PS3, Xbox 360 price wars before Christmas?

by Dean Evans at Friday 14th August, 2009 at 3:04 pm [1 comment]

Both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 are heading for significant price cuts in the run up to Christmas. The rumours just won’t go away.

Sony has been reluctant to drop the price of its console since the PS3′s launch in 2006. But a discount could well spark fresh interest in the Blu-ray-equipped machine.

Where’s the evidence? It looks like a thinner, smaller PS3 ‘slim’ is on the way. And price tag of 299 Euros has been leaked by a French supermarket chain although this hasn’t been confirmed (or denied) by a tight-lipped Sony.

Sony pioneered the ‘slim’ strategy with the PlayStation 2, releasing an eye-catching slimline version in 2004 (four years after the PS2′s launch). Tie this in with the fact that PS3 stocks have been drying up and you’ve got a good indication that new hardware is on the way.

New Xbox 360? Not yet…

Microsoft, meanwhile, is believed to be mulling over a $100 price drop for its flagship console, the Xbox 360 Elite.

At the same time, speculation is rife that the mid-range Xbox 360 Pro model will be phased out, leaving only the Elite and the bare bones (i.e. rubbish) Arcade model as ongoing Xbox 360 options.

A $100 discount on the Xbox 360 Elite would drop the UK price to around £180 from its current RRP of £229.

It’s widely believed that the PS3 and Xbox 360 will have a much longer shelf-life than originally expected. And with this in mind, both Microsoft and Sony are planning to lure casual gamers (i.e. Nintendo Wii owners) to their consoles with their own motion-controlled peripherals.

If price drops for the PS3 and Xbox 360 are announced, it will not only be good news for consumers but should help kickstart an idling games market. And just in time for some big-hitter games too in the shape of Mass Effect 2 and Assassin’s Creed 2.

Links: Sony, Microsoft

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