Rumor: $50 Xbox 360 price drop imminent?

A steady drumbeat of rumors—along with plenty of leaked circulars and fuzzy photos—points toward a $50 price cut on the Pro version of the Xbox 360, perhaps as soon as this weekend.

Gaming blog Kotaku got its hands on some spy shots from a GameStop employee, which show purported internal memos announcing a new, $299.99 price for the Xbox 360 Pro—a $50 price drop.

The pictured memo also reads "do not display until Sunday 7/13"—just one day before Microsoft's planned keynote at next week's E3 gaming conference. Hmmm ...

The latest leak caps more than a week of speculation (starting with a story in the Hollywood Reporter) that a price cut for the now-$349 Xbox 360 Pro was on tap. Still no official word from Microsoft.

The Xbox 360 "Pro" is essentially the old 360 bundle, including a 20GB hard drive and a recently-added HDMI output. Don't confuse the Pro with the black, $449 360 Elite, which boasts a 120GB hard drive and an HDMI cable in addition to the output.

Of course, other rumors are swirling around the Xbox 360 in the run-up to E3, including chatter about a Wii-like motion-sensitive controller and even a revamped, 3-D dashboard.

In any event, Microsoft's E3 press conference is set for 10:30 a.m. PT Monday, so stay tuned.

Related:
GameStop's Leaked Xbox 360 Price Drop Info [Kotaku]