It's not every day that the head of a multi-billion dollar corporation apologizes to you, so excuse us if we drink deeply of Steve Ballmer's statement to IGN, in which he apologized for referencing a new 360 console to launch in 2010 last week.

Specifically, he said "I confused the issue with my poorly chosen words. There is no news in my comments. Things are as reported after E3. Sorry." Tell you what, Steve, you give us one of your patented "World's Greatest Back Rubs," and all is forgiven. (Also, we're sure you meant a new Xbox 360 bundle, right?)

We're not sure how this one sneaked by, but it looks like Microsoft slipped a new Xbox 360 Jasper motherboard past us earlier this year, according to a poster in the XboxHacker forums. Found in a Japanese Xbox 360 Arcade this past April, the new motherboard is essentially the same as the previous (read: probably the most reliable 360 model so far) with one small difference. Rather than 256MB of internal storage, this one appears to be packing 512MB.

While the unit pictured above is Japanese, some members of the Xbox-Scene forums claim to have the board as well, meaning the new hardware may already be available in North America. We're not aware of any surefire way to spot one of these new units without taking them out of the box, though the ones we've seen mentioned were manufactured in April 2009. Outside the box, you'd just need to see how much memory was listed in the settings menu.

Anyone out there have one of these new Jaspers? Let us know in the comments.

[Via Xbox-Scene]

With the announcement last week of Last.fm for Xbox 360, we couldn't help but wonder if Pandora was going to show up to the party. The other radio program of the tubes has become an internet darling, but first we wanted to find out if Pandora was even interested in getting it on with Microsoft's console, like it already does with our computers, mobile devices and other home electronics.

"We'd love to include game consoles like the Xbox 360 as part of this story at Pandora," Jessica Steel, SVP of Business Development at Pandora told Joystiq. "It is technically possible, and we're glad that our listeners are helping us with that effort by making their preferences known."

So, let your preferences be known to Microsoft:

Microsoft – the manufacturer of the RRoD-prone Xbox 360 – has confirmed to Joystiq that it's discontinued its policy of providing a prepaid box with shipping label, more commonly referred to as the "coffin," for all Xbox 360 repairs. As of May 26 the policy was discontinued "in an effort to expedite the repair process." Customers will have the option of receiving an e-label to slap on the box they ship their bricked consoles in, but the days of the "coffin" are now over. A Microsoft spokesperson tell us, "Customers can now ship their consoles themselves using an e-label provided by Microsoft and do not need to wait for an empty box to be shipped to them."

Apparently Microsoft's accountants were getting tired of that budget line item signifying thousands of dollars spent on providing cardboard boxes to the millions of consumers with defective units (often multiple times). We likely should have seen the writing on the wall when we recently contacted Microsoft to find out what recourse customers had if customer service wasn't offering coffins.

Our advice: Mail it to Microsoft in whatever packaging you've got lying around (remember: they're going to fix it regardless) and save the special, custom-fit packaging they mail it back to you in. Odds are you'll use it again.

One of the more interesting questions that arose from Microsoft's keynote during last week's E3 was just how Last.fm would be implemented. Well, let Joystiq help clear the air of confusion, as Microsoft has dished out some screens depicting the interface for the soon-to-be Xbox 360-compatible music service. It looks pretty streamlined, if we may say so, with easily identifiable links to tags and artists similar to what you're currently listening to.

What we didn't know, however, is that Last.fm will also be a bridge between the Xbox 360 and its closest competitor, Sony's PS3. See the "Play Station" above? When the service releases, you'll be able to play Infamous on your Xbox 360. For reals!

We're privileged enough to get the chance to walk around and view the numerous multi-million dollar E3 booths, so we figured we'd share the experience. Albeit, condensed into 45 seconds. View Microsoft's E3 booth in the 45 Second Booth Tour vid that's embedded above and click through the photos below. If you can spot Cliff Bleszinski, we award you a (virtual) scrumptious brownie.

Microsoft's E3 2009 keynote wrapped a few days ago. Plenty of Xbox goodness was revealed, various celebs took the stage and a few Wii insults were served. And what better way to reminisce about this year's BIG Microsoft announcements than with photos! So, here's some keynote photography for you.

Know that both we and John Schappert give this photo gallery two thumbs way up!

Dragging our sleep deprived selves through the convention center, today, we came across a Halo'riffic surprise. An unidentified red Spartan - one that sorta resembled the hue of Red vs. Blue's Sarge - was seen drumming his lil' Spartan heart out at the Lego Rock Band booth. He was thumping to the beat of "The Final Countdown", four starred the tune and we're pleased to report that no drum set victory tea-bagging was performed. It's all about self control, kids.

