Xbox 360 news and stuff

Three Burger King games coming (Update: Achievements)

2006-10-04T17:32:00.000-07:00

Beginning November 19th, for $3.99 you can get one of three Burger King games along with the purchase of a Value Meal. Developed by Blitz Games, they will be similar to arcade games, and although there are no details about what achievements they will include you will be able to get 200 points from each (Update: Achieve360Points has a list of the achievments). Click read more for descriptions of the games.

From the Gamerscore Blog:

“Pocketbike Racer” – In the wild world of Pocketbike racing, players race the King and his miniature motorbike crew through five fun, yet challenging speedways. Each track varies in level of difficulty, and players navigate long straights, tight bends and sharp turns at high speeds while attempting to earn enhancements and tools that they can use as an advantage over opponents. Featuring HAVE IT YOUR WAY® customization options, players select a bike and a driver and then hit the track of their choice -- a BURGER KING® restaurant parking lot, a construction site, a backyard, the King’s garden or the Fantasy Ranch set. In addition to individual play, four players can race against each other in classic split-screen set-up, or eight players can battle it out online using XBOX Live.
“Big Bumpin’” – Big Bumpin’ looks like a traditional carnival bumper car ride and features familiar BURGER KING® personalities, including the Subservient Chicken and Brooke Burke. But, there’s a catch – Big Bumpin’ arenas come with some big hazards, like surprise saws, bottomless pits and “power up” items that let gamers dole out thundering bumps. With several different types of game play, gamers have a chance to hone their bumper car skills in a variety of challenging scenarios. The game features five theme parks, including the “Ice Box,” “Broiler,” “King’s Court,” “The Deep” and “Monsoon of Doom,” and multiple modes of play for each, such as intense four-player and XBOX Live-supported. Easy to learn. Fun to play. Difficult to avoid a major crash.
“Sneak King” – Players step into the King’s royal shoes and use cunning and stealth to sneak up behind unsuspecting people and bestow them with a delicious meal. The goal of Sneak King is to surprise hungry citizens with BURGER KING® sandwiches and other menu items before they pass out from hunger. Whether in a logging yard, construction site, suburban neighborhood or downtown urban scene -- each rich with detail and hidden pathways -- players can hide out and earn points based on how elaborately the delivery is executed.

Play Gears of War before it's out

2006-09-30T15:48:00.001-07:00

You've seen all the videos and read all the previews of how great Gears of War is going to be. But you haven't actually got to play it. Now, that might change. If you are in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, or San Francisico, on Wednesday, October 4th you can play it after an advanced screening of the movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. But come early, because it will be overbooked and it's first come, first serve. They will also be matching tickets and ID, so make sure to bring yours. If you're interested, you can sign up here. If you miss it or it's not in your city, this is just the first of three "Match Made in Hell" events happening in October - just hope next time it's where you live.

Gears of War to feature full co-op play

2006-09-30T10:11:00.000-07:00

In an interview on RewiredMind CliffyB reveals some information on Gears of War's co-op. The entire game will be playable in co-op, instead of a few levels added on just for the purpose. In splitscreen, system link, or over Xbox Live, someone can just drop in and play with you, and you can still unlock all the achievements or even play to the end with them (Will there be a way to stop people from joining and playing only the last few minutes of a level with their friends just so they can get an achievement?). If you decide you want to play with a buddy, just invite them and they will join as a spectator of the character they will take over - and when they are ready they just hit Start and take control.
[Via Evil Avatar]

Bringing it Home on Xbox Live Marketplace: List of all content

2006-09-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

Since September 20th, there has been lots of new content on Marketplace every day as part of Xbox Live Bringing it Home. Here is a full list of all the content now available as part of it (Click read on for the full list of trailers, gamer pics, themes, demos, and game content):

Trailers:
X06 Arcade Montage
Stranglehold
Blitz the League
F.E.A.R.
Army of Two
Tony Hawk's Project 8
Wheelman
Frontlines Fuel of War
X06 Game Montage
Crossfire
COD3
Banjo Kazooie
Marvel Ultimate Online
Viva Pinata
Assassin's Creed
Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Blue Dragon

Lost Odyssey
Bioshock
FIFA 07
Rainbow Six Vegas
Halo Wars
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
Forza 2 Physics & Damage
NBA 2K7
Sonic The Hedgehog
Shrek 3
Just Cause
NHL 2K7
The Darkness
Battlestations Midway
Eragon
Import Tuner Challenge
Need for Speed Carbon
The Darkness
Virtua Tennis 3
NBA Live 07
NHL 2K7
Forza 2 Customization
Vista Game Montage
Fusion Frenzy 2
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom
Team Fortress 2
Tenchu Senran
Half-Life 2 - Episode 2

Other Video:
TGS Showfloor video 3
TGS Showfloor video 2
TGS Showfloor video 1

Gamer pictures:
X06 Picture Pack
Halo Wars Picture Pack
Mass Effect Picture Pack
Battlestar Galactica (US Only)
TGS Picture Pack

Themes:
Fable 2 Theme
X06 Theme
Halo Wars Theme
Forza 2 Theme
TGS Theme

Demos:
WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2007
Sonic the Hedgehog
Lego Star Wars II
FEAR
NBA 2K7 (Not in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore or Taiwan)

Game content:
LEGO Star Wars II 360 Downloadable Character Pack (200 Microsft Points - Not in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, or Taiwan)
BFMEII Aragorn’s Journey - Map Pack 1
BFMEII Northern Badlands - Map Pack 2 – (350 Microsoft Points)

The Xbox Live Arcade games Spades, Hearts, Backgammon, and Bankshot Billiards were also updated to work with the Xbox Live Vision Camera. If you already own any of them, an auto update will add the camera support.

The Arcade game DOOM is now on Marketplace

Content Exclusive to Japan

Trailers:
Vampire's Rain
Table Tennis trailer
DOA X2 E3 Trailer
Project Sylpheed

Other Video:
Interview Day 3 Briefing Backstage Pass
TGS Showfloor video Day 3
TGS Showfloor video Day 2
Gamers' Interview
Xbox Live The Party #5
Xbox Live The Party #6
Xbox Live The Party #7
Xbox Live The Party #8
Xbox Live The Party #9
Xbox Live The Party #10
Game Creator Interview

Demos:
Tenchu Senran

Assassin's Creed gameplay and info (Updated)

2006-09-29T15:58:00.001-07:00

From X06, here is the first video of Assassins Creed gameplay:

IGN also has some info on the slight differences between the PS3 and 360 version:

While the PlayStation 3 and 360 versions of Assassin's Creed are virtually identical, Raymond did say that on the 360 the team is putting a special emphasis on achievements. The hardware also allows for improved threading, which will improve even further the crowd AI.

One of the (few) advantages of the PS3 is its better hardware, yet the Xbox 360 is getting better AI. This could be because they have had a year to work with the 360 already, but the hardware is the part that enables the improved AI, not the fact that they know it more thoroughly. This probably won't make too much of a difference, but this isn't the first time a PS3 game is lacking some features from its 360 counterpart.

[Video via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

Update:
IGN has updated their article, taking out the part about improved AI and replacing it with this:

And while the 360 hardware enables Ubisoft's team to use multiple threads to enhance the crowd's AI, the end result for the game on both systems will be the same. "While the method for distributing AI load is different on each platform, the AI code itself is the same. Players will experience the exact same crowd results on PS3 and Xbox360," Ubisoft explained.

[Via Evil Avatar]

Star Wars Battlefront coming to Xbox 360

2006-09-29T13:20:00.001-07:00

The Official Xbox Magazine on the U.K. reveals that Star Wars Battlefront is coming to Xbox 360. That's not all. Free Radical, the company behind the TimeSplitters games, will be the ones bringing it to 360.

Xbox 360's Holiday game line-up

2006-09-28T20:41:00.001-07:00

Xbox 360 games that will be available this holiday:

Gears of War (Epic Games Inc.)
Viva Piñata (Rare Ltd.)
Call of Duty^® 3 (Activision)
Disney·Pixar’s Cars (THQ)
Dead or Alive^®: Xtreme 2 (Tecmo Inc.)
FIFA 2007 (EA)
NBA 2K7 (2K Sports/Visual Concepts)
NBA LIVE 07 (EA)
NHL™ 07 (EA)
Need for Speed™ Carbon (EA)
Pro Evolution Soccer 6 (Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH)
Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega)
SUPERMAN RETURNS™: THE VIDEOGAME (EA)
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 07 (EA)
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft)
Tony Hawk’s Project 8 (Activision)

Other games for 360 either announced or shown at X06:

Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft)
Crackdown™ (Real Time Worlds
Fable^® 2 (Lionhead Studios)
Forza Motorsport™ 2 (Turn 10)
Halo Wars (Ensemble Studios)
Half-Life® 2 (EA/Valve)
Lost Planet™: Extreme Condition (Capcom)
Mass Effect (BioWare)
Project Gotham Racing^® 4 (Bizarre Creations)
The next game in the “Banjo-Kazooie^® Franchise (Rare Ltd.)

Xbox 360 games shown or announced that will also be for Windows:

Alan Wake (Remedy Entertainment)
BioShock (2K Games)
Crossfire (Eidos, Pivotal Games)
Alone in the Dark (Atari)
Kane and Lynch: Dead Men (Eidos, IO Interactive)
Marvel Universe Online (Cryptic Studios)
Shadowrun™ (FASA Studio)
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Double Agent (Ubisoft)
The next Splinter Cell title (Ubisoft)
World Series of Poker^®: Tournament of Champions (Activision)

Guitar Hero II was also announced to be coming to 360.

