Analysts have been weighing in on Microsoft’s decision to cut the price of the Xbox 360 Elite, with some predicting a less than stellar sales boost based on the console’s new $299 price point.

“Although we think the recent hardware price cuts could help resuscitate demand for game consoles and drive some additional software sales, we note that there is already a $299 core-gamer focused platform on the market: Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Pro,” offered Cowen and Company’s Doug Creutz. “As such, we do not expect the impact of either Microsoft or Sony’s price cuts on overall hardware and software sales to be as significant as the impacts from price cuts on the PS2 in the last cycle.”

EEDAR’s Jesse Divnich suggests that the price change is “unlikely to provide any significant increase in sales for the Xbox 360 in the near term… Some would argue that Microsoft’s new pricing scheme represents more of a pseudo price drop than an actual price drop since consumers looking to purchase a core Xbox 360 system will still have to pay $299, as they had prior to the new hardware line-up.”

Divnich also suggested that, “over the next year, Microsoft will most likely reposition the Xbox 360 Elite model closer to the $249 price point to both pressure Sony and attract potential Nintendo Wii consumers. From a strategic standpoint this would then allow Microsoft to introduce the new Natal model in 2010/2011 at the $299 price point and still have an option for consumers cheaper than the Sony PlayStation 3.”

Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets noted: “We view the Xbox price cut as a proactive measure to maintain market share and boost momentum ahead of the key 2H selling period. We expect that the combined impact of lower prices on PS3 and Xbox 360 hardware will drive incremental unit sales in the near term, while a sustained recovery is more dependent on the popularity of upcoming key titles such as Halo, Assassin’s Creed, and Call Of Duty.”