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Quote:

Microsoft Slashes XBox Price to Compete with Playstation 2

HB DÜSSELDORF. Microsoft Corp. will try to jump-start disappointing sales of its X-Box games console – launched on March 14 in Europe – by slashing the product's recommended unit price to 299 euros from 479 euros on April 26 for all European territories.

Hans Stettmeier, Microsoft's chief of operations in Germany, confirmed the move. "People are interested, but the main complaint is the price," he said.

The X-Box's new price will be in line with Sony's pricing strategy for Playstation 2. Sony cut the games console's price at the end of 2001, and was rewarded with a rapid surge in sales. Sony sold 850,000 units in Germany alone and expects that number to "at least double" in the next 12 months, according to Manfred Gerdes, managing director of Sony Computer Entertainment's German operations.

With 25 million units sold worldwide, Sony leads the global market for games consoles. Microsoft declined to provide concrete sales figures for the X-Box's Europe launch. But the console's start was widely regarded as rocky, with German retailers offering the product at a big discount to lure buyers.

Sony's Gerdes said two X-Boxes were sold for every one Playstation 2 in the first week of its launch. But by the third week, retailers were again moving 4.4 Playstation 2 units for every one X-Box.

To avoid backlash from its customer base, Microsoft said it plans to offer pre-price cut buyers of the X-Box, who show their receipts, two free X-Box games of their choice and a game controller.

Microsoft's goal is to sell 4.5 to 6 million X-Boxes worldwide by mid-year, but several banks and analysts have already started chipping away at that estimate.

http://www.handelsblatt.com/hbiwwwan...depot/0/index.

Wow, that's a price cut of 180 euros. Hopefully this will boost the sales of Xbox consoles in Europe. :D

that should boost sales big time :D

I hope they cut the price here in NA soon...so I can afford one :(

Quote:

Originally posted by Perfect Stu
I hope they cut the price here in NA soon...so I can afford one :(

Ditto. And that goes for the PS2 aswell.:)

And for any resident UK gamers here on GT, I heard on the radio this morning that the X-Box has dropped in price by £100 quid. Nice...

Cool. That makes the chance that some of my friends will buy one, greater.

But GCN is still €30 cheaper. :)

Oh yeah, M$ sure is gonna lose some money on this!! As soon we Dutch people find out how to copy games... :devil:

Well that's a good move by M$ ....hehehehe.....and right before the GC launches too. Smart move. Trying to solve 2 problems with one stone. :D
But damn M$ is going to lose alot of money on this...well I guess they can afford it. :D

Quote:

Originally posted by Angrist
Cool. That makes the chance that some of my friends will buy one, greater.

But GCN is still €30 cheaper. :)

Oh yeah, M$ sure is gonna lose some money on this!! As soon we Dutch people find out how to copy games... :devil:

There's a reason why the GameCube is cheaper you know...

Quote:

Originally posted by Bond

There's a reason why the GameCube is cheaper you know...

Well explain away.....unless it's the same reasons that's it's cheaper over here. :D

Quote:

Can start of by telling you that I´m from Sweden (and yes our women are beautiful)!

The price drop on Xbox have surprised everyone over here, we were not expecting this so soon, and not so huge. The price in Sweden for an Xbox was before 5000kr which is about $490. You may think that noone would by a console at that price, but PS2 sold at that price, and it sold out in a couple of hours.

Well back to Xbox, after this announcement everyone has gone crazy at our forums. Even the Nintendo fanboys are thinking about buying an Xbox instead of a GC, why?

The Xbox will come down on a pricetag at 2995kr, the Gamecubes recommended retail price is 3195kr, even the PS2 price is around the same price as a Xbox. With more power, the harddrive and a ethernet card, and all those great games who are piling up for Xbox, well you see that you get more for your moneys worth. Oh did I forget to mention that you also get the DVD...

Another thing is that in Sweden the most of us have broadband (don´t know if that is the english name, but almost everyone have speeds from 500kb to 10mb), and many people are seeing the potentials know with an console at that price and ready to go online (well soon anyway *smiles*).

At last I can only say that Xbox will probably be as huge in Europe as in USA after this.

Now if only they did this in Japan...

Quote:

Originally posted by Danchastu

Now if only they did this in Japan...

I believe they did. Saw the news on CNN Headline News. Said price cut in Europe and Japan, due to slow initial sales. No plans for a US cut.

