Many expected Microsoft to announce Xbox 360 price cuts across the board at this year’s E3. After Sony's announcement of a $100 price cut for the PlayStation 3 , Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter predicted that Microsoft would slash the price of the Xbox 360 Elite, Premium and Core systems to $399, $349 and $249 respectively.

For those that labored through Microsoft’s E3 keynote, there was no such announcement. So if you were disappointed with Microsoft's E3 keynote and the announcement of a Halo 3-themed Xbox 360 instead of price cuts, this bit of news may make your ears perk up.