Guitar Hero 360 to Suck Your Wallet Dry
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Activision, Rumors, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Marketplace,
We all know that microtransactions, small payments for incremental additions to games, are the way of the future. But you don’t have to brag about how much of our money you’re going to take! In a recent interview with IGN, Ted Lange, Associate Producer on Guitar Hero II, bragged that the game for the 360 will have “more online content than anyone has ever seen”.
While I’m excited about getting tons of new songs for the game, I often wonder how many of these songs could simply be squeezed onto the original disc if they tried. My guess is that the advent of microtransactions has made some programmers sloppy - there’s probably a fair amount of blank or wasted space on the GHII disc, but why bother putting more on the disc when you can just charge for it later!
Read More 
| IGN.com
Gallery: Guitar Hero 360 to Suck Your Wallet Dry
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A Brief PartnerNet Tour
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Internet, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
A couple of recent Xbox Live Arcade leaks have increased attention on Microsoft’s PartnerNet, the development network for debug Xbox Live content for developers and press. First, Eurogamer leaked the existence of Ikaruga on Xbox Live Arcade, and then Computers & Video Games had an article about the release of Rare’s Jetpak on PartnerNet that was quickly pulled. Now, CheapyD at CheapAssGamer.com has a brief tour of the PartnerNet on video, courtesy of an anonymous informer. The video shows entries for a few titles like Centipede and Millipede and a couple of other new games and gives an idea of what developers on the network can see.
Read More | Cheap Ass Gamer
Gallery: A Brief PartnerNet Tour
Major Nelson Wants Your Marketplace Ten Commandments
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
Microsoft’s Larry Hryb, aka Major Nelson has a post on his blog asking gamers for their “Ten Commandments” of the Xbox Live Marketplace. Unsurprisingly, a number of the complaints range around some common issues users have with the Marketplace, such as:
- Charging to unlock content already on the disc (the fantastic 108kb downloads)
- Charging for content that other platforms get for free
- Releasing broken content
- No price reductions for content, ever
- More consistent Marketplace releases
If gamers have any requests for changes, improvements, or rules that the Xbox Live Marketplace should abide by, submit them to Major Nelson now; Microsoft has listened in the past, they will listen now.
Read More | Major Nelson
Gallery: Major Nelson Wants Your Marketplace Ten Commandments
Call Of Duty 3 Map Pack Broken
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Activision, First Person Shooters, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Marketplace,
Gaming blog 2old2play is reporting that the Valor Map Pack, the 800 point content add-on for Call of Duty 3 shipped in a non-functional state. Referring to multiple complaints on the Xbox forums, it appears that a small percentage of people have gotten the content working by deleting previously downloaded content, but a majority can not get the maps to work. A post by a Treyarch employee indicates that they are working on the problem, but this appears to be an ongoing quality assurance issue for Xbox Live content. Xbox Live Arcade games and downloadable add-on content for other games have shipped in partially functioning states, and retail games have also seen issues. It appears that Microsoft’s certification testing team can find some issues; anticipated releases like the Crackdown demo have been delayed because of problems found during certification. Balancing the release process against the risks of not finding issues can be difficult, but it seems like major issues are going unnoticed.
Read More | 2old2play
Gallery: Call Of Duty 3 Map Pack Broken
Worms For Xbox Live Arcade HD Screenshots
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Internet, Retro, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
Team 17’s Worms has been rumored to be hitting Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade service soon. Supposedly the title will sell for 800 points with the possibility of future downloadable add-ons. While the release date of the title is still unknown, HD screenshots of the 2D turn-based game are now available on Xbox Attitude. The most recent 2d entries in the series were somewhat mediocre on the DS and the PSP, and neither supported Internet play; a fully multiplayer version on the Xbox 360 that returns to the series’ roots would be a welcome addition.
