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Xbox 360 price cut to $199 on the way? E-mail
by Stan Beer   
Saturday, 09 June 2007
Microsoft could slash the price of its Xbox 360 by $100 or more to US$199 for its basic console and possibly bundle in a free game if a recent report is anything to go by. According to a Bloomberg report, a Microsoft Xbox executive has admitted that US$199 is the trigger point for mass consumer sales and also pointed to Nintendo's success with bundling a game with the Wii console for US$250.

The Xbox 360 costs US$299 for a console with no hard drive and US$399 for 20GB hard drive model. Currently both Xbox 360 and the US$599 Sony PlayStation 3 are being easily outsold in all markets by Wii which sells for US$250.

Bloomberg reports that Xbox product manager David Hufford said that Microsoft knows that US$199 is "the sweet spot" for the consoles market. Hufford also said that Nintendo had done a good job in bundling the Wii with a game for US$250.

The Microsoft comments show the company is well aware of the continuing strong sales of the PS2, which is now priced at US$129 and has been selling at US$199 or less since mid 2002, two years after it came on the market. The PS2 is easily the biggest selling console of all time with more than 120 million units shipped, of which the majority have been sold since 2002.

Microsoft, which makes a hefty loss on each Xbox 360 sold, is really in the business of selling games for its consoles so the company may be setting itself to take an even bigger loss on console sales for the sake of moving more boxes. In addition, Hufford's comments suggest that Microsoft may consider emulating Nintendo and bundling a game or two with its consoles after slashing the price.

With Sony's president Ryoji Chubachi recently hinting that PS3 price cuts are not far away and any price move by Nintendo sure to drop the Wii price below $199, Microsoft, which specialises in dropping hints to the market through well-timed "leaks" and off-the-cuff comments from executives, seems to be priming the market for a $199 Xbox 360.{moscomment}
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