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Part of Microsoft's Gamerscore Blog team let go
Earlier today, Microsoft announced their layoff plans that include 1,400 job cuts effective immediately. Sadly, we now have a few faces to put to those job cutting numbers as we just caught word that two members of Microsoft's Gamerscore Blog have been let go.Chris Paladino and Nelson Rodriguez both Twittered about the dismal news, with Paladino revealing that he is "a casualty" and adding that "if anyone needs a video producer/host/pr/marketing/community/numedia guy give a yell." Rodriguez, former host of the Achievement Junkie podcast, also revealed the bad news, asking "what happened to the AJ feed. Seems like it disappeared. Time to start fro m scratch. ;-)"We never thought that the retiring of the Gamerscore Blog would result in job cuts, seeing how we were under the impression that the GSB team would be working on other projects within' the Xbox division. Best of luck Paladino and Rodriguez on your future endeavors. What a craptacular economy we live in.
Gamerscore Blog is retired, closed for good
Sad news on the Xbox community front. Our Microsoft friends over at the Gamerscore Blog recently revealed that their blog will be no more and is officially retired. Microsoft has made the decision to end the GSB in an effort to focus on "community outreach through Xbox.com and through the Xbox dashboard." From what we understand, the GSB crew will be helping create content for Inside Xbox and other projects.On behalf of Xbox 360 Fanboy, we want to express our sincere gratitude to the entire Gamerscore Blog team. We recognize all the hard work they've done over the years to keep gamers informed and we appreciate all their Xbox community building efforts. They'll be missed and we hope to see their familiar faces and personalities in their upcoming projects. Here's to you GSB (raises glass of ginger ale), you'll be missed.Also, if you're up for it, we think it'd be appropriate to visit the GSB one last time to post a comment telling the team how much their contribution to the Xbox community was appreciated.
Molyneux: Fable II online co-op patch may make launch
Lionhead CEO Peter Molyneux is saying that Fable 2's online co-op could be available on launch day. Microsoft's Gamerscore Blog announced over the weekend that the feature would not be available at launch, but should be auto-patched in later, hopefully within a week.Speaking at a video game festival in Paris yesterday, Molyneux allegedly said that Fable 2 would include online co-op at launch, though clarified today that he could not confirm the timing, saying the team had an "ambition" for a day one patch. Having that wiggle room of a week would probably be best for Lionhead, but we're happy to take the online patch at launch too.
Fable 2 ships non-line, online co-op to be added later
Remember at E3 2008 when Peter Molyneux dropped the co-op over Xbox Live bomb during the Microsoft Press Briefing? Good times. Oh by the way, Fable 2 doesn't ship with online co-op. Microsoft's community team at the GamerScore Blog have dropped the news that Fable 2 will only ship with a single-player and local co-op experience but no need to grab your pitchforks and rioting boots because online will be added into the game later via an auto update. We suppose some people will be upset about it but considering the GSB team expects the co-op to be added soon after release, Microsoft hopes for an update within a week or release, we aren't freaking out yet. However, considering most reviews will take the omission into account we wouldn't be surprised to see Fable 2 take a few dings on the Metacritic front. If that means anything to you, at all.Gamerscore Blog ends the post by sending over a thank your from developer Lionhead for your understanding and patience. The team at Lionhead are very excited to have you play their grand RPG, so much so that the game went gold before, you know ... it was finished.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Gamerscore Blog's message to Japanese gamers
Microsoft needs help in Japan. OK, let's not mince words here -- they need a bona fide miracle. While sales are sluggish (that's called an understatement), Microsoft continues to approach the Eastern market with an assortment of games that appeal to the majority of their tastes. In response, the region sometimes sees a spike in sales but overall the Xbox 360 rarely sells more than a few thousand units per week (and this is an overstatement).Enter Team Gamerscore Blog. Attempting to communicate directly with the Japanese gamer, the team at GSB have created a a video that hopes to entice gamers into the Xbox 360 camp. How? With personality, that's how!We know some of the of comments to this video will be negative for the attempt but trying this approach to the market couldn't hurt right? Microsoft is essentially a faceless corporation in the East and putting some nice people in front of a camera talking about games could help remove the negative stigma the system has in the region. Or you know, maybe it won't.[via Gamertag Radio]
Gears of War getting price drop, special edition emerges June 24
With Emergence Day: Part Deux on the horizon, Gears of War on Xbox 360 and PC will experience a pricing curb stomp on June 4th, with the Xbox 360 version going down to $40 and the PC version dipping to $30.If you haven't jumped into the Gears of War emulsion pool yet, it might be worth waiting a couple more weeks until June 24, when the special two-disc version of Gears is released for $40. The special edition contains the multiplayer map packs, along with several other extras (listed after the break). This new Xbox 360 version will not have the PC-exclusive Brumak battle, but we can wait until this holiday for GoW2, when the longing for a Brumak showdown on our Xbox will become but a distant memory.
