@implosion Hm that only makes sense if people who will buy software at $99 suddenly won't if it's $49.
That aside, MS's end goal is for people to use the 360 as a media box in lieu of a cable/satellite box from Comcast, Verizon, etc. They went crazy at E3 pushing TV content (ESPN, Nickelodeon, Hulu Plus, etc) on the 360. The reality is that core and casual gamers for 360 are pretty tapped out. System's been out 7 years and the Xbox 720 is nowhere in sight. They want to find a new audience for 360.
I think it has to be a low enough startup price that it's an impulse purchase. I think $49 sends a stronger message than $99, then just make the subscription $2-3 higher. Getting more subscribers let's them persuade more content providers to put their TV shows, movies, music, etc on XBL.
A lot of the younger generation has opted for Netflix, Hulu, MLB TV, NHL TV, Amazon Instant instead of subscribing to cable/satellite. MS is trying to capitalize on this buy making the 360 the system to own for streaming this content, along with providing a game system with Kinect with a large library of games.
To directly go back to your response again, this isn't about game developers. Obviously they hope they buy games, particularly on XBL Marketplace. But video games are only part of what MS is trying to accomplish.
I think MS should have been more aggressive with the upfront fee, instead of $99, instead $49. Then charged an extra $2-3 a month for the 2 year XBL period.
Or, $0 (in tiny print: "After $99 rebate after 1 year of XBL paid").
Main point is that I don't know if $99 for a 360 causes enough heads to turn, even if it's with Kinect.
Additionally there are now numerous other trade shows that are more focused. GDC for a forum for developers/publishers to share ideas. PAX is for gamers.
E3's just in limbo. The last time they tried to scale back everyone cried foul and left. Yet it's gotten too big and expensive without the payoff for publishers.
Typical Nintendo laziness. The GBC/GBA versions had the RPG side game that made them so much more interesting. Seems like Nintendo had this one in the can for a while.
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