XboxLiveMarketplace
Latest
Video Marketplace HD blowout
Major Nelson posted the latest releases for Video Marketplace yesterday evening. Items worth noting include nine of the movies released are available in glorious High Definition. This week also introduces Lionsgate Films into the growing list of Video Marketplace partners. LGF happens to be based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, right next to the Fanboy Igloo HQ. Finally, Skyland from Nicktoons is available with the show's pilot episode FREE to download until 11:59 PST on Monday, January 29th. Later this week you'll be able to get your hands on Barnyard and World Trade Center. Full list of the title available after the break.
Guitar Hero II to have Original's tracks on Marketplace
Gamespot held an interview with RedOctane's Dusty Welch about the much anticipated Guitar Hero II for Xbox 360. One question came up that is probably on the minds of many fans of the series: Will Guitar Hero's tracks be available for download over Marketplace? Welch didn't outright spill the beans that all of the tracks would be there for the taking on launch day, as no specifics on the content has been confirmed yet. What he did say, however, was that fan feedback had high demand for the original's set list, and it would be a safe bet to see a good portion of the songs.So, should Guitar Hero's tracks be available for download to play on GHII, how would you want the content organized? One big 47 song download featuring all the tracks, broken up into the same sets as the first game, genre based, or even single song downloads of the "fan favorites"? We'll be satisfied as long as "More Than A Feeling", "Killer Queen", "Sharp Dressed Man", and all the other top-notch tunes are confirmed.
New Lumines Live! content out next Wednesday
When Lumines Live! emerged in October of last year, it ran headlong into a pack of outraged gamers who felt that the game's fragmented content and costs introduced an unwelcome element to the Xbox Live Marketplace -- a roving pickpocket you bump into between fruit stalls. New downloadable content is a touchy subject then, but it appears that next week's Live! offerings are a bit less backward and a bit less, well ... Evil!Three new packs will be available this coming Wednesday, the first of which contains the Heavenly Star skin. Perhaps the fact that it will be free to Gold subscribers until February 21 is to be interpreted as a sign of atonement. The other two, namely the VS CPU pack and the Puzzle/Mission pack fill up the gaping holes in the base download, each costing a not entirely outrageous 100 points ($1.25) each. That lasts until February 21, after which the price goes up to a thoroughly questionable 300 points ($3.75). Why raise the price after a month? The Gamerscore Blog labels these as "special promotional prices," which really just comes across as a temporary and thinly-veiled apology cringed out by the marketing department. So, why retract the apology then? The quest for more money seems tied to the obvious answer, but that's only if you felt that Lumines Live! got microtransactions completely wrong in the first place. All things considered, the game makes for a balanced example of what's wrong and what's right in the world of pint-sized payments:
COD3 Valor map pack available [update 1]
Update: As many of you have pointed out, there are problems with this download. Click here for details.Hot on the heels of the free bonus map, Champs, comes the Valor map pack for Call of Duty 3. The pack cost 800 points and contains 5 brand new maps. Stalag 13 is an abandoned prison camp, La Bourgade has you fight in a French village, Ironclad sets you in a naval shipyard, the Crossing puts players at a strategic choke point, and Wildwood gives you a chance to fight it out inside a forest setting. Call of Duty fans, be sure to come back here and tell us what you think.Is it worth 800 points?
Batttlestations: Midway demo ready for battle
The Battlestations: Midway demo that we were promised yesterday is now available (as is a new F.E.A.R. trailer). The demo comes in at just under half a gig and promises to provide players with some WWII multiplayer action in the air and sea around the Island of Solomon. With multiple vehicles like planes, submarines, and boats, Battlestations: Midway looks to give WWII buffs a nice change of pace after the recent spate of WWII FPS games. We're going to give the demo a try and we'll post our impressions later today.In the meantime, if you've had time to play the demo, tell us what you think. Does it live up to your expectations? Does it fill the void of the missing Crackdown demo?
Battlestations: Midway demo hits tomorrow
So the Crackdown demo was pushed back, but that doesn't mean we can't have some free fun before the weekend arrives. GameSpot reports that a demo for Battlestations: Midway, the WWII combat game, will be arriving this Thursday on Xbox Live Marketplace. The demo will contain one multiplayer map, the Island of Solomon. It's a game of Americans versus Japanese in which the winner must destroy the enemy's air base, aircraft carrier, and naval base. While the WWII genre is getting somewhat tired, Battlestations' vehicular approach may just make us sit up and take notice.Anyone out there looking forward to this game?[Via Planet Xbox 360]
24 Season 6: Free picture pack and theme
It has been a while since we got our greedy hands on some free themes or picture packs from the Marketplace. No worries though, because Major Nelson sent word that there are some free goods today! Just in time for the television series 24 season premiere, head to the Xbox Live Marketplace to download your free 24 Season 6 theme and picture pack. If you love Jack Bauer or just free stuff, then get a downloading right now. Don't you just love the smell of free content on Fridays?
