The 60GB 360 will come with a wireless controller, headset, Xbox Live Silver membership and a one month Gold subscription to Xbox Live.

The news follows the firm’s pre-E3 announcement that it would be replacing the 20GB model with a 60GB unit in North America and cutting the price of the former by $50 to $299 "while supplies last".

While Microsoft didn’t announce plans to cut the recommended retail price of the 20GB 360 in the UK, retailers such as Play.com did reduce the system’s price last month, probably in a bid to clear existing stock ahead of the then unannounced 60GB unit’s release.

“No one device offers the depth and breadth of entertainment that Xbox 360 can deliver and we know consumers need increasingly more and more space to store the amazing digital entertainment content we provide” said Neil Thompson, senior regional director of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division.

“Now the Xbox 360 has triple the space to house all your entertainment needs at no extra cost.”
 
From Friday Microsoft’s family of Xbox 360 consoles will consist of the Xbox 360 Arcade, which comes with a 256MB memory unit and five Xbox Live Arcade games for £159.99, the standard Xbox 360 with a 60GB hard drive for £199.99, and the Xbox 360 Elite, which sports a 120GB hard drive, for £259.99.