What started of as a leaked scan of a K-mart ad followed by another similar report, the rumor of the Xbox 360 Pro model seeing a price drop to 299.99$ seems to be gaining more ground by the minute.

Our contact in Redington has passed on this little piece of information that mentioned, among other things, that the Xbox 360 Pro model will be seeing a price cut in India that will take it price down to INR 12,000 which seems to gel well with the 299.99$ price-point mentioned in the other reports. The move apparently is to provide a stiff competition to Sony’s PS2 market that is still showing strong growth in India. With the price cut, Microsoft hopes to entice potential buyers away from PS2 towards Xbox 360.

The source in Redington also mentioned the fact that Microsoft will be coming up with a 20Gb and a 60Gb version of the console, besides a host of new accessories. Could they be the new Wii-like controller and LIPS that we have been hearing so much about? Our best bet will be E3 2008 announcement by Microsoft that will either confirm the price-cut and the accessories or kill the rumor for good.

Redington-India has been the sole distributor of Xbox 360 in India from Day 1, besides being responsible for the distribution of Microsoft first-party and EA titles.

Editor’s Note: Microsoft India has rubbished all reports of a potential price cut being on the cards.

Someone needs to put Santa Claus on the naughty list - the fat, red clown has a nasty habit of giving you a gift, but then giving a much better one to the neighbor you always hated. And it looks like Microsoft India seems bent on following in jolly ol’ Sant Nick’s fur boots as far as the Xbox 360’s pricing is concerned.

Announcing a Christmas-slash-New Year price cut for the holidays, Microsoft has said that the Xbox 360 Core console will retail for INR 14,990 along with Forza Motorsport 2 and Viva Piñata, whereas the Pro console will retail for INR 23,990 along with Forza Motorsport2, Viva Piñata, PGR3 and Yuvraj Singh International Cricket 2007 - a net savings of almost 10,000 bucks on the Core version and over 12,000 big ones on the Pro version. Obviously, now, I’ve got to swallow a whole bottle of antacids and get a squeaky de-stressing toy while people who bought the console a week or so back will probably be out buying guns to shoot themselves dead on Christmas.

One wonders whether the offer, valid until the end of the year or until stocks last, is some sort of stock clearing scheme before the newer Arcade and Pro stocks come in. Bah, who cares! You’re not going to get these babies cheaper, so if you were still mulling your purchase over, stop thinking and get your ass to the nearest game store and satisfy that burning itch with an Xbox 360 and Mass Effect.