I am serious.

There are rumors about the Xbox 720 popping up left and right and it is an educated guess that the Xbox 3 will launch at the end of this year or somewhere in 2013.

The Xbox 360 does not need a pricecut to drive sales - the sales have been fantastic in the holiday season and another 500 million USD profit in 3 months is outstanding. My point is that there are Xbox 360 SKUs with a price tag I would expect the next generation to have. I know it is a special edition console, but the Star Wars Kinect console costs $450! For comparison: The Xbox 360 launch price for the core system was $299 and $399 for the premium system!

The Kinect holiday bundle (mainstrem, not limited) was sold for $399!

How do you want to launch a new system with such prices for the current generation? If MS really plans to launch a new generation of the Xbox console anytime soon, they should cut the price by at least $100 in September 2012 for a 2013 release of the Xbox 3. They are reporting huge profits, so they can easily afford a price cut.

Why not sell the console with a $99 entry price and a Kinect Sensor for $99 as well? This would increase their market position and make people think about upgrading to a Xbox 3 later. Heck, the console will almost be in its 8th by then.

MS just needs the $300+ price range for their new hardware otherwise they would compete in the same market with their own product. I totally expect them to announce a major price cut in 2012. Make it in September just before Halo 4 launches and you are fine.

Profit profit profit.

When it looked like they would do nothing but bundle like crazy in late 2011, I said they'd wait for the Wii U launch to cut the 360 price.

Would be the perfect strategy. Boost in sales, affect the competition, profits still on a high.

It's all about the Benjamins, son. And I seriously doubt they'd slash prices by $100. Prolly all bundles and even Kinect itself will receive a $50 price cut across the board sometime between E3 week and the official start of the holiday shopping season.

September time will mean its been 4 years since they cut the baseline price, they really can afford to cut $100. Whether they will or not is another matter.

I think $70 on standalone HW, and $50 on Kinect is what they should do.

Bringing the bundles down to below $199/$299

I'm really excited to see how Microsoft and Sony react to the Wii U launch.
Price Cuts? New Console announcements? This year is going to be interesting!

I have been waiting for ages. I wanted to buy a second xbox for my mom to use as an entertainment hub, but it just not worth it right now. But i also agree next gen is around the coroner we need a price cut

I doubt a price cut will come anytime soon maybe around the holidays. But I'm sure the 320 GB HDD will replace the 250 HDD by the end of the year but most likely sooner.

Proofit!!! PROOOOOOOFFFEEET! Pro-Feet!

Its all about profit. But yeah, a price cut is very necessary right now. I wont be surprised if they take the lead again.

Microsoft doesnt have anymore supporting titles outside of Kinect not to drop the price of the 360. From a core perspective the consoles got like a year left in its tank. From a casual perspective, its got like two/three years left of riding out the Kinect. Kinect is what is keeping the price so high. Without a Kinect bundle the 360 isnt worth $299 any longer as a value in the last year or two of its life.

I don't think they need to cut price to *compete* with the Wii U barring the odd chance that it actually ends up retailing for less than $399, which I'm fully convinced Nintendo can do and still keep each unit sold profitable.

Otherwise, I see no reason for MS to cut prices until after they announce the Xbox 3 at which point, sales of the 360 are likely to take quite a bit of a nosedive once potential buyers new to the platform are aware that a replacement is incoming. Significantly lower prices across the board would help alleviate some of the sales drop offs, at least as far as numbers shipped/sold go (but not overall revenue).

So, it's in MS' best interests to hold off finalized announcements of the Xbox 3 for as long as possible, as in the E3 before launch (summer '13 announcement, winter '13 release).