Will the Xbox 360 Price Drop Boost Sales

Microsoft is dropping the price on the Xbox 360 once again. Offering the Elite model for $299, the Pro 60GB model for $249, and HDD-less Arcade model for $199, Microsoft has plenty of variety and options for the consumer to choose. The real question isn’t about the systems available, but will the price drop increase the sales of the system?

Launching in 2005, Microsoft is about to have the Xbox 360 on shelves for the fifth holiday season. With console generations running about 5-6 years lately, Microsoft would have the Xbox 360 entering the elderly years now or mid to late 60's-- of course, you have to take into consideration that Microsoft has stated the system isn't even at the halfway point yet. There have been rumors that Microsoft will release a new console with the upcoming Project Natal built-in late next fall, but nothing concrete has surfaced from those reports, yet. With the Xbox 360 preparing to enter golden years of the console lifespan, will this price drop increase sales of the console?

So far, Microsoft has done a fine job with the Xbox 360. Amazing hardware numbers have been recorded, Xbox Live is showing that a solid online gaming community can take place on consoles, and the achievement system has been implemented so well that even Sony and Nintendo have started adding the idea into games – more so Sony than Nintendo, though. Microsoft has certainly pushed the gaming industry forward in a number of ways this generation and these improvements will be used in generations to come.

If you haven’t picked up an Xbox 360, then now is the time to do it. The price is low, the game content is high, and the online community is booming. Will Xbox 360 sales boom too, though? When Halo 3 launched on the Xbox 360, everyone thought that sales for the system would skyrocket through the roof like the original Xbox sales did when Halo 2 launched. Halo is to Microsoft as Mario is to Nintendo. You buy these companies next systems because you want to see the next entry of your favorite series. When Halo 3 launched, though, the sales, while exceptional, weren’t as high as many predicted. A lot of the Halo fans had already purchased the system earlier in the lifecycle. Why not? With games like Fight Night Round 3, Dead Rising, Lost Planet, Gears of War, Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, and others, the console had already secured a solid software library for the consumer.

With casual gamers now moving to Nintendo in bulk, the hardcore audience is still scattered in the Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo camps, but Microsoft was able to adopt a lot of them when the system launched a whole year before the Sony PS3 and Nintendo Wii. Titles like Dead Rising attracted them over during the summer of 2006 and great online experience like Gears of War kept them around for the long term. To really demonstrate the online community, though, was Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. This was a marvel of gaming greatness. The online play took off and soon it had millions of players playing against each other. If you wanted to play Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, you quickly went out and bought an Xbox 360. The gamers were herded and branded with the 360 into their hide.

Who’s left for Microsoft to attract, though? Titles like Banjo-Kazooie, Viva Piñata, Scene It!, and other casual games didn’t have great success on the sales front. The casual gamers just don’t see the 360 as a home. So, who will this 360 price drop appeal to? The core gamers already bought the system. The casuals aren’t interested right now. Sony is about to bring back their fans with the cheaper PS3. Who will Microsoft attract now? The gamers who always wait for the cheaper system? With the recession really taking a toll on everyone’s wallet this year, the price drop will certainly help parents who’ve been holding out on buying the system because of the price, but Microsoft was still offering a cheaper console with the Arcade model for $249 last year. The people who will benefit from this price drop are gamers who may want to get a new Xbox 360, those who are late adopters and parents who have had to cutback from the recession.

Will Microsoft see a big increase in sales? It’s highly unlikely.