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Lots of older Xbox Live Marketplace content discounted
Looking to add a spark of new life to your old, rusty Xbox 360 games? First of all, how did your games manage to get rusty? Did you have them bronzed? More importantly, a slew of discounts on older DLC items on the Xbox Live Marketplace might just what your floundering classics need.
RE5, Beautiful Katamari hit Games on Demand
As promised, both Resident Evil 5 and Beautiful Katamari are now available via Xbox Live Games on Demand. Resident Evil 5 is available everywhere except Korea, while Beautiful Katamari is available everywhere except India. The North American price for Resident Evil 5 is $29.99, with Beautiful Katamari going for $19.99. As usual, prices vary by region, so be sure to check your local details before plunking down the e-money. It's worth pointing out that this week also marks the release of the Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition DLC. In other words, you could actually own the entirety of the Gold Edition in a purely digital format (you know, if that's your thing). Strangely absent from Marketplace are the promised Resident Evil Avatar items, though we imagine those will be coming along shortly. Unless they're zombie outfits, in which case it may be a while before they shamble online. Shortcut: Download Resident Evil 5 to your Xbox 360 (via Xbox.com) Shortcut: Download Beautiful Katamari to your Xbox 360 (via Xbox.com)
Namco announces digital distribution expansion plans for back catalog
We know, we know -- you've spent the better part of today searching the internet for all those Namco classics no longer playable on the futurebox of choice in your living room. Thankfully, Namco Bandai just this morning announced intentions to "increase its digital distribution presence," effectively eliminating your wasted time problem. Aside from the news that two Katamari-based titles are headed to Xbox 360 and PlayStation Portable (Beautiful Katamari in "Q1 2010" and Me & My Katamari on December 22, respectively), today's communication did little for news on what else we can expect from the Japanese publisher on the digital front. That being said, the company specifically pointed out future titles heading to not just Xbox 360, but also a bolstering of titles in the PSone and PSP catalogs on the PlayStation Network. It appears as though we won't be hearing about other titles just yet, though, as the company said, "More titles to be announced in the coming months." But hey, at least you can stop all that internet scouring now, right?
Crackdown leaps into Games on Demand lineup
Games on Demand's latest additions are all about two types of orbs: agility and katamaris. The 6GB Crackdown is reasonably priced at $20, with the "Getting Busy Bonus Pack" DLC permanently reduced to 400 ($5). Those looking for a cheaper solution to obtaining Crackdown are advised to permanently borrow the copy their Spartan-obsessed buddies purchased for access to the Halo 3 beta years ago. If you happen to live in Japan and are interested in collecting a single, incredibly huge sphere, Beautiful Katamari is now available. Helping the Prince keep his egomaniacal father happy will cost 2000 in Japan -- there's no word on a global release yet.
TGS 2009: Kudo demoes Natal, invents dance craze
As you've probably guessed, the dearth of footage of actual Project Natal gameplay can be attributed to Microsoft's ban on filming the screen during demos of the technology. Hence, the gameplay-less video above, captured by Engadget during a Natal preview of Beautiful Katamari and Space Invaders Extreme. Watch as Project Natal creative director Kudo Tsunoda shows how one rolls giant sticky balls or pushes back extraterrestrial attackers using only one's limbs. Without seeing the screen, we can't be certain how well he's performing these activities, but we can certainly attest to his remarkable dancing prowess.
TGS 2009: Body-on: Project Natal (with Space Invaders Extreme!)
Explaining Project Natal's mantra of fun and accessibility can't be the easiest task in the world, especially since it has to be done while ricocheting about in front of a motion-detecting camera. And despite that, creative director Kudo Tsunoda makes it look easy, calmly elaborating on Natal's goals and features while he dances about in a room full of journalists. We've heard it before: Natal is Microsoft's sledgehammer, swung straight into the walls that years of button pressing and circle strafing have slowly erected around traditional gaming. We've seen similar attacks from Nintendo's Wii, as well as from the massive genre of the Instrument Protagonist, but Microsoft is hoping for much more than a dent. In the wall. Do you get it? It's like a metaphor and stuff. The bizarre problem with Natal in its early state is that it, um, works. The technology is clearly functional -- heck, it's vaguely magical -- which makes the absence of truly compelling software almost immediately disappointing. Anyone can simply hop in front of the camera, which never seems to stop and ask, "Who are you and where did you come from -- and why are you so fat compared to the last person?" You're recognized within seconds and can start playing a moment later. And then you slap flying balls. It's a bit of an unfair demand considering the product's not due until 2010, but the impatience is testament to the convincing nature of the technology itself. In the meantime, Microsoft is exploring Natal's tricks in two existing games: Beautiful Katamari and Space Invaders Extreme. %Gallery-48663%
For a limited time, popular 360 DLC gets discounted
Through the end of October, Microsoft is running an "Extended Play Download Days" promotion on the Xbox Live Marketplace, where they've selected and discounted a few sets of popular DLC.The discount priced DLC includes content from Beautiful Katamari, Forza 2, Guitar Hero III, Mass Effect and Oblivion with savings ranging from 25-60% off the original prices. That means you can get Mass Effect's Bring Down The Sky DLC for 300 (originally 400), Oblivion's Shivering Isles for 1600 (originally 2400) and GHIII's Foo Fighters Pack for 360 (originally 500). View the complete list of discounted Extended Play Download Days DLC after the jump.
