Xbox 360 Prices Drops in Effect Tomorrow – $199 for Arcade

“Whoa!” That’s all that can be said about the upcoming price drops on the Xbox 360 from Microsoft, because they’re making the Arcade version of the console so inexpensive, that the Wii ends up costing more! That model of course doesn’t include a hard drive among a few other things, but it’s still a very affordable cost-of-entry.

Starting tomorrow, the price of the Arcade version will hit $199, while the Pro (60GB) will hit $299, which by itself, is still only $50 more than the Wii, but far more powerful. That will likely be the preferred choice for any new buyers, as the included hard drive is a almost a requirement in order to enjoy any of today’s games. The HDMI support sure doesn’t hurt either.

The Elite still remains at $399, although I’m unsure exactly why it still costs so much more than the rest. It also includes HDMI, and an upgraded 120GB hard drive and… that seems to be it. It’s painted black though, which might be worth the premium to some (it was to me back in the day, for some reason). Still, the first two models come in at great prices, and I’m still impressed to see that the Wii costs more than the Arcade version. Though I might just be easily impressed, maybe.

“We are thrilled to be the first next-generation console on the market to reach $199, a price that invites everyone to enjoy Xbox 360,” said Microsoft SVP Don Mattrick in a statement. “Xbox 360 delivers amazing performance at an extraordinary value with the leading online service and best lineup of games, downloadable movies and TV shows available from a console.