Microsoft cuts Xbox 360 price, releases new model

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SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) cut on Sunday the price of its best-selling Xbox 360 Pro model game console with a 20 gigabyte hard drive to $299 from $349.

The company also introduced a new Xbox 360 model with a 60 gigabyte hard drive, which will go on sale in stores in the U.S. and Canada for $349 in early August.

Microsoft announced the price cut and a new model before the start of this week's E3 video game industry trade show in Los Angeles. The price cut was widely reported in game industry blogs since last week.

The company last cut the price of the Xbox Pro in August, from $399 to $349, prior to the release of blockbuster title, "Halo 3," the following month.

A cut to $299 makes the Xbox 360 Pro $100 less than Sony Corp's (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) PlayStation 3 with a 40 gigabyte hard drive. Microsoft is locked in a three-way competition with Nintendo Co Ltd's (7974.OS: Quote, Profile, Research) Wii and the PlayStation 3, which comes with a high-definition Blu-ray video player.

Price cuts from Nintendo and Sony seem unlikely. Nintendo's $249 Wii is still in short supply at many retailers, while Sony has said it aims to turn its video game business profitable this year, making a cut hard to swallow.

Reuters