The Black Friday deals have already started to flow in over on the HD front, but now that we're closing in on America's most mayhem-filled shopping day of the year, we're beginning to see stellar deals from nearly every CE category. One that caught our eye here recently was from Dell's list, and it involves what's already the cheapest gaming console on the market today (the Vii notwithstanding). On November 28th, Dell Home's website will offer the Xbox 360 Arcade with seven games including Rock Band 2 for $199, and while we highly doubt you'll receive any guitars, drum sticks or sweat bands for that price, we suppose there's always a remarkably small chance that you will. Keep the faith and raise the horns, brothers / sisters.

Microsoft's New Xbox Experience has been pored over and dated, but now that Major Nelson has revealed it requires "at least" 128MB storage available to work, where does that leave suckers Core and Arcade SKU Xbox 360 owners? Enter the Xbox 360 Memory Upgrade Program, doling out free 512MB MU's or $20 20GB HDDs to Core owners, and a $30 20GB HDD + 3 months of Xbox Live package to Arcade owners looking to upgrade. November 19, Xbox Live becomes a storage-only affair (that goes for Netflix streams too, requiring 8MB of free space), so grab your serial number and console ID from the current Xbox 360 Dashboard and hit the registration website. Impressive customer service gesture to extend functionality for all, or more evidence of a short sighted and flawed dual-SKU launch plan that's cost gamers and developers alike? All we know for sure is we've probably figured out where the profits from those $149 120GB HDDs are going.

[Via NeoGAF]

Good things happen when you suddenly become the lowest-priced console in the US. In the first weekend since cutting Xbox 360 prices, Microsoft is reporting a 100% increase in sales of all Xbox 360 models compared to the previous weekend. While not mentioned specifically, Microsoft claims that one model sold at 6x the previous weekend rate. Gee, could that be the $250 Wii-beating, $199.99 Xbox 360 Arcade at the front of Microsoft's loss-leading lineup?

We've already heard plenty of talk about the Xbox 360 Arcade dropping to a mere $199, but a tipster to Xbox 360 Fanboy is now claiming that there's more than just a price cut in store for the entry-level bundle, with it also supposedly in line to get a motion controller as a pack-in. According to the source, who's supposedly "close to Microsoft's marketing department," the new bundle will include the usual Arcade games and 512MB memory card, as well as the forthcoming Fall update pre-installed, said motion controller, and some motion-controlled mini-games developed by Rare. Supposedly, it'll be released in time for the 2008 Holiday season, which may or may not mean that it's the same $199 Arcade bundle that's rumored to be on track for a September release. That same source also says that the motion controller will be sold separately and bundled with an even more expansive list of games, but word on a price or release date for it seems to be a bit harder to come by.

According to our good, dear, beautiful friends at Joystiq (and Radio Shack, incidentally) the Xbox 360 family is going to be seeing those rumored price cuts in the very near future. Falling right in line with that chatter we heard at the beginning of the month, a leaked Radio Shack circular seems to indicate that there will be reductions across the board for the console, with the 60GB version clocking in at $299, the Elite running you a cool $399, and the Arcade setup dropping to a totally affordable $199 (we're looking at you, potential Xbox LIVE opponents). Sure this could all be some Photoshop wiz's idea of a hilarious joke, but we're keeping the fingers and toes crossed over here. Target date for truth? September 7th -- so stay tuned.

Microsoft's 20GB Xbox 360 Pro already stooped to $299, but one particular mole -- the same one who correctly called the 60GB edition of the console -- is suggesting that further slashing is in store. To be specific, we're talking about a $199 Arcade (no HDD), $299 Pro (60GB HDD) and a $399 Elite (120GB HDD), all of which should be available at those prices sometime next month. Furthermore, it's likely that Microsoft will toss out a few bundles in order to reel in the holiday shoppers, though details are sparse about which ones we'll be seeing. Our take? Hold off just a bit -- we get the feeling this here is more than hot air.

