Xbox360 We Are Getting Stiffed !!

G

greenmachine

League 1
5 November 2003
Xbox360 Are We Getting Stiffed !!

US
Base Box ......$299.99
Advanced Box ..$399.99


UK

Base Box ...... £209.99
Advanced Box .. £279.99


At todays exchange rate .. £1 = $1.80

With todays exchange rates , it means we in the UK will be paying round about $77 more for the core system box and about $103 more for the deluxe system one. Are we all not equal members for the Microsoft world family ? I guess not!

Why are we being asked to pay 77 dollars more on one box and a 103 dollars more on the other one? And don't give me the tax angle ..because the US prices include tax for there boxes..


According to a report just published in the LA Times, Microsoft is set to launch two versions of the Xbox 360 later this year.

The paper claims two versions of the machine will hit retail, one a basic set for $299, and a deluxe set, complete with hard drive and a wealth of peripherals, for $399.

The basic model will only come bundled with a wired controller and not include a 20GB hard drive, wireless controller or Ethernet cable, all of which will be present in the $399 package.

No official word from Microsoft at time of going to press, though we’ll update this piece throughout the day as the story develops. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Microsoft has confirmed the pricing as reported this morning.

The Core Xbox system will at retail $299.99 in the United States, 299.99 Euros in Europe and £209 in the UK, and will ship with a wired controller, a faceplate, standard AV cable and an Xbox Live Silver membership. Silver membership lets users create a user id, download content, browse the Xbox 360 marketplace and enables chat functions. Silver membership needs a live upgrade to Gold status to play online.

The deluxe system will cost $399.99 in the United States, 399.99 Euros across mainland Europe and £279.99 in the UK. Included in the box will be a wireless controller, a 20GB removable hard disc, a faceplate, Live headset, component HD AV cables, an Ethernet cable, Xbox Live Silver membership and an Xbox 360 media remote.


http://spong.com/detail/news.asp?prid=9049
 
MMmmmm what to say, its cheaper then I expected, hope the games stay as £40 high st and £30 online.
 
Well I don't know the reasons either but for a start VAT in the UK is 17.5% which is much much higher than in the US. Plus there is import tax for the goods being traded into the UK. I agree that this is not acceptable but what can you do!
 
Typical.

I don't know about anyone else but I am keeping my ear close to the ground on the whole chipping scene.

I can chip a normal Xbox, install software in under an hour so I would love to know what can be done with the "Removable" Hard disk on the 360.
 
Well I don't know the reasons either but for a start VAT in the UK is 17.5% which is much much higher than in the US. Plus there is import tax for the goods being traded into the UK. I agree that this is not acceptable but what can you do!


But in the US they have sales tax and state tax , yet with these 2 added on, its still only $299 and $399 ...

As for import tax , are all the Xbox360 being built in the US ?
 
greenmachine said:
But in the US they have sales tax and state tax , yet with these 2 added on, its still only $299 and $399 ...

As for import tax , are all the Xbox360 being built in the US ?
Click to expand...

The price will be 399.99 in the stores plus the state tax at the till unless you order online, in which cases only certain states charge tax.

Tax varies from state to state in the US, but mostly it doesnt rise from above 10%, normally about 6-8% as far as I know.

As for import tax, its not a case of the 360's being made in the states, as I doubt that's were there made anyhow, probably in China or South Korea, it's to do with the Mother Company, i.e. MS is an American Company, the money will end up there, so they have to pay the UK so much to allow them to sell it here. Same for Sony being an Japanese Company.

As for us getting stiffed, it's all a matter of opinion, some games do actually cost less here than in the states, it just depends on websites or promo's going on in stores, I mean you can pick up Halo 2 2nd hand in a 2 for 20 quid deal at Game now, I hadnt seen Halo2 under 30 dollars there the last time I was there, check out EBgames.com and see how much they stiff people for there 2nd hand games. They normally take 5-10 dollars of a new title compared to a 2nd hand one.

This is a new console AT LAUNCH, you work out how much you would save importing one? Unless your heading stateside and can smuggle one back your only down about 50quid probably, then the hassle of getting games from the states, which aint as bad as it used to be thanks to t'internet. For what your getting in what I'm calling the 'FULL FAT PACK' or 'MAN-SIZED 360' it really is a pretty decent deal. Orginally a Saturn launched at 400quid, a PlayStation launched at I'm sure about 300quid or more, and you did need a memory card then unlike a Saturn.

Fair enough the GameCube launched at 130, (needed a memory card), Dreamcast at 199 (needed a mem card) and the original XB at 299.99 (which dropped to 230 or 199 about 6 weeks later). I think the PS2 launched at 299.99 too, but it needed a 30 quid mem card to go with it, it launched stateside at 380 dollars.

All in it's not MS ripping us off, MS are actually opposed to launch games at 50 quid, they arent happy about it, but it's the publishers listing the games at that price, sure enough a few months in they may drop but think about it, your the CEO of a said publishing company, you've outlaid on the new dev kits and practices, you've been spending money, the machine is about to launch, you want to make as much money as possible from early adopters, what do you say, as screw it, MS is charging 45 for there games, say if we stick an extra fiver on, what's it going to matter, people will who've gone up to the 360 will want a 360 game, they'll pay it at the start and we're an actual fiver up on each game we sell by doing nowt, excellent, give my that pay rise.

I'm thinking of closing this thread cause really it's a pimple on the arse of a new console launch, and nothing constructive has been said on here. If you cant afford to be an early adopter then dont bitch about things you'll know little about. Personnelly I've only bought 2 consoles at launch, the Dreamcast and the Gamecube, my reason, because they were both below the 200quid price point. XB360 is very close to that with the core unit sitting at 209. However I've looked at the details of the 'FULL FAT PACK' and thought, yeah, that's worth saving for, I'm going to get that. It's the pack that will let me do what I want with my XB360, but I am saving for it, that's the point. At 280 quid, I think your getting quite abit for your moolah, whether it's government or whoever making the difference in money, I dont mind paying it this time.

Dont think this was all aimed at you greenmachine just because I quoted you, it's mainly aimed at sorting this thread out.

Right rant over, though there was another point I wanted to make, but damn if I can remember it........... ;)
 
Last edited:
Oh aye, remembered my other point...... exchange rates. They vary quite alot, I was stateside in April, and about then it hit a high point of about £1 = $1.92, yet more recently it's been as low as £1 = $1.63 or less, so really that's not a great comparsion to use as they change from day to day, plus thats the international rate and not one you'd get from a bank or any other money changing place in the world as they screw ya there too.
 
Funny how some people are only realising the price difference with this generation...

Its always this way, why be outraged now? :)
 
Mikey said:
Just don't buy one on the release date. I'll be waiting for a price drop before I get a 360. :mrgreen:
Click to expand...

Yeah, I imagine a price drop may appear around christmas time or just after, so if you think the price of the 360 is too much you'll probably just have to wait a bit longer before getting one!
 
Also most people in UK do not have HD Ready TV's so all these HD cables will confuse people LOL!s
 
I also dont think they'll drop the price that soon, definently not around christmas or new year. At the current price they will sell fast, both versions are cheaper than when the Xbox was released, and launching just before Christmas will further increase the sales.

Dropping the price around the time of the PS3 lauch seems like the earliest they'll do it, but if the PS3 is gonna be expensive they might not need to!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom