Microsoft Likely to Include Free Games Rather Than Drop Price of Xbox 360

[SolidSnakeUS]

I hope this was already posted, and hope it isn't old.

Xbox 360 to come with Forza 2 and Marvel for free this holiday season

Although manufacturing costs of the Xbox 360 will be cheaper than ever after the switch to the 65nm CPU platform codenamed Falcon, Microsoft will likely stick with its current pricing throughout the rest of the year. But that’s not to say that there won’t be some value added to help entice those on the fence to choose Microsoft’s console.

Briefly spotted on Best Buy’s online store, but now removed, were two pages that listed new bundles that added Forza Motorsport 2 and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance to both the Xbox 360 Elite and Xbox 360 Premium SKUs. Both consoles were listed at their current prices, indicating that the two games were an added value package.

Gaming blog Kotaku uncovered marketing images for both the aforementioned bundles mid-August, and the appearance of such bundles in Best Buy nearly confirms their pending existence on the market.

The packaging shown in the images also matches up with previous information provided by Microsoft’s marketing, which added taglines “Go Pro” to the Xbox 360 Premium system while the Xbox 360 Elite displays “Go Big.”

Bundling games with the Xbox 360 is already standard practice in Canada. Best Buy in Canada is selling Xbox 360 Premium with Forza Motorsport 2 and Amped 3, while Wal-Mart substitutes one winter sport with another by adding in NHL 2K8 with Forza Motorsport 2.

Source: http://www.dailytech.com/Microsoft+L...rticle9089.htm

[jakncoke]

Well anyone that thought 360 price would drop again so soon is a crackhead plain and simple. If I were to predict next price drop announcement...it'd be at next years E3.

[Carsonal]

Forza 2 alone makes it a very good deal.

[SwitchBlade]

This could make units move faster, but I don't think it would have the same effect as consumers seeing a smaller price. You'd be suprised at how little attention alot of people pay to the contents of what they buy...

[AndyD]

This could make units move faster, but I don't think it would have the same effect as consumers seeing a smaller price. You'd be suprised at how little attention alot of people pay to the contents of what they buy...

I agree. Thats why PS3 bundles arent working as well in Europe as a price drop would. If people only want to spend X, no mater how much stuff you throw in, they wont spend more. Plus the average buyer/Xmas shopper looks at prices and the name Xbox and Playstation not the box contents in detail.

[Sockpuppet]

I don't understand the reasoning behind this decision. Surely a price drop would move consoles in greater numbers. I'm not sure they are playing with regard to this idea of pack in deals.

[Sparc]

Bundle Halo 3 with a new 360 and you'll shift boxes. Same again, but to a lesser extent, Forza 2 with one. Finally, create a Mass Effect bundle too and you've targetted three genres with three strong games.

[Strung Out]

Forza 2 has been bundled with the 360 since the day forza 2 launched in Canada. Still today you get it free with a 360.

Along with that 3 out of 4 weeks you get 2-3 free games ontop of that if you buy it at futureshop or bestbuy.

These week it's SplinterCell Double Agent and Poker.

There was a week where you got Forza2 bundled in the box, then Crackdown, Hitman Blood money, Lara Croft tossed in for free for the price of a premium.

So these Holiday bundles really don't seem to impressive to me.

Edited: just read the end of the op article, so it was already mentioned I guess.

[Sparc]

They should bundle a raw egg with each 360 so that after 7 minutes of playing you can create an egg banjo (fried egg sandwich for those who don't know). Just crack it open on the casing, or the power brick for that matter.

How cool would that be?

(the Elite could even include two slices of bread)

[AndyD]

Forza 2 has been bundled with the 360 since the day forza 2 launched in Canada. Still today you get it free with a 360.

Along with that 3 out of 4 weeks you get 2-3 free games ontop of that if you buy it at futureshop or bestbuy.

These week it's SplinterCell Double Agent and Poker.

There was a week where you got Forza2 bundled in the box, then Crackdown, Hitman Blood money, Lara Croft tossed in for free for the price of a premium.

So these Holiday bundles really don't seem to impressive to me.

Edited: just read the end of the op article, so it was already mentioned I guess.

These are official bundles, so any Bestbuy or futureshop bundle would be on top of this. Sort of like the free Bluray/HDDVD offers, some came from Amazon, and some from the movie companies, so the offers stack.

[Bakari]

I'm still baffled as to why people think Microsoft is going to do another price drop only months after their first. Not going to happen till early next year at the earliest. How can you complain about added value?

[SolidSnakeUS]

I think why people are complaining is because they think that if the consoles themselves drop in price, then they will sell more. Remember, not everyone wants Forza 2. And Bakari, I remember when you said I don't spend time in this section, you should maybe take that back, just wanted to get that out.

[Strung Out]

I'm still baffled as to why people think Microsoft is going to do another price drop only months after their first. Not going to happen till early next year at the earliest. How can you complain about added value?

I dunno I think if sony cranked it down to the rumoured $399 we would see a $299 premium. I think it's the only reason it was a bit of a 1/2 step drop to begin with.

But they do have different priorities then we would expect. Braggin that you held the launch price longer than any other console seems odd at best. Especially as your sales screeched to a halt in the first 8 months of 07.

