Can Microsoft afford another price cut??? erm NO

[chenguo4]

S.T.A.G.E. said:

chenguo4 said:

S.T.A.G.E. said:

chenguo4 said:

TheTruthHurts! said:
S.T.A.G.E. said: I'll buy the system, but I cannot deny when I see progress that I never thought that i'd see out of MS.

This sentence from a consumer is why MS is doing so well this Gen. MS's gaming division is listening to the consumers, making great games, and cutting prices. All (WINS), heading into a big holiday season. Especially when you have a console (Effective Sept 5th) that is now $200 dollars cheaper than its direct competitor.

Wow....I cant wait to see the numbers in January.

 

The $199 arcade technically is more in competition with the Wii. Holiday shopping is very much price dictated, and people looking to spend ~200-250 on a console will be deciding between the Wii and the Arcade. The Wii, if they can find one, should win if this gen has taught us anything. 

 

The Premum and Elites are gonna be the ones competing with the PS3, and they are at what, $299 and $399? So they only drop $50. It'll definitely have an effect, but when the PS3 is only $100 more than the Premium, and same price as the Elite, it wont make too much difference.

 

 The $199 may be in competition with the Wii, but Microsoft is more focused on giving Sony a heart attack.

 

Well, my point wasn't what MS is trying to do. My point is, the Arcade wont be as successful as people think because the Wii's already got the low-price market cornered.

 

 

 

Microsoft cannot face off with Nintendo for this reason aside from what you're saying. Nintendo's consoles production costs are around $180. They can afford to drop the Wii down $100 if they want. They've been making profit off of name value and the new casual market. This is why I could care less to talk about them. I'm not worried about Nintendo going up against Microsoft. I'm happy for Nintendo and they stand alone this gen.

 

??? I think you want to argue with me, but you're agreeing with me?

I'm saying, MS's goal for the 199 Arcade is the fight the PS3. It will have an effect, but much less than people think because the there is already a more popular console at a similar price: the Wii.

And this is what I'm getting from you: Nintendo can easily drop the price and still be profitable from the casual market. I'm happy for them.

 

I think what you're trying to say is that the 360 and the Wii market to different demographics?

Which is true, but consider, the hardcore demographic will likely want a console that's not as gimped as the Arcade (no hard drive), they'd prefer to go for the higher 360s or the PS3.

Which goes back to my original point: the 60GB 360 has been selling at $299 for a month now, and it's not really helping MS beating the PS3. The Elite is the same price as the PS3, so it's not gonna help much. The Arcade will help, but much less than people think because a low tier such as it will appeal mostly to casuals, who prefer the Wii.

So basically:

High price: PS3 will sell much better than 360.

Low price: Wii will sell much better than 360.

The 360 will have a foot in each market, but underwhelmingly so, and I think that even if you add it up it wont amount to enough to overcome the PS3 for more than a couple of weeks.