August 12th ads, Xbox 360 $50 cut.

[davidj]

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/archives/walmart-toys-r-us-ads-confirm-50-xbox-360-price-cut.php

Once Resident Evil 5 comes out I'll be getting one of these bad boys (unless RE5 runs better on PS3). Rockstar is apparently saying that to get the full GTA4 experience you'll need the 360 version. :blink:

Unless the PS3 really delivers some super mega hits it's going to be difficult to justify buying one! GT5 is looking pretty good but I'm just not a fan of simulations; I get that every day when I drive my car down the road. :snore:

[davidj]

More, Circuit City:
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/31/circuit-city-flyer-shows-xbox-360-price-drop-on-all-systems/

Elite drops $30
Premium drops $50
Core drops $20

[wax]

Consumer Depot close to 100 oaks mall had Xbox 360 Premiums for $270 (open box, not new systems). The guys said they sold about 100 a week.

My friend bought one last week. Everything worked good except for the headset, the speaker was cutting in and out. You have to talk to the guys behind the counter, they dont have the xbox's sitting out in the open.

[Whatawookie]

What warranty do you get with those, though?

[davidj]

Tempting but I've put my wallet on voluntary lockdown. :(

[wax]

What warranty do you get with those, though?

14 day with them, not 100% sure on the Microsoft warranty.

[SureShot]

i wouldn't buy a 360 without an extended warranty... mine is starting to not read disks randomly and my friends' cousin had one burn up after 1 year... time to make use of that extended warranty :D

[BenS]

I'm speculating that MS is doing this to liquidate the current revision before the 65nm Reliable Edition™ comes out this fall.

[davidj]

Supposedly the latest revision of the Elite has another heatsink inside.

[BenS]

Supposedly the latest revision of the Elite has another heatsink inside.

yeah they put a heatpipe on the GPU heatsink and ran it towards the front of the case.

[majikTib]

http://www.trustedreviews.com/gaming/news/2007/08/09/Xbox-360-Premium-Also-Getting-HDMI/p1

Xbox 360 Premium Also Getting HDMI

Photographs of the console in question shave appeared on tech site Shacknews and were submitted by a community member who thought he was buying a bog-standard console. The US 360 Premiums are currently retailing at $349.99, a price which came into effect yesterday inspiring the purchase.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/images/article/inline/5167-xboxpremiumhdmi.jpg

After contacting Microsoft in the States, Shacknews had it confirmed to them that the inclusion of an HDMI port on the Premium consoles was due to popular demand and was being offered “simply as another choice in Xbox 360 owners’ entertainment choice.”

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http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/005120.html

Ah, the golden rule of technology: Given time, all gadgets get better features, at a cheaper price. Xbox 360 is the latest product to reflect this golden rule: Today Microsoft not only dropped the price on its Xbox Premium, from $400 to $350, but it also began rolling out a quiet refresh of the Xbox 360 Premium's hardware. The new hardware adds an HDMI port, previously only available on the Xbox 360 Elite (http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,131416/article.html). HDMI delivers better image quality for high-definition video (at up to 1080p resolution) than can component video (limited to 1080i output on the non-HDMI Xbox 360) or VGA (at 1080p).

This is a huge boon to new Xbox buyers who want a low(er)-cost, high-def capable console gaming system. At $350 with HDMI, the 20GB Xbox Premium now undercuts Sony's 60GB PlayStation 3 (http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,127868-page,1/article.html) by $50. (If you want to play high-definition movies, though, Xbox is still more expensive: to that $350 entry price, you also have to add $180 for the Xbox HD DVD Player; by contrast, Sony's PS3 already includes a Blu-ray Disc drive.)

The price shift and inclusion of HDMI is a smart decision to position Xbox vs. archrival PlayStation 3; however, these changes make me question where the Xbox 360 Elite fits now. One of the great advantages of the Elite had been its inclusion of HDMI. Now, at $480, the Xbox 360 Elite now stands on a pricier hill than the 360 Premium--and its primary benefit is that it offers six times the hard drive space for packing away Xbox Live marketplace stuff. And a black chassis. In my book, that's not enough distinction to justify $130 bucks extra