MS denies 360 price drop

Taiwan says Xbox 360 price crash on the cards - Microsoft says 'nope'

Rumours have swirled out of the Taiwanese OEM market this morning that Microsoft is planning a huge $100 price drop on the Xbox 360 this Christmas, as a direct response to the launch of Sony's PlayStation 3.

Microsoft Taiwan has apparently moved swiftly to scotch the rumours, with spokeswoman Freda Lee saying "We do not have plans to lower the price of the Xbox 360 before the end of the year." However, seasoned MS watchers should be taking both sides' statements with more than a pinch of salt. On the one hand, the OEM rumours would seem to be just that - rumours - as there's no way the Redmond giant would commit to any definitive price drop this early in the piece.

Yet on the other hand, MS Taiwan 'protests too much we think' to misquote the bard. It's more than conceivable, indeed some would say extremely likely, that MS will drop its Xbox 360 price in response to the Sony launch, especially in eastern markets where the 360 has failed to make significant inroads into the games-playing public's affections.

A 100 USD price drop would be an aggressive move on MS's part and it's often been noted that if you could buy a 360 and a Wii for the same price tag as the rather expensive PS3, that might just be enough to tip the balance for any wavering punters.

Whether it will have any implications over here in the West, we're not quite so sure - and with expected PS3 shortages around these parts, such a large and immediate price drop might not seem so clever. Still, expect some devious spoiler tactics from MS around November-time with price, bundles, Live and just about every other weapon MS can conceive of deployed to spoil the PS3 launch party this Christmas.