Gamerscore Blog likes Vegas 2 a little too much
While most of the media focuses on whether or not games can turn innocent children into mindless killing machines, there is a much more dangerous psychosis that affects fully grown men. It's the kind of thing that makes a man stalk the toy aisle every time he goes shopping with his significant other, the sort of thing that compels him to buy the newest Nerf toy. Case in point: the latest video from Gamerscore Blog. It seems the boys in Redmond (we don't see what's her name anywhere) have become a little too fond of Rainbow Six Vegas 2. Don't take our word for it though. Watch the video -- handily embedded after the break -- and judge for yourself.
GSB sponsors In-N-Out community burger feast
Nothing brings a group of Xbox 360 community members together like the promise of a free stretch-Hummer limo ride to go grab free grub at In-N-Out Burger. It works everytime.The Gamerscore Blog and Major Nelson invited any 360 community member in the area to a Wednesday Meet and Eat at a local In-N-Out to end CES with an eating frenzy. Around 40 people showed up, stories were shared, memories were made (pictures here) and faces were stuffed. And after all was eaten and consumed the GSB crew picked up the $225 tab (you better pay next time Major) as everyone was whisked back home with full stomachs. These kind of 360 community gatherings are ever so awesome and it's cool to see that the Microsoft crew was willing to take some time out of their schedule to treat the community to a free burger. Oh and nice hats everyone. Rockin' the In-N-Out paper hat is classic.
Second community picture pack features All Games
In their second attempt at promoting world peace among the gaming community, the Gamerscore Blog just released its second community gamer pictures set featuring All Games Interactive.This AGI set of fifteen community gamer pictures includes website favorites like Evil Avatar, XBL Radio, All Games Radio and much more. And just like the first community picture pack, these little puppies are grouped together as a free download and can be found in the new releases section of the Marketplace. Also, just like the first community picture pack, X3F isn't on the list. But don't worry fanboys, we're wearing down the Gamerscore Blog crew with our insistent emails, daily phone calls and constant text messaging tactics aimed at getting an X3F gamer pic in one of these sets. We have a feeling lucky number three will show results.
Video: GSB deals with an uptight COG crew
We always enjoy it when the Gamerscore Blog puts their heads together to produce creative video masterpieces (Portal anyone?) And this week they let us in on the headaches and stresses they've incurred the past few weeks having to house the COG crew until Gears of War PC launched. Because we all know how upfront and in your face Fenix can be when not killing Locusts. But thankfully, Gears released yesterday, so GSB is free and clear of the Coalition's mood swings. Though, we still wonder how many copies of Viva Pinata: Party Animals they have on hand. Three, four ... maybe they're just out?
Working from home isn't the same with portals
Oh Gamerscore Blog. Is there anything they won't do? The Microsoft community guys posted this video, poking fun at their newest crew member Nelson "Achievement Junkie" Rodriguez. Perhaps you find yourself staring at your office wall -- or worse, your cubicle wall -- and wishing you could work from home (if you've gotten that far, you probably wish you didn't have to work at all, but that goes counter to this post, so roll with it, okay?). That sounds great in theory, but with the advent of portals, working from home takes on horrifying new properties. And you thought it was bad having to give your boss your phone number.Is this clip a thinly veiled comment on the whole Xbox 360 Arcade thing? We submit that it is. After all, we've already seen it. It's right there.[Via Joystiq]
The best way to manage your XBL friends list
Our good friend Chris Paladino over at the Gamerscore Blog decided to write up an article explaining how he handles his ever bloating Xbox Live friends list. Chris, being a high status celeb, receives numerous friend requests which constantly pushes him towards the 100 friends limit and so often he has to remove people to keep it around 95. But how does Chris choose who he boots off his sacred friends list? With a spreadsheet, of course! He keeps track of EVERY time he plays with a friend, what game, random notes, and all kinds of other stats. Then, when it's time to remove some friends, he uses his spreadsheet proof to nix those who he hasn't played with and sends them a message stating that they no longer can fit on his list. Props to you Chris, you have quite the organized system.Our friends lists requires weeding from time to time and we can safely say our list management is far from as organized as Chris'. But what about you? Do you have a hard time keeping your XBL friends list below 100 or are you rocking an exclusive list with 10 or so? Please, share your friends list strategies, etiquette and how you trim the fat when the fat needs trimming.
Microsoft defends Pac-Man CE pricing
During the Gamerscore Blog's Lunchtime Conversation, Xbox group product manager Aaron Greenberg defended the pricing for Pac-Man Championship Edition. Greenberg went on to say that Pac-Man CE is not a simple port of the old game, but is almost a sequel in it's own right with new gameplay, artwork, music and HD implementation added. So, he feels that the 800 Microsoft points that the game costs is more than reasonable for what you're getting.And if you're a regular Fancast listener, you'll know that we were all impressed by the new Championship Edition and most of us were happy to plop down our Microsoft points. We also agree that it's more of a sequel than anything else, but it's ultimately up to you if you think 800 points is worth a new (and extremely fun) Pac-Man experience. So, is the pricing overkill or is it in line with other Arcade offerings?
