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March 2007 - Posts

In what's becoming a trend in odd Xbox 360 Game commercials, here's a hilarious Viva Piñata commercial. I would like "the skulls of the vanquished" please!(Shout-out to Video Games Blogger where this was found!) Read More
For this episode we tried to take community feedback about the Elite SKU announcement, and discuss some of the comments - more will come based on emails/messages from the community. During the recording of this show, the CF card was filled to capacity, Read More
The Hang 'Em High and Desolation maps from Halo: Combat Evolved are coming to Halo 2!  These re-creations, developed by Bungie and Certain Affinity, have been recreated for Halo 2 as a thanks to you all for helping us surpass 800 million hours of Read More
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Two of the most popular multiplayer maps from the original “Halo: Combat Evolved” will arrive as premium downloadable content for “Halo 2” in April. Read More
Gamers Set to Battle Their Way to Worldwide Domination in the “Gears of War” 2007 Global Xbox LIVE Tournament Read More
I'm not even sure what to say after seeing this.  Watch the video all the way through - the last 3-4 seconds confused me quite a bit. This is quite possibly the most odd video I've seen since watching Don Hertzfeldt's Rejected. More can be found Read More
Tina Wood from On10.net stopped by this morning to have a chat with Albert Penello, who heads up marketing for the Xbox platform.  Here's a link to the video they just posted. Major Nelson spoke with Albert earlier this week, and got more Read More
We also just announced new partners bringing more premium content to the Xbox 360 in the U.S.  A&E Network, ADV Films, National Geographic and TotalVid.com signed on, and Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment are going Read More
A&E Network, ADV Films, National Geographic and TotalVid.com sign on to hit service; Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment to offer new high-definition content. Read More
Moments ago, we released information on the new Xbox 360 Elite.  Here are some details pulled from the press release we just sent.  The Xbox 360 Elite and its accessories are expected to begin arriving in U.S. stores on April 29, Read More
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Premium black console includes 120GB hard drive and line of new accessories. Read More
Coming this week to Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace in the US are some new TV shows, including another free episode, this time from The Andy Milonakis show.  You can also purchase episodes of Star Trek Enterprise: Season 3, and Ben10.  There Read More
BioWare and MGS just released the Mass Effect Fan Site Kit, at http://masseffect.bioware.com/community. The fan site kit may be downloaded from the official “Mass Effect” Web site at http://masseffect.bioware.com.   The kit has avatars, wallpapers, Read More
BioWare and Microsoft Game Studios are making it easier than ever for gamers to create a fan site for the upcoming Xbox 360 exclusive Sci-Fi RPG, “Mass Effect.” Today, on the official BioWare site, a new fan site kit for “Mass Effect” is now available for download. Read More
There seems to be this little trend in the US where everyone from doctors to late-night talk show hosts are claiming gamers are inactive chubbos. We all know this isn't necessarily true as long as you don't sit in front of your TV 8 hours a day with bottles Read More
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JVB over at Podtacular just gave me a heads up that the Halo community does a lot more than just frag each other.  ChuckieJ over on the Podtacular forums has set up the Godtacular Bible Study group.  In ChuckieJ's words: "We'll be continuing Read More
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Stephen Sopp, aka Fatty Chubs, one of our Xbox MVPs from 360voice.com, got a chance to help NFL Brady Quinn prepare for an upcoming Game With Fame.  Fatty went in confident, but soon learned a lesson in humility.  Brady Quinn writes in his Read More
Better late than never!  Coming off the MVP summit was harder than we anticipated, although we still managed to get a podcast this week! MP3 File: 9.4 MB, 27 minutes Remember that these podcasts are available via the RSS feed, or the iTunes feed Read More
Just wanted to point folks to a new post from Major Nelson on some security concerns.  Nice to see that Major is on the case, looks like the team is making progress on getting this resolved.  Read More
Rare's new Xbox Live Arcade game, Jetpac Refuelled, is coming next week. The game is a revamped and modernized version of the 1983 classic space blaster Jetpac. From the media alert we just sent out: In Jetpac Refuelled players must clear a Read More
“Jetpac Refuelled” will be available for download exclusively on Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 beginning Wednesday, March 28 at 0900 GMT (2 a.m. PDT). Read More