COD3 map hits Marketplace tomorrow?
A recent series of events leads us to believe that the announced free map for Call of Duty 3 -- entitled "Champs" -- will be made available tomorrow on Xbox Live Marketplace. Karsten of Shizzle Games told us of a post on Major Nelson detailing the new content. Those of you with an RSS reader may have seen it pop up, too. The post is gone now, but a quick search shows the same post, only it's dated for January 11, tomorrow. Major Nelson's clock must be running fast, because Ms. Pac-Man showed up on his site yesterday, even though it wasn't released until this morning. But there you have it, expect a free new map for Call of Duty 3 tomorrow. This could also mean that we'll see the Valor Map pack -- containing 5 maps for 800 points -- release tomorrow as well.
Blitz the League demo tackles Live
The New Year's Xbox Live content dry spell seems to be ending, as a Blitz the League demo dropped on Marketplace today. Sure it's not the freshest demo around, but it's better than nothing. It should be noted, however, that Silver members will have to wait until next week. For the rest of us, start your year off right with digital football complete with digital hookers and digital drug use. Doesn't get much better than that, right? As long as it's a videogame, you can do all your favorite things and not break your New Year's resolutions!Oh, and if football isn't your thing, don't forget the Crackdown demo that drops next week.
Preview all 360 themes before you buy
A new site just popped up on the net called Dashboard Themes and it looks to be quite useful. They have every theme released for the 360 on the site with screenshots of each blade and guide. Also built into the site is a ranking system, newly released themes list, and the layout is well thought out. Now how cool is that? So now you know where to go before you purchase a theme off of the marketplace or just a place to get an idea of what others like ... this is definitely a great resource.[Via Digg]
Free gamer picture for Canada [update 1]
Boy do we love those free gamer pictures and themes from the marketplace. And even though there is only one new one and only available for Canadian Xbox Live members, it's still newsworthy. Everyone who's from Canada and loves free goods, hit up the XBLM and get your free Multiplayer Mayhem Month gamer picture right this second! We can't see what it looks like since our HQ is in the States, so if you could download it ... is it one sexy gamer picture?Update 1: CANADA360 found an image of the gamer picture. It isn't all that bad.
C&C3 debut video conquers Marketplace
A new trailer for Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars popped up on Xbox Live Marketplace today. The video features lots and lots of mass destruction, as huge contingents of soldiers and machines wage war. Unfortunately, the video is devoid of any sort of interface, so we can't tell what -- if any -- refinements have been made to the control scheme created for BFMEII. Overall, the game is looking very slick and polished. The trailer itself is well produced, too. We particularly like the tag line at the end of the video: "Coming to a home theater near you." Nice. See the trailer after the break.
Oblivion content free for the holidays
The gift giving bug is out in full force as the shopping season crescendos to its ultimate finale. In this spirit of giving, Bethesda has announced that they will offer free Oblivion Marketplace content starting this Friday, December 22. The offer will run until December 31. Before anyone asks, no, it's not Knights of the Nine. No, the content to be offered will in fact be Mehrune's Razor, which debuted back in June. Normally 250 points, it will be free just in time for the holidays. In case you've forgotten what Mehrune's Razor is all about, check out our previous post, here.But seriously though, are there any Oblivion owners that haven't already bought this?[Via XUG]
Bungie talks up the Brute video
Now that the latest Halo 3 "ViDoc" has been released and allowed to simmer for a few hours, Bungie has responded to some of the most common questions and concerns associated with it. Chief among these questions is of course the graphics. Already announced as being placeholder graphics, many still found the video to be lacking -- in some cases barely above Halo 2's visual quality. In response, Bungie says that essentially nothing in the video represents the actual look of Halo 3, save for a few very brief snippets. Furthermore, all footage in the video is several months old, as that is when they started creating the documentary.
