MS increases Arcade 360 price in UK

By Robert Purchese Published 17 August, 2009

Retailers given official notice.

Retailers have told Eurogamer that Microsoft will increase the price of the Arcade Xbox 360 bundle to £159.99 (from £129.99) starting 1st September. The five XBLA games will no longer be included in the bundle, either.

ShopTo boss Igor Cipolletta received confirmation from Microsoft this morning, as did a corroborating independent retail chain source.

We're also told that Microsoft will bump the price of individual Xbox 360 accessories by one or two pounds. Our independent retail source said this is being done to counteract the poor pound-to-Euro currency exchange rate.

Furthermore, the email from Microsoft to retailers mentioned only Arcade and Elite bundles. This strengthens rumours that the Premium Xbox 360 bundle is being discontinued.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (114) 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Linkified #1 3 years ago

    This is because of the Euro zone countries, I would undo it

  • Rubarack #2 3 years ago

    When the pound is weak, prices go up, when it's strong, they stay the same. Are there really enough people fooled by this to disrespect us with such painfully transparent lies?

  • Retroid #3 3 years ago

    Well, that's crap.

  • Monkey_Puncher #4 3 years ago

    Pretty shitty really, Arcade bundle will be over priced unless they stick a hard drive in with it.

  • tomkuryakin #5 3 years ago

    Don't MS know that this is supposed to be the time when prices get cut?

    @ Rubarack - well said. The UK gets price gouged when the pound is strong and then they put prices up when it's weak. It's a bullshit excuse.

  • RodHull #6 3 years ago

    Silly, silly MS. I cannot think of a single example of this happening in any other retail sector without improving the quality of the package available, let alone removing features (ie the free games).

  • crwoody #7 3 years ago

    Not good news for me as my current one has a knackered disk drive. Was going to be picking a new one up in a few months. I'll have to make it sooner now :(

  • rotmm #8 3 years ago

    @Rubarack,

    While I am not happy about the increase, it would be unfair not to mention that Microsoft has been consistently selling the various 360 SKU's in the UK for cheaper than America for some time now.

    This is not something the other platform holders can claim.

    Personally, I am surprised that it's taken MS so long to bring the UK price up.

  • Mkwone #9 3 years ago

    Ninty did this, now MS. will sony follow? Although they have been rummoured to be having a price drop with the slim console.

  • Chufty #10 3 years ago

    RodHull: Check out price trends of TVs, amplifiers and other AV equpment, and any other electrical item sourced in the eurozone. Prices have all gone up in the last 6 months due to the weak pound.

    It's simple economics really. Regardless of whether they are quicker to raise prices than drop them, the fact is the exchange rate is costing these companies thousands of pounds.

  • Eraysor #11 3 years ago

    Bit of a joke really. How do they expect people to purchase something for £30 more than what it used to cost, with fewer features? It makes no sense on any level.

  • Tonka #12 3 years ago

    Hahahahahahahahahaha

    GLOD

  • Psychotext #13 3 years ago

    What Rubarack said.

  • Retroid #14 3 years ago

    Handily removes Arcades from impulse-purchase territory too. I bought Mrs Retroid's 60gb Pro for £150. I'd far rather they'd killed the Arcade off and slapped the 60gb Pro in its place.

    In this retail climate, this is a very stupid decision.

  • BabyJesus #15 3 years ago

    "Ninty did this, now MS. will sony follow? Although they have been rummoured to be having a price drop with the slim console. "

    If I was Mr Sony, now would be the perfect time for a main console price reduction.

  • siro #16 3 years ago

    Maybe they announce to stick a hard disk in it (eg Premium going Arcade) on gamescom? Else, the price up is a bit steep, isn't it?

  • Quint2020 #17 3 years ago

    Lovely, I feel like such a valued customer....

  • BabyJesus #18 3 years ago

    @siro, thats one possible reasoning, but if they do have those details it seems rather stupid by their PR dept to not get them out as soon as the price rise was confirmed.

  • X201 #19 3 years ago

    Wasn't it only last week that the "MS to cut prices to head off PS3 Slim" stories were doing the rounds?

