Xbox 360 to ship at $299 with no hard drive, $399 for high-end version

The LA Times has broken news of Microsoft's pricing plans for the Xbox 360 console, revealing that the a basic version of the next-generation system will launch at $299, with a premium version shipping at $399.

According to the paper, the $299 version of the console will not include a hard drive - with the extra $100 for the premium version buying a 20Gb drive as well as a wireless controller, headset, Ethernet cable and wireless television-style remote control.

No exact date for the launch is mentioned in the brief article, which will appear in this morning's edition of the major broadsheet, but has already been published on the newspaper's website.

The print edition of the LA Times won't be on news stands until after this morning's Microsoft announcements at the Game Convention event in Leipzig, so it looks likely that the official announcement will go out there after all - despite yesterday's rumours at the show that suggested that no major news would be forthcoming, since none of the firm's top executives had made the trip to Germany.

Europeans will be watching the announcement carefully for news of the Euro and GBP price points for the console. It seems possible that Microsoft will translate between Euro and USD on an even ratio, giving a 399 Euro price point for the premium model - which probably translates as GBP 299 after VAT is taken into consideration.