PS3 and 360 Price Cuts, Before Holidays End

A lot of people have purchased the Xbox 360 and a growing number have had new interests in the PlayStation 3. The summer time is winding to an end and fall will bring us a new host of video games and reasons to keep playing our current generation consoles. Many analysts and industry leaders believe the 360 and PlayStation 3 will undergo a USD $50.00 price cut before the Holidays begin.

With holiday madness comes momentum and sales, a USD $50.00 price cut would help bring new momentum to both consoles, especially with Nintendo lapping them in sales. Nobody has considered the direction of the Wii as it doesn’t need to be priced competitively given this is going to be the third year it’s impossible to find in stores.

Do the consoles really need a price cut? It’s hard to argue the PlayStation 3‘s dire need for cutting in price given its already outrageous costs for a console with the least amount of desired titles. The Xbox 360, for most, has the best lineup of titles with a strong fall series of games. The Wii… well, titles don’t really matter just yet because people still buy the console upon sight. The PlayStation 3 is showing off some impressive graphics for this fall and early next year, it may almost be time to invest in the product.

The fall games will keep hardcore gamers buying titles but it will do little to inspire new console sales. If GTA IV, Halo 3, Gears of War and Metal Gear Solid 4 couldn’t drag a gamer to buy, what fall titles will do so this year? Probably very few.

It’s time for the big console vendors to broaden their audience by opening the console to a demographic of gamers that just can’t afford the higher graphic consoles. No, USD $50.00 won’t bring in everyone but it may inspire those on the fringe of consideration to change their minds. With their new consoles in hand they can use their USD $50.00 savings to purchase a new holiday release title.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Post

Rock Band 2, Song Tracks and InstrumentsRock Band 2, Song Tracks and Instruments

The latest news on the Rock Band 2 front covers the instruments and a few confirmed song tracks. There have been rumors flying around the Internet about the “leaked song tracks” for the next release with absolutely no confirmation. Now, however, we have solid proof on some tracks and some equipment changes.

First, all instruments are backwards compatible. That’s key to the success of Rock Band because fans of the original ponied up a lot of bones to grab themselves the original Rock Band kit. However, there is an incentive to upgrade your equipment in some regards.

If you like the original Rock Band guitar you’re going to love the new one if only for the color updates, wood grain and actual look and feel of a real guitar not a “toy.” As you’d expect (or hope) the new guitar will be wireless, finally, and will have a sturdy strum bar with even quieter buttons. Wireless alone is a great selling point but quiet buttons is important for folks like me who play the guitar like it was a jackhammer and can easily interrupt the drummers concentration during a difficult set.

The drum kit has been improved as well, with a re-enforced foot pedal to avoid the ease of breaking the plastic “toy” version of Rock Band original. As a person who’s busted up their drum petal and forked out cash on eBay for a wood solution, this is more great news. The drum kit will also be wireless which is great for those of you, like myself, who have kids that run through your line of site or dance while you’re playing. Nobody likes their Xbox 360 being flung off the shelve due to tripped cords.

The drum kit will have quieter pads and a velocity sensor; again, your old kit is still usable without these enhancements but the desire to upgrade if you’re a dedicated fan will be high.

The song tracks currently confirmed:

  • “Panic Attack” — Dream Theater
  • “Chop Suey” — System of a Down
  • “Everlong” — Foo Fighters
  • “Kids in America” — The Muffs
  • “Give it Away” — Red Hot Chili Peppers
  • “Ace of Spades” — Motörhead
  • “Hello There” — Cheap Trick
  • “Pump it Up” — Elvis Costello
  • “Anyway You Want It” — Journey
  • “Pinball Wizard” — The Who

This is a great indication to where Rock Band 2 is going, mixing up a great selection of artists with classic hits like Anyway You Want It and Pinball Wizard to newer late generation X music like Give it Away and Chop Suey. Talented artists like Dream Theater are sure to keep Rock Band 2 a challenge to all gamers.

Other great improvements being a World Tour mode now accessible online and the removal of the “Band Leader” concept which always locked you into an instrument once you created a band.

NOTE: Xbox 360 will have a timed exclusive on Rock Band 2, arriving later in the year for the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3.

Checkout the full feature set so far explained at Kotaku.

Episode 536: Even More Audio IssuesEpisode 536: Even More Audio Issues

This podcast is plagued with audio issues, unfortunately, as it returns from a week’s hiatus to check out the new games and controversies, as well as Gaming Flashback for one of the greatest superhero games of all time, Batman: Arkham Asylum.

The news this week includes:

  • Microsoft unveils disc-less Xbox One S All-Digital Edition for $249
  • Western Final Fantasy X-2 requires the cart on Switch
  • Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order dev explains why it’s a single player game

Let us know what you think.

Episode 545: Fleshy Testicle MonstersEpisode 545: Fleshy Testicle Monsters

Jonah finally finishes the strange puzzle platformer Inside and discusses it with the crew during the post-podcast discussion. Otherwise, there’s news galore, as well as a Gaming Flashback of the notorious flop Sonic the Hedgehog from 2006.

It includes:

  • Quantic Dream is “not exclusive to any platform anymore”
  • An enhanced edition of System Shock 2 is in development
  • Nintendo Switch SNES controller spotted
  • Minecraft‘s Super Duper Graphics Pack officially canceled

Let us know what you think.