  • matrim83 #20 3 years ago

    I can understand the price increase. Its shitty but I can.

    But the least they could have done is thrown in an extra game in the bundle and not remove the ones already included. Or maybe throw in some MS points/XBL gold subs into the deal to soften the blow. Thats the really shitty part of the equation for me.

  • login_name #21 3 years ago

    The five XBLA games will no longer be included in the bundle, either.

    I assume it will be renamed then. There's only so much salt a wound can take.

  • footle #22 3 years ago

    Using Amazon (com/fr)

    Arcade $199
    Pro 239 euros
    Elite $399 298.6 euros

    Not including sales taxes for the states, and assuming the current exchange rate:

    Arcade £122 (+VAT = £143)
    Elite £245 (+VAT = £288)

    And from euros
    Pro £206
    Elite £260

    We currently have the elite at £220, and the arcade at £135. Makes the current Elite look a bargain, though I'm not so sure about the increase in price in the Arcade.

  • Invisible_Cow #23 3 years ago

    Who's going to pay £160 for a 360 without a HDD? I'm pretty sure I paid less than that for my 20GB Premium, 18 months ago!

    So we're basically going to be left with two options:
    £160 for the Arcade
    £230 for the Elite.

    This is very aggressive\stupid behaviour from M$ I have to say. No-one wants a console without a HDD, but most could probably get by with 20GB (certainly 60GB). By removing the Premium option you're forcing people to buy the top-tier model. I can't help but think they're pricing a lot of people out of the market with that.

    Not to mention that if Sony reduce their prices slightly, you could get an entry-level PS3 for not much more than the Elite. Could be a big own-goal!

  • Figgernaggot #24 3 years ago

    They're taking the games away?! What's the point of that?

  • FireMonkey #25 3 years ago

    BabyJesus - Siro may be right (Hope so, but doubt it). Remember this was from a message to retailers and NOT to the general public.

    We should probably hold off from jumping on this too much as there may easily be an extra bit of info that we are currently missing.
    No point bitching about it till we have all the fully confirmed facts.

  • Widge #26 3 years ago

    I wonder what the best selling model of the machine is?

  • BabyJesus #27 3 years ago

    @Firemonkey, true enough.

    There has got to be something up their sleeve with this being gamescom week and all, so maybe there is more to this.

  • Crovax20 #28 3 years ago

    Well, you could also see this the other way around. Why do people in the UK pay less for a 360 then people on mainland europe?

    Not that I mind, I just import everything from the UK right now >:) Well not a 360 game console anymore :p

  • FireMonkey #29 3 years ago

    BabyJesus - I really hope so, as my kids just knackered up the drive of my current 360 (which was a RROD replacement)

  • Dizzy #30 3 years ago

    I just buy everything in the UK because you guys are cheaper than mainland Euro with the weak pound. I was hoping your shops would take beads and shiny pieces of glass soon ;)

  • JetSetWilly #31 3 years ago

    The increase will be in 720p though, so it's not all bad.

  • rotmm #32 3 years ago

    @Crovax20,

    Indeed. Currently UK'ers pay less for the various 360 models than both EU and US customers.

    I would say that we have been fortunate for this last 9-12 months that MS chose to try and ride out the exchange-rate storm. They could have followed both Nintendo and Sony, which charge more to UK'ers than those other markets.

  • solidSnake04 #33 3 years ago

    oh.. cool.
    (that was a sarcastic oh cool by the way)
    Edited by 1 at 17/08/09 @ 15:06

  • Rubarack #34 3 years ago

    The Arcade was £130/$200 which was pretty representative of the buying power of each currency. If we'd been getting benefit from the strong pound it would have been £100. Now, while I'd like to see us benefit from the strong pound it's not really how markets work, prices are generally set at what people will pay for them. But if you're pricing on what people are prepared to pay it doesn't make sense to hike prices up in the middle of a recession.

