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Coming Soon: TV and Movies on your 360
You've been dreaming about it, you've pondered the idea, and come November 22, 2006 it'll be here. Soon you'll have the ability to download HD/SD movies and television shows from the Xbox marketplace for a small fee. Microsoft has partnered with CBS, MTV, TBS, UFC, NASCAR and Warner Bros. to make content available via download off of the XBLM, over 1000 hours of content by the end of the year! Just check out the list below of some of the content you'll have access to this year ... start drooling fellow fanboys! - "Robot Chicken" and "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" from Adult Swim - "CSI," "Survivor" and "Star Trek" from CBS - Emmy and Peabody award-winning "South Park" and "Chappelle's Show" from COMEDY CENTRAL - "The Real World" and "Pimp My Ride" from MTV - "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and "SpongeBob SquarePants" from Nickelodeon - "Skyland" and "The Nicktoons Network Animation Festival" from Nicktoons Network - "M:i:III," Nacho Libre" and "Jackass: The Movie" from Paramount Pictures - "Carpocalypse" and "Raising the Roofs" from Spike TV - "Race Rewind" provided by NASCAR.COM -Select episodes of the original season of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality series and the "UFC: All Access" shows from the UFC - "Breaking Bonaduce" and "Hogan Knows Best" from VH1 - "The Matrix," "Superman Returns" and "Batman Forever" from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment [Thanks, everyone who sent this in.]
Family Guy themes and pictures on XBLM
A bunch of Family Guy content hit Marketplace just now. No, not content for the mediocre game, content about the good show. The content itself, though, is not so good; luckily, it's free. The theme inexplicably uses an orange background, washing out the beloved Family Guy characters in the background. Why Fox chose not to color the characters is a mystery, too. Now, Family Guy gamer pictures, that's something everybody can get behind, right? The pictures aren't bad, but it's obvious they were rushed. That, or nobody at Fox really gave a crap what they looked like. The pictures look like assets that were re-sized and not optimized in any way, making them pixelated and jagged. The one of Brian (the dog) is alright, and maybe one of the Stewie pics. Unfortunately, not even the trailer is very satisfying, as it's for the DVDs in general and not the upcoming volume 4. Maybe we're just picky, but Fox could have done better with this.Do you agree? Disagree? Not care either way?
Eragon demo flaps onto XBLM, impressions
A demo for Eragon -- the "official" game of Fox's upcoming movie -- has hit Marketplace. Now, let's get one thing straight. I am completely unfamiliar with this material. I have not read the books, and so I can only judge the game for itself. For any Eragonites out there, please keep that in mind. With that out of the way, the demo is pretty "meh." The first thing anyone will notice is that this is obviously not a 360 game. In fact, it barely looks like a PS2 game. The water in particular looked god-awful. The game actually reminded me a little of Soul Reaver with slightly more detail (and worse combat). As far as gameplay is concerned, it's pretty much derivative of the EA Lord of the Rings games. There are plenty of combos with long animations, projectiles, and limited magic. You get to call in your dragon for a few scripted bits of destruction, but that's it. There is no dragon riding in the demo. Beyond that, I couldn't help but be struck by a few things. One, I have this badass dragon, but I'm killing all these baddies myself? Also, I find it a little odd that one arrow manages to take out your dragon friend about halfway through the demo, but it takes five arrows for me to kill one human archer. Weird. All in all, the demo isn't terrible but I doubt it will convince you to pay sixty bucks for the retail version; it might be a decent rental, though.
PDZ gets new maps, world still turns
It's been a long time since Perfect Dark: Zero received any downloadable content. It should come as a joyful surprise to loyal fans then, that there is a new map pack available for download on Marketplace. It should come as an even better surprise that the content is free. The pack contains two new maps, Facility and Ruin. Both maps are based on classic maps from previous games. Just curious, but who's still playing PDZ? Any die-hard fans out there? Tell us what has made the game appealing for so long. Will these new maps convince lapsed fans to go back?
