Microsoft Drops Estimated Xbox 360 Retail Price - Core now same price as Wii

[Zeus]

PRESS RELEASE: Microsoft Drops Estimated Retail Price For Xbox 360TM in UK And Confirms Elite Availability

Microsoft today announced an estimated retail price drop for its Xbox 360 family of consoles in the UK, and welcomed a new member of the family – Xbox 360 Elite. With a product to suit every interest and budget plus the best line up of games of any console, the Xbox 360 range is poised to bring amazing gaming and entertainment experiences to even more consumers this Christmas. The lower cost opens the door to Xbox 360 for more people, helping to broaden the market for gaming and enabling more people to enjoy titles like Halo 3 (Bungie), Scene It? (Microsoft Game Studios), Bioshock (2k Games), Project Gotham Racing 4 (Bizarre Creations), Mass Effect (BioWare), Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (Bandai/Namco), Naruto (Ubisoft), Blue Dragon (Mistwalker/Artoon Co. Ltd) and more – all only on Xbox 360.

From Friday, 24th August 2007, new estimated retail pricing will come into effect for Xbox 360 in the UK. The Xbox 360, which includes a 20GB hard drive and one wireless controller, will be reduced by £30 to carry an estimated retail price of £249.99. The entry-level Xbox 360 Core console, perfect for those wishing to make their first foray into the gaming and entertainment world of Xbox, will be reduced by £20 to carry an estimated retail price of £179.99.

Xbox 360 Elite will carry an estimated retail price of £299.99 when it launches in the UK this Friday, 24th August. It comes with a massive 120GB hard drive, enabling consumers to store huge quantities of content downloaded from Xbox LIVE Marketplace as well as their own music. The inclusion of a high-definition multimedia interface port (HDMI) is designed for the expanding groups of consumers with HD TVs and HDMI – it offers an alternative method for getting the incredible high-definition gaming and entertainment experiences that Xbox 360 has pioneered. A premium black finish marks the Xbox 360 Elite as the ultimate in entertainment devices and the ‘luxury’ option for seasoned gamers.

“We’re pleased to be able to offer Xbox 360 at a new, lower estimated retail price,” said Stephen McGill, Head of Gaming & Entertainment, Xbox UK. “We pioneered the successful concept of multiple products for multiple categories of consumer. First-timers will love the Xbox 360 Core system, which offers an affordable entry into high-definition gaming. The Xbox 360 Elite, with its large hard drive and wireless controller, will appeal to casual and experienced gamers and families. The Xbox 360 opens up whole new avenues of entertainment for those who seek the ultimate gaming and entertainment experience.

“Whether it’s our lead in console sales, record-setting games and accessory attach rates or our leading online service, evidence is everywhere that Xbox is thriving,” continued McGill. ”When you combine that momentum with these great-value offerings with our unbeatable Christmas game line-up, it’s clear that Xbox 360 is uniquely placed to take the UK by storm this Christmas.”

For the past year, Xbox 360 has been the number one console in EMEA, having obtained more than 30 percent of the market in terms of overall revenue (more than 45 percent in the UK, Netherlands and Sweden*). Xbox 360 continues to enjoy the highest software attach rate of any game console in Europe with more than 5.5 games sold per console since launch (PS2: 3.8; GC: 5.2; Xbox: 4.3 after 17 months on the market*).

As well as the Xbox 360 Elite console, a range of accessories will be made available including:

· Xbox 360 120GB hard drive: The massive 120GB detachable hard drive allows gamers to not only save their games but also store video, music, pictures, trailers, levels, demos and other content available from Xbox LIVE Marketplace. It is designed for Xbox 360 owners who wish to upgrade to higher storage capacity. Estimated retail price £129.99

· Xbox 360 Wireless Controller: Now available with a sleek black finish to match the Xbox 360 Elite, this award-winning, high-performance wireless controller features the Xbox® Guide Button for quick, in-game access to friends and music. It has a range of up to 30 feet and a battery life of 30 hours on two AA batteries. Estimated retail price £32.99

· Xbox 360 Play & Charge kit. Complete with a charging cable and a black rechargeable battery pack, the Xbox 360 Play & Charge kit allows gamers to recharge their Xbox 360 Wireless Controller without interrupting their gameplay. It is available for an estimated retail price of £14.99

· Xbox 360 rechargeable battery. The rechargeable battery pack, now in black, provides more than 25 hours of gameplay per charge. It is available for an estimated retail price of £9.99

[amadeus]

Hopefully this will push down the price of the wii.
Looking to get one but it's still a bit much.