  • YobRenoops #35 3 years ago

    I reckon they'll announce a 20gb or something hard drive with the new "arcade" at Gamescom as their counter to the PS3 Slim. Could explain the price increase and removal of XBLA games.

  • Bealsy #36 3 years ago

    Maybe they might start packing HDDs into the arcades?

  • ZeroAX #37 3 years ago

    @Rubarack

    you are right man. but punish the companies by not buying their product instead of going out and buying it anyway, but griping at the same time not talking about you ofc but about every day joe)

  • LazyDan #38 3 years ago

    Keep dreaming if you think a Sony price cut is coming. They probably need to increase the price as well - and won't that be a popular news article? ;)

  • ebony69 #39 3 years ago

    Still about 1/2 the price of its competition so I dont think MS have too much to worry about on this one.

  • napalm68 #40 3 years ago

    Wow, so they are trying to not hemorrhage as much money from that division finally.

  • Darren #41 3 years ago

    Seems crazy to me to make things more expensive during an economic recession? Surely Microsoft need to be stimulating sales not putting people off? :?

  • kangarootoo #42 3 years ago

    A console price increase? A first for our industry, surely?

  • Bitkari #43 3 years ago

    The cynical part of me says this is nothing to do with foreign exchange mechanism, and everything to do with providing price-point latitude this Christmas.

    When the inevitable PS3 price-drop comes, I can imagine Microsoft wanting to be able to say "Hey we can drop our prices too".

    Hardware sales are pretty flat right now, so I don't imagine this affecting sales terribly much.

    But, if a price-war breaks out, this means Microsoft have one in the chamber...

  • kangarootoo #44 3 years ago

    "But, if a price-war breaks out, this means Microsoft have one in the chamber... "

    Only for customers who have lost their short term memories.

    Are we suggesting that the price increase is so that they can then announce a price cut back to the same amount in 6 weeks time... and nobody will notice what has really happened? Oooookay.

  • alpha-0ne #45 3 years ago

    The 360 is profitable MS dont need to make any losses on the hardware, they are more than happy to sell lots of games to the current userbase then next xmas introduce the Natal bundle


    they could also announce the HDD included int he arcade next week
    Edited by 1 at 17/08/09 @ 13:37

  • HappyChimp #46 3 years ago

    Ouch - I just ordered an 360 Arcade for my dad this morning (he wants to play Call of Juarez: BiB of all things) - was going to hang around until the end of the month for the alleged "price drop", rather glad I didn't piss about now :)

  • GamerG #47 3 years ago

    Seems silly to me especially if as expected the PS3 will have a price cut.

    Maybe they are discontinuing the arcade and are trying to make it look less attractive as a value proposition whilst not losing the face of discontinuing it all together?

  • Synthesis #48 3 years ago

    ..and everyone thought that by removing the Premium, MS were going to drop the Elite into it's place. Turns out they are removing the Premium and increasing the price of the Arcade to replace it instead.

    These exchange rate arguments bore me. We've paid more for virtually everything in the electronics industry for countless years. Many European nations have higher VAT than we do and they often still end up paying less. The UK is often last in the line for release dates as well, meaning not only do we pay more, we have to wait longer.

    Maybe the Arcade was for once a 'fair' deal for us over recent months, it makes a change after paying over the odds for countless years. We were shafted on Steam for quite some time and that's digital distribution, they don't even have the excuse of physical distribution. Not that physical distribution is even an excuse either, the software can be sent over the internet at worst, or on a master disk via plane to a localised production facility. The hardware is all made in China/Asia and all of it has to be shipped around the world, I doubt it's that much cheaper to ship it to NA than it is to Europe.

    Checking Amazon quickly we have these current prices for the 360 Arcade (I'm aware they will change and Amazon may not be the cheapest, but it's a stable comparison):

    UK - £134.99 ($220.32 €156.42)
    US - $199.99 (£122.55 €142.04)
    EU - €179.95 ($253.37 £155.19)
    UK (new) - £159.99 ($261.03 €185.44)

    It's clear that Europe gets the biggest shaft here, but the UK is also shafted compared to the US. You could argue that Europe is shafted because of 'localisation', lots of different languages to cater for, although I expect things like the manual are already in 15 languages. However, this 'excuse' loses all it's weight once you see the price increase. UK residents will now be expected to pay more than anyone else in the world for the same product, despite less localisation requirements than their European brethren.

