13 July 2008
Josh

Xbox 360 price cut confirmed by Microsoft: 20GB now $299, 60GB priced $349. Sony says no PS3 price cut

Microsoft has announced that the Xbox 360 will be receiving a price cut, the Xbox 360 with 20GB hard drive will now cost only $300 down from $350. This makes it just $50 more than the Wii and $100 cheaper than the 40GB $399 PS3.

In addition, Microsoft has announced the introduction of a fourth package. The 60GB Xbox 360 will come in priced at $349.

So the final Xbox 360 packages and prices are:

* Xbox 360 Arcade: $280. Come with a wireless controller, a 256MB memory unit and five Xbox LIVE Arcade games.
* Xbox 360 20GB: $300. Comes with a wireless controller, a 20 GB hard drive, and a wired headset.
* Xbox 360 Pro 60GB: $350. Will likely come with a wireless controller, 60 GB hard drive and a wired headset.
* Xbox 360 Elite: $450. Comes with a black-colored console and black wireless controller, a 120GB hard drive, a wired headset, and an HDMI cable.

Sony however has stated that they will not be cutting the price of the PS3 to counter what Microsoft is offering. To quote Nobuyuki Oneda (Sony’s chief financial officer), “Our plan is not to reduce the price,” the executive told the Nomura Asia Equity forum in Singapore, reports Dow Jones. “Our strategy is not to sell more quantity for PS3 but to concentrate on profitability.”

Sony’s emphasis on making the PS3 profitable has greatly lessened the console’s drag on the company’s finances. In an annual earnings report issued in May, Sony reported that the Â¥124.5 billion ($1.1 billion) loss for its games division was down Â¥107.8 billion ($954 million) from the previous year’s record $2 billion loss.

In the past the makers of the two consoles have countered each other whenever a price cut was announced by either Sony or Microsoft.

In 2004 Microsoft cut the price of the original Xbox to $149 only to see Sony counter with a PS2 price drop weeks later. Last summer Sony discontinued the 60GB PS3 by cutting it’s price to $499. Microsoft countered by discounting all it’s Xbox 360 models including the Arcade to $280, the Pro to $350 and the Elite to $450.

Four months later, Sony introduced the $399 40GB PS3, a move that has put the PS3 and 360 neck-and-neck in sales ever since. Though the June US sales numbers are not yet out, many expect the introduction of the $499 80GB Metal Gear Solid 4 bundle to further boost the platform at retail.