Looking for an excuse to spend some time with the family?  Feeling guilty that the Xbox 360 is calling your name, but your kids are calling your name even louder?  Wouldn't it be great if you had an excuse to fire up the Xbox 360 before Read More
Are you at 480 orbs in Crackdown, and driving yourself crazy looking for the 20 you missed?  Trixie points to an article on Xbox.com's Gamerspeak, where community members offer their tips: Some of my favorites: Turn up the sound! Sometimes, Read More
Greetings “Forza” Fans! We’ve spent the last several weeks giving you the latest updates on some of the hottest new paint customization, engine tuning and online features of “Forza Motorsport 2.”  We’ve recently completely some calculations back Read More
Despite some recent reports and speculation, we want to reassure all of our 6 million Xbox Live members that we have looked into the situation and found no evidence of any compromise of the security of Bungie.net or our LIVE network. There have been a Read More
The team we have working on Halo 2 for Vista, Hired Gun, has a blog on IGN.  They spill some of the thinking behind achievements for Halo 2.  Niiice.  Read "About Achievments" Designing anything for an existing and best-selling game Read More
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The Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace team was wondering how they could top the exclusive free download of South Park in HD.  For South Park fans, that's not really possible.  But for those looking for something new to watch, there's great news.  Read More
Capcom just announced that Devil May Cry 4 is in development for Xbox 360 and the PC. The game will be released simultaneously for the PS3 and Xbox 360. The press release reports that each version of the game will be maximized to take advantage Read More
Responding to some of the reaction to the $130 price tag for the Legendary Edition of Halo 3, Frankie gives some background on the package, while assuring us that it's all "smiles and sunshine."   From Bungie.net's Weekly Update: Microsoft Read More
A bit of a history lesson, from business magazine Fast Company.  This month, they profile JDK designer Michael Jager, and give some insight into the design of the Xbox 360.  It was David versus Goliath, with Attila the Hun thrown in to make Read More
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Have any plans this weekend (March 16-18)?  The developers of Ghost Recon 2, and the Frag Dolls do.  They plan to take part in the GRAW2 72 hour Xbox Live Weekend. All participants can download an exclusive gamerpic, win Read More
Aaron Greenberg talks to Next-Gen about the new Games for Windows LIVE service, coming in May.  (BTW, nice picture,Aaron.  Did they take that from your high school yearbook?) From the article: “We think that we have a free experience in Read More
February NPD Results Read More
Next Wednesday, you can play Castlevania: Symphony of Night on Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360 (Wednesday, March 21 at 0900 GMT, 2 a.m. PDT). In “Castlevania: Symphony of Night,” the 12th iteration of the series, you take on the role of Alucard, the half-vampire Read More
We just released details about the SKU details for Halo 3, including the collectible Legendary Edition that comes with documentaries, behind-the-scenes footage, developer commentaries, rare art and more. Halo 3 will come in Read More
First details emerge, including the ultra-collectible Legendary Edition, complete with documentaries, behind-the-scenes footage, developer commentaries, rare art and more. Read More
Journey Into the Darkness With “Castlevania: Symphony of Night” on Xbox Live Arcade Read More
5:30 PM - Countdown to a beatdownWell, it's rapidly approaching six o'clock PM here in the Pacific Northwest, and that means less than a half hour to go before the best of the best from Microsoft Casual Games pick up their paddles and do ping-pong battle Read More
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We wrapped up a couple of days of sessions, where the Xbox, Games for Windows, and XNA MVPs split up to hear from the product and technical teams.  Much of what was discussed was under NDA (non-disclosure agreement), including everything that someone Read More
One of the questions that came up from the last post about the MVP Summit was "how do I become an MVP?"  I think we can discuss that in our next podcast, but I'll try to answer it a bit.  The MVP award is based on a person's contribution in Read More
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Just a few moments ago,  we issued a press release announcing that Xbox LIVE is coming to Windows as Games for Windows – LIVE.   We like to think of it as bringing the best online service to the biggest audience of gamers... and Read More
Xbox LIVE extends to Windows Vista to create single online gaming service starting with “Halo 2” on May 8. Read More
