If proven to be accurate, the Arcade model will drop to $199.99 USD, the Pro model will drop to $299.99 and the 120GB Elite model will drop to $399.99, the same price as the 40GB (and now 80GB) PlayStation 3 models that do not include backwards compatibility.
For years Microsoft has said that $200 is the "sweet spot" for console sales and price cuts on their console have proven to boost sales every time. After dropping their price to 199 euro in Europe in February sales doubled year-on-year for the six months following the drop.
The new price drop would make the cheapest 360 console $50 cheaper than the Nintendo Wii which has long had the lowest price point of the new generation of consoles. The move would also push the PS3 back to being the most expensive console relatively, despite its extra features, most notably Blu-ray playback right out of the box.
Also interesting to note is that the price drop should coincide with the launch of the "Jasper" chipset which is said to reduce manufacturing costs greatly for Microsoft. Large price cut and still be profitable? It could be possible.
Original picture from VGC
Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 3 Aug 2008 16:12
