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Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm now support Xbox child accounts in US

by Richard Mitchell { Dec 15th 2009 at 2:26PM }

The man known as Major Nelson has been so kind as to remind us all that child accounts for Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm have now been enabled for US Xbox 360 users. Once granted parental permission, Xbox Live child account holders over the age of 13 will be able to access these applications. The Major reminds everyone to make sure to select automatic logins for all the applications, otherwise you will be prompted for parental permission every time an app is launched. We'd have to agree with his advice. After all, Mom coming in to give you and your friends Tang and lemon squares: Cool. Mom coming in to log you into Facebook: Not cool.

Modern Warfare 2 players report matchmaking malfunction

by David Hinkle { Dec 14th 2009 at 3:40PM }

Now that the exploding men and unrelenting rain of crates have been taken care of, it would seem a new issue has arisen in Modern Warfare 2. Specifically, a bug in the Xbox Live matchmaking assignments is reportedly dumping playlist searchers into private matches. (Nothing's worse than being teamed with the lowest ranking players, after all.)

Penny Arcade's Gabe tweeted (warning: foul language through link) that he had encountered the issue several times. Meanwhile, Infinity Ward's man in the trenches, Robert "fourzerotwo" Bowling, confirmed the issue is known and that a fix is currently in the works.

[Via Gaming Union]

Source - cwgabriel [Twitter] (NSFW)
Source - Robert "fourzerotwo" Bowling [Twitter]

WM Live syncs Friends list to Windows phones

by Richard Mitchell { Dec 11th 2009 at 12:45PM }

ZaaM IT, creator of the Halo 3 and ODST armor generators, is at it again, this time with a nifty app for Windows Mobile devices. Called WM Live, the application allows users to sync up their Xbox Live friends lists and check out their own stats as well as those of their friends. The app shows user Avatars, gamercards, and game history, so you'll be able to keep track of what your friends have been up to from just about anywhere.

Best of all, the app is free, so there's really no reason not to pick it up if you have a Windows Mobile device. Also, since it complies with the Xbox Community Developers Program, it will never get pulled. Keep in mind that it's still in beta, though ZaaM IT plans to acquire feedback and improve the application in later releases.

XBLM December deals: Cheap Shadow Complex, Maw

by Richard Mitchell { Dec 10th 2009 at 4:20PM }

Microsoft has announced the Xbox Live Marketplace content schedule for December and it's a real doozy. The Deals of the Week -- usually a haven for long-forgotten or unwanted DLC -- are actually real deals this month. In particular, Shadow Complex will be dropped from 1200

($15) to 800

($10) during the week of December 21. The following week, starting December 28, Twisted Pixel's The Maw will fall from 800

($10) to a miniscule 400

($5).

In addition to the normal Deals of the Week, Microsoft will also be offering daily deals from December 18-31. The company didn't specify what any of those deals will be, though it promises discounts on "games, movies, blockbuster game add-ons, holiday themes, you name it!" Rest assured, we'll be keeping our eye on things once the deals start rolling.

In the meantime, check out the XBLM December schedule, including Deals of the Week, Games on Demand and XBLA after the break.

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Battlefield: Bad Company 2 won't put up a fight against XBL party chat

by Randy Nelson { Dec 10th 2009 at 12:15AM }

Electronic Arts has called in another marketing airstrike against Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, hoping to pull members of its fanbase who're unhappy with its online play towards Battlefield: Bad Company 2. The previous target was dedicated servers for PC players; now it's Xbox Live party chat and the ability to use it in multiplayer.

Speaking with MTV Multiplayer, EA DICE producer Gordon Van Dyke stated, "We are ok with [party chat]. We haven't taken a stance being against it and feeling like people are cheating." Modern Warfare 2 only offers party chat support in a handful of its multiplayer playlists, ostensibly to curb cheating. But, according to Van Dyke, he doesn't "think [cheating with party chat is] that big of an issue, that I've seen, where we have to worry about that" in Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

So, is party chat (or the lack thereof) really that important to you? Share your thoughts in comments.

