Ch€ap Xboxes in Germany!
Price chopped, but few sales...
When Xbox launched in Germany yesterday, punters found themselves scrambling to cancel pre-orders with the larger online retailers and high street stores when two major, nationwide chains (MediaMarkt and Saturn) lowered the price of the console to €399 from the starting price of €479 (£299), The Inquirer is reporting. But despite the rush to discount the expensive new console, nobody seems to be buying them, and The Inquirer quoted one shopper in Munich as saying there was "no buzz of customers lining up for them, just two staff in Xbox t-shirts". Microsoft has set official recommended prices of £299 for the UK, AUS$649 for Australia and €479 for Europe, but is quick to point out that actual pricing may vary depending on the retailer. Having recently learned the respective trade prices of the Xbox and GameCube in this country, we reckon there's enough leeway to support a reasonable Xbox price cut in the future, but unless there is a significant lack of interest, we don't expect to see Microsoft make any changes itself. Related Feature - Xbox down under