Europe gets Xbox 360 price cut News
Xbox 360 News by Ellie Gibson
Microsoft has officially announced it is cutting the price of Xbox 360 in Europe.
From Friday, the Arcade unit (which doesn't have a hard drive) will cost GBP 129.99 / EUR 179.
The 60GB model is also 30 quid cheaper at GBP 169.99 / EUR 239.99. The 120GB Xbox 360 Elite will now cost GBP 229.99 / EUR 299.99
That makes Xbox 360 the cheapest console on the market, what with the Wii retailing for GBP 179.99 and the 80GB PS3 for GBP 299.99.
It's all part of Microsoft's ongoing strategy to open up the ultimate in high-definition gaming and entertainment to an even wider audience with something for everyone, as it says on the press release, and make more money, as it doesn't.
"We're proud to be expanding the reach of Xbox as the first next-generation console to break the EUR 200 / GBP 150 barrier, making the platform up to EUR 200 / GBP 170 less expensive than competitors," said European Xboxman Chris Lewis.
"History shows that the majority of console sales happen after this price point has been breached, and we're well positioned to take advantage of this mass market pricing."
Lewis went on to remind us all that Xbox 360 was the first console to sell over 20 million units worldwide, before babbling on about "the ever-expanding ecosystem of Xbox" for a bit. There will be 90 titles released for the machine between now and Christmas, don't you know, not to mention the Xbox Live overhaul.
"Plus, with well over five million consoles sold to date the combination of the strongest games line up this Christmas, really innovative entertainment experiences and these groundbreaking new price points will ensure we continue to enjoy fantastic momentum in Europe," said Lewis. "Durn't ye think sur inspectah," he did not add.
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DanWhitehead
16/09/08 @ 07:38
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I'm going to buy ten, and then make a table out of 360s for my 360 to sit on.
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Mentalist(air)
16/09/08 @ 07:45
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Wow - a 'proper' Xbox 360 is now cheaper than a wii! I never thought I'd see the day.
Some 200 euro Lips bundles at christmas time, and the Spaniards and other southerners will be lapping these up. |
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Kazzahdrane
16/09/08 @ 07:45
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Already had a 360 for almost 2 years and love it to bits, but hope this might encourage Sony to drop the price of the PS3. And I mean a proper price drop, not adding a bit more HDD space and keeping the price static!
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ryohazuki1983
16/09/08 @ 07:48
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Shit. I just bought one on thursday, got a premium 60gb with a game for £210.
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Doctor_What
16/09/08 @ 07:58
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Now all you need to do is spend £120 more and it'll be almost equal to what you get out of the box with the PS3 (except you won't have the bluray player).
It's great PR marketing, but it's not actually a very good deal! |
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JohnnyWashnGo
16/09/08 @ 08:00
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This really highlights just how detached from reality Sony really is.
£300 for their console is now just too high when compared to the 360 and the Wii. Any sane person looking to buy a new console in the next few months, in the run up to christmas, will be crossing the PS3 off of their list almost instantly. The Wii and the 360 have the edge in terms of both games content andnow price. In the current economic climate, Sony will need to recognise this fact and do something about it or face finishing last in this generations console wars. |
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Sooooo pleased I didn't buy Elite no. 2 (360 no. 3) this weekend like I planned! Now I can get that *and* PS3 no. 1 in the same month! Although I might wait and see what bundles the stores put together. And whether Sony will drop the price of PS3 for Christmas. Which they really almost have to now.
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asphaltcowboy
16/09/08 @ 08:08
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Wow, didn't see that coming (I actually didn't). I thought we just had a price cut? Oh well, hurray for us! :)
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Hopefully this leads to a price drop of the PS3 to 299, as that's the price I'll get a second one for.
These are some impressive looking prices though (stress on looking,what with all the hidden costs - I upgraded my wifi equipped PS3 with BluRay player to 320GB for 70 euros the other day and continue to enjoy some excellent online gaming and can continue to share my logitech wheels back from the PS2 era with the PC, hint hint, not to mention being able to read Eurogamer watch forums and stream video from webpages ;) ). Still, it's impressive. The 360 is doing really well, and especially for Europe I am impressed with the pricing! Microsoft is making some good strides. Now lets hope the software keeps up. The only 360 exclusive that I think I might actually be interested in is Fable 2, and as yet I am wholly unsure I'lll even like that game. Arcade continues to be a disappointment to me. Microsoft, please, pretty please rip-off the wii motion controller (preferably in plus variant). Combined with XNA (which I'm a subscriber to, too bad I just became a father so I'm just wasting money right now) that could be a killer. |
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£170 for a proper 360 is pretty decent. Could pick on up and 2 or 3 really good games for £200. Should go down well at Crimbo I think.
Now all you need to do is spend £120 more and it'll be almost equal to what you get out of the box with the PS3 (except you won't have the bluray player) Seriosuly, shut up. I do think the 360 dropped the ball a little not having wireless built in. But tbh most people don't care about Blu-ray at the moment and it will be a good few years before/if it get's a decent chuck of the market share. On my 32" 720p TV there is a slight difference but it's not really worth the price of entry as it is at the moment.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 16/09/08 @ 09:29
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realworld666
16/09/08 @ 08:28
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Sony won't drop their price. It's not what customers want. They want more "value".
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Bad Devotions
16/09/08 @ 08:45
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@jmg123 - i've just had the same done to my house :D cat5e throughout... sweeeeeet
i am seriously considering buying another now as i spend 3 nights a week away from home, I'd no longer need to cart my 360 around. Just simply take the HDD with me and a few games. Wish they'd drop the price of the ps3 though - can't see me getting that one past the missus. |
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captainrentboy
16/09/08 @ 08:49
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Haha LHH, I thought exactly the same whilst reading Arwin's post :)
Frankly I think the 360's at a bloody fantastic price now, and whilst it doesn't have Blu-Ray or Wifi built in, it does have a back catalogue containing some fantastic software, with quite a few more corking looking titles due pretty soon, and surely that's the biggest concern for someone who's after a games machine. Come on now Sony, get dropping. Another £50-80 off and we're in business, I want Iron Man on Blu ray God damn. |
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@jmg123 since i've got my ps3 i've never used the xbox 360 as a media centre - i'd say the ps3 is much better - xbox360 is a great gaming machine though and a bargain at this price
the cynical side of me thinks they are making it so cheap so that people who get the rrod will just buy a new one rather than sending the old one back though ;) |
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captainrentboy
16/09/08 @ 08:55
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Huh^^^?
Surely the competition between the three is what it's all about :/ And with Nintendo raping them both in every hole possible, they've got to do some drastic things to claw a bit of the market back. Hence Microsoft dropping the price, and Sony, errmmmm, putting bigger hard drives on. (aimed at Marshal btw)
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 16/09/08 @ 09:56
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asphaltcowboy
16/09/08 @ 08:55
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ask yourself this also would they have dropped the price without the competition from sony/nintendo ?
me thinks not. Er... welcome to Capitalism. What a ridiculous comment to make. |
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How does this reflect badly on Sony ? I'm thinking the other way, MS drop their prices several times in one year and yet have been continually outsold by PS3 this year, except in august. MS probably could have had this console war wrapped up already, if instead of running around for months yelling "We've got Halo and Gears of War!" got a few more games, without paying millions for them amd stopped Sony getting a strong foothold in the market place.
Still won't be buying one though even at this new lower price, I know I just wouldn't be assed playin it. |
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