Australian games buffs will be able to get their mitts on the Xbox 360 Elite on 30 August, Microsoft confirmed late last week. It also said HDMI would become standard across the Xbox 360 range later in the year.

The all-black Elite is the first Xbox to incorporate an HDMI port. So too will the Halo 3-branded limited-edition version of the console when it arrives Down Under on 20 September.

As expected, the Elite arrives in Oz on 30 August and will be priced at AUD729.95.

Last week, Microsoft cut the price of its two existing Xbox 360 configurations by AUD100 in Australia, with the standard pack falling to AUD549.95 and the more basic model now retailing for AUD399.95, the same price as the Wii costs here.