MS cuts price of Xbox 360 in the US
We'll beat PS3, maybe not Wii, says boss.
Microsoft has slashed the price of Xbox 360 in the US - meaning the Arcade unit is now cheaper to buy than a Wii.
As confirmed on the Gamerscore blog, the Arcade now costs USD 199.99 (around GBP 110 / EUR 140), while the mid-range model with hard drive has come down to USD 249.99. The Elite's new price is USD 399.99 - the same as that for the 80GB PS3. The Wii costs USD 249.99.
It's all part of Microsoft's plan to sell more machines than anyone else - well, Sony at least. "I'm not at a point where I can say we're going to beat Nintendo," bossman Don Mattrick told Business Week.
However, "We will sell more consoles this generation than Sony," he added, echoing comments he made at Microsoft's E3 press conference.
As reported by Business Week, NPD data puts Nintendo is firmly in the lead in the US with 11.4 million consoles now sold. The figure for Xbox 360 is 10.7 million, while PS3 is playing catchup on 5.1 million.
The margin is narrower when looking at global figures. Researchers IDC predict worldwide shipments of 27.7 million Xbox 360 units by 2009, compared to 24.2 million for PS3. Once again, however, Nintendo will laugh in everybody's face as it commandeers all the remaining ships in the world to send 44.5 million Wii consoles sailing into shops.