Im really more interested in how this $199 price cut works in with the RPG/Casual push that Microsoft is doing this year. Im personally more interested in seeing JRPGs like Tales of Vesperia, Infinite Undiscovery, Last Remnant and Lost Odyssey crack the million mark, well I would be happy if just two did. That would make me personally happier than if my signature came true.

Well another thing about this is that it makes the PS360 cost as much as a launch PS3 would.

PS360 would now= 598, and if Sony launches and type of price drop it would be cheaper (of course). Thats kinda funny IMO.

Why not 1st overall? I smell pessimism, lol :P

I know MS took a $1 billion hit on fixing the RROD problems under warranty replacement, but over here (UK) I've heard stories of people having a lot of trouble getting things replaced.

And remember one point often brought up in price discrepancy complaints, over here (Europe as a whole) products are warrantied for two years from purchase against design faults. So MS has no choice but to fix the problems for free under warranty. There's no such thing as a standard one year warranty in this case.

From a European point of view, MS have dragged their heels on providing the absolute minimum level of service demanded by law.

But having said that, the lack of free online play is what stops me from buying a 360. I wouldn't pay a monthly fee to play games online so essentially the 360 for me would be a pure offline console. And given that, I'm just not interested.

$199 well thats cheap, but it doesnt work out to cheap, because unless you want direct barebones you will need a hardrive

Very nice post, Zenfoldor.

Squilliam, sadly I think JRPGs have declined in popularity here in the U.S., to the point a game that doesn't have the name 'Final Fantasy' will really struggle to get that coveted 1 million mark, even if the system they're on costs little.

Nowadays, it's all about the "Oblivions, Mass Effects and Fallouts".

You don't want the wrath of Starcraft to come down heavily upon you.

@JRPGs yeah, you're probably right. Consoles have a much heavier western flavour than they used to have. Most big games and developers at this point are western whilst the Japanese developers, no fault to them of course; have been targeting the handhelds at the expense of the console market.

But I do live in hope - firstly TOV has to crack 625,001 sales before the end of the year or I will owe Naznatips a Wiiware game.

2ndly I think that both TOV and IU being real time have a better chance in the current market than turn based RPGs, and the sales of Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon give me a little hope for them as well.

On the subject of JRPGs and their importance to prospective system buyers, I say that all the rpgs in the world don't have as much to do with which system a jrpg lover will buy, in america, as the placement of a few key titles, like Final Fantasy XIII, and Kingdom Hearts 3.

That said, being known as the jrpg console is always good for sales. These games are niche, but the genre is healthy and popular. One big reason I have a 360 now is Lost Odyssey and Eternal Sonata.

Most of these PS3 fanboys around here, they bought their console under the promise of big Square-Enix jrpgs to come.(They didn't buy it because they're killzone fans, believe me, they bought it for FFXIII, MGS4, and dependability after the RRoD scare)

Final Fantasy XIII is the biggest rpg on a console. Period. That's all the evidence you need to realize that jrpgs are quite important. The more niche jrpgs, like ToV, will still move some consoles(20,000 already). However, their more important role, is playing a factor in decision making for a fence setter who might be a Tales or JRPG fan. If you just keep stacking up the jrpgs, it makes a difference to the people who enjoy those types of games. From talking on these forums, I believe the majority of core gamers do enjoy the occasional jrpg, with a significant portion who mark that genre amongst their favorites.

So yes, racking up some jrpgs, especially if they are highly reviews(and by implication more mainstream), will help in the console war. Particularly when your competition is falling behind in that genre, and there are tons of PS2 owners, a notoriously jrpg heavy console, who have yet to upgrade.

They see 6 fair-great jrpgs out on the 360, heard about FFXIII, and see the console is avaialble for $199 down, with a hard-drive to save up for, they just might ask their moms for a $199 360 for Christmas, with Fable 2 and The Last Remnant, where they otherwise wouldn't have done so.

If anyone really knew the answer they are much better than those damn analysts! $199 will make a huge difference although how long before Sony also reduce or come up with some sku or something is the question! If Sony cannot compete, be it for financial consideration or otherwise, the war in the USA for "Top HD console" may be over. In Europe, Australia and Japan on the otherhand a price drop can only delay what I think will be a inevitable Sony win. The unknown factor is always games! A great selling exclusive (of GTA caliber) could see either console dominate!

MS look like their positioning themselves for the HD console win in the USA while trying to put up a good fight in other regions.

I don't see it being the killer blow needed by Microsoft. Hopefully it boosts sales but the Arcade model doesn't have a great rep. I think it's going to remain pretty close between Sony and Microsoft for the HD crown.