Earlier today we reported that the PS4 would be getting a decent price-drop from October 21st in mainland Europe. Since Sony announced price cuts for Asia, Japan, and North America, we’ve all been wondering when Microsoft would follow suit and give prospective buyers some more choice when it comes to buying a next-gen machine this Christmas period.

Yesterday I was out shopping in town and visited one of my regular haunts: Saturn, a major European retailer that operates in Germany, Austria, Poland and Luxembourg.

I’m something of a regular at my local branch and I’ve become quite friendly with a few of the staff that occupy the video games/tech sections and – through a friend-of-a-friend – I’m on good terms with one of the store managers. When the Mrs is shopping for girly crap I usually end up spending the afternoon tinkering with the latest TV’s, laptops, computers and other man-toys. Even tested out one of the new model refrigerators by standing inside it – but that’s neither here nor there.

One of the regular staff saw me having a poke around at the smartphone section (recently smashed my phone) and came over to say hi and ask if I’d seen the bundles on offer. Curious, I followed to the gaming section of the store where I found that Saturn is selling the Xbox One console with Forza 6, FIFA 16 and a controller for 339 euros. That’s £249/$384. Forza 6 alone is around £40/$60 and FIFA 16 is around the same price. In European countries the games are around the 59.99 mark. So, essentially the console is being sold for 220 euro. Crikey.

Next up I noticed that the retailer is also offering the Xbox One with FIFA 16 and an extra controller for the slightly higher price of 349.99 euros. However, the former deal is nationwide whereas the latter is store-specific and is done at the manager’s discretion. We’ve actually seen this happen before at the same retailer due to low sales of the console.

Naturally, then, I spoke to the manager (we’re on first-name terms now, yeah – we tight) and asked if there were any more deals coming soon. I did notice that the PS4 didn’t have any particularly decent bundles, but there were a couple of your standard 399.99 consoles with a game or two chucked in, but nothing to really compete with the great Xbox One deals.

When I asked if there were any deals/price-cuts in the pipeline, the manager said that they’re expecting to push more of both consoles in the coming weeks but he wasn’t able to divulge any more information, though the knowing wink told me all I needed. Or he was coming on to me – it happens.

It’s fair to assume, then, that it’s not just Sony that will be gunning for the European vote this Christmas period. It also falls pretty much inline with the upcoming PS4 price-cut that other retailers have already begun advertising.

If you’re still kicking back with your rusty Xbox 360/PS3, this Christmas may be the best time to get your next-gen consoles. We’re still waiting on an official UK price-cut, but it’s only a matter of time before the pounds start flying into the tills of every high-street store that stocks consoles.