Marketplace videos best if watched by ...
Morgon at MyGamercard.net noticed an interesting new "feature" in the recent fall dashboard update. Videos now have a new label which reads, "Does not expire." Obviously, this label isn't there just to remind us how great it is that, unlike milk, digital video doesn't expire. No, this label portends only one thing: future Marketplace content will expire. We've already seen this happen once with the Table Tennis demo. We've also seen the recent delay in content for Silver Live members versus Gold Live members. Now it looks like we'll only be seeing more of this activity. Naturally, it makes marketing sense to place an expiration date on certain things. The Table Tennis demo, for example, gave you enough of the game that you really didn't have to buy it at all. Still, what other things will get expiration dates? Videos? XBLA trial games? MGC puts forth the idea that videos of television shows might expire, thus prompting you to buy the DVD. Allow us to add another nefarious twist: will there ever be pay content that expires? EA's magic 8 ball says, "Signs point to yes."[Thanks to MGC's Sherveen and KineticOnline]
Fall Update: Textual healing
Buried in the slew of Fall Update features is an answer to my personal pet peeve: Improved visual display of text in themes. I seriously hope this fix makes a difference because hard-to-read text really discourages the use of themes. This could turn a novelty into something practical. What other less flashy upgrades do you think will have a big impact on your Xbox 360 experience?
Dash update, details officially revealed
It's official folks, details of tomorrow's dash update have been confirmed. Oh yeah, and the dash update will be happening tomorrow. Everything we reported earlier today is true. New features include 1080p resolution for games and movies Video playback from data CDs and DVDs, flash drives, even 360 memory units Video streaming with Windows XP and Media Player 11 (sounds familiar ...) Live Arcade enhancements Support for XNA created games The Arcade will now populate almost instantly, which means you won't have to wait for your favorite game to pop up on the list. Another interesting feature is the "Tell a friend" feature, which sends a buddy a message that tells them about a certain Live Arcade game. And the best feature (one we also predicted earlier) is a a feature that automatically downloads the latest trial versions of Xbox Live Arcade games.We've been waiting for this for a long time, especially the video streaming, and we'll be back tomorrow with a full report. See the full press release after the break.
Halo Trilogy theme on XBLM
A Halo 3 theme is now available on Marketplace for 150 MS Points or as a bonus with the new Halo faceplate out tomorrow. Here's the official description:The Halo Trilogy dashboard theme is a must-have for serious Halo fans. Available as a free gift with the purchase of the Halo 3 Xbox 360 faceplate, or right now as downloadable marketplace content, the theme features never-before seen scenes from Bungie Studio Halo 1, 2 and 3. Each blade presents a re-imagined view from the Halo universe, including all three iterations of the Master Chief's iconic Spartan armor, from past, present and future.Buyers please weigh in with your review. Does everybody agree that just about all of the game-related themes on XBLM make the text too hard to read?
Rift widens between Silver and Gold XBLA memberships
Xbox Live's Major Nelson announced on Wednesday that the newest Gears of War trailer was available online ... to Gold subscribers only. This marks the first time that exclusive XBL content has been delayed (not denied) for the free Silver members, and it's just the tip of the iceberg. Nelson commented on his blog entry after mixed reaction from readers, "So here is the deal ... Silver members WILL get access to this ... probably in about a week. This is going to happen more and more (Gold getting things before Silver) so you may want to think about upgrading if you want all the latest and greatest trailers, demos etc."It's not really a big deal at this point, because the trailer was available online within seconds of appearing on the XBLM. The real problem starts when Gold members start getting demos and downloadable game content before Silver members do; perhaps, eventually, the Silver members won't get them at all. Microsoft will find themselves treading a fine line between how much a Silver member will put up with not having, and how much a Gold member needs to feel justified in paying the cost for their features. It's important to note that this trailer is most likely a trial run by Microsoft (through Major Nelson) to see how things go, since it's not even true "exclusive" content. Nelson (can we just call him Larry, already?) admits that this is the same commercial played last week at X06 Canada. So where's the real super exclusive platinum fanboy stuff, eh?The point is that Microsoft is finally treating the Gold level like what it is supposed to be, a step above the Silver membership. Silver members don't pay for anything; it's a free service meant to provide an "introduction" to XBL. Gold members pay for additional features and, with it, they expect some perks to be delivered. While it's limited to trailers right now, expect to see it expand to demos, downloadable content, and anything else Microsoft can think about leveraging for more subscribers to make the jump up to the next tier while their model for microtransactions seems to be falling apart with the inmates running the asylum.And just because we love you, check out that Gears trailer after the jump in SD, or click here for the HD version.[Thanks, E.J.]
