Rumors were flying around a couple of weeks ago about a possible price drop for the Xbox 360. Today this has become a reality as Europe and the UK saw an across-the-board price reduction for all of its Xbox 360 models–the Premium, Elite, and Arcade versions.
The price drops will be 269.99 to 189.99 Euros for the Premium, 369.998 to 289.99 Euros for the Elite, and 199.99 to 119.99 Euros for the Arcade. In British pounds that is a flat reduction of approximately £61 for all Xbox 360 iterations. In US dollars that would amount to about $123 per machine.
The news of the price drop of the 360 in Europe will undoubtedly cause tremors throughout the Sony camp as Europe has long been considered PlayStation country. Microsoft’s plan in reducing the prices of its Xbox 360 line is an indication that it is dead serious about taking market share away from the PS3 and wants to gain a foothold in the European game console market.
As to whether or not Microsoft is planning to repeat this price reduction in the United States and around the world is not known at this moment. But if it does take effect internationally it will definitely put more pressure on Sony to subsequently lower its price on its PS3 in order to maintain its momentum in sales.
If we thought the console wars were over, we need to think this through as competition has heated up again between Sony and Microsoft–and this may mean another price war–good news for gamers.
[via arstechnica]
