New Xbox Bundle
September 18, 2003

Microsoft announced this year’s holiday offer for the Xbox gaming system. For 179.99, consumers get an Xbox system, two games, and a trial of the Xbox Live service. The price change could be seen in some retailers as early as this week. An official all-in-one-box version will hit stores on October 15^th.

LucasArts’ Star Wars: Clone Wars and THQ’s Tetris Worlds Live are the games that will be included in this bundle. Star Wars: Clone Wars is an adventure game set in the Episode II timeframe. Players can pilot and change vehicles in the middle of combat. Tetris Worlds Live is the Xbox Live enabled version of Tetris Worlds. It takes the proven formula of Tetris and adds 3D graphics and online play.

The Xbox Live trial grants full membership access to the service (including a gaming tag) for two months. Given that the Xbox Live library is expected to peak over 50 games this Holiday Season, this move will boost the amount of players seen across the service.

"By offering Xbox with two super-premium games and a trial Xbox Live subscription, we're giving consumers an easy and affordable way to bring the complete Xbox entertainment experience into their homes this holiday," said Mitch Koch, vice president, retail sales and marketing for the home and entertainment division at Microsoft. "There's never been a better time to buy Xbox."

This move leaves retailers optimistic over the Xbox’s chances this holiday season. This pricing move combined with the impressive release list for this season leads retailers to expect higher Xbox sales and more mass-market appeal.

"When Xbox came out two seasons ago, we experienced heightened sales to the hard-core gamers," said Pete Roithmayr, vice president of merchandising for EB Games. "This year, due to the impressive lineup of new releases and the added value of the Xbox holiday offer, we're expecting that Xbox will appeal to a much broader, mass-market consumer audience."

Reported By: Nick Arvites