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Microsoft to Slash European Xbox 360 Prices
By Tom Ivan
September 16, 2008
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“Xbox 360 has now sold over 20 million consoles worldwide and we are now able to pass on the rewards of that success to the consumer"
Microsoft is to slash the price of its family of Xbox 360 consoles in Europe from September 19.
The company’s competitive new pricing strategy will see the entry-level Xbox 360 Arcade priced at £129.99, £50 cheaper than Nintendo’s market-leading Wii console, the Xbox 360 featuring a 60GB hard drive retail for £169.99, and the 120GB Xbox 360 Elite sell for £229.99. In comparison, Sony’s 80GB PS3 costs £299.99.
“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 of 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 360 price cuts follow similar moves in Japan and North America earlier this month.
Microsoft last cut the price of its Xbox 360 models in Europe on March 14.
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I'd have to agree with Pug. When considering a purchase of a game system, you may not have an HDTV, or care for bluray (especially if you are more interested in digitally distributed movies/shows/content), or care for wifi (which I don't). What Sony has done as used the PS3 as a platform to boost market share for bluray, and in doing so included a feature in the PS3 that is not necessary (50 gig games? That's just lazy development), and they are also forcing people to pay extra for it, as well as wifi. If you don't want wifi or bluray, too bad, Sony is forcing you to buy one. Personally? I like having the option. And if you want to start talking extra costs with buying wifi, then you have to consider that the elite ($100 cheaper than 80 gig PS3 model) comes with an HDMI cable (and a headset), the PS3 doesn't, it doesn't even come with component cables. It may not be the best HDMI cable, but it'll save you upwards of 50 bucks or more (and 20 for the headset). And with 3rd party wifi adapters for the 360 and standard wifi adapters that work as well, you could get one around 50 bucks. So boom, extra cost of wifi balanced out by not having to fork out 50 bucks or more for an HDMI cable. And the live argument? I'll pay 4 bucks a month for an awesome service. I've heard horror stories about the functionality of PSN (no personal experience with it though). To not buy a system because you can't figure out how to move your router around, less power to you.
And the whole Wii thing, let me just say this. I own a Wii, does it get played? No. My 8 year old is more interested in playing halo or too human than swing a wand around. My 2 1/2 year old loves it though. I think the whole "the wii has innovated so much" have any of you actually played the Wii? Most of the games take little advantage of the motion sensing. Really, the motion sensor has just replaced the left analog stick, that doesn't spell huge innovation to me. There are a few games (metroid for example) where you actually use it like an arm, pushing things in, pulling them out, turning them, pretty cool. But really, look at the shelves, most of the games are gimmicky mini games, kiddy games made by 3rd string development teams trying to cash in on a possible fad (lets see where the wii is in a couple years...). Show me truly innovative games, and I'll be impressed. (Smash bros=good, not innovative, Mario Galaxy=good, not THAT innovative, Zelda=good, motion sensing just replaces analog stick aiming no innovation, Mario kart=good, no innovation, see where I'm going with this? All the top selling games are just sequels to games that could be done on the GameCube with two analog sticks (or none). Ok, so you can swing it like a bat, or a bowling ball, or tennis racket. That's about all that's been done with it. Bowling and tennis were fun, but even those aren't truly motion sensing as in the way that its intended, true synchronization with your arm, realistic physics, hitting the ball in the way that it would actually get hit depending on the angle of the remote as you swing it. Sorry, baseball games and bowling don't equal innovation to me. And the argument that it’s the next best thing for FPS? Not at all, in metroid you just move the cursor to the edge of the screen and your turning speed is limited once your cursor hits the edge of the screen, it’s not like using a mouse, it’s basically analog stick movement but with an imprecise aimer instead.
The Wii isn't great innovation as much as it is great marketing.
And if you're talking games, your $199 360 will play the $399 PS3 GTAIV, Fallout 3 Mercenaries 2, Far Cry 2, FEAR 2 (yes it is called FEAR 2 now), Devil May Cry 4, etc. When it comes to gaming,199 out the box will net you all the major 3rd party games. That's the bottom line.
"Smash bros=good, not innovative, Mario Galaxy=good, not THAT innovative, Zelda=good" etc.