    Unfortunately, muppets will still purchase these consoles in droves and I don't see this increase suddenly putting a halt on the 360's sales figures. A lot of people purchasing these things don't have a clue about the differences between the systems, they only know what in-store staff tell them and that is routinely a load of inaudible crap anyway. Mums will still buy them for their children and most of the savvy gamers already have whatever console they prefer anyway.

    I didn't buy any of the 'new' consoles, they all seemed like full-on money grabbing crap at the time each of them came out and they still do. Stupid prices for 'DLC', ridiculous usage of fixed 'points' systems which are as bad as the Oyster card in terms of prepay 'scams'. Made worse by the fact that you can't really buy the amount of points you want and the amounts you can purchase don't match up very well with the price of content.

    To the Euro's that complain about us having it cheaper than you; you are certainly correct and within your rights to do so, but really both of us should join forces and complain against the continuous price-shafting we receive from the electronics industry in the first place. Having to pay €180 for the Arcade is ridiculous given what other countries are paying.

    I wonder why they don't raise the price in America, since after these changes all of Europe will be paying over $50 more for the same product. MS could be getting $250 for the same console if they raised prices and they could use the old exchange rate excuse!

    Longest comment ever but not entirely useless I think!
    Edited by 1 at 17/08/09 @ 14:02

  • RESIDENT_nEVILe #49 3 years ago

    Arse.

    I used to feel secure in the knowledge that when my pleasefixme goes tits - I could pick up a replacement as an impulse buy.

    Very strange message to be sending during a recession.

    /admires barrel as MS savagely bums.

  • NotSoSlim #50 3 years ago

    Well the most the Elite will drop to now is £199.99. If Sony do a mass clearout of 80gb n release the supposed PS3 slim at £229.99 then MS could be in trouble imo

  • JayeM #51 3 years ago

    This doesn't makes sense, Microsoft have been very cautious not to piss off their customers with the 360 and I believe the UK is their biggest market in Europe...

  • Gaol #52 3 years ago

    @Synthesis
    Actually, it is entirely useless I'm afraid. You've not accounted for differences in tax, distribution costs, standard of living, and average wages to name a few. You can't just do an exchange rate conversion between countries and come to any kind of meaningful conclusion on the relative real costs of a 360.

    Furthermore, in the UK we are generally willing to pay more for electronics - we place a higher value on it than other (hotter) countries. Therefore we are charged more. The price point doesn't need to be somehow 'fair', it's set at a point to maximise returns or market share.

    I'm still surprsed at this news however, and reckon we aren't getting the whole picture yet.
    Edited by 4 at 17/08/09 @ 14:12

  • MiniAmin #53 3 years ago

    *Slowly places face in palm*

  • Fixxxer #54 3 years ago

    What people are overlooking are the reasons this price increase is great. Here, I'll run through them for you:

    1. I recently bought a 60GB with two games for £160
    2. See number 1

  • oupe #55 3 years ago

    Synthesis : I didn't buy any of the 'new' consoles, they all seemed like full-on money grabbing crap at the time each of them came out and they still do.

    nah.
    Edited by 2 at 17/08/09 @ 14:12

  • El-Dev #56 3 years ago

    I never really seen the point of the arcade, anyone with a bit of sense would always go for a model with a hard drive.

  • poopmonster #57 3 years ago

    Considering the cost of the console is almost entirely the cost of it's parts, removing the games (software, no moving parts) on top of a price rise seems rather strange.

    I think this has more to do with Microsoft profit margins falling than the value of the pound, which I don't ever remember seeing knock hardware prices up more than a few quid.

