Nikkei: Xbox 360 price drops to $182 in Japan (update: now official)

Japan's Nikkei is reporting what we've been hearing Stateside for weeks: Xbox 360 price cuts across the board. Expected to go official sometime later today, the Japanese Xbox 360 Arcade will drop to just ¥19,800 or about $182 (tax inclusive, presumably) in hopes of boosting sales. The new pricing represents a near 30% drop from its previous ¥27,800 (about $256) price and undercuts the Wii sold locally for ¥25,000. Nikkei's sources also claim that Microsoft will cut the prices on all three Xbox 360 models without going into specifics. If true then this bodes well for the US price cuts expected on September 7th.

Update: It's official. Microsoft also announced a new ¥29,800 (about $277) price for the Xbox 360 with 60GB hard disk while the top-end Elite will now sell for ¥39,800 (about $369). The new prices go into effect on September 11th.

[deyanimay @ Sep 1st 2008 1:07AM]

Now i'm really interested in buying a 360 the only thing stopping me is the price of live membership when every other console has free online.

[Bachus @ Sep 1st 2008 1:26AM]

every other console has clunky, unstable, and free online*

[Conor Kirkpatrick @ Sep 1st 2008 4:34PM]

Not really, I have used all of the console's online services, and while Xbox 360 did have the best, the others were far from clunky and unstable. Although you were right on one point, they are free. :)

[gabe @ Sep 1st 2008 1:49AM]

are these xbox units still moddable? so i can use homebrew

[A.C.E.R. @ Sep 1st 2008 2:14AM]

If you can't afford 40 bucks a year for Xbox Live then you shouldn't buy it because you can't afford games either.

[abib @ Sep 1st 2008 2:30AM]

if this price cut doesn't even entice you to buy one.. you shouldn't buy one. use that money to buy food and shelter. i heard, cardbox is getting more expensive these days.

[Will H. @ Sep 1st 2008 3:10AM]

If I were to get an XBOX imported from Japan, would it be able to be flashed in order to run homebrew?

[Sanh @ Sep 1st 2008 3:35AM]

Yep, amen. PSN is good enough and is free. If Xbox Live was free i'd have to reconsider choosing a Xbox 360 or PS3.

[Dylan @ Sep 1st 2008 4:20AM]

It's been said before, but I'll say it again:

Both the 360 and PS3 cost several hundred dollars, the games for each are $60 (USD). If $50/yr. for a most structured online experience is the deciding factor in favor of the PS3 you should probably just go donate the money to charity because that logic fails.

[avester @ Sep 1st 2008 8:59AM]

@Dylan, PS3 online is a free cake. Xbox online is 50$ cake that is the same as the PS3 cake, but has some fancy cream on it.

Why would I pay 50$ for that cake?

And if a console has a lifetime of 4 years, you wind up paying 200$ for "the best online experience ever". You fanboys complain if PS3 costs 100$ more, but the lack of WiFi, Blu-Ray, ect aren't a problem at all.

How is it the best, I've seen only screaming American kiddies, playing games that aren't even hosted on the Microsofts servers...

[deyanimay @ Sep 1st 2008 10:20AM]

Its not that i cant afford it but i would really hate to pay for online gaming when other consoles have it free. I dont think i would use any of the other features of live, just gaming.

[Vcize @ Sep 1st 2008 2:14PM]

Avester, I used to be like you. Then, I tried XBL, and now I laugh at people like you that suffer through the dregs of the PSN and think that it's "good enough" because you just don't know any better.

If you can tell the difference between using PSN and using XBL (although chances are you've never actually tried XBL, and are just a troll) then you should be wary about leaving your house, because your perception is broken.

Here's a hint. It's not about joining a random game of CoD4 with 30 random people. It's about playing with friends, be it ones from real life or ones you've met online (if only that were an option on the PSN).

[Conor Kirkpatrick @ Sep 1st 2008 4:39PM]

@ Vcize

If you can't find real friends to play with online, we have a problem.

I really wouldn't pay for an online service, because I have things IRL to do (go to concerts, ride bikes around, hang out with friends, you know, stuff most people do in RL.)

[maveric101 @ Sep 2nd 2008 2:22AM]

Xbox Live is 100% worth the money. trust me. for example, i can voice chat with three different people playing three different games at the same time, eject the disk, and continue talking while i switch games. can you do that (and much, much more) on PSN?

i don't know why people complain about the cost of Xbox Live. its about 14 cents per day. just look under your couch cushions and you might find enough to pay for a couple weeks.

[Evangelion @ Sep 1st 2008 1:19AM]

This, is awesome.

[CubeGuy @ Sep 1st 2008 1:37AM]

I'm not trying to be sarcastic, but why would you assume that tax is included in the listed price?

