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Lumines Live Hits Xbox Live
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Puzzle, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
Microsoft today announced that Lumines Live will hit the Xbox Live Marketplace on Wednesday, October 18th when the service becomes available after the scheduled maintenance. The game will be made available in two parts; the main Lumines Live game will sell for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15) and an “Advanced Pack” with 22 additional skins for 600 Microsoft Points ($7.50). If gamers pony up for the full Lumines package, this would be one of the most expensive Xbox Live Arcade games available to date. Microsoft does not sell a Marketplace Points card that has enough points to buy the complete game; the largest denomination that Microsoft makes available in stores is 1600 points. $22.50 is also more money than the PSP version of the game, which sells for $19.99. Of course, the Xbox 360 version offers features like online multiplayer over Xbox Live and a Skin Edit mode in the basic version; this package may be enough for the casual user as long as the title isn’t nagware.
Update: The “Advanced Pack” is not available right now, and will show up at a later date. Presumably so that gamers don’t look like dorks when they have to buy two 1600 points cards to pay for the game.
The full press release continues below.
Click to continue reading Lumines Live Hits Xbox Live
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EA To Charge For Cheat Codes
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Electronic Arts, Sports, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Marketplace,
Next Generation is reporting that EA has expanded its plan to suck every last dime from gamers. Electronic Arts already made the unusual move to charge for game tutorials for Madden 2007 on the Xbox Live Marketplace, but the latest word is that the company will now charge for cheat codes for Tiger Woods 07. According to Next Generation, the cheat codes will range from $2.50 and $3.75; gamers should still be able to unlock everything in the game by playing through normally. However, if EA continues to monetize every extra in the game then gamers may find that unlocking items may become harder and harder in order to justify the cost of the cheat code.
Read More 
| Next Generation
Xbox 360 Phantasy Star Universe Beta Available Now
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Internet, MMORPG, SEGA, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Marketplace,
According to a post on Major Nelson’s blog, Sega’s Phantasy Star Universe beta is now available. Gamers with an Xbox Live Gold account can now download the 900+ megabyte package from the Xbox Live Marketplace. The beta period officially ends on October 18th, but since a feat of exceptionally good planning has the Xbox Live service down for maintenance for 24 hours starting on October 17th, gamers will get even less time to experience the preview. Hopefully Sega doesn’t see its servers crash like they did at the launch of Phantasy Star Universe in Japan, which could make the testing even less effective.
Read More | Major Nelson
Phantasy Star Universe Open Beta For Xbox 360
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Internet, MMORPG, PC, PlayStation 2, SEGA, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Marketplace,
Xbox 360 users with an Xbox Live Gold account will be able to participate in Sega’s upcoming open beta test for Phantasy Star Universe on October 11. Sega’s official Phantasy Star Universe site has the details of the open beta. The test itself will run from October 11th through October 18th, and will let users experience some of the online multiplayer functionality of the game. According to the site, the beta will be available on the Xbox Live Marketplace sometime between October 11th and October 12th.
The Xbox 360 version of Phantasy Star Universe should hit stores on the same date as the PC and Playstation 2 versions, October 24th. Xbox 360 users will have their own servers; while PC and Playstation 2 users will be able to interact with each other online, Xbox 360 users will only be able to see other players with the Xbox 360 version of the game. For the final version of Phantasy Star Universe, Xbox 360 owners with either a Silver or Gold account will be able to play online. Phantasy Star Universe will cost $9.99 per month to play. Hopefully the online beta will help Sega avoid the server meltdowns that plagued the Japanese launch of the Playstation 2 and PC versions.
Read More | Phantasy Star Universe
Best Xbox 360 Deal Yet - Platinum 360 + 3 games: $370
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Action, Adventure, Driving, Hot Deals, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade,
Fry’s has possibly the best deal yet on an Xbox 360 system, for all of you out there mulling over your next-gen console choices. For $370 (shipping included!), you can get the Xbox 360 Platinum console with 3 free games. But these aren’t just any 3 games - the games you’ll find packed-in with your system are three of the best and most well-reviewed 360 titles out there: Dead Rising, Saint’s Row, and Test Drive: Unlimited.
This deal can only be found online at Fry’s Outpost and doesn’t appear to be available in their brick-n-mortar stores yet, so be prepared for this one to go fast. We’re betting that this is part of a broader strategy by Microsoft to find a competitive new price point / package for their year-old console, so we may be seeing this deal or something like it again in the future. Still, if you’ve been thinking about getting a 360, don’t take the chance of missing out on this one!
Special thanks to SlickDeals.net for finding this one!
Read More | Outpost.com via SlickDeals.net
Halo Wars Official Site Launches
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Bungie, Strategy, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
One of the bigger announcements to start X06 in Barcelona was the confirmation that a Halo RTS was in the works, from one of the big names in the RTS genre, Ensemble Studios. Halo Wars will be appearing on the Xbox 360, and the official web site for the game has launched. The site offers backgrounds and a high definition download of the trailer that was shown at X06. The FAQ for the game indicates that this will be a prequel of sorts, with the battles taking place before the first Halo game as the war between the USNC and the Covenant escalates.
