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March 10th, 2008 @ 14:35
No more guessing, then. Microsoft just confirmed what Amazon had the good grace to admit this morning: the RRPs of all three European Xbox 360 SKUs will drop on Friday.
“Microsoft today announced it is lowering the estimated retail price (ERP) for its Xbox 360 family of consoles in Europe,” said the company in a statement.
“Now with an entry-level ERP of £159.99, Xbox 360 is a mass market entertainment proposition with something to offer for every interest and budget.
“From Friday, 14th March, Xbox 360, which includes a 20GB hard drive and one wireless controller, will have an ERP of £199.99 – a saving of £50 on the current ERP. The Xbox 360 Elite, which comes with a massive 120GB hard drive enabling consumers to store huge quantities of content downloaded from Xbox LIVE Marketplace as well as their own music, will have an ERP of £259.99 – a saving of £40. The Xbox 360 Arcade console, perfect for those wishing to make their first foray into the gaming and entertainment world of Xbox, will have an ERP of £159.99 – a saving of £40.”
Press release after the link.
Everyone’s Invited To Experience Xbox 360 As Microsoft Lowers Estimated Retail Price in Europe
With Estimated Retail Price Starting At £159.99, Even More European Consumers Can Enjoy The Definitive High-Definition Gaming and Entertainment Experience
LONDON - Monday 10th March, 2008 - Microsoft today announced it is lowering the estimated retail price (ERP) for its Xbox 360™ family of consoles in Europe. Now with an entry-level ERP of £159.99, Xbox 360 is a mass market entertainment proposition with something to offer for every interest and budget.
From Friday, 14th March, Xbox 360, which includes a 20GB hard drive and one wireless controller, will have an ERP of £199.99 – a saving of £50 on the current ERP. The Xbox 360 Elite, which comes with a massive 120GB hard drive enabling consumers to store huge quantities of content downloaded from Xbox LIVE™ Marketplace as well as their own music, will have an ERP of £259.99 – a saving of £40. The Xbox 360 Arcade console, perfect for those wishing to make their first foray into the gaming and entertainment world of Xbox, will have an ERP of £159.99 – a saving of £40.
Xbox 360 is the number one next-gen console in EMEA, owning 42% of the market in terms of life-to-date revenue. Xbox 360 continues to enjoy the highest software attach rate of any game console in Europe with more than 7.0 games sold per console (PS3: 3.8; Wii 3.5) after 26 months on the market[1].
The new ERPs are part of Microsoft’s ongoing strategy to open up the ultimate in high-definition gaming and entertainment to an even wider audience, with an offering for everyone:
· Best Choice for Families:
o Xbox 360 grows as your family does, offering games and entertainment for every member of the family – from movies to games to music videos.
o With over 150 3+ rated[2] games and unparalleled parental controls, parents can feel good about their kids playing Xbox 360
· Most Diverse Entertainment:
o Xbox 360 offers great choice in high-definition entertainment
o Xbox Live Video Store offers a wide variety of movies to download, both in HD and SD, enabling great entertainment in the living room at the press of a button
o It’s easy to view and enjoy video and photos on Xbox 360 as well as connect wirelessly to share content with a Windows Media Center PC
· The Best Games:
o There will be over 1,000 games available on Xbox 360 by the end of the year, with something for every skill level, interest and taste
o New community games allow gamers to sample the best of indie games, providing innovative new ways to play and enjoy
o Blockbuster franchises like Grand Theft Auto IV, with exclusive downloadable episodes on Xbox LIVE, and Rock Band make Xbox 360 the place to be this Spring
o Xbox 360 exclusives for 2008 include Fable 2, Gears of War 2 and Too Human, setting new standards for next-generation gaming
“Xbox 360 is now mass market in Europe,” said Chris Lewis, Vice President, Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Business Europe. “We have reached and surpassed several key milestones that form part of our long term strategic plan to achieve critical mass in Europe; and our portfolio now offers the kind of mainstream entertainment experiences that secure wider appeal for Xbox 360. These factors allow us to execute on our strategy to widen the market for Xbox 360, as planned.
“We continue to offer intense, immersive gaming experiences for gamers – but now we’re priced in a way that will allow new consumers to find out for themselves why Xbox 360 is the ultimate in high-definition entertainment.” said Lewis. “History shows that £159.99 is the price point where a console’s audience begins to expand, and with these new ERPs in place we’re ready to bring more consumers into the Xbox 360 world.”
-Ends-
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March 10th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
And thus begins the downward spiral of the 360 into console obscurity. Bit of a ‘Dreamcast’ theme today I reckon
March 10th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Ha! Cynic
March 10th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
My dear bro will be pissed, he only bought his Elite last week.
