XB360 Pricing - Microsoft Going for it.

WeasteDevil

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Continuing the global trend for console price cuts, Microsoft today announced the UK would be next in landing a reduced price Xbox 360 range.

The entry level arcade unit will now retail at £129.99 - down from £159.99. This latest reduction retains the Xbox 360 place as the UK’s cheapest current gen console, further opening its lead compared to the Wii at 179.99, the PlayStation 3 at a whopping £299.99 and cheaper even than the forthcoming PSP 3000 which is currently pegged at around £150. The Premium bundle containing the 60GB hard drive will drop from £199.99 to £169.99, while the Elite version will weigh it at £229.99 - previously £269.99.

“Xbox 360 has now sold over 20 million consoles worldwide and due to its unprecedented success, we are now able to pass on the rewards of that success to the consumer with a new retail pricing from £129.99”, said Neil Thompson, Senior Regional Director, Microsoft UK. “With more games, more entertainment with Xbox LIVE and now even more value, we are looking forward to welcoming more customers into the leading Next Generation console, Xbox 360.”

The cuts come right at the beginning of the game industry’s big Christmas push, and certainly won’t harm the Xbox 360’s chances considering the lack of new technology available this year. A brutal strategy, but not one UK consumers - who face a looming economic recession - are going to balk at. Hopefully, Microsoft’s bold move will push the competition to stop viewing the UK as a free bank (that’s you, Sony).
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http://www.gamersdailynews.com/story-4452-UK-Xbox-360-price-cuts-confrmed-by-Microsoft.html

Now, what's Sony's response?
 
I still wouldn't buy one. The best I can hope for is that this news leads to a PS3 price reduction, although I'd need that to be passed to Sweden, and my experience of this land so far is that it doesn't do price discounting
 
If there is a price drop from Sony, how much will be dropped do you think? They better hurry up aswell cause I want one!!! :D
 
Brad said:
I still wouldn't buy one. The best I can hope for is that this news leads to a PS3 price reduction, although I'd need that to be passed to Sweden, and my experience of this land so far is that it doesn't do price discounting
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Can't you just buy one the next time you're in England?

Don't think you'll be stopped in customs on the way back.
 
RedDevil#26655 said:
If there is a price drop from Sony, how much will be dropped do you think? They better hurry up aswell cause I want one!!! :D
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Sony is stuck between a rock and a hard place here. The machine itself is still costing them more to make than they sell it for, or borderline at best. However, at 129 for the XB360 arcade unit (that's now approaching PS2 pricing), they are going to have to do something and swallow it IMO. At 129, that thing will sell shitloads this Christmas if there is no closely priced competition (within 100 quid). Will Sony take 100 quid off though? I don't think they can, maybe we'll see a PS3 at 229 though?
 
WeasteDevil said:
Sony is stuck between a rock and a hard place here. The machine itself is still costing them more to make than they sell it for, or borderline at best. However, at 129 for the XB360 arcade unit (that's now approaching PS2 pricing), they are going to have to do something and swallow it IMO. At 129, that thing will sell shitloads this Christmas if there is no closely priced competition (within 100 quid). Will Sony take 100 quid off though? I don't think they can, maybe we'll see a PS3 at 229 though?
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Yeah i'd say around £230. £200 would be fantastic though.
 
WeasteDevil said:
I don't think that they have much choice now.
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If they dropped it today I'd buy one today.

I have a 360 and I want a ps3 aswell (can't get shot of 360 because Gears 2 is out soon)...but I'm not paying £300 for something I already have, all be it a less reliable build with less added gizmos...

I buy games consoles to play games, so it's stupid paying £300 for something that does the same job as the thing I've got...
 
SiYuan said:
That's very aggressive marketing from Microsoft. They can well afford to do this and they know it.
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Yep, its more of a case of attacking Sony as opposed to trying to get more sales. Sony will have no choice now but to also follow.
 
Sony HAVE to follow suit, they don't dare lose momentum. Don't forget, since they came in with seemingly unlimited funds and changed the rules it has all become about future fanbase for both them and M$.

I don't think they'll be stressing too much right now, unless they dropped the ball again and didn't see this coming. I find that scenario highly unlikely.
 
WeasteDevil said:
http://www.gamersdailynews.com/story-4452-UK-Xbox-360-price-cuts-confrmed-by-Microsoft.html

Now, what's Sony's response?
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This really Pees me off, Don't get me wrong, a price drop can only mean a good thing as sony will have to follow suit BUT only a company like microsoft can feck about like this and afford to drop the price as much as they want, Sony will have to follow suit but it costs far far more to produce a ps3 than a 360. The problem for sony is, can they make up from software sales the loss sony will make from each ps3 they will sell? I'm not so sure.
 
Devil_forever said:
This really Pees me off, Don't get me wrong, a price drop can only mean a good thing as sony will have to follow suit BUT only a company like microsoft can feck about like this and afford to drop the price as much as they want, Sony will have to follow suit but it costs far far more to produce a ps3 than a 360. The problem for sony is, can they make up from software sales the loss sony will make from each ps3 they will sell? I'm not so sure.
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Why does that piss you off. It's not like Microsoft made Sony make the PS3 cost so much to make. Sony must have known this was going to happen, and with the current financial situation around the world, Sony definitly need to drop prices.
 
