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Zeit 2 and random zombie deals on Xbox Live next week
Ubisoft's time-traveling shmup, Zeit 2, is the lone game listed in Major Nelson's latest list of upcoming Xbox Live Arcade releases. If that doesn't quite sate your gaming appetite, Live is also throwing a random "Back from the Dead" promotion by cutting the price of Zombie Apocalypse and The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai to 400 Points ($5) each. Plants vs. Zombies will continue the promotion the following week by going on sale for 800 Points ($10). Next week will also discount "more than 25 pieces" of DLC from Activision, including Call of Duty map packs, Guitar Hero songs and Arcade games. EA will get its chance starting January 18, with an equally vague promise of "one-time savings" on EA "content." For the full schedule of Xbox Live releases, check past the break.
PSA: Kinect Sports demo out now for Xbox Live Gold members
Tis the season to shame your familial relations in contests of virtual athletic prowess! If you're a Gold subscriber, you can now grab a free demo for Kinect Sports on the Xbox Live Marketplace -- just make sure that you don't completely crush your Maw-Maw. She deserves better, you know?
Red Dead Redemption joins Games on Demand (for $60!)
Xbox Live Marketplace's Games on Demand has added Red Dead Redemption, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands and Narnia: Prince Caspian at prices one could kindly classify as "outrageous." Red Dead Redemption is listed at its full boxed retail price of $60. We've confirmed with Rockstar that the digital copy is just the original game and doesn't include any of the DLC. Obviously, we recommend purchasing this through the marketplace like we recommend a rattlesnake bite to the groin. Prince of Persia: TFS and Caspian are priced at $30 apiece (way above their Amazon prices). With all the deals we've seen leading up to Christmas, we can't in good conscience recommend any of these to you. If you have any interest in these titles, just wait and see what discounts will be available at retail after the holiday. [Thanks, Brian]
End-of-year deals and content for Xbox Live Marketplace
The end of the year is quickly drawing upon us. While many are scrambling to grab those last-minute gifts for friends, loved ones and that guy you got for the office Secret Santa for whom you have no idea what to get (protip: give him an Xbox Live points card and steer 'em here), those who may have procrastinated a bit less than the rest of us can treat themselves with some Xbox Live goodies. Major Nelson posted up the deals and content set to arrive during the final third of this month, which you can see in full past the break.
Quake Arena Arcade now on XBLA for $15, Quake Live introduces 'Premium Pak 5'
As we guessed earlier, Quake Arena Arcade's price on Xbox Live Arcade is considerably less than the cost of a second-hand Dreamcast, broadband adapter and copy of Quake 3 Arena -- it's now available on the Marketplace for 1200 MS Points ($15). In other Quake news, Quake Live has been updated with "Premium Pak 5," an expansion that adds five new arenas (two are holiday themed), and "new Premium Duel Scoreboards." Two of the five new arenas are community-created, and both of the holiday maps are remakes of earlier Quake multiplayer levels. "Silent Night" updates "Distant Screams" from Team Arena, while "Winter's Edge" is a remake of "The Edge" from Quake 2. Several other, smaller tweaks have been made, though the list is sadly devoid of virtual santa caps.
Force Unleashed 2 items hit Avatar Marketplace, PS Home Dec. 9
In the galaxy you currently reside in, LucasArts plans on hocking more digital Star Wars wares. On Thursday, avatars can tap into whichever side of The Force their inner fashionista prefers on both Xbox Live and PlayStation Home.
Wintery XBLA titles Polar Panic and NHL Arcade half-price this week
Though they're not the two best-received titles on the Xbox Live Arcade platform, Polar Panic and 3-on-3 NHL Arcade seem like appropriate ways to ring in the new, blustery season. Appropriately enough, their prices have been cut in half for the current XBLM Deal of the Week.
