XBOX 360 HOLIDAY PRICE CUT RUMORS ARE BACK

UK game site Britbox is reporting that a source close to Microsoft has told them that the company is working on redesigning the hardware for the Xbox 360 in hopes of lowering the price in time for the holiday season and the launches of both the Sony Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii. As per their source;

“A new version of the Xbox 360 would be cheaper to manufacture and debut about a year after launch.

“If they hit their targets, the Microsoft would be able to cut the costs of its console in the autumn of 2006. Microsoft would have the option of slashing the price of its console, just as rivals come out with their first consoles.

“That would put a lot of pressure on Sony and Nintendo.”-Britbox unnamed source

I’m not sure what to make of this one. While I’m sure Microsoft is working hard on lowering the production costs of the 360, the wording of the quote above strikes me as odd. It almost sounds as if it was said much longer ago than this week – you’ll note how it doesn’t talk about “this holiday”, but rather “a year after launch” and “in the autumn of 2006” rather than this fall. It just strikes me as odd. While the price drop certainly would be welcome to many people still on the fence about the 360, I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for it. Check out the BritBox article here.