MS cuts Xbox 360 prices Down Under
AUD100 off
Microsoft has today slashed the price of the Xbox 360 in Australia, bringing the basic Core model down to the same price as Nintendo's globally popular Wii console.
It's now priced at AUD399.95, 20 per cent less than the AUD499.95 Microsoft was previously charging for it. The standard Xbox 360 has also had AUD100 knocked off its retail price - it now costs AUD549.95, down from AUD649.95. Prices include the local GST sales tax.
The cuts comes a week after Microsoft pared back the prices of the Xbox 360 in the US by up to $50, depending on the model. European gamers are also waiting for local price reductions, which are now more likely that Australia, a region that likewise uses the PAL TV standard, has seen its Xbox 360 prices pruned.
Australian Xbox buffs, meanwhile, are awaiting the arrival of the Xbox 360 Elite, which brings a 120GB hard drive and an HDMI port to the games console. The Elite has yet to be price up over here and a release date set. It is believed that the console will debut down under on 30 August, just after the console's 24 August European arrival. It is said to be pegged at AUD729.95.
COMMENTS
Wii VS 360
"360/PS3 = Console -> People -> Fun"
The best selling and most anticipated games on 360 (notably Halo3) are very social - they're weighted to online play. 360 is an online console, most major titles are increasingly focussed on this.
We have a Wii and a 360 - Wii is for the kids, cutesy, fun games you can get into quickly - 360 mostly is for grown ups and has very few of such games outside of Live Arcade. Looking at titles I guess the same is true of PS3 although without the established and huge community of XBL
Down Under Pricing
Just for the record - the price cut has been announced in New Zealand as well as Australia.
Agree with first post
Having played all three of the latest consoles I have to say the Wii is by far the best. I have a PC if i want to play some serious games (where i'm going to need bout a thousand keys) and after trying the three consoles went for a Wii because it is so much more fun to play, games are different from the usual PC/Xbox/PS dirge and the console has got lots of possibilities for new innovation in the future.
If the Xbox had been half the price of the Wii I would still have bought the Wii. It's all about the interaction with the console. I would say the controls make the Wii games feel much more real than the more realistic graphics on the other consoles.
Chris
The WII is just a passing fad
There is far too much hype around the wii to be healthy, and of all the consoles out in the last ten years will have the shortest life span. The wii is only any good for social gaming, after all who wants to be prancing around the front room playing games late into the night. Game consoles live and die by the quality of the games not by the controller. As of yet I have yet to see a must have game on the wii or for that matter the PS3. The wii will last another year or so and then will just die a death
Horses for courses
The 360 and the Wii appeal to different sections of the market. Its not about gimicks. The wii is selling incredibly well, people who haven't had console before are buying it. Then people who don't want to splash on a PS3 are buying as a complement to another console. I know several people myself included that have a 360, and then bought a Wii. Its just something different. Sometimes I feel like some hardcore highdef gaming, sometimes I feel like wave my arms round like an idiot and pretending to play tennis.
A bit of variety is good.
