Microsoft slashes price of 360 in Japan

Microsoft has slashed the price of Xbox 360 in Japan by 30 per cent.

The Arcade unit will drop by around GBP 40 to become the cheapest console at JPY 19,800 (GBP 102), according to The Nikkei.

This compares favourably to the Nintendo Wii, retailing for JPY 25,000 (GBP 129), and the PlayStation 3 - which sells at JPY 39,800 (GBP 205).

Microsoft plans to knock similar amounts off the price of Premium and Elite Xbox 360 models, apparently.

The Xbox 360 has struggled to penetrate the Japanese market, with just 684,695 units sold across the region. That figure pales when stacked against 2.32 million PS3 sales and 6.67 million Wii sales, according to Enterbrain data.

Still, the future brightened recently after Tales of Vesperia helped Xbox 360 sell more than the PS3 for a week in Japan - although the Wii still managed to double Microsoft's efforts.