Rumors about an Xbox 360 price drop and a new “slim” system have been swirling ever since the photos of the alleged Xbox 360 “slim” motherboard hit the net. While major online retailers such as Dell and Amazon have been regularly discounting the Xbox 360 Arcade at $150, Barnes and Noble put the system on sale today for a mere $100.

Since Barnes and Noble doesn’t stock games directly (all of its orders are fulfilled by Gamestop), such a drastic discount on the price can only indicate one thing – Microsoft is attempting to clear the channel before introducing new hardware. We saw the same sort of discounting last year, shortly before Sony introduced the PS3 Slim.

If you’re interested in getting in on the action, head on over to the store page, add the system to your cart and use the coupon code M4U8F7F to apply the 50% discount. The coupon only works on one system per order, but you won’t find an Xbox 360 Arcade cheaper anywhere else.