Xbox 360 Pro Being Phased Out Pretty Soon?

The staple Xbox 360 - the Xbox 360 Pro - looks set to march straight off retail shelves and into the history books, if new console packaging is anything to go by.

First hinted at by Ars Technica's ever-reliable mole in June, then further hinted at by new 360 packshot renders later that month, photos sent to us by GameStop employees earlier this week seem to offer proof that Microsoft will soon go from offering three Xbox 360 consoles to just two.

Look at the spine of these new, actual 360 Arcade boxes (pictured above, on the right) arriving at retailers across the US. Unlike previous models of the Arcade (on the left), which showed the relative inclusions offered in the Arcade, Pro and Elite models of the 360, this new box only shows the Arcade and Elite. No Pro.

Wonder if this means the Elite is in line for a price cut (to the price the Pro is currently), as it assumes the mantle of "standard" 360 console? It'd make sense, especially as a spoiler for Sony's surely-impending launch of the PS3 Slim.