$399 360 Elite confirmed?

  • By thorsen-ink, GameSpot
  • Posted Aug 20, 2008 6:19 pm PT

Source: See below. What we heard: At the beginning of August, Ars Technica's Opposable Thumbs blog predicted that Microsoft would be slashing the price of its three Xbox 360 models. According to the site's mole--which accurately predicted the launch of the 60GB 360--the 120GB Elite would slip...

Source: See below.

What we heard: At the beginning of August, Ars Technica's Opposable Thumbs blog predicted that Microsoft would be slashing the price of its three Xbox 360 models. According to the site's mole--which accurately predicted the launch of the 60GB 360--the 120GB Elite would slip $50 to $399, the now-60GB Pro would fall $50 to $299, and the hard drive-less Arcade would slip $80 to $199. The last reduction would have the potential to upend the console race, as it would make the powerful 360 $50 cheaper than the best-selling $249 Nintendo Wii.

Today, game-blog Joystiq appears to have uncovered confirmation for one-third of the price-cut theory. This evening, the site posted what it claims is a scan of a forthcoming promotional flyer for RadioShack, which began selling games late last year. According to the flyer, the Elite will cost just $399 as of Sunday, September 7, a week after Labor Day.

Why would Microsoft so drastically discount its console? For the simple reason that, to keep the 360 competitive, it has no other choice. Since the release of the exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4, the PlayStation 3 has been on a roll. According to NPD figures released last week, the once-dominant 360 was outsold by the PS3 224,900 to 204,800 respectively. While both consoles lagged far behind the Wii, which sold 555,000 units during the month, the PS3's Blu-ray capabilities give it an edge in the long run, both in terms of high-def video playback and game-media storage. At QuakeCon last month, id Software's John Carmack announced the forthcoming action game Rage would have inferior graphics on the 360 due to the limited size of its DVD format.

The official story: Microsoft reps had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.

Bogus or not bogus?: Likely not bogus. While not proof positive, the flyer looks authentic. And didn't a RadioShack flyer predict the 20GB price drop to $299 earlier this summer?

371 Comments

  • mvp0069

    Posted Sep 11, 2008 9:31 am PT

    same price same problem with the 3 red lights xbox is always going to have that problem thats why is not worth buying a xbox Get a Ps3 better

  • metalhead364

    Posted Sep 6, 2008 7:16 pm PT

    go to walmart.com, gamestop.com,bestbuy.com,target.com or any other store site that sells 360's

  • metalhead364

    Posted Sep 6, 2008 7:15 pm PT

    IT IS SERIOUSLY CONFIRMED THAT ALL 360 CONSOLES HAVE DROPPED THEIR PRICES............ elite-400.00 60gb-300.00 20gb-260.00 arcade-200.00

  • Kenji_Masamune

    Posted Sep 3, 2008 2:34 pm PT

    the thing about rage is that because M$ has some weird 'disc fee' (as carmack stated) they were going to dumb down the game to fit onto a single disc. PC's don't have to worry about this problem because it's not a problem. M$ probably needed a means to make up for all the money they keep throwing out (exclusive content on GTA, bankrolled NG2, funded mystwalker studios.. and countless other dirty knee favorss) Besides, PC>>>360 any day.

  • snipsuper

    Posted Sep 2, 2008 9:16 pm PT

    i would have to agree with Merc1319 becuase of compression, PC will always have the best graphics no matter what due to the possible hardware, also if i remind you of crysis that game was on a DVD and it looks spetacatlur comepared to any game out on the market, on the other had the Xbox 360 is not a PC and it doesnt install a large amount data on the Hardrive so then again its possible that the Xbox could have inferior graphics... but then again what the fuzzy is rage i dont think i buy it, its all about gears of war, Fable 2, resistance 2, Saints row 2, and other games with a 2 i dont care. rage is some minor game

  • Merc1319

    Posted Sep 2, 2008 1:29 am PT

    wouldnt that make it inferior on the PC as well, seeing as computers all use DVD ROMs as well?? plus no one really cares about rage =P

  • kaztiyo

    Posted Sep 1, 2008 5:58 pm PT

    "John Carmack announced the forthcoming action game Rage would have inferior graphics on the 360 due to the limited size of its DVD format."

