Xbox Addict

Xbox price cuts in Asia

The Xbox price cuts cover all Asian markets except Japan. Microsoft also said it would cut the price on some games. It will reduce the price of "Rallisport Challenge," "NBA Inside Drive," "Quantum Redshift," "Blood Wake" and "Whacked" to $19, the company said. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft is lowering the price of the Xbox to make it more competitive against Sony’s PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Co.’s GameCube in Asia where it has struggled with low demand and software piracy. Worldwide, Sony’s PlayStation 2 has outsold Microsoft’s Xbox by almost six to one. "The move may be aimed at getting ahead of PlayStation 2 before the game machine becomes fully popular in the region," said Eiji Maeda, an analyst with Daiwa Securities Co. "The Asian video-game market is still at an early stage and even PlayStation 2 sales are not that big yet. Maeda said most computer game players outside Japan preferred PC games, which are cheaper and have taken off due to better Internet connections in the region for online gaming. The price cut in Asia matches a similar reduction by Microsoft in May when the software maker lowered the U.S. retail price of its money-losing game machine by 10 percent to $180. The price of the console, which allows users to play video games and play DVDs on their television sets, varies across Asia. According to Microsoft’s Xbox Web site, the console sells for 1,599 Hong Kong dollars ($205), 388 Singapore dollars ($221) and 279,400 won ($234) in Korea. PlayStation 2 retails for 1,580 Hong Kong dollars, according to Sony’s Hong Kong Web site.