| Seece said: I was looking at Sony's price cuts for the PS2 (was quite surprised!) and wondered what the VGChartz community could gauge from them when it comes to how Microsoft is going to price cut the X360, given its model is going to follow closer to PS2 than Xbox or Gamecube. |
I think you're missing the fact that with 2008 and 2010 they added value to the console. Remember the switch from the Core to Arcade with built in memory and a wireless controller? Also in 2010 they added features to the Arcade by increasing the internal storage, adding Wifi and making the box more reliable/quieter/better looking.Effectively if you count the fact that the memory cards were an added cost on the PS2 they are already at the point where the entry cost of the console is identical to the PS2 in 2003. Now if you also count inflation, effectively the Xbox 360 Arcade is cheaper than the PS2 in the same time period up until 2008. If they cut the price again to $149 this year then the Xbox 360 Arcade will effectively again be cheaper or the same price as the PS2 in 2006 counting inflation.
I will say that *(IF)* they decide to be aggressive in price this year it will be because they want to increase market share and fight off competition from both Apple TV and other competiting consoles as well as poison the well somewhat for the introduction of the NES 6 in 2012. They can afford to be aggressive because unlike Sony/Nintendo they would have a range of products from $149 which has low margins all the way up to $299 and they can also sell $149 Kinect accessories or $60 Xbox Live cards. This doesn't mean they will be aggressive, and as one Microsoft employee pointed out to me 'why cut the price in order to satisfy the worst customers when we're selling every single Xbox 360 we can make?'
Tease.
