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Taken from ComputerAndVideoGames.com
EXCLUSIVE: XBOX PRICE SLASHED IN EUROPE ON APRIL 26
Blink. You read it right. Microsoft has just confirmed that the price of its console is about to fall by £100, with full compensation for those who bought at the original price
Microsoft is to drop the price of Xbox in Europe by £100 to £199 on April 26, less than six weeks after the launch of the machine. Slow pan-European sales prompted calls from industry leaders in the last week to drop the price immediately. Microsoft has obviously had its ears wide open.
"At 6.00am today, we'll be reducing the price of the Xbox to €299, £199, effective from April 26," said Chris Lewis, UK divisional director for Xbox retail. "There are no announcements, or any plans to make price changes elsewhere. It is a European-only announcement at this stage."
The speed of the move will come as a shock to many, but Microsoft has merely pointed to its wish to remain competitive in an increasingly tough market.
"When we announced the price back in Cannes at X01 [In October, 2001 – Ed], the terrain was slightly different to that which we have now," said Lewis. "Nintendo [GameCube] wasn't imminent, and certainly PlayStation 2 was at a different price point. We were always committed to being competitive.
"For us to remain competitive, and to allow even more people to get the best value and get the chance to play with Xbox, we want to remove any obstacles to success and change our price-point now."
Lewis went on to reiterate Microsoft's commitment to the console market for the long-term.
Obviously wary of causing chagrin among early adopters - already at least £345 lighter due to buying at the original European price - Microsoft also confirmed today a system for refunding gamers who supported the format from the off. Anyone who has already bought an Xbox, or buys one in Europe up to April 25, will be eligible to receive two free games and a free controller in the wake of the cut. Honestly and truly, kids, you cannot say fairer than that.
Xbox games retail at £45. Xbox controllers sell for £25. That's £115 in total. That's free money. Say "thank you Mr Microsoft". "We want to reward the early adoption," said Lewis.
Lewis denied that the price for the machine was pitched too high for Europe initially. "When we first made our pricing decisions in late summer last year, we felt that at that time – we were twice the power of PlayStation 2, we had a better games line-up, the box was future proof, we were built with broadband and there are a whole lot of online announcements coming at E3 - we offered great value for money," he said. "We still do.
"What we recognise now is that we need to remain competitive. To that end, we've made this decision and we've made it for Europe. We feel that we've made the right decision at the right time."
Xbox Europe is planning to head into E3 bouyed by extra sales garnered from the drop, with the general focus for the show looking increasingly likely to be online play. "What that does do is leave the way very clear for us to have some good discussions around the games and remove any obstacles that might be debated around the price," said Lewis.
EXCLUSIVE: XBOX PRICE SLASHED IN EUROPE ON APRIL 26
Blink. You read it right. Microsoft has just confirmed that the price of its console is about to fall by £100, with full compensation for those who bought at the original price
Microsoft is to drop the price of Xbox in Europe by £100 to £199 on April 26, less than six weeks after the launch of the machine. Slow pan-European sales prompted calls from industry leaders in the last week to drop the price immediately. Microsoft has obviously had its ears wide open.
"At 6.00am today, we'll be reducing the price of the Xbox to €299, £199, effective from April 26," said Chris Lewis, UK divisional director for Xbox retail. "There are no announcements, or any plans to make price changes elsewhere. It is a European-only announcement at this stage."
The speed of the move will come as a shock to many, but Microsoft has merely pointed to its wish to remain competitive in an increasingly tough market.
"When we announced the price back in Cannes at X01 [In October, 2001 – Ed], the terrain was slightly different to that which we have now," said Lewis. "Nintendo [GameCube] wasn't imminent, and certainly PlayStation 2 was at a different price point. We were always committed to being competitive.
"For us to remain competitive, and to allow even more people to get the best value and get the chance to play with Xbox, we want to remove any obstacles to success and change our price-point now."
Lewis went on to reiterate Microsoft's commitment to the console market for the long-term.
Obviously wary of causing chagrin among early adopters - already at least £345 lighter due to buying at the original European price - Microsoft also confirmed today a system for refunding gamers who supported the format from the off. Anyone who has already bought an Xbox, or buys one in Europe up to April 25, will be eligible to receive two free games and a free controller in the wake of the cut. Honestly and truly, kids, you cannot say fairer than that.