Newsflash: Gamers love demos
Market research firms are known for stating the obvious, but in some cases it's worth repeating: Gamers love demos. More pearls of wisdom from the NPD Group's Gamer Drivers Purchase Report: The availablity of a demo plays an important role purchase decision, particularly for the casual gamer. When buying a gift for others, price is the most important consideration. Reviews matter more to the hardcore audience TV, print and online advertising is a necessity There's little doubt that, for broad gaming public, the ability to download demos is the number one advance made by the Xbox 360. Do you think a decent demo is now a neccessity for all but the most elite titles?
Major Nelson on G4: microtransactions "are about choice"
Last night on G4's Attack of the Show, host Kevin Pereira held a debate between Major Nelson and 1UP's Andrew Pfister on the much-discussed topic of microtransactions. During the segment, entitled The Loop, Major Nelson pressed that it is "about choice," while Pfister spoke for the gaming community when he said that "it doesn't appear that anybody is in control of the situation." With the recent Godfather and Lumines debacles, we're inclined to agree.Unfortunately, the segment's lead-in was awkward and the debate was way too short for either side to make an argument, but what we heard was engaging. Please, G4, give The Loop its own half-hour time slot; we'd watch it. Continue reading for the video.
David Jaffe compares Xbox Live to Ashlee Simpson
David Jaffe is a fiery voice who's not afraid to speak his mind. Speaking to Newsweek's N'Gai Croal, Jaffe took some jabs at Microsoft's Xbox Live service and its penchant for retro material.While discussing Jaffe's upcoming PS3 download title Criminal Crackdown, he and Croal entered an extended metaphor comparing game format to music. It is at this point where Jaffe, under the guise that God of War is Opera in this analogy, remarked that Xbox Live is more like the pop stylings of Ashlee Simpson, or of an oldies station (hence Pac Man and XBLA's other retro titles). Criminal Crackdown, on the other hand, is closer to the Beatles. We're assuming post-Revolver era, as "I wanna hold your hand" really isn't much better than the bubblegum pop of today.While we love to see Jaffe take part in inane allegories that are usually reserved for Iwata and Kojima, we can't help but want to extend this metaphor further, throwing in some Mizuguchi and Guitar Hero -- we'll save it for the comments. As all of Jaffe's titles have been published by Sony, we're not surprised he's supportive of his financial backer and antagonized by their competitor. But invoking Ashlee Simpson? That's just cruel.Jaffe also used his interview time to discuss his feelings on God of War sequels, noting that if "it was up to me , he would have fallen off the mountain in the first game and actually died."See Also:Jaffe abandons PSP, releasing quick-turnaround PS3 title
Major Nelson talks microtransations on G4
Major Nelson was featured on Attack of the Show last night. During "The Loop," Major Nelson discussed microtransactions with Kevin Pereira and Andrew Pfister, producer of 1UP Yours. The segment was too short, which is regrettable because it was actually very good. In fact, we'd love to see "The Loop" made into its own show. Naturally, Lumines was brought up. It was declared dishonest by Andrew, whereas Major Nelson reminded the audience that "it's about choice." They also briefly touched on EA's recent Godfather scandal. If you haven't heard, EA is charging 360 users for cheats. What's scary is that the cheats you can buy on Marketplace are available as cheat codes in the Xbox version. In other words EA actually removed the cheat codes from the 360 version just so they could make consumers pay for them. Unfortunately, the commentators just aren't given enough time to properly debate the issue. Here's hoping G4 sees the potential in this segment and gives "The Loop" some more air time. Watch the video after the break.
