Xbox 360 officially lighter on the wallet

If you have been putting-off a next-gen console purchase, then this is the right time for you to lighten your wallet. Earlier, Sony had dropped the prices of the 60 GB PS3 and now Microsoft has followed suit with lowered prices going into effect today (August 8, 2007).

A Premium Xbox 360 will now cost $349.99, which is $50 less than its previous price while the core version will be $20 cheaper and will retail at $279.99. Even the Elite Xbox 360′s price has been cut and now seems more enticing at $449.99, $30 lower in price. Halo 3 aficionados will have to wait till September 2007 to lay their hands on the Halo 3 themed special edition Xbox 360 which will retail for $399.99. The Xbox price-slash coincides with the launch of Madden NFL 08 and it might just boost the sales of the game-an afterburner effect of sorts.

Now that both Sony and Microsoft have offered gamers a price-bait, Nintendo might also be tempted to do the same, however unlikely. Nintendo’s Wii (and Ds) is still selling well and rival price drops will liekly not have much effect on Wii sales. The strong sales of the Wii means that Nintendo can stay focused on the bigger battles rather then indulge in these petty price wars. Anyways, the price of the Wii is attractive and the console is worth every single penny.

Read [IGN]