Are you kidding? The exact same thing could be true for the 360's and the PS3's WHOLE library: good, not THAT innovative, innovative, not THAT good. Define "that good" - or just define "THAT".
"When it comes to gaming,199 out the box..."
Sorry, just stopped there. For 199 out the box you get... nothing. You know the song: 150 for the HDD, 50 for the Wi-fi dongle (the latter isn't necessary, sure, but the former IS). Btw if the 360 gets a blu-ray player (it will eventually), how much THAT will cost you?
For 400 out the box you will net you all the major 3rd party games plus all the 1st and 2nd party ones. For the PS3.
"Are you kidding? The exact same thing could be true for the 360's and the PS3's WHOLE library: good, not THAT innovative, innovative, not THAT good."
You just made my point in spades bro. My point was is every one is toting the Wii as some breakthrough in innovation. Maybe an argument can be made that the idea is innovative, but in practice, the games are the same games we've been playing for the last couple generations, only the Wii lacks the power of the other two current gen systems but offers a modified analog stick in the form of motion control. The difference between the 360 and PS3 (ok, PS3 a little with tilt function) is that they are NOT being toted in the media and by gaming sites and magazines as being some kind of breakthrough in technology or innovation. The Wii is a breakthrough in marketing, not design (at least when it comes to the games taking that idea and producing something significantly different gameplay wise than what we've been playing forever). What we're getting is the same games, just with motion control in the place of analog, its just replacing old input devices, but the gameplay itself is unchanged. That's not innovation. I'm not saying its bad, and at no point did I say "not that good", all the games I listed I said were good, just not INNOVATIVE enough to be considered some marvel of gaming that everyone seems to think they are. Someone said in this thread that the Wii is redefining gameplay...REDIFINING??? So I can aim an arrow by pointing??? That's redefining? I could aim the exact same way with more accuracy with an analog stick. No one is claiming the 360 is redefining gameplay, that's why I have no problem with the 360 having the same old games with the same old gameplay just with better graphics and online functionality (two things the Wii sorely lacks). If someone claimed the 360 was redifining gameplay and truely innovative, I'd have the same argument for it as I do the Wii.
You're absolutely wrong. A $199 arcade model has out the box the ability to play all the games I mentioned, from start to finish, as you could on a $400 or $500 PS3. You don't have to have Wifi to play games, you don't have to have the HDD either (no games require it for use except for FFXI and Burnout Paradise's online play) or a bluray player. Do you actually think you have to have an HDD for the 360 to play games??? Or that wifi is REQUIRED to play games??? It comes with a 256mb memory card so you can save. Everything you need for the ability to play you get out the box. I didn't say anything about 1st or 2nd party PS3 games, as I didn't mention 1st or 2nd party 360 games, I don't know why you brought that up. Yes, the $199 360 plays 1st and 2nd party 360 games, too, what a shock. Glad you pointed that out for everyone.
My point was specifically when playing GAMES, the arcade model will play all the multiplatform games at $199 (yes, out the box) as those same 3rd party games on the $399 or $499 PS3 versions. There is no argument, those are facts. Fallout 3, you can play out the box on the $199 360, and you can play the same game out the box for the $399 or $499 PS3. How can you possibly argue that statement???
Bro. You're the single most notorious 360 defender, out the box.
Well, when presented with facts they can't argue people usually resort to saying something like that. I was just trying to make a point as I own both systems (I want a PS3, just not enough games that get my interest yet) and really care more about what is offered, brand loyalty doesn't mean much to me (was a diehard Nintendo fan since forever, defended Nintendo up and down through the genesis, PS1, and PS2 generations until the gamecube died from zero 3rd party support after the GC's versions of most 3rd party games tanked (sales-wise) so please, don't brand me an xbot. I owned a saturn, dreamcast, PS1, N64, PS2, gamecube, xbox 1, 360, wii (I even owned a 3DO before it died) and of course the old school Nintendo systems.
Funny comment though (seriously)
edit: I'm not the most notorious xbox defender (I try to be objective and stick to facts as much as I can), but that title belongs to that kim kid, I think kim_noraz or something like that. But thanks for the recognition any way. And also, judging from some of your posts, some of them from this thread, you tend to lean towards MS a bit (and against the Wii a bit too) and a lot of your comments I agree with...