This week, Microsoft is hosting the Global MVP Summit, with more than 2,000 of Microsoft’s best community members, from all areas of Microsoft's business.  We have a good group of Xbox, Games for Windows, and XNA MVPs here.  Today, Read More
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One of our MVPs, MthdDirector, reminded me of a chance for some good players to try out Shadowrun at the FASA studios.  He writes: FASA is holding a special invitation only event this Saturday 3/17.  They're looking for pro-level gamers Read More
As a blogger, I've been holding off in joining the whole Snakes on a <fill in the blank>, but with the release of some new video this week to Xbox LIVE Marketplace, I couldn't resist.  I've heard some many, uh, things about the movie, I feel Read More
If you haven’t escaped to Piñata Island yet, now is the time. The official Viva Piñata™ demo has arrived on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace and is waiting for you! Read More
Everyone’s favorite totally tubular turtles bring their radical ninja skills to Xbox LIVE Arcade. The 1989 arcade classic, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” will be available for download beginning Wednesday, March 14 at 0900 GMT (2 a.m. PDT). TMNT Read More
The 1989 arcade classic, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” will be available for download on Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 beginning Wednesday, March 14 at 0900 GMT (2 a.m. PDT). Read More
With the MVP Summit next week, and most of the crew down at GDC we did a brief podcast this week. MP3 File: 4.3 MB, 13 minutes Remember that these podcasts are available via the RSS feed, or the iTunes feed as well. This week Tony, and Chris talk about:- Read More
The final versions of the four games created in the XNA Games Studio Express Challenge were unveiled to the development community at the XNA party last night, and now you get a chance to check out the work!  You can download the games for free Read More
Today, the XNA Game Studio Express Challenge teams, together with Microsoft, unveiled their completed games to the public at the Game Developers Conference in celebration of the launch of the “Dream-Build-Play” global game design contest. Read More
The XNA team has a reputation for throwing amazing GDC parties.  Tonight was no exception.  Awesome music.  Great food.  Amazing company.  And a showcase of games from the XNA Games Studio Express Challenge.  I got a chance Read More
Tonight I got to hang out with the Gamerchix, at a party honoring Women in Gaming.  Laura Fryer, Kiki Wolfkill, Shane Kim, and of course Trixie spoke.  Fun time!             Read More
As GDC begins to wind down, please find the following link to the Microsoft GDC Press Kit, complete with all of the announcements, information and assets on display throughout the show. Read More
For all you lovers of good ol’ American muscle cars, we’re announcing the line up of more than 50 American production cars that will be included in “Forza Motorsport 2,” nearly half of which will be making their Forza debut when the game launches worldwide in May. Read More
Gears of War was honored at the Game Developers Choice Awards, with three awards, including Best Game.  Congratulations to Epic Games!  Best Game: Gears of War (Epic Games / Microsoft Game Studios) - Cliff Bleszinski, Michael Capps, Rod Read More
Wednesday saw the four teams making significant progress made by the teams in the XNA Challenge contest.  Game|Life's Mary Jane Irwin is chronicling their progress.  Here's an excerpt from the latest entry: Game|Life: The XNA Challenge: Read More
This morning, we hosted the second annual "Blogger Breakfast," with Shane Kim (VP of Microsoft Games Studios) and Chris Satchell (General Manager of the Game Developer Group).  We had an open Q&A session and a lot of great discussion.   Read More
Yes, we're all very excited.  ^_^  Three brand-spiffing-new games for Windows Vista just launched on MSN Games!  And yes, that includes Geometry Wars, the insanely popular, equally addictive, and formerly Xbox-only arcade game, Read More
Already a top seller on Xbox 360, “Geometry Wars: Retro EvolvedTM” is now available on a Windows PC near you! Read More
A bit of a recap, in case you've missed the coverage from every other site with someone here! EvilAvitar Halo 2 for Vista to have achievements Blue Dragon in August, followed by Lost Odyssey at Christmas Every Extend Extra Extreme coming to XBLA Read More
Larry and I stopped by the XNA Challenge Lounge to take a few pictures.  The four teams were hard at work, with just over 22 hours to go.  NeoGAF has one of their members, Ghost, participating in the challenge. He's updating the forum Read More
Tonight, Geoff Keighley hosted a panel discussion called “The Evolution of RPG Development,” with guest speakers Hironobu Sakaguchi of Mistwalker, Peter Molyneux of Lionhead Studios and Ray Muzyka of BioWare Corp.  Several sites covered the session: Read More
Ubisoft just sent out a press release, confirming that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for Xbox Live Arcade will launch this month.  From the press release: Today Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, announced that in celebration Read More
