Following an endless series of rumors, and Sony's introduction of the PlayStation 3 Slim at an all-time low of $300, Microsoft has finally confirmed it is too cutting the price of its high end Xbox 360 Elite. Starting Friday, the 120GB console will be lowered from $400 to $300, while the price for the 60GB Pro model should see a temporary $50 drop to $250.
The Xbox 360 Pro is no longer being produced, though, so once retailers sell through their entire stock that SKU will no longer be offered. Going forward, Microsoft will sell only the $299 Xbox 360 Elite and $199 Xbox 360 Arcade – which no longer comes bundled with five games but has had its internal storage upped to 500MB.
Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg also confirmed that the Elite will no longer ship with an HDMI cable, supposedly to further cut costs, and denied rumors of an upcoming "slim" version of the console. Accessory pricing on products such as Wi-Fi adapters ($100) and hard drive add-ons ($40 to $120) will also stay constant.
So, a new phase in the console wars has just started. What's the best choice in your opinion – the 120GB Xbox 360 Elite for $300 or a Blu-ray equipped PlayStation 3 for the same price and storage capacity?