Enough with the screenshots of what might or might not be image 'enhanced' posters screaming about what might or might not be store price cuts or special offers! it's now official: if you're in North America, the Xbox 360 will cost $50 less from next Tuesday to coincide with the release of Madden NFL 08.

The price cut includes the Elite.

Stating that neither store price cutting - nor competing platform pricing had any bearing on the decision, Aaron Greenberg, a group product manager for Xbox 360 has told The Seattle Times:



In terms of pricing:

The 20Gb version falls from $399 (£196) to $349 (£172).

The Elite drops from $499 (£246) to $449 (£220).

The Core gets $20 lopped off bringing it down to $279 (£138) from £299 ($£148).

Also slipped into the interview is the fact that the Halo 3 360 pack goes on sale for $400 (£197) in September, a more traditional time for price-cutting as it leads into the heavy buying pre-'the Holidays' season.

There's no news as yet as to when these cuts will make there way to the U.K. and Europe.