Ladies and Gentlemen, We Have an Xbox 360 Price Cut

What was just a rumor at the end of last week is confirmed reality at the beginning of this one. Just a few days prior to the now usual E3 press conference, Microsoft has finally announced that the Xbox 360 is getting a price cut and that the standard 20 GB console version is enjoying a significant upgrade.

The official press statement released by the company reveals that the 20 GB version of the console, which was the standard entry level device that most gamers bought, is now going to cost only 299 dollars, down significantly from the previous price of 349 dollars. The bad news is the fact that Microsoft says that the console enjoying the reduced price will only be available while supplies last. In other words, the company is not planning on producing such consoles anymore. To gain their place as the standard console maker, the Redmont based giant is introducing a new gaming device, which will be priced at 349 dollars, too; it offers more storage space, thanks to its 60 GB hard drive.

The press release states that the new hard drive is a necessity "for storing the growing wealth of digital entertainment available for the console, including music, movies, television shows, and game content".

The company has made no change to the prices of the other console versions it is currently selling. The Xbox 360 Arcade bundle, which includes a bare bones console without a hard drive and 5 Xbox Live Arcade games, still costs 279 dollars, while the premium Xbox 360 Elite, which has a 120 GB hard drive, is sold for 449 dollars.

It seems that Microsoft has managed to offer a price cut without actually toiling to make it permanent. It's likely that supplies of the 299 dollars gaming console will disappear rather quickly, with the only long term advantage for buyers being the bigger storage space that the new Xbox 360 will offer.