14 DAY TRIAL // Can Microsoft take the price of the various Xbox 360 versions even lower, after reducing them in September last year? This has been one of the main questions that videogame industry analysts and some gamers have been asking ever since Sony announced that the new PlayStation 3 Slim hardware would be delivered starting with September 1 featuring a price tag of 299 dollars.
And the answer from Microsoft is, if a new set of ads from Target is to be believed, “yes,” as the Xbox 360 Pro will be retailing, probably starting with September, for 250 dollars, while the high-end Xbox 360 Elite will be sold for 300 dollars.
The Target material, which was uncovered by tech-oriented blog Engaget, is set to be offered in stores starting this Sunday and the implication is that the price cut will be kicking in one week later.
Previous rumors were centered on the possibility of the Redmond-based company killing the Pro version of its home console altogether, but for now it seems to be alive and well. There are also some rumors, unsubstantiated, that the reduced price Xbox 360 Elite version will require gamers to buy separately some of the elements it came pre-packed with, like HDMI output cables.
With both Sony consoles and Microsoft devices getting a reduced price, the pressure is now on Nintendo to make a move. After all, the numbers offered by the NPD Group for July have shown the Nintendo Wii, which still topped the hardware chart, having the worse performance for one month in the lifetime of the gadget.
Nintendo might want to hold off on the reduction in price for some time, see how the two rival consoles do in September and then maybe reduce the price of the Wii so that it can again perform in spectacular fashion in time for the holidays.