The Xbox 360 Arcade is becoming a slightly more sensible purchase, as Microsoft is officially doubling the built-in flash memory for the console to 512MB, confirming a rumored hardware revision uncovered by members of the XboxHacker forums.

We contacted Microsoft to double-check on the increase and received the following statement.

"We are doubling the size of the internal memory of the Xbox 360 Arcade from 256 MB to 512 MB," a Microsoft spokesperson told Kotaku. "We want to offer consumers a bit more memory at the same low price so they can enjoy more experiences on Xbox LIVE."

When we can expect to see that change reflected on Xbox.com, console packaging and elsewhere we're still looking into. But if you're in the market for an Arcade unit, keep your eyes peeled. Those new units, of the "Jasper" variety, have been shipping as of April 2009.

Send an email to Michael McWhertor, the author of this post, at mike@kotaku.com.