Rumours suggest Xbox 360 price cut this month

A number of industry sources have indicated that Microsoft is due to cut the price of all Xbox 360 skus in Europe.

According to videogaming247.com, non-disclosure agreements are in place with leading retailers to prevent them from revealing the price drop, which will come into effect just ahead of the busy Easter sales period.

Around EUR 50 is expected to be slashed off the price of the Elite, Premium and Arcade units, according to techradar.com, on March 14.

This means the Arcade Xbox 360 will retail for around GBP 150 in the UK — cheaper than Nintendo's Wii console — the Elite will sell below GBP 240 and the Premium at just under GBP 200.

Retailers contacted by GamesIndustry.biz have declined to comment on the record.

Microsoft has been targeting the Arcade unit at the casual end of the market, packaging it with five free Live Arcade games but without a hard-drive as standard.

Reducing its price to around GBP 30 less than the Wii would be a more aggressive attempt to win over the casual consumer, a market currently dominated by Nintendo's home console.