[Via Gamerscore Blog]

Guitar Hero II coming to 360

2006-09-28T16:02:00.001-07:00

Red Octane's game Guitar Hero II is going to be released on Xbox 360. In the press release it says:
"The tour will continue the rockin' gameplay Guitar Hero fans have come to enjoy, and will now include expanded Xbox 360 capabilities," said Kai Huang, president of RedOctane. "With Guitar Hero II for Xbox 360 rock rhythm, lead, or bass guitar tracks with downloadable content and the new X-Plorer® controller, designed specifically for the Xbox 360."

[Via Gamerscore Blog]

HD DVD player: Available mid-November for $199.99

2006-09-28T12:51:00.001-07:00

The HD DVD player for the Xbox 360 will be available in mid-November in North America, the U.K., France, and Germany. It will retail for $199.99 and €199.99 (£129.99) in the different territories. Included is the Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote, and for a limited time the HD DVD version of King Kong.

Games announced for Xbox 360 at X06: New Halo, Splinter Cell 5, PGR4, and more

2006-09-27T15:55:00.000-07:00

New games that were announced for Xbox 360 at X06:

A new Halo game (In addition to Halo Wars) and a completely new original property. From the press release: "A landmark partnership announced between Academy Award-winning writer, director and producer Peter Jackson, Academy Award-winning screenwriter Fran Walsh, and Microsoft Game Studios will create two new interactive entertainment series exclusively for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live^®. The first series will be a collaborative effort with Bungie Studios to co-create the next great chapter in the “Halo^®” universe. The second series will be an entirely original property targeted at bringing new audiences into the captivating world of interactive entertainment. In addition, Microsoft Game Studios will partner with Jackson and Walsh to establish Wingnut Interactive, a studio dedicated to the creation of world-class interactive entertainment." There is no information on what the new property will be about, but Bungie had this to say about the new Halo game on their website: "...we can tell you it will be a blend of gameplay and storytelling quite unlike anything the games industry has ever seen before." If that doesn't get you excited, there must be something wrong with you.

Halo Wars, a Halo RTS. Here are all the details, along with an amazing video.

Another Splinter Cell game (After Double Agent). It will be console exclusive to the Xbox 360. That's right, no Splinter Cell for the PS3 or Wii.

Project Gotham Racing 4

Banjo-Kazooie. From the press release: "The beloved “Banjo-Kazooie” franchise will breathe new, high-definition life on Xbox 360 exclusively from famed developer Rare Ltd.; astonishing next-generation visuals and presentation reunite beloved characters Banjo, Kazooie and Gruntilda — among other fan favorites — with their sharp wit and hilarious sense of humor."

Marvel Universe Online

DOOM for Xbox Live Arcade. It is now available for download, costing 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

Sensible World of Soccer, also for Xbox Live Arcade. From the press release: "Based on the classic 1994 Amiga title, “Sensible World of Soccer” will let gamers choose between the original graphics or an updated, high-resolution look and feel — while still capturing the original’s entire world of football."

Some other news about already announced titles:

Grand Theft Auto IV. Just a few months after it's release (October 16th in North America, October 19th in Europe), two downloadable "epic episodes" will be available, each coming with hours of new gameplay. These will be exclusive to Xbox 360.

Bioshock will be released exclusively on Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows.

Halo Wars: The Halo RTS

2006-09-27T14:56:00.001-07:00

Today a new game based on the Halo universe was announced: Halo Wars. It is a Real-Time Strategy game, made by Ensemble Studios, the creators of Age of Empires (this explains the seemingly unfair shut down of the fan created mod Halogen, also a Halo RTS). Exclusive to Xbox 360, you will control a group of UNSC soldiers, the "Spirit of Fire", and learn more of what happened before Halo 1. You may also be able to play as the Covenant, but the website won't say for sure.
"The folks at Ensemble are the only team we trusted to make a Halo RTS and from what we've already seen (and played), it's going to be awesome," Bungie says on their website. There is no information on when it will be released, but here is a pre-rendered trailer (also available on Xbox Live Marketplace or the Halo Wars website):

This Week's Releases: September 24th, 2006

2006-09-24T22:12:00.000-07:00

Here are the games releasing this week:
Monday, September 25th:
NBA Live 07
NBA 2K7
Tuesday, September 26th:
Import Tuner Challenge
Wednesday, September 27th:
Just Cause

A black Xbox 360?

2006-09-24T21:30:00.001-07:00

On this Gamespot page, there is a Best Buy ad (You may not see it right away since there are a number of different ads, but if you refresh the page enough it should eventually show). It cycles through different gaming products, one of which is an Xbox 360. But the picture displayed is not what you would expect: It shows an all black 360. I captured a picture here:
And if that's not enough, the ad can also be seen here. This is only an ad and so doesn't mean too much, but why would they put a picture showing a black Xbox 360 if they aren't going to sell them? Plus, this is not the first time there have been these rumors. In the October issue of the Official Xbox Magazine, the "Rumor Mole" claims one of its "trusted sources" says there will be a "$600 dollar jet-black Xbox 360 with a built-in HD-DVD drive, an HDMI A/V port, a 250GB hard drive, and TiVo-like PVR functionality." I guess we'll just have to wait and see if this ever happens, but why else would the 360 in the ad be black?

[Via Xboxic]

Top Games on Live (Week of September 11th)

2006-09-16T11:49:00.001-07:00

From Major Nelson, here are the top ten most played games while connected to Xbox Live, based on World Wide Unique Users:

Xbox 360 Top Live Games
1 Saints Row
2 Madden NFL 07
3 Call of Duty 2
4 Test Drive Unlimited
5 Ghost Recon 3
6 DEAD RISING
7 Oblivion
8 Texas Hold 'em
9 Chromehounds
10 BFMC

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 Texas Hold 'em
2 Hexic HD
3 Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting
4 UNO
5 Geometry Wars Evolved
6 Time Pilot
7 Scramble
8 PAC-MAN
9 Marble Blast Ultra
10 Bankshot Billiards 2

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Battlefield 2: MC
3 Madden NFL 07
4 Counter-Strike
5 Pro Evolution Soccer 5
6 Splinter Cell Chaos
7 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
8 Rainbow Six 3 BA
9 Forza Motorsport
10 Ghost Recon 2: SS

Overall, Halo 2 is the most played game.

Microsoft sued because of Xbox Live

2006-09-15T16:02:00.001-07:00

Paltalk has filed a case against Microsoft claiming that Xbox Live infringes on their patent. Some things from the case (Downloaded from the Inquirer):

Game play on the Xbox or Xbox 360 through the Xbox Live online gaming service infringes the PalTalk patents. As a result of Microsoft's unauthorized and infringing use of Paltalk's patented technology, Paltalk has suffered damages in at least the tens of millions of dollars.
...
Microsoft has, without authority, consent, right or license, and in direct infringement of the PalTalk Patents used the methods claimed in the PalTalk Patents in this country.

It continues on about how Microsoft has "actively induced" others to use it, and provided software and hardware for use in "practicing the methods" PalTalk has claimed in it's patents.

The patent Paltalk says Microsoft infringed on states:

PalTalk's technology provides for efficient handling of communications between players necessary to maintain a consistent game environment for all players. PalTalk's technology covers a number of aspects of online gaming, including communications through a group message server as well as establishing groups for online play.

There is more, adding details of what it does and how it works.

Whether Microsoft wins this case or not, they have plenty of money to spare if PalTalk decides to ask for it. It probably won't really change anything besides possibly taking a small sum from Microsoft's vast pool of money.

[Via Xboxic]

XB Stream - RSS feeds and podcasts on your 360

2006-09-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

PG4 just released XB Stream, which allows you to view RSS content and listen to podcasts on your Xbox 360. From the website:

XB Stream in a nut shell is an RSS/XML feed reader/aggregator that works with the XBox 360 video game console. XB Stream allows you to view xml based content feeds (xml, rss, rdf) on your Xbox 360 video game console; you can also listen to podcasts and blogcasts as well. XB Stream automatically downloads and converts text based content feeds into images that can be viewed from the media>pictures>computer blade and hear audio podcasts/blogcasts from the media>music>computer blade

Details on Version 1.0 here, and the download here.

[Via Xbox-Scene]

Here are some screenshots:

Weekly Arcade Rundown: Scramble released, HoopWorld in 2007, Roboblitz soon, and Small Arms gameplay

2006-09-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

After a one week delay, Scramble was released on Wednesday and is now available for download. It will cost 400 Microsoft Points, or $5.

HoopWorld was originally going to be released this year, but now it will be available sometime in 2007. Developer Streamline describes the game as an "over-the-top, three-on-three multiplayer trick-game that fuses elements of arcade-style street basketball and the ancient Mesoamerican game of tlachtli to create a unique hoops experience. Through the combination of stylized multi-ethnic characters, multiple hoops, richly imaginative interactive locations, and an innovative points system based on collaborative 'tricking', HoopWorld is a new experience in what a downloadable arcade game can become". More at Gamasutra.
Although that game is still a long way off, another is almost complete: Roboblitz, developed by Naked Sky. From a post on the official website, here's what one of the developers said:

The game is super close to complete. Design and art wise, we're pertty much locked, now we're just making sure the game is bug free and fully optimized. An exact release date...still don't have one. But considering the state of the game, it can't be much longer. Believe me, we want the game out asap! The only thing we know for sure is that it'll be 1200 MS points, and the PC version will include (TBA) bonus content. SOOOON!!

[Via K1lla's Xbox Domain]

Lastly, I know many of you have probably seen this, but for those of you who haven't here is a video of Small Arms gameplay:

Peter Jackson on the Halo movie

2006-09-14T20:40:00.001-07:00

Peter Jackson, Executive Producer of the Halo movie, has been interviewed by Ain't It Cool News. It's a good interview, and definitely worth checking out if you're interested in what's going on with the Halo movie.
[Via Kotaku]

Xbox 360 bundled with GRAW for $400?

