Microsoft's Xbox 360 will be priced at $299

KdjaCL

Microsoft's Xbox 360 will be priced at $299 when it hits shelves later this year, according to analysts at major investment bank UBS, with Microsoft subsidising each console to the tune of $75 in order to meet that price point.

Predictions by the analysts, reported last week in the Toronto Globe and Mail, suggest that Microsoft will pay $375 per unit to its manufacturing partners, with the final retail price of the console pegged at $299.

That's in line with comments from Microsoft boss J Allard, who told the media at E3 that the Xbox 360 would launch "in the neighbourhood" of the $300 price point at which the original Xbox launched in late 2001 in North America.
Advertisement

The $75 subsidy reportedly required to hit the launch price is quite high, but not unusual for a new console. Platform holders routinely subsidise their consoles at launch in order to build an installed base, and then make back the money from software sales and the rapidly falling price of hardware manufacture late in the lifespan of the console.

However, Microsoft found it more difficult to do this with the original Xbox, since it had to continue buying components from partners such as NVIDIA and Intel at high prices - unlike Sony, which has been able to hugely reduce the manufacturing cost of the PS2 as it builds most of the core components itself.

For Xbox 360, Microsoft has moved to a more Sony-like model, and expects to be able to realise similar economies as the scale of manufacturing ramps up and the component costs fall.


http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=59517


nice price


kdjac

Headshot

very good price

flogen

So going by the conversion rates Ninty and Sony have followed for the DS and PSP respectively, we should see it for €300? Or is that wishful thinking?

aphex™

I presume It will be €300, isn't that always the way?

I'm more interested in how much more games will cost.
I predict xbox games will be cheaper than PS3 ones. Why? Because Sony will say "if you can't afford it, buy the psp version". MS can't do that.

honru

They should have set the price at $360/€360...

C'mon, that would've been pretty cool.

Games are going to be about €70 (probably around €55 from play.com et al).

KdjaCL

$300 to game = £300 = €550


Seems a very low price with such nice tech inside it.

kdjac

flogen

KdjaC wrote:

$300 to game = £300 = €550


Seems a very low price with such nice tech inside it.

kdjac

I hope they just do a direct euro conversion, so it's $300 - €300. like the DS and PSP, obviously I'd much prefer them to do a proper conversion but that just isn't going to happen.

(and by $300 to game, do you mean game the company or something else?)

KdjaCL

The company. most will buy it online tbh get the proper price.


kdjac

danniemcq

$299 is €243 so it'll be €250 and then for launch day it'll be €300 with game or someother special item or bundle (extra controller and remote???) the usual rubbish wait and you'll see then you'll all bow before me and call me the gaming god. that or fluffy pants

kaimera

i like fluffy_pants myself...

flogen

KdjaC wrote:

The company. most will buy it online tbh get the proper price.


kdjac

tbh, the companies don't really set the price, the makers do, up until recently an xbox, ps2 and gc cost the same everywhere, the bundles were different though

skywalker

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

They should have set the price at $360/€360...

C'mon, that would've been pretty cool.

Games are going to be about €70 (probably around €55 from play.com et al).

Them charging an extra €60, would make it cool?

Do you work in marketing by any chance?

Lord Oz

I wouldn't advise buying the console at launch - wait a week or two and the prices will drop. Remember the first Xbox? That launched at €400 I think and dropped pretty soon after.

zAbbo

I might pick one up at the US lauch, heopfully

Whats the time difference in launching in US/Europe

ShiverinEskimo

Didn't sony drop the price of the already out ps2 leading to the price drop of the xbox?

they wont have to drop the price this time - they are the first and only next gen console - they can set the pace.

Retr0gamer

I'm getting mine from the states. I'm fed up chipping consoles for imports and then having them break in just over a year (I'm looking at you PS2).

dearg_doom

danniemcq wrote:

$299 is €243 so it'll be €250 and then for launch day it'll be €300 with game or someother special item or bundle (extra controller and remote???) the usual rubbish wait and you'll see then you'll all bow before me and call me the gaming god. that or fluffy pants

lol, I love optimists!!

There's no waaay we'll get it for 250euro!!