Announced in early February, both the Silver Satin PS3 and Xbox 360 Arcade are now on sale in Japan. The SS PS3 is a spec-for-spec equivalent of the existing black and white Japanese models. However, this is the first time the entry-level Xbox 360, already available outside of Nippon, makes an appearance on Japanese soil. Guess which one Japanese gamers are more likely to buy? Right, the Wii.

Read -- PS3
Read -- Xbox 360 Arcade

In hopes of reviving creating interest for its console in Japan, Microsoft just announced the March 6th launch of an entry-level Xbox 360 in the land of the rising sun. The Japanese equivalent of the Xbox 360 Arcade will sell for tax-inclusive ¥27,800 (about $260) and bundle an extra 256MB memory unit, wireless controller, and game pack. Hey Microsoft, that's $20 cheaper than your Arcade sells domestically without factoring in the added tax. Discount please?

Xbox 360 and promotions tend to go hand-in-hand, and the latest ploy to convince you to convince your Xbox-less pals to join in involves ten free Xbox Live Arcade titles. The rules are pretty simple: just wheedle a friend (or enemy, it matters not) to purchase an Xbox 360 before December 14th, fill out an online form together and select ten XBLA games (apiece) free of charge. The catch? It looks like the program is only open to residents of select countries across the pond, meaning that US-based gamers are seemingly left high and dry. Ah well, we never considered ourselves any good at persuasion, anyway.

Oh our god you guys, Microsoft totally just blew our minds and officially announced this new version the Xbox called the Xbox 360 Arcade. It's like the Core, right? Except now it comes bundled with five arcade style games (Pac-Man, Boom Boom Rocket, Feeding Frenzy, Luxor 2, and Uno), a wireless controller, HDMI, and a 256MB memory card for $280. (But like the Core, there's still no hard drive.) We so had no clue this was coming, Microsoft just completely, totally blindsided us. Damn you, Redmond, for being so very clever.

Well, it looks like Microsoft has acknowledged what we've known for almost a week -- the Xbox 360 Arcade is real and shipping. When asked by the Financial Times, Microsoft's Robbie Bach said the $279 console was designed to draw in gamers who are "more casually focused, they're looking for a new family experience or they're more price focused." Robbie might want to tell the rest of Microsoft that the cat's out of the bag though -- their PR reps are still telling our buds at Joystiq that they don't have anything to announce.

[Via Joystiq]

Thanks to Emanuel, an intrepid tipster who went above and beyond the call of duty, we managed to get a full unboxing of the Xbox 360 Arcade before Microsoft has even been able to send out a press release about the thing. Whenever the console officially lands, you can expect to pick up the hard drive free console for around $299.99 (Amazon said $279.99), which includes a 256MB Memory Card, a Wireless controller, an HDMI port minus the cable, and a disc that includes copies demos of Xbox LIVE Arcade games Boom Boom Rocket, Feeding Frenzy, Luxor 2, Pac-Man Championship, and Uno. Check out the full gallery below.

Update: We added some more shots from before the unboxing, including one for the eagle-eyed that shows the all important manufacture date: September 4th, 2007.

[Thanks again, Emanuel E.!]

Although there's still no official word from Microsoft about the Xbox 360 Arcade, we've just received a second picture of a boxed unit sitting on the shelves of a retail store: this time in a Methuen, MA store, only miles away from the unit spotted in Haverhill. New details include a Harry Potter / Lego Star Wars back, along with details on included games -- we can make out Uno, Pac-Man, Luxor 2, and two other indistinguishable logos. The closeness of the two spottings indicates that this early leak is the fault of whoever put a pallet on a truck without marking it with the correct ship date. In that case, don't expect an early announcement from Microsoft.

[Thanks, Emanuel E.]

Well, would you look at that. A Target store in Haverhill, MA has one of those Xbox 360 Arcade getups we've heard a thing or two about lately. If our eyes don't deceive us, that blurry pricetag is showing off a $280 pricetag, which isn't too surprising no matter how exciting a $250 tag would've been. Who knows how much more evidence it's going to take for Microsoft to finally fess up to this one, but we're enjoying the spy shots while they last. There's another pic after the break.

[Thanks, Paul A.]