14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is announcing that the Xbox 360 gaming console is set to receive a significant price cut on the Japanese market. Prices will be lowered by as much as 30%, which means that the Xbox 360 Arcade package will end up costing less than the Nintendo Wii.
If you're looking for concrete prices, Reuters is reporting that for an Xbox 360 Arcade package you can now pay the equivalent of 183 dollars, which is around 8,000 yen. For comparison purposes, the Nintendo Wii is priced at 25,000 yen, which amounts to 231 dollars, while the PlayStation 3 is the priciest of the three, with buyers paying the equivalent of 368 dollars for a Sony made console.
The Premium and the Elite versions of the Xbox 360 are also set to see a cut in prices, although specific numbers have yet to be decided.
The move is set to boost the interest in the Microsoft made console in Japan. As seen in the weekly sales numbers released by market research firm Media Create, the Xbox 360 is by far the worst performer on the Japanese market, with sales that lag behind even those of last gen console PlayStation 2.
The Xbox 360 has recently seen a surge in sales thanks to the launch of Tales of Vesperia, a very popular role playing game made by Namco Bandai, which has a special appeal to Japanese gamers, but after two weeks of interest the console is now back at the bottom of the hardware sales chart.
It might be that Microsoft is using Japan as a testing market, to see how its console can face the Nintendo Wii when a worldwide slash in prices comes into effect later in the year, in time for the Christmas shopping frenzy. There have been rumors that such a move is in the works at Microsoft.