Europe ALWAYS gets ass-raped when it comes to game/console prices, it's tradition at this stage:)

dloob

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

They should have set the price at $360/€360...

C'mon, that would've been pretty cool.

Games are going to be about €70 (probably around €55 from play.com et al).

The preorder prices are scary on play.com
63.99 for most with Saints Row an epic 79.99 :eek:

aphex™

dloob wrote:

The preorder prices are scary on play.com
63.99 for most with Saints Row an epic 79.99 :eek:

Well it should really be €75 (converting the currency yoursef). They just made it €79.99 for their convenience. So if ordering, keep it with GB£.

The above make me believe the Xbox 360 @ €360 is indeed likely. Convenient for marketing.

Yeah the Xbox itself _should_ be €300 at the most but then of course you remember europe will get ripped off by 20%. Oh look that makes it €360.

KdjaCL

flogen wrote:

tbh, the companies don't really set the price, the makers do, up until recently an xbox, ps2 and gc cost the same everywhere, the bundles were different though

Right ....so someone walks into shot and asks for console for 299 and tgets told "oh we only selling bundles for 399"


Kdjac

1huge1

these new prices are beginning to scare my wallet

shabbyroad

words that spring to mind
"conclusions" and "jumping to"
"not" and "announced"
"prediction" <---- that's a good one

L5

well ive got mine pre-ordered in gamestop since 3 weeks ago
20 down secures a pre-order, these are going to be like golddust come November/December

BloodBath

I reckon the so called experts are $100 off what the true retail price will be, I'd say it will launch 1t $399. There is some serious hardware in there and they have no competition at launch.

iregk

I agree with bloodbath here, the hardware involved is going to push the price up in my opinion to at least 399. remember also they have no competition at launch so expect a wait most likely a week or two before ps3 launchs to get a price drop.

flogen

BloodBath wrote:

I reckon the so called experts are $100 off what the true retail price will be, I'd say it will launch 1t $399. There is some serious hardware in there and they have no competition at launch.

yeah, but MS have to think ahead, they have a 5 or 6 month headstart, but if they set their price too high they'll damage sales (people who will wait for a price drop). the longer people wait the more chance there is of them going sony again.
MS will take a hit on the price again, maybe not as much though

BloodBath

They will still take a hit selling the thing at $400 and they will still push a shed load of them with a christmas launch and no competition. I seriosuly don't see them selling it at $299 but then again it is Microsoft. If anyone can afford to lose millions selling a console at a major loss it's them.

grimloch

The PS2 sold at 380 pounds at first and they were impossible to get for months. I reckon the x-box will sell at 400 and have loads of people buying it.

monument

BloodBath wrote:

I reckon the so called experts are $100 off what the true retail price will be, I'd say it will launch 1t $399. There is some serious hardware in there and they have no competition at launch.

The “experts”, other wise known as the “analyses”, and Microsoft, have to think about this from more then the short-term cost of the hardware.

The competition will be - at least apparently - only around the corner, and if you kept an eye on what the “experts” were saying you may have also seen that they "predict" the 360’s few months head start will mean little to Sony in light of the amount the PS2 has sold in its lifetime.

Peteee

flogen wrote:

MS will take a hit on the price again, maybe not as much though

Again??

What price did the xbox launch at?

€479 (Launch Price (Ireland) 14 March, 2002)

(wikipedia)

A month later they dropped it to €299 because approximatly 7 people had bought one (my estimate)

i'm expecting both consoles to launch at €360 (Both for marketing reasons, sony taking the piss )

flogen

Peteee wrote:

Again??

What price did the xbox launch at?

€479 (Launch Price (Ireland) 14 March, 2002)

(wikipedia)

A month later they dropped it to €299 because approximatly 7 people had bought one (my estimate)

i'm expecting both consoles to launch at €360 (Both for marketing reasons, sony taking the piss )

yes again.

skywalker

Peteee wrote:

Again??

What price did the xbox launch at?

€479 (Launch Price (Ireland) 14 March, 2002)

(wikipedia)

A month later they dropped it to €299 because approximatly 7 people had bought one (my estimate)

i'm expecting both consoles to launch at €360 (Both for marketing reasons, sony taking the piss )

Did the original xbox really drop by that much that quick?

