iM$'s temporary $299 pricepoint for hard drive 360.

On Jul 13, 6:51 am, SwamMol... RemoveThis @googlemail.com wrote:
> http://kotaku.com/5024633/microsoft-announce-60gb-360-confirm-20gb-pr...
>
> When is a price cut not a price cut?
> When it's stock clearence.
> Sony was accused of this, this time last year, when it cut the price
> of the 60gb PS3. It became apparent that they were merely readjusting
> stock, and clearing out what hadnt yet sold.

Isn't that what clearance generally means?

> The Sony bashers were out in force, claiming some sort of victory for
> their beloved 360.

It wasn't a victory for the Xbox 360 but an affirmation of the issues
plagueing the PS3.

> Yet, for all their sins, Sony did release a cheaper, if downgraded,
> but imenseyly more popular 40gig unit.

That unit was popular because of its lower price. That's what
Microsoft's banking on right now. Sony has made up a lot of ground
since the holiday season. Frankly, Microsoft should have done this
MUCH earlier (say, during the holiday season).

The only difference here is that this new cheaper system still has all
the other features of the more expensive system - no loss of backwards
compatibility, removal of media compatibility, removal of internal
components, etc.

> So now it's MSs turn to do exactly the same. Cut the price, clear out
> stock, get in new upgraded version (60, not 80).

I don't know how much this is going to help them. How many people
really download tons of movies from Xbox Live?

> The flaw in MSs strategy is that they havent got anything to fill the
> vacume they left with the $299 20gig model ready. The 60 will be $349,
> exactly the same price as the 20 was before the cut. Effectively maing
> the entry level HDD 360 have a price rise!

Please explain your logic. How is going from $349 to $299 a price
rise?

> I mean, you go from $299 to $349 for the cheapest you can buy a 360
> with a ahrd drive? Come of it MS, is that a strategy?

Huh? Again, where did you come up with this logic that the cheapest
360 with a hard drive will be $349?

Are you claiming this price cut ISN'T happening?

> Sony went from $499 to $399 for the cheapest you can get a PS3 in it's
> first year, and it reaped rewards.

They were forced to do this only 6 months or so after launch because
nobody was willing to pay $499 for the PS3.

> MS should learn from this.
>
> Instead, consumers are left with the increasingly devalued Arcade
> unit, as MSs answer to the Wii - and MS seem to be failing even more
> so on that respect.

I'll agree on the devalued part. Microsoft should cut the Arcade unit
by the same amount. It's kind of stupid to keep it at... what... $249?
Especially when this week, Target is giving away a $25 gift card with
the new price point so you're really getting it for just $274.

> I predict July will see a temporary blip in sales in favour of the
> 360, but come mid aguust, the equelibrium will be restored as the Ps3
> will reasirt itself as the 2nd console of choice in the US (as it has
> been month after month after month, except for the single month the
> 360 had a couple fo k lead).

I don't know... I don't think this will lead to the 360 beating out
the PS3 this month. It's too late because they're doing this during
the season when game industry sales are traditionally lowest. People
are out enjoying the summer right now... not many people are looking
to buy up game systems.

> MS are flailing around now, desperately trying to grow the 360 market.
> it is stagnating, nobody new is buying the console, and sales are
> falling off, and they are now way behind Sony and even further bebind
> Nintendo.

That's an interesting statement considering you're talking about how
great the PS3 sales have been in the United States. The 360's sales
are not that far off from the PS3's sales for most weeks so if "nobody
new is buying the console" that must mean only 15k more than "nobody"
is buying the PS3.

> Talk of a Wiimote ripoff, temporary price cuts, and chest beating PR
> does not make up for the consoles serious lack of diversity,
> reliability, and image.

Correction: the image of lack of reliability from the Internet
hardcores. Most consumers (i.e. those that don't spend their time
reading Usenet or game review sites) don't know and never knew about
the RROD issue.

Regarding lack of diversity... it's interesting that you say that
considering the 360 software line-up is far more diverse than both the
Wii and PS3's line-ups.

> MS needs to rebrand their entire XBOX division before it will appeal
> to the same people that bought PS2s, Wiis, Gameboys and Ds's,

I agree with the idea of the statement although I don't agree that MS
needs to do this.

> Instead, they have a lineup that is headlined by a sequal to a game
> that did well 2 years ago, and is very unlikley to bring new consumers
> to the 360.

I also agree with this. GOW2 is the only big game on the horizon for
the Xbox 360 and it likely won't bring tons of new consumers to the
360 since most people who buy this game will have already played it on
the 360s they already own.

> I mean, the price point remains unchanged from 2007, the games being
> released are for exactly the same demographics tha the 360 has always
> appealed to, and they have no new marketing angles.

How has the price point remained unchanged? $299 for a 20GB is lower
than $349 for a 20GB.

> Gears 2 will do well, but only to those that bought a 360 to play
> Gears 1, or halo 3.

And?

> Meanwhile, the PS3 is building up pace, has a broad selection of
> headline games, and has many key titles being released and boosting
> sales significantly.

A broad selection of headline games? MGS4. That's their headline game.

> Already the lead the 360 had is dwindling to just few million from
> over 7, and yet the Ps3 is more epxensive, has fewer games in it's
> library, and does less well in the US.

I guess that's the advantage of having sold over 120 million units in
the previous generation... that they can now play catch up faster.

> With Blu-ray set to explode this holiday season, thanks to the early
> 2008 demise of HD-DVD,

That remains to be seen... sales of HD DVDs at discount retailers have
been much stronger than anyone expected while Blu-Ray sales have
stagnated due to still too high prices. Warner has already announced a
price drop to the $15-17 range for their catalog Blu-Ray releases
before the holiday season but the other studios have publicly opposed
this strategy despite common sense dictating that it's the only way
for Blu-Ray to "explode."

> along with the stronger of the two lineups for
> the two consoles, the Ps3 will win out 2008 and become the 2nd console
> of choice in worldwide homes. It already is doing better than the 360,
> outselling it month on month.

So that's really your ambition for the PS3... to become a distant No.
2 worldwide?
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