March 10th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
That’s what you get when you trade in a superb game.
March 10th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Wow! Didn’t see that coming!
These are nice prices, though. Thumbs up to Microsoft, middle fingers up to Sony.
March 10th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Yeah, altogether now, he’s a …..
PILLOCK!
Just kidding bro
March 10th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
I’ll be interested to see how heavily they market this in conjunction with the GTA launch.
March 10th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
My guess is they’ll outdo the Halo 3 launch. Not that it will help, price cuts are always an admission of defeat. Unless it’s from Sony heheh
March 10th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
I just don’t know if it’ll make a difference in the rest of Europe. Surely they’ll all be waiting for a PS3 drop now?
March 10th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
A PS3 price drop would really put the cat amongst the pigeons.
March 10th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
299 euros for a PS3 and it’ll be like watching rats attack a corpse. Not that I know what that looks like, but you know what I mean.
March 10th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Cynic! Oh……
March 10th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Be interesting to see sales figures for April.
March 10th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
They’ll get a quick hit out of it, definitely. The important things to watch will be whether or not it makes a difference in Europe and how GTA IV sales split between 360 and PS3.
March 10th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Links to videos of rats attacking a corpse, pls!
March 10th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
I haven’t played my wii since Mario Galaxy came out. That’s neither here nor there but I wanted to tell someone about it, it’s quite a burden to carry around so I wanted to share the load.
March 10th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Remember those videos of people rioting in Paris when Sony launched PS2? It’ll be like that
March 10th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
@chins - Me either. Bit of a shame, really. And they still can’t make enough of them. You won’t be seeing a Wii drop any time soon.
March 10th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
A drop of Wii?
March 10th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
“Wii” jokes will never be unfunny
March 10th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Rats in KFC. Best rat vid I could find at short notice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su0U37w2tws
March 10th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Nintendo are the best developers in the world apparently.
Anyway, hopefully No More Heroes should get my Wii some attention over and above the crappy code I’m forced to review.
March 10th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Those are some serious fucking rats. That’s what it’ll be like when Sony does the deed. Million of them, all chewing on PS3s.
March 10th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I still haven’t seen No More Heroes working. I can’t see it doing anything significant in terms of sales, especially now 360’s cheaper than a bag of very cheap chips.
March 10th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Shirley you mean they’ll be chewing on 360’s? With the Wii for dessert?
/lives on planet Zorg
March 10th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
At last!
Great prices - especially getting the Premium in under £200. IIRC that’s about the price point that the PS2 really took off - I can see this doing great trade over the next few months.
It will be interesting to see how Sony respond (if they do) because frankly, the £299 Gran Turismo Prologue pack is going to look a bit sad and pathetic if you can get an Elite and a full price game (or two) for the same outlay.
March 10th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
£190 for the Premium pack is hard to refuse, I reckon, and you’re right, PS3 looks very expensive in comparison now. I really was hoping for an MGS4 pack: GT5:P just isn’t big enough to make the magic happen for PS3 right now, I reckon.
And you’re right, yep: sub-£200 is when PS2 really accelerated in Europe.
March 10th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
£249 for the 40gb PS3 would seem like the obvious move right now. Undercut the Elite by a few quid and point out the extra features you get over and above the Premium for your extra £50.
But this is Sony. No doubt it’ll take them six months to decide what to do.
March 10th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
…and they’ll still end up selling more in the long run.
March 10th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
I don’t reckon they care enough to do it. I still firmly believe we won’t see them make a very aggressive move until Q3. It’s worth remembering that PS3’s outselling 360 across most of Europe. I think they can wait before they attack 360 full-on in the UK.
March 10th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
You’re probably right. But that GTA launch could be a very big bragging point for Microsoft. Do they really want to take that risk?
I was in GAME at the weekend and they had a huge GTA4 display at the front of the store which was 100% 360 boxes. There was a single box for the PS3 version on the PS3 shelf. No guesses which version is getting pushed there, and that was *before* the price cut.
March 10th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
GAME in Microsoft’s pocket shocker!
Make a good headline that Pat?
March 10th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
You’re right, GTA IV will be massive, and I think it’ll also tip very heavily towards 360 in the UK. Given that PS3’s out-pacing 360 across most of the other Euro countries, though, I think you may see that European sales for the PS3 version tell a very different story than the UK numbers. The reason I don’t think Sony will cut is that on a European level they actually don’t need to in order to maintain competitiveness against MS in Europe right now. In the UK, though, as you point out, 360 is definitely in a good place.