Andre Yoskowitz
2 Sep 2008 11:47
Officially confirming a leaked story by Forbes, Xbox Japan general manager Takashi Sensui has announced that the company will be slashing the prices of the console in Japan beginning September 11th.
At a media event in Tokyo, Sensui went over the price cuts which are as high as 30 percent and should help the console compete against the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3 which sell more units on a weekly basis, by far, in the region.
The entry-level Arcade Model which comes with a small memory card and no HDD, will drop almost 30 percent to sell at 19,800 yen (about $183 USD), the first time a next gen console has hit the under-$200 price point. In theory, the Arcade being under $200 should open the console up to the complete mass market, however with its lack of hard drive and other features there are questions of whether it will do so.
The 20GB model will be phased out and replaced with a new 60GB model which will sell for 29,800 yen, ($275 USD), a nice price cut from the 20GB model.
Finally, at the top end of the scale, the Elite model with its large 120GB HDD will drop substantially as well, from 47,800 ($442 USD) to 39,800 yen ($368 USD).