Xbox Live Black Friday Sale

Posted by Deadly Cyclone at 2:28 PM 0 comments

To go along with the PSN sale we posted earlier, the Xbox Live Marketplace is having a Black Friday sale with a bunch of good games on sale. Major Nelson has the details, and the full list is below:

RezHD - 500 points
Arkadian Warriors - 500 points
Assault Heroes - 250 points
Catan - 500 points
Brian Challenge - 500 points
Boogie Bunnies - 500 points
Golf: Tee it Up - 500 points
GH3 Metallica "Death Magnet" Full Album - 1000 points
Crackdown - Getting Busy Bonus Pack - 250 points
Rock Band All that Remains Pack 01 - 500 points
Lips - The Remedy Song - 100 points
Gears of War 2 Last Day Theme - 180 points
Sonic Unleashed Theme - 180 points
Castle Crashers Premium Theme - 180 points

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Geometry Wars 2 Release Moved to July 30

Posted by Deadly Cyclone at 12:07 PM 0 comments

The release date for the upcoming Geometry Wars 2 has been moved up to July 30th. To go along with the announcement Bizzare and Activision have released a few wallpapers for fans to use and show support for the game.

The wallpaper sizes are 1600x1200 and 1680x1250.

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Dream-Build-Play Challenge 2008

Posted by Deadly Cyclone at 1:29 PM 0 comments

The Dream-Build-Play challenge is back for 2008 from Microsoft and XNA. The challenge asks normal people to get together teams of one to seven members and create a Xbox Live Arcade game using XNA Game Studio 2.0.

The deadline for submission is September 23, 2008 after which judges will look at each submission and pick the top four. The top four each will receive a monetary prize:

1st - $40,000
2nd - $20,000
3rd - $10,000
4th - $5,000

Winners will also receive the opportunity to receive a Xbox Live Arcade publishing contract.

To enter head over to the official contest page and register. When you register you receive a 12 month trail membership and when you submit your game you will receive a four month premium creators club membership so head over and start developing!

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Develop XNA Games, Sell Them On XBLA

Posted by Deadly Cyclone at 2:31 PM 0 comments

More news coming out of Microsoft's Gamefest 2008, commuhnity members can now develop games through XNA and sell them on the Xbox Live Arcade. Through the press release via Major Nelson, MS Chief Technology Officer Chris Satchell gave information on the new program:

"Not only are we democratizing game development with Xbox LIVE Community Games later this year, but we're creating an opportunity for aspiring developers to start their careers on the world stage. It is really a win for both developers and consumers because this will no doubt act as an incentive for game creators to continue to develop the best, most innovative games for Xbox 360."

The official XNA Creators Club page gives a more in-depth look at the idea.

"Starting this holiday, Xbox LIVE Community Games is your ticket to fame – and possibly fortune as millions of Xbox LIVE users now have the opportunity to view, buy, and play games that you create.

How it Works

The setup? Simple. The payments? Cash.

As a Premium member in the XNA Creators Club, you’ll be able to submit any complete Xbox 360 game you’ve created in XNA Game Studio to the Creators Club community at http://creators.xna.com, for peer review. Other Premium Creators will check to make sure your game is safe to play. If it is, you’ll set a price point – between 200 and 800 Points – that people will pay to download your game.

Once the game is reviewed and the price point set, you’re done. The game is listed on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, and you’ll get a check every quarter, for up to 70% of the game’s total revenue in your own currency. Depending on your game’s success, you may even have your game advertised on Xbox 360 and other Microsoft online properties.

Just imagine - your game in the hands of millions of Xbox 360 gamers around the world: that’s the power of Community Games."

So to recap, the price points of these games you can make and sell will be between 200 and 800 Microsoft points, and each quarter you will receive a check for up to 70% of the game's revenues. Sounds like a great community deal.

Head over to the official page for information on how to get started, as well as how to get into the creators club.

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Duke Nukem 3D for XBLA Closer Than Expected

Posted by Deadly Cyclone at 1:57 PM 0 comments

After being confirmed earlier this year, Duke Nukem 3d looks close to completion in a few recent snapshots of the game's information on the dashboard. The images show finished achievement screens, a placeholder price of 1337 points, and an overall felling of greatness. No official word on when the game will hit the arcade, but I would guess we will find out at E3. Hit the jump for the images.

