Consoles Going Cheap ... but apparently not nasty

Microsoft are attempting to take the console sales momentum away from its competitors in Australia by dropping the price of its Xbox 360 console across the board. The Arcade pack will come in as the cheapest next generation console at $349.00 (Aus).

Kotaku are reporting that Microsoft are repackaging refurbished Arcade consoles as new, however, this may be limited to EB Games stores. This was also reported by a reader of Screen Play blog recently as well. Apparently, the offending consoles are limited to the arcade packs and can be distinguished from new consoles because they don't support HDMI output.

Just a note on console pricing. Whenever a new console comes out the developers cry poor. They say that they lose money on each console. What they don't tell you is that the retailers who stock the product are lucky to make 5 per cent profit on the console sale (not including delivery cost of the item). 5 per cent is not a lot of money. This percentage generally doesn't change through out the course of the consoles life span. So, while the major manufacturers cry poor they price their own items so that it is difficult for the retailers to actually make a profit out of selling their products. Microsoft continue to make record profits. Sony also continue to make profits. Shame about the poor retailers who have to sell their products.

Pricing of the consoles are as follows:
* Elite Console 12o gig HD - $649.00 (with free games)
* Arcade Console - $349.00 (inc)
* Elite Console 20 gig - $499.00 (inc)

There hasn't been a lot of press about the 'red ring of death'. So it appears that Microsoft might have sorted out some of the issues with this problem. Don't forget that they have extended the warranty of the consoles to 3 years if you do happen to experience a red ring (... on your console).