What's a good price for the XBox?

[johnnymk]

Not the 360, but the first generation. Gamestop has a refurbished or used console for $130 which includes a controller. Prices on eBay are all over the place, but appear to be maybe $10-$20 cheaper, including shipping for a console and controller.

[ArkiStan]

well there you go.
Does Gamestop offer any warranty on their used/refurb machines? If so, I'd pay the extra $10-20 for piece of mind. IT's just so much of a hastle to deal with defective merchandise when you're buying from private sellers on eBay.

[Agent Plissken]

I would say stay away from refurbished... most of the time it is broken crap that they attempted to fix... If buying from a gamestop or EB, look for a "used" (not refurb) that looks like its in good condition!

[zero2dash]

If you buy from a used game store you can usually get an extended warranty, which I would definitely recommend...you never know how banged up those systems are internally.

If I was looking for a used one, that's the route I'd go...mainstream used store (Gamestop/EB Games, either 'cause they're both owned by the same co.) and get the extended warranty.

[ProMinx]

Don't buy an XBox yet. It is expected that the XBox price will drop by about $50 as of E3, so you'll save a bunch right off the bat. If you're impatient, you could lurk craigslist in your area for a while until an xbox shows up you could probably get an xbox with a handful of games for a pretty great price.

[ArkiStan]

It is expected that the XBox price will drop by about $50 as of E3.

Will something similar happen for the PS2?

[johnnymk]

Don't buy an XBox yet. It is expected that the XBox price will drop by about $50 as of E3, so you'll save a bunch right off the bat. If you're impatient, you could lurk craigslist in your area for a while until an xbox shows up you could probably get an xbox with a handful of games for a pretty great price.


Why will it drop?

[zero2dash]

Don't buy an XBox yet. It is expected that the XBox price will drop by about $50 as of E3, so you'll save a bunch right off the bat. If you're impatient, you could lurk craigslist in your area for a while until an xbox shows up you could probably get an xbox with a handful of games for a pretty great price.

Link?
I check up on game news several times daily and I haven't seen any rumors that Xbox systems will drop in price; if anything, they actually went up in price after the 360 was released. AFAIK they're still selling well at $179 (the current price) so there's no reason to lower the price on them. :confused:


Will something similar happen for the PS2?

I don't think this'll happen either, for the same reason.

Xbox and Ps2 sales are still (reportedly) strong at their current prices - I don't see any price drops in the near future. :shrug:

[ArkiStan]

I don't think this'll happen either, for the same reason.
Xbox and Ps2 sales are still (reportedly) strong at their current prices - I don't see any price drops in the near future. :shrug:

Exactly what I was thinking. I've been looking around for a used PS2 for cheap and while new units sell for around $150, It's hard to find a decent used machine in good shape for under $100 unless it's an antique.

[ProMinx]

Link?
I check up on game news several times daily and I haven't seen any rumors that Xbox systems will drop in price; if anything, they actually went up in price after the 360 was released. AFAIK they're still selling well at $179 (the current price) so there's no reason to lower the price on them. :confused:


Then zero - I'm afraid you have been looking at all of the wrong video game news sources. They have been discussing the probability of xbox (AND PS@) price drops at E3 2006 since at least January. The most common prediction is that PS2 will drop their price first (to $130) and Microsoft will shoot back by dropping their xbox price to $100 in the next day or two. So if you can wait until May to purchase either, I would suggest it.

The XBox price hasn't chaned since March 2004 when it dropped to $149 (I have no clue from where Z2D pulled that $179 number as a current price, because that price only lasted from May 03 through March 04; that is only the price if you are talking about the Forza bundle).

The Playstation 2 price has held constant at $149.99 since May 2004 (when it cloned the Microsoft price drop).

[zero2dash]

Then zero - I'm afraid you have been looking at all of the wrong video game news sources. They have been discussing the probability of xbox (AND PS@) price drops at E3 2006 since at least January. The most common prediction is that PS2 will drop their price first (to $130) and Microsoft will shoot back by dropping their xbox price to $100 in the next day or two. So if you can wait until May to purchase either, I would suggest it.

I'm still waiting for your link to the rumor. :)
Joystiq, Gamefaqs (which covers Gamespot news), Gamespot, Magic Box, IGN, - I go to those sites daily. Sometimes I go to others like Team Xbox but otherwise - those 5 sites are the most reputable game news sources out there.

People have been expecting price quotes since mid-2005 before the 360 launched (especially on Sony's side) and no one's budged. :D I know the systems are still $150/$170 but in all seriousness - that's a steal of a price for both systems considering the quality/amount of good games available for both now. We'll probably see Ps2 titles still coming out in 2007; I think most of the Xbox titles will be finished by the end of this year. (That's just speculation on my part though.)


The XBox price hasn't chaned since March 2004 when it dropped to $149 (I have no clue from where Z2D pulled that $179 number as a current price, because that price only lasted from May 03 through March 04; that is only the price if you are talking about the Forza bundle).

They don't sell Xbox core systems (ie no games) anymore at retail stores. The only Xbox systems for sale brand new/retail are $179 and they include Forza. And they're selling well at that price.

The Forza-only kits were sent to retailers around the time (if not a week or two after) the Xbox 360 launched in the US.