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Fable 2 Pub Games coming to XBLA

Posted by Deadly Cyclone at 3:00 PM 0 comments

Want to get a headstart on gold collecting for Fable 2? Well you now have a chance thanks to Lionhead studios and Microsoft Game Studios. Via a press release, Fable 2 Pub Games for the Xbox Live Arcade were announced and dated for August prior to the game's release.

The press release gives a few details about the games;
"“Keystone,” which is a combination of Craps and Roulette, “Spinnerbox,” which is an updated take on slot machines, and “Fortune’s Tower,” which is a press your luck style of game. The download will also include a Shell, which is a tutorial of all three games. "

The pub games will retail for 800 Microsoft points, but will be available for free to those who pre-order the game. Also announced was a collector's edition of Fable to retailing for $79.99. So go out and pre-order now and gamble away your future Fable money!

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Digital Rights Management Tool Now Available for Xbox Users

Posted by Deadly Cyclone at 2:50 PM 1 comments

Those of you 360 owners who have shared the trouble of having to get a new console know how horrible it can be. Piled on to the horror of getting a new system is the fact that many of your Xbox Live Arcade games and other content would not work anymore because of errors in the Digital Rights Management (DRM). Well be happy, Microsoft has just released a tool to ensure you get back all of your content that you purchased on a previous system. All you have to do to regain access to your favorite content is visit the content license page on Xbox.com to start the DRM transfer process. Check out Major Nelson's blog or the DRM FAQ for more information or just watch the video below!


Video: Xbox 360 Content License Transfer Tool on Xbox.com

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Marc Whitten Gives Info on 360 Dash Update, DRM, & XBLA

Posted by Deadly Cyclone at 4:05 PM 0 comments

In an interview with Next-Gen.biz Xbox Live General Manager Marc Whitten talks about the future of the Xbox Live Arcade, a fix for the digital rights management issue, and the 2008 spring update for the Xbox 360. The summary of the interview basically states that there will not be a significant dashboard update this spring, a DRM fix is coming soon, and Microsoft is beginning to focus more on quality rather than quantity in the Xbox Live Arcade. Hit the jump for a few more details.

Whitten stated that while there will not be a major dashboard update this spring, the team is working on a fix for the major DRM problems users have had.
"So while most users will not notice any significant changes to the dashboard this spring, I can tell you that the team will be releasing a new digital rights management (DRM) tool next month that will allow you to better consolidate your licenses for downloaded content to a single Xbox and allow you the freedom to be able to play your content both online and offline."

Also, Microsoft will soon begin to de-list arcade games that earn a metacritic score below 65% and a conversion rate below 6% in a focus on quality control in the arcade, there will be a 3 month warning prior to the removal of any game. Whitten also confirms that Microsoft will soon open a first party development studio focused on media creation with the hopes that quality will become a much bigger factor in the arcade library. With the increase in quality comes a price increase as well;
"While the service has had a lot of success and now boasts over 130 titles, we think it is time to continue our focus on quality over quantity. This means that we need to allow developers more time and more space to make even bigger and better games. So we are officially increasing our XBLA game size limits dramatically from 150mb to 350mb. We are also giving publishers more flexibility in how they price their games and opening up a new 1600 Microsoft Points price point for some of these now bigger and better games."

It is yet to be seen how the community will react to this 1600 price point. The first game to utilize it launched Wednesday, Penny Arcade's first title was set at 1600 Microsoft points to the complaints of many. No need to sit and watch your 360 anymore in the coming weeks, no update is coming. Enjoy some games rather than waiting for that much needed four player private chat, we will see you in the Fall!

Full Interview via Next-Gen.biz

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Vigilante 8 coming to XBLA

Posted by Locklem at 11:33 AM 1 comments

Vigilante 8 is coming the the Xbox Live Arcade and is scheduled for this spring. Developed by Isopod Labs, it will be a remake of the original and feature online play with up to 8 players as well as additional content. First screens have been released. Hit the Link below to check them out.

I can't wait to use the Cow Puncher online!

Source: GAMERSYDE

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