Step one: play games on Windows Live Messenger.  Step two: ???  Step three:  your favorite charity profits. Actually, with all due respect to South Park, there is no step two.  As part of the Windows Live Messenger i'm Initiative, Read More
I'm heading down to GDC today, so between Major Nelson and me, we'll be giving GDC the Xbox Blogging One-Two Punch.  We'll be providing some updates over the next few days, including highlights of today's RPG Panel, tomorrow's Blogger Breakfast, Read More
At E3 this past year, Microsoft announced the goal that the Xbox Live community would be 6 million members strong by June 2007. We underestimated ourselves. We're proud to announce that more than 6 million gamers worldwide are connected to Xbox Read More
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Microsoft is proud to announce today that more than 6 million gamers worldwide are connected to Xbox LIVE, a milestone that was reached 4 months ahead of schedule. Read More
Great news for fans of South Park in Europe.  Graeme Boyd, the European "Major Nelson", in his AceyBongos blog, offers up the news that the free episode will be available to Xbox Live subscribers!  From his blog: You might have seen Read More
Another week, another exclusive launch for MSN Games: Virtual Villagers 2, the followup to last year's popular village-building game.  I spent the morning checking out the new version, and there are a bunch of enhancements over the previous game.  Read More
Comedy Central is releasing the first-ever South Park episode in High Definition, available exclusively on Xbox Live, for free, for two weeks.  It's available to both Gold and Silver Xbox Live members.  Beginning tomorrow, fans of South Read More
HD Episode Available Free For Two Weeks To Xbox LIVE Members Read More
On Friday, FSInsider posted about a new expansion pack for Flight Simulator, called Flight Simulator X: Adrenaline, coming in 2007. Developed by ACES Studio, this new expansion pack will allow you to race against others in highly-detailed Read More
Microsoft Game Studios will take “Flight Simulator” fans to new heights with the release of “Flight Simulator X: Adrenaline” in 2007. Read More
It's morning-time somewhere in the UK, and midnight on the east coast of North America, so Microsoft is kicking off the new week in San Francisco, at the Games Developer Conference.  We're beginning the festivities with a couple of announcements Read More
Today, we're kicking off the Dream-Build-Play game development contest, offering a $10,000 (U.S.) grand prize and the opportunity for a winner’s game to be published on Xbox Live Arcade. More than 20 winners will be selected to win prizes from Microsoft, Read More
Microsoft challenges developers to bring ideas to life on the Xbox 360 and Windows platforms. Read More
512MB Memory Unit enhances storage capabilities and choice for Xbox 360 gamers; increased Xbox LIVE Arcade size limit provides additional flexibility for game developers. Read More
http://shadowrun.com/media/trailers.htmVisit the newly remodeled “Shadowrun” Web site, www.Shadowrun.com, for an introduction to the “Shadowrun” universe and a bunch of new “Shadowrun” assets, including some screen shots, and these cool Read More
You may have heard that we’re about to start beta  testing Games for Windows – LIVE. It’s true. A beta test for North America is coming soon. And now I’m here to answer some of your questions. First of all, you can sign up here: https://connect.microsoft.com/site/sitehome.aspx?SiteID=363 Read More
We're teaming up with Warner Bros. in the U.S. to bring you a behind-the-scenes peek at the new WB movie 300, releasing March 9th.  If that's not enough, we're having a drawing to give away a copy of Crackdown to 300 lucky folks Read More
The Flux will be made into a Full Sized Concept-Car and Integrated into Project Gotham Racing 4 on the Xbox 360 Read More
Team17 brings its popular “Worms” franchise to Xbox Live Arcade, delivering the first turn-based strategy game to the platform. Worms will be available for download beginning Wednesday, March 7 at 0800 GMT (1 a.m. PST), and will be available worldwide Read More
“Worms” will be available for download on Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360™ beginning Wednesday, March 7 at 0800 GMT (1 a.m. PST). Read More
Enter the world of “Shadowrun™” and join FASA Studio in rewriting the rules of engagement. A new “Shadowrun” trailer is now available that showcases the reward of combining cleverness, cunning and split-second improvisation, through a unique combination Read More
This week we're answering a few of the questions we were asked - keep them coming!MP3 File: 11.2 MB, 33 minutesRemember that these podcasts are available via the RSS feed, or the iTunes feed as well.This week John, Tony, Wolf, and Chris talk about:- Intro/Outro Read More
Indie rock band chosen as March’s Xbox Live artist of the month. Read More