Ever since last week, we've known about a rumored $299 Xbox 360 Pro price cut thanks to a leaked Kmart adscan and have also heard grumblings of a new 60GB HDD equipped 360 being announced at E3. Well, the rumor mill keeps on a churning as two more sources are reporting that the price cut and 60GB 360 rumors are indeed true.Ars technica is claiming that, according to their super secret source, Microsoft will only be cutting the 20GB Xbox 360's price to $299 because it'll be discontinued and replaced with the newer 60GB HDD model. They also claim that the new 60GB 360 will roll out to retailers sometime in July, refuting the August release claims that were previously rumored. Finally, Hollywood Reporter is jumping into the Xbox 360 rumor pit, with claims that their sources tell them that the Xbox 360 Pro price cut will in fact happen prior to E3, but no information regarding the Elite or Arcade is available.
This is how we see this playing out: The first week of July, Microsoft will announce that the Xbox 360 Pro and only the Pro will see a price cut to $299. Then, the second week of July during their E3 press conference, MS will announce a new 60GB HDD Xbox 360 console priced at $349 to replace the old 20GB model. Simple.
Source - ars technica
Source - Hollywood Reporter
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-30-2008 @ 11:14AM
andyg8180 said...
captain obvious lol...
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6-30-2008 @ 11:17AM
itsburnsie said...
Am I reading this right... they're suggesting they're dropping the 20 gig in favor of the 60... yet KEEPING the arcade/core??
Ugh Microsoft.... everyone buy you seems to understand a hard-drive free 360 is a terrible idea, was always a terrible idea... and needs to be fixed.
I love my 360, but I think monkeys are running Microsoft's entertainment devices branch.
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6-30-2008 @ 11:25AM
Anton said...
Actually I LIKE the arcade.
I know several people who have bought them, and scammed hard drives off those of us who made the leap to 120gig :) (I gave my 20 away - I'm not cheap enough to charge for it)
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6-30-2008 @ 5:55PM
EdgeOne said...
Ditto! But that right there makes the point to have an HD on every 360. Some friends bought the Arcade for the price point but the kids complained about not having a HD so I gave them a 20GB so they could actually use the system as intended.
6-30-2008 @ 11:55AM
BlackFreefall said...
This 60GB includes the Jasper chip right?
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6-30-2008 @ 12:17PM
Dwag said...
Dropping the 20GB SKU would be bad I mean just market that as the Arcade SKU i mean put a couple more games on the hardrive like the best of XBLA and that makes sure that Arcade owners who decide 'hey maybe I wanna try some online won't be like oh but I have to pay an extra hundred for it oh forget it' and when they begin to like it then maybe they will say oh I'll buy some online and I can keep playing not likely to happen though but kids can persuade parents and that equals money.
Then the 60GB SKU is the SKU they market to the hardcore like how Sony is right now everyone of there SKUs had a Hardrive so M$ take a note from the competition you ain't gonna be the Wii cause the Wii actually has something going for it without a Hardive M$ you don't, you were always about Online and how are people gonna appreciate it if you have a near worthless Arcade SKU that has barely any function Online without a Hardrive sure you might have been a little smart but nobodies willing to buy Hardrives at $100+ plus tax unless there desperately in need for a hardrive especially when really yor just selling a laptop drive but made it Specific for the 360.
Also we know everything is getting cheaper to make just drop the price for the Elite now.
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6-30-2008 @ 2:00PM
nnarum23 said...
STFU, noob.
6-30-2008 @ 12:29PM
Bluemanrule said...
One of these has to be false. What you will have is cannibalization. Microsoft will introduce a new sku while dropping the price on the Pro sku? With the only difference between the two is 40 GB of HDD space, MS will lose potential 60 Gig customers to 20 Gig customers. This would not be an efficient way to clear out old stock and I'd like to give MS more credit for their marketing savvy.
On another note, If MS allowed external HDD support, none of this would be an issue. The PS3's swappable, generic HDDs allows customers to customize their drive size. Now, if MS was serious about gaming, they would gamers to use external HDDs. But, I guess piracy would then be a problem.
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6-30-2008 @ 12:35PM
iFester said...
Wouldn't it make more sense for Microsoft to repackage the arcade with the 20g HDDs of the pro and make the new pro the 60g model? At $299, it's only a $20 price increase and you get a HDD. Silly Microsoft, Trix are for kids.
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6-30-2008 @ 12:49PM
Trogdor said...
I really think that there needs to be a price drop on all SKUs going into the holidays. The 360 is coming up on it's 3 year anniversary and I think the Pro should be around $250 after 3 years to help them maintain momentum.
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6-30-2008 @ 1:33PM
The Sound said...
Sveet. I'm a paycheck away from being able to be a PSWii60 owner.
This $299 'rumor' makes it an easier by; It's a game or an extra controller I can buy.
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6-30-2008 @ 2:48PM
DJCUEBALL said...
If the 60GB is true, I'll get it only if it comes with Wifi.. I already have a PS3 and I don't want to get a 20Gb and then buy the adapter, etc.
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6-30-2008 @ 4:52PM
Charles said...
I only have a friggin' Wii, so the only thing keeping me from buying a PS3 is the price and the online and the RRoD as un common as it may have become is the only thing keeping me from a 360 because where I live, it's either a PAL with warranty or an NTSC with no warranty but around $100 cheaper! Plus, because NTSC games that come here are black-marketed, they're cheaper than PAL games. I really hope the Jasper comes soon so I can buy an NTSC 360 without worrying about the RRoD and that the Jasper will be the 60 GB so I can differentiate between it and the Falcon.
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6-30-2008 @ 5:20PM
h0mi said...
dropping the 20gb isn't so bad but the 360 needs a $300 price point, not 350
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