You're right, Kim is the top apologist here, just forgot that. I'm glad you recognized that I was keeding.
Do I tend to lean towards MS? Don't think so. Been having one, had lots of fun, done Gears, Geometry Wars, Dead Rising and everything that matters. Then it broke down. I can't forget their customer service and won't forgive the RROD (maybe you're right... it was a hard break and I'm filled with sentiments).
You didn't get it repaired? Their customer service can be suspect at times that's for sure. Yeah, I laughed my ass off, especially the out the box part. I'm seriously contemplating getting a PS3 for Resistence 2 and flower. Resistance 2 looks crazy, those are some of the best visuals I've seen in a game, if not the best. I'm thinking now that developers have had some time with the PS3 that the games will start having an edge over the 360's best offerings, in that case, i may have to finally shell out the bucks for the PS3. Waiting on one more price drop, and if Tekken 6 will be Sony exlusive or not, if it is, I'm on board...
"You didn't get it repaired?" It's a sad long story, posted something about that somewhere.
Thinking about buying a PS3? Good. Just turn to the dark side bro. Then we'll bash the 360 together right?
Well, that's too bad because you are missing out on some pretty good experiences. And how is the community on PSN? I have over 50 friends (people I actually play with/talk to on a somewhat regular basis) and that's one of my favorite aspects of xbox live is the community. And soon, it'll have the ability to save every game to the HDD which is pretty cool, too. I think no matter what system you don't have, you'll be missing out on something.
The dark side eh? Yeah, I have always had somewhat of a dislike for sony's arrogance and their overconfidence. PS2 toy story graphcis with its emotion engine? I've never forgot that statement, or that the PS3 can run games at 1080p at 120 frames a second. It seems they've been humbled a bit with the PS3's slow start, and actually admitted they shouldn't have said some things and showed some humility. So, may hate for them has died down a bit. But I'll have to put that aside if the system has some awesome games. When I jumped to xbox 1, I hated it and MS for what I thought they were, but the games were great and I had to put all that aside. Looks like I may have to do the same for Sony...again...darn tekken exlusivity!
Bash the 360? I don't know about that. I'll bash them for not including a Hard Drive in every system, that was their biggest blunder as developers have to make sure their game will work w/out a Hard Drive, and can't rely on cacheing or streaming from the HDD, so now they have to stream from the disc...I could go on about that lame choice. Its great the core works with every game, but the people who own the none nutered 360 have to have their game experience negatively impacted by the core's limitations. With HDD installation that should help quite a bit though.
Full out bashing, don't think that will happen though ;)
Hmm I'm not sure about the community cos I tend to play alone (after two years on WoW it's forgivable right?). The good news: Metal Gear Online does team communication via stock phrases so you won't hear any cursing there. ;)
Speaking of missing experiences, just made a quick list to ease your hatred:
Siren: Blood Curse, MGS4, LittleBigPlanet, Valkyria Chronicles, fl0wer, PixelJunk Monsters, PixelJunk Eden, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, WipEout HD, Super Stardust HD, Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction / Quest for Booty, Disgaea 3, Killzone 2, Resistance 2 -- off the top of my head.
(Also don't forget God of War III, the upcoming ICO team game, FF XIII Versus, Heavy Rain, White Knight Chronicles, then next Uncharted, Fat princess. or PixelJunk Dungeon etc.)
Yeah, you've probably played your fair share of online gaming with 2 years of WoW. So stock phrases, you just select test phrases, how does that work?
At of the games you listed, flower, stardust HD, maybe killzone 2, and resistance are the only games on there I'd be to excited about. Maybe pixel jump (as I've heard a bunch of good things about that one). Uncharted looks sick, but I'm not big on the adventure/tomb raider kind of game. I've seen the game in motion and find it impressive, I'm just not interested in that kind of game. I only played ICO for a couple hours when I used to have a PS2, never played Shadow of the Colassus. I really don't no enough about the rest of the games you mentioned, not a FF fan, don't like platforming games, and only played god of war 1 for an hour or so. I'm sure I'm missing out on some games. But even on my 360 I'm pretty picky. I'm not even that excited for Fable 2 (gasp!).
