Xbox 360 price cut comes to Japan

One week after Sony Computer Entertainment introduced its $299 120GB PlayStation 3 Slim at the 2009 GamesCom, Microsoft responded with a hardware reconfiguration of its own. Beginning August 28, the publisher shaved the 120GB Xbox 360 Elite's price tag to $299 in North America and €249.99 ($357) in Europe, a $100 and €50 ($71) reduction. Microsoft also trimmed its previous $299 offering, the 60GB Pro, by $50 as it moves to phase out the midrange console.

Now, Microsoft has announced a similar move for the region in which its console enjoys the least popularity: Japan. Beginning September 10, the Xbox 360 Elite will be available in Japan for ¥29,800 ($323), ¥10,000 ($108) less than its current retail price. As with other regions, Microsoft plans to phase out the 60GB Xbox 360 Pro model in Japan.

As is the case in North America, Microsoft will retain the current price point of the Xbox 360 Arcade model, which is ¥19,800 ($215) in Japan. The console, which comes with no external hard drive and 512MB of built-in memory, actually saw a price increase in the UK following the Elite's discounting, rising £20 ($33) to £159.99 ($260).

The Xbox 360 has seen sluggish sales in Japan since debuting in the island nation in December 2005. In April 2009, Microsoft's console surpassed the 1-million-unit mark in Japan. By comparison, Nintendo's top-selling Wii reportedly reached the 8-million-unit mark in Japan that very same month, despite being released a full year later.