Strong rumours began today of a Xbox 360 price cut coming into effect on March 14th across Europe. Tech Radar appear to have broken the news first citing “well-placed industry sources”. The news quickly spread and appears legitimate. If the information is correct of a price cut of around £40, then I predict a Arcade model price of £149.99, the premium at £199.99 and the Elite to be £249.99. It should be pointed out this is pure speculation on my part based on the information leaking out around the interweb about the cut. The move is probably timed to tie in with the release of GTA IV, where Microsoft will be hoping that people who have yet to make the move up to the current generation of consoles will choose the 360 over the PS3 as the console to go with in order to be able to play the game. Click below to read more….
The news comes on the same day that analysts “Isuppli” predicted a Playstation 3 price cut to occur this year. With the momentum swinging towards the Playstation 3 being the console to own this year, the price cut couldn’t come sooner if Microsoft want to hold onto the lead they built up in Europe during the first few years of the consoles life. The message coming out from Microsoft seems confused, having the perfect product for the hardcore gamer yet apparently now trying to target the casual market at a time when the Wii and DS look to already have it sewn up.
A perfect example of this is the companies line-up of games on it’s stall at the forthcoming play.com live! event. With Scene It, Viva Piñata, REZ HD, Boom-Boom Rocket, Spy Glass, and Uno, the line-up is clearly aimed at the casual gamer. Sure, everyone can enjoy these titles, but the majority of people you expect to be in attendance at a games convention will already be well aware of these titles. Ninja Gaiden 2 being apparently the only title on show which hasn’t already been released.
