How soon would you expect to see a 360 price cut? Before E3, the day of Microsoft's press conference at E3, or sometime in the Autumn?
I do see that there are some good games on 360 that I would like to have, but at the moment, I think the two versions of the console on the market are just prohibitevly expensive. Especially when you compare them to the PS3. The Elite model costs $299, but if you factor in that to enjoy the full benefits of Live and if you want to enjoy the onlime games you need to buy gamer points that goes out to $400.00 for Gold and a $50.00 game points card and you don't even get a blu-ray player with the Elite.
The Arcade model at $199 severely handicaps its purchaser because you don't even get a harddrive with it. It is true that you get the three year extended warranty with a purchase of any 360, but that is really the only incentive MS really gives the buyer of a 360.
I can see a $200.00 version of the 360 with a 60 gigabyte harddrive being a nice enough deal for the console. That would allow one to buy a $50.00 card for a year of XBL Gold and a $50.00 gamer points card plus have a harddrive making the console an acceptable deal in comparison to what you pay for a PS3 with it's blu-ray.
To me the Wii with its library of casual games just wouldn't be worth it at its current price. I could see myself purchasing one for $150.00 after Epic Mickey, Metroid Other M, and some of the other more core titles are released.
The drawback to the PS3 is that you don't get the best versions of some of the games with a PS3. Still throw in a free online service and a blu-ray player, versions of most of the best core games, good core exclusives (though lacking a few of the best ones) and I find its cost for what you get out of the box to be most acceptable of the three consoles.
Of handhelds, DSI XL would be the equivalent of the PS3 in regards to having the most acceptable price. With it you get the lineup of outstanding DS games and the best screens imo of any Nintendo handheld. However, I think the DS Lite's price should have been reduced to $99 after the release of DSi. And DSi's price should only be $149 now with DSi XL on the market. I think DSi XL is actually a better value for the price than the current price for what you get with the Arcade model of the 360
So, do you think we will see a price cut for 360 in the near future to make it's price seem more reasonable when you realize you're not getting quite a lot out of the box in comparison to the other consoles? I could see myself not feeling bad about buying a 360 at $200.00 with a 60 gig harddrive, the three year extended warranty, and the ability to get a year of xbla gold and $50.00 worth of gamer points for the price of a PS3.
