A new, leaked KMart flyer shows that Microsoft is indeed set to drop the price of at least one model of its Xbox 360 console line at the upcoming E3 event.
The ad, pictured below, shows the 20GB model selling for $300 USD, a $50 USD price cut from its current sale price. There was no indication of any rebate, or temporary discount so it appears this price will be the new asking price from Microsoft. All features appear to remain intact.
Two weeks ago we reported that Jesse Divnich said he expected a price cut across the board on Xbox 360s and that he also expected the introduction of a new model.
The new price for the Pro model leaves some unanswered problems however. The entry level Xbox 360 Arcade will only cost $20 USD less then the newly reduced price Pro model meaning Microsoft will have to either drop the price even lower or completely discontinue the model which seems more likely. The other problem is the now huge gap between the Pro and Elite models which sells for $450 USD. The software giant will either have to lower the price or upgrade the hardware to avoid cannibalizing its own high end model.
Result for: kmart
Officials from Microsoft have now confirmed that their Xbox 360 console line will be seeing a price cut, at least in Australia and New Zealand.
The Elite and Premium models will drop AU$80 to AU$579 and $AU649 respectively, while the Arcade will drop to AU$349, making it cheaper than the Nintendo Wii in the region.
Last week, KMart fliers showed that a $50 USD price cut was coming for the Premium model in the US, but Microsoft has still not confirmed the cut, or what the price drop would be for the Elite and Arcade models.
Data figures have shown that the 360 is currently being outsold by the Wii by a 4:1 margin and that the PlayStation 3 is also outselling the 360, although it is by a smaller margin. The PS3 sells for AU$699 in Australia and the Wii is priced at AU$399.
Jeremy Hinton, Australian Xbox group product marketing manager added, “We’ve got a track record showing that whenever possible we want to pass on savings to the consumer. We thought this was a great time to do that.”
When asked if Microsoft was disappointed by the 360’s performance so far in the region, Hilton said, “If you look at the dollars going through the till over the past 12 months you’ll see consumers are buying more Xbox 360 products than any other platform - the entire package of console, software and accessories. So we’re very pleased with how it’s tracking.”
Of course, Hilton neglected to add that the prices for the console in Australia are still much higher than it is in North America and even Europe especially considering that the Australian dollar is now almost equal to the US dollar.