If you're picky just forget all the HD whizzbang. Seriously. Just play Shadow of the Colossus for my sake. I'd gladly exchange all my "next gen" stuff for that game alone.
Speaking of excitement, when you get a new a console you just shift perspective. Suddenly games that looked sick but you were not interested seem to be interesting. Maybe because they're now affordable. I wasn't interested in Uncharted before and just played it recently. It's pure gold. PJ Eden may not be everyone's cup of tea but man, it's one of the most addictive (should I say hypnotic) thing I've ever played. And yes, I've played ICO before but found it just a bit overrated (I saw it's merits and all), but after SotC it shone in a very different light.
Nowadays I'm just waiting for my copy of LBP. I'm so excited that started to scribble some levels on paper.
SofC does look impressive, especially for a PS2 game. I would check it out, but don't own a PS2. And plus, with a wife, 2 kids, and one due any day now, I find it hard just to play a few 360 games. I'm still trying to find time to play some XBLA games I downloaded a couple weeks ago. Just got RB2, and there are about 5 games coming out just for 360 by years end I want, the thought of getting a PS3 for at least 3-4 more games sounds (expensive) but just too overwhelming. WIth a wife constantly telling you you play too much, its hard to get some serious play time in.
Yeah, uncharted looks crazy good, watching some kid play it (terribly) at walmart. I was really impressed by the lighting and shadows, the shadows didn't have any of the blur, or jagginess a lot of the 360 games shadows have especially with self shadowing. It kinda bothered me that the PS3 is starting to make games that really compete or surpass some of the 360's best offerings.
I'm interested to see just how well LBP does. Maybe it'll take off, or maybe it'll pull a Viva Pinata (I know the games are vastly different) and not sell well. I'm pretty confident it will sell well, just how well we'll see. If Sony markets it well it could get out to more than just the core PS3 owners who have known about it and what it is for a long time now and really start to sell.
I play games on my Wii & DS, the house PS3 is for movies! I've never understood why having optional decent motion controls is seen as a bad thing, the pointer is invaluable for web surfing (and arcade shooters) and the separate controls are pretty comfortable. I have over 15 Wii games, very few of them are mini games and most of them are exclusive.
Personally I wish that there were games that took advantage of the PS3's analogue buttons as well as Mad Maestro on the PS2 did. The six axis tilt function is for shaking in Pain and nothing else...
I'd always thought that the so called top of the range Elite X360 would have had all the options like WiFi built in, but it wasn't too be. Maybe the rumours about the extra heat build up it would produce if built in were true. Either way it's an obstacle to the consumer and with online being the big selling point it's a shame that the £99 DS has something the £230 X360 has to sell for an extra £50.
Still, given the choice between the 360s line up and the PS3s I'd choose the 360, it just has the more appealing exclusives. I can see myself picking one up at the new prices at some point, but at the moment I still have a Wii/DS backlog to work through - never mind the last gen games!
To address some of your comments, I'd have to point out that I never said that optional motion control was a bad thing. I just said it wasn't as innovative as some people believe it to be (or at least its not being used in a way that is very innovative). I actually look forward to someone figuring out a truly innovative way to use the motion control, for something other than aiming or swinging. I know its possible, but would developers be better off spending more developing something truely innovative or just churn out the next carnival game or tetherball game and make as much money? I think they DS for a while shared the same problem. As far as your 15 games, could you name a few, and point out some of the creative ways it uses the motion sensing?
Yeah, I'm bummed the 360 dropped the pressure sensitive face buttons that the xbox 1 used. But, as you mentioned, at least for the PS3, that no one takes advantage of it, and no one did on the xbox 1 as well, I think that's why the 360 pad's had that function dropped.
Yeah, well, not everyone needs wifi, so why build it in??? And as far as blu ray ( you didn't mention it, but gyak did) I honestly don't see it being the next standard. I believe the next systems will all come with huge HDD with the intent that you will just save your games on them ala PC. Bluray would be uses strictly as a storage device to get the game from the store (if you don't just download it) to your HDD and that the disc itself would never spin (other than when installing it) as its just the key for digital rights. This practice will be used with the fall update for the 360, so I don't see why the "next box" wouldn't implament it from the get go, and just have like a terabyte HDD in the beast. So, I don't see MS putting a blu ray player in the 360 EVER, or even having it as add-on.