    Add to this VAT changes if they come about - don't forget, the current 15% is just a temporary respite.
    Edited by 1 at 17/08/09 @ 14:23

  • GamesConnoisseur #58 3 years ago

    I can easily imagine that Nintendo increase Wii console price and makes hardly any changes in the amount of Wii sold comparatively to other consoles (allowing for recession hit dips etc), but I m not so sure that MS can afford the same worry-free decision what with Sony yet to play their card?

    PS3 Slim out and price? So if Sony going to cut then there would perhaps be a little less barrier of price? Sure most people would not look at the features but rather the cash at the till price point factoring into their choice of console as well as words of mouth.

    This time around, the market share seem still to be pretty much more even than last gen. Question... is that new market reality a bad thing?!

  • andywilkie35 #59 3 years ago

    CRIKEY!

  • Trikk #60 3 years ago

    Wait, people still buy Xbox 360s?

  • chubster2010 #61 3 years ago

    re 'We're also told that Microsoft will bump the price of individual Xbox 360 accessories by one or two pounds.'

    Scandalous. 360 accessories are already a massive rip of - I know it's only a few quid, but still... Poor show MS.

  • skillian #62 3 years ago

    does anyone know if its a first for a console price to increase during its lifecycle?

    The Wii did it in the UK a couple of months ago.

  • NotSoSlim #63 3 years ago

    Well if this is the case Sony need to seize this opportunity while the can...choice 360 Arcade for £160, Elite for probably £199 or PS3 Slim FOR £229

    It wont be so easy to decide if these do end up being the prices. Not even counting the games coming out

  • StooMonster #64 3 years ago

    the current 15% is just a temporary respite

    Yep, VAT up to 20% after the election next June.

  • david78 #65 3 years ago

    @Donnie The Arcade is the biggest selling SKU, that's why. Maybe not now though ;)
    A truly bizarre move, especially if as rumoured there is a new PS3 + price drop announced tomorrow.

  • Syrette #66 3 years ago

    Hate to be so blunt, but well, fuck off Microsoft.

    Putting the price of accessories up is downright offensive.

  • Invisible_Cow #67 3 years ago

    Of course, it also makes it more expensive to replace your console when the GPU unseats and MS tell you you're SOL..

  • Sunyavadin #68 3 years ago

    I'm betting retailers will suck it up and take the lower profit margin.

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #69 3 years ago

    There's definately more to this, mark my words.

    MS wouldn't up the arcade by £30 and remove the games without some other reason. They're not completely stupid despite what people think.

    This ALL to do with the SKU reshuffle and I agree completely that an arcade with either a HDD or a new multi-GB Memory Card is going to be announced next week.

    Look at it this way. The Premium (£170) is going. Given that this is by far MS's biggest seller the Elite HAS to drop to that price or close to it. You can't lose your £170 console and replace it with a £230 one. That would beat even Sega for console gafs. ;)

    So if the Elite is £170 (or even £180), NO ONE is going to buy an Arcade for £160.

    Ergo... The SKU is changing.

  • miiiguel #70 3 years ago

    They are doing this because they are scared of Sony's price drop... wait..., this yesterdays' theory doesn't make sense anymore. Let's come up with something else...

  • david78 #71 3 years ago

    @Donnie You can use Live without a hard drive, BTW.

  • jamezz #72 3 years ago

    Seems very strange to me, I was expecting Microsoft to cut price of Elite to £159 to fend off possible £199 PS3 (will sony do as much as £100??). Even if Sony only cuts the PS3 to £250 (and with a HD bump to 120/160gb as also rumored) it makes the PS3 look a lot better value considering you also get Wifi and Blu Ray.

    The image on Kotaku http://ko taku.com/5330287/xbox-360-pro-b... seems to comfirm there wont be another 'premium' pack 360 for the forseable.

  • 8bitMofo #73 3 years ago

    quality mickeysoft, quality.

  • Boyatsea #74 3 years ago

    What are you lot talking about? Jesus, it's like the mob mentality in The Simpsons in here.

    They're surely about to lump a hard drive on there, no? Hence the price increase.

