Posts with tag price
Posted Feb 6th 2007 2:00AM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
What's the big difference between a 90nm and a 65nm processor? Well, a lot of cash if you are Microsoft or Sony. Arstechnica.com has taken a look at the battle between Microsoft and Sony and the journey to get their respective consoles' processors to be smaller. Not only is there a bunch of technical improvements with a smaller die, but the hardware cost would drop significantly (roughly $50 per console). We don't fully agree with the article's "race" argument, but think that whichever company can do the most with the processor change will be the victor. Whether it be price cuts, a sleeker console design, or the removal of the huge power brick, it's all about what the companies do with the new technology. Which begs the question, who would be up for getting a new Xbox 360 if it had a smaller processor?
[Via Digg]
Posted Oct 29th 2006 9:30PM by Ken Weeks
Filed under: News
EA is getting into the Collector's Edition racket with an upgraded version of
Need For Speed: Carbon on sale October 31. Here's what you get for $69.99:
- 3 new cars
- 10 specially tuned cars
- 6 new races
- 10 exclusive vinyl kits
- Code to download Mazda RX-7 off XBLM
- Bonus DVD containing behind the scenes footage on the making of the game.
What? No
cat helmet? Couldn't they have thrown in a Match Box Car or a spare tire? Notice that unlike
Gears of War and
Halo 3, two games far more likely to attract the rabid fan, EA thinks they can get away with charging extra for actual game content -- stuff that could easily be included on the regular disc or thrown up on XBLM. Is this a fair deal, or are you starting to get that
Lumines Live content gouge feeling?
Posted Oct 22nd 2006 6:00PM by Ken Weeks
Filed under: News, Xbox Live Arcade
The guys at Xboxic obtained this promising message from Xbox Customer Support:
Thanks for contacting XBOX Customer Support,
Luminous Live is known to have some issues regarding unsatisfactory in it's download. Please wait until Monday to see wether we have any updates regarding this issue. Do not download or purchase anything else that has to be dealt with Luminous Live. Until then, feel free to contact us via telephone for any updates of this issue and what we can offer you.
For any questions regarding this issue, please contact Xbox customer support on http://www.xbox.com/support/contact/
Thanks for time and support,
XBOX customer service team.
This communique raises a series of intriguing questions?:
1. Will Microsoft lower, or otherwise alter, the much-hated pricing structure for
Luminous, or rather
Lumines Live? The unusual step of instructing consumers not to buy an XBLA game indicates that they will.
2. If so, will MS reimburse the unlucky saps who alread shelled out for the "complete" game in its current usurious form?
3. Is grammatical English just too much to ask of a certain percentage of the Xbox Customer Service Team?
Posted Jul 27th 2006 10:00AM by Richard Mitchell
Filed under: News, Console wars
Next Generation more or less shot down yesterday's rumored
price cut for the 360. Basically all they did was reiterate everything we said, only more elaborately and eloquently (we're still flattered though). Michael Pachter of Morgan Securities breaks it down old-school analyst style:
" ... The company plans to sell 10 million Xbox 360 hardware units over the next year, so a price cut in November would likely impact 8 million of these, costing the company $800 million. At a software royalty profit of around $10 per unit, the company would have to sell 80 million incremental software units in order to be in the same place as without a price cut.
" ... Our model has Microsoft selling only around 60 million total units of software this fiscal year, so in order to break even on a price cut, they would have to sell 140 million pieces of software. Remember, we're talking about profitability for FY:07, not over the life of the 360."
That's a lot of software. Next Gen even mentions Peter Moore's comments to Joystiq during E3: "We had a price drop ... when Sony announced their price."
So, don't expect a price drop before next year.
Do expect a software
bundle instead.
[Thanks, Thomas Crymes]
Posted Jul 26th 2006 4:00PM by Richard Mitchell
Filed under: News, Console wars
"Xbox 360 to receive price cut by Christmas," that old
chestnut that refuses to die, has reared its ugly head once again. This time the news comes from Taiwanese manufacturers who claim that Microsoft has negotiated a lower cost for 360 production and will reduce the retail price of 360s by US $100. According to these Taiwanese sources, cheaper components and a more refined production process could reduce overall production costs by 15-20%. Additionally, this would allow Microsoft to bundle the HD-DVD drive while staying under $399.
Of course, Microsoft Taiwan has denied the rumor. And, it should be noted that cheaper production costs do not necessarily lead to cheaper retail prices. Not only that, but with the core system already being a full $200 cheaper than the low end PS3, Microsoft doesn't really
need to lower its price.
Who knows, it might actually be true, but don't hold your breath. The much ballyhooed
PGR and Points
bundle is much more likely.
[Via OpenXBOX360]
Posted Jul 17th 2006 4:00AM by Ken Weeks
Filed under: News, Xbox Live Marketplace
Mike from K1lla's Xbox Domain noticed that Gamestop/EB is selling pre-paid 1600 MS Point cards for the unheard of price $24.99 (Amazon and Best Buy still list them at $19.99). Is Gamestop ripping people off on their own, or is Microsoft testing a new exchange rate?