    HAHAHAHAHA eat that!!! 360 fanboys!!!!

  • CommandZer01

    Posted Aug 31, 2008 9:13 am PT

    hopefully it is dropping it because I think that would be a great move by microsoft since everyone and their mother has a 360 already

  • Tyrant156

    Posted Aug 31, 2008 12:23 am PT

    I know that a video game consoles main purpose is to play videogames but why do some of the people here complain when they want to add more to a system. Yeah Sony included blu-ray into the PS3 to gain control of the leading HD format, but the storage space is also used to develope games, so why not have both options in the system. The PS2, X-Box and the 360 all used DVD9s for their games. Do you really need your videogame consoles to play DVD movies? No, but i'll glady take it, along with anything else they want to add. It beats hooking up 4 different devices to one TV when you can have them all in one. I don't own a 360 but I know its capable of most of the things I use my PS3 for. Which include gaming (of course), music, movies, streaming, video chat, and surfing the web. In this day and age a videogame system that just plays videogames, would be like a cell phone that only made phone calls.

  • Kruegmeister

    Posted Aug 29, 2008 2:25 pm PT

    REMDOG34 & drjdh if you "Really" own all 3 systems.
    What is your PSN ID. What is your Wii ID.

    How come your Collection, Wish List, Tracked, Now Playing only has
    Gameboy Advance & XBox360??? drjdh only has XBox & XBox360

    Don't lie just to get your Fanboy Point across.

  • Kruegmeister

    Posted Aug 29, 2008 2:19 pm PT

    Is this with the New 65nm Motherboard, CPU & GPU???
    If not then it is $399 for a New Problem.

  • metalhead364

    Posted Aug 29, 2008 1:17 pm PT

    is the 60 gb xbox 360 going to be $299.00????????????

  • KaoaAlakane

    Posted Aug 29, 2008 10:13 am PT

    im gonna get the cheaper elite.

  • JehovaWrinkles

    Posted Aug 28, 2008 8:56 am PT

    Im not going to waste my money on the elite. I love my normal xbox 360. I love xbox LIVE

  • eddy_purpus

    Posted Aug 27, 2008 1:52 pm PT

    im gonnna get my elite console.
    NOW ! :p

  • mstarr4117

    Posted Aug 27, 2008 7:56 am PT

    I have a Target flyer beginning September 7 confirming the price drops on all 3 versions of the 360 to $199, $299, and $399.

  • drjdh

    Posted Aug 26, 2008 8:23 pm PT

    have all 3 consoles...99% of gaming played on 360. Wii gets 1% and thats only for my 8 yr daughter that has to play it when I'm playing my 360 when I'm home ('cause I paid for the Wii). 0% of games are for my PS3. It's ONLY an Blu-ray player, period. Pro-Sony or Pro 360, its simple...MS has locked in everything but the Blu-ray. All my friends 'play games' that are on all 3 consoles on the 360. Take it or leave it...most games = most play.

  • blackace

    Posted Aug 26, 2008 4:57 pm PT

    Darklaer

    Before Etlites were selling at round the $500-$600 mark.LOL
    ********************************************
    It started at $499, then dropped to $479.99 and now it will be $399.99 come Sept 7th. I probably won't get my Elite until the end of the year. By then, the new Jasper GPU should be in the new XBox 360 Elites.

  • The_Weekend

    Posted Aug 26, 2008 10:26 am PT

    i'm guessing it might take awhile before asia sees this price cut too. I'll stick with waiting till decemeber then i'll buy.

  • REMDOG34

    Posted Aug 26, 2008 5:21 am PT

    I own all the new consoles and I play xbox twice as much as the ps3 it has better games. and even for the multi platform games I still like them for 360 because the controller is so much better

  • townsenda1

    Posted Aug 24, 2008 4:11 pm PT

    The price cut is a big step in the right direction for the Xbox 360. I feel that if the Xbox really wants to get at the PS3 then Blu-ray capabilities will be necessary. It doesn't seem like it should be too hard since it had the HD-DVD port earlier. Let's go Xbox get in the fight.

