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MS: Elite pricing unrelated to PS3 Slim News
Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 News by Robert Purchese
Microsoft Europe bigwig Chris Lewis has shrugged off suggestions that this morning's Xbox 360 Elite price-drop was done deliberately to undermine the imminent launch of PS3 Slim.
"As we've said before, we have our own rhythm that we march to and that's not going to change," Chris Lewis, VP of MS Europe, told GamesIndustry.biz.
"The timing was very deliberate: these things take considerable time to plan, and for that reason I'm sure you'll appreciate this is very much part of the strategy that was planned some time ago.
"We think it's very appropriate anyway," he added. "We've always said we'd offer great value and be competitive, we're still €50 or better in price than our nearest competition, and we'll focus on creating great value as well as fabulous services and content for consumers."
Lewis said a move like this will be "part and parcel of the plan" for Xbox 360 over its lifetime, however long that may be. "Our appetite to continue to win, and to hold our lead and grow our lead over the competition is very central to what we have planned in and budgeted in for the year," he explained.
As of tomorrow, the Xbox 360 Elite costs £199.99, while the Xbox 360 Arcade rises to £159.99. This, as Lewis reiterated, is to offset exchange rate "fluctuations" in the UK.
He is confident Microsoft still offers "the most affordable console on the market", though, and expects people to continue "flocking" to shops to buy it.
Incidentally, the removal of the HDMI lead from the Xbox 360 Elite box gives "flexibility" to buyers to decide what sort of set-up configuration they want, said Lewis. Shortly before, he rather more credibly suggested the lead was taken out so the price could be lowered.
Head over to GamesIndustry.biz for the full chat with Microsoft's Chris Lewis.
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serpantdarius
27/08/09 @ 12:43
+16
suuuuuuurrrreeee, we believe you microsoft, hey is that a flying pig?
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Kazzahdrane
27/08/09 @ 12:45
+22
I don't see how removing a video cable can possibly give flexibility, there's no way they can spin that...
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+14
Also, the horrible racket the xbox fans makes is concidered "ambience", and perhaps even "an auditory cue indicating the operational status of the device". I also suspect this guy is very impressed with the multi-function aspects of the XBox, which can function as a heating device as well as playing media. Itæs an all in one solution.
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Bigglesworth
27/08/09 @ 12:48
+12
the removal of the HDMI lead from the Xbox 360 Elite box gives "flexibility" to buyers to decide what sort of set-up configuration they want
Yeah, people were getting tired of those damn HDMI leads jumping right out of the box and around customers throats, demanding they buy a HDTV or suffer garotting. |
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groovychainsaw
27/08/09 @ 12:55
+2
The exchange rate hting must be bollocks, otherwise whow can they afford to drop the price on the elite eh? I think they were trying to increase the base with the cheap arcade. NOw that they've got enough people (and neither of their rivals have followed suit - i reckon they must have been expecting nintendo to drop their price to compete...) they put it back to £160 for the arcade to still be the cheapest but create a healthy profit margin.
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Doctor_What
27/08/09 @ 13:01
+8
"we're still €50 or better in price than our nearest competition,"
Well, I guess that's accurate - after all, the 360 isn't anywhere near the Wii! |
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mcwildcard
27/08/09 @ 13:06
+8
Do you think they realise what prize spastics they look when they expect us to believe bollocks like this?
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NegativeZero
27/08/09 @ 13:08
+9
HDMI cables aren't some kind of mystical energy conductor forged in the fires of krakatoa from every third strand of hair from an albino virgin or something. They're not that expensive to put in the box. Removing them from the package means they can upsell you one for a hundred times what they actually should cost. It's not a cost-cutting measure, it's profiteering.
Also I'm sure they had plans to drop the price for quite a while. They've just been sitting on it because they knew Sony were doing a new PS3 model - hell, everyone knew the PS3 Slim was coming. |
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+6
At the risk of sounding cynical...
Perhaps he's right, they do "move to their own rhythm" and had already decided a price drop many moons ago, it's just that they couldn't announce by how much they would drop the price until they were sure about the ps3 slim price... Scratch that, the timing smells fishier than week old tuna steak left rotting in the midday sun... After all, the former CEO once publicly stated that he believed Monopoly was a form of competition... |
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SeesThroughAll
27/08/09 @ 13:26
+7
After all, the former CEO once publicly stated that he believed Monopoly was a form of competition...
Can you post a link for that? I would love to read it! |
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+8
Wow.
