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• Microsoft brings in 240 million from Xbox Live

  by Beau King August 6th 2008 12:30 PM CDT0 Comments

  Microsoft may spend millionms for exclusivity rights, but they take it in stride as it's all part of a master plan. A plan that has helped them achieve about a quarter of a billion dollars since The Marketplace's inception in 2005. $180 million of that has been in the past year, which points to some serious exponential growth. And with myriad of fresh content hitting the update this Fall; this cash cow has only just begun to bloat.
  
  Speaking of the update, many today realized premature joy as a mandatory console update hit Live. Simply looking at the interface will show no change as it is merely some back end coding to help transition the work coming later on. Any left with a glimmer of hope by something new can look to Major Nelson's blog for the final blow.
  
• New tracks confirmed for Guitar Hero: World Tour

  by August 5th 2008 8:59 PM CDT0 Comments

  New Guitar Hero: World Tour tracks confirmed via Stuff Magazine scans at the GH forums.
  
  
  
  • Steve Miller Band - "The Joker"
  • Interpol - "Obstacle 1"
  • The Doors - "Light My Fire"
  • Michael Jackson - "Beat It"
  • Linkin Park - "In The End"
  • Smashing Pumpkins - "Bullet with Butterfly Wings"
  
  You realize what this means don't you? Finally I can shred Eddie Van Halen's Beat It solo while laying down  the MJ's vocals I've been memorizing my whole life for. Screw onscreen lyrics. Game of the Century confirmed.
  
  This also means I may have to play In The End though. Quite the quid pro quo, I say.
• Burnout Paradise bike update to be free

  by August 5th 2008 8:11 PM CDT0 Comments

  Great news today from the Criterion Games camp. Next month's Burnout Paradise Bikes Pack (or The Pack Formerly Known As "Davis") which adds motorcycles and a day/night to the game system has now been announced to be free immediatly upon release. Criterion also pointed out that the day/night cycle affects traffic and the events that are available. Straight from the horse's mouth:

  
  "We’ve got two rides ready to go – Day 1. Just head for your nearest junkyard in Paradise City to pick up the FV1100 street bike and the stunning Japanese Firehawk racing bike. That’ll do for a start, but there’s more in store once you’ve played a little way through the bike-specific gameplay." 

  
  Originally the plan was to charge for the pack so this is a surprising and welcome turnaround. On Monday the Cagney update was released for free on XBL and added a new calendar feature, over 70 new freeburn challenges, and new vehicles.  Let me congratulate EA and Criterion Games for such amazing support for their title nearly eight months after it's release. That's how you do DLC, gaming industry. Bravo.
• Final Fantasy XIII 360 version to be released in Asia

  by Chris Holmes August 5th 2008 7:29 PM CDT0 Comments

  Kotaku is reporting that Microsoft has confirmed an Asian release of the 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII. The news broke from a recent Microsoft games event over in Taipei, where only a local version for Taiwan has been announced so far. Back at Microsoft's press conference at E3, the game was only confirmed to be releasing in North America and Europe, so this is good news for Asian 360 owners, who we believe exist, albeit in very small quantities.
  
  
  Hopefully it means that there might eventually be localised versions for each region, but that could be a pipedream given the completely bizarre way Microsoft and Square Enix are talking about the title's Asian release.
  
• Rock Band 2, Rock Revolution, and Guitar Hero: World Tour release dates

  by Beau King August 5th 2008 2:04 PM CDT0 Comments

  
  Word on the street and a street date as we know are two different things. Proof is always in the pudding. Fortunate for us todays cup is filled with a list of release dates for RB2, Rock Revolution (sorry, no cool abbreviation yet) and GH:WT. Also included and not yet publicized is a slew of other games you've been waiting for. 
  
