If rumors are to be believed, Microsoft’s much-awaited Xbox 720 will hit the market before next year’s E3 convention in June.

The device became a topic for discussion once again after two of the biggest UK retailers, BestBuy and Shopto offered close to 25 percent discount on the price of the 250GB Xbox 360 which brought down its price to just under £160 (around $260).

The price introduced by Shopto is the lowest available for the console right now, and is just £10 (about $16) more than the 4GB version, which is slowly going out of fashion.

The awaited console got further attention when Germany-based video game developer Crytek said the company was designing their upcoming game TimeSplitter 4 using Microsoft’s DX11 technology, which is not available for the current Xbox 360s.

The discounts offered are permanent which clearly implies that like Nintendo Wii and Wii U, Microsoft is also aiming to clear the existing stock, which they would have never done if the company didn’t have something new in mind.

Previously, Microsoft had also declared that the company will be providing a free Xbox 360 console to students who will buy a PC or laptop worth $699, powered by Windows 7, the ITProportal website reported.

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