According to Fudzilla this will see the Arcade and the Elite versions reduced by $50 (R350) to $149 (R1 100) and $249 (R1 900) respectively. Selected Limited Edition consoles including Modern Warfare 2, Splinter Cell, and Final Fantasy XIII will be reduced from $399 (R3 000) to $349 (R2 600).

 

Although Microsoft has not officially confirmed that it will discontinue the old Xbox 360 it is a move that is generally expected within gaming circles.

 

Since Sony’s PlayStation 3 Slim announcement and subsequent console price reduction in September Microsoft has been scrambling to keep up with the pace by introducing price cuts of their own as well as limited edition consoles with 250 GB hard drives. Despite the company’s best efforts Sony have still managed to stay ahead of the curve in terms of global sales numbers.

 

The new Xbox 360 console, which features a 250 GB hard drive as a standard as well as an improved cooling system and integrated 802.11n wireless support (a big selling point for many console gamers) may just be what Microsoft needs to pull ahead in the console race.

 

At present it is unclear how the price cuts will impact local consumers.