Proving that the British are late in receiving the latest gadgets, Microsoft announced that the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player is now available in the country for £130. Those who purchase the player will also receive a copy of King Kong on HD-DVD and the Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote.

Now that the console has been out for some time, Microsoft announced that it will soon be launching a Classics range for the Xbox 360, effectively shaving off half the price.

In North America, gamers can look forward to Perfect Dark Zero, Project Gotham Racing 3, Kameo: Elements of Power and Need for Speed: Most Wanted. These games will be rebranded to the new line on October 15, and will retail for $30.

Europeans can get Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo: Elements of Power, Condemned: Criminal Origins and King Kong for a wallet-friendly price of £25 starting October 13.

A second wave of Classics titles are expected to arrive early next year. However, as seen above, titles will vary by region, with different sets of Classics in each region.

For the frugal gamers out there who’ve been holding out on Xbox 360 games can now get them for cheaper. Initially, third-party games for the console launched at an exorbitant price of $60, but now, some games will see price reductions to a reasonable $40. These games include:

• Burnout Revenge
  
• FIFA Soccer 06: Road to FIFA World Cup
  
• Madden NFL 06
  
• NBA Live 06
  
• The Outfit
  
• Peter Jackson’s King Kong
  
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06

The beginning of June will see the induction of a new collection of “Platinum” greatest hits titles throughout Europe and Australia. The new Platinum range for PSP will feature a collection of the most-celebrated games which will now sell at a price of €25.

The titles will be Everybody’s Golf, WRC and F1 Grand Prix from SCEE, as well as Medievil Resurrection and Ridge Racer; Pursuit Force has also made the cut. From third-party developers: Virtua Tennis World Tour, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2006, Need for Speed Underground Rivals, Burnout Legends, Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire and King Kong.