We brought you rumors of it last week, but now it's been confirmed by Microsoft that the Xbox 360 will be receiving across-the-board price cuts this Friday, making the Arcade version of the console cheaper than the Wii. Straight from Major Nelson (along with our own exchanges into U.S. dollars) here's how it shakes out:

• Xbox 360 Arcade – was €269.99 / £199.99 ($414) now €199.99 / £159.99 ($307)
• Xbox 360 Pro - was: €349.99 / £249.99 ($536) now: €269.99 / £199.99 ($414)
• Xbox 360 Elite - was: €449.99 / £299.99 ($691) now: €369.99 / £259.99 ($566)

If you'd like to see how that compares industry-wide, the Wii will cost you € 234 ($356) on Amazon's UK site, while the 40GB PS3 is €370 ($563). Now we'd like to hear from our European friends: If you haven't bought a 360, is this enough to motivate you to do it?

Now that the latest PS3 price drop has finally kick-started the system's position in the sales race, Sony seems to have come to the logical conclusion that further price drops probably aren't an immediate necessity.

Talking to Reuters, SCEA VP of Marketing Scott Steinberg said Sony was surprised to see a rough parity between sales of the $500 and $400 PS3 models since the November price drops. According the Steinberg, that suggests "the hard-core gamer is not afraid to throw another $100 at the PlayStation 3," and that the pricing pressure many analysts predicted has not materialized. While Steinberg said the company was "studying what this means for the potential roadmap for the year," the clear implication seems to be that the company is happy with the system's current pricing ... at least for the time being

Steinberg also seems bullish on the PS3's future in light of the success of Blu-ray in the HD movie format wars. "The year of the PlayStation 3 started in fall 2007," he said. "I think it will be an extended year, we are feeling positive momentum."

With all of the 360 SKUs available, it can be a little confusing trying to keep track of them all. One helpful thing to keep in mind though: The cheapest of the models can now be found in Japan, as the Core there will be cut on Nov. 1 to around $243. Furthering hopes of the 360 topping its 6,161 sales last week, the standard model has gotten a similar treatment.

Forget about rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, Microsoft is slashing prices on them. You want three chairs for $20? Done. You want four for $25? You got it. You want to pay 34,800 yen ($304) for your standard Xbox 360? Then it's yours! ... What's that Japanese consumer? ... You just want some chairs. ... Oh, OK, sure. No problem. Chairs it is.

UK gamers who waited to buy their 360 until BioShock was released will find a nice surprise for them when they go to the register: A £20 price cut on the Core and a £30 cut on the 20 GB 360. That brings the prices to £249.99 (around $497) for the 20 GB system and £179.99 ($358) for the Core, which is, interestingly, the exact same cost as the Wii. It was also announced that when the Elite is released there this week, it will retail for £299.99 ($596).

Shizzle Games of Belgium is not only showing new prices for other parts of Europe (€449/€349/€279) but also new names for the SKUs, redubbing the Core model "Arcade" and the middle one the "Pro". That new "Arcade" SKU will also come with five XBLA games which should just about fill the 256 MB memory card it comes packed with. It's also sporting an HDMI port. Though we haven't heard of a similar rebranding of the Core here in the U.S. it does make us wonder if we should be interpreting Core systems being discontinued in a whole new way.

Read -- Official: Xbox 360 gets UK price drop
Read -- Nu ook officieel: Microsoft verlaagt prijs Xbox 360