2006-09-14T16:12:00.001-07:00

Club Skill says that on September 30th, an Xbox 360 bundle will be available for $399.99. According to the article, it will be the Premium package along with Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged, which is a collection of six arcade games: Geometry Wars, Wik: Fable of Souls, Bejeweled 2, Outpost Kaloki X, Hardwood Backgammon, and Texas Hold 'Em. This hasn't been confirmed, but if it is true it is a great deal: You're pretty much getting a full game and six XBLA titles for free.

Halogen: The Halo RTS that could have been

2006-09-13T21:56:00.001-07:00

Slip Stream Productions has been working on a mod that would make a Halo RTS. But just a few days ago, Microsoft asked them to shut it down. In the forums on their website, they posted this letter:

Dear Friends,

For the last three years, we've worked incessantly to bring you the best Halo mod that we could. There have been a lot of ups and downs, but somehow Halogen has always managed to come out kicking. The problem with using copyrighted intellectual property as a base for a fan project is that you're very susceptible to legal action. We always figured that since Halogen was such a different take on the Halo franchise, we might manage to make it without incident. That changed today.

Hours ago, we finally recieved the words we've been dreading since the mod started to get noticed. Microsoft has decided that we are infringing on the intellectual property of Bungie Studios and has asked us to stop development on Halogen.

I was going to write a big sappy letter here, but what's the point. So..that's it then, I guess. The forums, site, and Moddb profile will all be shut down within the week. I can't say it hasn't been fun. It's a shame it has to end like this, but I suppose that's how it goes. Thanks, guys, for all the time you've spent supporting us. It's been a pleasure. We hate this as much as you do.

- The Halogen Team

The Halogen site has been closed, and the mod is officially over. It really is too bad, as it looked like it would have been awesome if it had ever been released. Why did Microsoft wait three years, after so much hard work had been put into it, to tell them to stop? Luke Smith at 1UP speculates that maybe Microsoft is planning on making their own Halo RTS. But no matter what Microsoft's plans are, something that could have turned out to be one of the coolest mods ever will now never be finished.

I've put together a collections of videos showing Halogen. Here they are:

[Via Kotaku, Joystiq]

Xbox 360 with an internal HD-DVD drive? (Update: Microsoft says nope)

2006-09-13T19:03:00.000-07:00

DigiTimes says that Microsoft is planning on releasing an Xbox 360 with a built in HD-DVD drive, as early as the first half of 2007. According to their site, sources in Taiwan's optical disc drive industry say Microsoft is selecting manufacturers in Taiwan to build the drive for a second generation Xbox 360. Microsoft has previously stated that they have no plans for an internal HD-DVD drive, and I don't think there will be one any time soon.
[Via OXM UK]

Update:
Tony Hynes, or Bastelyon, the Online Community Manager in Microsoft's Global Games PR department, has posted on the Gamerscore Blog to say once again that there are no plans for an internal HD-DVD player:

Rumors of a built-in HD DVD sku are greatly exaggerated. We’re proudly launching the HD DVD Player as an accessory this holiday. Turns out you want a say in how you spend your entertainment dollars. So who are we to burden every customer with the cost of expensive movie technology?

The Xbox 360 Laptop (Update: Added pictures)

2006-09-12T16:20:00.000-07:00

Ben Heckendorm has modded many consoles, but his latest creation is one of the best ever made.
He has taken an Xbox 360, and after three months of work completely transformed it into a laptop. Costing about $1200 in parts, material, and machining, it "became the most monstrously difficult [project] since I've been into this "portablization" thing" he says on his website. So what did he end up with? The screen is a 17" 1280x720 progressive-scan LCD VGA monitor. The Xbox 360 is water-cooled, and has a custom built radiator. Wi-Fi is built in, along with a keyboard, and if you want to connect anything else it has 3 USB ports. The screen and the system use a single customized power brick supply. On the back there are ports for a component TV, VGA monitor, analog or TOSlink sound system, and composite video. It is encased in all alluminum, with the exception of the plastic keyboard, ring of light, and screen control area. All of this, with water loaded, weighs in at 14 pounds, with these dimensions: 16.75" x 10.75" x 2.8".
Here is a step by step description of how he accomplished it, and here are pictures and videos of the final product.
Here are some pictures, just click on them for the full size:

[Via Evil Avatar]

This Week's Releases: September 10th, 2006

2006-09-10T15:43:00.000-07:00

Here are the games releasing this week:
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
NHL 07
NHL 2K7

Those are all releasing on Tuesday, and then on Wednesday the delayed XBLA game, Scramble.

Top Games on Live (Week of September 4th)

2006-09-09T13:21:00.001-07:00

Major Nelson has last week's top played games on Xbox Live. Based on world wide unique users, here they are:

Xbox 360 Games
1	Saints Row
2	Madden NFL 07
3	Call of Duty 2
4	Ghost Recon 3
5	Texas Hold 'em
6	Oblivion
7	DEAD RISING
8	Chromehounds
9	BFMC
10	Final Fantasy XI

Original Xbox Games
1	Halo 2
2	Battlefield 2: MC
3	Madden NFL 07
4	Counter-Strike
5	Pro Evolution Soccer 5
6	Splinter Cell Chaos
7	Rainbow Six 3 BA
8	Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
9	Forza Motorsport
10	Ghost Recon 2: SS

Overall, Halo 2 is the most played, followed by all 360 games.

Xbox Live Arcade (Full Versions)
1	Texas Hold 'em
2	Time Pilot
3	Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting
4	Hexic HD
5	Geometry Wars Evolved
6	UNO
7	PAC-MAN
8	Frogger
9	Marble Blast Ultra
10	Bankshot Billiards 2

Go here for the top 20.

Weekly Arcade Rundown: Scramble delayed, board games, Small Arms

2006-09-08T15:50:00.000-07:00

This week's Xbox Live Arcade release was supposed to be Scramble, but at the last minute Microsoft decided it wasn't ready: "During the final testing and certification of the title, we discovered some minor issues that should be addressed, so we're going to take an extra week and fix these items to ensure a high quality game experience for you when the title launches".
The game will now be available Wednesday, September 13th, and since there was no game this week Micrsosoft released the Project Gotham Racing 3 Theme Deck for UNO.Xboxic has found the first screenshots of the upcoming XBLA board games Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, and Alhambra. Here they are:

Although the game Small Arms looks very interesting, there is not much information on it. So if you want to know more about it, check out the interview Xbox 360 Fanboy did with Don Wurster.

Next Dashboard update pictures, and suggestions for UI changes (Update: Added more pictures)

2006-09-08T15:01:00.001-07:00

MAXCONSOLE has the first pictures of the fall dashboard update, see them here. The parts of the dashboard that are shown have an improved and nicer look, and you can see part of how XNA will be integrated. According to the article, it will release in November.

I'm sure everyone has ideas of what they would like to have changed and added to the dashboard. Wildchicken, who works on the UI team, has now given you the option to tell your ideas to someone who can implement them: On his blog, he tells you to post your ideas, suggestions, issues, etc. in the comments on this post. He says either him or someone on the team will review what you write, so you will be heard.

[Via Ozymandias, Joystiq]

Update:
Xbox-Scene has bunch more pictures, and here they all are.

PS3's Europe release delayed

2006-09-06T14:39:00.000-07:00

The release of the PS3 in Europe has been delayed until March 2007. Although still releasing as planned in North America and Japan, the number of consoles available at launch will be much less than promised. There will be only 500,000 worldwide: 400,000 for the U.S. and 100,000 for Japan.

More at Joystiq, or read what Microsoft has to say at OXM UK.

Top Ten Games on Live (Week of August 28th)

2006-09-02T13:27:00.000-07:00

From Major Nelson, here are the top ten most played games on Xbox Live, based on worldwide unique users:

Xbox 360 Top Live Games
1 Madden NFL 07
2 Call of Duty 2
3 Texas Hold 'em
4 Ghost Recon 3
5 Saints Row
6 DEAD RISING
7 Oblivion
8 Chromehounds
9 Test Drive Unlimited Demo
10 BFMC

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Battlefield 2: MC
3 Madden NFL 07
4 Counter-Strike
5 Pro Evolution Soccer 5
6 Splinter Cell Chaos
7 Rainbow Six 3 BA
8 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
9 Forza Motorsport
10 Rainbow Six 3

Top Xbox Live Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 Texas Hold 'em
2 Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting
3 Hexic HD
4 Geometry Wars Evolved
5 PAC-MAN
6 Time Pilot
7 UNO
8 Frogger
9 Cloning Clyde
10 Marble Blast Ultra

Overall, Halo 2 is the most played game followed by all the 360 games.

Weekly Arcade Rundown: XNA beta released, Time Pilot on Live, Space Giraffes

2006-09-01T20:30:00.000-07:00

This marks the first of what will become a weekly feature. It will cover the week's news that relates to Xbox Live Arcade, from new releases to general announcements.First off, a new game is now available for download - Time Pilot. It can be purchased for 400 Microsoft Points. Next week's release is Scramble, which will be available Wednesday, September 6th for 400 Microsoft Points.
While only one new XBLA game was released, another was announced: Jeff Minter, who created the Xbox 360's music visualiser, will be bringing a game to XBLA. There are so far not many details about it, but Jeff Minter's LiveJournal says it is "a sequel to Tempest 2000/3000. The main character is the Space Giraffe." And that is what it has become known as, although it still doesn't have a real name. It will also come with some extras: You will get "new Neon effects supporting the webcam input as unlockables." Although there wasn't a release date set, it was revealed that it will sell for 400 Microsoft Points.
[Via Joystiq]
Also, as the XNA Game Studio Express Beta is now available for download. Don't know where to start? Here's a Tutorial on beginning your game development. If you find any bugs, make sure to report them so they can get worked out. So far you can't play the games on the Xbox 360, but that will change once the full version is released.