[Sephyr]

If they bundled it with Halo 3 and Mass Effect, I'd buy one right now. I don't want some crappy racer and comic book spin-off. I want good games.

[MMDs]

They should bundle a raw egg with each 360 so that after 7 minutes of playing you can create an egg banjo (fried egg sandwich for those who don't know). Just crack it open on the casing, or the power brick for that matter.

How cool would that be?

(the Elite could even include two slices of bread)

thats a great idea, they should make a bundle like that for the PS3 as well. im getting hungry just thinking about it.

back to the topic, Bundles are better in generating sales for the company then reducing the price of it yet again, unless the hardware gets cheaper and cheaper to make and they want to me nice to the consumer. But its all about the money, companies like MS, Sony, and Nintendo want to make money.

[Bakari]

I think why people are complaining is because they think that if the consoles themselves drop in price, then they will sell more. Remember, not everyone wants Forza 2. And Bakari, I remember when you said I don't spend time in this section, you should maybe take that back, just wanted to get that out.

I didn't mean it in the literal sense, I was simply making the point that this section is not all candy and roses :P

I wouldn't mind the complaining, but the majority of those who are doing so already on an Xbox 360. I never saw the point in complaining about the lack of price drops for a console you already own.

[Nucleus]

Microsoft is just being arrogant on thier pricing scheme. They think, as long as they remain the same price or close to the price as thier chief competitor, have a better online scheme, better games, and are out selling the PS3 worldwide they are doing well. There is no way the Xbox360 hardware should cost the same as the PS3 considering it has older hardware. Microsoft is milking the Xbox360 for what people continue to pay for. The PS3 is not doing well because of its price so Sony is getting the price down and getting people new jobs.

[Bakari]

Microsoft is just being arrogant on thier pricing scheme. They think, as long as they remain the same price or close to the price as thier chief competitor, have a better online scheme, better games, and are out selling the PS3 worldwide they are doing well. There is no way the Xbox360 hardware should cost the same as the PS3 considering it has older hardware. Microsoft is milking the Xbox360 for what people continue to pay for. The PS3 is not doing well because of its price so Sony is getting the price down and getting people new jobs.

That is not being arrogant, it's great business. Why in the hell would Microsoft lower the price of the system and cut into their profits? Especially when Microsoft will have a constant flow of great AAA titles being released (Starting with Halo 3) going into the holiday season? Could they potentially sell more if they lowered the price another $50? Sure, but Microsoft is attempting to turn a profit this generation.

[Behemoko]

I think why people are complaining is because they think that if the consoles themselves drop in price, then they will sell more. Remember, not everyone wants Forza 2. And Bakari, I remember when you said I don't spend time in this section, you should maybe take that back, just wanted to get that out.

I'm one of them, I tried to rent a game once, and when I got to my friends house I had realized that I grabbed the wrong box, which had the turd that is Forza 2.. I played it for 5 minutes, got my 15 achievement points, and returned it the next day for a switch to get what I meant to get the first time. (which also turned out to be horrible! Oh well, lol.. Still better than Forza 2.)

[AndyD]

That is not being arrogant, it's great business. Why in the hell would Microsoft lower the price of the system and cut into their profits? Especially when Microsoft will have a constant flow of great AAA titles being released (Starting with Halo 3) going into the holiday season? Could they potentially sell more if they lowered the price another $50? Sure, but Microsoft is attempting to turn a profit this generation.

Correct and it applies elsewhere such as Apple and its Ipods. If the market bears an expensive, high profit margin device, then sell it so and you get two benefits: one-more profit, two-image of higher quality (you get what you pay for idea).

[BlindSight]

It they bundled it with a different game(s) then that would be great.

[G_H_G]

I don't understand the reasoning behind this decision. Surely a price drop would move consoles in greater numbers. I'm not sure they are playing with regard to this idea of pack in deals.

To put it simply, if they want to keep on making a profit as they are now, then they can't afford to drop the price. They can however bundle in a 1st party game as it costs them next to nothing to produce the extra disk and casing.

[TheGreatDane17]

Smart idea, expect others to follow.

[overthirtygamernj]

Two excellent games that I really enjoyed. Forza isn't for everyone--it had a steep difficulty curve and most casual gamers can't handle that and will most likely wind up selling it on ebay. Marvel Ultimate Alliance was fun too but not truly a next gen game by any standards and got a little repetitive after a while.

My guess? It probably costs MS a lot less to do this bundle than it would to do a price break. At this point I doubt MUA is selling much anymore--maybe a couple hundred units a week at best---so MS determines how many they would sell in the next 6 months and offers the owners of the IP a little more than they'd probably make in sales to give the game away. This way the developer could also have a bigger ownership base of their game and possibly make more money off downloadable content for it as well.

With Forza it probably cost them less, if anything at all more than the cost of the disc, since they own the IP. I wonder how many discs/boxes it will come in--in the past we've seen two game deals put in one box and sometimes on 1 disc. I doubt they'd be able to fit both on a DVD-9 though.

[Zassk]

MS is saving their next price drop until Sony releases a $399 PS3. If the $399 PS3 comes before holidays, then MS will lower the price on these bundles. If the $399 PS3 doesn't come until 2008, then MS will stand pat with their free game bundle until then.