  • BenBenBen93

    Posted Aug 24, 2008 1:53 pm PT

    also why get any other platform now that the prices are so low and again also like to mention ooo blu ray can hold 50 GB all. I can tell you is that there is no game buy able at all what is that size and cannot imagine for the life time of the 8th gen consoles The Biggest game ive seen is Medieval 2 Total war which is 11 GBs small enough for the HD xbox 360 format disks

  • BenBenBen93

    Posted Aug 24, 2008 1:43 pm PT

    Well is the Blu-ray PS 3 exclusive or can we take that to like the stuff w've already taken from PS Mayhap Final fantasy must admit though its more like Microsoft exclusive

  • javier_manson

    Posted Aug 24, 2008 9:30 am PT

    OMG I just bought a 20GB X360 last week, I really wanted it because in my oppinion is the best console all around, but now i feel that I had waited for a little while maybe I could save some money, but what the hell! I'm happy whit my XBOX and since i'm in Latin America maybe the price cut will take effect a long time after.

  • marginalvalue

    Posted Aug 23, 2008 8:18 pm PT

    kravyn81 carmack has never said the 360's graphics where inferior, in fact he said the exact opposite. gamespot is misquoting him i have heard the interview he stated the 360 had a superior GPU and could do better anti-aliasing. the ps3 uses the old gt7800 tech for its gpu which i hate to tell you is old and out of date for a gpu. oh by the way i have the ps3 too and 360 is simply a better gaming unit. i have no loyalties i had a ps and a ps2 and loved them, this time however ms is simply better with their 360 straight and simple.

  • Kravyn81

    Posted Aug 23, 2008 5:17 pm PT

    mddg_mmcc wrote:
    Kravyn81: Careful. The article linked above also went on to say...

    "However, Carmack shut down many Sony loyalists' blooming braggadocio by saying that while the Blu-ray disc is clearly his preferred medium, the 360 is a superior piece of hardware for developers."

    But I also find it funny to see people complaining that GameSpot is biased towards Sony, when Sony fanboys have been saying GameSpot is biased towards Microsoft for so long now.


    Whether GS is biased or not I don't really care. I just love some of the ignorant people on here that get all hot and bothered when you pick on their system. It's great entertainment to watch all these zealots get perturbed over such a ridiculous issue

    And about what the dude said, his statement is very vague: "...the 360 is a superior piece of hardware for developers." There's no context as to HOW it is superior to the PS3, see what I'm saying? Does he mean its architecture is better for devs. to make games, etc.? Because he already said the graphics would be inferior so I'm sure he didn't contradict himself and make his statement concerning the 360's GPU capabilities.

    I don't really care. I own both a 360 and PS3, but like I said it's fun to pester the real idiots on here Peace!

  • jeffokiecorry2

    Posted Aug 23, 2008 5:02 pm PT

    Oh. I miss the thumbs up or down icon...
    Besides that, I love my 360. I am a late adopter. I got it for Lost Odyssey, as soon as I saw all the RPGs coming, I was convinced. Lower price AND rpgs might convince some of us who have been hanging on to PS2 to make the jump. Oh...I also own a Wii...but...it's not used very much...if it had a lower price, it would still need good games...er...more good games, it does have a few. A FEW.

  • Sanguis_Malus

    Posted Aug 23, 2008 12:11 pm PT

    360's been around for while now & its given us some amazing games.
    I have all 3 of these gen consoles & my 360 gets the most use by a huge amount.
    A price slash is good news for people on lower budgets such as parents at Christmas etc.

  • Darklaer

    Posted Aug 22, 2008 9:17 pm PT

    Before Etlites were selling at round the $500-$600 mark.LOL

  • GodLike500

    Posted Aug 22, 2008 6:13 pm PT

    Of course the PS3 console is outselling the 360, it's the cheapest Blu Ray Player on the market. I know 4 people who own PS3's, and no games. Since all console makers sell consoles at a loss (Like I said, cheapest Blue Ray on the market) with the assumption that they'll make more than their money back on selling games. With my addition, that's at least 4 consoles Sony lost money on. More proof, all multi-platform games are selling better on the 360 than PS3.

