Microsoft confirms price cut on Xbox 360 Elite

Microsoft Xbox 360

But in a surprise move, the Arcade SKU version rises from £129.99 to £159.99. The Xbox 360 Pro with 60GB hard drive is to be phased out.

And in order to cut the cost of the Xbox Elite, it no longer comes with an HDMI cable included as standard, "allowing buyers to pick the HDMI cable of their choice", says Microsoft. Good for HDMI cable manufacturers, not so good for customers.

Microsoft's moves come in the wake of Sony's announcement of its new PS3 Slim console, which goes on sale in September for £249.

"With the Christmas season right around the corner, it's already time to start looking for entertainment and gifts that everyone will enjoy," says Neil Thompson, senior regional director, entertainment and devices division, Microsoft UK and Ireland.

"We have a goal over the next 18 months to re-invent entertainment in the living room and we want to ensure we have the right foundations in place for our consumers to make simple, informed choices around their enetertainment platform.

"We know that price is a critical influencing factor in consumer choice, but we also know that consumers across Europe are looking for value, benefit and entertainment experiences, so we need to address all these points to continue to grow and succesful in Europe."

Earlier this year, Microsoft confirmed its Zune video service will be available on the Xbox 360 from this autumn, as well as Sky Player, Sky's online TV service.

Full details of the US Xbox 360 price cuts can be seen here.

Latest in Gaming
LG OLED42C2
Hardcore gamers rejoice: more TVs should have three or four HDMI 2.1 ports this year
Sony PS5 Pro and PS5 consoles on a grey and red background
PS5 Pro vs PS5: what are the differences?
PS5 Pro on a white background
The super-powerful PS5 Pro doesn't come with a disc drive or stand but costs £700 / $700
Two gamers on a sofa enjoying a split screen racing game on a TV lit by the Philips Hue Play HDMI sync box 8K.
The new, pricier Philips Hue Play sync box 8K is made for gamers
Pulse Elite headset and Pulse Explore earbuds
Sony's upcoming PlayStation 5 update will bring personalised spatial audio to the console
Graphic showing the labelled Xbox Series X Digital Edition
Disc-less Xbox Series X Digital Edition (and two more consoles) get release date
Latest in News
Bone conduction headphones
Samsung to launch its first bone conduction headphones this summer, report says
a collection of 8 TVs on the wall, each displaying different angles of a basketball game.
Samsung has made an eight TV bundle for sports fanatics: and it's as bonkers as it sounds
Sky
Sonos’s highly anticipated Apple TV rival is reportedly off the cards “for now”
Cadillac dashboard showing an infotainment screen and Dolby Atmos music playing
Calling all in-car audio fans! Dolby Atmos with Amazon Music is rolling out to Cadillac’s entire 2026 electric vehicle line-up
HomePod OS
The rumoured Apple HomePod with display is reportedly put on ice while Siri gets its act together
LG C5 55-inch OLED TV
LG officially unveils US pricing for its G5 and C5 OLED TVs – and it's good news for fans of smaller screens