Read More | Halo Wars
X06 Webcast Video Download
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Action, Corporate News, First Person Shooters, Hardware, MMORPG, PC, Role Playing Games, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade,
Microsoft is making a download of their opening announcements for the start of X06 in Barcelona available at Xbox.com. Microsoft announced a new game in the Banjo & Kazooie franchise coming from Microsoft Game Studios. For Xbox Live Arcade, Microsoft announced that Doom would be available starting tonight on Xbox Live Arcade. Other Live Arcade games announced include:
- Sensible Soccer
- Contra
- Ultimate Mortal Kombat
- Small Arms
- Gyrus
- TotemBall
- Defender
- Assault Heroes
- Heavy Weapon
- Settlers of Catan
In terms of upcoming games, the Japanese RPG Blue Dragon will be available in the US and Europe in 2007. Bungie will have an announcement about Halo 3 by the end of the year. Project Gotham Racing 4 was officially unveiled. Rockstar announced that Grand Theft Auto IV will have two exclusive episodes available for download on Xbox Live. Ubisoft demonstrated Assassin’s Creed interactive gameplay for the first time ever. Bioshock was announced as an Xbox 360 and Windows exclusive. Lost Odyssey was confirmed for the US and Europe, with a trailer showing some of the battle gameplay. More than 500,000 gamers downloaded the Lost Planet demo, and both multiplayer and single player gameplay will be available on the show floor. Splinter Cell: Double Agent footage was shown, and the sequel will be exclusive to the Xbox 360 and on Windows.
The Xbox 360 HD DVD was confirmed to be available in Mid-November 2006 in Europe and the United States for $199.00 US, 199.99 Euros, and 129.99 British Pounds. The package will also include remote, and for a limited time King Kong on HD DVD. Moore also discusses Microsoft’s Games for Windows initiative, and indicates that Windows Vista is still on track for a January 2007 release. Moore also revealed the first preview of Marvel Universe: Online for the Xbox 360 and Windows.
Peter Jackson spoke at the presentation and announced that he has formed a partnership with Microsoft Game Studios. His first project will be an interactive entertainment title set in the Halo universe, apart from Halo 3 and the upcoming film, and Jackson will also be creating a new interactive game series based on original IP. Finally, the presentation wraps with a trailer from a Halo real-time strategy game from Ensemble Studios, called Halo Wars.
The video should be available online soon on Xbox.com at the link below, and should be available as a download via Xbox Live.
Read More 
| Keynote Summary at Xbox.com
Read More | Xbox.com
Microsoft’s Tokyo Game Show Presentation
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Hardware, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade,
Microsoft just conducted their Tokyo Game Show presentation, and Kotaku was able to live-blog the event. Some of the key announcements include:
- Core System, Hard Drive, Live Vision Camera, and Wireless Headset availability on November 2nd
- HD DVD drive to be available on November 22nd, for 20,790 Yen (~$176)
- HD DVD drive will support full 1080P.
- Xbox Live Arcade Titles: Yie Ar Kung Fu to be Japan exclusive. Gyruss, Rush’n Attack, New Rally-X also announced for Live Arcade.
- Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 will ship November 15 in the US and November 22 in Japan
- Peter Moore promises 50 exclusive titles for Japanese market
- Tri-Ace’s upcoming Infinite Undiscovery gameplay was not shown
Kotaku has a bunch more detail from the conference. It certainly looks like Microsoft is still actively trying to penetrate the Japanese market, but even with all the hardware and software announcements, they still do not have a really compelling offering for the Japanese gamer.
Read More | Kotaku
Xbox Live Helps Recover Stolen Xbox 360
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Internet, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
The networking features of the Xbox 360 apparently helped police track down a stolen Xbox 360, according to a news report from KCCI in Des Moines, Iowa. The victim, James Gardner, had his Xbox 360 stolen; fortunately, he had an Xbox Live subscription. Eventually, the Xbox 360 was connected to the Internet and police were able to track the IP address for the user. From there, they traced the system back to the store where it was purchased; the store had an address for the person that traded in the system, and that address was apparently accurate. This let the police track down the alleged thief and recover Gardner’s Xbox 360. West Des Moines police are currently pursuing charges.
Read More | KCCI
Tony Hawk Project 8 Online Only On Xbox 360
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Activision, Internet, PlayStation 3, Sports, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
Last year’s next generation work for the Tony Hawk series was somewhat lackluster; the game really didn’t take advantage of the power of the Xbox 360 and was generally held up as an example of a quick port. This year, Neversoft hopes to turn that around with the release of Tony Hawk Project 8, which the company claims will be a ground up rebuild of the series for the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3. The game should be a launch title for the Playstation 3, and according to a preview from IGN, the game is looking virtually identical to the Xbox 360 version. However, it appears that online play will not be available for the Playstation 3, mainly due to the fact that Neversoft only received its PS3 beta kits three weeks ago. Neversoft will try and include things in the PS3 version to make up for this, but online play seems like a big feature to be missed. It seems a little strange that a higher-profile developer like Neversoft wouldn’t have access to the software libraries any sooner; if the same is true for other PS3 developers, this could mean that fewer of the launch titles for the Playstation 3 will have online support than were planned.
Read More | IGN
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