Microsoft announces price cuts for Xbox 360 consoles in India

There is some good news for those awaiting a price drop on Xbox 360 consoles with the launch of the Xbox One - they will not have to wait for the next-generation console to launch in September, as Microsoft has already slashed prices on two models.

Tweeting out the news on Monday, Anshu Mor, Director - Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft India, said the 250GB Xbox 360 console is now available for Rs. 21,990, and that the 250GB Kinect Xbox 360 console is now available for Rs. 31,990.

Excited to announce Price Drop on 250GB & 250GB Kinect Xbox 360 Consoles. New prices at Rs 21990 & Rs 31990 respectively. #Xbox360India

-- Anshu Mor (@anshuMor) April 28, 2014

Notably, the 250GB Xbox 360 is still listed at Rs. 24,990 on the Microsoft India site, while the 250GB Kinect Xbox 360 bundled console is no longer listed with price.

Back in March, Microsoft finally revealed the second round of Xbox One roll-out. Starting September 2014, 26 new markets will get retail availability of the Xbox One console, including India. For now, pricing details and exact launch dates have not been disclosed.

At the time, Microsoft's Yusuf Mehdi had said in a blog post, "It's time to ensure even more fans around the world can enjoy Xbox One. So today we're proud to share that it will be available in 26 additional markets in September this year. We'll have much more to share at a local level towards the end of April, so stay tuned."

The 'more to share at a local level' could very well have included the price drop for the Xbox 360, so Mor's announcement is in line with Microsoft's earlier statement.

Notably Microsoft's primary competitor in the home console space, Sony, launched its PlayStation 4 console in India in January (at Rs. 39,990), less than two months after its US launch. To puts things in perspective, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 were launched in November within a week of each other in the US.

Shortly after its US launch however, the Sony PlayStation 4 was rolled out to roughly 53 countries in the first phase. In comparison, Microsoft's Xbox One was in its first phase only rolled out to 13 countries.

Full list of 26 new countries in September phase of Xbox One global roll-out: Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia , Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and UAE.

While India launch pricing of the Xbox One has not been revealed, it's safe to say it will be slightly more expensive in India than the PlayStation 4 as Sony's console cost $100 less at its US launch.