Zombies and Pterodactyls 20XX (aka ZP2KX) is the latest Xbox Live Indie from Dishwasher dev
Dishwasher: Dead Samurai developer Ska Studios knows how to make a game stand out on the Xbox Live Indie Games marketplace; afterall, it's the same rule that applies to just about every successful video game in the history of the art form. Add zombies. Ska's Xbox Live Indie debut was I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1 which, despite its humble origins and unique spelling, managed to sell 308K copies as of last August. At $1 a pop, after Microsoft's 30% cut, that leaves a healthy $215K – not a bad take for the one-person shop. For his Xbox Live Indie Games followup, Ska Studios' James Silva is playing fast and loose. Gone are the old days when it was as simple as making a game with zombies in it. That's just not enough anymore. Enter: Pterodactyls. Zombies and Pterodactyls 20XX (or, as they'd like you to abbreviate it, ZP2KX) appears to be a multiplayer-focused title with staples such as jetpacks, capture the flag, deadly rainbows and Africanized bee-ammunition. And like Z0MB1ES, ZP2KX will be just $1 when it's released next week during the indie-organized (and seasonally co-opted!) "Indie Games Winter Uprising." Full press and trailer after the break.%Gallery-108144%
DJ Hero 2 and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock free DLC available now until Nov. 30
Looking to expand your DJ Hero 2 and/or Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock catalogues at a significant discount? Activision's offering of free DLC for each game seeks to solve your problem, adding a DJ Tiesto-mixed three-track pack to DJ Hero 2 and a My Chemical Romance pack to Warriors of Rock, each of which is free in the US "via redemption code while supplies last." The catch: each pack is free for this week only before becoming paid content on November 30 (also, the content for Warriors of Rock is only available to Xbox 360 owners). Details for both packs can be found after the break, including pricing for when they're no longer free next week. But hey, you're on top of things, so you're totally gonna get them while they're free. Head over to Activision and Coca-Cola's code generating website "while supplies last."
GameStop details a bright (profitable) future with DLC
During today's presentations at the 18th Annual BMO Capital Markets Digital Entertainment Conference, GameStop head chairman Dan DeMatteo (alongside CEO Paul Raines, CFO Robert Lloyd, and investor relations director Matt Hodges) spoke to the future of the top video game retailer in North America. After detailing cannibalistic markets (terrifying!) and market share (isn't business about taking, not sharing?) for 25 minutes, the crew finally got to the Q & A session, where one audience member stood up and asked DeMatteo to clarify GameStop's DLC distribution agreements with Microsoft and Sony. "I won't get into the details of the agreements, but obviously we get paid for selling the digital content. We get paid less than what we would get paid for a typical new game [retail game], because we don't have inventory carrying costs, shipping costs, etc. But needless to say, we believe it will bring operating margins similar to new games," he responded, indicating a perhaps unsurprising low return on in-store DLC sales. Still, DeMatteo sees good reason for continued sales of digital content. "We see it as additive. It's additive for us. It's additive for Sony, for Microsoft, and it's additive to the publisher. The amount of add-on content now being developed for the big games is just phenomenal. You got a new level coming out for Halo: Reach in December, we have new Call of Duty map packs coming after launch, etc. We look at our ability to sell that to the original consumer -- given that we know who bought the original copy -- to be extremely strong," he explained, referring to his company's ability to track individual customer's purchases via the Power Up Rewards card. And in the coming years, GameStop intends on becoming a much larger player in the digital realm. We expect to have market share of DLC much like we have market share of boxed product," he assured attendees.
November Xbox Live Marketplace schedule: Noble Map Pack for $10, Crazy Taxi and Hasbro Family Game Night deals
Major Nelson has posted a schedule of content coming to Xbox Live Marketplace this month. Some stuff we knew about -- Crazy Taxi on the 24th and the Halo: Reach Noble Map Pack, to name a few -- but others, including the Deal of the Week beginning on the 22nd and a special promotion for non-Gold members of Xbox Live, are news. You can find all of the pertinent details past the break. %Gallery-105054%
Xbox Live Indie Games store now falls under Games & Demos section
In a remarkably quick 180 (for the 360), Microsoft has moved its Xbox Live Indie Games channel back into the "Games & Demos" section of Xbox Live Marketplace. When the fall Dashboard update hit Xbox 360 last week, the Indie Games channel was swept into the "Specialty Shops" section, alongside Avatar clothing items rather than other video games. The folks most affected by the change -- Xbox Live Indie Game developers -- have taken to the Microsoft forums to celebrate the change, saying, "Microsoft ARE LISTENING! Indie Games are back in the games section! We ARE having an effect. The new placement isnt PERFECT - but its a huge step in the right direction. The icon feels very out of place being such a different style -- and in searches etc. it doesnt look like indie games are included - but we ARE in the games section." The original complaint forum thread has even been changed from "xbligs are not 'games' any longer" to "mourning is over!", giving an indication of just how important the re-categorization was to the XBLIG development community.
