GristyMcFisty used our news submit to tell us the head of Microsoft Corp's Xbox game console business disclosed Thursday, Redmond's main benchmark when it comes to pricing would remain Sony Corp and not Nintendo.
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"We've been selling at a price premium to GameCube since the first day and I don't think that's going to change," Bach said at a news conference in Tokyo. The Nintendo price cut makes the GameCube cheaper than the second-placed Xbox or Sony's market-leading PlayStation 2, both of which start at $ 179. While the GameCube has been stronger in Japan and Europe, in the United States it has settled into third place, with an installed base about 29 percent smaller than that of the Xbox. Both Sony and Microsoft have announced special bundle packages for the holiday season that include free games -- offers that dashed widespread industry hopes the hardware makers would cut their prices. Bach said he sees the Xbox as a strong competitor to the PS2 in the video game market, which he expects to double in size in the next 10 years. He estimates that video games have a penetration rate of about 40 percent, but that rate can grow to 80 percent over the next decade if games become more appealing to a wider audience. |
Microsoft also named Yoshihiro Maruyama as general manager for the Xbox business in Japan. Maruyama is a formerly from the U.S. subsidiary of video game software publisher Square Enix Co Ltd.
Source: news.yahoo.com
