| Many have cited the new PS3 slim as the end for the Xbox 360, and the day Sony starts gaining lost ground. Can the PS3 slim save Sony in this generation and can they claw back second place? The internet has been full of debate regarding this subject, but every argument and discussion on every board doesn’t take into account how Microsoft will respond.
The most common arguments regard that the price of the PS3 slim is near to the Xbox 360 elites, and that people would rather choose the PS3 for only a small amount more. These people seem to forget that every time the Playstation 3 drops in price, the Xbox 360 follows suit. Microsoft aren’t complacent, Microsoft are trying to stay one step ahead of Sony at every point, and many sources (including Walmart) have showed the Elite is on route for a price cut to tie in with the September 1st launch of the slim, and another analyst has stated that it will drop to $249 in 2010.
While the Playstation network has caught up to Xbox live, it has only caught up to the Xbox Live the Xbox 360 had when it launched. So far the Playstation Network still lacks any cross game chat, voice messaging or party system; arguably the most popular features of Xbox live. Alot of people defend this by saying it is coming (which it unarguably is), and that when these features crop up the PSN will be on par with Xbox live, and that the fees for Xbox live compared to the free equivalent on the PSN will cause the masses to abandon Microsoft’s sinking ship for the Playstation 3.
If this move by Sony caused masses to abandon the Xbox 360 and Microsoft saw repercussions on their sales then it is likely Microsoft will drop the Xbox live fees (or at least for online gaming). Now the past few months have seen Microsoft start rolling out advertisement in 1vs100 (and their other primetime games when they launch) and across the dashboard. With a network of 23 million ‘active’ members, ad space on the dashboard would cost a significant amount more per acre than Alaska was. Although this is extra revenue on top of the Xbox live fees, with 23 million members and ad space at a high price the revenue from these adverts could easily subsidise the cost of lost Xbox live fees if Microsoft were to drop them.
Microsoft is set on selling more than Playstation this generation, as Don Mattrick stated in their E3 2008 presentation, and if they can drop Xbox live fees and still make the same amount of money, they will do it. The Xbox 360 components were not expensive to begin with (*cough*Red rings*cough*), and the prices are only getting cheaper, so if Microsoft can have a price cut and still make the same amount of money they made 8 months ago, they will. And rumours are already flying about regarding an ‘Xbox 360 slim’, but lets not touch upon that.
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Elite shipping with no HDMI cable to help curve their loss. But Don't worry I'm sure people have HDMI's left over from their old dead boxes lol. It's sad yet comical.