Xbox games retail at £45. Xbox controllers sell for £25. That's £115 in total. That's free money. Say "thank you Mr Microsoft". "We want to reward the early adoption," said Lewis.
Lewis denied that the price for the machine was pitched too high for Europe initially. "When we first made our pricing decisions in late summer last year, we felt that at that time – we were twice the power of PlayStation 2, we had a better games line-up, the box was future proof, we were built with broadband and there are a whole lot of online announcements coming at E3 - we offered great value for money," he said. "We still do.
"What we recognise now is that we need to remain competitive. To that end, we've made this decision and we've made it for Europe. We feel that we've made the right decision at the right time."
Xbox Europe is planning to head into E3 bouyed by extra sales garnered from the drop, with the general focus for the show looking increasingly likely to be online play. "What that does do is leave the way very clear for us to have some good discussions around the games and remove any obstacles that might be debated around the price," said Lewis.
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MR.COATES wrote:
> Nothing like a bit of two player action.
Hur hur!
> Nothing like a bit of two player action.
Hur hur!
Sodding Idiot wrote:
> So, er, are none of you going to do 4 player then?
Rarely worth it due to the slowdown/lack of detail etc. It's why I've never been bothered that PS2 only has 2 ports.
> I can't wait to get some more pads and play 4-player Halo!
I never see much point in FPS games on the same screen - too easy to see where the opponents are. Gets less of a problem when you have 4 people as it's difficult to keep track of all of them, but then you have the slowdown/lack of detail mentioned above.
> Now that the price has dropped, hopefully my mates will all get an
> XBox as well, for some 16player madness!
I don't have the room for 4 Xboxes, TV's etc. so that's never going to happen anyway. And as it's not yet possible to get the Xbox online easily...
> So, er, are none of you going to do 4 player then?
Rarely worth it due to the slowdown/lack of detail etc. It's why I've never been bothered that PS2 only has 2 ports.
> I can't wait to get some more pads and play 4-player Halo!
I never see much point in FPS games on the same screen - too easy to see where the opponents are. Gets less of a problem when you have 4 people as it's difficult to keep track of all of them, but then you have the slowdown/lack of detail mentioned above.
> Now that the price has dropped, hopefully my mates will all get an
> XBox as well, for some 16player madness!
I don't have the room for 4 Xboxes, TV's etc. so that's never going to happen anyway. And as it's not yet possible to get the Xbox online easily...
Sadly, and this really is one hell of an admission, I'm unlikely to ever get the chance for more than 2 player deathmatches until Xbox goes online.
No mates you see.
I'm not joking!!
As a 27 year old fella, I've got a 32 inch Sony 100hz TV, proper Dolby Digital setup (big speakers, the works) as well as a PS2 & Xbox.
A superb place to play as you can imagine, but sadly nobody to play it with as I'm relocating 'Oop North'.
So I need to get some new friends first.
Tragic eh?!
:(
No mates you see.
I'm not joking!!
As a 27 year old fella, I've got a 32 inch Sony 100hz TV, proper Dolby Digital setup (big speakers, the works) as well as a PS2 & Xbox.
A superb place to play as you can imagine, but sadly nobody to play it with as I'm relocating 'Oop North'.
So I need to get some new friends first.
Tragic eh?!
:(
So, er, are none of you going to do 4 player then?
I can't wait to get some more pads and play 4-player Halo!
Now that the price has dropped, hopefully my mates will all get an XBox as well, for some 16player madness!
An extra pad ALWAYS comes in handy. Well, it will for me as the second pad I got is an unofficial one as that's what was in the bundle I bought, so another official one will got down a treat.
I can't wait to get some more pads and play 4-player Halo!
Now that the price has dropped, hopefully my mates will all get an XBox as well, for some 16player madness!
An extra pad ALWAYS comes in handy. Well, it will for me as the second pad I got is an unofficial one as that's what was in the bundle I bought, so another official one will got down a treat.
I do - and a PS2 remote as well.
Neither are particularly useful to me, but the remote would get more use than a 3rd controller! :-)
Neither are particularly useful to me, but the remote would get more use than a 3rd controller! :-)
Thinking about it, I'd have liked the option of a DVD remote rather than a controller.
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