Microsoft said today it will slash the price of its new Xbox games console in Europe only six weeks after its launch.
The company said the Xbox price tag would be reduced to €299 from €479. The price of the console will also be cut in Britain and Australia.
Game publishers had been urging Microsoft to spur sales of the machine by cutting its prices in Europe, where it went on sale on March 14th. The new prices will take effect on April 26th.
Microsoft has poured billion of dollars into the development of Xbox and committed $500 million in marketing muscle to grab a stake of the $20 billion global game industry.
Analysts have been concerned about sluggish sales of Xbox outside the United States, where it went on sale in November, and have noted slowing production by the machine's manufacturer, Flextronics International Ltd.
The new price will now match that of market leader Sony's best-selling PlayStation 2 console in Europe.
"We are making a clear statement today - we mean business in Europe," said Ms Sandy Duncan, Vice President, Xbox Europe.
"This is a long-term, strategic move that will benefit our retail partners, our third-party publishing partners and ultimately the gamer," said Ms Duncan.
Microsoft said customers who have already purchased an Xbox at the original price will be "special thank-you package". Details of the package are posted on www.xbox.com/country.
additional reporting:
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/irishtimes/fd292988-16f2-43c9-86dd-f70c18eac22b.png)