marketplace and they really pushed the wireless controllers so now all other game systems have wireless controllers and made them a must because 360 did. i played games on ps3 and that takes for f***ing ever to load. so the ps3 fan boys believe me you guys don't have anything that us 360 fan boys want...believe me.
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10 Posted by rossignoldavid@rogers.com on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:52PM EDT Report Abuse
I owned a Wii...key word "Owned". After a year of buying games, and VC games I had well over $1000 in that machine. I sold it for less than half that value with everything, some games had only been out of the case once. It is a Gimic..most of everything the Wii had to offer is just something to sucker you in, and it didn't take long to get your fill of it. We lost interest...Not saying it's not for everyone, just wasn't for us....I'm a PC gamer at heart and I love great looking graphics and +18 rated game, I'd buy a 360 for $199, great buy.
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11 Posted by poundingbat on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:17PM EDT Report Abuse
Microsoft Japan is already actually paying people to take the machines, with little success."We hope more people will be able to enjoy Xbox 360," said marketing marketer Takashi Sensui, "and we can stop enjoying quite so many of them. We also have this fine pile of HD-DVD drives ... Wait! Come back!" http://notnews.today.com/?p=63
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12 Posted by poundingbat on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:17PM EDT Report Abuse
Microsoft Japan is already actually paying people to take the machines, with little success."We hope more people will be able to enjoy Xbox 360," said marketing marketer Takashi Sensui, "and we can stop enjoying quite so many of them. We also have this fine pile of HD-DVD drives ... Wait! Come back!" http://notnews.today.com/?p=63
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13 Posted by warrenroussety on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:40PM EDT Report Abuse
out of 3 people I know that have a wii, all 3 have used it intensly for a couple of weeks and then put it away. I actually borrowed one for a weekend and got bored of it..says it all really. My kids sort of liked but just got tangled in the cables (2 and 4 yo). I'll probably get one in another year, but right now the xbox still gets used fairly often (the MCE portion is just so darn handy!) will get a ps3 next (probably like half the population which is still doesnt have one, I'm waiting for grand tourismo, how much longer! Its meant to be the showcase game after all) pretty much the reason I have a psx and a ps2. Oh, and a price drop wont go astray too!
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14 Posted by ibewill on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:22PM EDT Report Abuse
I might consider getting one at $199 and use it as a media extender. Not to mention it also plays games.
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15 Posted by quoleo on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:25PM EDT Report Abuse
I have 22 games for the Wii, and unless you have a lot of friends that enjoy it, the system gets old FAST. The 360, and PS3 kept the arcade feel, where the Wii is more cartoonie (another name for a cartoon video game system) feel. so if you play mainly by yourself, get a 360 or PS3, if you have a large family buy the Wii. Last note, think about this the Wii cost 250, with one controller. If you get all 4 controllers and nunchucks your system will cost $460.00 Think about it -Chuck
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16 Posted by djbattles on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:44PM EDT Report Abuse
The Wii and 360 are still a system modders dream.
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17 Posted by wolverinemarky on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:49PM EDT Report Abuse
i think xbox is just trying to move consoles, but this isnt the way to go trying to compete with the wii is a waste of time for microsoft. I would be trying to compete with the PS3 which is surging at the moment and moving consoles. I agree with the other people whats the point of having a console that doesnt have a hard drive. the price may be cheaper but once u buy the hard drive and other things u will need to make it a complete xbox u might as well should have bought one of the other versions of the system. so nice try microsoft u will still end up losing to sony and nintendo
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18 Posted by psyweezle on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:21PM EDT Report Abuse
Microsoft will always be number 1. The 360 community is to large, Playstation will never catch up. The Blu-Ray will not be an issue this fall. Just wait for this holiday season, youll see!
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19 Posted by fapollo on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:58PM EDT Report Abuse
I've worked on Sony and Microsoft products for a living and for fun. So I can safely say that I know there strengths and weaknesses. The number one weakness they share is their EGO's. In their pursuit to out sale one another they've forgotten to look at and listen to what the customers are demanding in a console/game. Everyone's different. Xbox 360's price cut will boost sales, but not enough to make people notice. PS3 is still fixing it's "lack of games" problem with some ground breaking new games. Nintendo has always been a fighter, and it's not about to give in now. But hey what do I know! I'm not in the AD Biz. LOL
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20 Posted by blackice239 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:08PM EDT Report Abuse
Xbox is tryin to make me buy another one cause the first one i bought broke from the red ring of death, and i still have all the old stuff. So therefore there plan will work. Nobody needs to watch a dvd on a game system that will just make it break quicker. Its all about the games not movies.
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21 Posted by tehawsomeness on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:59PM EDT Report Abuse
it depends on what you want. i have the wii and its great and now i'm hoping for a PS3 because of all of the x-box problems but its really up to you.
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22 Posted by dcsoccer25 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:39PM EDT Report Abuse
The $99 hard drive puts it at just $50 more than the Wii if you really need the storage. I'd say that puts it in pretty direct competition with the Wii. It has more games, there's no doubting that. I think it will put a small dent in Wii sales.
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23 Posted by skoolgrll on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:26PM EDT Report Abuse
Why isn't PS3 on this list? Really! With Blue Ray "Winning" over HD it's a must buy for every one..the family gets movies, the "kids" get the games.. we play rock band as a family! Why spend big time money on a blueray player when for close to the same price the game system comes with it! We have the 360 (with the HD player that never gets used) and the PS3 and do still want to get the Wii (for the "fit" games) it does look fun, but limited, yes we still have the PS2, game cube, and a bunch more (in the closet) but when you look at versatility the best choice is still PS3....and you don't have to go treasure hunting to find them!
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24 Posted by skoolgrll on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:26PM EDT Report Abuse
ATTENTION: ...or anyone else who doesn't know... xbox360 red rings of death: call the company and they will replace your system even if you "altered" it! We got ours replaced (they even pay shipping) and so did several of our friends, I think it has to do with some bad publicity they were getting. We replaced ours with the PS# (we love it) then found this out, so now we have both! They even send us a card for a free month gold membership on xbox live! for our "trouble"
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25 Posted by galinnor2001 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:05PM EDT Report Abuse
Ask anyone who plays Rock Band on the Wii how many downloadable tracks they have and then tell them how many they could download on the 360. I think it also comes down the gamer age and maturity. My 4yr old plays the Wii and my 10yr old plays the 360. And for you PS3 fanboys..Do you actually play games, online games??, or do you just watch your overpriced BlueRay movies on it like half the people I know that have them, oh right, your waiting on Final Fantasy. As cruzemilio46 said earlier, the PS3 doesnt have anything us XBOX360 fanboys want believe me.
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6 Posted by cstofka@verizon.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:31PM EDT Report Abuse
I think the PSP 3 is by far the best unti to buy. With the PSP 3 you have great graphics along with a built in Blu Ray Player. The Wii is fun and has alot of games for the younger crowd. The Wii also makes you to get off the couch/video chair to play some of the games. The XBox 360 is still the icon of all players. It is great in every way, and with a price cut, it will take over the market.It all depends what you want in a unit, each has it's pros and cons. They are all good and it is up to the individual to decide. Have fun gaming.