360 price cuts are one rumour closer to reality

As the holiday season comes closer and the PS3 launch gets ever-more likely to actually happen this time, the rumours of Microsoft's plans for cutting the 360 price are flying again. You knew this was coming, didn't you?

This time, the boys over at Digitimes say that a source has come forward to discuss the upcoming cuts. The rumour is, the price of the Premium system will drop by $100 to $299, thus making room for an external HD-DVD drive under many Christmas trees this year. There is no doubt that sales of the Xbox 360 would benefit greatly from being able to purchase the Premium system, the HD-DVD, and a couple of games for roughly what the 20GB PS3 will offer.

The source claims that this rumour is backed by secret negotiations that Microsoft is having with its Taiwanese production partners. Due to the decrease in prices on many components, it is expected that production costs could be shaved by as much as 20%, making the price drop a bit more comfortable for Microsoft. As well, production quality has greatly increased, so there are cost savings to be had with the minimal defect rates that the system is now experiencing.

For those with a subscription, you can read the Digitimes article here.

Whether or not this rumour is true has yet to be seen, but Microsoft is adamantly denying it. They've even gone so far as to call the report 'misinformation,' which is almost a sure sign of it being so accurate that it's uncomfortable. Time will tell, I suppose.

Have you got a thought on the price cuts? Let us know about it in our forums. We'll even call it misinformation, if you like.