Xbox 360 Receives $100 Price Drop in Canada

Quickly following the official announcement of the Xbox 360 price drops in the U.S., Microsoft is applying its slashing tool to the Canadian market. Beginning August 8 at Canadian retailers nationwide, the Xbox 360 console will sell for as much as $100 less than it did at launch.
The new price of the Xbox 360 Premium in Canada is $399.99, down from $499.99. Interestingly enough, the Xbox 360 Premium has seen the $399.99 Canadian price point during a short period of time late 2006. Many large electronics retailers sold the console for $399.99 as part of a Boxing Day sale during the last week of the year.
For the other Xbox 360 consoles, the Core also drops $100 to $299.99. The Xbox 360 Elite, on the other hand, gets half the price cut of its brethren and drops from $549.99 to $499.99.
In anticipation of this year's largest blockbuster game launch, the Xbox 360 Halo 3 Special Edition console will hit store shelves in September with at $449.99. Although the 20GB hard drive may make the machine appear to be just a re-colored Premium console, the Halo 3 Special Edition includes HDMI output.
"The fact that we have been able to keep our launch price longer than any other console while retaining our leadership position demonstrates that consumers believe in the value of Xbox 360," said Mitch Koch, corporate vice president, Global Retail Sales and Marketing Group, Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. "On the eve of the best holiday games lineup ever and the launch of 'Madden NFL 08,' there has never been a better time to jump into Xbox 360."
U.S. gamers shouldn’t feel slighted by their market’s $50 price drop as compared to Canada’s $100 cut. Even with the double-sized price cut, Canadians will have to pay a U.S. dollar equivalent of almost $380 for the Premium, $285 for the Core and $475 for the Elite.