Microsoft sticks to its Xbox 360 prices
No Xbox 360 price cut coming this year or next
Microsoft has claimed that the Xbox 360 now offers such good value for money that is doesn’t plan to cut the console’s prices any further - not for a long while, at least.
Stephen McGill, Head of Gaming and Entertainment at Microsoft, told VideoGamer.com that the three-strong console range is at a "great" price now and so MS won’t be “dropping the price for many, many years”.
Content is one of the areas where McGill claimed that the Xbox 360 offers particularly good value for money, and he specifically mentioned the impending New Xbox Experience (NXE) as evidence of this.
NXE is a free system update that Microsoft has promised will let you “connect with your favourite people and enjoy more games and entertainment online than with any other device connected to your TV”. It’ll be available for download through the console on 19 November.
The most recent price cuts – which went live on 19 September - mean that Arcade model now costs £130 ($210/€164) and the mid-range Premium model £170 ($275/€214). The flagship Elite will set you back £230 ($372/€290).
McGill’s announcement isn’t that surprising, given that Ray Maguire, Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe recently said that his company doesn’t plan to reduce the PlayStation 3’s price in the run-up to Christmas. The cheapest PS3 currently costs £300 ($486/€379).
COMMENTS
He's right
it doesn't seem logical that MS would need to make any further price cuts. Although the retailers seem to keep trying to (some kinda discounting offers going on from MS?? like with the supermarkets doing the £99 360's. If they do anything price related, it will over time no doubt more likely be they shift products around at the same prices. The Premium to the base model price, Elite to Premium's price, and the whatever they dream up next into the Elite price area.
But as it stands, at £99 for a base console, can't really see them needing to lower the price further. Thats pretty much in the end of life console price band once it gets under £100.
Hardly surprising
Given that, contrary to the usual Rip Off Britain stories, the recent collapse of the pound has left our 360s costing rather less than the Americans' ones, I'm not exactly surprised by this. You can practically buy a 360 AND a Wii for the price of a PS3 again.