[Tamyu @ Sep 1st 2008 1:43AM]

Because that is the law in Japan? Tax has to be listed in the price.

[ND @ Sep 1st 2008 1:45AM]

Many countries include tax in the stated cost.

[CubeGuy @ Sep 1st 2008 11:19AM]

Well that would explain that then. Thanks. =P

[henri @ Sep 1st 2008 2:05PM]

many? no. MOST countries if not all.... only america is dumb enuff to not impose companies to do so

[Flashpoint @ Sep 1st 2008 1:38AM]

Microsoft doesn't have to reduce its price. I'd keep the price where it is for units that come with HDD's and only decrease the price of the Arcade version. This way, I'd make profit off the Premium and the Elite...which more people would want do to the value they'd be getting from the large HDD's.

Xbox is THE ONLY CONSOLE that offers what it offers. Wii's hypnosis is OVER. PS3 is still playing catchp since they don't have a sku yet with Dual Shock 3's .

Regardless what the naysayers say, Xbox360 not only has the widest selection of games NOT INCLUDING GAMES FROM LAST GENERATION, but it is the more complete gaming experience and thanks to constant updates and revisions, Xbox Live offers a full gamer's paradise that PS3 hasn't been able to captre and Wii can't even imagine.

MGS4's hooplah came and WENT and now PS3 is left with nothing but ports and stale remakes of old PS3 games.


[the low rank button is up and to the right]

[CubeGuy @ Sep 1st 2008 1:41AM]

"Wii's hypnosis is OVER" - Tell that to mine and every store in town that still can't keep them in stock.

"[the low rank button is up and to the right]" - Ah. There it is.

(Disclaimer: I own all three systems. I love them all. The 360's probably my favorite. I just can't take horrible fanboyism.)

[Seth @ Sep 1st 2008 1:58AM]

@Flashpoint

"Wii's hypnosis"? Seriously? I still can't buy one without going to ebay. Okay Mr. Flashpoint, why does the Xbox 360 have so many games and is cheaper then the PS3? Because the Xbox 360 was on the market for a YEAR before the PS3 was. This price cut is indicating that the Xbox 360's life is winding down. The original Xbox was released in 2001, with the Xbox 360 being released in 2005. So, at that current pace, this will be the last holiday season for the Xbox 360 before its predecessor comes out.

Xbox Live (I bet) is great, but then again, free is always better. And which online service was down last December after Christmas? Yeah, you can answer that yourself.

In the end, I own a PS3, and I have to defend it because fanboyism irritates me. I've played all consoles, and I feel like the PS3 is the most sophisticated and worth every penny.

[RikF @ Sep 1st 2008 2:12AM]

"this will be the last holiday season for the Xbox 360 before its *predecessor* comes out."

This word. I do not think it means what you think it means...

[A.C.E.R. @ Sep 1st 2008 2:22AM]

@Flush: Even if what you said is mostly true...you're still a retard.

[Flashpoint @ Sep 1st 2008 2:24AM]

Xbox Live was down for a week due to the overwhelming number of people who just got Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3.

THAT'S POPULAR DEMAND. Over the couple years I've had Xbox Live, on both the 360 and the original Xbox, XBL has only been down 2 or 3 times. The December outage was the worst I remember and that was just a week.

I betcha PS3's WARHAWK didn't have that problem. Why? cause it was nothing more than a Battlefield clone and you could get the same or better gameplay with a PC or with 360.

I used to be a proponent of PS3, but, they've proved to me at SONY how short sighted they are.

XBOX 360 WON THE SEVENTH GENERATION CONSOLE WAR.

I called Blu Ray a winner over HDDDVD before the war even started - before the firsts disks were sold. I got it right then, and I'm right now. All Microsoft has to due now is start pushing towards its Xbox successor and I guarrantee it will be a success.

[the low rank button is up and to the right]

[A.C.E.R. @ Sep 1st 2008 3:55AM]

If I was stuck next to you on an airplane I'd have to kill you.

[dennis @ Sep 1st 2008 7:52AM]

Gaming is not exactly the entire point here. It's about all kinds of digital content and community functions (which give companies a way of tracking your consumption of digital content).

Do you really think the BR-equipped PS3 is being used as a gaming system by maybe 40% of owners?

[dannyCage @ Sep 1st 2008 8:18AM]

Just for the record, the 80gb SKU that is out has the DualShock3 included.

[Vcize @ Sep 1st 2008 2:18PM]

"Xbox Live (I bet) is great, but then again, free is always better"

That's absurd. As an owner of both consoles (and I love both for what they do), I would pay $500/year for XBL before I would try and make do with what the PSN offers for free. In all honesty, after using XBL for the last couple years, I cannot imagine being without it, and no system will ever be my primary online system with anything less. If PSN gets caught up by next gen (because they can't this gen, much of the XBL stuff is stuff that had to be planned from the get-go...See: PSN 2.4 which was supposed to bring it up to snuff and was still a joke in comparison) then great, but until then, it's XBL for me. No matter the cost.