Marketplace: Over 50 million served

2006-08-31T13:03:00.001-07:00

Major Nelson has some new and interesting statistics about Xbox Live Marketplace. Some of them we already knew, but I'll write about them all anyway. So far, there have been 50 million downloads from the Marketplace. A little over 3 months back there had only been 24 million. 600, 000 achievements were unlocked and over 2 million hours of gameplay were hosted in the first week of Madden '07's release. Texas Hold 'em set a record for the fastest download item ever on Marketplace in one day, and in the 24 hours following it's release, every minute it was downloaded 100 times. Since Xbox Live began in November 2002, its members across the world have logged over 2 billion hours. More than 60% of Xbox 360 owners use Xbox Live, and of those 65% have downloaded an Xbox Live Arcade game. That makes for 8 million downloads of Xbox Live Arcade games. Xbox Live members have purchased over 2 billion Microsoft Points. Over half a billion voice and text messages are sent a year, and 1,300,000 every day (A little over a week ago Microsoft claimed an average of 900,000 a day, although this may not be an average).

Exclusive Interview with DJHUNTERD - a gamerscore of over 55,000 and counting

2006-08-29T14:01:00.000-07:00

Achievements. They are, in my opinion, one of the best ideas Microsoft had for the Xbox 360 (and like any good idea, Sony decided to copy them). It gives you something more to strive for, and some make you play in ways you otherwise wouldn't. Developers have freedom over what they want their achievements to be, and can have up to 50 achievements and 1000 gamer points per game (up to 12 achievements and 200 points for Xbox Live Arcade titles). Some are easy, while others are quite difficult, and there are some pretty creative ones too. But one thing is for sure, getting one of the highest gamerscores in the world cannot be easy. Even so, DJHUNTERD has managed to have the 4th highest gamerscore in the world, and the highest in the United Kingdom. Here, I have an exclusive interview with him covering how and why he does it.

Q: First of all, what do you do for a living and who are you?
A: I am from Sacramento, CA currently in the Air Force stationed overseas in the UK.

Q: What's the reason for your Xbox Live gamertag?

A: I always used Hunter as my name for all games and I call myself “D” for the simple fact that my last names pretty hard to say. Add that to the fact that I DJ house music and there you have my gamertag.

Q: When did you decide to try and be one of the people with the highest gamerscore?

A: I would have to say it started when I met my good live friend Fixell. He was like at 15k and I was at roughly 10k. We became good friends and did ALL boosting together for every game and eventually my quest to surpass him and for a higher score came to be.

Q: Why do you do it?
A: My love of games and it keeps me busy than doing other things which could get me in trouble.

Q: How long do you think you can keep it up?

A: As long as games steadily come out I can go till the next gen.

Q: What are some of the hardest achievements you've gotten?

A: PDZ Dark agent, Quake 4 General completed.

Q: Which games had the easiest achievements?

A: Take your pick of almost any sport game… LOL!!!

Q: What achievements are you working on now?

A: Samurai Warriors 2 and Bulletwitch.

Q: Is there anyone in particular you have a rivalry with?

A: Not really but I think a couple of people think I am with them though ;p

Q: What's an achievement you'd like to see?

A: A single achievement worth 1000 GS. Like 100% game or something…

Q: Do you think you'll pass RANCE6 (the gamer with the world's highest score) anytime soon?

A: NOPE…. He has the incredible advantage of knowing Japanese.

Q: How much time do you play Xbox 360 daily, and how much of that is dedicated to getting Achievements?

A: I try to play a few hours everyday and on days I have off as much as possible. Almost all of it is time for achievements but I do play FPS with friends still for fun.

Q: What game are you most looking forward to?
A: I am looking forward to Gears of War, The Darkness, and of course Halo 3!

Q: Do you have any tips for getting achievements?

A: Pick the genre which you excel in (like mine is action/adventure/FPS) and go for all the points you can. Also, play all the sports games as they net you easy points. And my last bit of advice is if you don’t have a “dedicated” boost buddy who’ll do games with you… get one A.S.A.P. or it’ll be harder finding random people and getting those achievements.

39 news games Backwards Compatible, 9 updated

2006-08-28T18:10:00.000-07:00

Another Backwards Compatibilty update is now available on Xbox Live. If you don't have Xbox Live, you can download it from Xbox.com. Here is the list of added and updated games:

Aggressive Inline
Aquaman: Battle of Atlantis
All Star Baseball 2003
All Star Baseball 2005
Burnout 3: Takedown
Catwoman
Crash Bandicoot: Nitro Kart UPDATED
Counter Strike
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
Dead to Rights
Digimon Rumble Arena 2 UPDATED
ESPN Major League Baseball
Fatal Frame 2
Ford vs. Chevy UPDATED
Freaky Flyers
Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows
Tom Clancy´s Ghost Recon - Island Thunder
Half Life 2 UPDATED
The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer UPDATED
IndyCar Series 2005
Kabuki Warrior UPDATED
Lego Star Wars II
Links 2004
Magatama UPDATED
Maximum Chase
Mortal Kombat: Deception UPDATED
MTX: Mototrax Featuring Travis Pastrana
Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Arcade Collection
MX vs. ATV Unleashed
Outlaw Tennis
Over the Hedge
Sid Meier's Pirates
Richard Burns Rally
Rogue Trooper
Serious Sam
Shincho Mahjong
Smashing Drive
Sneakers UPDATED
Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run
The Legend of Spyro: A Beginning
TAZ: Wanted
True Crime Streets of LA
The Suffering
Trigger Man
Torino Winter Olympics 2006
Vietcong
Wrath Unleashed
X-Men II: Wolverine's Revenge

For the full list of all Backwards Compatible games, go to Xbox.com.
Some of these games are not yet released, like Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run, The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning, and Lego Star Wars II. I think this is definitely a step in the right direction. Microsoft has said they eventually want "to have every Xbox game work on Xbox 360". I doubt that will happen, but even so they are going about it wrong. Every month, more games come out for the Xbox, and that's just more games that aren't backwards compatible. Every new game that comes out should be backwards compatible at release, and the code could even be included on the disc. And I know this would be a lot of extra work if Microsoft were to do it all, but that doesn't have to be. The developers could work it out, and although it would take extra time and money it would be worth it because their audience would be expanded to include many 360 owners.

Also, even though Lego Star Wars II will be available on the Xbox 360, the Xbox 1 version is backwards compatible. This is the first time that has happened, and hopefully they will do it more often.

[Via Major Nelson and Gamerscore Blog]

Some cool game videos

2006-08-27T22:21:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted much in the last few days, so here are some cool videos to watch:

My Animated World - An amazingly well done stop motion video, with a few game references in it.

Game Over - A bunch of retro games recreated with food and other objects.

Games Break Out - A funny video of games coming to life. Watch until the end.

Top Ten Games on Live (August 26)

2006-08-26T15:15:00.000-07:00

From Major Nelson, here are the top ten most played games on Xbox Live, based on world wide unique users:

Xbox 360 Top Live Games
1 Call of Duty 2
2 Madden NFL 07
3 Texas Hold 'em
4 Ghost Recon 3
5 DEAD RISING
6 Chromehounds
7 Oblivion
8 BFMC
9 Final Fantasy XI
10 NCAA 07

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Battlefield 2: MC
3 Madden NFL 07
4 Splinter Cell Chaos
5 Counter-Strike
6 Pro Evolution Soccer 5
7 Rainbow Six 3 BA
8 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
9 Forza Motorsport
10 Madden NFL 2006

If combined, Halo 2 would be first, followed by all the Xbox 360 games.

Top Xbox Live Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 Texas Hold 'em
2 Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting
3 PAC-MAN
4 Hexic HD
5 Geometry Wars Evolved
6 UNO
7 Cloning Clyde
8 GALAGA
9 Frogger
10 Marble Blast Ultra

Details on the XNA Framework

2006-08-26T13:33:00.000-07:00

The XNA Team Blog has a post about what the XNA Framework is and does. It's interesting, and if you have any interest in XNA you should check it out.
Read the post
[Via Let's Kill Dave!]

Xbox Live Vision, Wireless Racing Wheel, Wireless Headset, and Faceplates - details and prices

2006-08-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

At the German Games Convention, Microsoft confirmed the bundles the Xbox Live Vision Camera will be sold in, along with the prices for the Wireless Racing Wheel, Wireless Headset, Wireless Gaming Reciever for Windows, and new faceplates. Here are the details:
The Xbox Live Vision Camera will be sold in two bundles, as follows:
Xbox Live Vision, which includes 1 month of Xbox Live Gold Membership, a headset, free downloads of UNO and TotemBall, will retail for around $39.99. The Xbox Live Video Chat Gold Gold Kit is the same as the first, except for it comes with a year of Xbox Live Gold Membership, a free download of Robotron (along with UNO and TotemBall), and 200 Microsoft Points. It will sell for about $79.99. The U.S. release date stays the same (September 19th), but in Europe it has been changed to October 6th.
The Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel will be released in November for around $149.99, and (while supplies last) people who purchase it will also get a limited edition force feedback version of Project Gotham Racing 3.
Also in November, the Wireless Headset will be available for around $59.99.
Then, in December, the Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows will be released for about $19.99.New faceplates will be available in early November, including ones for Halo, Viva Pinata, and Forza Motorsport 2.

Texas Hold 'em is Live

2006-08-23T01:04:00.000-07:00

Texas Hold 'em is now on Xbox Live Arcade. Get it in the next 48 hours and it will be free, but after that it's 800 Microsoft Points.