Devil_forever said:
This really Pees me off, Don't get me wrong, a price drop can only mean a good thing as sony will have to follow suit BUT only a company like microsoft can feck about like this and afford to drop the price as much as they want, Sony will have to follow suit but it costs far far more to produce a ps3 than a 360. The problem for sony is, can they make up from software sales the loss sony will make from each ps3 they will sell? I'm not so sure.
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Its for the greater cause. So what if a massive company loses millions..as long as us poorer people can get what we want a reasonable price, im all for it..hell Microsoft can you drop it to £100? so i can get a PS3 even cheaper!!
 
Twigginater said:
Why does that piss you off. It's not like Microsoft made Sony make the PS3 cost so much to make. Sony must have known this was going to happen, and with the current financial situation around the world, Sony definitly need to drop prices.
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The current financial situation means sony can't afford to drop the price.

RooneyDevil8 said:
Its for the greater cause. So what if a massive company loses millions..as long as us poorer people can get what we want a reasonable price, im all for it..hell Microsoft can you drop it to £100? so i can get a PS3 even cheaper!!
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I acknowledge that though and its good for the consumer in the short term. Say Sony end up going bust or decide its just not worth trying to compete anymore due to making losses by having to drop the price of the ps3 and then not make enough on software sales due to microsoft's strategy of 'lets put out a faulty console and when sales drop lets drop the price as much as we want just because we can', then in the generations to come microsoft wrongfully would have a monopoly on the more hardcore gamers and could pretty much do what they wanted to and we'd have to accept it.

My point is other companies would try their best to put out a non faulty console in the first place because they know they can't risk low sales but microsoft with their money are doing as they please as they know they can take huge loses (like what chelsea do in football). Its the principle of it.
 
Good move from Microsoft. I might buy one if i have some cash left over at the end of the month.
 
Devil_forever said:
I acknowledge that though and its good for the consumer in the short term. Say Sony end up going bust or decide its just not worth trying to compete anymore due to making losses by having to drop the price of the ps3 and then not make enough on software sales due to microsoft's strategy of 'lets put out a faulty console and when sales drop lets drop the price as much as we want just because we can', then in the generations to come microsoft wrongfully would have a monopoly on the more hardcore gamers and could pretty much do what they wanted to and we'd have to accept it.

My point is other companies would try their best to put out a non faulty console in the first place because they know they can't risk low sales but microsoft with their money are doing as they please as they know they can take huge loses (like what chelsea do in football). Its the principle of it.
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You are totally correct here, almost! ;) However, Sony will not go bust, remember it's only a subsidiary that makes Playstation, that being Sony Computer Entertainment. I think this case is more complex than most people realise. For example, Blu-ray profits (which will be very large over the long term) will never show up on SCEs balance sheet, but it will show up on that of Sonly Electronics. SCE and PS3 basically did the dirty work for Sony's main business unit here, I am actually believing more and more that PS3 was cut back to stick Blu-ray into it. It's now time for Sony Electronics to step up to the plate and pay SCE back.
 
WeasteDevil said:
You are totally correct here, almost! ;) However, Sony will not go bust, remember it's only a subsidiary that makes Playstation, that being Sony Computer Entertainment. I think this case is more complex than most people realise. For example, Blu-ray profits (which will be very large over the long term) will never show up on SCEs balance sheet, but it will show up on that of Sonly Electronics. SCE and PS3 basically did the dirty work for Sony's main business unit here, I am actually believing more and more that PS3 was cut back to stick Blu-ray into it. It's now time for Sony Electronics to step up to the plate and pay SCE back.
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I see, thanks weaste I didn't know that. The thing is though, aren't all these different sections part of sony corp as a whole and the losses from any of its divisions will directly affect them (sony corp) or are the gains made by sony electronics thanks to blu-ray more than make up for the loss made by SCE. What about the funding, if SCE ever needed some would Sony electronics provide it?
 
Sony and Toshiba to begin mass producing 45nm cell processor in 2009 -- cheaper, slimmer PS3s to come?

by Thomas Ricker, posted Sep 22nd 2008 at 7:43AM

Japan's Nikkan is reporting that Sony and Toshiba will begin mass production of the 45nm Cell processor in 2009 -- not this autumn as previously rumored. The smaller chip which costs less than the current 65nm Cell to manufacture also requires 40% less power to run. This opens the door to possible price drops on existing PS3 consoles in 2009 as well as slimmer, cooler running rigs should Sony decide to refresh the industrial design.
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http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/22/sony-and-toshiba-to-begin-mass-producing-45nm-cell-processor-in/

Maybe they can afford to swollow the price cut now? RSX as far as I know is still on 90nm, and they should be able to get that down to 65nm or maybe even 45nm as well, although when I don't know.

Once they are down to 45nm, maybe they will start looking at integrating the two on the same die. Only then do I see a PS3 slim.
 