CiDeRmAn

Yup, the xbox price dropped like a stone, I picked up one from some friends in the business, they had no clue the drop was coming, then, due to dreadful initial sales xbox dropped to the aforementioned price point, and Microsoft gave us early adopters a free game and controller if memory serves me right. Nice of them, don't you think?
Really its time to start saving, if you put a few bob away starting now you should have enough to fund all the next gen consoles as they are released. Of course after release you are probably going to have to be satisfied witht the 2 or 3 decent titles in amongst the launch dribble, but thats always the way.

Ri_Nollaig

but what kinda prices will we be talking for the games? ive heard time and time again thay they make a loss on the console but make it back in the games

grimloch

I think I heard games will be about E60 - E70.

iregk

looking at the steady rise in games as time has gone id say 60 for the first batch and then the 70's as next gen games get more complex and bigger budget.

CiDeRmAn

Reckon the price of games will simply be whatever the market can handle, and thats what they are now.
Remember when games for your megadrive and snes were £40 and £50 pounds?
Thats about €55 to €70 and not even taking 10 years of inflation into account.
Nope, reckon the current pricing structure will remain.
The increased complexity of the 32 and 128 bit games didn't change the pricing of games at all, in fact the biggest impact was the change from carts to cd/dvd media, makinhg things much cheaper to mass produce.
You have to look at the way a price of a game breaks down and jsut how much goes to the game production.

Retr0gamer

I'd say the games will start off at a ridiculous 70 euro and then drop. It happened with the last two generations as well.

TerrorFirmer

Retr0gamer wrote:

I'd say the games will start off at a ridiculous 70 euro and then drop. It happened with the last two generations as well.

I was at my friends house yesterday, he still has the sticker on his MoH Frontline box from the very few days it came out here.

69.99

Funny, seeing as its about 7 euro pre owned around the place and 15 new.

Retr0gamer

There's also no point in spending 60 euros on a new game in game or gamestop. HMV have all the new games for 50 euros and then a fiver off with there game card. They also seem to get every game in unlike someplaces that are quite selective. I don't know how the big chains get away with it.

grimloch

Retr0gamer wrote:

There's also no point in spending 60 euros on a new game in game or gamestop. HMV have all the new games for 50 euros and then a fiver off with there game card. They also seem to get every game in unlike someplaces that are quite selective. I don't know how the big chains get away with it.

You make a good point. One place fifty yards down Grafton Street selling games a tenner more expensive. I can't even remember the last time I payed the full-whack of 60 euro for a game.

IF my memory serves me correctly, PS2 games were about 63 and then went to 65 and now they're still about someplaces that unless you travel to HMV.

I wouldn't say the new games will be too unlike it.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

Retr0gamer

I'm getting my xbox from america. What a fantastic coincidence that i'll be in LA during the time of it's launch

Kazaanova

Would it be worth getting it in America? Isnt there only a week or something in the difference of release dates?

Retr0gamer

Cheaper games from america, more than likely cheaper console, no ridiculous release dates, don't miss out on any games (although on xbox it's a far better than the situation with the PS2 with only ninja gaidens lack of decapitations being annoying). So overall, yes. Will also be getting an american PS3.

Retr0gamer

But most importantly, I will enjoy bragging about it.

Headshot

if you buy a xbox 360 or ps3 from America how are you suppose to play rented games from your local xtra vision etc

airetam_storm

{(-_-)}HeadShoT** wrote:

if you buy a xbox 360 or ps3 from America how are you suppose to play rented games from your local xtra vision etc

Chipped?

flogen

airetam_storm wrote:

Chipped?

I wonder how long it will take before the machine is chipped, actually. I don't think there's any if about it, it's really a when. It is just a PC after all.

Headshot

airetam_storm wrote:

Chipped?

thats an obvious answer

Microsoft must have improved alot, security wise since the orignal xbox

isnt the first person to chipped the xbox sucessfully work for Microsoft now?

so it might take a good bit longer to get the 360 chipped

monument

Retr0gamer wrote:

I'm getting my xbox from america. What a fantastic coincidence that i'll be in LA during the time of it's launch

Don’t worry we'll all find a way to have Customs waiting for you on your return.