Man, more loses for Microsoft. Can we say releasing Xbox was a stupid move for MS? I think we can :) Last time I checked, you released products to profit from, that's just me though.

Well in that case, where are these Sweden women at?

Here is a press release regarding the Xbox price cut:

Quote:

LONDON, 18th April 2002 – Microsoft today announced that the European price of its Xbox video game system will be reduced to an estimated street price of €299/£199, effective from 26th April 2002.

“We are making a clear statement today – we mean business in Europe,” said Sandy Duncan, Vice President, Xbox Europe. “The phenomenally positive response to Xbox through reviews, awards and game sales has demonstrated that consumers love Xbox. We want to make sure that price is not the obstacle to the Xbox experience.”

A similar price reduction was also announced in Australia bringing the price of the system there to A$399.00.

Since its debut Xbox has been identified in head-to-head comparisons by game enthusiasts as the best gaming experience available. Xbox enjoys one of the highest attach rates of any video game console – the attach rate in the UK was 2.8 after two weeks on the market according to ChartTrack. In the US, according to NPDFunworldSM, the definitive source for toy and video games industry sales data, attach rate is 3.9, the highest of any next generation console after four months in the market.

In less than five months since its original debut in America, more than 20 games have already sold over 100,000 units each world-wide. Halo alone has already sold more than one million units world-wide, with the distinction of having achieved that mark faster than any other next generation game. It has also garnered some of the strongest European reviews ever for a video game, with publications like Edge calling it “the most important launch game for any console ever.” With this price reduction, Microsoft makes Xbox the clear choice for all customers.

“This is a long-term, strategic move that will benefit our retail partners, our third-party publishing partners and ultimately the gamer,” said Duncan. “Xbox has always been amazing value for money, and now it is even more so - we are providing the right console at the right price. The most powerful video game system on earth, and the only one with a built-in hard drive and broadband adapter, is now without a doubt the best value available. The playing field in Europe has been levelled, making it even easier for customers to enjoy the power of Xbox.”

“Xbox enjoyed a great launch in Europe – fantastic product and fantastic games,” said David Gardner, VP, Electronic Arts. “It’s great they’re making a move that will enable more customers to enjoy Xbox. Plus, this is great for publishers as our games, such as FIFA World Cup 2002 and the Xbox-exclusive Buffy the Vampire Slayer, now have the potential to reach an even wider audience in Europe.”

“This is a great move for Xbox,” said Lisa Morgan, Commercial Director, The GAME Group plc. “Xbox sales have been good but now there’s an even greater sales potential for us. We will benefit from increased hardware sales, which in turn results in increased peripheral and games sales. Feedback from our customers on Xbox has been extremely positive – if there has been one limiting factor it has been price. We’re glad Microsoft has made an aggressive move to remove the price barrier and put this fantastic console into more European homes in a quicker timeframe. This is going to benefit the industry as well as customers.”

Customers who have already purchased an Xbox at the original price will be rewarded for their early adoption with a special thank-you package. Details are posted on www.xbox.com/uk.

“We’re offering a special package to those who purchased an Xbox at the original price point, as a thank-you to customers who helped with our early success,” said Duncan.

Well the new Price seems to be working very well just look at the Amazon charts in the UK Xbox is now 4th in the chart ahead of Gamecube and PS2

.co.uk
Xbox 4th
Xbox bundle 18th
GC Purple 13th
GC Black 14th
PS2+MGS2 15th
PS2 on its own, Not in top 100

.de
Xbox 2nd
PS2 39th
GC Black 74th
GC Purple, Not in Top 100

.fr
PS2 8th
Xbox 14th
GC Purple 15th
GC Black 19th

Quote:

Originally posted by Old Skool
Well the new Price seems to be working very well just look at the Amazon charts in the UK Xbox is now 4th in the chart ahead of Gamecube and PS2

.co.uk
Xbox 4th
Xbox bundle 18th
GC Purple 13th
GC Black 14th
PS2+MGS2 15th
PS2 on its own, Not in top 100

.de
Xbox 2nd
PS2 39th
GC Black 74th
GC Purple, Not in Top 100

.fr
PS2 8th
Xbox 14th
GC Purple 15th
GC Black 19th

Now thats interesting... hmm... there's just one hugely massive major flaw with it though, the Gamecube isn't out in Europe yet :doh:

So these are not sales, rather pre-orders which are not sales. Also the sales of Amazon does not give an accurate account of sales overall across Europe, from every retailer of the said consoles.

Statistics like this will interest me more in two weeks time.