I agree with the exclusives being better on the 360, but of course, that is all just personal preferance before some yells at me that the "PS3 is teh better exclusives!"
Why would anyone serious about online gaming even use WiFi? There's a very good reason MS doesn't include WiFi in the box and charges so much for the adapter - they don't want people on WiFi ruining the experience for everyone else.
Maybe the dumbest thing ever put on the internet. There is none, zero, nada, no latency difference between wired and local wireless. They charge a lot for the adapter because they know you already bought the "broken" console and have no choice but to buy their overpriced proprietary WiFi/Hard drive.
If you factor in Live fees it's not that much cheaper than the PS3.
But the fact is... you arent factoring in live fees, or wifi, or bluray, or whatever else people think need to be added to the price. People know what they are buying, and this is a reasonable price cut, I already know a couple of people now considering a purchase (one has been clinging to his ps2 as long as he could).
People want to go into a game shop and see a console at a basic price that they can afford. You dont require live fees to play the games out for the console... I know plenty of people who still dont play games online, and have no desire to.
Plus comparing the paid for Live to the free PSN is just daft... they are not the same standard of service.
To the person who commented about the cost of wifi on the 360... i would have happily paid £50 less for a ps3 with no wifi as it sits under my tele next to my cable modem. Unfortunately I wasnt given that option
"Plus comparing the paid for Live to the free PSN is just daft... they are not the same standard of service.:"
The only thing you get extra for your money on live is a unified friends list and cross game invites. All the consumer cares about is; "can I play online at no extra cost?"
They even give it away for free on the PC for gawds sake!
"I already know a couple of people now considering a purchase"
"I know plenty of people who still don't play games online"
"I would've happily paid £50 less for a PS3 with no WiFi"
"...it sits under my tele next to my cable modem"
Well I'm very happy for you.
My cable modem is no where near my television. I have no interest in playing games online. I'm more interested in the ability to download a variety of media e.g. movies.
If I can't even do this simple task then I won't be purchasing one. I'd be better off purchasing a cheap laptop and buying GTA4 and Fable 2 when they're released on the PC.
Thats fair enough... but the point I was making was that I prefer to have the option of a cheaper console than be forced to have wifi built in when I have no need for it. I am of the opinion that it is better to release the console cheaply and allow those who dont care about wifi to buy without and sell an addon for those that do.
I have my 360 and my Ps3 under my tele both plugged in to my router... the difference being that I had to pay more for a ps3 that has all this stuff bundled than I did for a 360 that didn't.
and some of the stuff you quoted from me was in response to the xbox live subscription comment...
I still stick by the arguement that a PS3 that was sold at £249.99 without wifi would attract attention, as there are still plenty of people who couldnt care less about the wifi capability.
This isn't about you being happy for me, its about whether or not there is a market for a console with or without wifi
"I still stick by the arguement that a PS3 that was sold at £249.99 without wifi would attract attention, as there are still plenty of people who couldnt care less about the wifi capability. "
What argument?!? This story is about the Xbox price cut!
The stuff I quoted from you were just personal opinions.
You appeared, from your first post, to be of the opinion that it is bad that you have to pay separately for wifi on the 360...
My opinion was that it is a good thing that it wasn't bundled as I am not forced to pay for a feature that would be useless to me and many others, and that it is better to have a choice to pay for an extra feature rather than have it forced upon you.
We appeared to disagree...
Regardless of the story, your post was about the lack of Wifi on the 360 without extra peripherals. It was that I replied to. I used the only other relevant example to hand, which was the way in which the Ps3 has offered wireless built in but then charged more for the console.
I was so tempted to purchase one but discovered that it isn't wireless out of the box. I would have to purchase a wireless network adapter, which I think is around £50! And I gather from a quick search via Google that it isn't compatible with my WPA2 encrypted network! Hey ho.