A few weeks ago I saw a link...somewhere that linked to an online store (that was also a B&M store like Target or Best Buy) that was still selling Core systems for $149 but now I can't find that link and/or they stopped selling them and only have the Forza ones now.


The Playstation 2 price has held constant at $149.99 since May 2004 (when it cloned the Microsoft price drop).

Yes, and those are also selling well at that price.

Again - why would Sony or Microsoft lower the price when the systems are consistently still flying off shelves at their current price points? Both companies have already lost money off of the consoles therefore why would they say "here's another $50 bucks off, we feel like giving money away"...? :heh: There's no reason to lower the prices.

The only reason Sony would lower the Ps2 price would be if they fell off in sales or they started worrying about 360 sales and quite frankly, 360 is still selling but Sony's not really worried about it yet because they have the Ps3 that will inevitably come out this holiday (2006). And the only reason Microsoft would lower Xbox prices is if they really wanted to clean house and get rid of all of them but considering that they're still selling (a cheaper alternative to buying a 360 for a lot of people) at their current price - and they're not in a price war with Sony anymore because their 360s are selling good - there's no reason for them to lower prices either.

[zero2dash]

It's official...no Ps2 price drop anytime soon. :)
http://ps2.ign.com/articles/696/696049p1.html

March 14, 2006 - Continuing his lengthy speech at today's PlayStation 3 business briefing in Japan, Ken Kutaragi went on to quell rumors about a PS2 price drop as the company plans to continue selling it at its current price of $149 for some time.

Being that 32% of US homes have the system, as well as 41% in Japan and 33% in the UK, along with the ever-increasing sales of those staggering numbers, the company sees no reason to cut the price at this point. Kutaragi expects that the electronics giant will ship over 10 million PlayStation 2 systems in 2006.

SCE sees PlayStation 2 business continuing for another four to five years, and will continue production maintain and support accordingly.

[ProMinx]

I was just coming online to quote the Kutaragi announcement and admit defeat, but it seems you beat me to it (for some reason my laptop's vid card isn't displaying properly, so I couldn't post from home).

Anyway, here is your requested link from one of the sites you specifically mentioned: Joystiq (http://www.joystiq.com/2006/01/10/ps2-due-for-a-price-drop-xbox-to-follow/) (][/url)[url=] (][/url). I also remember seeing the article on IGN (but I have never been able to find archived IGN stories because they don't have a real search function (that I know of)), xbox360news, and kotaku.

Anyway, clearly MS won't [u]have to drop the xbox price if Sony doesn't drop PS2 prices. XBox is a better deal at the current prices, and the 360 will likely be a better deal than PS3 in November considering regarding Sony's expected price (I have a VERY hard time believing that people would go into a buying frenzy for a console running $900-1000 and an even harder time imagining that Sony would take a $400-500 hit with each PS3 sold).

Anyway, the xbox price drop myth is probably busted.

[zero2dash]

Sorry man...didn't mean to "bust" the myth or anything. :D

I think what may happen is that towards this coming fall, Microsoft will lower the prices on everything in order to try and gain some more "fence-sitter" potential buyers out there right before the Ps3 launch. I think that the Xbox will probably go to $99 and they'll clear them out of inventory - and I think the Xbox 360 systems will drop at least $50, if not $100 (ie Premium systems - or at least a newly packaged Core + HD - will go for $299) especially if rumors hold true that the Ps3 may launch for $299 with a HD.

Who knows though...E3 is going to be huge this year. :)

[ProMinx]

E3 will definitely be huge. I just wish it brought news that MS was entering the portable entertainment market. I'd like to see the XBox team really take on the Gameboy and the PSP, but unfortunately...Origami is more of a super-light laptop than a gaming station. Alas.

[zero2dash]

I think they could definitely take on the PSP, but I dunno about the Nintendo family of portables...that's a David v Goliath of epic proportions right there (even PSP v Nintendo is).

Origami will be interesting...I saw some reports about it on Gamespot the other day and they hinted at some games but that primarily it's more of a portable media center than anything (with some gaming thrown in for good measure).

Apparently (saw on Joystiq the other day) that EGM has an article in the April issue that Apple is coming out with a gaming iPod...but we are talking about EGM + April meaning most likely it's an April fools prank and they've suckered a lot of people with those before. (Sheng Long in Street Fighter 3, Zelda: Wind Waker remake for preordering Twilight Princess, etc) :)

[smeakim]

I tried to sell this before but got no where. Make me an offer +35 for shipping.

For sale the below:

XBox, two controllers, 3 cord extensions, HD pack to hook up to an HD ready TV, the regular TV hook up, the power cord, and 8 games. All the games have their original boxes and manuals except for NHL Hitz. The eight games are, NHL HITZ 2002, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2x, Hitman 2, Outlaw Golf, Dead or Alive 3, Project Gotham Racing, Splinter Cell, and NCAA Football 2003. The system has been used very little and has only been owned by an adult. I am trying to get rid of the whole thing. I tested to make sure it all worked. I was hoping for 225 plus shipping (35 UPS or if it is cheaper I will decrease the cost) but make me an offer. you can find my feedback on ebay under the same name its 100%.