Xbox Product Manager Aaron Greenberg says that it’s merely a coincidence that the Elite price cut should time so neatly with the arrival of the PS3 Slim. Yeah, right...

"Typically these types of price changes are targeted to drive sales for the holiday season," he explains to g4tv.com.

"However it is difficult for our retail partners to make these types of changes in November or December so we try to work with them to make these types of adjustments before things get too hectic at retail."

Well, fair enough, we suppose. Things certainly do go nuts in the run-up to Xmas. Then again Microsoft could have chosen any other day to launch the discounted Elite – i.e. rather than pick one a mere four days before the PS3 Slim arrives. Put another way, we suspect Greenberg of being just a little disingenuous.

Elsewhere in the same interview Greenberg recognises that hardware price cuts are good for consumers and the games industry alike, but still has time for a sly dig at his rival’s new machine:

"I guess as a gamer I am glad I got an earlier PS3 console before they pulled a lot of the functionality like backwards compatibility out," he says.

Finally, the g4tv article suggests that the soon-to-be-discontinued Xbox 360 ‘Pro’ model is being sold in the USA for $249 until stocks run dry. That being the case, keep an eye out for similar bargains this side of the pond. Oh, and don’t forget that the Xbox 360 Elite is £199.99 as of TODAY!