Microsoft will drop the Australian arcade edition of the Xbox 360 by $50 to $349. That's in Australian dollars, in case you thought you missed a newsflash where the US invaded Oz.
The move now makes the Xbox 360 Arcade console the cheapest system on the Australian market. The Wii is selling at $399.
The console war is quite tight in Australia and New Zealand, according to IGN. Whilst the Wii is in the lead with 456,000 units sold, the Xbox 360 is only slightly behind at 410,000. The PS3 is still playing catch-up on 285,000.
Those of us in other territories shouldn't hold their breath for a price cut, however. When asked if this was the first step in an international pricing strategy, Australian Microsoft rep Jeremy Hinton replied:
"Today we're only announcing Australia and New Zealand and what you will see is that certainly over the next 12 months that price drops and price activity will not happen globally. We've been given more authority to do what's best for the Australian consumer."