Microsoft lowers XBox price outside US (X-box European hopes discussion pt2) (1 Viewer)

[Justin1]

Here is the story:
CNN story
Finally, MS should have done this before launch. Now, they have a large hole to dig themselves out of.

 

[Dan Brecher]

This is being discussed in the X-Box Europe thread, however we can leave this open as a main discussion for the price drop news (which as I stated in the other thread I am thrilled with)... I have slightly re-named the title of this thread to continue all discussion on the console's hopes in Europe.

Amazon UK is already promoting next weeks price reduction. They don't appear to be shipping the consoles at all anymore until the 26th, re-launching it if you will to meet the price reduction in a weeks time. Here's the blurb to be found on Amazon UKs gaming pages.

"Xbox Price Drops to £194.99

From April 26, 2002 the world's most powerful console will be available at the fantastic new price of £194.99, a saving of over £100. You can also save a tonne on one of our great-value Mayhem or Adrenalin packs at only £287.99--or check out our Xbox Pick 'n' Mix and choose your own bundle."

-- Amazon.co.uk

The bundles see 2 games, a 2nd official control pad and an additional players guide book related to one of the games in which ever bundle you go for. Good deal. If DOA3 is truly worth owning I may plump for the Mayhem bundle which includes that and Halo plus a Halo strategy guide and the 2nd controler.

Dan

 

[Gary King]

From the other thread:

The 44UKP includes tax (VAT) though, right?
Most states in the US add a 6-9% sales tax (California's is 8.5%), which means our $49.95 games are actually closer to $55. That's still a bit cheaper than UK prices, though.

 

[Scott L]

yahoo article

The company said the Xbox price tag would be reduced in Europe to 299 euros ($266) from 479 and in Britain to 199 pounds ($288) from 300 to boost what some industry observers are calling disappointing sales.
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Microsoft has poured billion of dollars into the development of Xbox and committed $500 million in marketing muscle to grab a stake of the $20 billion global game industry.

This must be the quickest price drop after launch in videogame console history.

 

[Steve Deacon]

Dan, I wouldn't be happy about paying full price for the games, but as you said they're going for £38 to £40 online, which I believe isn't outrageous.

The key is to just buy the cream of the crop. It's far too easy to buy a stack of games when you get a new console, only to realise that half of them really aren't worth bothering with.

I'm hoping this offer they're running will include a few more titles, as the website seems to suggest.

I think it's certainly going to pick up sales at 200 notes, and for once I'm not going to be out of pocket by buying at launch.

 

[Dan Brecher]

Steve, are you using the advanced scart cable to get 5.1 out of the X-Box? I thought there was an s-video one that handled 5.1 too but I seem to be wrong. Amazon is all out of the scarts, I guess they are still in limited supply. I will be keeping my eyes open for one as of tomrorow and will snap one up as soon as I see it.

Dan

 

[Steve Deacon]

Yes, I have the advanced scart. It wasn't easy to get, no one had them for sale at launch in my area, so I ended up getting it online at Comet.

Stupidly retailers seemed to think there'd be no call for the advanced scart, even though one of the big selling points is the 5.1 audio. Talk about short sighted.

 

[Dan Brecher]

Gotcha. Wise I start hunting one down as of this weekend then. I am popping down to London on Saturday anyway so will have a good hunt for one.

When it comes to buying the console I may just go to Electronics Boutique and get the machine with 2 games of my choice. I wish the Amazon deal didn't include a game I'm not totally hyped for in their bundles (DOA3 or Amped).

Dan

 

[Steve Deacon]

I don't suppose you'll have any trouble now. It seems an odd way to handle the 5.1, I really don't see why they couldn't have had an optical out on the back of the machine just like the PS2. It seemed like an excuse to extract a bit more cash.

 

[Dan Brecher]

I'll play it safe regardless and try and pick one up on saturday. It's the one peripheral I don't want to be without when I get my console in May, and I think the reduction in price will certainly ship a good number of machines.

Dan

 

[Steve Deacon]

Sounds like a top excuse to ensure you get an xbox. "Well I have to buy it now, since I've already got the scart cable"

 

[Dave Falasco]

I wish the Amazon deal didn't include a game I'm not totally hyped for in their bundles (DOA3 or Amped).

Dan, I totally understand where you are coming from here. Neither of these have been hyped as A-list titles, that's for sure. And (full disclosure time) I rented both of them and ended up not purchasing either. However, I really had a lot of fun with Amped. I wanted to hold out until SSX Tricky came out and then compare all three snowboarding titles (along with Dark Summit) before making a decision. And after playing all three, I would have probably picked Amped up as the best of the lot...except that screenshots and previews started appearing for Trans World Snowboarding...which then got pushed back...and pushed back...so I'm still waiting for a snowboard title...

But back to Amped, I had an awful lot of fun with that game. Graphically, it is incredible (as you would expect from a first-party title). But more impressive to me was the trick scheme--it actually took some time to master, and as a consequence, pulling off high scores was quite rewarding. And I loved how you started off about halfway down a mountain, and as you completed objectives you unlocked more and more of the mountain, until a little later in the game you could start practically on top of the mountain and have a nice, long run to the bottom.

Anyway, I don't want to sidetrack the thread into an Amped discussion, but I wanted to share my impressions with you. If you are in a position where you are kind of "stuck" with Amped in a package, I think you may be pleasantly surprised with it. FWIW.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I wonder why they don't consider a price drop in America. They already sold a lot here, and would sell a lot more if they lowered the price.

I would get one if it was $250 or less (preferably less).

 

[Andre F]

I would get one if it was $250 or less (preferably less)

Me too. There is now a handful of games that I could pick up with the system.

Halo

Spider-Man

Max Payne

Rallisport Challenge

-Andre F

 

[Adam Tyner]

Maybe a price drop will be announced at E3...

 

[Gary King]

Since Dave's chimed in for Amped, I feel like adding my $0.02.

I think Amped's one of the Xbox's overlooked gems. It's not the best game you'll ever play, but it's a very unique take on the snowboarding genre, offers a ton of things to unlock and do (most people mention 60+ hours of gameplay minimum to unlock everything), and I had a lot of fun with it.

Plus, it's got the other snowboarding titles beat hands-down on all technical catergories.

If you have to get stuck with a game, you could do a whole lot worse. It's still on my to-buy list, but I'm having difficulty keeping up with all the games available already.

 

[Calvin Watts III]

Well,Dan..good thing you waited,huh?

Calvin

 

[Morgan Jolley]

If you have to get stuck with a game, you could do a whole lot worse

Or a whole lot better.

 

[Gary King]

Or a whole lot better.

You see, it's pointless negative comments like these that add nothing to the conversation that bother people, Morgan.

Amped is a very good game. I'm sure you've never played it, nor could you describe what anyone might find enjoyable about it, nor do you know anything about it aside from the fact that there are better games available.

If you can't think of anything meaningful, intelligent, or constructive to add, why not try keeping your ill-informed, baseless, or otherwise flawed opinions to yourself?

 

[Masood Ali]

Microsoft will drop their price in the states as soon as Sony does.
They realized the ridiculous premium they were charging their European customers over a PS2 would kill their sales (which happened), so they dropped the European price.
They are already selling it under $300 USD in Japan (still more than the PS2 and GC), but they aren't going to drop the price any more until they think they have a killer title for the Japanese market on hand.