[kcvfr400]

Hopefully this will push down the price of the wii.
Looking to get one but it's still a bit much.

Hopefully it will push prices down on wii and ps3 or just a free game offer more likely with wii as its still selling strong.

[{{909}}]

I doubt it will affect the wii's price, nintendo know its going to sell strong untill xmas, and that arn't sold in the next 3 months will sell in seconds during december. Even the PS3 hasnt recieved a price drop yet and its sales are very slow in comparison. The same can be said for the PS3, the core was vastly cheaper before anyway, dropping it that little bit more isnt going to make sony sweat (anymore than they already are)

The core is still needs a memory card and a game before its 'usable' so you are still looking at arround £240, buts its still a good step by MS.

[XxBigP123xX]

um yeah im sure anyone between the ages 12-20 and has half a brain will pick this over the wii

[jerzmob]

i don't know about the rest of you but it seems to me M$ are getting very desperate and this is again only a BIG sign of their downfall...like the gamecube and xbox before it.

PRESS RELEASE: Microsoft Drops Estimated Retail Price For Xbox 360TM in UK And Confirms Elite Availability

hmm...so much for 360 doing very well including Europe it's no wonder they offer price drops but no bundles ehhh:rolleyes:

[Souzar]

i don't know about the rest of you but it seems to me M$ are getting very desperate and this is again only a BIG sign of their downfall...like the gamecube and xbox before it.

Like the gamecube? that made nothing but profit for nintendo, as for microsoft, I don't think they made any money on gamecubes:p

[jerzmob]

Like the gamecube? that made nothing but profit for nintendo, as for microsoft, I don't think they made any money on gamecubes:p

wrong, do you know how much Nintendo lost due to gamecube and "partially" N64??? If it wasn't for RE4, they might've filed bankruptcy /sarcasm. anyways i actually used gamecube as an example b/c Nintendo did suffer major losses but even as of now they still haven't made it up with Wii but i am sure they are not too far off. As for M$...like i said...curtains closed.

[Attitude]

i don't know about the rest of you but it seems to me M$ are getting very desperate and this is again only a BIG sign of their downfall...like the gamecube and xbox before it.


So i take it the price cuts for the PS3 were the same thing then. ie a sign of desperation on sonys part? or the bundles of games you get with the console now in the UK (2 to 5 free games dependent on who sells them). Sounds more and more like you need to see a surgeon to have the sony ps3 removed from your backside m8.

But back to the OP, i can't see a 20quid price cut making that much difference to xbox360 sales. They could have made it more in line with the £50 cut sony did for the PS3 and then sales would have gone mental in my opinion.

[Jar Jar Insano]

i don't know about the rest of you but it seems to me M$ are getting very desperate and this is again only a BIG sign of their downfall...like the gamecube and xbox before it.

PRESS RELEASE: Microsoft Drops Estimated Retail Price For Xbox 360TM in UK And Confirms Elite Availability

hmm...so much for 360 doing very well including Europe it's no wonder they offer price drops but no bundles ehhh:rolleyes:

Last I checked, PS3 did a price cut after what? not even 8 months after launch and 360 does it almost 2 years after and somehow this is 360's downfall? You're out to lunch pal. Go circle jerk with satel.

[jerzmob]

Last I checked, PS3 did a price cut after what? not even 8 months after launch and 360 does it almost 2 years after and somehow this is 360's downfall? You're out to lunch pal. Go circle jerk with satel.

yeah and it's funny how M$ did it within short of a month or 2 soon instead. This is their 2nd price drop if i am not mistaking, correct??? especially reaching the Wii??? c'mon talk about failure and what's up with these core, premium and elite packs. Weren't you xbots complaining about the whole 20 gb, 60gb etc etc from Sony??? If anything, Sony are meeting the wishes for the consumers. At least Sony are offering PS3 game bundles for Europe instead so i can't see how 360 will declare victorious in the end. Also the factg they come with an extra controller as well...you can't beat that.

I will agree with AceMilo on the fact that they should drop Japan b/c their Japan bashing seems to be futile and i guess only in americas deception can be achieved b/c after all the media is t3h "source" of that nation.

[Banfro]

until 2008,
xbox360 will sold 15 millions,
PS3 with shitty 4 millions is dead already,
R.I.P.

