The Microsoft E308 Press Conference is about to begin, and we will update this space with any breaking news from the event. You can catch any of the live streams online at IGN or Gamespot. Click read more for the full coverage.

Here it is, as promised. The Sunday price drop and new SKU info for the Xbox360 is available. As you can see, MS is revamping the whole Xbox360 lineup. A new 60gb model is plannedm, and more. Oh boy. Click read more for the full info.

PRESS RELEASE

Redmond, Washington—Microsoft is giving consumers more gigabytes for their buck. The company today announced an Xbox 360® console with triple the storage space of the original console, but for the same price of $349 (U.S.) estimated retail price.

According to Fudzilla, MS will start discussing the new DirectX 11 inside 2 weeks. "Sources" have confirmed that the MS Game Tech Conference, previously known as Meltdown, and now renamed to Gamefest 2008 (that was complicated), will be the setting for the revelation. The big new feature of DX11 is apparently Tessellation/Displacement. Fudzilla also "heard" that Multithreaded Rendering and Compute Shaders are part of it. Sadly, it looks like DX11 will stick with rasterization, as there is no mention of Ray Tracing support. If you are technically savvy, we are sure you understand this. If not, well, let's just say its going to be really neato cool. Rumor mill for now, of course.

Rumor mill for now, but according to Eurogamer, an intercepted letter from the platform holder to Gamestop and Blockbuster revealed the new SKU. MS may be planning to reveal the new unit at E3. Stay tuned.

Microsoft has responded to the rumors that the Xbox360 Elite units in the UK are experiencing a disproportionate amount of red ring hardware failures. Of course, MS says the amount of consoles suffering is normal.

Just a reminder, folks, today is Bungie Day 2008. This is a celebration of all things Bungie, and an appreciation for all the fans of the Bungie games (mostly Halo). To this end, Bungie is providing free downloads for the Xbox360 and PC, as well as some great new web content. Check the Bungie official site for links to everything.

Schizoid, the first XBLA game developed with the XNA software set, and Golf: Tee it Up, are both slated to hit Xbox Live this Wednesday. Both games will cost 800MS points, click read more for the official info.

PRESS RELEASE

“Schizoid,” the first Xbox LIVE Arcade game developed with Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio technology, and “Golf: Tee It Up!” launch on Xbox LIVE Arcade this Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. GMT (2:00 a.m. PDT).

On Monday July 7, 2008, Microsoft is celebrating Bungie Day. A new Halo 3 map, Cold Storage, will be available free. The Halo 3 Legendary Map pack will drop in price to 600 points as well. Major Nelson has more details.

Bungie day aside, Happy Fourth of July to everyone in the U.S.A! We hope those BBQs and Fireworks are being lit... just not near each other!

The Xbox360 in Australia is the cheapest non-handheld gaming system, now that MS has cut the price to $349. The big question is, could this be a sign of things to come in the US? With all the price cut rumors circulating the net recently, we think so.

Of course this is rumor mill, but according to N4G, MS is set to answer Sony's HOME service with their own virtual world called My GamerPad. The images were revealed over on the famous 4chan forum by an anonymous poster. Take it with a grain of salt for now.