Microsoft slashes Xbox prices
Microsoft has made it official, the cheapest version of their Xbox 360 now costs just under $200.
The now $199 unit is the Xbox 360 Arcade, while Microsoft's other two versions, the regular Xbox 360 and the Xbox 360 Elite, also saw price slashes to $299 and $399 respectively. With these latest price cuts, the Xbox 360 is now cheaper than the Nintendo Wii, and half the price of a Playstation 3.
Rumours of a price cut to $199 have been floating around since June when Microsoft employee David Hufford said, “[The] sweet spot for the market is really 199 bucks,” when speaking in regards to the Xbox 360's future at the time. Furthermore, several retailers, including Best Buy and KMart, had leaked fliers showing the new price cuts in late August in North America.
Prior to the cuts, the Xbox 360 Arcade unit was $279. At $199 Microsoft is aiming to rope in the elusive casual gamer crowd. With the Nintendo Wii sitting at $249 since its original debut in late 2006, casual gamers have flocked to stores to snap it up. With the price cuts, Microsoft is hoping to under-cut the Wii, as well as gain a sales leg-up over the Playstation 3. Worldwide this year the Playstation 3 has outsold the Xbox 360 nearly every month.
While this is an attempt to under-cut the Wii's momentum, Microsoft themselves are not confident in catching up to the momentum altogether.
As Xbox executive Don Mattrick put it, “I'm not at a point where I can say we're going to beat Nintendo... We will sell more consoles this generation than Sony.”
Mattrick's statement echos Microsoft's bold goals heard at this years E3 when announcing Final Fantasy XIII for the Xbox 360.
Sony themselves do not seem to be phased by the cuts.
“We're really confident that consumers are making choices driven by value, and we know PS3 offers that value across the board, with the built-in Blu-ray player the broadest and deepest software lineup in the industry, [...] we're quite confident our holiday sales will be good,” said Julia Han of Sony's corporate communications department to online publication Gamasutra.
Last generation, the then leading Playstation 2 hit the $199 price point roughly two years after its release. The cut at the time brought the Playstation 2 to an equal price point with the almost one year old Nintendo Gamecube, and $100 cheaper than the original Xbox. The difference being this generation that the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 are nearly neck and neck while the Wii sells roughly twice as fast. When the Playstation 2 hit $199 it's install base ratio to the Xbox was 10:1.
The now $199 unit is the Xbox 360 Arcade, while Microsoft's other two versions, the regular Xbox 360 and the Xbox 360 Elite, also saw price slashes to $299 and $399 respectively. With these latest price cuts, the Xbox 360 is now cheaper than the Nintendo Wii, and half the price of a Playstation 3.
Rumours of a price cut to $199 have been floating around since June when Microsoft employee David Hufford said, “[The] sweet spot for the market is really 199 bucks,” when speaking in regards to the Xbox 360's future at the time. Furthermore, several retailers, including Best Buy and KMart, had leaked fliers showing the new price cuts in late August in North America.
Prior to the cuts, the Xbox 360 Arcade unit was $279. At $199 Microsoft is aiming to rope in the elusive casual gamer crowd. With the Nintendo Wii sitting at $249 since its original debut in late 2006, casual gamers have flocked to stores to snap it up. With the price cuts, Microsoft is hoping to under-cut the Wii, as well as gain a sales leg-up over the Playstation 3. Worldwide this year the Playstation 3 has outsold the Xbox 360 nearly every month.
While this is an attempt to under-cut the Wii's momentum, Microsoft themselves are not confident in catching up to the momentum altogether.
As Xbox executive Don Mattrick put it, “I'm not at a point where I can say we're going to beat Nintendo... We will sell more consoles this generation than Sony.”
Mattrick's statement echos Microsoft's bold goals heard at this years E3 when announcing Final Fantasy XIII for the Xbox 360.
Sony themselves do not seem to be phased by the cuts.
“We're really confident that consumers are making choices driven by value, and we know PS3 offers that value across the board, with the built-in Blu-ray player the broadest and deepest software lineup in the industry, [...] we're quite confident our holiday sales will be good,” said Julia Han of Sony's corporate communications department to online publication Gamasutra.
Last generation, the then leading Playstation 2 hit the $199 price point roughly two years after its release. The cut at the time brought the Playstation 2 to an equal price point with the almost one year old Nintendo Gamecube, and $100 cheaper than the original Xbox. The difference being this generation that the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 are nearly neck and neck while the Wii sells roughly twice as fast. When the Playstation 2 hit $199 it's install base ratio to the Xbox was 10:1.