Select Xbox Live DLC discounted until end of October
Microsoft is running an "Extended Play Download Days" promotion between now and the end of October, with select downloadable content discounted for six Xbox 360 titles. Sure, half of the promotion consists of Beautiful Katamari accessories and stages, but we've also got Forza Motorsport 2, Mass Effect, Guitar Hero 3, Lost Odyssey and a deep discount for Oblivion Shivering Isles (from $30 to $20). Not coincidentally, today also marks the first day of the new Xbox 360 price drop.
Born for Wii: Katamari Damacy
Katamari Damacy rolled onto the gaming scene in 2004, bristling with the unanticipated fury of a budget title with mass-market appeal. Damacy's success and popularity in the United States, where it has quickly achieved a devoted cult following, is remarkable for a game that's so distinctly ... Japanese. However, anyone who's played the game can instantly grasp the appeal -- a delicious layer of charm coats the inner goodness of straightforward, addictive gameplay, and that's why Katamari Damacy is this week's game that is Born for Wii.When the irresistibly alluring, slightly fruity King of All Cosmos accidentally destroys the heavens, his solution is a novel one -- roll up piles of junk and send them skyward to replace the fallen stars. Fortunately for us, he's far too lazy to do the grunt work himself. And that's where we come in as the tiny Prince, charged with the daunting task of restoring the stars to the sky with the aid of a magical ball (a katamari, of course) that sticks to damn near everything.%Gallery-25317%
Beautiful Katamari rumors roll to a stop
Remember all those old rumors of Beautiful Katamari making an appearance on the Wii? It looks like it may finally be time to lay them to rest. Wal-Mart seems to be e-mailing customers who pre-ordered the unconfirmed title and indicating that it has been canceled. Of course, whether or not there ever was anything to cancel is still up for debate.The title still shows up on Target's online site (with a June 3 date), as well as on GameFly.[Via PALGN]
What's the deal with Beautiful Katamari?
It's been a very long time since we've heard anything about Beautiful Katamari and the Wii. And, seeing as how the game has been out on Xbox 360 for quite some time now, we were done thinking that it would ever grace Nintendo's console. Thanks to select retailers' online shops, however, hope is slowly being restored.Major retail chains Target and Wal-Mart are both listing the game on their respective websites, while Buy.com lists the game with the same price ($29.99), but states it's "temporarily sold out." Even rental service Gamefly has a section up for a Wii and PS3 version of the game.So, what's the deal? Who knows at this point, but the Wal-Mart page points to an August 29th release, so perhaps we'll hear something soon? We're not going to get our hopes up like before, but we'd be lying if we said we didn't want this to happen.[Thanks, Zack!]Read - Wal-Mart listingRead - Target listingRead - Buy.com listingRead - Gamefly listing
Oops: Euro Katamari demo for Xbox Live Silver members only
Microsoft Europe's Xbox community manager Graeme Boyd dropped a "wee" note on his blog this morning to let everyone know that only Xbox Live Silver members can download the Beautiful Katamari demo (released in Europe, Australia and New Zealand just yesterday). Yep, you paying folk will have to wait. Boyd assures us that the situation will soon be resolved (maybe it already is), meaning, Gold members will get the exclusive access they've been promised, and Silver members will be back on the outside looking in. But, for the moment, all you freeloaders should revel in this brief episode of trading places.
Silver (not gold) get Beautiful Katamari demo
Yesterday, a new Beautiful Katamari demo released to Europe, New Zealand and Australia's XBLM (the same demo the US received back in August), but there seems to be a problem. Gold Live members don't have access to the demo, but silver members do. Oopsy.This demo release goes in direct contrast to Microsoft's XBLM membership rule where silver subscribers get free XBLM downloads a week after gold subscribers. You know, since a gold subscription costs moola. But, we guess, Beautiful Katamari is all about the silver, snubbing the gold and does what it wants. Or someone in charge of the Marketplace flipped the wrong switch, thus locking out gold subscribers. See what you get when you pay for Xbox Live? Have you learned your lesson yet?
Beautiful Katamari will roll into Europe this Feb
Earlier this morning, Atari announced that Europeans will be getting their share of Katamari ball rolling in a few weeks when Beautiful Katamari makes its way to Europe. Beautiful Katamari already released in both the US and Japan this past October and to be frank, we aren't exactly sure why it has taken an additional four months to come out in Europe. But that's how these things work sometimes and Europeans will get their Beautiful Katamari sometime in February, so we'll just have to deal. Though, one thing we can be sure of fellow European fanboys is that you'll never have so much fun rolling up cows, soda pop or people. Or at least we haven't, but maybe that's just how we roll.
