While the Xbox 360 Elite gets a price drop in the States and in the UK, the Arcade package is actually getting a 30 pound price increase without any changes to the actual configuration. It’s a baffling business decision by Microsoft and they felt it was necessary to justify it with an equally baffling explanation.

CVG reports that the decision to mark up the Xbox 360 Arcade from 130 pounds to 160 pounds is influenced by the exchange rate. “We have not made upward adjustments to the trade price of consoles before. A modest increase on the trade price of Xbox 360 Arcade consoles in EMEA allows us to offset exchange rate fluctuations and changes in local market conditions while still offering the most affordable console on the market.”

Well, that makes perfect sense. Blame it on the exchange rates. That excuse simply doesn’t fly when Microsoft is dropping the price of the Xbox 360 Elite in the same territory. Why give consumers a welcome price drop for one configuration while robbing other consumers with a price hike for your “cheaper” configuration?