Microsoft said that effective immediately, the Xbox will sell for $216 (200 euros) in mainland Europe and $204 (130 pounds) in the United Kingdom. The Xbox previously sold for $270 and $250, respectively, after an earlier round of price cuts shortly after the Xbox's European debut last year.
Analysts said similar U.S. price action is much less likely this year, however. Current U.S. prices--$199 for the Xbox and Sony's PlayStation 2 and $149 for Nintendo's GameCube--are fairly low by historical standards and close to or below manufacturing costs for the consoles.
Console makers are more likely to try to boost sales by offering more bundling deals, in which consoles are sold as a package with several popular games at a reduced price. Bundling helps boost sales while driving up the number of games sold per console, an important measure of success in the game business, said Billy Pidgeon, an analyst for research firm Zelos Group.
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