Similar article from the Australian :
Xbox $100 cheaper in Australia
Correspondents in San Francisco | August 28, 2009
update MICROSOFT has slashed the price of its high-end Xbox 360 video game console by $100 stepping up the price war in the video game console market.
Effective September 22, Microsoft will drop the price of the Xbox 360 Elite to $449 in Australia, just days after Sony cut the rival PlayStation 3 to $499 from $699.
Microsoft has sold about 700,000 Xbox 360 consoles in Australia while rival Sony has sold about 540,000 PlayStation 3 consoles.
On top of that customers buying an Xbox 360 Elite from the day of the price drop through to October 20th 2009 will receive a bonus copy of the highly anticipated blockbuster title Halo 3: ODST.
Analysts have said the cuts will pressure Nintendo to lower the price of its best-selling Wii console but for now the company is standing firm.
"We don't have such a plan," Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa said when asked about a price cut.
The price on the entry-level Xbox Arcade model will stay at $299, and Microsoft will phase out its mid-range Xbox Pro model, leaving it with two models. The Pro will sell for $399 until supplies run out.
Since PS3, Xbox and Wii are increasingly centerpieces of home entertainment, their sales can spur purchases of software, accessories and other media, and boost traffic at retailers.
And while the unit that runs Xbox is a small part of Microsoft's overall sales -- at about 11 per cent -- it is the company's biggest weapon in the battle to control entertainment in the living room.
Microsoft spokesman David Dennis said the price cut was in the works for some time and was not a response to Sony's cut. Rather, he said, the price reduction will attract new buyers and help simplify Microsoft's product mix for manufacturers and retailers as well as customers.
"It really makes the decision for consumers a lot easier," he said. "They're either price conscious and they gravitate toward the Arcade, or they want the full Xbox 360 experience."
In the US the Elite will now retail for $US299.99 ($357) while in Europe, the Elite price will shrink by 50 euros ($87) to 249.99 euros ($427), or 199.99 pounds ($388) in Britain. Chris Lewis, head of Xbox Europe, said the cut would help Microsoft match or beat its 2008 performance, when it increased unit sales of Xboxes more than 80 per cent in Europe.
Beyond console sales, the cuts by Microsoft and Sony should provide a lift to a broader gaming industry has been stuck in a slump brought on by a lack of big-name releases and a recession that has pinched consumer spending.
Indeed, game publishers like Activision Blizzard have clamored for price cuts, which often boost sales of software.
"Software makers should be quite happy about it," KBC Securities analyst Hiroshi Kamide said. "The industry should stage a bit of a recovery in the second half of this year."
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