  • Farzlepot #75 3 years ago

    This isn't such a big deal really. When you consider that with the release of Vista, Microsoft's currency conversion method involved simply replacing the $ sign with a £ sign (which basically amounted to, at the time, doubling the price) we have been extremely fortunate to have been paying less for the Xbox than America AND Europe.

    Seriously, can anybody think of a time when people in the UK paid LESS for something? ANYTHING?!

  • skillian #76 3 years ago

    You should see the price of Marmite in LA.

  • j1m.ch053n #77 3 years ago

    I like the confusing sony's new laughter detection algorythms alot. The real truth is MS have looked at the recent "success" of Wii after their price hike and decided they want some of this "hot" action

  • david78 #78 3 years ago

    The simple fact is increasing the price of something lowers perception of it, hard drive or not.

  • Farzlepot #79 3 years ago

    "You should see the price of Marmite in LA."

    This is the ONLY reason I don't move to the US - pricing and availability of Marmite.

  • Gaol #80 3 years ago

    @trebell

    Exactly, clearly this is all miscommunication being jumped on by hit-hungry websites. Until there's official word it should be listed as rumour.
    Edited by 1 at 17/08/09 @ 15:58

  • WinterSnowblind #81 3 years ago

    I'm going to assume this is false.

    As much as "real" gamers hate the Arcade, it's been doing well because of the casual gamers who'll pick it up simply because it's cheap. While I'm sure it'll still sell at that price, it definitely won't do anywhere near as well. If they keep it at £120, and bring the Elite down to £160 it would be a great deal, and take a lot of the wind out of the sails of the PS3 slim.

    I just don't see why they'd do this, the arcade sells because of how cheap it is. Making it the same price as a Wii is just a bad idea.

  • BadDevotions #82 3 years ago

    i sincerely hope that the arcade does not increase in price.

    i was hoping to get another 360 which would stay in the living room (dvd/divx/games machine), thus leaving my "proper" 360 in my office.

  • Hexagon #83 3 years ago

    It is often joked that the UK is like a third world shopping paradise for the rest of the EU in terms of video games but with price increases seeming to become a trend, this will no longer be the case.

  • Bravestinsane #84 3 years ago

    Is it just me but i don't understand how the Euro makes any difference to Pound prices, its a American Console ffs.

    Rumoured PS3 Price cuts.... and Microsoft retaliates with a CONFIRMED price increase right...

    The only way this will be forgiviable is if the second the exchange rates return to there old rates this move is reversed.

    Something i don't see games developers will be doing..hint hint Activision hint.

  • monkeywithnoeyes #85 3 years ago

    putting the price up? and killing off the pro? ... hmm lets see how long they stick to that business plan when the ps3 finally gets its price cut this year.

    Not many gamers would go for a £160 core without a harddrive over a ps3 thats only £40-£90 extra with probably a game thrown in.

  • hiddenranbir #86 3 years ago

    Glad I already have this overpriced contraption.

  • interceptor #87 3 years ago

    This is crazy!

    If they bundled even a 20Gb Hard Drive with the arcade and increased it by £30, then fair enough - but to just increase the price whilst also removing the games is shooting yourself in the foot, especially in a recession.

  • interceptor #88 3 years ago

    @Synthesis

    Good breakdown you have done there. Very insightful.

    One small thing though - don't the US consumers have to add Sales Tax (of upto 7% I think) onto their prices (which differs depending on which state you're in) whereas the UK prices already have VAT included.

    Doesn't make a big difference, but does narrow the gap slightly.

  • WinterSnowblind #89 3 years ago

    @interceptor
    I think chances are it'll probably have a lot of internal memory, there's been rumours about this for a while. Perhaps even more than 20gb.

    But it still seems like an odd move considering how well the Arcade has been selling, simply because it doesn't come with any of these extras. Maybe they've changed their stance because of the massive amount of DLC, downloadable games and mandatory installs coming though. Games like Forza require you to install content, so it does sort of make sense that they want to make sure you can acess everything.

  • dllord #90 3 years ago

    Well i've already got and Elite and i'm not planning on buying another xbox so i dont give a feck if they put the price up of any xbox!

