You're working on the faulty premise that the Xbox360 Arcade will be sold at a loss. Only Microsoft really knows how much it costs them to make one.

And with Jasper, it's most likely below the $200 price point. People forget how much Nintendo rips off the consumer @ the $250 price point.

You can compare game sales when a price drop occurs - Just track similar games from the year before, and see if current games get a boost.

Hey Squilliam but remember that the arcade is gonna be at 199.99, but nobody wants a 360 without hard drive anymore

The arcade will be sold at a loss at 199.

I am way more interested in what the price cut will do for piracy. Putting the console in reach of people who can now barely afford seems like asking for it to be hacked.

If hardware vs software numbers seem dissapointing in the next few months, it's really clear what happened there. Piracy or it's been sold to people who simply don't have the cash for more games and the knowledge or friends to hack it.

dbot - Care to offer any proof, outside of a trolling comment?

Kazuya - Like dbot, where are you getting this kind of info that no one wants the Arcade? There was just a report, recently, that said in Austrailia, the Arcade is outselling the Pro. When the Arcade launched last year, it sold out very quickly - higher than the 10% rate the Core was selling at.

Consumers do want a hard drive, but they don't have to have it immediately, especially with the price-conscious player....After all, if HDDs were the be-all of selling points, the PS3 would be #1, and the Wii would be #3. But the fact is, that not everyone cares. Not everyone needs DLC, or movies on their system. I agree the HDD is a near-necessity for most players, but not everyone. I will be buying an Arcade soon for the mere reason that RPGs are about the best genre for the HDD-less system.

i think there is a limit effect for the sell of 360 on the price cut. But new games will help to boots the sells

mrstickball, do you see this $199 price really cementing the 360 as the 1st place system between the HD consoles, for the rest of this generation?

 Not necessarily the arcade but a price drop for all three models is more likely too but who really knows.

@Squilliam
Why is Madden categorized as "Sports" and Tiger Woods as "Annual Sports"?