In the past i’ve said on many forums that while Microsoft has the most impressive pricing (against sony) it does lack on the harddrive front. As most people aren’t willing to part change with 600$ just for a bluray player, because as just about every site has said, bluyray/hddvd … no one really wants it right now, so the fact microsoft is making it an addon that people can get if they really want a hddvd drive, and they arent forcing it on us is a great move. Apparently however i’m not the only one that thinks there is a simple and effective move Microsoft can make to soldify a win against the PS3 this holiday season, First upgrade both the Core and Pro packages, add a 20gb drive to the core and upgrade the pro to a 60gb drive. On top of that my second suggestion would be to put together a HDDVD package for say… 575$ (just a dime cheaper than the ps3) so that those audio/video philiacs do have the option to get a hddvd + 360 for around the same as the ps3 if they so choose and at the same time those that want a console can get a 60gb xbox360 for 200$ cheaper than the same model from sony. And like i said i’m not the only one that feels this way takeSuicideNinja for instance…
I personally think that a price drop isn’t necessary. One would think that Sony just handed Microsoft gold by their high-dollar PS3 announcement. However, that doesn’t mean Microsoft can remain idle. Since their competition mocks the lighter 360 SKU for not even having a hard drive, then why not simply add a one to make the PS3 even less appealing than it already is. If Microsoft kept the retail prices, but matched the PS3 offerings with a 20GB HDD-equipped Core pack and a 60GB HDD-equipped Premium pack, it would essentially seal the deal since consumers aren’t ready to care about Bluray or HD-DVD.
However, such a plan would probably require that they start manufacturing changes now. But who’s to say they haven’t?
What is quite interesting with my plan and SuicideNinja’s plan is that it is a double sided sword, by matching the HD on both models and pushing retailers to do HDDVD/360 bundles for around the cost of a ps3 premium… it would be a direct combat against sony’s models (albeit 200$ cheaper so why would someone choose a ps3 at that point) but it would also be a nice competition against the Wii… at 300$ with a 20gb hd the core would be a nice direct competition against the wii but would sport HD gaming for only around 50$ more than the Wii.
Source: Inhouse / SuicideNinja