Xbox 360 eventually $149-$199

2006-08-22T22:51:00.000-07:00

GamePro has an interview with Microsoft's Albert Penello about HD-DVD, PS3, and the Xbox 360 in general. While most of it is stuff that we already knew, here are some of the things he said. The HD-DVD drive will be the cheapest player on the market, and although he didn't confirm a price or release, he said it will "be out in plenty of time for the holidays" and a price will probably be revealed by the Tokyo Game Show or X06. He then said that there were no plans for HDMI or DVI on the HD-DVD add-on, saying that "the reality is, for any normal HD owner, the difference [between the formats] is nonexistent". He said that they may add it eventually though, but nothing is planned so far. Penello then said that an Xbox 360 with built in HD-DVD was possible, but once again there were not yet any plans to do so.
Then he said that "We built the Xbox 360 Core system so that we could get to $199 or $149 sometime", also saying he didn't think the PS3 could achieve such a low price. Although Microsoft is very clear that there won't be a price drop this fall, it looks like eventually the 360 could cost as low as the origianl Xbox.

New features coming for Marketplace, and statistics about downloads

2006-08-22T20:58:00.001-07:00

At the Games Convention Developers Conference, Microsoft third-party account manager Steven Blackburn had some stuff to say about Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. Gamespot has the rundown of his presentation, and here are some of the things he said:
First, the numbers (There are a few statistics in the article I have not included, because I've already wrote about them. Also, Elle from Xbox.com stated earlier that there have been "more than 8 million Xbox Live Arcade downloads since launch", while the Gamespot article says "5 million total downloads so far" of Xbox Live Arcade games. I geuss Blackburn's information must have been a little older). 60% of the people with Xbox 360 consoles are connected to Live, sending an average of 900,000 voice and text messages a day. Over 2 billion hours have been logged on Live, which is around 228,000 years. 30% of users have bought Microsoft Points, spending over 1 billion points (almost $12.5 million), with about 45 million total downloads. On average, there have been around 25 downloads per user.
Next Blackburn spoke about Xbox Live Marketplace, and what new features are coming. In some games you will be able to browse and download content from in the game, instead of having to quit and work from the dashboard. An example he gave was for a combat flight simulator, where you would be able to look through planes and weapons in a hangar, and without ever leaving the game download the content you wanted. Another thing to be added to Xbox Live Marketplace will be the ability to preview Premium content before purchasing it. Pictures will be added, so you will know more about what you're buying before spending your money.

Those are some impressive numbers, and it looks like what Microsoft has in store for Marketplace just keeps getting better.

A video preview of upcoming accessories

2006-08-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

On GameVideos.com, there is a preview for the Wireless Racing Wheel, Wireless Headset, Vision Camera, and HD-DVD drive. It's cool to see them being used, and they look like they will work great when they are released.

[Via Gamerscore Blog]

Molyneux on next-gen combat and motion controllers

2006-08-22T10:22:00.000-07:00

Peter Molyneux, the creator of Fable, had some things to say about how combat can evolve in this generation. Along with showing a demo of how combat could be done (and although it was done in Fable's style he says it's not Fable 2), he said he thinks motion controllers are not the next step and just leave the player tired. Read more of what he said at gamesindustry.biz.

Vibrating the controller in video chat (and more Vision tidbits)

2006-08-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

The Xbox 360 FAQ on Xbox.com has been updated, and has a little on the Xbox Live Vision Camera. Most of it is stuff I've already covered, but here are a few new pieces of information:

The cable is 9ft long
To use it on the PC, the following drivers must be downloaded: "Xbox Security Method 3, Version 1.00" and "Microsoft Xbox 360 Live Vision Camera"
When the camera is plugged in, you get a "watery background effect" in the dashboard
When using the music visualizer, you can play with it with your movement. What you do will have a "ghosting effect"
The ring on the front of the camera can be used to focus it
In UNO, you can zoom in with the camera
You can video chat with someone even if they don't have a camera, and only they can see you (if they want they can talk with the headset though)
You cannot send video with your messages, only pictures (which can't be saved on your hard drive, but can be kept in your messages for as long as you want)
And here is the most interesting (and funniest) part: While in video chat, you can vibrate the other person's controller with the triggers. I wonder how this could be used? ;)

HD DVD outsells Blu-ray

2006-08-19T13:14:00.000-07:00

TG Daily says that HD DVD players outsold Blu-ray ones by 33% in the first six weeks after launch (sales began in April and June, respectively). So far there is only one Blu-ray player available, Samsung's BD-P1000, and it sells for around $1000, while there are many HD DVD players for sale for as low as $450. Although HD DVD players sold better, Blu-ray's higher price allowed it to make more money. Samsung took in more revenue from it's player than all the HD DVD ones combined, reaching 42% more revenue in the first six weeks.
These "next generation" DVDs are still not widely used though, as only 0.4% of all disc player sales were from HD DVD and Blu-ray, while 86.2% were from DVD players, and 13.4% from DVD recorders.
[Via QJ.net]

Top Ten Games on Live (August 19)

2006-08-19T10:49:00.000-07:00

From Major Nelson, here are the top ten games on Xbox Live, based on worldwide users playing:

Xbox 360 Top Live Games
1 Call of Duty 2
2 DEAD RISING
3 Ghost Recon 3
4 Chromehounds
5 Oblivion
6 NCAA 07
7 BFMC
8 Final Fantasy XI
9 Dead Rising Demo
10 Lord of the Rings: BFME2

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Battlefield 2: MC
3 Splinter Cell Chaos
4 Counter-Strike
5 Pro Evolution Soccer 5
6 Rainbow Six 3 BA
7 Madden NFL 2006
8 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
9 Forza Motorsport
10 Rainbow Six 3

Top Xbox Live Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 PAC-MAN
2 Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting
3 UNO
4 Geometry Wars Evolved
5 GALAGA
6 Frogger
7 Cloning Clyde
8 Marble Blast Ultra
9 Bankshot Billiards 2
10 Zuma

If the lists were combined, Halo 2 would be first followed by all the 360 games.

Lots on the Xbox Live Vision Camera, what it can do, and how it will be used in games

2006-08-18T23:08:00.000-07:00

There was just news about how the Xbox Live Vision Camera will be sold, and now Gamasutra has more information on how it will work and what kind of things it can do.
At Gamefest, Microsoft's Jeff Stone demonstrated some of the things the camera is capable of (using the software already installed on Xbox 360s from the Spring update). With the Vision Camera, you can have one on one video chat with other users of Xbox Live (this feature is already setup - in the Guide, go to Private Chat and then Video Chat. Obviously you can't do anything without a camera, but if you want to see it in action send a friend invite to someone who has the Camera). You can filter the video in a bunch of ways, for identity protection or just because it looks cool. Gamasutra says there was no lag, and it worked fine. You can also send pictures with your messages (Create a new message, and after typing it you'll see the option to "Add Picture"), and if you receive a message from someone not on your Friend's list, you'll have the option to accept or decline the photo. You can also create a custom gamer picture, which can be filtered to your liking. Only people on your Friends list can see your custom pic, while everyone else sees the default one (Oh good... I hate to imagine some of the things other people will take pictures of for their gamertag).
The first gesture-based game, TotemBall (which will be included with the camera), was also shown, and a video of it being played is on Gamasutra. Many games will make use of the Vision Camera technology, such as UNO (support is already included - the gamertag is replaced with a video feed from the person's camera when used), and face mapping technology will be available in games like World Series of Poker and Rainbow Six Vegas.
Face mapping will be done by Digimask's technology, which has been used in everything from cell phone greetings to television to video games (It has previously been used with the Playstation 2's EyeToy). Gamasutra tested the technology at Gamefest, and with a few pictures and a film clip where users can pick the perfect frames, a model was made. The demo had options to choose a hairstyle and eye wear, and after created could look around, blink, and even show emotions.
Another technology the Vision Camera will utilize is GestureTek's Video Gesture Control. A demonstrative program allows simple interactivity, where the the user is not displayed but can control and interact with objects on screen. GestureTek also showed face tracking technology, where a box on screen could track a users head. Other people going into the area do not disrupt it, and the user can move fast while the box stays with him.
Another program GestureTek has developed can track objects besides a users head, like hand held accessories that could be bought for this purpose. It is done quite simply: the tracker remembers an object's color and shape, and can then follow it in many ways. From quick movement to rotation, it will pick it up. It can even sense depth using the size of an object, so it can theoretically tell how far an object is from the screen.
Launching on September 19th, the Xbox Live Vision Camera will add a whole new level to the Xbox 360, especially Xbox Live.
[Via Gamerscore Blog]

Xbox Live Vision Camera price and bundles

2006-08-18T12:52:00.001-07:00

OXM UK has some new information about the Xbox Live Vision Camera. The release date had already been announced (Septembere 19th) but we were left to wonder at the price and how it would be bundled. Some new information has been found by OXM UK, answering both those questions. Here are the two (rumored) bundles, including their price:

The standard kit, for 39.99 includes:

Xbox Live Vision Camera
Xbox Live headset
One free month of Xbox Live Gold
TotemBall Live Arcade game.
Uno Live Arcade game.

The Gold bundle, for 79.99 includes:

Xbox Live Vision Camera
Xbox Live headset
Free Xbox Live Gold subscription for a year.
TotemBall Live Arcade game.
Uno Live Arcade game.
A third Xbox Live Arcade game (title so far unknown)
200 Microsoft Points

These are not yet confirmed, but would make sense and work well.

