NEWS - Monday, June 26, 2006
Xbox 360 Price Cut Rumors Quashed Again
Mark Porcaro, group manager of PR and communications for Microsoft Games Global Marketing, wrote on Gamerscoreblog, "The official word from folks in the know is that there are currently no plans [Porcaro’s emphasis] for a price drop this fall." In a true display of self-described "marketing speak," he added, "Just think… this holiday as some people go broke because they’re forced to buy movie technology with their game console, you’ll be choosing from a 160 games, including Gears of War, Madden 07, Splinter Cell, Forza 2, and lots more. Oh and later on? How about Mass Effect, Halo 3, and Grand Theft Auto for starters." The Xbox 360 price drop rumor just doesn’t seem to die, and Porcaro’s post is the latest effort in quashing the whispers. As recently as late May, Microsoft had discounted the rumors, saying that "[There are] no plans to make any price adjustment. Xbox 360 is a great value proposition." Xbox head Peter Moore told Joystiq and Endgadget earlier that month, "We had a price drop ... when Sony announced their price." Console manufacturers do their best to keep price drops secret until they actually take effect, as any premature announcements kill hardware sales during the period leading up to the price drop. While a fall price drop for the Xbox 360 is highly unlikely, flip-flops on price drop denials aren’t unprecedented. In March, Sony claimed that the price of the PS2 wouldn’t drop in the foreseeable future, only to drop the price by $20 just weeks later. Of course, the situation is different with the Xbox 360, a next generation piece of hardware of which Microsoft is eating a good portion of the cost.Source: http://www.next-gen.biz/