Pac-Man community event in NYC
To celebrate the Pac-Man World Championship the Gamerscore Blog crew is hosting an exclusive 80's party in NYC this Tuesday, June 5th. The event will run from 2-5:00PM with some of the Gamerscore Blog crew, Trixie, Major Nelson, and other community members attending to play Pac-Man, mingle, and have a drink or two. And did we mention there will be prizes too? If you live near NYC and want to attend, head on over to the Gamerscore Blog to RSVP for the event. It's free, but tickets are limited.Have fun everyone who attends and be sure to wear your favorite 80's clothing. Hypercolor tshirts anyone?
Gamerscore Blog's Road Tour stops in Miami
The other day the Gamerscore Blog gang rolled into Miami as part of their road tour to spread Xbox 360 love around the world ... or at least in North America . Their pregame show involved such activities as visiting the beach, playing in the sand, and spying on the police from their hotel window. But they finally decided to make their way to the event and as you can see from their pictures, they had plenty of fun. Even more exciting is that, for the first time ever, we have video proof that these events actually occur and are not part of a staged Microsoft PR campaign. The embedded video above is courtesy of Gamertag Radio as Godfree goes deep within' the bowels of the Miami event to show everyone the fun that we aren't privelaged enough to have. Sidenote: Anyone thinking they could pwn all the attendees at Guitar Hero II?
Gamerscore Blog's Road Tour stops in DC [update 1]
The Gamerscore Blog crew is still on their road tour across North American and still having fun. Today they set up shop in Washington DC with the official event kicking off this evening. And to pass the time between now and tonight they've been seeing the sights, visiting the White House, and getting a feel for what DC has to offer even getting a look at Mr. Lincoln himself. We're sure we'll be seeing more photos trickle in from their DC festivities later on tonight, so keep an eye out for secret XBLA clues or peripheral appearances. We hope everyone who RSVP'ed has a blast at the GSB event tonight, we're with you all in spirit.Update 1: Doh! Their blog post was from yesterday, which means the DC event already happened, which means all the photos they have up are all you're going to get. It's Friday, what can we say ...
Chatpad seen in Chicago at GSB Road Tour stop
Charles Huseman over at Gaming Nexus attended GamerscoreBlog's Road Tour event in Chicago, and got some hands-on time with the Chatpad, although not the retail version that'll hit shelves this summer. Charles said the Chatpad doesn't get in the way at all or messes up the weight balance of the controller. He also noted that the buttons are backlit for those who may be texting in the dark, with minimal impact on the wireless controller's battery life. Still no word on pricing or when we'll be getting it this summer. The special headset packed with the Chatpad has yet to be seen. Either way, exactly 1/3 of X3F staff (We bet you can't guess who) is all about the IMing whilst gaming, to the point of having a USB keyboard handy to make use of the overlay window for quick conversations. Have any of you slowly warmed up to the idea of IMing while you game? Or would an accessory like this be necessary for you to make the jump?
Gamerscore Blog's Road Tour stops in Chicago
Our good friends over at the Gamerscore Blog have officially kicked off their North American Road Tour '07 with a stop in Chicago on Sunday. And while in Chicago they got a chance to check out the silver bean, go to a Cubs game, and most importantly spent some time with the Xbox community playing some games. And if you're curious, they posted all of the Chicago fun (in picture form) on their Flickr account where we spotted a pic of XBLA game Track & Field.We didn't get a chance to attend the event, but we were wondering if any of our fellow fanboys made it to Chicago for the good times. If so, did you have a crazy amount of fun hanging out with the Gamerscore Blog crew? We hear they're cool kittens.
What more do you want from the XBLA?
Our title says it all. The Gamerscore Blog wants to know what you think the XBLA needs to do to make the overall experience better. They want to know your ideas on what games you'd like to see, what features should be included, what genres you like, and even what promotions you enjoy. They're open to hearing pretty much any ideas that you have. So, if you're a huge Arcade fan, be sure to comment on their post telling them (and the big cheeses over at Microsoft) what you think the XBLA needs. And don't forget to mention that you want more free games, because free games rock!
Traveling the US: Gamerscore Blog's Road Tour '07 [update 1]
The entire Gamerscore Blog crew (John, Tony, Chris and Sara) are packing up and hitting the road for their first ever Gamerscore Blog North American Road Tour '07. Why you ask? Well, to see new faces, mingle, and meet the Xbox 360 community. It's one of those "let's travel North America, play games and discuss gaming" adventures. They'll be stopping in five different cities around the Americas starting with Chicago on May 20th. Interested in meeting the gang? You'll have to RSVP and be somewhat active in the Xbox community either with a blog or some sort of Xbox connection. Full details on how to sign up are posted after the jump. Oh, if you're already signed up and are going to meet the Gamerscore Blog folks could you please do our dirty work and give John a hard time? Don't worry, he can take it.Update 1: Fixed the exclusive US talk. And since when is Toronto in Canada?
