Microsoft may price cut Xbox 360 in Aug.

by Marcus Lai

Microsoft Corp. may reduce the price of its Xbox 360 video game system by $50 this Aug, The Hollywood Reporter claimed on Tues.

Citing unnamed sources, the $50 price cut would take effect on Aug. 8. The report says it is unknown if one or all Xbox 360 SKUs will incur a price reduction.

Microsoft currently sells a $299 Xbox 360 Core System, $399 Premium System, and $479 Elite System.

Several key releases on the Xbox 360 are slated for Aug., including EA's Madden NFL 08, 2K Games' Bioshock, and Midway's Stranglehold.

Microsoft this month showcased a gaming library triple-threat that it said would the best holiday lineup in video game history. Titles included Madden NFL, Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto IV, and Halo 3.

The price cut may also be effective in countering negative reliability reports for the Xbox 360, which key retailers claim can have a failure rate of up to 30 percent.

Microsoft did not disclose the failure rate of the Xbox 360, however it incurred a $1B charge to employ a three-year standard warranty on consoles that experience serious malfunction.

Sony Corp. last month held a price break on the 60GB Playstation 3 SKU to $499, $100 less than the previous MSRP.

Microsoft has sold 5.6 million Xbox 360 units to date in the U.S. and has shipped 11.6 million worldwide.