xBox 360 for the price of a Wii.. in Australia

Infinite Gravity | August 15, 2007 | News | Wii XBOX 360

"Nintendo Wii or 360? Wii or xBox? Hmmm, tough choice."
"But the 360 is soooo expensive!"

Not anymore! The xBox price now matches that of the Nintendo Wii, as revealed by David McLean. Even though the price drop is astonishing, many believe that the 360 wont be able to contend with the Wii and PS3 market anymore, that console's time has been and gone.

After being available in Australia for 17 months, Microsoft has dropped the price of its Xbox 360, with the Premium package now retailing at $579.95 and the Core one at $399.95, the same price as Nintendo’s Wii.

Microsoft's Xbox director for Australia and New Zealand, David McLean, said that "Since launch we've always had a fairly deliberate strategy to secure the hardcore gamers first ... but now that we've done that job it's time to expand the market."

And he added, "We're now getting the benefits of reductions of costs in manufacturing, and we want to make sure we pass that stuff on to our consumers as soon as we can."

GfK Australia analyst Daniel Morse said he believes the nearing release of Halo 3 will combine with this price cut to make for a significant incentive for people to buy the Xbox 360 in the lead up to Christmas.

"You get a true next-generation device for the same price as the Wii and on top of that you can play Halo," he said, but insisted that Nintendo’s and Microsoft’s consoles are "two very different products"

Before Microsoft made the price cut announcement, a spokesman at Nintendo Australia said that there were no plans to do the same with Wii, as the company’s "still selling multitudes around the world" at the current price.

14 comments | go to source (www.aussie-nintendo.com) | Add to favorites!

favourite this article |

send to friend

101	Xbox 360 sales soar following price cuts (17) September 11, 2008
47	Xbox 360 price cuts go in effect in Europe today (0) September 19, 2008
66	Australian Xbox 360 accessory price drop official (4) August 31, 2008
121	Xbox 360: price drops galore, $199 for Core (17) August 4, 2008
60	GamersDailyNews: Microsoft confirms UK Xbox 360 price cuts (6) September 16, 2008

Comments

Comments with -10 or lower "thumbs" are removed from display.

1 thumbs!
Final Blade | August 15, 2007

I don't see how They think lowering the price and selling halo 3 would make a difference is Australia. It depends on what they want in terms of games. Cause i bet it won't work the same in Japan.
0 thumbs!
JJBDude | August 15, 2007

Wow buy a 360 for the same price as a Wii! I don't know what is going to happen, whether this will boost the sales of the 360 in Australia a lot or not, however it will be interesting to find out.
0 thumbs!
Silver Mirror | August 15, 2007

I reckon this will slow the Wii's monumentum now, casual gamers will no longer pick up a Wii just because its cheap, now Nintnendo have real competition
- 0 thumbs!
  Final Blade | August 15, 2007
  
  Yea in Australia, everywhere else they don't
0 thumbs!
Revenger of Wastelan | August 15, 2007

If it would be the same price as a Wii here in Israel, i would definitely get it, but come on, Australia?
0 thumbs!
ali3n | August 15, 2007

They should do that here in England .
-1 thumbs!
Demon365 | August 15, 2007

well even if i lived in australia mine i have already bought, but hey i only paid 200, yay me

parents paid another 200

but yeah the wii will have more competition now. i wonder how things will turn out for both systems.
0 thumbs!
Rinkydink | August 15, 2007

Well it sure has been a hold-back for many gamers, the fact that the 360 was too expensive for them. Now that the price excuse is gone, expect a fair few more sales for the 360 in Australia. Hopefully they'll make the same move in other countries.
- 0 thumbs!
  Subtle Demise | August 16, 2007
  
  I agree, I hope they adopt the same strategy in the US next!
1 thumbs!
Evanster 69 | August 15, 2007

I will go to Austrailia to get my 360 when I get the money lol.
- 0 thumbs!
  Riku31069 | August 16, 2007
  
  Yeah, me too! I live in Malaysia, and the price is around twice the price in Australia...
-1 thumbs!
Weldar | August 16, 2007

I don't really care,there's no game I want for Xbox 360 so all I have to say is sucked in to a firend of mine he bought his 360 a couple of weeks ago for the old price. As you may have guessed I live in australia
1 thumbs!
Sereph | August 16, 2007

Marking up the price of the Wii is nothing more than a money-grubbing move on behalf of the console resalers.
0 thumbs!
Infinite Gravity | August 17, 2007

quote
Well it sure has been a hold-back for many gamers, the fact that the 360 was too expensive for them. Now that the price excuse is gone, expect a fair few more sales for the 360 in Australia. Hopefully they'll make the same move in other countries.
QFT. Now I think the PS3 has to drop their price to contend with the other two.