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Domicinator on 06 September 2008
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When I first heard about this price drop, I figured it would only affect sales for a little while and then die off. Most console buyers, or maybe I should say "potential" console buyers, don't troll tech news websites like this one, and probably know nothing about this price drop, right?

Well, then I saw it on CNN and on the local Chicago news. Then yesterday on my way out of work, I heard something really mind blowing. The customer service department at my office, which consists of 5 people, 4 of which are over the age of 50, was talking about how the Xbox 360 was now going to be $199. Are these people all gamers? Nope. Not one of them is. But they all have kids and grandkids who want consoles this Christmas. And the Arcade will be the cheapest one out there this year.

That convinced me that more people know about this price drop than I thought. And that is explanation enough for me as to why 360 sales have dropped off. I truly think there are TONS of people out there waiting until the official drop (which I guess is official at this point) and there are a lot of kids now expecting 360s under the tree this year. I honestly think this price drop is going to have a big impact on the console market this holiday season.

For those of you saying people will gladly pay $200 extra dollars for the extra features on PS3, I'm sorry to say, but I don't think that's necessarily true. Joe Schmoe console buyer probably doesn't even know what the extra features even ARE on a PS3. In fact, I've met very few people who can even give me a good explanation as to what BluRay is. Usually they say, "Is that like HD DVD?" No, Joe Schmoe gamer is going to go for price and games.

PS3 fanbots used to argue that the PS3 is the best value because it has more features for not much more money. This price cut now makes that officially untrue, and it's starting to look to me like that Arcade sku was one of the best moves Microsoft could have made. Because at $199, that's the model everyone is talking about now.