Price drops seem to be the thing to do these days. Hot off the heels of the Sony announcement that lowered the PS3’s price to $299, Microsoft has confirmed that it will be slashing prices on its consoles as well. First we will say goodbye to the Xbox 360 Pro model as it’s no longer in production. Microsoft has reduced its price to $249 until they all run out. From now on there will only be the $199 Arcade and the $299 Elite starting August 28.

This value is coming with a price though. Microsoft won’t be shipping the Elite model with an HDMI cable anymore. In an interview with GI.biz Microsoft’s vice president of Interactive Entertainment Business in Europe Chris Lewis explained why the decision to remove the HDMI cable from the box.

“We wanted to get the Elite pricing to a figure that is acceptable for consumers so they have the option of a premium console gaming experience. Removing the HMDI cable gives the flexibility to consumers who can then decide which type of cable they want for their specific gaming and TV screen set-up.”