WSJ confirms $299 Xbox 360

Citing anonymous sources, The Wall Street Journal says Microsoft will drop the price of its midrange Pro unit by $50 as early as Sunday.

After weeks of rumors and leaked retailer adverts, it now appears as if official confirmation has arrived for a $50 price cut to Microsoft's Xbox 360 Pro. Citing "people familiar with the matter," The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft will lower the price of its 20GB Pro unit from $349 to $299 as early as Sunday, July 13. It could also be announced as part of Microsoft's presentation at the E3 Media & Business Summit on the morning of Monday, July 14.

The timing of Microsoft's announcement comes as the Xbox 360 is lagging behind in the console race. Whereas the console thumped the PlayStation 3 in terms of sales in 2007, Microsoft has lost ground to Sony in 2008. Besides the launch of high-profile PS3-exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4, Sony's console has benefited from Blu-ray Disc's victory in the high-definition video format war following the collapse of the Microsoft-supported HD-DVD. Another major factor is last fall's introduction of the $399 40GB PS3, which put the console in the same ballpark as Microsoft's 20GB then-$349 Xbox 360 Pro.

Currently, the Pro--which comes equipped with a 20GB hard drive, wireless controller, and wired headset--carries a suggested retail price of $349, $70 more than the bare-bones Arcade unit and $100 less than the HDMI-equipped 120GB Elite model. This most recent price cut will be the second time Microsoft has reduced the price on its flagship console since it first hit retail shelves a full year ahead of its competition in 2005. Following a similar deluge of leaks in August 2007, Microsoft slashed $30 from the Elite, $50 from the Pro (then Premium), and $20 from the discontinued Core model.

The WSJ did not indicate whether Microsoft has similar price reduction plans for the Arcade and Elite models, nor did it address the issue of the console's hard drive. Last week, a leaked memo allegedly sent to GameStop and Blockbuster employees indicated that Microsoft would begin phasing out the 20GB hard drive. In its place, the company would start including a 60GB device with new Xbox 360 Pros later this month and in October would be offering a stand-alone 60GB accessory for $99. The memo also indicated that Microsoft would drop the current price of the stand-alone 120GB hard drive to $150 in September.

521 Comments

  • SethandJeremy

    Posted Jul 26, 2008 6:23 am PT

    I'm happy I didn't buy one yet.

  • aduana69

    Posted Jul 18, 2008 1:23 pm PT

    great, the value of 360 went to floor

  • lettuceman44

    Posted Jul 17, 2008 12:15 pm PT

    Sweet.

  • grambyte

    Posted Jul 16, 2008 3:23 am PT

    Yey! Then again, not really a surprise.

  • gamah_killah

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 7:56 am PT

    $299.99 360 + Final Fantasy XIII = Extreme boost in sales. They're strategy is great I have to admit

  • jakeboudville

    Posted Jul 14, 2008 5:13 pm PT

    Another worse kept rumor came true

  • Cube_of_MooN

    Posted Jul 14, 2008 2:31 pm PT

    Too bad I already own one.

  • mikefoy

    Posted Jul 14, 2008 9:56 am PT

    Have as many sku's as you want, people shoud inform themselves before buying anything.

    It's not as though they are stopping support of any items.

  • playstation_wii

    Posted Jul 14, 2008 9:52 am PT

    So many SKU's. This is getting confusing. Cut it down to 2.

  • darkride66

    Posted Jul 14, 2008 5:39 am PT

    tjdeep_2007 said "another price cut....wow...i just hate sony ps3....a console with no good games(except mgs4)..."
    That's interesting that you would choose to bash the PS3 on what is a clearly MS related news topic and with such a laughable claim. Even a quick glance at metacritic will dispel the "PS3 has no good games" myth. There are enough titles on there rated 75% and up to keep a gamer busy for 2 years. Why don't you focus on the console that you own and game on and not worry so much about what the other guys are doing. The PS3 has great games and is a fantastic package and the Wii is outselling everyone and also has a very solid games lineup. That doesn't mean the Japanese are going to kick down your door and take your 360. Enjoy what you have.