MS enables child accounts for 360 Twitter, Facebook, Last.fm

by Richard Mitchell { Dec 9th 2009 at 4:40PM }

When Microsoft rolled out Twitter, Facebook, and Last.fm support for the Xbox 360, a number of users were less than impressed. Specifically, those with child Xbox Live accounts were not allowed to use any of the new applications. Outside the US, Microsoft has now released an update that allows child accounts to access these features, so long as parental permission is given. Major Nelson advises users to set each application to log in automatically upon first activation. Otherwise, those with child accounts will be prompted for parental permission every time the application is launched.

Fear not, US gamers, the update will hit American shores on December 15.

Modern Warfare 2 dominates November gameplay on 360

by Justin McElroy { Dec 9th 2009 at 2:59PM }

Using GamerDNA results as a guideline, DFC Intelligence charted the popularity of 360 games last month, and there are some interesting revelations. For one: Every person alive or dead, including the author of this post, is playing Modern Warfare 2 as we speak. Okay, so that's a slight exaggeration but it was very popular, with somewhere between 22 and 17 percent of GamerDNA's Xbox 360-playing subjects playing the game throughout all of November.

Also somewhat surprising is just how well Borderlands – which, let's be honest, didn't have the biggest marketing push – did, handily holding on to second place until the release of Left 4 Dead 2 and Assassin's Creed 2. Admittedly this list doesn't reflect the time spent by those who aren't online, but do you seriously care about those commoners anyway?

Xbox 360 Live iPhone app won't be live for long

by JC Fletcher { Dec 8th 2009 at 9:00PM }

If you like the idea of the 360 Live iPhone app, which allows you to sign into your Xbox Live account and manage it on the go, you'd better drop your two dollars into the App Store (link) right now. Creator Xavier Larrea has informed us that, unsurprisingly, Microsoft has asked Apple to remove the program, citing the non-commercial usage restriction -- in other words, the company isn't happy about the app's not-free cost.

Larrea is complying with the request (meaning that it's on the way out), but notes that the app will continue to work for those who have already downloaded it.

Games on Demand adds Bolt & Trivial Pursuit

by David Hinkle { Dec 8th 2009 at 6:15PM }

One of the more convenient (and pricey) methods for games acquisition -- Microsoft's Games on Demand service -- has just added a pair of new titles to its North American library: Disney's Bolt and EA's Trivial Pursuit. Each can be yours for $19.99, granted you have the respective 5GB and 2GB of space for each. Prices and availability vary by region, but the insatiable, shameless desire for Achievements that would drive you to actually purchase these games is universal.

Shortcut: Add Bolt to your download queue [via Xbox.com]
Shortcut: Add Trivial Pursuit to your download queue [via Xbox.com]

RedLynx teases Trials HD DLC 'BIG Pack'

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Dec 8th 2009 at 4:00PM }

If dynamite comes in small packages, it's fair to assume that lots of dynamite comes in BIG packages. Enter: a new teaser video for the "BIG Pack," an upcoming downloadable add-on to Xbox Live Arcade's bone-breaking bike-'em-up, Trials HD. It's an explosive montage of two-wheeler stunts that fly by too quickly for the brain to process, so be sure to make use of that pause button on the video embedded after the break.

Other things your brain may have trouble processing: a mischievous squirrel. He may seem an adorable little fellow, but if he's anything like the levels in Trials HD, he likely intends to murder us so often that we start to enjoy it. Just one more time!

