Xbox 360 subsidised by $75
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Investment bank analysts at UBS have been casting an eye over Microsoft's approach to the Xbox 360 and have drawn a few interesting conclusions from a business perspective. According to the experts, the 360 will launch at the previously mooted $299 price point in November, but will be subsidised to the tune of $75 a unit to make this achievable. UBS therefore believe the system actually costs Microsoft $375 to make.
The subsidising of consoles at launch is commonly practiced by all the major players; the idea being that once these firms have established a strong user-base with the reasonable launch price, they can then make back their investments through software sales. The cost of building consoles also drops later in a system's life, and it is at this point too that platform holders begin turning a profit. This method was utilised by Sony in the current-generation, but it is believed Redmond failed to break-even after committing too much ongoing cash to manufacturing partners NVIDIA and Intel.
With the Xbox 360 however, Microsoft looks to be following Sony's example more closely, though UBS acknowledge that the $75 a console estimate is still very high. More on this soon.
Xbox 360 Beta Kits Released?
Rumors on the web are today suggesting that developers are starting to receive the Beta kits for the Xbox 360, although this is yet to be substantiated by Microsoft. The game demos at E3 2005 are now known to have been running on single-core Alpha development kits, and were therefore running at only a third of the full power of the finalized Xbox 360, but the new kits (if they have indeed started to arrive) will now allow developers to realize their game’s full potential on the next-gen console.
With the Xbox 360 coming in less than six months, the clock is ticking as the race to complete a raft of launch titles continues unabated.
We’ll have more on the build up to the launch of the Xbox 360 shortly...
$300 for Xbox 360 - November release
The Xbox 360 consoles that will be sold starting with November are estimated as having an approximate production cost of $375, says UBS, but the retail price will be around $299.
Considering the estimations made by financial experts and by the Canadian press, especially by Toronto Globe and Mail, it seems J Allard’s allusion that the Xbox 360 will cost $300 had some truth in it.
Usually, when a product is launched, the producer sets a price that covers the design, development, manufacture and advertising expenses. But the $75 difference for each console amounts to a colossal figure, if we take into consideration the volume of units sold.
Microsoft is probably relying on a large number of sold consoles which will result in a significant number of gamers who will obviously buy a lot of software. In this way, the company will reduce losses. The selling of spare parts will also contribute to the recovery of the large sums of money invested in Xbox 360’s launching.
Xbox 360 Games to Cost $60 - That is toooo much...
Tired of the pricing rumors for next-generation videogames, specifically the Xbox 360 titles shipping later this year, DailyGame contacted several retailers to get to the bottom of the pricing conversation.
Will Electronic Arts charge $70 for next-gen games, as Sega executives surmised earlier this year (read one DailyGame columnist's reaction)? Will prices stay the same in the next generation? According to several Electronics Boutique outlets, the answer is somewhere in between.
Although EB could not confirm final pricing, the company's most-recent pricing guide shows Xbox 360 games costing $60. Likewise, final pricing information was not available for the Xbox 360 console itself, but the retailers said "$300 to $350 is the best ballpark I can give you right now."
Where to buy Cheap xbox 360 in UK, USA, Japan
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Where to buy Cheap xbox 360 in UK, USA, Japan, Europe ?
I don't know, if any one know, let me know...
