Price of the 360 vs xbox

[Domfunkle]

North America

* US$299 (November 15, 2001, Launch Price)
* US$199 (2002)
* US$179 (2003)
* US$149 (March 29, 2004)
* CAD$199 (March 29, 2004)

Europe

* €479 (Launch Price (Ireland) 14 March, 2002),
* £299 GBP (Launch Price March 14, 2002),
* €299 (Launch Price (Rest of Europe) and Ireland April 26, 2002)
* €249 (August 30, 2002)
* €199 (2003)
* £130 (2003)
* €149 (August 27, 2004)
* £99 (August 27, 2004)

Oceania

* AU$699 AUD (26 April, 2002, Launch Price) (Quickly dropped to $399 to compete with launch of Nintendo GameCube)
* AU$399 AUD (2004)
* AU$299 AUD (2005)
* NZ$499 NZD (3 October, 2002, Launch Price)
* AU$349 (2003)
* NZ$399 (2003)
* AU$299 (2004)
* NZ$349 (2004)
* AU$249 (2004, 2005)
* NZ$299 (2004 Q2)
* NZ$249 (2004 Q4, 2005

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox

So there you have it...for all of you who are complaining that the price of the 360 is just too much...there's your proof that it's all fair and the price WILL drop within one year of launch...unless you really can't wait that long...notice how the price of the xbox at launch in the US was $299, guess how much the 360 core package will cost you? The exact same!

[Dcontrol]

I remember when the xbox first came out I forked out well over £300 because I had to buy a couple of games and an extra controller (and weren't those controllers huge).

[Benj]

$299 and £299, we got ripped off on that one.

[Dcontrol]

$299 and £299, we got ripped off on that one.

I agree with that. It was a hell of a lot of money to spend on a console. I think the 360 is reasonably priced though saying that. I am getting more for my £279 than I did with the other xbox launch.

[Domfunkle]

yeah...Wikipedia gave some reasoning behind the overpricing in the UK...something to do with having an illusion of price-matching or something...
What really ****s me is that all gaming hard/software is priced against the US dollar...however Sony and Microsoft (as well as other companies) completely ignore the exchange rate!! In the US, you would buy a game for US$50, whereas in Australia, you would pay AU$100, which works out to the AU$ being worth US 50c, whereas in actual fact it's worth around 75c, therefore us Australians are being HEAVILY overcharged...One solution would be to have all my games etc. imported from the US. However the US is still living in the past and still use NTSC formatted games and consoles. What's the exchange rate like over in the UK and Europe? I may be considering getting a 360 and/or games imported from over there because I KNOW I'll be overcharged buying it all over here...even if you take into account postage and handling...


PFFT! I should be paying $66.72 for an xbox game! (thanks www.xe.com)

EDIT: by looking at how much the xbox was sold for in the UK at launch, if the same trend happens for the 360...I'm looking at shelling out $700 for the equivelant of £299

[Swish]

UK Pound (GBP) is spanking the arse out of the dollar. So you guys wont like it :D

[Domfunkle]

UK Pound (GBP) is spanking the arse out of the dollar. So you guys wont like it :D

come-on!! We're all part of the Commonwealth! Give us a break Queenie!

[RollerCoasterRider]

Meh. I got mine for about $150 since I didn't buy it at launch ( and it was refurbished).

[Domfunkle]

I bought my xbox in 2002 about a month after launch when the price was around AU$399, but I got it for rounf $150 after trading in my N64 and about 20 games for both N64 and PSX over at EB...I still feel ripped off...

[AfroJoe]

$299 and £299, we got ripped off on that one.

Yup, we always do. We're royally screwed out of pretty much every new release. Not just consoles either, but games and hardware as well.

[AfroJoe]

I bought my xbox in 2002 about a month after launch when the price was around AU$399, but I got it for rounf $150 after trading in my N64 and about 20 games for both N64 and PSX over at EB...I still feel ripped off...

Heh, I've traded in a lot of games in my time, and I have to admit you probably only get about half of what you're expecting to get. Especially in places like EB/Game (same thing now, I know).

Since then I've learned eBay is much more useful. Made £180 last month selling a bunch of stuff I probably would have struggled to scrape £100 for in shops.

[Jack25]

I didn't get the first XBOX as i heard reports asying it weren't very good!
But the 360 just looks ace, plus the games are great!

[AfroJoe]

I never got one either, actually.

It wasn't that I didn't want the thing. I was just completely cash-strapped back then. PS2 for birthday and a semi-contribution to the Gamecube purchase (me + brothers, though, so I only paid about £40).

Money is easier to come by nowadays, which is great, because it means I don't have to miss out on anything.

[Domfunkle]

What I'm pissed off about is the fact that I dont get value from my dollar when it comes to buying my entertainment! I mean, it's really not that hard to find enough cash to splurge, in fact, I've gotten used to the $100 a pop...but I'm just thinking about how much MORE gaming I can enjoy if the gaming market just took a look at the ACTUAL exchange rate, and not the one a bunch of pompous executives came up with in a board meeting...

[CptHook]

We in america feel like we are getting ripped off when we exchnage stuff at EB i mean i got 25 dollars for JAde Empire which i bought at 60. But in Australia and Europe i never realized how late and how expensive some of the gaming can be. Can't imagine the price of next gen games sicne there going to be 60-70 dollars here. Good luck with that. :D

[AfroJoe]

Yeah, you probably are getting conned.

We're just getting conned about 3 times worse than you.

:D

[stirlingsheep]

Depends on what way you look at it over here, If you bought a cheaper xbox 360 from the U.S you'd get hit by an import tax (huge because your bringing in goods of more than £175), then there's the cost of shipping it over here (not cheap), you'd have to buy games in the NTSC(?) format, pay import tax and cost of shipping them over here too. So I think its fair enough, £280 for the most up to date technology is okay in my book, and as long as I get one before christmas, Im not complaining

[Domfunkle]

heavy import tax for games? dream on buddy...just looking at the back of a couple of my games:

Amped: Made in Singapore
Halo: Made in Singapore
Fable: Made in Singapore
KOTOR2: Made in Singapore
Morrowind: Made in Singapore

Now, how exactly does a software template from the US being shipped to Singapore equate to AU$35? Or even trading between neigbouring countries in South-East Asia and Oceania cost AU$35 per singular unit (ie, the game disc!). That extra $35 is what I'm paying for to have my game shipped over from frickin' Singapore?! Why can't my games be pressed in Australia? Because if that were the case, my games would be costing me over $200 a pop due to the ultra-below-minimum wages in SE Asia of like 2c an hour...

groan...This is what I get for living in a western country in the eastern world!

[stirlingsheep]

I was relating more to bringing stuff in to the UK, I dont know about Australian laws on imports or anything, but it sounds like you have it bad. Personally in the UK, I've always found the local pricings and stuff to be ok, particularly online.

[Domfunkle]

Another thing I hate is that the internet is completely US based...any site you go to, or any competition you enter is more than likely open to US-Residents only...why only today I was checking my Paypal account to see if I could add some funds only to find that the only two ways i can add funds is either by credit card, or by a US bank account...I have neither...and if i want to make my paypal money into real money, I will get charged to transfer my money into my Australian bank account, whereas its free for a US bank account..maybe I should just go move to Ohio or something..life would be more simple...dont even have to vote there! Stupid Federal Government...democracy my arse! but anyway...this has absolutely nothing to do with gaming...or does it? Why can't i go onto EBgames.com and by a game and have it shipped overnight to my door? Because I live 16 hours ahead of the East Coast...