Tony Hawk P8 demo coming tomorrow!
You heard it, folks. A Tony Hawk's Project 8 demo will be available on Marketplace tomorrow, October 20th. The demo will give you access to many of the games new features, including the much lauded "Nail the Trick" -- think The Matrix meets skateboarding. Also accessible will be the "Filmer" mode, in which you follow a cameraman and complete whatever tricks he wants to see. As if that weren't enough, there will also be what Activision calls "Spot Challenges," which are random goals that can be completed in the game world. All in all, it sounds like a pretty meaty demo. It's also the only place you'll be playing Project 8 for quite a while. We've said it before and we'll say it again, you gotta love Xbox Live.
Lumines Live is lacking in modes
So we paid the 1200 MS points ($15) for Lumines Live, knowing we will later have to purchase the Advanced Pack (600 MS points) to complete the deal. We load it up and play a couple of rounds in basic mode (we're proud of our 27,000 high score). We know advanced mode won't work yet for aforementioned reasons. We play mission mode ... for five levels. The rest will cost extra. We play puzzle mode ... for five levels. The rest will cost extra. We play VS CPU ... for ten levels. The rest will cost extra. According to the obnoxious messages, XBLM will soon be home to a Mission/Puzzle pack and a VS CPU pack. Assuming those cost about as much as the Advanced Pack (600 MS points apiece), we're looking at a total package of 3,000 MS points ($37.50). For reference, the Lumines II for PSP and Lumines Plus for PS2 are only $29.99 each. The Xbox Live version, then, is only worth it if you have no interest whatsoever in two of the extra packs. Microtransactions and a la carte gaming are the new business models (one that EA has embraced with open wallets), but we don't always have to like it. Make up your own mind if $7.50 more is worth the Xbox Live experience.
Oblivion gets Nine Knights, expansion set on Nov 21 [update 1]
Bethesda has announced its eigth mini-expansion for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The latest download, Knights of the Nine will feature a new faction you can join, a sorcerer-king (and demonic minions, of course) that you can defeat, and the holy armor and weapons of the Divine Crusader to take for yourself. No price has been announced. Knights of the Nine will be available for download through the usual channels (XBLM, OblivionDownloads.com) as well as a boxed expansion set (for PC only) that includes all the downloadable content (currently valued at $13.53, or $11.54 sans Horse Armor). The PlayStation 3 version of Oblivion will come with Knights of the Nine. It was originally thought that this quest would be "exclusive," but we all know how finicky that word can be.[Thanks, PaleGringo][Update 1: clarified boxed package is PC only. Sorry Xbox gamers!]
