Microsoft have officially announced the New Zealand release date and price for their HD-DVD drive add-on for the Xbox 360 and in a fit of oneupmanship it'll arrive on March 29 -- a mere seven days after Sony's much delayed PlayStation 3 hits our shores. However, it's not only the timing of the release that will likely have Sony seething but the price too, it's only $249. This means prospective next-gen console shoppers will be able to choose from an Xbox 360 complete with HD-DVD drive for $968 or a Bluray equipped PS3 for $1199. That's quite a difference and it'll be interesting to see how both shoppers and Sony respond to this newly wrought console war.

Here's the official blurb from the press release:

Releasing at RRP $249.95, the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player comes packed with the Universal Pictures blockbuster film Peter Jackson’s King Kong on HD DVD, and an Xbox 360 HD DVD remote. More than 40 HD DVD films are expected to be on shelves by the end of March, including The Bourne Supremacy, Serenity, Miami Vice, Superman Returns, The Departed and Mission Impossible 3.