guess we'll have to wait and see.

All signs seem to be pointing to a price reduction for the 360. Right now, MS doesn't have any overwhelming stimulus to increase hardware sales and current sales figures have been reflecting this. E3 announcements won't change that since everyone will have big announcements to unload.

Since Sony is committed to work on profitability, this is a key opportunity for MS to press its price advantage. They should ditch the 20GB altogether, which they may already be doing if the alleged 60GB SKU is a replacement rather than a 5th SKU. Clear out current 20GB stock at $299. Drop the price of the 120GB SKU to $400, or go as low as $350 if they really want to price aggressively.

Don't take it personally, bro, I'm just saying that a few people always lie about the anecdotal evidence to make their whatever look better, certainly not everybody, and I'm sure there are a few Wii's on shelves, but I also bet there are a few MGS4 80gb bundles on shelves also.

There is no way the demand for that bundle is as great as for the Wii, so asking for or giving anecdotal evidence is really a grim satire of a meaningful discussion about supply and demand. That was my point. Nobody is calling you a liar. I just submit that the world is full of liars, and those lies often find themselves presented as evidence on internet message boards.

First off the 360 Fanboys should be quiet because dispite the fact the 80 gig was supply constrained this past week the PS3 Still outsold it by over 40k WW. Dipite the fact the Hardware numbers dropped signifigantly in all rgeions the PS3 outsold the 360 by over 40k this week. Dispite the 80 gig shortages the PS3 and 360 sold reletively equalin NA this week. When lokking at it from a realistic sense, there is nothing 360 fanboys should be chearing about. Oh and as far as the comment above about the 360 price drop goes...We clearly know the 80 gig is in high demand, we don't however know if a price drop would help the 360 at all or how much. There is a big difference there.

Actually, historically, console sales usually peak in year 3 and then dropoff.

This thread wasn't nearly as epic as it was hyped to be. A quick Leo-j spark and a flaming fanboy. Leo-j isn't nearly as fun to watch after returning from his permaban. He's toned things down a lot. And frankly he's become a member, while having a clear fan bias, he doesn't explode in fiery fanboy flames over a single piece of news. Overall, though, I prefer the new Leo-j.

OT: People may start realizing that one game can't alter the past.

Two things. In a couple of weeks, the demand from the 80gb sku will be clear as day. Second, Ebay is the most accurate stick by which we can measure worldwide demand, however we can't use it as a snapshot. Demand will reveal itself over time. One of the most telling factors will be the average sales price for the 80gb mgs4 ps3 bundle, which is:

Items like yours that sold successfully have an average starting price of $209.00 and an average sold price of $437.00. You can also try searching completed listings.

Now dont' go crazy, cause this numbers means nothing, and I'll explain why.

On Amazon stores we have a starting price of 649.90

Now, lets assume that many PS3 MGS4 bundles were sold for what I assume 499.99 dollars.

We must also assume that a vast amount of these were sold at a cheaper price on ebay, before supply constrainment, as preorders.

The information is directly contradictive, it seems, so we can't really make a determination from ebay, as for demand at this time.

However, it appears that unlike the Wii, few people are willing to spend 100 extra dollars to obtain the 80gb model, understandably.

We can also determine that as no new stock has made its way into the channel, price has risen on ebay and while there are some available at 640 dollars, they are very likely not moving at that price. So, with virtually no stock whatsoever in the channel, we have the machines selling as rare and highly priced items, which means again, it's impossible to use ebay this time to determine any kind of demand.

However, that's not to say that ebay isn't a very useful tool. It just is much easier to use when there are large numbers of stock on ebay, which force the stock to be competitive and price with demand, rather than as a luxery or rare item.

You understand what you're sayin' right? We're talking about the second week of the biggest PS3 title since launch. Do you realize this?

Sure there is something that 360 fanboys should be chearing about. Games are coming, blockbusters will be here by fall, and 360 makes profit. And MS doesn't drop the price, sits back and loughs. And Gears 2 looks EPIC.

You can do all the damage control you want. The fact that MGS4 is a hardcore game with less impact than SDF wishes , doesn't change.

I thought end of May? So the higher production should hit the US soon. Maybe the high number this week was the rest of the Stock NoA had, releasing it, because they expect higher shipments next week?

Production was reported as effective July. Whether that means suddenly all shipments will see a 33% increase (1.8m/month to 2.4m/month) or it will be gradual was not actually specified. The latter seems more likely unless a magical "increase production instantly button" is pressed.

Until consistent weekly sales above 415k per week are confirmed, it either means a lot of consoles are sitting on retail shelves (regular stock, easy to confirm), hundreds of thousands are sitting in warehouses (early stock for the holidays which is too early), or production is not yet at the claimed increase to roughly 550k per week.