  • johan1986

    Posted Jul 14, 2008 2:42 am PT

    Great price

  • AceCometh

    Posted Jul 13, 2008 9:03 pm PT

    This is normal. Once sales begin to slow, the manufacturers have to find a new price point, which is the highest cost possible to the consumer and the consumer is still willing to pay for it. I love my Xbox 360. I just wish Fable 2 would hurry up and come out!

  • gatsbythepig

    Posted Jul 13, 2008 12:28 pm PT

    That's great but I bought mine for $400 when it was initially released.

  • thenephariouson

    Posted Jul 13, 2008 11:45 am PT

    darkride66, I agree, it does seem more like a 'Clearance' and not a sale.

  • Jmaster3265

    Posted Jul 13, 2008 11:06 am PT

    @ sm0ke311

    The arcade should cost about $199 but I looked at Gamestop and Wal-Mart (both online) and the arcade still seems to be in the $279-$299 price range.

    I would suggest waiting until they upgrade the Pro (which is about in this price range) from the current 20GB to 60GB.

  • sm0ke311

    Posted Jul 13, 2008 10:42 am PT

    how much arcade system costs then?

  • kavadias1981

    Posted Jul 13, 2008 10:18 am PT

    How about this; instead of dropping the price of the 360, they leave it as it is and improve the shoddy hardware instead (I wont go through it's flaws because we all know them by now). I might buy one then.

  • ch-ch-chaoguy

    Posted Jul 13, 2008 8:15 am PT

    Every time i make an investment in a console purchase it always seems I get screwed over by either a price cut or an update that I could've got if I had waited...I better get a rebate I've had my Xbox less than 90 days!

  • darkride66

    Posted Jul 13, 2008 7:22 am PT

    Irve said "just look up perfect dark zero. 81 metacritic score!!! come on .. if that game was released on anything but a new format it would be 6 or 7 out of ten."
    Ugh! I bought that game at launch because there was really not much else on the 360 at the time, based on the strength of these reviews. It was awful (and I kinda liked Haze!). I played maybe 2 hours of this game before I realized that it wasn't getting any better, and wasn't going to get any better. I shelved it for a few months and eventually the suck faded from my memory and I started thinking that maybe it was worth a second look. I mean, the reviewers all really liked it, why couldn't I like it? I traded it in after the second try. I couldn't even force myself to like this game.

  • darkride66

    Posted Jul 13, 2008 7:12 am PT

    Ah, it all makes sense now. This isn't so much a price cut as MS blowing out old stock. MS has now announced a 60GB 360 will be released for the old price of $350. The other consoles will be sold at the cheaper price until they move all the old units. That makes sense now because it was reported that the 20 GB models were the old motherboards that didn't have the HDMI ports. So really, this isn't a long term price cut, it's a clearance sale.

  • jackrocks123

    Posted Jul 13, 2008 5:07 am PT

    magic dragon, 360 has price drop in uk its £200 for the premium, and irve i always moan at every1, what really annoy me the most is when they say its like a movie, can't they press start and skip argh, and metracritic gave metal gear solid 4 94-95 out of 100, so thats quite high, same with halo, so people must like it for some reason.

  • magic_dragon

    Posted Jul 13, 2008 4:35 am PT

    I love the way US always gets sweet deals and Europe gets screwed over by MS and Sony. Its so fair.

  • Irve

    Posted Jul 13, 2008 4:20 am PT

    dbpvivi :
    your so right ... i really don't understand how the 360 sells in the states ... over here the 360 is £100 cheaper than the PS3
    but over there it's $50 ( £25 ) ... who wouldn't want to pay the extra and get blu-ray !
    consider that most games are multi format and pretty much identical it's a bit crazy
    that's why Microsoft BADLY need to cut the price there

  • thenephariouson

    Posted Jul 13, 2008 4:17 am PT

    woofie13 "OMG, my PS3's 250GB was only $99. Microsoft needs to give more freedom to customers and compatibility to make a comeback"

    Erm, thats what the USB ports are for, eg, i have a 300Gb in mine for DL's, Movies, addons, etc. A 'Comeback' from what exactly??

