Microsoft Cuts 50 Euros Off Europe Xbox

Associated Press/AP Online

SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp. said Monday it will slash the price of its Xbox 360 video game console in Europe by 50 euros, following a similar price cut in the United States earlier this month.

Starting Friday, the software maker will charge gamers 350 euros (about $470) for the game system, which includes a 20-gigabyte hard drive. That's a 13 percent price reduction.

Microsoft said it will also start selling the souped-up Xbox 360 Elite console, packed with high-definition video features and a 120 GB hard drive, for 450 euros (about $600)

In the United States, Microsoft recently cut the price of its 20-gigabyte Xbox 360 by 13 percent to $349 and the Xbox 360 Elite by 10 percent to $449.

That reduction followed Sony Corp.'s decision to cut the price of its 60-gigabyte PlayStation 3 by 17 percent to $499 in early July. Nintendo Corp.'s Wii, the least expensive of the so-called next-generation consoles, costs $250 in the United States.

Sony hasn't cut the price of the PlayStation 3 in Europe, but announced in July it would include two games and two wireless controllers with its 60 GB version of the controller for 599 euros (about $800).

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