After plenty of speculation, Microsoft has today officially confirmed that it will discontinue its standard Xbox 360 Pro console and adjust pricing for its entry-level Arcade and high-end Elite models.
The Xbox 360 Arcade, previously priced at £129.99 will now be sold at a higher cost of £159.99. Despite the rise in price, Microsoft hasn't specified any change in specification and it appears the Arcade model will remain without a bundled hard drive.
The £169.99 Xbox 360 Pro, meanwhile, will be available while stocks last and may be offered at a discount. Microsoft's range-topping model, the 120GB Xbox 360 Elite, will drop in price from £229.99 to £199.99 but will no longer ship with a bundled HDMI cable.
In summary, Microsoft's hard drive-less Arcade model is going up by £30, and a model with a hard drive will now cost you £40 more than it did previously. Still, £199.99 could be the sweet spot for the all-black Elite. Microsoft's new pricing structure will come into play on Friday, August 28th.
Over in the US, consumers will find the Xbox 360 Arcade priced at $199 and the Xbox 360 Elite sat at $299. Nice and simple, but it's somewhat ironic that all of the supposedly high-def consoles now ship with standard-def cabling.
