Xbox 360 50 Euro price cut March 14

Wasn't the reason why MS didn't drop the 360 price based on assumption that MS wished to see the entertainment division become profittable in the short term?

If that was thge case then it seems to be really confusing. On the one hand they dumped 4 billion into Xbox 1, knowing it was going to be a long term drawn-out battle, then turn around and give away a great chance at securing a distant leadership for some short term gains.

Their Fall price drop was really too little to make a difference. The 360 has been out for more than 2 years and we've barely seen the price change. Not to mention from the consumer viewpoint we are still paying a lot of money for an unreliable piece of hardware.

I'm really hoping to see the Premium model drop to ~$250 sometime this year.

 

ROFL.

The truth is that some people here give themselves a bit to much credit than their worth.

MS goal is to make money, not to win some silly console war. Reducing price at maximum rate doesnt make you money, nor does it necessary mean massively increased sales levels either. Id say, considering how well the X360 has been doing, id have to say that MS have been absolutely brilliant, they have sustained the same level (and even seen significant growth) of sales after the PS3 launched, without any pricecuts (or did they have one 50$ cut? Anyways, the competition have dropped $200 so still brilliant).

MS officials certainly know more than what we know here on this forum, because going by 99,99% of all predictions here, the X360 would tank and be dead by 2008... Nobody certainly predicted this, aspecially considering how agressive sony was with price cutting.

If somebody here would tell you at the X360 launch, that the X360 would keep up with the PS3 in sales after 2 years without pricecuts (while the PS3 dropped 30%), with lots and lots of negative PR about the 33% failure rate with RRoD. You would get laughed from this forum.


Perhaps the average joe sees more value in an Xbox 360 than most people here does? Certainly more than i do, if i was to buy a console today i would buy a PS3 in an instant.

 

Initially X360 was at a pace near the PS2, I don't think that favoured a price cut.

 

In the US, Premium received $50, Core received $20, and Elite received $30 price cuts respectively.

And technically PS3 price dropped by $100, not $200. 20gb model launched at $500, and the 40gb model is $400 now.

 

Didnt the 20gb model get terminated? And wasn't it selling at a 1\10 rate or something of the 60gb? If so, then i say the price cut was $200, unless we are going to argue that the Xbox recieved $20, because the Core is still the cheapest X360 after the price cut.

 

Am I the only want who think that MS should have do this here when Sony announced its price, preventing the ps3 to built the prety strong momemtum it has here now.

 

They may not have the supply to drop the cost both in the U.S and Europe at the same time. They have only just come out of a suppy shortage you know?

Furthermore, I see a lot of people who overvalue their company of choice ala PS3 that believe that a 360 needs to have a price cut in order to satisfy their emotional angst that they value the PS3 so much more, so for it to be as good in their mind, the Xbox has to drop in price. If the Xbox sells at a similar rate and similar price to the PS3, it basicly devalues it in their mind. Thats what I think could be part of the fanboyism that we see.

 

The 20gig was terminated shortly after launch here in the US and I dont believe that it was made available in Europe at all. While I dont doubt that it sold about 1/10 of the 60gig model I also wouldnt doubt that it wasnt manufactured at anywhere near the rate of the 60gig model either. It would be relatively simple to state that the "demand" for the 20gig model was minimal in comparison to the 60gig if the only stock on store shelves was the 60gig model.



As far as the necessity of a European price cut for the 360. I would agree to an extent seeing as how the 360 console has been all but dead in several of the European territories and is losing momentum comparably in the territories it had gained a foothold in (England for example). The price cut should bring more attention to the console in the eyes of the consumers particularly in comparison with its opposition, which in Europe is not only consoles but the pc gaming platform as well.

 

Do those new prices include tax or are they before tax? I heard that tax can be very high in some counties in EU?

 

always including tax

199EURO is actually 20 or 21% TAX INCLUDED ALREADY (depends on country, but most are aroud 20%)
So you could say without tax, MS lowered the EU prices to USA level

 

Then I'm going to argue that the PS3 has almost always had 2 SKUs going concurrently (in America).

