Microsoft has officially put the kibosh on any price cuts for the Xbox 360 in Europe. That’s just as we expected but, y’know, damn!, all the same...

“Pricing is handled on a region-by-region basis. We do not have a price drop in this region to announce,” said an MS UK rep earlier. We’re tempted to read an implied “yet” into that statement, if only because we’re hopeless optimists.

Then again we’re not doing that badly compared to our US counterparts who, of course, have just had 360 prices slashed across the board. The basic Arcade unit is now $199.99 in the US – £113 at current exchange rates. Our Arcade is £149.99 - and that's £30 cheaper than a Wii - but we’ve seen bundles including 2 very decent games for £125. Meanwhile the US 60GB Premium model retails for $299.99 (£170 or thereabouts) which isn’t too far away from our own price of £189. Likewise the 120GB Elite which, at $399.99 (£227), is around £20 cheaper than what we’d expect to pay for it.

In other words try not to feel too hard done by, and make sure you shop around before you buy. Particularly online, where you’ll find some stunning bargs.