Australian Xbox 360 Price Drop

[Feltoar]

The inevitable Xbox 360 price drop finally made it to Australia. GameSpot (http://au.gamespot.com/news/6176614.html) have announced that starting today both Xbox 360 SKUs will have an official reduction in their recommended retail price.

From August 15, the 20GB-enabled Xbox 360 Pro system will retail for A$579.95 ($486), down from A$649. And perhaps more significantly, the Xbox 360 Core system's price will drop from A$429 to A$399.95. At A$399.95, the Core system is now the same price as a Nintendo Wii in Australia.

Economical Gamer (http://www.ecogamer.com/content/view/182/6/) have news that the console is only $529au at DSE (http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/46c2483c06a6cc5c273fc0a87f9c06ee/Product/View/YG1101) for those buying.

[Feltoar]

Should have mentioned in the OP that the article also says the Core SKU is here to stay and there is still no date for the Elite, but its definately coming.

[Crowe]

Wow Core system matches the Wii in pricing. That's interesting.

[Johan]

Wow Core system matches the Wii in pricing. That's interesting.

I firmly believe the Core is here to stay, for just that purpose.

Casual/budget-minded gamers are very concerned with price; moreso than the hardcore. The Core gives MS multiple SKUs to reach multiple portions of a fragmented/differentiated market.

[Royal Fool]

Still nothing for Europe, hopefully they announce it at Leipzig. I need to get a new one now that they finally have HDMI...

[Graham]

Wow Core system matches the Wii in pricing. That's interesting.

New zealand prices:

360 Premium: $650nz
360 Core: $450nz

Wii: $500nz
PS3: $1200nz (starter pack)

However I fully expect to see $650 bundles (or less) for the premium.

The NZ dollar has actually dropped quite a bit in the last month. At it's peak, it was getting just over 81c USD, now it's down to 74c.

[johnymitsu]

saw the price drop for myself today at kmart, core was actually priced at $380 aus dollars, 20 dollars cheaper than the wii