  • Generaldoom77

    Posted Aug 22, 2008 5:28 pm PT

    Sometimes reading this banter just makes you smile. People complain that they pay for xbox live,(50$ a year) but go buy a new game every month? Some poor person has gone through 7 xbox360s??? No offense.. that is your fault. Like a bad relationship with a women.. know when to give up. I dont own a PS3 but i have 4 friends that do.. and all of them just gather dust. We all play the 360... not cause the system is better.. cause its cheaper and has a better online exp and there are more games. This is pure and simple, who wins the war.... who has the game YOU want at the cheapest price. We see with the exclusive title going the way of the dinosaur. If your using your PS3 for a full home movie/game/music/whatever, i suppose the PS3 is better. I am smart enough to know not to use a device like a Ps3 or 360 for all of entertaiment needs. Just this last month my 360 got the RROD. It took 16 days to ship it.. fix it... and return it. I was impressed.. so much i did the stupid survey and mailed it back to them. We can all rant about who is better and bigger and badder in the system war, but you miss the point. Its always going to come back to the game.

  • BorkaBonum

    Posted Aug 22, 2008 3:47 pm PT

    Will these cheaper units might be intended to be built with the ordered 45nm processors? That could make up with some of the dropped pricing to the production expense. The new HDMI-models of the Xbox 360 carrying the 65nm core archentecture and extended heatsink runs extremely much cooler than the previous (/first) generation of Xbox 360s - we're playing with four units around here, two are true veterans and two are 4-10 months old and the difference in temperature of the unit and exhaust air is tremendous. If this drop will also occur in Europe I'll certainly get an extra Arcade Xbox just to toy- and mod with. As I hope Microsoft has learned how important the European market is - around here the PlayStation 3 is constantly selling more units, even under a +80% price-tag over the Xbox 360 Premium (20GB). With lower prices the Xbox 360 could get a totally new era on this part of the global market.

  • BorkaBonum

    Posted Aug 22, 2008 3:47 pm PT

    Will these cheaper units might be intended to be built with the ordered 45nm processors? That could make up with some of the dropped pricing to the production expense. The new HDMI-models of the Xbox 360 carrying the 65nm core archentecture and extended heatsink runs extremely much cooler than the previous (/first) generation of Xbox 360s - we're playing with four units around here, two are true veterans and two are 4-10 months old and the difference in temperature of the unit and exhaust air is tremendous. If this drop will also occur in Europe I'll certainly get an extra Arcade Xbox just to toy- and mod with. As I hope Microsoft has learned how important the European market is - around here the PlayStation 3 is constantly selling more units, even under a +80% price-tag over the Xbox 360 Premium (20GB). With lower prices the Xbox 360 could get a totally new era on this part of the global market.

  • Adam_the_Nerd

    Posted Aug 22, 2008 3:45 pm PT

    Question if this was to happen: I want to replace my existing 360 by trading in... how do I save my save files/DLC/etc? Hmmm

  • sevenrains

    Posted Aug 22, 2008 1:04 pm PT

    Wow this is cool. Ive been wanting an elite for a while now. And who cares about fanboys. The only reason why I like 360 is because it has the games I want to play, nothing more.

  • blackace

    Posted Aug 22, 2008 12:04 pm PT

    DrKill09
    (face palm) Microsoft, yet again, LOWERING THE PRICE DOES NOT FIX THE HARDWARE PROBLEMS!!!!! Please, PLEASE, FIX the problems. Putting a band aid on a broken leg does not fix the problem. Jeez...
    *********************************************

    Dude, do some research. Microsoft has already made efforts to fix the RROD problem. They had a heat-sink copper cool and changed the layout of the system so the fans are more efficient and keeps the GPU and CPU cooler. They also changed the CPU chip to one that doesn't get as hot. The GPU will be changed to the Jasper in Sept and the RROD should be a thing of the past after that. You fanboys keep saying "Fix the problem. Fix the problem" and the problem has already been mostly fixed for months. It's only the older 360's that are still RROD for the most part. ================================================

    @MSG-Deathscythe

    i didn't realize paperweight are costing this much these days. dang the high price of gas.
    **********************************************
    The PS3 is the biggest paperweight of them all. It weighs the most out of the 3 next-gen systems and for the 1st year of release, didn't have any worthwhile games to play except Resistance: FoM. It also costed more then all the other systems as well.

