Xbox 360 price cuts no surprise in battle for supremacy

by Alex Zaharov-Reutt

Tuesday, 11 November 2008

Page 1 of 3 ! After the Nintendo Wii and PS3 launched in 2006, preceded by the Xbox 360’s 2005 debut, all three consoles now have excellent software libraries and plenty of users. While the Nintendo Wii still leads in total consoles sold, Microsoft has more than 300 games and great popularity all its own, a nice price cut pre-Christmas looks a very timely move. After the all out war that was the end-of-year/Christmas/holiday shopping season in 2007, 2008 sees plenty more titles and many more owners of each major console platform. iTWire gaming writer Mike Bantick naturally has his own thoughts on the wonders of consoles and capitalism, and you can read his article on "More Xbox 360 price cuts" for his take. While the battle continues to sell more consoles and gain a larger market share, the battle to sell profitable games titles also continues, as does the battle for gaming developer market and mind share. Consoles with more owners will attract more new games, and no console wants to be left off the list. The PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 have reached a kind of equilibrium – each console has very strong merits and few real negatives, and plenty of people who own one of today’s “next gen” consoles actually own more than one brand, with many people going so far as to own all three. But in 2008 we’re up against the “economic crisis” that is seeing consumers worldwide pull back from spending, going on “staycations” rather than expensive vacations, making their own lunches rather than eating out and saving money wherever possible. So, while console gaming may seem to be an extravagant extra entertainment spend that can be cut, console gaming and online gaming is a way to enjoy entertainment at home, and while the is a relatively large upfront cost to buy the console and its accessories, along with games titles, once you have those you can have your own digital gaming nirvana – and not all games titles you buy need to be the latest or most expensive. So, given the spending dollar will be tight, and given console makers still need to sell consoles and games, it comes as no surprise to discover that Microsoft has decided a price cut is what it needs to keep consumer and media interest high at precisely the right time – when people/parents/kids/grandparents are thinking about Christmas presents. What does Microsoft have to say about the price cuts and why it made them? Please read on to page 2. << First page <   1 2 3 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>

 

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