Microsoft: Oz 360 drop is about passing savings to the consumer

In the wake of news that Microsoft has dropped the price of Xbox 360 in Australia, the firm has gone on the record to say the move has nothing to do with increased competition - it's about passing on savings to the customer.

"We'd had a pretty good track record of - wherever possible - passing along savings to the consumer," Microsoft Australia's Jeremy Hinton told Gamespot. "So with the recent currency fluctuations as well as some cost savings we've been able to make, we thought that the July period was a perfect time to pass those along to the consumer for people looking to lay by for Christmas."

Hinton added: "This is a strategy we've had for some time. Decisions are made not necessarily around what the competition are doing. And from our point of view, the last 12 months have been very successful - more dollars have gone through retail tills on Xbox 360 products than both of our competitors."

More here.