Money, Cash, Woes

So by this time all of us have heard Microsoft's lovely announcement of the Elite bundle. This whole thing has gotten me thinking about console pricing as a whole right now. I got into a huge discussion with some friends about what we feel each console manufacturer should change or adjust about their pricing.

My personal thoughts on this matter are that obviously the Wii has an amazing price point right now. I feel like this is a real draw for the system and it's definitely helping Nintendo appeal to a broader market. Sony is definitely in a very different position. The PS3 is meant to appeal to a different group than the Wii. This console is just a media machine and definitely goes after the AV enthusiast almost more than it targets gamers as a whole right now. Sony is definitely thinking forward with the inclusion of a Blu-ray player. While I definitely think the price point is a barrier to entry for alot of consumers I also don't think it's unjustified. I think it's definitely too soon for Sony to adjust this price and it's almost not necessary at all right now. Those who are looking for a media machine like this are more than likely going to be willing to plunk down the cash for those extra features.

Now we come to Microsoft and the Xbox 360. While I don't think the Elite is overpriced I definitely do believe it is a step in the wrong direction. It puts the Elite into the same price level as the PS3 without even including the HD DVD drive in the price. It's tough for them to appeal to anyone except a very heavy Video Marketplace user with the Elite SKU. The Premium is at a sweet spot for MS. They packaged just the right stuff in the box and the price seems to be pretty decent. The one thing I might change about this package might be to include a year of Live in the bundle. It's supposed to be a Premium (or Pro as they are calling it nowadays) bundle so I think the consumer should get the premium service for more than just the standard month free. Finally, the Core Xbox 360 bundle. Here's where I see a lot of potential that Microsoft isn't taking advantage of. I feel that if MS could get the Core to the Wii's $249.99 price point and include at least a 64 meg MU they could gain a great deal of new customers. It seems silly to me that the Core Xbox 360 Bundle is the only current gen package that includes absolutely no packed in memory. The Wii at least has 512 meg internal memory and all the other bundles of the 360 and PS3 have hard drives. I think if MS can rectify the lack of memory in the Core and drop the price a little bit they could gain a lot of more casual players or those that only want the 360 to play a few games they are interested in.

Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I won't even get started on current game prices......