Microsoft slashes Xbox 360 Elite's pricing for Asia

Philip Wong | Aug 28, 2009

(Credit: Microsoft)

An all-out price war is looming on the game console horizon. Besides the impending arrival of the PlayStation 3 Slim, Microsoft will be cutting its 120GB Xbox 360 Elite to S$499, HK$2,369, 419,000 won, NT$10,360 in Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan, respectively. The revision, effective from September 10, is probably a direct response to the US$299 PS3 Slim, though Asia pricing are currently not available from Sony. The pressure is now on Nintendo to follow suit as its Wii is almost neck and neck with its technologically superior rivals in terms of the price proposition.

On a separate note, a Microsoft spokesperson has acknowledged the company's plan to drop its 60GB Pro kit from the Xbox 360 lineup. There's also no immediate plan to revise the entry-level Arcade pricing, too. To get Singapore gamers to bite the "bait", the Redmond software giant will be offering trade-in offers for the Elite up to S$250 at the country's upcoming Comex 2009 IT fair. This is in addition to a free copy of Gears of War Platinum Hits and purchase-with-purchase discounts for a wireless controller at only S$60.70 (US$43.00) (usual price S$75.90 (US$55.01)).

Still undecided about which console to get? Here's a cheat sheet taking everything into consideration, including the revised Xbox 360 Elite price tag and projected PS3 Slim pricing in Singapore.

Model	Recommended retail price	Remarks
Xbox 360 Arcade	S$359 (US$260.20)	256MB onboard memory
60GB Xbox 360 Pro	S$499 (US$361.67)	Phasing out soon and bundled with one free game.
120GB Xbox 360 Elite	S$499 (US$361.67)	Effective from September 10
80GB "fat" PS3	S$629 (US$455.90)	Phasing out soon
160GB "fat" PS3	S$679 (US$492.14)	Phasing out soon
120GB PS3 Slim	S$430 (US$311.66)	Price estimate based on US pricing
Nintendo Wii	S$659 (US$477.64)	Bundled with Wii Sports and four selected games