Durango: primi rumor sul prezzo e sull'unveiling
It seems like there was still a debate going on within Microsoft when these documents were created. In some places it suggests a retail price of $399, in others, $299. In fact, they bring up the phrase “$2000 PC in a $300 box” multiple times.
Similar to their plans to drop backwards compatibility, they already have a rough outline of the price-drop schedule for the console, for both $299 and $399 starting price points. Either way, don’t expect to see a price drop before its third year on shelves, and then only by $50. The plans stretch out for the full proposed ten-year lifespan of the system.
But when will this thing actually drop? If I were you, I wouldn’t hold my breath for news out of E3. Not anything concrete anyway. The documents strongly suggest the official unveiling of Microsoft’s next console will happen at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, January 2013. A quick search around the internet reveals that one date hinted at in the documents, January 6, is the date of “The Official Press Event of the International CES“, or the big official press conference day a couple days before the show officially opens.
Actual boxes on shelves aren’t expected until the somewhat vague “holiday season 2013.” In other words, somewhere between September at earliest and mid-November at the latest. After all, gotta have them ready to go for Black Friday.