Microsoft announces price cut


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Report: Microsoft Plans Xbox Price Cut Next Month

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. plans to drop the price of its Xbox video game system by $30 to $149 next month according to a story in the Wall Street Journal on Friday.

Citing people familiar with the company's plans, the Journal said Microsoft may also start selling a limited-edition Xbox packaged with its Halo shooting game, for $169.

Publishers and retailers have clamored for a price cut for the Xbox and Sony Corp.'s rival PlayStation 2 this year, to either $149 or $129. Reuters has cited senior industry executives saying they expected price cuts by May this year.

(source)
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I wouldn't buy one even if it were a hundred bucks, NOTOR isnt good enough to buy one system.

Uhhh... it's KOTOR.

The game rocks, but it's not so good that I'd go out my way and buy the system just so I can play that game. KOTOR is an awesome, but I want a couple more reasons other than just that game.

Although that could change once I finally play Ninja Gaiden..... or atleast if I ever do. <_<

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I've already bought one of these friggin' things and it broke.

How did it break?

A DVD got stuck inside. Here, I'll post the story... this was mid-December, when I thought I'd just buy another right away. Later changed my mind and decided to wait for the price drop.

First Xbox I got, about this time last year, shipped with that infamous "dirty disc error" problem. Took it back within the week, since I could only get my games to load once every three or four tries.

Now, last night, I'm sitting on my couch watching "The Royal Tenenbaums" on DVD, sick as a dog. Movie ends, I throw myself off the couch to pop in the second disc so I can watch some bonus material. The Xbox tray opens, but no disc comes out. It's fucking stuck to the machanism that spins the disc, inside the box itself. I shake my box around for a few minutes, thinking about the kind of abuse it can supposedly take (it took a f'ing BULLET, right?), still no dice. Well, there is a tiny bit of progress. I can make it so the tray won't close, then I can hold it upside down and it'll grudgingly agree to close up. Still no DVD has come out of the thing. So, since I'm beyond my warranty anyway, I break out the drill and open the thing up. After about an hour of sweaty, sneeze-filled agony, I've managed to remove the offending DVD. I plug everything up again, put everything back in its place, and after some struggling (they jammed the shit into that thing) get it closed up again. Plug it in, say my prayers, and.... nothing. Not even the faintest hint of a green light on the front of the box.

I open it up again, check to make sure I didn't leave anything unplugged, and... still nothing. Motherfuck.

So the moral of the story is, I guess, don't tinker around inside your Xbox if you're not 100% sure of what you're doing. Which is something I wouldn't have had to do if the bitches had molded their tray mechanism differently. If I had just a little more leeway, I could've got a pair of pliers in there and removed the disc without opening up the box. But now I'm just venting. Fucking hell, this sucks.

The bright side? I get another controller, two games and a new warranty.

The down side? It's gonna set me back another $170.

drq, still on his FIRST PS2.

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I just received this press release concerning the price drop.

Microsoft Announces New Robust North American Xbox Price Move

Reduced Prices for Console, "Xbox Music Mixer" and Several Software Hits Will Expand Community of Xbox Gamers

REDMOND, Wash. - March 29, 2004 - The console dubbed the sexiest video game system is becoming even more attractive. Effective March 30, the Microsoft® Xbox® video game system will be available for a handsome $149.99* in the United States and $199.99** in Canada, representing a significant savings of $30 for consumers in both regions. In addition, Microsoft will reduce the price of the Xbox console in Mexico to $1,999*** pesos, which translates to a consumer savings of $500 pesos or roughly $45 (U.S.).

With a fantastic new price, more than 400 games, an active online community of nearly 750,000 Xbox Live™ subscribers, and DVD and CD playback capabilities, Xbox validates its competitive advantage while adding a whole new breed of Xbox players to its ever-increasing community of gamers from broad and diverse backgrounds, including many of the world's most well-known celebrities. 

"I love playing Xbox games and believe that the system's cultural influence as a social entertainment brand has only just begun," said P. Diddy, musician and Xbox fan.

New Prices on Great Games for Everyone

Microsoft goes one step further in broadening the appeal of Xbox today by lowering the price of several popular software hits. "Xbox Music Mixer," a pioneering product that broadens the system's audience with stellar karaoke features, an interactive media player and PC-to-Xbox connectivity functionality, taking the console video game experience beyond gaming, will be available for $19.99* effective March 30. In addition, "Project Gotham Racing® 2," "Crimson Skies®: High Road to Revenge™" and "Counter Strike" will be available starting tomorrow for $29.99,* while "Voodoo Vince™" and "Grabbed by the Ghoulies" are available today for $19.99.*

"We have always been committed to providing gamers with the best entertainment experience available," said Mitch Koch, corporate vice president of Microsoft worldwide retail sales. "At this lower mass market price point, we're opening up this great system to an even broader audience of people who can experience Xbox for the first time."

Not to be outdone, Microsoft's Platinum Hits program has added branches to its family tree with the launch of Platinum Family Hits earlier this month. The Platinum Family Hits program, the first of its kind in the video game industry, offers the most proven and critically acclaimed Xbox titles that are targeted toward a more family-oriented audience. The inaugural titles, available for $19.99,* include "Finding Nemo" (THQ Inc.), based on the Walt Disney Pictures presentation of a Pixar Animation Studios film, and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (Electronic Arts Inc.). Several qualifying E-rated titles will be added to the Platinum Family Hits product line each calendar year.

Now at its new price, Xbox is setting the stage to continue its trend of being the only video game system to experience console unit growth in 2004 in the United States. In February, according to recently released data from NPD Funworld,**** Xbox console sales grew 2 percent year over year, while Playstation 2 declined 29 percent and GameCube declined 18 percent.

[Microsoft company info edited out]

#########

* Estimated retail prices; actual retail prices may vary.

** Canadian estimated retail price. Actual retail prices may vary.

***Mexican estimated retail price. Actual retail prices may vary.

**** The NPD Group/NPD Funworld (February 2004)

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