[)law( @ Sep 1st 2008 1:38AM]

Dear Microsoft


While your over there please bring back some wii"s while your over there so that I may perchase one along with a xbox360

One love
)law( the hack ninja

[Reader @ Sep 1st 2008 2:31AM]

Are you sure you want them to while they're over there?

[Flashpoint @ Sep 1st 2008 2:50AM]

If you have an Xbox 360, you're ahead of the game.

Wii is a flashy waste of money that survives off of hype. I'm still waiting for Ryan Block to show us how much weight he's gained since getting his WII FIT.

;-I

[Gun Barrier (Gamer Tag) @ Sep 1st 2008 2:13AM]

i hope this helps sales over there. I still wonder what a halo 3 match with Japanese players would be like.

[)law( @ Sep 1st 2008 2:24AM]

I have a few friends from Japan and other parts of Asia, they are no joke when it comes to gaming...

[abib @ Sep 1st 2008 2:32AM]

they are no joke? they are better than average westerners.

[timmeh @ Sep 1st 2008 5:18AM]

I dont know if they are really any different to most gamers, but they have such a dense population that their internet is awesome! i never get host against japanese, thus almost always lose them :(

[)law( @ Sep 1st 2008 2:47AM]

My friends from over there take there gaming seriously. Me and one of them had a disscusion about this awhile back and he was talking about how competative his friends were back home and how they would play games for hours on end. That plus I played him a few times in COD 4 and got owned but when soul caliber 4 droped he was a beast but I pwned him in the end

[Stevo @ Sep 1st 2008 3:22AM]

cool story.

[Mik @ Sep 1st 2008 4:01AM]

Desperate times indeed for Microsot. Clearly they won't be making any money selling for less than a Wii, and with the RROD rate, it's sure to cost a tonne of money in the long run.

Personally, I don't think this will do jack. People outside America hate the American console, as it's unreliable junk, no matter what it costs.

[Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Sep 1st 2008 2:13PM]

"People outside America hate the American console, as it's unreliable junk, no matter what it costs."

You should have put as first sentence of your comment. That would have saved trouble reading your pointless comment to the end.

RROD (1st) old story and (2nd) consumer protection in Japan is magnitude better than in US. You need 0 effort to replace broken console and MS (or retailers) pay for it, not you. Also, last I heard, MS did something to facilitate the move to new console so the DRM pwnage isn't as bad as it was before.

Disclaimer: Wii/DS owner, PC gamer.

[Tejas Padekar @ Sep 2nd 2008 7:03PM]

it's funny how he said: "less than a Wii" (Wee!!)

[Eldiablo @ Sep 1st 2008 4:50AM]

Everyone seems to be forgetting that MS (like the other two) make money from selling games, not consoles. OK, so its nice to turn a small profit from hardware sales, but when you can keep milking peoples wallets for the purchase of games, Xbox Live subscriptions, DLC's and accessories, who cares if you lose a few dollars upfront.

This is why Xbox live will never be free (or at least until the 720 has been on the market for a while).

[paul-engadget @ Sep 1st 2008 8:19AM]

when is the bluray drive going to be available? no, seriously. surely it's not hard for MS to provide one as a module, just as they did with hd-dvd.

I still use my original xbox and a small number of games. When I upgrade my TV from a glass tube to flat panel, then I'll upgrade my console, and at the moment (reluctantly, as Sony are DRM-happy assh*les) a PS/3 will be my next console simply because of the bluray drive.

[Alyssa @ Sep 1st 2008 9:31AM]

how much will the price go down on the 360 here in the states? is this system really worth all that money?

[Rollins @ Sep 1st 2008 10:01AM]

Current rumors say that on September 7th, the 360 will drop to $199 for the Arcade, $299 for the Premium, and $399 for the Elite.

I'm just hoping that it sparks a PS3 price drop - I need a Blu-Ray player still.

[Navin R. Johnson @ Sep 1st 2008 9:39AM]

Sept 11th release? That's the day after the Large Hadron Collider goes online. We might all be sucked into a black hole by then. Then I'll never get an Xbox 360 :(

[chris joseph @ Sep 1st 2008 10:06AM]

I don't care if they start giving them away. I don't want one at any price now that I can play Geometry Wars on the Wii.

I've read too many horror stories about failed units and poor customer service that far outnumber anything I've heard about Sony or Nintendo.

[whatever @ Sep 1st 2008 10:33AM]

If this price drop doesn't say "Pathetic attempt to not completely fail in Japan" then I don't what does.

[Vcize @ Sep 1st 2008 2:22PM]

Sort of like the PS3's price dropping $200 within its first year of release?

Just sayin...