  • Bazfrag #91 3 years ago

    Odd given the 360 was outselling wii in the uk. Not so odd given that ms is a business.

  • whoelse #92 3 years ago

    Some people are saying maybe they will add a hard drive, but the new retail boxes show otherwise.

    What they are doing is stopping the Pro and instead of lowering the price of the Elite (which they may do everywhere else), they are raising the Arcade and removing 5 games. I hope Sony don't look at this and choose NOT to lower the PS3 in the UK.

  • Bazfrag #93 3 years ago

    I get neg'ed for my comment but on page 1 theres a +32 for the insightful "Thats crap" pff

  • Les #94 3 years ago

    AFAIK, SKU change or no, a price hike is rather revolutionary for a console.

    MS took a serious hit with discounting the 360 so much last year. Now that the effect is pretty much over and the PS3 is still quite a bit more expensive, they apparently feel that the benefits of a price hike (not selling units at a loss or even making a small profit) will surpass the downsides (selling less units).

  • FenderMaster #95 3 years ago

    I'm not Brittish, but this kind of thing always bodes badly...

    here in Ireland, we've long been gouged on the Stg to Euro exchange rate, because alot of our stuff is imported from the UK, not Europe, so I have a feeling that the UK getting gouged is gonna make things worse for us too...

    bullshit though, its the middle of one of the worst recessions (depressions?) ever, with huge uneployment, governments running out of money, wage decreases, and M$/Nintendo/Activision decide now is the time to increase prices?

    crazyness

  • WinterSnowblind #96 3 years ago

    @whoelse
    No HDD, just more internal memory. It's been rumoured for a while, and would explain the increase.. But who knows.

  • Shwing #97 3 years ago

    Is it just me who thinks we should all wait to see exactly what Microsoft is doing regarding models / pricing - rather than everyone wet themselves?

    It may very well turn out as most people imagine - then again, it may not...
    Time will tell.

  • GreyBeard #98 3 years ago

    Yeah, lets wait for a couple of days to see what gets announced in Cologne, this is a big price hike and I cant see MS needing to add nearly an extra 25% on top (for less) in order to compensate for currency fluctuations.

    The weird part is that this is apparently only in the UK, which you'd think would rule out a proper new SKU being introduced, as that would be a territory-wide change.

    That said, supporting that extended warranty must have gotten quite expensive over the course of the recession (transport costs, running repair centres and helplines) and MS may feel the need to claw back some of that cost.

    The arcade really has been remarkably cheap by any standard, especially given that its sales have never been that high and as result the whole economy-of-scale savings mechanism cannot have kicked in that hard.
    Edited by 1 at 17/08/09 @ 19:44

  • Sunyavadin #99 3 years ago

    -1? Okay, I'll state, with reasonable arguments, WHY I expect if this is true, retailers will take the losses.

    A couple of major retailers will realise they'll make more money by keeping the price the same when the others increase it. Higher sales at a lower price > Lower sales at a higher price. Pretty soon everyone will keep it at the old price, to prevent losing out to the competition.



    ...Also, I'm amused by how many people whining here probably ALREADY OWN 360s....
    Edited by 1 at 17/08/09 @ 19:49

  • beastmaster #100 3 years ago

    Would Sony now be bold enough to lower their price? If they knock off £50+ it'll hoover up this Xmas.

  • EuroStalker #101 3 years ago

    I wonder what the comments would have been if Sony had increased the price of the PS2 or PS3.

    The Xbox 360 Arcade pack is a joke. I ended buying one only to find that I had to spend more on accessories a few months down the line. It's a bigger joke if the price is increased and no hard disk is included.

    Microsoft should have stuck to the pricing model. That's the only edge they have over Sony. You can't really say Xbox 360 has the games when you look at the variety on offer on PS3.

    It seems bizzarre to up the price at a time when quality releases are thin on the ground in the face of Killzone 2, Infamous and the Wipeout update.

    Over to Sony then!

  • EuroStalker #102 3 years ago

    Sorry. I meant more that Xbox 360 does not have a significant advantage when it comes to games which was true 1 year ago.