Posted Jun 26th 2006 10:35PM by Ken Weeks
Filed under: News
If you're still wallowing in self-pity because Microsoft shot down rumors of a 360 price drop, this deal might cheer your cheap ass up. Overstock.com is letting premium systems go for the low, low price of $352.51 after applying a 12% discount for first time customers (At least they were. See below). It looks like you can save another 5% by signing up for their affinity credit card. Now whip out the plastic like a real American and be glad you're not selling a kidney to afford a PS3.
Update: Damn -- It sold out while I was typing this post. Maybe they'll re-overstock. In the mean time, anybody want to buy a kidney?
[Thanks Clayton A.]
Posted Jun 24th 2006 11:15PM by Ken Weeks
Filed under: News
So much for the rumors, not to mention the hopes and dreams of the economically disadvantaged. Xbox PR guy John Porcaro of GamerScoreBlog says "people who know" have told him there will be no price cut for the Xbox 360 this fall. Not one to deliver bad news without dose of cheer, he also takes the opportunity to shamelessly plug the Core System as the poor man's easiest point of entry to the next-gen. John is too nice a guy to mention it, but I think we can blame Sony's $600 wallet buster for ensuring Microsoft feels no need to cut us a deal.
Posted Jun 23rd 2006 4:00AM by Ken Weeks
Filed under: Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, Xbox Live Marketplace
That low, droning whine you hear is the predictable response to the price of
the Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter's Chapter 2 Expansion pack, now available for download on Marketplace. Here's what you get for 1200 MS Points:
- Continuation of the multiplayer Co-op campaign with 4 all-new missions in Chapter 2
- 8 revisited, relit multiplayer Adversarial maps
- 2 all-new game types with 1 new game mode – Team Battle
- 2 new camouflage patterns
- 4 new character customization faces
- 5 new weapons
Holy crap! 1200 MS Points! That's 171.75 Pesos, 576.453 Thai Baht or $15 American Dollars, the most expensive downloadable content we've seen so far. I think your level of acceptance/disgust with Ubisoft's Ghost gouging depends on whether you convince yourself this content is a true expansion pack ( the kind you used to pay $20 or $30 on an old-fashioned disc) or glorified horse armour. Team Xbox's hands-on will help you make up your mind. Of course, some people over at Major Nelson's complaint repository already have. Sample quote:
"
1200 MS Points? Kiss my ass."
How many people will be shelling out for this relatively expensive expansion? Also, can somebody tell me what the PC people are getting for free?
[Thanks Andy]
Posted Jun 12th 2006 12:45AM by Ken Weeks
According their latest Sunday circular (helpfully scanned by Xboxic) electronics retailer FYE is letting aging launch titles
PGR3,
PDZ and
Kameo go for the low, low price of $29.99. The offer doesn't appear to be available on their website, so consider it an old-fashioned brick and mortar sale, complete with fine print (no rainchecks, two per customer). Circuit City will likely match the price if you bring in the ad.
Posted May 22nd 2006 1:30PM by Adams Briscoe
Filed under: News
Not that the current prices are that bad, but seeing the cost of the 360 drop even more could potentially solidify the rest of the market for Microsoft come November.
That's what a lot of people have been saying, at least. But Chris Lewis from Microsoft has said that such a drop won't take place. "
We have no plans to make any price adjustment. ... we have a great value proposition." No argument there. Cheap gamers may have been holding out for a price cut, but anyone who really wanted a 360 would have already invested by now. If you're one of those thrifty people though, you may as well go ahead and bite the bullet because it doesn't look like Microsoft will be offering the console for any cheaper than it already is any time soon.
Posted Mar 19th 2006 7:30PM by Ken Weeks
Filed under: Xbox Live, Console wars
Could Krazy Ken Kutaragi's Playstation Network be "live," "4D" and largely "free" when it comes to online gaming? It looks that way according to this story (No, I'm not trying to turn this site into PS3 fanboy):
.
..regarding the PlayStation Network Platform, [TeamXbox has] learned that the basic service will be free and include online gameplay, at least at launch; only specific titles like MMO games and premium services like online storage will require an additional fee.
Microsoft is telling us not to expect big changes in their strategy no matter what Sony does, but the news that the PS3 may offer "free" online gaming at the base level has to affect people's opinion of Xbox Live. Sony is playing catch up in this area of the business and offering gamers more for less is one way to get our attention (It's certainly better than stupid buzzwords like "4D"). Then again, at a predicted price point well above the Xbox 360's, the PS3 isn't exactly going to be a bargain hunters dream. Maybe this is Sony's way of taking the edge off that Paris Hilton price tag. Or will all the good games end up charging their own fee anyway?
This developement forces me to wonder if MS will eventually offer online gaming with XBL Silver, or just do away with membership levels altogether. Even if Sony is just using this as a short-term gimmick for the PS3 launch, it could lead to more "Free Gold Weekends"for 360 owners, like the promo coming up at the end of March.
Do you think making PSN "4D and free" is a smart move on Sony's part? More importantly, does it require a response from MS? Do you think you are paying a fair price for XBL Gold?