Beautiful Katamari DLC is available, already? [update]
Update: Per the ever so observant commenters below, the new DLC is only available to Asia and Japan regions, so we guess this isn't all that important. But we're still angry about the cost ... okay?Just released some twenty-four hours ago is four brand new Beautiful Katamari downloads for you to experience and enjoy. And with any game that releases purchasable DLC to the Marketplace the same week the retail game launches, we end up feeling a bit cheated and annoyed. Because logic only tells us that the content should have been put on the retail disc, but instead the publishers wanted to make extra cash via the Marketplace. Grrr to you greedy companies, grrr to you! Ayway, we digress. The four downloadable missions include "Milky Way Constellations", "The Weaver Girl", "Shopping Spree" and "High-calorie Katamari" with each one costing 200 Microsoft points. Enjoy your new Beautiful Katamari DLC ... even if it should have been included in the game.
Shipping this week: big ball o' stuff edition
We're not sure how the hell it happened, but it seems like nary a week has gone by lately without at least one game that we have to buy. This week is no exception, as we finally get to sink our teeth (thumbs?) into Beautiful Katamari. Through some bizarre rending of the spacetime continuum -- portals may have been involved -- we have avoided every previous entry in the series (all 48 of them), so we're looking forward to rolling things up in our giant ball of stuff. Fear not if you're sick of Katamari though, because there are other games available too. Behold "The List." Tony Hawk's Proving Ground Beautiful Katamari The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion: Shivering Isles Expansion Avatar: The Burning Earth See? Look at all them games! Anyone plan on picking one of these up? (Come on. We know you're all about some Avatar.)
Ace Combat 6 and Beautiful Katamari go gold
Earlier today, Namco-Bandai made the announcement that both Beautiful Katamari and Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation have wrapped up development, went gold and are on track to make their respective release dates. Beautiful Katamari will be available on October 16th for the very beautiful price of $39.99 and Ace Combat 6 will be on retail shelves October 23rd for $59.99 or $149.99 for the flight stick collector's bundle. W00t, w00t!So, as we see it, these two games coupled with Orange Box, Virtua Fighter 5, Guitar Hero III and Jericho (just to name a select few) should leave Xbox 360 gamers with quite the busy and expensive October. Happy Halloween gaming everyone!Read - Beautiful Katamari goes goldRead - Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation goes gold
Katamari not named Beautiful coming to PS3
Namco got us all hot and bothered when it listed Beautiful Katamari heading to the PS3 on its website a few weeks ago. However, all hope of playing Beautiful Katamari was dashed when 1up confirmed with the game's director Jun Morikawa that the title will not be coming to Sony's console.Wait! Don't jump off the bridge yet; all hope is not lost! Morikawa said "the series will definitely be making its way to the console soon," which is great news for the junk-collecting faithful.So instead of getting just a port, we can now look forward to an entirely new entry in the series.
Japanese Beautiful Katamari trailer and achievements too
We've been feeling colorful, Japanese and quirky lately so we figured we'd look up some Beautiful Katamari news and good thing for us, there is news to be had. Recently released is a brand new Japanese Beautiful Katamari trailer (viewable above) that was released for TGS and it features some gameplay, trippy visuals and a little Japanese boy narrating the action. Actually, we aren't sure what the boy is talking about and it's kind of creepy, but a good kind of creepy.Also, Xbox360Achievements.org posted a complete list of achievements for the game and oddly enough they add up to a 1250 Gamerscore. Now, we aren't being naggy, but shouldn't the retail game's Gamerscore be capped at 1000 with an extra 250 possible via downloadable content? Unless they're including extra content in the retail version, but then again that doesn't make sense. Ah heck, it's 1250 and we don't know why. That's about it for Beautiful Katamari news, now your day will be 219% happier.Read - Beautiful Katamari TGS TrailerRead - Beautiful Katamari achievements
Beautiful Katamari page rolls over Wii, picks it up [update 1]
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo_wii/Beautiful_Katamari_s_product_page_lists_Wii_as_supported_platform'; Though it isn't as official as a press release, Bandai Namco Games' product page for Beautiful Katamari lists the Nintendo Wii as a supported platform, leaving the waggle-fied version's release date at "to be determined."Rumors about Beautiful Katamari coming to the Wii have been fluttering around our heads, like ill-behaved imps, since the title was first announced, poking us with miniature spears and doing their damndest to pull our attention away from our daily tasks. To be honest, it's hard for us to get excited about the gossip anymore.Four Katamari Damacy titles have already been released or announced since the original game's debut only three years ago, lending oversaturation comparisons between the action puzzler and Capcom's Viewtiful Joe. Mixed impressions for Me and My Katamari on the PSP and Beautiful Katamari's Xbox 360 demo haven't hyped us for a potential Prince of Cosmos appearance on the Wii either.[Update 1: Info pertaining to the Wii has since been removed from the product page, suggesting that its inclusion was either a misinformed error on Bandai Namco Games' part or a detail that the developer is still waiting to officially announce. You decide.]