  • Irve

    Posted Jul 13, 2008 4:07 am PT

    jackrocks123 :
    face it ALL big games get over hyped ... if people honestly re-reviewed their scores when all the hype dies down just think what they would get.... reviewers are just like us they get caught up in the excitment of it all and tend to give games better scores than on reflection they actually deserve.
    why am i an idiot becuase i think MG4 is 8/10 ? since when was that a bad score ! personally i can only think of one game i would give 10/10 to .. and that's 10 years old !
    ..
    darkride66 :

    Grim Fandango was a great game !!.
    the best thing about metacritic is that you can eliminate all the "questionable reviews" from t he list yourself and go for the ones you trust
    some publications try and avoid over rating games... like EDGE ...
    just look up perfect dark zero. 81 metacritic score!!! come on .. if that game was released on anything but a new format it would be 6 or 7 out of ten

  • dbpvivi

    Posted Jul 13, 2008 4:05 am PT

    $99 for a harddrive, so they will probs so the $ to the £ trick and it will be £99 here in the UK its still too much, this is why PS3 sells so well, yeah it costs a lil more at first but then everything is easy and cheap (or already in the system). You already have a HD player, built in wifi and conntections for a standard laptop 2.5" HDD instead of this bespoke only to be used on XBOX crap. "so go away fanboy" - jackrocks123 you have a MGS avatar so shut up
    ......and yes godzillavskong's right it is a very good game but it is all hype just like halo 3 was all hype

  • jackrocks123

    Posted Jul 13, 2008 3:11 am PT

    and btw mgs4 isn't coming to 360, it hasn't even been announced by kojima him self, so stop dreaming.

  • jackrocks123

    Posted Jul 13, 2008 3:09 am PT

    godzillavskong@ what did you play it in easiast difficulty? well what other game neats its grpahics and storyline? none. so if 25+ gave it a 10 then yeah, it lived upto its hype same with halo, so go away fanboy. i completed halo 3 in a day and mgs4 on normal took me a week and that playing it non stop i am now doing on hardest difficulty.

  • Beastcake

    Posted Jul 13, 2008 1:57 am PT

    Sweet, so if my 360 screws up again i get another $50 rebate.

    Thank God for Best Buy replacement plans

  • BontraXenderKyl

    Posted Jul 13, 2008 12:16 am PT

    Well, If I just had the money for it...

  • godzillavskong

    Posted Jul 12, 2008 8:58 pm PT

    Good point Knightwingx7, I just wish they could get the 120gb hd a price-drop around 99.00. I've only got 3gb of hd left, and thats just from game saves. Not to get off topic, but everyone talking about how MGS4 deserve a 10, I disagree. I've already beaten the game and wasn't overly impressed. I think its a good game, that probably warrants a 9 or 8.5, but not a 10. Its just my opinion and I think it was the hype that did it in for me. I expected this game to totally blow me away, and then I was let down. Getting it online for me was a hassle also. Not bashing, but just saying "in my opinion" it wasn't a 10.

  • ElitesIgnorance

    Posted Jul 12, 2008 8:40 pm PT

    I feel kind of ripped off, not that fact it is cheaper to buy a 20 GB Xbox 360 now, but I bought my on released (RROD) and my hardrive only holds up to 5 GB. Weird, when did they do the 20 GB?

  • mice16

    Posted Jul 12, 2008 7:50 pm PT

    Exactly. I even got a month's gold membership as compensation. It took less then a week.

  • KnightwingX7

    Posted Jul 12, 2008 6:27 pm PT

    @Infinite_Access

    Why on Earth would you RE-purchase another 360? Didn't you hear Microsoft will replace any unit for free? Units are covered for 3 years, including retroactively i.e., INCLUDING launch units! Trust me, I know, cause I am a launch system user, and I have had to have my system repaired. Microsoft sends you back YOUR system with the same serial number now. It is completely FREE, just call 1-800-4-My-Xbox in the US. Unless you LIKE wasting money.

