Retail chain Makro has dropped £80 off the price of the Xbox 360 Premium console, making it the same price as the cheaper Core unit.

Makro is retailing the Premium package for £199.99, much lower than the normal £279.99, and they have plenty in stock apparently.

"We have plenty of machines in stock and we'll be running this promotion for 2 weeks", said Joanne Armstrong, spokesperson for the buying team at Makro UK.

"It's something we're doing to bring customers into the stores, it's not an official price cut from Microsoft", a spokesperson said.

The price drop has started rumours about an official cut but this has been nixed by Microsoft.

"Xbox does not control the retail price of the Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system; prices are set by retailers", a Microsoft spokesperson stated.

"The promotion that Makro is running is not endorsed or administered by Microsoft."

Business rivals have been quick to criticise the move however, saying that the console is still selling well regardless.

"If the machine was selling badly, I could understand a price cut. But the machine is selling well, along with the software", said Don McCabe, MD of Chips.

"It's retailing at its worst", said another retailer, who wished to remain anonymous. "It sounds too cheap - maybe they are refurbished units."

"It's not rational. It may just be a small number of units at that price and when they're sold out they keep the customer hanging for a higher priced unit. Some see it as a well-recognised retail technique to get people into store, others call it a rip off."

>> Link - Official Site/Makro