maash Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) slashed the shipments forecast of its Xbox 360 video game console yesterday, in a move some analysts believe will pave way for a future price cut and even an updated version of the game system.Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said on Thursday that Microsoft aims to ship a total of 12 million of its game consoles by June 30 of this, the end of its fiscal year. This is down from a previous 13 to 15 million units target, but some industry observers feel the Redmond, Wash.-based firm is winding down inventories for an upcoming price cut. "We assume roughly a $100 price cut with the premium unit selling for $299 versus $399 previously," said Rick Sherlund, research analyst for Goldman Sachs. "With Sony likely delivering enough consoles to meet demand by the June quarter," he explains, "this would seem to be an appropriate time for Microsoft to move down the price curve and benefit from the elasticity of demand." Also, with Microsoft's smash hit Halo 3 likely to begin shipping in September, Sherlund feels the software giant can still "become profitable in this quarter even with this price reduction." Microsoft's latest game console made its debut in November 2005, roughly a year ahead of next-generation machines from rivals Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co. Ltd. Since then it has sold over 10 million units, executives said yesterday. Citigroup's Brent Thill believes that the firm may be lowering its shipments as it makes way for a revision of the game system, which may come this year. Thill believes the new design will be a revised motherboard design, HDMI ports for high-definition video, and 120 GB of storage - 6 times more than its current capacity. Not all industry experts agree, however. "A hardware refresh may be in order later this year, but more to cost-reduce the console rather than adding more parts, " commented Paul McNealy of American Technology Research. Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division, the group responsible for the Xbox projects, contributed 21 percent towards the software company's $2.68 billion for the quarter. Shares of Microsoft closed slightly up on the Nasdaq Stock Market today, rising 0.56 percent, or $0.17 to $30.60. just like i predicted a couple of topics ago http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20070126/x...t-shipments.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNay Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Microsoft "May" Lower Price and "We assume roughly a $100 price cut with the premium unit selling for $299 versus $399 previously" is not 100% assurance, however it should be coming down in price soon, it's been out for well over a year now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maash Posted January 28, 2007 Author Share Posted January 28, 2007 Microsoft "May" Lower Price and "We assume roughly a $100 price cut with the premium unit selling for $299 versus $399 previously" is not 100% assurance, however it should be coming down in price soon, it's been out for well over a year now. here is what is likely to happen revised 360 with 120 gb + hdmi for $399 (includes hdmi cables + wireless controller, headset) revised 360 with 20 gb (current premium) for $299 (includes av cables + wired controller) revised 360 with no hdd (current core) for $249 (includes av cables + wired controller + 256 mb memory card) in the above way the no hdd option will be the least desired with the price so close to 20 gb one revised 360 is going from 90nm CPU to 65nm CPU, alot of head reduction and alot of money saved. 360 is most likely already breaking even with hardware costs lower than they were in Fall 2005, with 65nm they will save even more. Microsoft will want to sell as much hardware as possible because they make money on software, not hardware, the more the 360 sold, the more the base, the more the games and the more the support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TokyoKiller Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Great news for Microsoft, I am glad that I purchased an Xbox 360. As from the looks of it Xbox 360 will be the leading system this generation for graphics while the Wii will be for the innovation with the Wiimote, and so far I can't classify what the Playstation 3 will be as I can't call the "Media Center" of this generation since the Xbox 360 still offers more media features. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Live Veteran Posted January 28, 2007 Veteran Share Posted January 28, 2007 My guess (completely a guess, I could be totally off) would be that if they do add an HDMI port, they'll add it to every SKU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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