Filed under: Xbox Live Arcade

North America's got something of a puzzling history concerning the sequel to the equally puzzling PSP action-platformer, Exit. While the game hit European and Japanese store shelves over two years ago, we never saw a trace of it -- until the ESRB gave an Xbox Live Aracade-bound U.S. version of the game an E rating, filling us with the hope that we'd be plotting further exoduses from perilous buildings soon enough. Sadly, Taito never confirmed the XBLA'd sequel, and news about the title has been scarce ever since.

However, TeamXbox recently produced a number of screenshots for the XBLA sequel, as well as a launch window of Q1 2009. Neither the images nor release info were given any attribution, so take them with a spoonful of trepidation. If they're legit, we fully expect Taito to crawl out of the woodwork and make the least shocking announcment since the revelation of Guitar Hero: Metallica.

Hot on the heels of the announcement of Crystal Defenders for Xbox Live Arcade, 1UP reveals that Square Enix has still more planned for the download service. The next announced title will be Yosumin Live, a port of a Japanese puzzle game originally designed for the DS, which was first rumored -- and more or less confirmed -- early this month. The game requires players to connect blocks of the same color diagonally, thus eliminating all the blocks in between. The further apart the two original block, the bigger the score. If it sounds confusing, you can check out a video of the original after the break.

It looks like Square Enix isn't stopping there, as 1UP reports that the press release announces that the company plans to release "a steady stream of its popular titles -- as well as original content" on XBLA in the future. Exactly what these titles will be remains to be seen. It's possible Square Enix will draw from its catalog of mobile games or, dare we dream, even its catalog of RPGs.

"I like the looks of the business model, but Community Games face[s] the same problem PC web portals do," said Wilford, "which is an open platform and an overabundance of not-so-stellar games." He continues, "we may develop for Community Games at some point, but XBLA is very successful partly because it is a closed and tightly managed portfolio of games." Adding that, with their relationship with Microsoft, they hope to continue "down the XBLA path."

We tend to agree with Wilford. The new Community Games section is a great opportunity for start ups, offers great potential and is generally a good program for up and comers. But the sheer amount of titles and amount of lower quality games tarnishes the program's goal. What say you?

Gamers, from hardcore to casual alike, have been waiting with bated breath for official release details regarding the Xbox Live Arcade release of Peggle but, according to Wired, the wait will soon be over. PopCap Games has confirmed with Wired that the XBLA and iPhone versions of its popular plinko-esque casual game will see release in the first half of 2009. While the company wouldn't detail a release schedule, gamers have at least some idea when the long-ago announced title will be released.

In a strange development, Wired also reports that PopCap declined to comment on pricing details for the XBLA version of Peggle but we thought details had already been confirmed. In a story we reported on in September, PopCap Games vice president Greg Canessa told Uncle Gamer Radio that the upcoming XBLA release of Peggle would release at 800 ($10 USD) in an interview.

X3F readers can listen to the the original interview with Greg Canessa here [Thanks, Jay]. Unfortunately, the Uncle Gamer site was experiencing technical difficulties at the time this article was published. X3F has contacted PopCap to help clear-up the pricing confusion.

Unfortunately it slipped under our radar but yesterday brought brand new content for Meteos Wars on the XBLA. The Planet Pack DLC includes nine planets new to the Arcade version, two of which are new to the series all together, while the remaining seven appear to be from the Nintendo DS version of the game, Siliconera theorizes. If you're looking to add a little spice to your regular diet of Meteos Wars this DLC is available now for 350 ($4.36).

Yesterday, the Xbox Live Arcade was supposed to receive two new titles to its library, at least according to Major Nelson, but only The Maw showed up. The other game in question was FunTown Mahjong, which is now slated to hit the Arcade next Wednesday. The Major updated his original post regarding the availability of FunTown Mahjong saying, "It turns out I was given incorrect information," and confirmed a XBLA version of the ancient four-player Chinese board game will hit the service on January 28 for 800. Yay?

We once speculated that Frogger 2 began life as a mobile phone game, but now it looks like XBLA is getting one for real. Famitsu (via IGN) reports that the Square Enix mobile game Crystal Defenders is headed to Xbox Live Arcade, the PSN and WiiWare. For those not familiar with the game, its a tower defense title that first saw release on mobile phones and the iPod (check out a trailer here). Though the article is apparently unclear, it seems that the XBLA and PSN versions are different from the WiiWare version as the magazine refers to them as "evolved ports" of the original.

Details on the release date and price have not yet been announced. As XBLA currently lacks any sort of real time strategy -- though there is a decent turn based game -- we'll be keepying our eye on Crystal Defenders.

After a week on hiatus, XBLA in Brief is back with a brand new episode. This week, we bring you The Maw, a surprisingly enjoyable action adventure title. Feed Maw all the animals he can stomach (hint: a lot) and watch him grow and gain lots of nifty powers. Oh, and did we mention the game is gorgeous? Yeah, well it is. Check out the latest episode and see if it's for you.

Download the trial version of The Maw from Marketplace.

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Update: According to Major Nelson, FunTown Mahjong is actually supposed to release next week. Yay?

This week, the Xbox Live Arcade is featuring the award-winning independent 3D platformer, The Maw. Developed by Twisted Pixel Games, The Maw features an adorable alien named Frank who is trying to find his way home after a failed kidnapping attempt finds him crash landed on a strange planet. As Frank, players will team up with a hungry purple creature named Maw who can be led around the world on an electronic leash and sent to devour everything in your path. Twisted Pixel promises a "lengthy" single-player campaign, "intense cutscenes" (Read: one of the first is a spoof on Kill Bill) and "cutting edge graphics." The Maw clocks in at nearly 150MB and will run gamers 800 for the full version.

Also, Major Nelson notes that another XBLA release should be on the service today. According to the Major, FunTown Mahjong is supposed to be available now, in all regions except Korea, for 800 but as of this story going live we have yet to see it online.

Download a trial version of The Maw now.

Sega just crushed the hopes of North American Playstation fans who are interested in Sumo Digital's upcoming Outrun Online Arcade, announcing that the game will not be releasing to the PSN in NA. Instead, Outrun will release exclusively to the Xbox Live Arcade in NA, but Europe will remain unaffected by the exclusivity deal.

That said, we have a hunch that hardcore U.S. Outrun'ners on the Playstation will find a way to access the goods. That's what profile region settings are for, right?

According to Videogaming247, Jeff Minter's Gridrunner+++ is set to release on the XBLA at the end of April, after a long wait from the Llamasoft developer. In mid December, Minter unabashedly called Microsoft out, telling Eurogamer that Gridrunner+++ had been submitted "months ago" and Microsoft was simply "sitting on it."

For those keeping score at home, Minter previously lamented the slow sales of his original title, Space Giraffe, and was flabbergasted when an XBLA remake of Frogger outsold his first XBLA release by 10 to 1. "OK, we get the message. All you want on that channel is remakes of old, shite arcade games and crap you vaguely remember playing on your Amiga," Minter exclaimed in response to the news of Frogger's success. Thankfully for Minter, Frogger 2 was released months ago and poses no threat to his latest arcade offering. Probably.

[Via Evil Avatar]