If you don't want to spend money on the 360 wi-fi adapter but you have a laptop with wi-fi here's something i found on www.techradar.com you can do instead;
Head to Control Panel – Network Connections (In Windows XP) or Network & Sharing Center – Manage Network Connections (in Vista). Select the Local Area Connection and the Wireless Network Connection at once, then right-click and hit 'bridge connections'.
Disconnect then reconnect to your wireless network, run a network cable from the laptop's Ethernet port to the 360's, and you should be good to go. Unfortunately, you may have to remove the bridge (repeat the above process and you'll see the option) whenever you want to browse the net with the laptop.
MS gonna win this turn if Sony don't drop their prices (which they won't), hands down. In the long run we'll see...
Oh and Nintendo isn't in the same league. I tend to agree with those who think that the Wii is not from "this gen". Of course it sells but as someone told on an another forum: "There is nothing special about the wii. Alot of people said that about the toaster..."
The Wii has everyone REDEFINING everything. To even suggest that the Wii isn't current gen is to redefine the word "generation" *and* redefine how the word is used in the context of the gaming world.
Generation: a group of individuals belonging to a specific category at the same time.
With that definition, applied to gaming of course, would mean the SNES and Genesis are in the same generation; the Saturn, PS1, N64 are in the same gen; the Dreamcast, PS2, XBox, and Gamecube are in the same gen; and, obviously, the XBox 360, PS3, and Wii are in the same gen.
Suddenly, 'generation' has been redefined to mean "CPU/GPU power, HD, and shaders" with the expressed purpose of excluding the Wii. Really, it all boils down to an industry that extremely bitter that a far less powerful console that everyone had written off (and continues to do so) is raping the oh-so-powerful HD consoles in each of their respective orifices. No way was this supposed to happen, therefore, the Wii doesn't count.
Bitter is EXACTLY the right word.
I disagree, of the three consoles the Wii is the only one distinguished by some unusual quality. 360 and PS3 are just more powerful versions of what's gone before, where's the innovation?
It's all too easy to dismiss the Wii as "a fad", but that applies to all consoles are when you look at the long term picture. To say the Wii is not from this generation is to make the same mistake as Sony and MS by fixating on the power of the machine. The majority of gamers (I make no distinction between "casual" and "hardcore" because there is no gulf between the two, it's a broad spectrum of users) are investing in the gaming experience, not the GPU. The Wii trades in pure joy and in this respect, it is in a different league.
Agreed. When you look at the long term picture everything (I mean everything) is in the same league. However, when you look at the Wii and see a GameCube with waggle (sorry about that, don't want to start a flame war here but you know what I'm saying) things starting to get into perspective. We call the GC "last gen", so technically speaking, the Wii is not from "this gen". When we talk in terms of innovaton or turning the tables, the Wii is the only "next-gen" console. (You see, I was arguing from a technical standpoint above.)
I love the big N, even if I can't stand the Wii (I share P Molyneux's opinion in this matter), and can't wait for their next big idea. On the other hand, I fear they just eating up the industry's future. Even if they opened some doors in the last couple of years.
Ok, so in terms of processor power it's last gen, in terms of innovation it's next gen and chronologically it's this gen :-)
I think though, that to make any worthwhile judgment on the system we have to compare it to the consoles it is competing against, and in those terms it's in the same generation as the 360 and PS3. I love my Wii as much as my M5550, but you're right that there is something a bit "wooly" about it.
Out of interest, what is it that you fear? I know there's always articles on Gamespot (cough, spit) and the like regarding the dumbing down and catering to the mythical "casual gamer", but I just see it as a natural replacement for board games and the like, people who used to play monopoly now play wii sports, but I doubt they now think of themselves as gamers.
I don't fear the Monopoly crowd, I just fear the "disillusionizing" power of the Wii. I fear the fence-sitters who feel "disappointed" by the competition (MS and Sony) and convince themselves that they don't need better / bigger / faster things. Although we need these things, as always, and the medium needs these things.
Simply put, the Wii seems to slow down things. Distant comparison, but in a way it just does to console gaming what World of Warcraft does to PC gaming. Time and charts will tell.
So many things to fear huh?
It'll boost sales short term, but the low price point isn't the reason people were buying Wii. Makes a PS3 hard to justify unless you're a die hard MGS fan though.