| S.T.A.G.E. said: MS was screwing with people...they've temporarily cut prices where it seasonally mattered and they did it last Black Friday as well. They also used lower prices to clear the old models of the 360 down to $249 I believe to make room for the new Xbox 360 Slims. Where I must appologize to you for my mistake is where I said the 360's price had dropped only once. What I meant to say is the 360 has only technically dropped $100 over eight years. These are the launch prices of the 360 and Microsoft's current price is $299 unless you enter a two year contract for the 360 which by now is pointless.
Sony stands competitively at $299 with more games than the Xbox. They've given true price cuts over the years and not run around the issue of the unfair price even though they were still outselling the 360 and slowly catching up the steady price cuts helped them get to where they are today. At this rate Sony couldnt afford to bleed financially like they did with the PS3, so they played it smart and hired someone who could make the best console they could for $400. They are still taking a financial hit, but nothing compared to the PS3, good lord. They will get a small profit early on and then reap the benefits as time progresses far more than the PS3. |
Cool graph but doesn't change a thing I said. And they've went more than $100. The Elite for example dropped $200. The Arcade unit $130 IIRC. While the entry point for the console remains the same, you now get more hardware for that price. It's the exact same strategy Sony took once they got to $300 and saw the success MS was still having. Neither company has been offering real "price cuts" lately. The entry point stays the same but the hardware gets better.
You're making a big deal about MS "only dropping" $100 compared to Sony but that is irrelevant when Sony started so much more expensive. And it's kind of funny that you're saying they're so much more consumer oriented and yet they launched so much more expensive. They both found a sweet spot where people still buy their consoles and they make a profit. If MS could sell you a 360 for $400 still, they would in an instant. If Sony could push the PS3 numbers they do today at $300 but at $600, they would in an instant. They are out to make money, plain and simple. Your "loyalty free" logic is bizarre at times.
