It all started with a mysterious listing on GameStop's official website. Like many sites and retail stores notorious for their mis-listings, GameStop has their share of faulty game and price points. Errors can range from the price of a game or the release date of a console. Most recently, GameStop posted an inexplicable listing for what appeared to be an Xbox 360 Arcade bundle for $99.
Now, the price tag of $99 seemed ridiculous at the time, but is the possibility of a price-cut really so ludicrous?
When Nintendo dropped the price of the Wii from the previous $250 down to $200, their overall sales – for both hardware and software – spiked a huge amount. The same thing happened with Sony when they cut the PlayStation 3 down to $300 – their sales quickly improved, to the point where the PS3 could be considered much stronger competition in the gaming world.
An Xbox 360 price-cut to $99? Unlikely. An Xbox 360 price-cut to $149.99? Definitely could happen. Microsoft is on a win-streak from February, and with recent Sony and Nintendo shortages, a price cut of $50 makes sense. The Xbox 360 needs to gain some ground in the coming months, with blockbuster titles (Metroid: Other M; Super Mario Galaxy 2) coming out on Wii, and a price-cut is a great way to build consumer support up until the release of Natal.
The arcade features the core console, and one controller, with no game bundled in. Plus, there's no included hard drive. Considering that its technology and features aren't expensive (lack of Blu-ray drive, for example), it wouldn't break the bank for Microsoft.
Although it was a false alarm, it wouldn't be such a stretch to see a price cut in the near future, especially with Microsoft's competitors featuring some heavy-hitting titles in the approaching quarter.
Source : here
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