[Thanks, billymagnum]

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Modern Warfare 2 update 1.06 fixes Javelin glitch, infinite care packages, geography exploits

by David Hinkle { Dec 7th 2009 at 3:30PM }

If amazingly fast and explosive men have been the bane of your existence in Modern Warfare 2 as of late, then know that Activision's go-to guy, Robert "fourzerotwo" Bowling, has got the hot scoops on a patch in the works to address the despised Javelin glitch. Version 1.06 of the game will not only do away with that awful bit of frustration, but will also address two other notable exploits in the multiplayer experience:

Fixes the Javelin glitch (thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster!)
Fixes unlimited care packages glitch
Fixes areas where players could exploit geography (e.g. hide inside rocks in Afghan)

Bowling says the patch is currently in the hands of Microsoft for certification on Xbox 360 and presumably in Sony's for PS3 certification. We've contacted Bowling for more info and will update the post when we hear back.

Source - 1.06 in Microsoft cert
Source - 1.06 patch notes

SNK announces Metal Slug XX, three more for XBLA in Japan

by JC Fletcher { Dec 7th 2009 at 9:55AM }

There's good news and bad news about Metal Slug 7 on Xbox Live Arcade. The bad news is that we're pretty sure it's not coming out. The good news is that Metal Slug XX, the upgraded, multiplayer-capable PSP remix of the DS game, is replacing it in SNK's 2010 lineup. SNK also announced XBLA ports of two of its fighting games: King of Fighters 2002 Ultimate Match and Neo Geo Battle Coliseum. All three will join the weird King of Fighters shooting game, The King of Fighters Sky Stage, on XBLA in spring 2010.

These games have, so far, been announced only for Japan, but we are sure SNK will release them all worldwide -- if only because it would be a waste of effort to develop an XBLA title just for the few people in Japan who would buy it.

Gallery: Metal Slug XX (PSP)

[Thanks, sacra!]

PSA: Halo Legends delivers third free episode, titled 'The Package'

by Ben Gilbert { Dec 5th 2009 at 2:30AM }

Another Saturday has arrived, and with it another free episode of Halo Legends on the Xbox Live Marketplace. For 24 hours only (of course it won't be on the internet afterward!), you can catch an anime'd up Master Chief delivering "The Package" with four "specially selected Spartans."

Today's episode is the first half of a two-parter (concluding on December 12), so be sure to catch it or be left lonely and confused when next week arrives. Or you could always just wait until the whole shebang arrives on Blu-ray this February 9.

Fairytale Fights price slashed, demo hits XBLM and PSN [update: demo now on XBLM]

by Richard Mitchell { Dec 4th 2009 at 1:45PM }

Update: The demo is now on Xbox Live Marketplace. You can add it to your Xbox 360 download queue here.

So, there are two bits of news in this particular post. They are complementary: one should really help you with the other. First, Playlogic has announced that the price for Fairytale Fights has been cut in both Europe and North America. Checking Amazon and GameStop, it looks like the US price has been dropped to $39.99. That's a pretty significant cut, nearly 30%. We're not sure what the cut is for European regions, though Play.com has marked the title from £39.99 to £29.99.

Now, the second piece of news: A demo for Fairytale Fights is now available on the PSN in North America. According to Playlogic, there's a demo on Xbox Live Marketplace as well, though it doesn't appear to be available right now (we'll update this post if it shows up). A demo is expected for Europe on December 10. The reason this second piece of news is so important is that the demo will help you realize that the game still isn't worth the asking price. See? Pretty helpful.

Unlock Xbox contest down to eight finalists, voting begins for final three

by Ben Gilbert { Dec 4th 2009 at 5:00AM }

Last year's free Xbox Live Arcade game from the Unlock Xbox contest, Dash of Destruction, may not have been the best game we ever played, but it was certainly far from the worst. Also, it had that whole costing nothing thing going for it, so that helped our opinions considerably. This year, our chances of getting a fun game have doubled, with the contest's 1,500 competitors vying for two spots rather than one.

The final eight contestants have been culled from the initial submissions (listed after the break), and are now available to be voted on over at the contest's website, ultimately determining three game ideas to be given final pitches at Microsoft. From there, we get two XBLA games full of Doritos' "bold, intense" branding -- and at the very least some free Achievements.

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