BioShock 2 DLC marked down this week on XBLM
Though the deals don't cover what is arguably the game's best expansion, Minerva's Den, you should still look to the Xbox Live Marketplace this week if you're looking for some BioShock 2 supplementals. Check out the full list of temporary discounts on DLC and Avatar items below.
Fable 3 offers free, day-one DLC with new copies
If you pick up a new copy of Fable 3 next week, you'll find a free, one-time-use Xbox Live redemption code bundled inside. What does the code unlock, you ask? One flask of Raise Dead potion, another of Slow Time potion, the Scot Male/Female Hero Outfit, the Highlander Tattoo Set and the Red Setter skin for your virtual pooch. The items haven't been priced otherwise on Xbox Live Marketplace, but we have to imagine they'll be part of Fable 3's in-game store. If shopping isn't your thing, perhaps you'll be more interested in the new action-packed trailer we've included after the break. You don't even need a code to access it.
New and coming soon to XBLM: $5 RISK, BioShock 2 and Borderlands DLC deals, more
Major Nelson has posted highlights from the Xbox Live Marketplace content schedule for the rest of the month and into November, with some notable releases and deals to look out for. Jump past the break for the lowdown on DLC deals, discounted XBLA games and more. Also, seriously, buy Super Meat Boy ASAP.
Foundation 9 CEO: 30% of 360 owners buy XBLA games
Estimating the global Xbox 360 install base to be somewhere between 40 and 50 million units, Foundation 9 CEO James North-Hearn has suggested that around 30 percent of owners are "not only online and using Xbox Live, but all those and buying games." In a recent interview with Eurogamer, he claimed, "Certainly XBLA is past tipping point now." He also stuck up for XBLA's competition, the PlayStation Network. "Even though it's a smaller user base, and even though it's generally accepted as currently not being as successful or popular, it's definitely growing," he said. "There's less competition on PSN, but currently a smaller user base." As for the future, North-Hearn believes "the market will move to both online and to digital distribution at some point, almost exclusively." And Foundation 9 likely hope that's the case -- its six studios developed roughly 15 percent of the games on XBLA, including Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. North-Hearn even seems to believe "cloud solutions" could come to XBLA and PSN at some point in the future, saying that's "where the market's going to go" and that both channels are "in a great position."
Quake Arena Arcade finally submitted to Australian ratings board
We've been talking about Quake Arena on Xbox Live for -- wow, has it been three years? -- and we still haven't heard much on the game since id told us back in February that the game was "very close" to being finished. Now it's popped up on the Australian Classification Database, indicating that there just may be a bit of light at the end of this incredibly long, incredibly dark tunnel. We've fired off some missives to the appropriate parties for comment and will let you know what we hear back. And if you're looking to get a taste of what's in store for Xbox Live, then you may want to get acquainted with Quake Live.
Mass Effect 2 DLC discounted next week on XBLM
On a quest to spend at least 2400 Microsoft Points before the month is out? BioWare, it seems, wants to help out -- both Kasumi's Stolen Memory and Overlord DLC packs for Mass Effect 2 are dropping to $5 a pop (down form $7), as part of next week's XBLM deal. It may be called the "Deal of the Week," but in this case, we prefer calling it "The Obvious Purchase."
All Fallout 3 DLC half off this week on Xbox Live Marketplace
As the Bethesda blog conveniently points out, the entirety of Fallout 3's downloadable addendums -- from forays into virtual Alaska to intergalactic excursions -- are half off their normal asking price this week. At 400 MS Points ($5) a pop, you'll only be $25 less prepared for Fallout: New Vegas. No worries, though -- we're pretty sure the employees at your local GameStop will happily accept Nuka Cola bottlecaps in place of US currency should you be a few pennies short come October 19. Xbox.com: Fallout 3 DLC on Xbox Live Marketplace
PSA: Enslaved, Gothic 4 demos released on Xbox Live Marketplace
As foreseen yesterday by the Enslaved: Odyssey to the West Twitter account, Xbox Live Gold members now have access to the game's previously PSN-exclusive demo. Additionally, Major Nelson points out that Arcania: Gothic 4 also got a demo. That means killing robots with a giant baton in the post-post-post apocalypse and exploring the unknown depths of the Southern Islands are just two downloads away! Click through for each below. Xbox.com: Add the Enslaved: Odyssey to the West demo to your Xbox 360 download queue Xbox.com: Add the Arcania: Gothic 4 demo to your Xbox 360 download queue
