As anticipated, Microsoft has formally announced a $50 price cut for the 20 GB edition of its Xbox 360 gaming console, bringing the cost of the unit down to $299 in the U.S. and Canada. But that pricing is only good so long as supplies last: Microsoft has also announced a new 60 GB edition of the console will be rolling out in early August at the previous $349 price point.
“We know consumers need more and more space to store the amazing digital content Xbox 360 offers, and we’re giving it to them at no extra charge,” said Microsoft’s director of Xbox product management Albert Penello, in a statement. “No one device offers the depth and breadth of entertainment that Xbox 360 can deliver, and now you’ll have three times the storage to manage all that great content.”
The move to a 60 GB Xbox 360 falls on the eve of anticipated Xbox 360 announcements from this week’s E3 Expo in Los Angeles, where speculation has Microsoft teaming up with Netflix to offer on-demand, streaming movies and video content to Xbox Live subscribers. The Xbox Live service currently offers downloadable movies, video, and television programming, but a Netflix deal would be the first time the service has offered streaming video options.
Unsurprisingly, Microsoft has not announced any plans for a Blu-ray equipped version of the Xbox 360, instead preferring to tout the high-definition content available via Xbox Live (and potentially expanding that content with a streaming deal), along with the Xbox 360’s utility as an upscaling DVD player.
