Microsoft announced on Thursday that it is reducing the price of its three Xbox 360 models from Friday onwards, which would make Xbox 360 the cheapest game console in the market, even from the successful Nintendo Wii console.

The price of the Arcade model of Xbox 360 has now been reduced to $199.99 from initial price of $279.99. This is implanting hope in the company’s mind that lower price would attract more and more customers.

Other than the Arcade model, the prices of midrange Xbox 360 Premium console and high end Xbox 360 Elite model have also been revised. Where the former would now cost $299.99 from $349.99, the latter will be available at $399.99 from $449.99.

In a statement, Don Mattrick, senior vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft, informed, “We are thrilled to be the first next-generation console on the market to reach $199, a price that invites everyone to enjoy Xbox 360.”

There were also some reports, which floated on Monday that the Japan business unit of Microsoft is mulling to cut Xbox prices in that market by up to 30%.

At the E3 Media and Business Summit in Los Angeles last month, Microsoft and Netflix announced that the users of Xbox 360 will have the advantage to go through the 12,000-tilte video archive of Netflix, where they can have a variety of movies and TV shows. This service however has to be launched by next year.