Microsoft has finally made the move in Europe: the price cut recently operated in the US has crossed the Atlantic Ocean and landed in the UK, probably sooner than anyone had expected.
The price cut coincides with the European launch of Xbox 360 Elite, which will occur on Friday, August 24. Besides the already platinumed Halo 3 from Bungie, which in case you didn’t know has surpassed more than 1 million preorders, the games line-up for the cheaper Xbox 360 includes highly-anticipated titles like Mass Effect (upon which dark clouds of delay have hovered recently, debunked by BioWare), Project Gotham Racing 4, Scene It?, Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (Bandai/Namco), Naruto (Ubisoft), Blue Dragon (Mistwalker/Artoon Co. Ltd) and the already available BioShock, from 2K Games (an FPS masterpiece whose overall score is close to perfect…).
The three editions of Xbox 360 sold in Europe starting this Friday will be priced as follows:
- the Core Pack, with no hard drive, will cost €279.99/£179.99 (a €20/£20 reduction)
- the Premium Xbox 360, with a 20GB HDD and a wireless controller, will cost €349.99/£249.99 (a €50/£30 price cut)
- the Elite version, with its stylish contours and black cover, will cost €449.99/£299.99
The Elite console, which has been available in the US since April, is apparently the only model sporting an HDMI port, despite the fact that Microsoft had confirmed last week the addition of this type of connectivity for the 20GB HDD Premium model. Microsoft advertises the Xbox 360 Elite as “the ultimate in entertainment devices and the ‘luxury’ option for seasoned gamers”, who want more space for their Xbox Live downloads or their music. There is no word or indication about a possible arrival of the Halo 3-themed Xbox on the old continent.
“We’re pleased to be able to offer Xbox 360 at a new, lower estimated retail price,” said Chris Lewis, Regional Vice President, Microsoft E&D Europe. “We pioneered the successful concept of multiple products for multiple categories of consumer. First-timers will love the Xbox 360 Core system, which offers an affordable entry into high-definition gaming. The Xbox 360, with its large hard drive and wireless controller, will appeal to casual and experienced gamers and families. The Xbox 360 opens up whole new avenues of entertainment for those who seek the ultimate gaming and entertainment experience.
“Whether it’s our lead in console sales, record-setting games and accessory attach rates or our leading online service, evidence is everywhere that Xbox is thriving,” continued Lewis. .”When you combine that momentum with these great-value offerings with our unbeatable Christmas game line-up, it’s clear that Xbox 360 is uniquely placed to take Europe by storm this Christmas.”
Microsoft boasts with the fact that the Xbox 360 has registered a massive success in Europe and the Middle East, grabbing 30% of the gaming market in terms of overall revenue (more than 45 percent in the UK, Netherlands and Sweden), having the highest attach rate of any game console in Europe, with more than 5.5 games sold per console since launch (PS2: 3.8; GC: 5.2; Xbox: 4.3 after 17 months on the market).
This is what Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment and Devices Division at Redmond, said of the Xbox 360’s performance on the market a while ago:
"If you think about consumer spending on the platform, compare since the launch of the Wii and the PlayStation 3 to date, so a little over, what, seven or eight months, people have spent $2.6 billion in the U.S. on Xbox 360 all up during that period.”
"That's almost double what they spent on either the Wii or PlayStation 3. There's a lot of traction with consumers around this product. We've launched in 11 more countries. We're now in 37 countries worldwide. We're in a very good position on the fundamentals of that business."
Along with the extended, three-year warranty period issued in June for the Xbox 360, Microsoft will also offer, for existing or future customers of Premium models, a separate 120GB hard drive on which gamers will be able “not only save their games but also store video, music, pictures, trailers, levels, demos and other content available from Xbox Live Marketplace”. Estimated retail price €179.99/£129.99.
Auxiliary retail packages will include a wireless controller for €44.99/£32.99 (especially for Core system buyers), whose maximum activity range reaches up to 30 feet, with a battery life of 30 hours on two AA batteries. Gamers will also be able to purchase an Xbox 360 Play & Charge kit for €19.99/£14.99, and an Xbox 360 rechargeable battery for €14.99/£9.99 (for more than 25 hours of gameplay per charge).
But by far the most spectacular price cut operated for the Redmond-crafted console is the one spotted in Japan, where Microsoft is lagging far behind home ground rivals Sony and Nintendo. According to Dutch gaming site Xbox360only, the console is sometimes 2 times cheaper than in the US, and the fact that the Core Pack currently on sale at retail shop Trusty Bell for €129 or $173 (19,000 yen) along with a game called Eternal Sonata, is enough proof.
