You may not know this, but a lot of gamers are cheap. So I boldly predict, in a way only a blogger can, that the Xbox 360 is going to be CHEAP.
That’s the only way to explain these wild claims coming out of Microsoft these days. Ten million units in 12-16 months? A billion worldwide gamers? This is either the mutterings of a clinically insane person (or people) or they have something up there sleeves. Those are lofty numbers. I can think of two ways Microsoft might accomplish these insanely lofty goals.
One – Microsoft is going to start giving the Xbox360 away. Does that sound crazy? They already started doing just that in Japan. While this certainly isn’t the most plausible, I wouldn’t complain. Microsoft has piles of cash, right? They sleep on pillows stuffed with hundred dollar bills, don’t they? They would make up for the loses with the volume of game sales, right?
Two – The Xbox 360 is going to be insanely cheap. They’ve built up a tremendous amount of buzz, they’re planning on a big line-up of launch games, and there’s the promise of an insanely cool Halo 3. So in order to hit the ten million mark in a year (it took four years to hit 20 million Xbox’s), the Xbox 360 has to be CHEAP. How cheap? My guesstimate is that it’s gonna debut at around 200 dollars and then drop to around 150 dollars when the PS3 drops. It could happen!
Both cases sound like financial suicide, but I wouldn’t be surprised if something like this happens. Microsoft is committed to lose as much money as it takes to become #1. They’ve done goofier things. I myself don’t plan on picking up an Xbox 360 until it drops below the 300 dollar price tag, so I hope my prediction comes true.
Finster says
My first reaction to your prediction was, “No way.” But after thinking about it, it makes sense.
Especially when you think about Xbox LIve.
Every single Xbox 360 is going to come with Xbox Live Silver. This network doesn’t allow multiplayer matchmaking, but supports many other features of Xbox Live like Voice chat, Friends List, downloadable content. I can see Microsoft selling the console for $200 and then trying to upsell everyone on Xbox Live Gold for $50 a year. The potential earnings would far outstrip the $100 or so hit they would take per console.
It could happen… And it would mean my wife would let me get one a LOT sooner, bwahahaha
A. Jacobson says
Analysts are putting the launch price at $350, but who knows? Microsoft’s plans for world domination could certainly involve another high-stakes pricing gamble. I wouldn’t be completely surprised to see a release in the $250 range.
Bobster says
I remember reading somewhere that early on in American history cars were given away for free by the oil/gas companies. They were looking to make a fortune (and some did) in their commodities. I am not sure this would work with X-Box but it might. Maybe they will be free! Sweeeeeeet! I’ll take 500 of them!
tapunan says
Yup – it might be possible. They could sell the XBox 360 at breakeven or at a slight loss and then make it up on the sale of Halo 3 and other games. Imagine if they manage their 20 million target – they could probably sell more than 5 million copies of Halo 3. Then they could create some pay-per-month games for the XBox live.
Plus – high-tech=expensive prices is not really true. Just look around – the moment a new model of a gadget comes out – the prices of the older ones freefall… just look at PS2 – the moment XBox dropped their prices – Sony dropped the prices of PS2 even lower.
For me – I’m gonna wait for PS3 to come out before deciding which console to buy coz this is when the price war will start.