  • necronaux

    Posted Aug 22, 2008 10:57 am PT

    4 bills for an Elite is great, you know what you're getting, and not. Some feel the blu-ray issue is still at hand. If your concerned, without it, the size of the games will always be limited, you know it, so buy it or not. IF MS does eventually come up with a BluRay external drive, the additional cost will be high, and watching movies is one thing, but how playing and downloading games is yet to be determined?

  • mddg_mmcc

    Posted Aug 22, 2008 10:06 am PT

    Kravyn81: Careful. The article linked above also went on to say...

    "However, Carmack shut down many Sony loyalists' blooming braggadocio by saying that while the Blu-ray disc is clearly his preferred medium, the 360 is a superior piece of hardware for developers."

    But I also find it funny to see people complaining that GameSpot is biased towards Sony, when Sony fanboys have been saying GameSpot is biased towards Microsoft for so long now.

    Not everyone is interested in this console war... Some fly their country's flag, others fly under a corporate logo. Different strokes, I guess.

  • Ozzie234

    Posted Aug 22, 2008 9:26 am PT

    "wow false reporting of distorted facts. i listened to the carmack interview NEVER did he say the 360 games graphics would be worse. why this misrepresntation of facts gamespot? do you have ps3 fanboys on staff? in fact carmack said the ps3 had inferior graphics do to a graphics processer that wasnt as good as the 360. He also said the 360 had better memory management and it was unlikely the cell processer would ever show any real processing power advantage compared to the 360. How bout we drop the spin and the warp on the facts and say what carmack really did say in the interview? If you want to post biased articles the least you could do is call yourselves a ps3 fansite!"

    This is the TRUTH. Get the ps3 fanboys off staff please!!

  • ShadowSlayer45

    Posted Aug 22, 2008 8:59 am PT

    The 360's biggest drawback is the DVD format. Game designers are simply running out of space on the 360, while they still have plenty of room to work with on Blu-ray.

  • marginalvalue

    Posted Aug 22, 2008 8:49 am PT

    that one statement about carmack is such a flagrent falsehood and fabrication to undermine 360 sales that it must be construed as a deliberate attempt to mislead and erode the public trust in the MS brand by gamespot. it is therefore a huge breach in the public trust of this publication and possibly illegal. i will contact the MS legal dept... at the very least ms shouldnt pay this site for advertisements after this. This is reprehensible for a gaming news website.

  • Blank2k2

    Posted Aug 22, 2008 8:12 am PT

    Hope this is true as i just bought my first house this morning (woohoo!) and im planning on purchasing a new xbox (elite, bigger hdd in advance for this installable game update) new tv etc in preperation ... saving £50 would be nice.

  • combatsoldier

    Posted Aug 22, 2008 7:00 am PT

    hhmmm well this is very interesting indeed. I have an xbox 360 already since it first came out. My only thing is that this is totally great for new consumers but what about us that still need to upgrade our hard drives. That is where I want to see the price drop.

  • djdna514

    Posted Aug 22, 2008 6:22 am PT

    Not surprising at all. I work for an electronics retailer and knew about the 20gig price drop way before the news hit this website. And I have heard the same about the elite for nearly 2 weeks.

  • Rickhavoc2

    Posted Aug 22, 2008 6:03 am PT

    If they just sold them all for below 200 then they would easily out sell everyone but their too scared incase they can't make a steady intake of profit before each price drop

  • barrygd2

    Posted Aug 22, 2008 2:10 am PT

    ...i might buy an elite aand mod my old xbox 360

  • MSG-Deathscythe

    Posted Aug 22, 2008 2:02 am PT

    i didn't realize paperweight are costing this much these days. dang the high price of gas.

  • germansen

    Posted Aug 22, 2008 1:52 am PT

    John Carmack announced the forthcoming action game Rage would have inferior graphics on the 360 due to the limited size of its DVD format. WRONG - he only stated that if MS wouldn't change their pricing for the number of disc's in one game - Carmack will of course be able to put more disc's in the game.... GS get your info straight.

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