50 Euro Xbox 360 price cut March 14

[Dodece]

Where to start there are so many bad ideas flying around that need to be taken down with buckshot in this thread. First Sony isn't going to have a corresponding price drop. Second Microsoft is going to reduce prices both in North America and in Europe they aren't Sony they treat the market globally. Lastly Sony has no reason beyond the delusions of fanatics to alter their pricing period. They won their format war, and they have a stable user base. Their console is now safe, and now they can make up all the money they have lost getting here.

Microsoft decided to bide its time. They held off on the initial price cut. They produced a modest one, and even after Sony launched a second one they held firm. That means that Microsoft is in a substantially good position to finally make it into the mainstream. They probably will not even have to go into a loss selling their console. Which is exactly what will happen to Sony with another substantial price cut.

Sony was the desperate self destructive slasher last year, and it was not according to design. They had to push through two massive price cuts reducing the price of their machine by over thirty percent. They were already losing money on the units going out the door, and even then they weren't meeting production benchmarks. Then on top of this they had to start curbing their hardware to reduce losses. Sony didn't really have a choice in this they had to save their machine.

Now however their machine is safe the console could survive now without one single additional sale. Sony got its format war victory, and they need to start showing real profitability out of this entire fiasco. Salvaging their console was a massive drain on resources that Sony is going to need elsewhere in the coming year.

By all means don't take my word for it inform yourselves look what the companies own executives have told the media and their stock holders. Look at their quarterly financial reports, and look at how much longevity the PS2 could muster if the next generation consoles start to match it on price points, and the second hand market bloats. Sony is probably going to lose that crutch this year. So the PS3 most definitely needs to perform.

The only way your going to see another PS3 price cut before the holiday season at the absolute earliest is for the PS3 to go into a dismal tail spin, and inventory again becomes a issue. Beyond that Sony has no reason to slash themselves again. They really can't beat Microsoft in a full blown price war. They can however beat themselves by hurting Sony as a whole. This is why Microsoft is unconcerned they know they are going to get to the promised land long before Sony can.

Microsoft is probably going to play this price cut globally. They are probably going to be alone in this, and its probably going to lead to steadily higher sales of the 360 in all regions. There will be a few release weeks where the PS3 pops up to the surface, but the lower price will really help Microsoft a lot in all of its markets.