Marketplace and Live Arcade Stats, Downloadable Content news

2006-08-17T23:13:00.000-07:00

Gamasutra has an article about Xbox Live Marketplace and Xbox Live Arcade, summarizing things said by Microsoft's Marketplace Business Manager Rohan Oommen.
According to Oommen, there have been over 40 million downloads from the Marketplace since launch, and on average a user has downloaded 20 or more items from the ever expanding selection of more than 2000 downloads. Game demos are the most popular, having an average of 250,000 downloads when released (Prey had 300,000 in the first week alone). Timing is important for demos, and can help increase sales - 40% of the people who downloaded the Fight Night Round 3 demo bought the game.
Between 10% and 50% of the people who downloaded a trial version of an Xbox Live Arcade game ended up purchasing the full version, making the average conversion rate 22%. It was also revealed that the less expensive titles do not make more money, since $10 or $15 games have made more money in the their lifetimes than the $5 ones.
Downloadable content (like Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter's "Chapter 2") is also very profitable, and three games have already made $1 million on added downloadable content. Microsoft said they would like to get content out faster though, adding that companies should assemble a small team that can create additional content so it can be released early on, within the first 60 to 90 days after a game's release.
One new feature Microsoft is planning for Marketplace is "consumables". These would be items you would purchase, but would get used and you could then purchase them again. This seems to me like like a bad idea, just a way for Microsoft to get more money from our gaming addictions.

Xbox Live Arcade in the coming weeks: Texas Hold 'em (free for 48 hours), Time Pilot, and Scramble

2006-08-16T16:00:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, August 23rd, Texas Hold 'em will finally be released on Xbox Live Arcade at 0800 GMT. For the first 48 hours, it can be downloaded free of charge. After you get it, you have the full game for as long as you want, as if you had purchased it. At 0801 GMT on Friday, August 25th, after the 48 hours have passed, it will no longer be free, and can be purchased for 800 Microsoft Points.

The next game released for Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays will be Time Pilot on August 30th. It will sell for 400 Microsoft Points.

Then, on Wednesday, September 6th, Scramble will be released. The full game can be purchased for 400 Microsoft Points.

So far, each release is exactly one week after the dates I previously posted about. Does that mean Lumines Live will be coming on September 13th? It's a good geuss, and I hope it proves to be true.

Read the full article on Xbox.com
Via Major Nelson

Marketplace information

2006-08-15T18:40:00.000-07:00

There is an article about Xbox Live Marketplace on Xbox.com, and it has some intersting facts:

Over 80% of Xbox Live members have downloaded something from Xbox Live Marketplace
Music videos, movie trailers, and game trailers are downloaded by almost 70% of Xbox Live members
Of connected consoles, over 65% have downloaded an Xbox Live Arcade game
Over 8 million Xbox Live Arcade downloads have happened since launch

Read the article
More Marketplace numbers

Speaking of Marketplace, you may have noticed I've stopped posting when there is new content on Marketplace. Instead, on the right of my website the last six items available for download are listed. Also, check out Achieve360points.com/live for a full listing with sizes, price, and descriptions of all Marketplace content.

Statistics about the US gaming market

2006-08-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

Ozymandias has a post listing some datapoints from the NPD Group about gaming, online, sales, the different consoles, and more. It's interesting, and definitely worth checking out.

Xbox 360 projected sales and more

2006-08-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

Team Xbox has some interesting info on the Xbox 360. By this holiday, Microsoft expects over 10 million 360s to have been shipped, and more games, making a total of 160. 13-15 million are expected to ship worldwide by June 2007. The Xbox 360 is setting a record for the most accessories sold per console in the US, and for the past four months has held a steady attach rate of 2.9 accessories per console. The attach rate for games rose this month to 4.6 per console.

HD-DVD drive for $200 (Update: Gamerscore Blog comments)

2006-08-15T00:53:00.000-07:00

DigiTimes has an article stating that the HD DVD add on for the Xbox 360 will sell for $200. This makes sense, because together with the Premium 360 it would be $600, the same price as the PS3.
Via Engadget

Update:
There is a post on the Gamerscore Blog stating that "we haven't announced a price or availability date for the HD DVD Player--anything you're seeing online is speculation". They probably just want to make sure people know that - so if it ends up being more expensive, people won't get angry about Microsoft "lying" about the price.

Why 1080p does not matter

2006-08-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

Ozymandias has a good post on why 1080p does not matter, and is in most cases no different from 1080i.
Read the post

Create your own games for Xbox 360

2006-08-14T17:47:00.000-07:00

Microsoft announced that they are making XNA Game Studio Express, a program that helps you create games for Windows and the Xbox 360. A free beta will be available August 30th for Windows. The full version will be released around the holidays, and while free for Windows there will be a $99 annual fee to share and play games on the Xbox 360.
Here's where you can go for more info:
Let's Kill Dave - a list of links to different articles about it
Gamerscore Blog - a good overview
Joystiq - a good write up on what it is
Joystiq - how Sony tried (and failed) at this before, and how Microsoft can do better
Xbox-Scene - The most interesting FAQs, and a description of how it will work with the 360
XNA Team Blog
XNA FAQ

Top Ten Games on Live (August 12th)

2006-08-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

The top ten games on Xbox Live, based on users playing:

Xbox 360 Top Live Games
1 Call of Duty 2
2 Ghost Recon 3
3 Dead Rising Demo
4 Chromehounds
5 Oblivion
6 Final Fantasy XI
7 Saints Row Demo
8 NCAA 07
9 BFMC
10 Dead Rising

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Battlefield 2: MC
3 Splinter Cell Chaos
4 Counter-Strike
5 Rainbow Six 3 BA
6 Pro Evolution Soccer 5
7 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
8 Madden NFL 2006
9 Forza Motorsport
10 Rainbow Six 3

Overall, Halo 2 is the most played game followed by all the 360 games.
From Major Nelson

More on the Director of The Halo Movie

2006-08-09T20:54:00.000-07:00

Joystiq has a post looking into what Neill Blomkamp, the recently announced director of the Halo movie has previously done. It's interesting, and it's definitely worth checking out.

Read the article

The Halo Movie Director Chosen

2006-08-09T17:50:00.000-07:00

Team Xbox writes that the director of the upcoming Halo movie has been chosen. Neill Blomkamp, who has directed short films and commercials, will be making his big screen debut with the Halo movie, set for a summer 2008 release.
The original article on Gamasutra also reveals the most recent sales figures for Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2. Combined, they have sold 14.5 million copies and and grossed over 650 million dollars.

Xbox Live Wednesdays Releases through September 6th (Update: These dates are wrong)

2006-08-07T17:04:00.000-07:00

Here is the release schedule for Xbox Live Arcade, from OXM UK:

August 9th: Pac-Man
August 16th: Texas Hold 'Em
August 23rd: Time Pilot
August 30th: Scramble
September 6th: Lumines Live!

Update:
The release dates for Texas Hold 'em, Time Pilot, and Scramble have been revealed, proving these to be false. They are each one week after these dates. Although Lumines Live doesn't have a set release date, if it follows this pattern it will be available on September 13th.

HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray...which is better

2006-08-03T20:01:00.000-07:00

Now that there are some of the same movies on both HD-DVD and Blu-ray, a side to side comparison can finally be done. High-Def Digest compared the movies Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Rumor Has It, and Training Day, and from video and audio quality to load speeds, Blu-ray was worse while HD-DVD peformed better. These next generation DVDs are still very new, but considering that Blu-ray is one of the PS3's big selling points, and one of the reasons for the high price, this isn't good for Sony.
Via Ozymandias

Gears of War Emergence Day Confirmed - November 12

2006-08-03T19:05:00.000-07:00

The Gears of War release date, or "Emergence Day", has finally been set as November 12th, 2006 (Or the 17th for those in Europe), less than a week before the PS3 launches. It will cost $59.99, or $69.99 for the limited metal cased collectors edition (It comes with a "Destroyed Beauty" art book, and a bonus DVD about the making of the game).

Xbox Portable

2006-08-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

Team Xbox has a great article about what an Xbox Portable could be like, and it's definitely worth checkling out.
Read the article.

E3 not canceled...just changed

2006-07-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

It appears that E3 has NOT been canceled, it is just going through some major changes and is being downsized considerably. Read the details at Joystiq, Next Generation, Team Xbox, and Gamespot. Next Generation also has a list of 10 reasons why it was canceled.

E3 Cancelled?

2006-07-30T13:25:00.000-07:00

According to many sites, the yearly Electronic Entertainment Expo, the biggest show in video games, has been cancelled. That's odd, considering planning for E3 2007 has already begun. From the official site:
Planning is already underway for E³ 2007. Mark your calendars:

E³ 2007
May 16-18, 2007
Los Angeles Convention Center

Read more at Joystiq, GameSpot, Next Generation, and Kotaku.

Top Ten Games on Live (July 29)

2006-07-30T13:21:00.000-07:00

Here are the top ten most played games on Live:

Xbox 360 Top Live Games
1 Call of Duty 2
2 Ghost Recon 3
3 Chromehounds
4 NCAA 07
5 Oblivion
6 Final Fantasy XI
7 BFMC
8 Lord of the Rings: BFME2
9 PGR3
10 EA SPORTS™ Fight Night Round 3

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Battlefield 2: MC
3 Counter-Strike
4 Splinter Cell Chaos
5 Rainbow Six 3 BA
6 Pro Evolution Soccer 5
7 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
8 Madden NFL 2006
9 Forza Motorsport
10 Rainbow Six 3

If the lists were combined, Halo 2 would be first followed by all the Xbox 360 games.
From Major Nelson

I'm back from Europe

2006-07-28T15:45:00.000-07:00

Well, I came home early, so I'll now be updating my website as usual.

