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Microsoft announces Xbox 360 price cuts in Japan

According to a Reuters article, Microsoft Corp will slash the price of its Xbox 360 game console in Japan by about 30 percent. This will make the Xbox 360 cheaper than the Nintendo Wii and Sony Corp's PlayStation 3.

Microsoft will lower the price of the Xbox 360 Arcade model by 8,000 yen ($73.92) to 19,800 yen. The Arcade model does not come equipped with a hard drive and is the least expensive of the three Xbox 360 models.

The new price will make that model cheaper than the Nintendo Wii which sells for about 25,000 yen, and the PlayStation 3, which sells for 39,800 yen. Microsoft will also reduce the price of two higher models with hard drives by 5,000-8,000 yen, according to the Reuters article. The price cut will take effect on September 11.

The Xbox 360 has struggled in the Japanese market, with 684,695 units sold so far in Japan against the Wii's 6.67 million and PS3's 2.32 million, according to game magazine publisher Enterbrain.

Microsoft’s fortunes have begun to change recently with the Xbox 360 outselling the PS3 in Japan in weekly sales for the week ended August 10. The boost in sales was attributed to the Xbox 360 exclusive "Tales of Vesperia" role-playing game from Namco Bandai

Microsoft recently cut the price of its best-selling Xbox 360 Pro model game console with a 20 gigabyte hard drive to $299 from $349 in the United States. 

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Thats already the case in the UK
By Proteusza on 9/1/2008 12:48:17 PM , Rating: 3
An XBox 360 Arcade goes for £150, while a Wii goes for £180. An XBox 360 Premium goes for £190.

So much for the Wii being the cheapest console, far from it.




RE: Thats already the case in the UK
By amanojaku on 9/1/08, Rating: 0
RE: Thats already the case in the UK
By StevoLincolnite on 9/1/2008 1:57:00 PM , Rating: 2
Desperation was what I would call the Xbox 1, was released at a $699 Price point and it seemed as if overnight it was only $200-$300 in Australia, Still it was going up against the very well established Playstation 2 and the Family Oriented Gamecube, It just felt like there was a price cut every week.


RE: Thats already the case in the UK
By amanojaku on 9/1/2008 2:14:33 PM , Rating: 2
I thought the 360 was selling at a profit... Until I read a report online (dated in 2005) stating it costs more to make than it does to sell. Online subscriptions notwithstanding, if that is still the case MS must be in trouble if it's reducing the cost of the 360. Not that I'm complaining: I might actually buy one now.


RE: Thats already the case in the UK
By jkresh on 9/1/2008 3:13:27 PM , Rating: 4
if the report was dated in 2005 then it is worthless now. For consoles (and technology in general) production costs drop with time, so while at release the 360 cost more to produce then they sold it for I am pretty sure that has not been the case for a while (1+ years).


RE: Thats already the case in the UK
By 16nm on 9/1/08, Rating: 0
By silversound on 9/2/2008 12:07:53 PM , Rating: 1
xbox360 does need blueray, since most of the games are only popular to the Americans, rest of the people outside of the US just dont like "football" in sports; and xbox360 is trailing badly in sales in countries other than US, Microsoft should release some new features in this console if she wanna do good in other contries...


By Solandri on 9/1/2008 10:14:39 PM , Rating: 2
Their Entertainment and Devices Division ran at a loss for FY2006 and FY2007 too. They finally pulled off a profit in FY2008. The loss in 2007 is widely attributed to them taking a charge for $1.1 billion on 360 warranty claims. However, their total loss that year was nearly $2 billion so even without the charge they had a loss. If we're speaking in terms of net profit over lifetime of the 360, they still have a long way to go.

(Link to their FY2008 report. Relevant data are on page 27-28)
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/789019/0001...


By FITCamaro on 9/1/2008 3:54:07 PM , Rating: 3
Maybe it launched at $699 in Australia but here in the states it launched at $399. But yes it was quickly reduced in price.

It launched late into the PS2 lifecycle so it had to compete as best as possible.


RE: Thats already the case in the UK
By SectionEight on 9/1/2008 12:56:33 PM , Rating: 4
Yes, but if you want a Wii, you say "I want a Wii" and you pay one price and get a Wii. If you want an XBOX 360, you say "I want an XBOX 360, but which version should I get? What are the differences and how do they affect my experience?" and, according to at least the Japanese sales figures, you pay one price and get a Wii.


RE: Thats already the case in the UK
By daftrok on 9/1/08, Rating: 0
RE: Thats already the case in the UK
By StevoLincolnite on 9/1/2008 2:07:35 PM , Rating: 2
Problem with that is... Money.
The Arcade costs less for Microsoft to Produce, so they loose "less" on the console. (If not profit from it)
The Arcade also out-sells all the other Xbox 360 models because of the price, and some people do not require a Hard Drive at all.

Besides, HDMI cables don't cost that much anyway, and here the play and Charge Kit is only $14 at Kmart which isn't to bad, but if Microsoft sold a Million consoles, that's "14 million dollars" that is in our pockets and not there's, it's smart business sense really.


RE: Thats already the case in the UK
By daftrok on 9/1/08, Rating: 0
RE: Thats already the case in the UK
By daftrok on 9/1/08, Rating: 0
By neothe0ne on 9/1/2008 4:38:05 PM , Rating: 3
VGChartz is bullshit. They modify their statistics AFTER other people's records come out (NPD) WITHOUT notifying anyone or stating anywhere that they changed their numbers. In the past, they've also released sales figures for games which haven't been released due to being delayed...


RE: Thats already the case in the UK
By StevoLincolnite on 9/1/2008 2:58:29 PM , Rating: 2
Microsoft is still a company, if they can save a few cents by cutting a corner and ultimately achieve it's main goal of: Making more money, don't you think they will?


By theapparition on 9/2/2008 8:07:52 AM , Rating: 2
The flaw in your logic is that you're forgetting scale.

Put quite simply, would you rather sell 10 units at $1 profit, or 100 units at $.25 profit? In the end, you make more by selling with less profit, if your new price point can generate sales, that is.

Another factor, is game and online sales. With more consoles on the street, that means more game sales. Sales of the games is where the real profit is.


RE: Thats already the case in the UK
By Etsp on 9/1/2008 5:52:03 PM , Rating: 3
The problem with that argument is... Money. The difference between the Arcade and the other Xbox 360 models is the hard drive, or rather, the lack of one. (Simplified... I know there are other minor differences in the higher end models...)

The hard drive SHOULD be the single part of the system that makes the most profit for Microsoft, as it is ridiculously overpriced. If they aren't making a profit from that part, then they really need to rethink their manufacturing for it, which is unlikely.

So, the arcade does NOT cause Microsoft to make more profit, it in fact does the opposite. They are simply trying to lower the cost of entry for the consumer because of what DOES get them profit: Games sold, which is a function of Xboxes sold.


RE: Thats already the case in the UK
By MrSmurf on 9/1/2008 1:29:57 PM , Rating: 3
I know. That is so complicated picking out which version you want. Why can't it be like buying a house, car, tv, vacuum, cable tv service, a pet, etc.... ?

*Note the sarcasm.