  • KnightwingX7

    Posted Jul 12, 2008 5:35 pm PT

    @ woofie13

    First, you need to compare apples to apples and not oranges when comparing prices. Microsoft's External Harddrive is just that, TRULY external. You can carry it to a friends house with ease and bring your vital content and game saves wherever you go. Portability makes all the price difference when it comes to harddrives. Admittedly, it is a bit costly, but your getting a plug and play harddrive that has been optimized to run with the 360. You aren't guaranteed that when you upgrade your PS3's internal HD. You could very well end up choosing the wrong RPM speed, or have a drive with a data transfer rate not capable of keeping up with your gaming experience. And with more and more PS3 games having a MANDATORY hard-drive preload (some games up to 6GB), do you really want to risk slowdown on your Next-Gen gaming console?

  • darkride66

    Posted Jul 12, 2008 5:00 pm PT

    faseli asked "Why all this fussing over a perfect score and who gave Metal Gear 4 a perfect score?"
    I'm not sure why this matters on this thread but just go check out metacritic or something. I think there were something like 25 publications listed that gave MGS4 a perfect score. Personally I think it may be the best game I've played since Grim Fandango. By contrast, Halo was the best in the series. Halo 3 expanded on the story but not really the gameplay. Halo 3 was fun but I agree with other posters below, not worthy of all the acclaim that was thrown it's way. Bioshock was a much better game but was lost in all the mega-Halo hype. Halo themed Mountain Dew Slurpees? Give me a break.

  • Infinite_Access

    Posted Jul 12, 2008 4:49 pm PT

    to everyone arguing about mgs4.... shut up!! I have a ps3 and 360 so before i say this know that I just have both. MGS4 is probably the best game Ive played in MY opinion. I would almost say go buy a ps3 for that game like some people got 360s for Halo 3. I'm not gonna say "ooo it got a 10 pwnage!!! no0bs!!" but it is a great game..............ANYWAYS. I'm glad to hear of the price cut. I'm in need of new 360. I got a launch system and luckily it has worked till about now! but it seems to finally be dying of old age, it cracked my halo 3 and orange box..... price cuts are my friend!!

  • mn_vikings

    Posted Jul 12, 2008 4:22 pm PT

    Is this price permanent?

  • shawaal

    Posted Jul 12, 2008 4:10 pm PT

    i think they should cut to $250

  • woofie13

    Posted Jul 12, 2008 3:41 pm PT

    "a stand-alone 60GB accessory for $99."
    "drop the current price of the stand-alone 120GB hard drive to $150"

    OMG, my PS3's 250GB was only $99. Microsoft needs to give more freedom to customers and compatibility to make a comeback

  • matty_sen

    Posted Jul 12, 2008 3:27 pm PT

    jesus! i can imagin it being $200 by next year!! yeah mgs4 is really REALLY bad for microsoft having a higher rating than halo,mass effect and cod4.. but gears 2 is coming out soon and i think that will even out the playing ground. plus i have a funny fealling mgs4 might go multi platfor,

  • PS_Family

    Posted Jul 12, 2008 2:41 pm PT

    It begins...

  • xcxfrankxcx

    Posted Jul 12, 2008 2:28 pm PT

    the main thing thats been pulling down the sales for the 360 right now is there are no f_ken good games that are out .. like im tired of cod, and halo.. comon bring us some new dam games! they are all susposed to come out in like fall .. so that means no sales till fall .. smart move microsoft, should delayed some b4

  • jackrocks123

    Posted Jul 12, 2008 2:24 pm PT

    how stupid eople? why do you even mention mgs4 and halo 3 in the same league thier different genres ffs, go home and make love to your console, fanboys.

  • the_sorrow_MGS_

    Posted Jul 12, 2008 1:48 pm PT

    n3ck, I have read a few of your posts before and your obviously a Sony hater / 360 bot so just keep your ignorant comments to yourself

    ps. I own all 3 consoles and like them all equally (and for different reasons) so dont call me a fanboy

  • the_sorrow_MGS_

    Posted Jul 12, 2008 1:44 pm PT

    Death1234567890: What are you smoking????

  • prioritymail

    Posted Jul 12, 2008 1:36 pm PT

    Let me know when HDDs get a price drop...

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