Retailers price up Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite

The first UK retail prices for Microsoft's much anticipated Xbox 360 Elite console have begun to appear, with retailers positioning it at around £50 more than the Elite's Premium predecessor and around £95 cheaper than Sony's PS3.

Microsoft itself has remained tight-lipped about the retail price of its pending top-of-the-range console, but HMV, Play.com and Game all now feature pre-order prices of £330 on their websites.

The 120GB, HDMI-enabled console currently retails for around $480 in the US, where it was released on 29 April, making it almost £100 more expensive over on our side of the pond.

Microsoft is yet to detail its UK pricing plans, but some analysts have already predicted that the price of the Core and Premium models will soon drop. However, Redmond has denied a similar projected price cut for Japan.

The Xbox 360 Elite becomes available in the UK, Ireland, Germany and France on 24 August, with a wider European roll-out expected soon after.