Microsoft has slammed the latest rumors of a price drop for its Xbox 360 console.
A new round of speculation on a slash of the console's price tag in late 2007 kicked off last week, following a combination of analyst predictions of a price cut this September and comments from David Hufford, a director of Xbox product management.
"We are well aware that the sweet spot of the market is really 199 bucks. When mom walks into the store and sees she can get a console with a game for $250, she sees it as a $300 value," Hufford said in an interview appearing on Bloomberg.
However, Hufford responded to the price-drop rumors, saying his comments were not signaling a price drop as has been reported.
"Some are getting really spun up about the Bloomberg story and inaccurately reading tea leaves that don't exist," he states. "I spoke to Bloomberg nearly two months ago and we were talking about NPD data that had just been released, and chatting generally about price points of consoles in the market.
"The comment, which is accurately reported, unfortunately has now been taken way out of context and being reported as if I am signaling a price drop. I was not, I am not."
Hufford concluded, "With Xbox 360s selling well at their current price point, Elites selling out at $479, and an insanely great portfolio of games in the market, there's no reason to announce any kind of price drop anytime soon."
June 11, 2007
