Microsoft will drop the price of the Xbox 360 Elite by $100 to $299 on Friday. Also, the Xbox 360 Pro, which Microsoft will stop selling after retailers run out of current stock, will be dropped from $299 to $249.

That means only the Xbox 360 Elite (120GB hard drive, no HDMI cable) and the $199 Xbox 360 Arcade, which comes with five games and 256MB of memory, will be offered.

The announcement comes about one week after Sony officially unveiled the PS3 Slim ($299). Aaron Greenberg, director of product management for the Xbox 360, tells Kotaku that the timing of the Xbox price cut is just a coincidence.

“We plan out what we want to do and how we do it years ahead,” Greenberg said. “Many months ahead we get into the details, like the price and dates. This has been in the works for months and months.

“I think it’s a bit coincidental, but it’s also somewhat logical with both (Sony and Microsoft) making price adjustments at this time of the year because we are turning the corner of the holiday season.”

Greenberg confirmed that no HDMI cable will come with the Elite models going forward, adding that Microsoft research shows Xbox 360 gamers weren’t using HDMI.

To recap: the PS3 Slim and Xbox 360 Elite will both retail for $299. The 80GB and 120GB PS3s will go for $300 and $400, respectively. The PS3 has Blu-ray and WiFi, while Xbox streams Netflix. According to CNET, Microsoft has no plans to add Blu-ray playback because users can already get HD content via Netflix.

This Best Buy ad lists a white 60GB Xbox 360 Pro as $249 and a black 120GB Xbox 360 Elite as $299. (Image via Kotaku)