And so it begins. This is a page from the latest Wal-Mart catalogue, due August 30, advertising the Xbox 360 Elite at $299, a whole $100 cheaper than its current price.

With Meijer's catalogue also advertising a $299 Elite for August 30, let's end the conjecture right here. This is definitely happening.

What's fascinating is not the fact the Elite is $100 cheaper, it's that we now - finally - have the 360 and PS3 going toe-to-toe in the marketplace. Both consoles are $299, both have 120GB HDDs, both have HDMI, both are...black.

Be interesting to see what impact each console's bullet-point deal-breaker - Blu-Ray for PS3, Netflix for 360 - has on sales.

Send an email to the author of this post at plunkett@kotaku.com.