Microsoft today announced that they will be cutting the price of the Xbox 360 Arcade system from $280 to $200. This comes on the heels of news from Japan that the system in that country was slashed on Monday. The $80 price cut makes the Xbox 360 Arcade, which does not come with a hard drive, $50 cheaper than Nintendo’s Wii.
Microsoft didn’t stop there, though. They also announced that their 60-gigabyte version of the console will now sell for $300, down from $350, and the high-end “Elite” Xbox 360 will go for $400, down from $450. The reason for the price drop is obvious. After having a one year head start on the PS3 and Wii, the Xbox 360 has found itself roughly 10 million units behind Nintendo’s system in hardware sales worldwide and neck-and-neck with the PS3 in recent months.
