360 price cuts promised

The Xbox 360 may not even be in the shops yet, but a Microsoft bigwig is already suggesting that we can expect to see price cuts for the shiny new console on a yearly basis.

Xbox 360 is due to launch in Europe on December 2, priced at £209.99 for the basic "Core System". For another £70 you also get a hard disk, media remote, wireless controller and other extras.

But, "We will wind up cost-reducing the product every year," Todd Holmdahl, corporate vice president of the Xbox product group, told Reuters. It's estimated that the 360 costs approximately $100 less per unit to manufacture than Sony's PS3, giving Microsoft more scope for reducing costs.

So how soon can we expect the first price cut? Well, the current gen Xbox had its priced slashed by £100 just six weeks after it debuted in Europe - apparently because less than 200,000 units were sold in the month following launch, according to unofficial estimates.

But there's now a firmly established Xbox fanbase in the UK (not to mention EG's comments threads) and it seems unlikely that Microsoft will be forced to make such a drastic move this time around.

Bit of a wait in store then... Or, of course, you could always emigrate to Japan, where the Xbox 360 - complete with hard disk - will cost just 37,900 yen (around £180).