Microsoft Drops Xbox 360 Prices in Europe
All three models cheaper from later this week.
Chalk up another one for the rumour mill. Over the weekend whispers started to gather that Microsoft was on the verge of reducing the price on its Xbox 360. Monday the company did just that.
From Friday, 14 March, all three models of the Xbox 360 will be cheaper to pick up, the company confirmed on Monday.
The bellwether Xbox 360, which comes with a 20 GB hard drive, will come down in price from £240 to £200. That £40 reduction is matched on the Xbox 360 Arcade, Microsoft's newbie-friendly system that comes with a memory card instead of a hard drive. From Friday that model will cost just £160 - cheaper even than Nintendo's hard-to-find Wii.
On the other end of the spectrum is Microsoft's high-end, HDMI-equipped Xbox 360 Elite. The console, which includes a more capacious 120 GB hard drive, will now cost £260.
The price drops are an aggressive move by Microsoft to boost sales of the Xbox 360, which is under increasing pressure from not only the Wii but also Sony's surging PlayStation 3.
According to Microsoft, the Xbox 360 holds a 42 per cent share of the games market in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The price drop further extends the price gap between Sony's console and the Xbox 360 at a time when both will be vying for the attention of gamers, who will soon have to choose which console to support for Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo
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