This is the kind of patronizing corporate doublespeak I'd normally expect from Sony. So the removal of functionality provides flexibility ?!!! Boasting about how cheap the price of your entry level 'next gen/hi-def' console is vs. the competition, (when you've removed the HDD, HDMI lead and it isn't even WiFi enabled), is like boasting about how much cheaper your car was without wheels. |
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+1
@ SeesThroughAll
There's no link i'm afraid, it was on a TV programme earlier this year: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00c6sdc It was called "How a geek changed the world" and was really interesting. They filmed it as he was preparing to leave Microsoft. Sadly, it's not available to view on BBC i-Player anymore, but in the early days of Microsoft, that was pretty much his mantra. I suppose you could call it youthful exuberance but he was deadly serious! |
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insincere_dave
27/08/09 @ 13:53
+10
My GF also complimented me on my "personal rhythm" when I was ass-fucking her the other night. Someone from MS's PR must have been watching on the webcam.
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+5
Your own rhythm?!! You mean rushing out a product with no Q.A to get to market 1st? The same product that has "360" on it in the hope that the masses will perceive it to be more powerful and better than just plain old "3", even though its your 2nd console? The cow dung is strong in its stench. They have been bending over backward to undermine the very competition they pretend doesn't exist. /rant.
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sfp_noodle
27/08/09 @ 14:59
+5
personally, i think sony's price drop forced m$ into their own. the ps3 offers the same feautures as the 360+more for around the same price and is also blu-ray enabled. consumers wud no doubt look at tht in deciding which console to buy. i strongly doubt tht m$ wud have bothered contemplating a price drop otherwise as they are already doi9ng quite well at their (until tomorrow) current price. does anybody remember what they said at e3 this year? it was along the lines of 'we dont think we need to lower the price of our console for a long time now as we offer great quality blah blah blah at a great price blah blah blah' so why drop the price of ur elite, get rid of arguably, ur best selling 'pro' model and raise the price of the entry level console and take out everything tht was previously bundled with it? i own a 360, im jus glad i didnt pay for it myself after reading this tosh
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+4
Most people who buy consoles don't have HD tvs. Bundling in a HDMI cable instead of a Component cable would mean most people can't play it out of the box.
Bundling a component instead of a HDMI cable means most people AND HD-TV owners get up to 1080i out of the box. Bundling both of them.... R U MAD! M$ wanna make monies through over-inflated accessories. |
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+2
On a less ranty (is that a word?) note.
The fact they did get to market 1st means they are well positioned to react to price cuts. In fact i believe a MS guy actaully said the same a while back. While what he said is bullshit, the same cannot be said for that strategy this gen, at least. *Yay 4 being able to space my paragraphs! (anyone know how i do it on ps3?)
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 27/08/09 @ 16:07
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-3
Does everyone who gives an interview all of a sudden become a Public Relations employee.
This guy Chris Lewis is VP of Interactive entertainment or something equivalent and the guy from Naughty Dog was co-president or something equally important. These aren't PR bullshit speakers, they're the decision makers speaking bullshit. So have at least a little respect as chances are they might know what they are doing. Ok Donnie we get it, you don't like Sony. You also appear not to like putting in a space after a full stop.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 27/08/09 @ 16:26
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+7
@Donnie, well every post today by you has read, "360 is amazing.ms are so good.SONYS vastly inferior machine, they have poor sales."
You're not exactly singing their praises are you? Thinly veiled is how I would describe you're dislike. And no it's not being petty, it makes posts easier to read when they are set out properly. |
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+1
@Donnie
Sony always revise and change their consoles to cut costs. Just as Microsoft have done with the 360. (but could'nt do with xbox as much) Im sure we will also see a 360 slim, possibly with Natal, and even after that there will still be revisions. Its debatable sales were the major factor. but then, you already knew that...
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 27/08/09 @ 16:52
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-1
You didn't see that coming? Cause I see way too many surprised posts. lol And yeah if that sounds weird its like you are telling me that sounds more of bullshit than wand being not a Wiimote copy when as in it's use, not precission, is the same thing. Yeah MS says they planned before to lower the price. They might have had plans for it but the timeframe this happened was practically a backup for when Sony would lower the price. So.. Might have been planned from before but one way or the other none of us cant guess by how far this was a move to hit back.
Like I always say. Why dont you thank them instead? One lowers the price, the other is forced to maintain top sales or whatever kind of reason and all of you get cheaper consoles no matter which one you want. Works out just fine if you ask me. |
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canIdoyabombsforya
27/08/09 @ 16:31
-7
"I still don't get the paradox that the Arcade. When they talk about blu-ray they say digital distribution is the future, and yet they still sell a console with no hard drive. Is this so they can sell an aftermarket 60gb hard drive for £60? "
But I take it you would still expect a Blu-Ray equiped 360 to be subsidised? If you want cheap HDs, buy a PC. |
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electrolite
27/08/09 @ 16:59
0
"Our appetite to continue to win, and to hold our lead and grow our lead over the competition"....apart from the other competition that are holding our head under the water and reaching for the flush....
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