Read More | Xbox Attitude
Gallery: Worms For Xbox Live Arcade HD Screenshots
This Week’s Free Xbox Live Marketplace Content: 12/8-12/15
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Music, Trailers, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
This week there was a lack of actual in game content available through the marketplace so I’ll focus on game and movie videos & trailers. Hopefully some good free content will be released as we move towards Christmas. I’ll keep my eyes open and make sure it’s posted as it becomes available. In the meantime check out this weeks free content. Enjoy!
GAME DEMOS
:
College Hoops 2K7 – Rated E - 2006 – 961.64MB
Splinter Cell Double Agent (Single Player) – Rated M – - 2006 – 505.86MB
RoboBlitz (Arcade) – Rated E10+ - 2006 – 49.32MB
GAME VIDEOS & TRAILERS
:
Halo3 1st TV Commercial – Rated : NR - 2006
SD - 480p – 14.07MB
HD - 720p - 48.21MB
Battlestations : Midway War Machines Trailer : Rated T - 2006
SD - 480p – 15.46MB
HD - 720p – 73.70MB
Bionicle Heroes Trailer I : Rated E10+ - 2006
SD - 480p – 13.07MB
HD - 720p – 74.07MB
Eragon : Making of Trailer – Rated T - 2006
Unknown format – 126.54MB
Eragon : Director and Designer Interview Trailer – Rated T - 2006
Unknown Format – 160.01MB
MOVIE CLIPS & TRAILERS
:
Eragon Trailer I : 1 Minute – Rated G - 2006
SD - 480p Widescreen – 23MB
HD - 720p Widescreen – 83MB
Eragon Trailer II : 2 minutes – Rated G - 2006
SD - 480p Widescreen – 33MB
HD - 720p Widescreen – 120MB
Transformers Teaser Trailer : 1 Minute – Rated PG-13 (2007)
SD - 480p Widescreen – 25MB
HD - 720p Widescreen – 86MB
MUSIC VIDEOS
:
Tenacious D : The Pick of Destiny : 2 Minutes – NR - 2006
SD - 480p Widescreen – 32MB
Song of the Heart : (from Happy Feet soundtrack) – 3 Minutes – NR - 2006
SD - 480p Widescreen – 34MB
Hold Me Down : (from Motion City soundtrack) 4 Minutes – Rated Explicit - 2005
SD - 480p Widescreen – 47MB
Bad Religion : Los Angeles Is Burning : 3 Minutes – NR – 2004
SD - 480p Fullscreen – 38MB
Matchbook Romance : Monsters : 4 Minutes – NR - 2006
SD - 480p Widescreen – 45MB
Gallery: This Week’s Free Xbox Live Marketplace Content: 12/8-12/15
Movies, Television Episodes Now Available Via Xbox Live Marketplace
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Xbox 360, Xbox Live Marketplace,
Today, on the one year anniversary of the Xbox 360, Microsoft has announced the first batch of television and movie titles along with pricing for their video download service. Gamers with either an Xbox Live Silver or Gold account will be able to download video content in either HD or SD formats; those that choose the HD formats will also be able to download the SD format at no charge. Microsoft’s pricing has also been set at the following levels:
| Content Type | High Def | Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Television Shows | 240 Points ($3) | 160 Points ($2) |
| New Release Movies | 480 Points ($6) | 320 Points ($4) |
| Classic Movies | 360 Points ($4.50) | 240 Points ($3) |
Right now, the selection seems kind of sparse, and a single high definition movie download will take up well over 1/3 of the available space on a stock 20 GB hard drive. Television episode download prices seem in line with iPod download pricing, with a premium for high definition content, but it doesn’t appear that subscription options will be available. Movie download “rental” pricing seems high, particularly compared to mail-delivery based services like Netflix. Having DRM restrictions on the “rental” doesn’t help a lot either.
The full press release continues below.
