MS denies imminent price-drop

Microsoft's David Hufford has denied that comments he made to a journalist were "signalling a price drop" for Xbox 360 later this year.

Hufford's denial comes after he told Bloomberg: "We are well aware that the sweet spot of the market is really 199 bucks."

Speaking on an officially backed Microsoft blog, Hufford responded to the portrayal of his comments: "Some are getting really spun up about the Bloomberg story and inaccurately reading tea leaves that don't exist."

"The comment, which is accurately reported, unfortunately has now been taken way out of context and being reported as if I am signalling a price drop. I was not, I am not," he explained.

"With Xbox 360s selling well at their current price point, Elites selling out at $479, and an insanely great portfolio of games in the market, there's no reason to announce any kind of price drop anytime soon," he concluded.

However, analysts continue to point to a possible price drop later this year, arguing that with PlayStation 3 priced so highly by comparison and Nintendo surging ahead into areas outside the traditional videogame demographic, Microsoft is poised to take advantage of market conditions.

The platform holder certainly believes it needs to appeal to women, children and elderly gamers in the manner Nintendo has, with Xbox boss Peter Moore identifying it as the difference between "a solid business with 25 million people" and "a solid business with 90 million people".