[hartleyshc]

wrong, do you know how much Nintendo lost due to gamecube and "partially" N64??? If it wasn't for RE4, they might've filed bankruptcy /sarcasm. anyways i actually used gamecube as an example b/c Nintendo did suffer major losses but even as of now they still haven't made it up with Wii but i am sure they are not too far off. As for M$...like i said...curtains closed.

except for the fact, thanks to the wii, nintendo is now the 3rd largest company in japan. *largest in terms of what they are worth due to stock prices. which is still viable revenue for nintendo.*
source is gamesindustry.biz *not going to look up the article now*

[Kenban]

wrong, do you know how much Nintendo lost due to gamecube and "partially" N64??? If it wasn't for RE4, they might've filed bankruptcy /sarcasm. anyways i actually used gamecube as an example b/c Nintendo did suffer major losses but even as of now they still haven't made it up with Wii but i am sure they are not too far off. As for M$...like i said...curtains closed.

I would love to see some proof of this. Nintendo first became a public company in the 1960's since then to my knowledge there has only been one quarter in which the company had a loss. Which occurred in 2003 and was only $27 million. Everything I have read says the Gamecube did make money overall. While the system sales were not that impressive it was very cheap to produce and had great first party game sales (which do a very good job of driving profits).

Now if your talking market share then your correct Nintendo lost a huge percent of the market but then it was really lost during the days of the N64.

Microsoft on the other hand was losing money like crazy on the xbox.

This is their 2nd price drop if i am not mistaking, correct??? [....] and what's up with these core, premium and elite packs. Weren't you xbots complaining about the whole 20 gb, 60gb etc etc from Sony???

This is actually the first 360 price drop. I have no idea why Microsoft thinks sticking with 3 SKU's is working but its just a mess that is not helping sales.

[Jinx13378]

wrong, do you know how much Nintendo lost due to gamecube and "partially" N64??? If it wasn't for RE4, they might've filed bankruptcy /sarcasm. anyways i actually used gamecube as an example b/c Nintendo did suffer major losses but even as of now they still haven't made it up with Wii but i am sure they are not too far off. As for M$...like i said...curtains closed.

You don't have a clue what sarcasm means, do you?

[DEDDOA]

yeah a price drop is nice, but I would have rather seen an SKU drop, as in the elite. The Elite should be the premium and the premium should be the core. Then at least then everyone gets a HDD on purchase. Well i guess the mem card you get when the core gets rebadged as Arcade, will be better than the present no save capability, but even so, a HDD would at least help push the HDD requirement for games :(

The core option is nice but it was probably a poor choice to limit the developers options for the future to accomodate it :(

[Scorpion3]

i don't know about the rest of you but it seems to me M$ are getting very desperate and this is again only a BIG sign of their downfall...like the gamecube and xbox before it.

PRESS RELEASE: Microsoft Drops Estimated Retail Price For Xbox 360TM in UK And Confirms Elite Availability

hmm...so much for 360 doing very well including Europe it's no wonder they offer price drops but no bundles ehhh:rolleyes:

Rofl. You're sad. Gamecube was like the Xbox, it was the console Nintendo put out while planning the Wii. Both consoles were half assed and were never meant to make a lot of money. I guess Sony dropping price in less than a year (first time in console history BTW) isn't a sign of Sony being desperate, but for Microsoft to drop the price in UK in order to make it even with the US price, they're desperate. Jeezus man, I didn't think "pathetic-er" was a word but you keep defining it none the less.

[OblivionX]

yeah and it's funny how M$ did it within short of a month or 2 soon instead. This is their 2nd price drop if i am not mistaking, correct??? especially reaching the Wii??? c'mon talk about failure and what's up with these core, premium and elite packs. Weren't you xbots complaining about the whole 20 gb, 60gb etc etc from Sony??? If anything, Sony are meeting the wishes for the consumers. At least Sony are offering PS3 game bundles for Europe instead so i can't see how 360 will declare victorious in the end. Also the factg they come with an extra controller as well...you can't beat that.

I will agree with AceMilo on the fact that they should drop Japan b/c their Japan bashing seems to be futile and i guess only in americas deception can be achieved b/c after all the media is t3h "source" of that nation.

This is the "1st" price drop in 2 years. Which means its managed to keep its orginal price point and still sell consoles. Sony dropped thier price of the 60GB model and then released a 80GB and discountinued the other. And kept the same price point. The bundles in the uk show serious signs of desperation, £425 for ps3 with 3 games and a blu ray movie and guess what...they dont sell.

Why? Because the bundles are crap. Motorstorm, resistance and genji, resistance is the only one worth playing. And the free movie is bloody "click". Not too mention the ps3 is lacking titles and those on both the ps3 is usually the inferior version. With some multiplatform titles having no online at all for ps3, bad AA, bad texture quality and bad performance.

Its really no wonder they arnt selling and the 360s are.