What’s this? The price drop for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is official and not exclusive to just the Arcade version of the Xbox 360? Xbox 360 Arcade will now retail for a price of $199.99, the standard 360 console for $299.99 and the Elite for $399.99. This gives the 360 the “cheapest system” title, taking the place of the $249.99 Nintendo Wii.

So, if you get the red ring of death: don’t worry about it. No need to ship it out to Microsoft for them to fix and send back to you six months later. Just drop two hundred on the arcade and slap your hard drive in it and you’re set for Fallout 3 come the end of October.

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That’s right, this SKU lookup clearly shows a price change from the old $279.99 price to $199.99 for the Xbox 360 Arcade. Damn, a 360 is almost as cheap as a Nintendo DS. Amazing.  Remember kids, the Xbox 360 Arcade won’t come with a hard drive, so gaming online is a no-go unless you shell out an extra $100 dollars or so to get one. That’s the catch. For a price that cheap, gamers everywhere are going to experimentally cooking their home consoles.

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When we talk about reviewing cameras, most people will think about the image quality, user interface, external design and so on. When those outdoor anti-drop anti-dust anti-splash cameras get reviewed, nobody seems to have the guts to actually test if the camera can really withstand what it claims it can. Chinese site PConline has tested the Olympus [mju:] 770 SW digital camera. Apart from all the usual imaging tests, they also put the camera through a series of ruthless tests. They started by having a 75kg dude stepping on it, then they dumped the camera into the ocean, washed it with soap, froze it… and a lot more. Jump to find out how hardcore the 770SW is.

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