COD3 content called to Marketplace soon
DCEmu is reporting that new Call of Duty 3 content has been announced by Activision. There will be two pieces of content available: a free "Bonus Map" and a premium "Valor Map Pack" for 800 points. The bonus map is called "Champs" and sees players facing off in Port Royal de Champs, France. The map should fare well for smaller and mid-sized games. The "Valor Map Pack" will include 5 new maps, all set in France, and promises plenty of close quarters combat. For the moment, the content has no official release date, but we'd say it's a safe bet that it won't arrive before the New Year.
Santa's Row: reindeer up, ho ho hos down
Just to put everyone in the holiday spirit, Volition has rolled out some new content for Saints Row. Download the "Ho Ho Ho Pack" from Marketplace for access to a brand new Santa suit. We suggest you reenact the movie Bad Santa to your heart's content. Have your character drink himself silly, mistreat a few prostitutes, and go on a shooting spree. Is there any better way to spread holiday cheer? We submit that there is not. Merry Christmas, everyone!*[Thanks, Jay sheffield. Image via b3ta.com]*Except Live Silver members, who will be able to download the content after December 25th.
Lost Planet demos hit 1 million downloads
Capcom announced today that the single-player and multiplayer demos of Lost Planet have been downloaded over 1 million times combined. Additionally, Capcom states that hundreds of thousands of hours have been spent playing the Lost Planet demos. Considering that the multiplayer demo has consistently landed on the top 10 Live games for several weeks now, this is hardly surprising. No doubt, Capcom hopes that the hundreds of thousands of demo players will translate to hundreds of thousands of retail copies being sold when the game ships. Of course, there's a big difference between zero dollars and sixty dollars. Have you played this demo extensively? Will you pony up the dough for the full version?
Viral marketing infects GoW downloadable content [update 1]
It's that time of year when everyone gets to put on their speculation cap and their analytical pants to decode some viral marketing goodness. 2old2play found the site the above domain. The site is titled "RE-Emergence Day" and depicts the COG repelling down underground to take on the Locusts and a date 12-24-06 (that's Christmas Eve, FYI) plastered across the bottom. Not only is that exciting, but the website is registered to a JS Mining Corporation located on North Sera Road, Sera with administrative contacts of Baird, Cole. Getting that viral marketing feeling yet? All of this is speculated to be leading up to the release of downloadable content available Christmas Eve on the XBLM. But, the pessimistic side of me cries out hoax. This could easily be a fan of Gears messing with our heads, preying on our emotions, and ultimately making everyone depressed when the 24th rolls around and we get nothing. Anyone up for a little viral marketing?Update 1: Looks like this is fake. Mr. Rein, we just want some answers to what you're offering and when. Any info would be nice.[Via, 2old2play]
Red Vs. Blue brings holiday cheer to XBLM
A special Red Vs. Blue holiday video has landed on Xbox Live Marketplace. We were so busy rocking Assault Heroes earlier that we failed to notice. There is a Red Vs. Blue theme available as well, which will run you 150 points. We love us some Red Vs. Blue, so you can bet we're downloading the video right now. Unfortunately, Microsoft decided to pull a Scrooge, as the video is available only to Gold members. Silver Live members will have to wait until December 20th. At least you'll get it in time for Christmas, right?Has anyone gotten the video (or theme) yet? Is it super funny?
Microsoft launches XNA Creator's Club
Though you might envision a "creator's club" to be some sort of blunt object used to beat beautiful games out of misshapen code, it's actually the next step in Microsoft's ongoing XNA initiative. The "community-powered arcade" is now within reach of any gamer and would-be developer willing to download XNA Game Studio Express (for Windows XP) and spend some time coming to grips with the Visual C# and .NET frameworks its based on. Chris Satchell, general manager of Microsoft's Game Developer group, recounts Microsoft's cunning strategy of having one creative idea at a time. "When it comes to encouraging development on XNA Game Studio Express and through the XNA Creators Club, the limits are truly endless. What users will see today is just the beginning of the plans we have to revolutionize game development one creative game idea at a time."Of course, you'll also want to make your masterpiece playable on an Xbox 360 ("playable" being the keyword so often forgotten by some developers). In order to migrate your game to the 360 and to gain access to samples, game assets and other goodies, you'll need to join the XNA Creator's Club. It's been added as a purchase on the Xbox Live Marketplace, priced at $49 for four months or $99 for an annual subscription. Early adopters will have an opportunity to get their games published on Xbox Live Arcade in a contest launching next month.Well, what are you waiting for? Get cracking on your non-derivative 3rd-person shooter, Cogs of Conflict! Download -- XNA Game Studio Express[Full, slightly boring, press release after the break.]