Brad said:
I still wouldn't buy one
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Oh how fickle I am... for all I want the PS3, for all I see how superior it is and will be to the Xbox, for all I know how Microsoft have treated its customers with disdane releasing a product which is clearly not up to the job... it all comes down to cost. The PS3 in Europe is simply too much, the best you can get it for in Sweden is £330, and that's if you shop around. At such financial times as these, such an outlay is unjustifiable

The thing I don't get with the 'Arcade level' entry is that, from what I can tell, it lacks any capacity to save games unless you buy additional storage memory?! How can they sell something with such a findimentally essential component, for over 100 pounds I ask you

60GB Premium Xbox is 2,200 Kroner over here... essentially 190 pounds... think I;ll sit this one out for now and see if the price reductions are passed from the UK to the rest of Europe
 
Brad said:
Oh how fickle I am... for all I want the PS3, for all I see how superior it is and will be to the Xbox, for all I know how Microsoft have treated its customers with disdane releasing a product which is clearly not up to the job... it all comes down to cost. The PS3 in Europe is simply too much, the best you can get it for in Sweden is £330, and that's if you shop around. At such financial times as these, such an outlay is unjustifiable

The thing I don't get with the 'Arcade level' entry is that, from what I can tell, it lacks any capacity to save games unless you buy additional storage memory?! How can they sell something with such a findimentally essential component, for over 100 pounds I ask you

60GB Premium Xbox is 2,200 Kroner over here... essentially 190 pounds... think I;ll sit this one out for now and see if the price reductions are passed from the UK to the rest of Europe
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Agreed, there is no way I can justify buying a ps3 for the current swedish price and as for the Xbox......it may be cheaper but I dont like the controll design and red ring of death scares me.
 
Because of the strength of the Yen, it's highly unlikely for the moment that PS3 will get a price cut. Apparently, because all of their business financials are done in Yen, they are now for example earning 20% less on every PS3 (and everything else they make) sold in the UK than they were 3-4 months ago.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/09/sony-to-shed-8-000-jobs-increase-prices-in-bid-to-bolster-profi/

The bad news from the Japanese consumer electronics industry continues. Sony just announced plans to cut about 8,000 global jobs from its beleaguered electronics business while making unspecified reductions to its seasonal and temporary workforce. The move, as Sony explains it, comes "in response to the sudden and rapid changes in the global economic environment." Ominously, it looks like Sony will also be raising prices in the countries where "Sony makes significant sales" (read: US and Europe) if we're reading this statement correctly:

"Going forward, Sony intends to adjust product pricing to mitigate the impact of the appreciation of the yen."

Sony is also delaying or at least curtailing some of its investments while planning to "downsize or withdraw from unprofitable or non-core businesses." All these moves are meant to cut operational costs by some $1.1 billion in operational efficiencies before the fiscal year closes on 31 March 2010.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7772597.stm

Sony to cut plants and 8,000 jobs

Sony has announced plans to cut 8,000 electronics jobs - 5% of the division - as well as shutting 10% of its manufacturing sites [it has 57].

The company said the jobs would be cut by April 2010 but did not say in which countries the staff would go.

Sony said it had been trying to reduce production because of the downturn but warned it still had to do more.

The news came as Japan said its economy had shrunk between July and September by much more than initially estimated.

The Cabinet Office said the economy had shrunk at an annual rate of 1.8% in the quarter, compared with its original estimate of 0.4%.

Investment cut

Sony aims to generate cost savings of about 100bn yen ($1.1bn; £730m) by the end of the next financial year.

It will cut its investment in electronic operations by 30% and shut down about 10% of its 57 production facilities.

"The number sounds big, but this staff reduction won't be enough," said Katsuhiko Mori, a fund manager at Daiwa SB Investments.

"Sony doesn't have any core businesses that generate stable profits - the next thing we want to see is what is going to be the business that will drive the company."
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What "downsize or withdraw from unprofitable or non-core businesses." means I don't know. However, SCE is currently still unprofitable. For the PS3 they are caught between a rock and a very hard place.

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The pounds fecked at the minute.

Looks like I won't be buying a PS3 for a while then...
 
It's not just the pound though is it? From a year ago, they now earn around 17% less on all US sales, 27% less on EMU sales, and 39% less on UK sales. When you are selling units (PS3s, TVs, Cameras, Hi-Fis, etc.) in the millions, that's one hell of a lot of money.
 
True.

I'm surprised we haven't seen an increase to be honest (not on the ps3 but on their other goods).

But then again not many people can afford them at the minute how it is.
 
quite an interesting situation here, mircrosoft has a cheaper console and the games(sorry LBP hasnt sold as well as they hoped) however it is a console that is flawed and will break sooner or later. While sony has a console that is superior from a hardware perspective but much more expensive and lacking a bit when it comes to games.
 
Lacking a bit when it comes to games is a strange comment that probably belongs to one and a half years ago. Which 3rd party games does XB360 have now that PS3 does not? In terms of 1st party games the PS3 is stronger than the XB360. In terms of 2nd party, they are probably equal in terms of new releases. Secondly, how the hell do you know how many copies LBP has sold? It has sold far more than Banjo Nuts & Bolts.
 
Gears of war 2 is the biggest single platform game at the moment.
 
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