Microsoft’s Hufford Denies 360 Price Cut

Xbox product manager David Hufford has denied that his widely reported description of a $199 price “sweet spot” for consoles implied that an Xbox 360 console price cut is imminent. Hufford originally made his comments in a Bloomberg report, alongside quotes from other Xbox officials, including Peter Moore, who spoke of a need to expand the Xbox 360 audience. The comments increased analyst speculation that a price cut would occur before the Christmas gift giving season, despite the lack of official confirmation. As a result of the coverage, Microsoft marketing official John Porcaro reprinted the contents of an e-mail he received from Hufford on the Xbox blog site GamerScoreBlog. The e-mail from Hufford reads: “Some are getting really spun up about the Bloomberg story and inaccurately reading tea leaves that don’t exist. 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.” “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,” continued Hufford. Despite the unequivocal denial, Hufford’s comments are unlikely to stop notable analyst speculation of a price cut, as the manufacturer leads up to the key holiday season period.