Needler Productions

2006-07-23T23:22:00.000-07:00

I got a message on Live today from RNS TOILET about his site, NEEDLER PRODUCTIONS. It's great to find out that someone actually cares about my site, and I'm always willing to help someone else trying to make a name on the internet. The site is a collection of Halo 2 videos he and his friends have made, so check it out.

Update: The site is now needlerproductions.com

Massive will provide in-game advertising for WEBZEN

2006-06-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

Team Xbox writes that WEBZEN has signed Massive to do in game advertising for two of its games. This fits perfectly with my idea for no monthly fee in Huxley. Let's hope this replaces the monthly fee, although it's doubtful.

Top Ten Games on Live (June 17)

2006-06-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

Here are the top ten games on Live, based on users playing:

Xbox 360 Top Live Games
1 Call of Duty 2
2 Ghost Recon 3
3 Oblivion
4 BFMC
5 Final Fantasy XI
6 EA SPORTS™ Fight Night Round 3
7 Perfect Dark Zero
8 PGR3
9 Dead or Alive 4
10 Hitman: Blood Money

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Battlefield 2: MC
3 Counter-Strike
4 Splinter Cell Chaos
5 Rainbow Six 3 BA
6 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
7 Pro Evolution Soccer 5
8 Madden NFL 2006
9 Forza Motorsport
10 Ghost Recon 2: SS

From Major Nelson

Backwards Compatibility Update adds over 20 games

2006-06-14T00:27:00.000-07:00

Remember the Backwards Compatibility Update I told you about? Well you can now get it. Here are the games added to the list:

1. 4x4 EVO 2
2. Amped® 2
3. Bad Boys 2
4. Big Mutha Truckers
5. DOOM 3®
6. Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
7. Fatal Frame™
8. FlatOut™
9. Grabbed by the Ghoulies™
10. Intellivision Lives
11. LEGO® Star Wars®
12. Minority Report
13. MLB SlugFest 20-04
14. The Punisher™
15. RalliSport Challenge
16. Silent Hill® 4: The Room
17. Spawn® Armageddon
18. Spider-Man
19. Star Wars Battlefront™
20. State of Emergency
21. Zapper™

Additional Japanese-only titles:

Bistro Cupid 1
Flight Academy
Othello Seminar
Igo Seminar
Shogi Seminar
Mahjong Seminar

E3 2006 Awards

2006-06-12T12:55:00.000-07:00

At the Gamerscore Blog, there is a list of all the awards the Xbox 360 won at this year's E3. It's pretty cool, as it lists awards from a whole lot of different sites.

I'm leaving.... but now I'm home

2006-06-12T10:37:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving to Europe for the summer. ~~I'll be back around August 4th~~ I'm now home to resume my normal blogging. I will of course try to update it some while I'm gone, but I doubt I'll be able to.

Xbox 360 vs. PlayStation 3

2006-06-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

There's a good comparison between the 360 and the PS3 at Yahoo! Video Games, it's worth checking out.
One thing they brought up was the Xbox 360's lack of HDMI, saying you should go for the PS3 for HD movie playback. According to this article at Team Xbox though, it may not matter.

Thanks to Xbox-Scene

Top Ten Games on Live (June 10)

2006-06-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

Here are the top ten most played games on Xbox Live (based on users playing), for Xbox 1 and 360, from Major Nelson:

Xbox 360 Top Live Games

1 Call of Duty 2
2 Ghost Recon 3
3 Oblivion
4 BFMC
5 Final Fantasy XI
6 PGR3
7 Hitman: Blood Money
8 EA SPORTS™ Fight Night Round 3
9 Perfect Dark Zero
10 Rockstar Table Tennis

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Battlefield 2: MC
3 Counter-Strike
4 Splinter Cell Chaos
5 Pro Evolution Soccer 5
6 Rainbow Six 3 BA
7 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
8 Madden NFL 2006
9 Forza Motorsport
10 Ghost Recon 2: SS

If the lists were combined, Halo 2 would be at the top, and then all the 360 games.

An article about in-game advertising

2006-06-09T23:27:00.000-07:00

There's an article about in-game advertising on Gamespot, it's a good read if you want to know some more about how, when, and why ads might be used in video games in the coming years.

Here's my idea of a great way to use it. Why not use ads instead of a monthly fee for MMO games? Let's look at Huxley, and how it would work: There will be around 5,000 people per server. If they had some billboards (like GRAW) and other ads scattered around they could make a lot of money. Plus, Microsoft recently purchased Massive. All I know about them is they do advertising in video games, so it seems like Microsoft already has what they need to set it up. They could also have ads when multiplayer and such is loading, instead of game pictures, tips, or whatever. And for those of you who don't want ads they could have an optional monthly fee with no ads. As long as they could do it without overdoing the ads, it would be a great solution.

More on Huxley: Description, Screenshots

How to clear your 360's cache

2006-06-09T13:50:00.000-07:00

There were many things the recent dashboard update can do, but this is one they didn't tell you about. This will clear the cache, along with any game updates (like the Oblivion patch). Here's how it's done, from GamersReports:

Go to the system blade and then memory. Press Y on either the HDD or a MU and then press X,X,Left Bumper, Right Bumper, X,X. Once you do this a blade will pop up saying: This will perform maintenance on your Xbox 360 storage devices. Do you want to continue? Pick yes or no.

I can't think of how this could harm your system, but you never know, so be aware. If it completely messes everything up, don't blame me.

Your custom sountracks in backwards compatible games

2006-06-08T20:36:00.000-07:00

According to Xbox 360 Fanboy, since the update you can now listen to your own custom soundtracks in any backwards compatible Xbox 1 game the same way as in 360 games. Just set up the music you want, then boot up the Xbox 1 game and it will continue to play. You won't be able to control it though, so set the volume, playlist and shuffle before you go into the game.

New Content on Marketplace-Rumble Roses Demo, PDZ maps, new videos, themes, and gamerpics

2006-06-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

Here's what's new on Markeplace:

Demos:
Rumble Roses Double X (854.31 MB)

Videos:
Kameo: Elements of Power 40 Below Video (67.34 MB)
Kameo: Elements of Power Pummel Weed Video (81.48 MB)
Kameo: Elements of Power Rubble Video (53.25 MB)
Kameo: Elements of Power Thermite Video (81.87 MB)
Kameo: Elements of Power Chilla Video (78.89 MB)
Kameo: Elements of Power Combos Video (42.36 MB)
Kameo: Elements of Power Deep Blue Video (53.90 MB)
Kameo: Elements of Power Flex Video (67.61 MB)
Kameo: Elements of Power Major Ruin Video (54.89 MB)
Matisyahu: King Without a Crown Live - Video (480p, 49.48 MB and 720p, 269.03 MB)

Themes:
Dead Rising Theme 4 (7.29 MB, 150 MS Points)
LOTR, BFMEII: Cinematic Paintings Theme 2 (4.39 MB, 150 MS Points)
12 News Top Spin 2 Themes (150 MS Points each)

Pictures:
Top Spin 2 - Picture Pack 1 (172 KB, 60 MS Points)
Top Spin 2 - Picture Pack 2 (172 KB, 60 MS Points)
Top Spin 2 - Picture Pack 3 (156 KB, 60 MS Points)
LOTR, BFME II: Dwarves Picture Pack (288 KB, 160 MS Points)

Game Content:
Perfect Dark Zero Map Pack One (231.89 MB, 500 MS Points)

Oblivion patch

2006-06-07T19:05:00.000-07:00

A free patch is now available for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, fixing many glitches and bugs.
Read the details of what it does at The Elder Scrolls website.

New Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter content

2006-06-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

I reported earlier there will be new content for GRAW sometime in the future. On the official Ghost Recon website, they give details and say it will be available for download at the end of the month.

Here's some details on what the download contains:

Continuation of Co-op Campaign with 4 All New Missions in Chapter 2:

Coffee Plantation (Day)
Shipping Port (Evening)
River Depot (Dawn)
Jungle Mine (Day)

8 Revisited; Relit MP Adversarial Maps: 8 of GRAW’s favorite MP maps are revisited and relit for a new gameplay experience.

Fishing Village (Dusk)

Wharf (Late day)

Old Town (Morning)

Nowhere (Evening)

Coffee Plantation (Evening)

Shipping Port (Sunset)

River Depot (Day)

Jungle Mines (Evening)

2 New Game Types with 1 Game Mode - Team Battle: 2 all new game types add upon GRAW’s long list of available game types.

Team Blind Siege

Team Battle

2 New Camouflage Patterns

Canadian CADPAT

British DPM

4 New Character Customization Faces

4 new faces with new camo

5 New Weapons

SR-25 SD (Marksman)
M468 (Rifleman)
M468/M320 (Grenadier)
AK-47 LMG (Gunner)
SCAR-H SV (Rifleman)

Go to the Ghost Recon website for a description of the new maps and new weapons, along with more details.

Halo 3: Behind the Scenes video

2006-06-06T20:04:00.000-07:00

A little while ago Bungie revealed they were working on a video about the Halo 3 trailer. It is now available on their website, Bungie.net, with both Quicktime and Windows Media formats. They have HD versions for both, and it will be availble in HD on Xbox Live Marketplace in a week or two. You get to see a lot of what went into making the trailer, and the music composing. There are some things that got cut from the trailer, and new angles and views from in the trailer. And the most interesting part: Bungie says, "If you look very, very carefully, you'll see hints of things to come. Nothing too dramatic, but the fans will spot stuff, of that we're certain."

Over half a billion games played in Halo 2

2006-06-06T13:59:00.000-07:00

As of around noon yesterday, half a billion Halo 2 games (not player-sessions) had been played. Halo 2 is still the most popular game on Live, and the number of hours and games played are growing all the time.

