Just days before chief videogame rival Sony plans to offer a slimmed-down, less expensive hardware revision of their PlayStation 3 console to the public, Microsoft beats them to punch by drastically reducing the cost of their higher-end Xbox 360 console to the comparable price of $299. To compensate, the current Pro bundle will be phased out and (temporarily) price-reduced to help make way for the less-expensive Elite bundle.
Keep reading for even more Xbox-tastic details!
Comparable in price and (most) functions, anyway, as the previously-available Xbox 360 Elite bundle is officially replacing the now-defunct Xbox 360 Pro as the company's leading 'core' package. The newer Elite package will retain the black Xbox 360 console, wireless controller, Xbox Live headset, along with a 120GB hard drive. Gone is the included HDMI cable, which is necessary for the console to display full 1080p resolutions. Like its PlayStation 3 Slim counterpart, the newer Elite bundle enjoys a massive 1/4 price-drop from $399 to $299, and will be available by the time you read this.
Those looking to finally get in on the Xbox 360 gaming action can also look out for reduced-price Xbox 360 Pro bundles, which will enjoy a $50 drop as Microsoft begins to phase them out from retail stores. The Xbox 360 Arcade will remain at its current $199 price, as well as the least expensive current-generation gaming console. This leaves the Nintendo Wii, currently selling for $249, as the only current-generation console that has yet to field any price-reduction whatsoever since launching in November 2006.
2009 has been quite the year for the Xbox 360 console, which has been the only home videogame platform to buck the recent trend of hardware sales slumps and has (at least in the US) seen unit increases from last year. While Microsoft's platform (31 million units) trails the industry leading Nintendo Wii (52 million units) it still commands a healthy 8-million sales lead over Sony's PlayStation 3 (23 million units). With both high-definition powered consoles enjoying similar price-drops moving into the lucrative holiday shopping period, it will be interesting to see how consumers respond to their respective bundle advantages, and which software offerings they find most compelling.
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