  • Calgon #103 3 years ago

    If I was optimistic, I'd speculate that this might be a sign that they have chucked in more flash memory like someone else suggested(20gb or more) and made it smaller using the Valhalla chip revision(not sure on the date that was expected to be honest). The Arcade would then be the slimline model and the Elite would stay the same and get a price cut, perhaps even have an increased HDD size at some point.

    That would be a much nicer announcement than a price increase, but probably not likely.
    Edited by 2 at 17/08/09 @ 22:14

  • rotmm #104 3 years ago

    @EuroStalker, "I wonder what the comments would have been if Sony had increased the price of the PS2 or PS3."

    Unfortunately, MS don't have a 2nd string to theri bow like Sony and Nintendo do with the handhelds, so Sony can make up on the £ weaknesses with a $249, €249, £249 pricing policy.
    Edited by 1 at 17/08/09 @ 22:14

  • fever #105 3 years ago

    I think this is a really bad move, piracy is already too high this cant help it. Are there any decent exclusives this year? i dont think there are? if i didnt already own a 360 i think id be heading to ps3 for my MW2

  • MeBrains #106 3 years ago

    greybeard: they release a substandard console, lose on it and then claw back the cost for it?! that'd be very nice indeed. you might be true about the arcade's sales though and that would be further proof (to me at least) that its competitor is not doing all that bad.

    anyhows... it would be a very strange and totally unexpected move they'd make. the coming days should be interesting...

  • cheekyjay #107 3 years ago

    Erm - how does the Euro to GBP exchange rate have any impact on the USD to GBP rate?

  • BonzoBanana #108 3 years ago

    Maybe these jasper based 360s aren't as reliable as Microsoft hoped and again there in a situation of dealing with a lot of repairs. I've got a jasper based model myself and its definitely better than my old 360 but it still crashes a lot more than my original ps3. Not that, that means there is some hardware fault I suppose as Microsoft operating systems are crash prone even on good hardware.

    Lets face it if Microsoft actually sold 360s at a profit and with all the repairs they've had to do the real price of the 360 should have been about £600 at launch and just going under about £400 now.

    Wii prices seem to have fallen rather than gone up.

    It feels like Microsoft have done a massive favour to Sony by increasing their prices when the slim is almost here.

  • FenderMaster #109 3 years ago

    @ Marshall2008

    you should pick up Valkyria Chronicles, its gud

    also, besides Killzone 2 and Infamous, see: Uncharted, Ratchet and Clank, MGS 4, Disgaea 3, Motorstorm 1 & 2, and PSN titles like Flower, Fat Princess, Pixeljunk series, Nobi Nobi Boy

    Demon Souls and Yakuza 3 may or may not make an appearance in this hemisphere...

    anyway, saying theres a lack of quality PS3 exclusives is just as ignorant as saying theres a lack of quality 360 exclusives, both consoles have fantastic libraries already
    Edited by 1 at 18/08/09 @ 01:00

  • Ryze #110 2 years ago

    I expect that the Arcade's internal flash memory will be increased drastically over the coming months / year.

  • Widge #111 2 years ago

    and just to put the boot in, they do a Sony!

    [link url=http://kotaku.com/5339432/elite-360-no-longer- ships-with-hd-cables
    ]http://ko taku.com/5339432/elite-360-no-l...[/link]

    \o/

  • Farzlepot #112 2 years ago

    The thirty quid price hike I could just about cope with... but having to shell out almost a FIVER for an HDMI cable?

    *Lights his flaming torch and marches upon Redmond*

  • SlackMaster #113 2 years ago

    MS needs some stronger competition from Sony to shake things up a little. Until then increasing the price by £30 will make little impact on sales overall.

  • penhalion #114 2 years ago

    Vote with your wallets people. It seems to be the only language that Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo understand.

  • chessboxer #115 2 years ago

    The 360 Arcade still only has 256MB internal storage. This can be seen in a photo from Kotaku's story. I've heard that some Jaspers have 512MB internal storage as well but can't confirm if that's true.