Chrome Controller Shell

2006-06-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

Team Xtender has made a full Chrome controller shell, which will go nicely with their previous Chrome faceplate.

The Dashboard update is (finally) getting realeased at 2 am, 6/6/06

2006-06-05T19:23:00.000-07:00

The dashboard update is finally going to be released. Major Nelson says it will be available Tuesday, at 0200 PT. It may take up to four hours for you to get prompted that it is available, so you will be getting it between 0200 and 0600, or whenever you next sign in to Xbox Live. It will have over 125 new features, for details go to Xbox.com.
Here is a full list of all the features.

Top Ten Games on Live (June 3)

2006-06-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

Here are last week's 10 most played games on Xbox Live:

Xbox 360 Top Live Games
1 Call of Duty 2
2 Ghost Recon 3
3 Oblivion
4 BFMC
5 PGR3
6 Final Fantasy XI
7 Rockstar Table Tennis
8 EA SPORTS™ Fight Night Round 3
9 Perfect Dark Zero
10 Hitman: Blood Money Demo

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Battlefield 2: MC
3 Counter-Strike
4 Splinter Cell Chaos
5 Pro Evolution Soccer 5
6 Rainbow Six 3 BA
7 Madden NFL 2006
8 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
9 Forza Motorsport
10 Ghost Recon 2: SS

Overall, Halo 2 is still the most played game.

From Major Nelson

Backwards Compatibility Update

2006-06-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

According to the Gamerscore Blog, more Xbox 1 titles will be playable on the 360 sometime soon. That's interesting, considering Peter Moore's recent comments.

Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2006

2006-06-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

The Game Critics Awards choices for best of E3 have been announced.

Read them all at gamecriticsawards.com

Where did the Xbox 360 win? Best Console Game (Gears of War), Best Action Game (Gears of War), and Best Role Playing Game (Mass Effect).

For a quick snapshot of who won how much, go here.

Prey Demo coming June 22

2006-06-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

The Prey team announced that a demo for their game will be available for Xbox 360 (and PC) on June 22. It will have 5 levels, multiplayer and single player.

More at IGN and Team Xbox
More on Prey here.

New Content on Marketplace-

2006-06-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

Here what's new on Marketplace (I might have missed a few things since I was gone):

Trailers and Videos:
Jack Black Confessional 18: Geology Lesson (11.06 MB)
Jack Black Confessional 19: The Grasshopper (8.97 MB)
"Youth" - Matisyahu - Video (480p, 43.58 MB and 720p, 237.42 MB)
Entourage Trailer (480p, 11.25 MB and 720p, 60.16 MB)
Hitman: Blood Money Trailer 1 (480p, 14.56 MB and 720p, 54.27 MB)

Demos:
Hitman: Blood Money (783.25 MB)

Themes:
LOTR, BFMEII: Cinematic Paintings Theme 1 (3.86 MB, 150 MS Points)
Father's Day Theme (3.38 MB, 150 MS Points)
Class of 2006 Theme (896 KB, 150 MS Points)
Entourage Lifestyle Theme (2.92 MB, Free)
GRAW Theme 4 (4.53 MB, 150 MS Points)
GRAW Theme 5 (5.28 MB, 150 MS Points)
GRAW Theme 6 (1.30 MB, 150 MS Points)
GRAW Theme 7 (4.39 MB, 150 MS Points)

Pictures:
LOTR, BFME II: Elves Picture Pack (208 KB, 160 MS Points)
NHL 2K6 Picture Pack (144 KB, 80 MS Points)
Entourage Lifestyle Picture Pack (160 KB, Free)
Hitman: Blood Money - Gold Fleur De Lys Gamer Picture (64 KB, 20 MS Points)
Hitman: Blood Money - Agent 47 Tie Gamer Picture (64 KB, 20 MS Points)
Hitman: Blood Money - Agent 47 Picture Pack 1 (112 KB, 100 MS Points)

Xbox Live Vision Camera coming September 19th

2006-05-31T13:27:00.000-07:00

According to Major Nelson, here are the release dates for the camera:

North America: September 19th
Europe and Asia (except Japan): October 2
Japan, Australia and New Zealand: No confirmed dates

Best Selling Games in April

2006-05-31T13:06:00.000-07:00

Here are the Xbox 360 games that sold best in April, from Gamespot:

Last Month	Current Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
1	1	Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter	Ubisoft	Mar-06	$59
2	2	Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion	2K Games	Mar-06	$60
**	3	Major League Baseball 2K6	2K Games	Apr-06	$60
**	4	Battlefield 2: Modern Combat	Electronic Arts	Apr-06	$60
**	5	Tomb Raider: Legend	Eidos Interactive	Apr-06	$60
3	6	Fight Night Round 3	Electronic Arts	Feb-06	$59
6	7	Call of Duty 2	Activision	Nov-05	$59
**	8	Final Fantasy XI Online	Square Enix	Apr-06	$50
**	9	Top Spin 2	2K Games	Mar-06	$40
9	10	Far Cry: Instincts Predator	Ubisoft	Mar-06	$60

For overall best selling games, best selling games on other systems, go to Gamespot.

Top Ten Games on Live (May 27)

2006-05-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

Here are last week's top ten most played games on Xbox Live:

Xbox 360 Top Live Games
1 Call of Duty 2
2 Ghost Recon 3
3 Oblivion
4 BFMC
5 Final Fantasy XI
6 PGR3
7 EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 3
8 UNO
9 Perfect Dark Zero
10 DEAD OR ALIVE 4

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Battlefield 2: MC
3 Counter-Strike
4 Pro Evolution Soccer 5
5 Splinter Cell Chaos
6 Madden NFL 2006
7 Rainbow Six 3 BA
8 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
9 Forza Motorsport
10 Ghost Recon 2: SS

From Major Nelson

Top Ten Games on Live

2006-05-21T18:34:00.000-07:00

The top ten most played games on Xbox Live last week, based on users playing:

1 Halo 2
2 Call of Duty 2
3 Ghost Recon 3
4 Oblivion
5 BFMC
6 UNO
7 MotoGP 06 Demo
8 プレイオンラインビューアー
9 EA SPORTS™ Fight Night Round 3
10 Lost Planet Demo

Note: Number 8 is 'PlayOnline Viewer' which means ‘Final Fantasy XI.’
From Major Nelson

I'll be gone for a while...

2006-05-20T00:57:00.000-07:00

I'm gone for about a week and a half, and I'll be back around the 30th. I'll try to update the site as much as I can, but it will probably be less frequent than usual.

New Content on Marketplace-Movie Trailers, Kameo videos, NBA pics, College Hoops theme

2006-05-18T20:10:00.000-07:00

Here what's new on marketplace:

Trailers and Videos (all the following are in both 480p and 720p):
See No Evil Trailer
Peaceful Warrior Trailer
Akeelah and the Bee Trailer
Hard Candy Trailer
La Mujer de mi Hermano Trailer
Kameo: New Demo and Downloads Trailer

Gamer pictures:
NBA 2K6 Picture Pack (80 Microsoft Points)

Themes:
College Hoops 2K6 Theme (150 Microsoft Points)

Should I start putting the sizes of the downloads too? It wouldn't be hard, I just don't know if anyone would use it.

Marketplace download stats, Top Ten marketplace downloads during E3

2006-05-17T19:42:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the stats for Xbox Live Marketplace, taken from Major Nelson:
-Over 24 million downloads since launch
-Over 1.5 million gamers connected to Live last week
-People downloaded over 5 million pieces of content during the 7 days of E3, which is over 600 Terabytes of data

Top ten downloads during E3: Bringing It Home:

Halo 3 Game Trailer (Microsoft Game Studios)
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Free Playable Demo (Capcom)
Test Drive® Unlimited Free Playable Demo (Atari)
MotoGP™ '06 Free Playable Demo (THQ)
X-Men™: The Last Stand Pack (20th Century Fox)
Gears of War GameTrailer (Microsoft Game Studios)
Call of Duty ®2: Skirmish Map Pack (Activision)
Spiderman™ 3 Game Trailer (Activision)
Fable 2 Trailer (Microsoft Game Studios)
Uno® Xbox Live Arcade Game (Microsoft Game Studios)

Full article and more information at Major Nelson

360 is top selling console for April

2006-05-17T14:13:00.000-07:00

In the month of April the Xbox 360 sold more than any of the other consoles, about 295,000 (90,000 more than the PS2). Plus, five of the top-selling games were on the 360.

More at Team Xbox and Joystiq

Top Ten Games on Live

2006-05-15T21:59:00.000-07:00

The top ten games or demos based on how many people were playing last week:

1	Halo 2
2	Call of Duty 2
3	Oblivion
4	Ghost Recon 3
5	BFMC
6	Test Drive Unlimited Demo
7	Final Fantasy XI
8	EA SPORTS™ Fight Night Round 3
9	PGR3
10	Lost Planet Demo

From Major Nelson

Brother in Arms: Hells Highway delayed

2006-05-15T17:57:00.000-07:00

Ubisoft's WWII shooter, Brother in Arms: Hell's Highway, has been delayed until "first quarter" 2007.
More at OXM UK

New Content on Marketplace-Backstage Pass for Thursday and Friday

2006-05-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

Hardly anything, but here's what's new on Marketplace:

Trailers and Videos:
Backstage Pass -- Thursday
Backstage Pass -- Friday

Dashboard update at the end of May

2006-05-12T15:54:00.000-07:00

According to xboxic.com, there will be an Xbox Live update for the dashboard near the end of May. It will add many more options for downloading, such as a queue of up to 6 downloads, pausing downloads when the 360 is turned off that will then resume when you turn your 360 back on, and more. The update will have more than just increased downloading options, but what those will be is still unknown.

More at Xbox-Scene