So evidently you have to buy one of these insanely expensive launch packages in order to buy an xbox 360 on launch now?

http://www.gamestop.com/gs/360/360.asp
http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/categories/systems/xbox360/

Cheapest bundle is 600 dollars.

I read that this is the only way to buy it on launch.. am I missing something? I can't blow 600 dollars on a console and live with myself at this point. And I don't want all the crappy games that come in the bundles.. let me pick my own games :\

those are just on those sites, im sure walmart will have the basic bundle

Bundles will not be the only way to buy a console. Msft would not alienate their customers that badly. I waited a week after launch in '01 and was easily able to find a stand-alone console. Honestly I don't think it will be an issue. Just buy it when you are back in STL. for Thanksgiving(assuming you will be in STL then).

That's old news, it hit the mod forums a week ago. No, you do not have to buy a bundle... That's just stores doing what they do best... make you spend more.

The point of it is for X-mas... **Dear Santa, I want the Omega Xbox 360 package... **

Get it?

.

Okay, good. The article I read must have been inaccurate, then (figures.. I think it was on ign).

not much cheaper:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... 6%3A233481

http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/08/26 ... /index.php

yeah a lot of people have caught one rather quickly about this problem.

They'll probably still sell out the entire first wave to really rich people and make an absolute killing on it (Microsoft and retailers). I guess that's how things go. Have to wait a month or to to get one if I end up getting one at all now, I guess.

i was in puerto rico at the time the ps2 came out, so i can't make claims on how it was in america directly, but at the franchises there.. ps2 were going for 500-600 dollars, just because they could, because people would buy them and supply was low. the prices heavily dropped afterwards.. but i sort of like this package stuff, it keeps prices from getting too incredibly out of control for one console.

Back in the day when I worked for EB... The reason we were told for the bundles was simple for every PS2 that walks out the door we lose $17 (due to high rent at the mall etc.) If we sell a bundle with a controller and a couple of games we would make roughly $65.