Xbox 360 HD DVD drive to drop for 199 in the UK?
Nothing official or anything, but the folks at GamesIndustry.biz are catching wind from their retail pals that Microsoft is prepping to drop their HD DVD drive in the UK this November for £199. Added to the current price of an Xbox 360 Premium in the UK the total price comes to £478, compared to the PS3's £425 asking price in the UK. The good news is that sources also suggest Microsoft is planning on selling a bundle of the HD DVD drive and Premium 360 for £400 or even possibly $375, so folks who haven't yet jumped into the next-gen console fray could save money and still get HD movie capability by purchasing a 360/HD DVD bundle. Microsoft is also purportedly throwing in a pair of HD DVD movies to sweeten the deal, so there's also that to consider. What this all means for US pricing is hard to say, since both the Xbox 360 and PS3 prices are priced considerably higher in the UK than just a direct currency conversion would suggest. What we hope it means is that if you purchase an HD DVD drive all by its lonesome you'll wind up with a pair of movies for it and a $50-$100 "total cost of ownership" premium over a straight PS3 purchase, but if you buy a console/drive bundle you could end up saving just that much in comparison to the PS3. Or the whole rumor could be bunk and we could go about our normal lives, which is just as likely.