Click to continue reading Movies, Television Episodes Now Available Via Xbox Live Marketplace
Gallery: Movies, Television Episodes Now Available Via Xbox Live Marketplace
Contra Hits Xbox Live, Atari Titles Announced
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
Microsoft dropped a couple of media alerts today, first announcing that Contra will hit Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday. For 400 Microsoft Points, gamers will be able to download the game, which will feature an original game mode plus an enhanced mode with updated graphics and sounds. The game will also feature online multiplayer, allowing two player co-operative gameplay either over the Internet or locally.
Microsoft also announced six new classic titles from Atari, including: Centipede/Millipede, Battle Zone,Asteroids/Asteroids Deluxe, Missile Command, Tempest, and Warlords. Battlezone will include new graphics, multiplayer modes like Deathmatch and Capture the Flag, and support for the Xbox Live Vision camera. Other titles like Missile Command and Tempest will also see visual updates. Hopefully the graphical updates to the classic titles will go way beyond the “enhancements” gamers have seen on Namco’s classic titles.
Read More 
| Contra Media Release
Read More | Atari Media Release
Gallery: Contra Hits Xbox Live, Atari Titles Announced
Could Microsoft Charge for a Halo 3 Demo?
Posted by Rob Stevens Categories: Action, Bungie, Editorial, Features, First Person Shooters, Rumors, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Marketplace,
My old friend Billy at Game Informer just posted a rumor that we could see a Halo 3 demo by mid 2007. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if that were the case, but I’d guess Q3 if it were me. But the more interesting part is that this could be the first demo to come with a price tag.
Pop Quiz: What’s the best way to raise the price for a game beyond the acceptable mass-market threshold without actually raising the price?
Answer…Hide the upcharge in something else that the customers will buy without a second thought. In this case, a chance to play a stripped down, early version of the game (probably multiplayer only) a few months early. My gut instinct is that Microsoft could charge 800 points ($10) for the demo and fans would pay it. That would effectively make the price for the full game $70.
Click to continue reading Could Microsoft Charge for a Halo 3 Demo?
Gallery: Could Microsoft Charge for a Halo 3 Demo?
Microsoft Talks Lumines, Blames Q Entertainment
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
The release of Lumines Live on the Xbox Live Marketplace last week stirred up a storm of negative reaction regarding the content available in the game, the pricing, and the need for additional content packs for full enjoyment of the software. This disappointment was echoed by Playfeed’s own experiences with the game. 1up follows up on the controversy, and talks with Microsoft’s Greg Canessa, the group manager for Xbox Live Arcade, to try and sort through the issues with the title, Xbox Live Arcade, and microtransactions in general. The short version of the interview: Microsoft’s Xbox Live Marketplace is a great service, and all the problems are the fault of game developers.
Canessa states that Microsoft issues guidance on the three pricing points for Xbox Live Arcade titles, whether that is 400, 800, or 1200 points. While Canessa didn’t want to specifically discuss EA’s penchant to charge from everything from tutorials to cheat codes, he did claim that providing microtransactions were all about providing choice; Canessa believes that charging for additional content means that gamers that don’t want the content will essentially be paying less for their software. While it is true that gamer’s no longer have to pay for content they don’t want, gamers are already paying a premium for Xbox 360 titles over their previous generation counterparts, and are now being forced to pay extra for content that was formerly free.
Regarding Lumines Live, Canessa basically throws Q Entertainment under the bus. At first he claims that there is nothing wrong with the presentation of Lumines Live on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Then, when confronted with the messaging in the game, he claims this is solely the responsibility of Q Entertainment. Microsoft at this point claims to only be the platform provider, and holds no other responsibility.
As gatekeepers for the platform, the company needs to own up to the user experience that they and their partners provide. Microsoft’s approval process for boxed games at retail already seems to be broken, given the number of basic issues that have required patches to the consumer. Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade should be even more controlled, but apparently is not. From poor user experiences with Xbox Live gameplay in titles to the latest Lumines debacle, Microsoft needs to step up and act as an advocate for the gamer.
Read More | 1up
Gallery: Microsoft Talks Lumines, Blames Q Entertainment
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