Well, Microsoft’s worst-kept secret was finally officially confirmed last night. Starting tomorrow, August 8, all Xbox 360 consoles will drop by $50, with the exception of the Core unit.
Xbox 360 Elite is now $449.99.
Xbox 360 System is now $349.99 .
Xbox 360 Core is now $279.00.
Also included in the announcement is that the Halo 3 Special Edition Console will be available for $399 coming this September.
There are a metric ton of incredible looking games coming to the 360 before Christmas, like Guitar Hero 3, Rock Band, Halo 3, BioShock, PGR4, and my most anticipated, Mass Effect. If you’ve been holding out to buy one, now’s the time.
Now, why this wasn’t announced that the biggest gaming convention in the world last month, I’ll never understand. But it puts the most expensive 360 $50 cheaper than the cheapest PS3, and $150 below the most expensive PS3.
Don’t believe me? Here’s a press release.
“But it puts the most expensive 360 $50 cheaper than the cheapest PS3, and $150 below the most expensive PS3.”
And $350 above the value of the PS3. No big hard drive (20gb still?), craptastic quality, no next gen video, no HD video. I mean, why is this thing still $350? I am pissed because it could do so much better if it either was as cheap as the wii (the core model) or more options were integrated (other than a new coat of Halo that is).
@daschupa
Are you referring to the Premium console?
You can connect via Component or VGA for HD connection (HDMI on Elite). The 360 can even output 1080p “Full HD”, even though you couldn’t tell the difference between this and 720p without a giant compatible HDTV. If you want HD movies you can get the HD-DVD add-on and since the Elite has been released you can now buy a 120gb HDD to store downloaded video.
The 360′s appeal (to me at least) is it’s modular nature that allows you to spread the cost and upgrade your system as you like.
Add to this a better online system and more A class games coming out in the next few months, I would say 360 is still ahead of PS3 a little. I’ll probably get a PS3 at some point in the future but at the moment it’s not worth it just for Blu-ray and a handful of good games.