  Starting with the rhythm based games, out the gate first is Rock Band 2 as a standalone disc on September 14th. The new guitar and drumset bundle won't ship until October 19th. Rock Revolution will follow fully geared a month later, October 14th, and finally GH: World Tour will land on October 26th. Just in time for that early Christmas shopping you fail to do early every year. The list provided by Destructoid is available after the jump. Luckily for you i've also highlighted other games of interest.
• Rock Revolution setlist announced

  by Beau King August 5th 2008 11:42 AM CDT1 Comments

  When word first hit of Konami's rhythm based music game I laughed myself silly. Then like everyone else I forgot all about it. That was until this morning when a company insider sent Kotaku an e-mail detailing the game's setlist. Apparently it's not a joke. The game is to have a full outfit of instruments needed for anyone to rock out to its 41 songs.
  
  The number of tunes may seem lackluster, but the list contains some pretty good songs. Unfortunately we do not know if they're master recordings or garage band trash-ups. Also, quite a few of the songs have made their run or will debut in the competition's sets. The only way I see this one floating a sea of profitability is if it's heavily discounted upon release. Look to the jump for All The Small Things to we're Not Gonna Take It.
• Conquest mode coming to Battlefield: Bad Company

  by Beau King August 5th 2008 11:25 AM CDT1 Comments

  If like me, you're tired of one good squad dominating a match in Battlefield: Bad Company then hope's on the horizon. EA is releasing a new (actually old) mode for the title dubbed Conquest. Those not familiar to the franchise can think of it as a team deathmatch with strategic capture points. Each team has a certain number of tickets that dwindle as team members die or lose said strongholds.
  
  The mode will be available for free on August 7th via XBL. Considering EA's fleeting thought about making us pay for weapons I would say this is a pretty good move. Gold Rush can be fun, but it's not the same game us vets are used to. Finally some people may pick up their mics and use a little strategy.
  
• Microsoft price cuts: round two.

  by Beau King August 4th 2008 9:26 AM CDT1 Comments

  The relationship between the age of a system and its price is a beautiful thing. Unfortunately we're always too impatient to realize it. Nonetheless, those lucky few may get some reprieve in the coming months as another leak has sprung in the way of a price cut. Known already is the new 60GB model and its $299 price point. The leak however suggests a drop for both the Arcade and Elite versions.
  
  The less than stellar Arcade is rumored to hit sometime near September 7th at about $199 and the 120GB Elite will sell at $399. With each SKU being $100 apart from one another it may make sense to just spring for the next best; unless extremely strapped for cash. If you've waited this long however, you may just want to sit out the holiday season as even more bundles and specials are expected to hit the market.
  
  Look to the jump for some proof and a little more info.
• Avatars to be used outside the Dashboard

  by Beau King August 4th 2008 8:25 AM CDT0 Comments

  Pilfering through the weekly info concerning the Fall update I found something actually worthwhile. Xbox GM Eric Kilgore has recently gone on record to explain the flexibility of the Avatar through various media. He specifically states, "We think it’s really important that these things can scale between in game and out of game, and how we can use them on the web." That means anything from Facebook and MySpace profiles to in-game characterizations can be filled by the avatars.
  
  Rolling back the tide however, Kilgore says that for now these in-game versions of ourselves may only be used for non-violent games. So shooting your buddy in that bunny costume is out of the question. That aside, customizing and stuffing your avatar into the various internet safehouses you keep will be interesting.
  
  Any wonder about the extent to which and how to customize has been kept aloft. Today however, X3f brings shots of some of the icons used to make and develop your avatar. The screens after the jump are merely a collage of these icons rather than an actual screenshot of the interface. What can be gathered though is how extremely cartoonish it all looks. I for one do not want to feel transplanted back to third grade when making my semi-awesome self portrait.
• Rumor: Infinity Ward developing Call of Duty 6

  by Chris Holmes August 2nd 2008 5:33 PM CDT0 Comments

  Gamespot is reporting that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick confirmed "an all new Call of Duty" for 2009 in a conference call with analysts. What's more, he alluded that the title might be under development at Infinity Ward, simply saying that it will be "utilizing our leapfrog studio strategy". Infinity Ward haven't disclosed whether they are doing it or not yet, but apparently they have started their new project, whatever it will be.
  
  Treyarch is doing this year's version, World at War, taking the series back to WWII and bringing vehicles in as a key component across both the single and multiplayer parts of the game. The title is currently rumored for a Remberance Day November 11th release this year.
  

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