Console Hardware and Price Updates

The console wars continue and gamers can expect more good news as the holiday season approaches and companies work to get the sales. The first noteworthy mention is for the Nintendo Wii. Rumors and flyer previews have been floating around the internet for about a week now, giving us a fairly solid idea that a decent price cut is about to occur. Retailers in the United States including Walmart, Toys R Us and Target all have had clippings of upcoming flyers leaked that show the console at its new price of $199 sometime before the end of September.

Also worth mentioning, both Microsoft and Sony have larger hard drives on the way for their consoles. Both companies have revealed 250gb models of each console coming very soon in various bundles.

Microsoft and the Xbox 360 have the Modern Warfare 2 Limited Edition bundle currently available for pre-order at Amazon, to be shipped in November of this year. This includes an Elite 360 with a 250gb hard drive and 2 black wireless controllers. Unfortunately, this bundle is currently only being made available to North America.

There is also a Forza 3 bundle for the Xbox 360 which is more Europe-friendly, slated for October 23rd, 2009. Includes a 250gb console, a headset, two wireless controllers, and of course a copy of the game. Not too bad of a deal if the price is right.

Finally, Sony and the PlayStation 3 Slim are also rumored to be offering 250gb bundles soon, however this information has not yet been confirmed. A leak from a Swedish retailer shows inventory for four 250gb PS3 Slim bundles: Uncharted 2, FIFA 10, Need for Speed: Shift, and Ratchet & Clank Future. We will have to wait and see if there is some truth to the rumors!