First it was the 20/60gb.
Then it was 60/80.
Then it was 40/80.

Most people anticipate Sony will announce another higher end model replacing the 80gb SKU.

Basically, the 40gb SKU replaced the 20gb SKU as the low end choice. It seems to me that the 40 gb PS3 is much more comparable with 360's "arcade" model in terms of the company positioning.

 

What amazes me is that it's fanboyism, even for people who already own the console or own multiple problems.

Very few people seem to be able to put themselves into the shoes of MS stockholders and see how simply amazing it is that MS has been able to keep the price of the 360 elevated for as long as it has been.

Sure, it needs to drop, and needs to drop rather significantly at some point, but that 'need' is counter balanced by MS ability to sell consoles at their current profit margin AND discourage competing sales.

It all gets back to what was discussed upon the initial launch of the PS3. That the PS3 was priced so high that MS bought themselves essentially 1.5-2 years worth of 'wiggle room'.

I think two things are in play here, and these are mere speculations.

But the first is that MS had initially planned to have a $199 core/arcade version on the market prior to today.

The second is that MS didn't foresee the huge loss due to hardware failures.

However, the price point of the PS3 has allowed MS to maintain the higher price of the 360 for longer than they originally planned in order to recover their losses due to their pathetic QC.

If the PS3 would have come to market at a price anywhere close to that of the 360, or if the PS3 were able to meet previous price reduction strategies, the 360 would probably be dead by this point because of their hardware failures.

In essence, the PS3's extremely higher price point allowed MS to overcome their hardware failures and maintain their own higher price point for longer than they originally planned.

The $199 core/arcade is coming to the US. The only question is whether it comes now before GTAIV and Holiday 2008 sees the $149 core/arcade, or if they do something less than $199 for GTAIV and move the price point to $199 for the holiday.

 

I think I'll go out on a limb and say that at this price ratio, the arcade will become the best selling 360 model.*

Although I feel the equation would tilt to a 60gb pro (if/when ).


*I know.. It's hardly a risky bet : )

 

I agree it'll become quite popular.

A GTA+Arcade bundle (@ Wii price level) will sell big time IMO.

 

Wouldn't that be kind of a rip off?
Since it won't be able to fit the DLC that will become available later without buying a separate HDD.

 

I think to a certain extent both companies do what it takes to be succesful.

Xbox 1, came out, did okay/well, but then sunk pretty fast and was in big trouble by it's first march. ms gulped and slashed it from 299/199. And Xbox1 was never close to profitable. More or less it worked and rescued the platform.

PS3 was in similar trouble not so long after it's launch, Sony gulped, designed a new 399 model, a price most people didn't expect to see anytime soon, more or less it worked.

Microsoft was struggling pretty badly in Europe, they took the steps necessary to revive their fortunes.

I like ms aggressiveness here. Between this and the 60GB hd rumor they are stepping up in a big way. Now like to see the same cuts in USA of course. I am wondering if we might see them in August like last time, it's only 5 months difference. I wonder if the same 199/269/369 lineup is in store, if so it is better than another weak 50 cut.

BTW, it' notable they didn't actually improve the relative attractiveness of Arcade. The cut was the same across all sku's.

 

I still disagree on that point. Okay, 'most people' is right as most people weren't considering BOM reductions through technology improvements, but those looking at PS3 were talking about early and significant price-cuts.

 

there are a LOT of people that prefer to pay for things in smaller chunks. they can justify spending the least amount to begin playing. Assuming they are still interested after months of enjoying the original game, they would then, later, worry about spending for the ADDED content and spending more on a HDD when they have more disposable income in their pockets.

this is regardless if overall they spent more $$ total. It happens all the time in the marketplace and why a lot of products have entry level pricing. a lot of people prefer to buy things over time as they need it even if it's not the smart decision. If everyone made the smartest personal finance decisions, this world would be a much different place.

 

There's nothing fundamentally wrong with buying the HDD separately on an as-needed basis. I see it as being an attractive option to new customers.