Gears demo is coming ... but will it cost you? [update 1]
[Update: Epic's Mark Rein shot this (admittedly unlikely) rumor down himself writing, "Just saw the dog tag image with the 'Microsoft points.' It just isn't true. There is no demo coming out before the game ships and I have no idea if we'll do one after the game ships or not. Right now there are no plans to do one as I said earlier in this thread. I have asked Microsoft to take that image down." This still doesn't explain why the Gears of War demo "dog tag" exists in the first place if there are no plans to make a demo, but at least Rein intimates there are no plans to charge for said demo.]Microsoft plans to promote their upcoming killer app with a playable demo, distributed digitally using their Xbox Live network. Sure, we're not certain when they'll do it -- all signs are pointing to a post-Gears release -- but we all knew they would. Now it's a question of why buy the cow (Gears of War in this case) when you can get the milk for free (that would be the Gears of War demo). If Gears doesn't have any trouble selling, best to sit on that demo until it does. Still with us?Well, one potential answer might be to get that delicious milk out to market sooner, but not give it away after all (we're still talking about the Gears demo here). A page on the British Xbox.com site very clearly lists "Gears of War demo" as an example of "content downloads in Xbox Live Marketplace," right next to pay content (like Joust, Pac-Man, and Frogger) and XBL currency (like oh, say, Microsoft Points logos and cards). Now, you'll recognize the Gamertag pics at the bottom are the freebies, so it's not like the image is comprised solely of pay-only items ... so is this simply an unfortunate layout?As for when that demo is coming, it wasn't released after Epic's first big tease (that was the retail date), or their second (which ended up being a new website), but we know of a couple 360 owners who wouldn't mind getting some free milk. We've contacted Microsoft to get their response on the possibility of paid demos and the plans for a Gears demo. [Thanks lord hobo; via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Tiger Woods content is cheating
We swear, we don't just come to work wondering how we can hate on EA. Honestly, we don't, but we couldn't help pointing something out. There's a new batch of downloadable content for Tiger Woods 07. Sure, everyone loves downloadable content, but this new "content" stinks.Unlock Golfer:-200 pointsPro Shop – 300 pointsMaxed out Player – 200 pointsUnlock Courses – 200 pointsAs a quick explanation, all of these downloads unlock content in the game. The thing is, it unlocks content in the game that you can unlock just by playing it. What it comes down to is that EA is basically charging us for cheat codes. You want every single golfer in the game, but you don't want to unlock them yourself? That'll be $2.50. Maybe you'd like to have every item in the Pro Shop. No problem: $3.75. Can't be bothered to raise your golfer's stats? Easy, we'll max him out for $2.50. And of course, what good is a maxed out golfer if he can't play on those pesky locked courses. We'll just unlock those for another $2.50.Now, we're not going to completely condemn this. Many people have complained that they don't have time to unlock things in their games. All they want is to be able to play with their friends, using all the same content. That's all well and good, but we can't help feeling that things like this are chipping away at the soul of gaming. Seriously, why play the game at all if you're just going to strip it of all accomplishment? Put simply, it's bullsh*t. And probably a goldmine for EA. God help us all if Konami charges us for "the code" when Contra hits XBLA.
Lost Planet Collector's Edition is weak
1UP reports that there is a Lost Planet Collector's Edition on the way. I'll give you a minute to let the shock subside. And there we go. Sure, the news of a special edition isn't all that exciting. It's what's inside the case that's a little unsettling. There are two extras in the undoubtedly slick metal case. The first is an art manual, which is always cool. It's the second bit that's disturbing. The other item is a token for a free downloadable map. That's it.This raises some questions. Assuming that the map will be available when the game ships, why not just include it on the disc? How much does the map cost for those who don't get the special edition? Think about it. If you're spending US $69.99 on a special edition, is a free map really a deal? If you can live without the art book, wouldn't it actually be cheaper to pick up the regular edition and pay the 2-5 dollars for the map? Unless special edition owners get early access to the map -- or the map is exorbitantly priced -- it just doesn't make much sense. Any thoughts?[Via Evil Avatar]
XBL down for maintenance on Oct. 17th
Major Nelson sends word that the Xbox Live network will soon disappear into a nebulous offline abyss for some maintenance. Currently scheduled for Tuesday, 17 October and expected to last for 24 hours, attempts by your Xbox 360 to connect to Live will be met with unnerving digital silence. Mark the date on your calendars and be sure to reschedule your planned sessions of disconnecting early, screaming into your headset and informing other players of their sexual orientation.The official Xbox website will also be taken down and worked upon in order to accomodate "some secret cool stuff." None of which, as the site insists, includes a dashboard update. Incidentally, 17 October is also the release date for Splinter Cell: Double Agent. [Via Major Nelson]
