In what may go down as the least surprising confirmation of 2008, Microsoft officially announced that the price of the 20GB Xbox 360 has fallen from $349 to $299 and that it would be replaced by a 60GB model at the old price of $349, which is expected to arrive in US stores in August. This new model seems to represent the fruition of dreams of iterative design that many had hoped for since the first rumors of the 120GB Elite model first planted the idea in our collective head. It seems safe to assume, however, given its absence from the press release, that integrated wireless networking is still too much to hope for.

Speaking of the Elite, even though the Microsoft announcement explicitly stated that there would be no price change for either the $279 Arcade or $449 Elite, Amazon currently lists the price of the Elite as $399. The disparity between the Microsoft statement and the Amazon price tag are currently unexplained, but we’ll keep you posted on any updates as this develops into either a permanent price drop for a second system or merely a temporary sale.

- Via Joystiq

Update: Oddly enough, the Elite has split the price difference on Amazon and is currently selling for $424.