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General discussion

Xbox 360 pricedrop?

May 22, 2007 6:11AM PDT

Does anyone think that there is going to be a price drop for the xbox 360 anytime soon? By soon I mean by the end of the summer or by the end of this year. I want to buy one and I don't know if I should wait or not.

Also, do you think that it is safe to buy a refurbished one?

Discussion is locked

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Hard to say
May 22, 2007 6:51AM PDT

It's unlikely that Microsoft would announce any such price drops more than a few days in advance. Otherwise, you can just watch sales figures plummet between the time of the announcement and the price drop becoming effective.

If they were going to drop the price, I would expect it to happen around the Thanksgiving time period. It also depends on if Sony drops the price on the PS3. That would put pressure on Microsoft to lower the price of the Xbox 360, since the 360 Elite might end up being more expensive than the PS3.

If Sony lowers the price of the PS3, I would expect Microsoft to respond in kind in very short order. Otherwise, I wouldn't really hold out a lot of hope. So long as sales are fairly strong at the higher price point, there's little incentive for Microsoft to lower the price.

Since they sell the consoles at a loss, hoping to make it up on software (games), price drops really depend on something in the manufacturing process getting cheaper. Or they could raise the price of games and Xbox Live subscriptions to finance it, though I doubt that would go over well.

Best course of action is to proceed as if there's not going to be a price drop for a good while.

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aye
May 22, 2007 7:40AM PDT

Microsoft wants to keep making as much as possible per console until Sony decides to drop the price of the PS3 and probably within a week of that happening the 360 will drop in price to keep the Elite cheaper by at least $100 of the PS3.

If you are wanting to get a 360 because of Halo 3 coming out in Sept. then perhaps wait till closer to Sept. because there most likely will be deals.

And don't buy a refurbished 360. I've had two 360s break down on me in about 17 months of being an owner and that is pretty bad...but the games make up for it. Just make sure you get an extended warranty with either the store you buy it from or MS themselves.

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Addendum
May 22, 2007 8:26AM PDT

Seems I neglected the refurb issue.

All in all, it seems Microsoft has some manufacturing issues with the Xbox 360, which causes bad batches to be made from time to time. There's a amusing, in a sad sort of way, about some guy who's had no less than 7 new Xbox 360 units fail on him. The tally might be higher by now, or maybe he finally got a "good" one.

Refurb units are, by law in the States at least, every bit as good as their "new" counterparts. All the refurbished means, is that the unit was returned due to some fixable defect. Whatever the defect was, it was corrected, and the unit is now exactly on par with it's "new" counterparts. It just can't be sold as new legally (or believe me, it would happen everywhere), so it tends to mean they can't sell it for the full price either.

Refurb units are a great way to save some money... Just be sure to get an extended warranty as was suggested. Most authorized resellers will be happy to sell you such, even on refurb units. Just be sure to buy ONLY from an authorized reseller if you buy a refurb. There's no telling what will show up at your door if you buy a refurb unit off some guy on ebay for example, or some fly by night website.