After days of rumors, Microsoft has officially confirmed that the Xbox 360 gaming console will be receiving a price cut in Europe.
Beginning September 19th, the lower end Arcade model will drop to GBP 129.99/EUR 179.99, the Premium model will drop to GBP 169.99/EUR 239.99 and the higher capacity Elite will drop to GBP 229.99/EUR 299.99.
“Xbox 360 has now sold over 20 million consoles worldwide and due to its unprecedented success, we are now able to pass on the rewards of that success to the consumer with a new retail pricing from £129.99,” noted Neil Thompson, senior regional director for Microsoft UK.
“With more games, more entertainment with Xbox Live and now even more value, we are looking forward to welcoming more customers into the leading next generation console, Xbox 360.”
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The UK retailer Woolworths has declined comment on the rumors that have been swirling for days after scans from the company’s upcoming holidays catalog showed a UK price cut across the board for all the Xbox 360 models.
The scans show the price cuts for the UK as GBP 129.99 for the Arcade model, 169.99 for the Premium model and 229.99 for the higher-capacity HDD Elite model.
“Woolworths will not comment directly on the speculation that has appeared on various gaming websites as it is commercially sensitive information,” said the company.
“The Christmas 2008 Woolworths Big Red Book is not released until the first week of October and, until that date, remains a confidential document.
“There are several draft editions in existence, with prices, products and descriptions varying dependent on the draft.”
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The blockbuster smash Dark Knight has broken another record this weekend and led Hollywood to its strongest weekend in the history of cinema.
After breaking the records for most sales in a single showing and best opening day, the Batman sequel has also shattered the record for best opening weekend, beating out Spider-Man 3’s record that was set last year.
For the weekend, the movie brought in $158.4 million USD, beating out the previous record of $151.1 million. The record breaking pace also helped lead Box Office sales to their largest weekend ever, helping to bridge the gap brought by a drop in overall viewers.
“We knew it would be big, but we never expected to dominate the marketplace like we did,” said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros. He expects the movie to hit $200 million by Friday, its first week in theaters.
For total weekend revenue, Hollywood shattered the previous record of $218.4 million by bringing in $253 million for the top 12 movies.
It is also important to note however that Spider-Man 3 could have possibly sold more tickets then Dark Knight did but ticket prices have risen and the demand for DK in expensive IMAX showings has been unprecedented.
Adding in the $40 million USD brought in from the few overseas openings, the movie has already surpassed its production budget of $180 million and will soon become all profit for the production and distribution companies.
Well deserved ‘Dark Knight’.
