In an interview with financial website TheStreet.com, Microsoft corporate vice president J Allard has been quoted as saying that the Xbox 360 will launch at a price roughly equivalent to the $299 launch price of the original Xbox, saying that the price would “be in the neighborhood” of $300.
Previous speculation had ranged from $249 to $399, making Allard’s comments fairly uncontroversial. Allard refused to be drawn on an exact price, though, stating that a final decision was still around two months away. The Xbox 360 is expected to launch in November in the U.S., with launches in Europe and Japan also promised before the end of the year.
Speculation within the Japanese business papers has suggested that the PlayStation 3 will also launch at or near the launch price of the PlayStation 2, i.e. ¥39,800 ($369) in Japan. If true, this would presumably mean that Sony intends to mirror the launch prices in other territories – as Microsoft likely intends with the Xbox 360.
The pricing of the Nintendo Revolution, like most other aspects of the console, remains a mystery – although Nintendo has hinted more than once that it will retail for significantly less than either of its two rivals.