The first 45 minutes of a platform holder's E3 media briefing follows the same formula: 1) Talk about the platform's position using fancy $10 words, 2) Show Data, 3) Spin, spin, spin! Today, Microsoft issued a press release that will (almost certainly) be discussed during its June 1, Pre-E3 media briefing.

According to the press release, the Xbox 360 has sold 30 million units worldwide and the Xbox Live platform has reached 20 million active members (Gold and Silver ratios not specified). On the dollar side, Microsoft states the Xbox 360 is responsible for "generating $5.9 billion in sales to date at U.S. retail" for third-party publishers, while U.S. residents have spent a collective total of $14.5 billion on the Xbox 360 at retail.

Microsoft also notes that since launching the NXE (New Xbox Experience), Xbox Live membership has jumped 136 percent, video downloads have doubled and game related content (DLC, XBLA) sales have increased by 70 percent. While Microsoft's 30 million units sold milestone is impressive, we can't help but wonder how many of those consoles are still fully functioning.

We always thought we knew how Achievements worked. You play a game, you unlock an Achievement, and an awesome wave of pleasure washes over you. It's a debilitating addiction that has caused some of us to be an embarrassment to everyone we know. Really, nobody should have Cabela's Safari on their list of games played.

But, we digress. There's a method to this addictive madness, and Xbox360Achievements has the scoop. Apparently, games now have a ceiling of 1,750, as opposed to the established 1,250. On top of this, there's also a maximum number of Achievements set at 80; however, savvy readers will know that the one exception to this is The Orange Box, which has 99 different Achievements.

There are also stipulations per yearly quarter now, with a maximum of 250 and 10 new Achievements allowed via updates. Microsoft has these stipulations to stop games from releasing, then adding a bunch of achievements right away to reach the max of 1,750. This instead promotes smaller, more consistent updates for a game over time, or one big update longer down the road. Since the quarters stack, a developer or publisher can perform one big update a year later with all sorts of Achievements packed in.

It's important to note that this all comes from "a source" and not Microsoft itself, who could only offer us this comment: "we regularly re-evaluate the guidelines for our Achievement system to reflect the quality and depth of Game Add-ons on Xbox 360, and appropriately reward players for their accomplishments in this new content."

Don't worry, kids. Despite the title, this episode of the Fancast is completely functional. Xav is on hiatus to finish up this "school" business he keeps telling us about, so you'd best get used to the absence of his dulcet tones. This week, we talk about the E74 error warranty extension, the Pirate Bay convictions and Bungie's shenanigans in our recent Mythic Halo 3 Challenge. And, of course, we take a look at the latest news and read some fanmail. Come, stay a while and listen.

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Hosts: Richard Mitchell (SenseiRAM), Dustin Burg (SuperDunners), Alexander Sliwinski (Sli Xander), Xav de Matos (Snypz)

Produced by Richard Mitchell

Music: Intro/Outro: "Electromooq" by Uma Floresta. "mines" by Deadlinks.

We discussed it at the end of Episode 111 of X3F yesterday, but we continue to hear from folks that Microsoft's repair support isn't offering "coffins" to return busted consoles. Just to retread this issue, Microsoft confirmed to us a couple weeks ago that postage-paid boxes should be offered in "all scenarios, regardless of the repair." Furthermore, "this policy is global, not region-specific."

To help those out who continue to have issues with this explicitly stated service, we've contacted Microsoft PR to ask what recourse customers have who are not being offered coffins. We will update as soon as we receive a response. We've placed the policy after the break for reference.

We don't think we're being presumptuous when we say that April 2 will forever be remembered as the day when the New New Xbox Experience went live. Just how epic is it going to be? Well, as you can see, we've chosen a picture of a totally sweet phoenix rising from the ashes to accompany the post so you tell us.

Grab a glass of iced tea, power on your 360, and get ready to address "interruption issues that some Xbox LIVE users may have experienced when playing a limited number of Xbox 360 games." Also new? Nothing. Sorry.

Brand new Avatar threads are now available for your virtual-selves. This week's additions include business clothes for men and women ... just in case your Avatar was planning on attending a job interview or something. One thing to note before you dress up for that next online date, change your shoes. Business suits and sneakers don't work.

Male Business Attire

• Blue Formal Shirt
• Moleskin Pants
• Waistcoat and Shirt
• Suit and Tie (pictured)
  

Female Business Attire

• Pencil Skirt
• Slacks
• Pinstripe Blazer
• Twin Set