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Joystiq

Report: UK retailers increasing price of Xbox 360 Arcade, accessories

by David Hinkle on Aug 17th 2009 1:06PM

UK-based gaming site Eurogamer is reporting that retailers will be jacking up the price of the Xbox 360 Arcade unit, from its current price of £129.99 to the thanks-it's-more-expensive price of £159.99. In fact, even more value is lost when you remove the five free XBLA games that came bundled in the Arcade package; these retailers are stating they will no longer be included.

Before you start lighting your torches and taking to the (quaint, cobblestone) streets, keep in mind that this isn't being done because Microsoft just wants more of your colorful money (which we're sure it does). It's due to the poor exchange rate of the pound compared to the Euro, which will also drive Microsoft to raise the price of Xbox accessories £1 to £2 a piece. See how we softened the blow of that last bit of news there? We're finally getting some mileage out of that How to Break Bad News the Good Way training course!

Source

Tags: business, euro, exchange-rate, Microsoft, pound, uk, Xbox-360, xbox-360-arcade

Reader Comments (34)

I suppose their signage also states that a kick in the willy or (insert Euro slang for gina here) is bundled in at the new price.

I'm assuming the Brits would say "A fookin' kick in the bollocks yeah!"

Just in time for FOOTBALL season!

"In fact, even more value is lost when you remove the five free XBLA games that came bundled in the Arcade package; these retailers are stating they will no longer be included."

They haven't been in that pack for a long time now. It's been replaced with Sega Superstars Tennis.

Surely the European prices should come down being much stronger against the dollar than UK prices going up for being weaker against the Euro?!

Now all you have to do is glue a pair of eyes on that stack of money you saved.

Those commercials creep the hell out of me.

All the accessories are increasing in price, I've noticed, regardless of the console.

There's the Wii Points and..urm...I don't have any more examples, but I'm sure I'm not imagining everything becoming a tad more expensive.

Lesson here kids?? Exchange rates suck ass....

If you're in the US, they have for awhile, sure. Relatively though, the Euro is still a strong currency. Thank the lawd you haven't been in the kiwis position though, historically.

Their excuse: exchange rates.

Real reason: "Let's try that Activision price hike test and see if people will still buy."

I wish I was a kiwi.

hell not just the US....Japan too...thats why a LOT of big Japanese companies have been hurting the last year....their BIGGEST country that they export to is the US....and hte US dollar is weakened while the Yen has strengthened....

Now is this only the Arcade? See, the Premium/Pro/whateveryoucallit is £169 and often knocked down to £159 itself.

This is bad for Microsoft, If I where them I'd lower accesory or arcade units price so retailers can make more money by selling them and still offer value to the buyer.

360 does very well in UK sales, so they greater clout to make these changes. other companies have already raised prices such as apple/sony/honda so it shouldnt come as a surprise and i'd guess that sony will debut their ps3 slim much higher than expected as well to accommodate..

* NDS – 9.1m (2.7m)
* Wii – 5.4m (2.3m)
* Xbox 360 – 3.9m (1.7m)
* PSP – 3.3m (1.1m)
* PlayStation 3 – 2.2m (900k)
* DSi – 0.3m

*Brackets indicate number sold in last 12 months

Well, that's an interesting way to encourage a spike in sales. "Let's run out and buy a 360 before the price goes up!"

So instead of dropping the elite to the price of a pro, they are upping the arcade to the pro price point ?

And Knowing is Half the Battle.

G.I. J-Ohhhhh...... wait. Wrong PSA.

I recently bought a Xbox Arcade which came with Banjoo & Viva Piñata, however it didn't include a XBL free trial :( ....

Anyway till next month I will pay for a gold subscription as I have payments to do this month. Does anyone know how can I obtain a free month trial (Not sure if this is possible)?

That would make me a Happy Panda :)

Certain games come with one month free, mostly the ones published by Microsoft. If you look around some forums, you might find someone nice enough to lend you a code.

Cheap ass gamer usually always has a forum topic of people giving away free 1 month trials.

Got Milk?

Chances are, it's because of the rumoured internal memory. I can see these things having 20gb built in now, especially as the 360 is putting so much focus on downloadable games/content and things like Forza requiring installs.

Though it's still a bit bizarre as the Arcade was selling very well to more casual gamers because of it's price. Leaving it as it was and lowering the Elite to £160 would have really hurt Sony, if the slim line is coming out at £260.

I feel like that family guy refernce is too old to keep up with the geico refernece. Someone check the release dates on those.

This is just in the UK and only because the pound is so weak right now. The Euro is very strong compared to all other "big" currencies like dollar, pound, yeng, ...

Darlinggg!!!!
(by whom I mean Alistair Darling)
!!!

Yeah, and France and Germany, the two most significant Euro countries, are actually recovering quite nicely. They didn't spend as much as us in the boom and aren't fighting two wars.

Apperntley "growth" of the console also referes to the price =/

Perhaps I'm missing something but where does the Euro come into this?

Microsoft are an American company, right? And you use dollars over there?
And us Brits use Pounds Sterling

Sooo where do Euros figure?

/confused

Your country didn't understand the same thing 8 years ago when the euro was launched and you'll probably never understand. And that is why your economy is so goo.... oh wait.

Mind my language but,

Fuck this shit, i'm moving abroad.

Yea I also don't understand why the Euro comes into this at all. It's kinda like saying the reason the Xbox 360 suffers from the RRoD is because the chef down the road from Microsoft overcooks his eggs.

The Pound has always been stronger against the dollar and yet we pay twice as much for games than americans do? How is that fair?

Had to happen at sometime.

Euro is strong at present therefore they're bringing prices into line. Proportionatly speaking, its still a good deal. You can't just look at exchange rates when doing price conversions. The UK has one the highest wages in most of Europe and higher than the states. Therefore proportionatly its no biggie.

Also, if you shop around and don't wander into Game or some other equally hellish place, you'll find a good deal (looks towards Tescofor doing Modern Warfare for £36)

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Report: UK retailers increasing price of Xbox 360 Arcade, accessories

Reader Comments (34)

Posted: Aug 17th 2009 1:08PM MarkezJM said

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