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Halo: Reach premiere at VGAs will be actual gameplay, says Keighley

by Ben Gilbert { Dec 7th 2009 at 3:50PM }

To clear up any misconceptions with "the kids on Twitter," Spike Video Game Awards host Geoff Keighley took to Major Nelson's podcast this weekend and explained that the Halo: Reach trailer on next week's show will be "actual gameplay." That's right, folks: none of that live-action or CG mumbo jumbo. "You'll get a first glimpse at the world of Reach," Keighley told the Major during this week's show. "I think it's going to be the biggest game next year by far."

When addressing the contents of the trailer -- something Keighley claimed to have not seen just yet -- he noted that he thinks people will be shocked by the direction than Bungie is taking, calling it a "huge leap forward." So, Mr. Keighley, it could be said that the studio is reaching new ground then?

... Hello? Where are you going?!

XBLM Deal of the Week: Saints Row 2 DLC

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 9th 2009 at 3:15PM }

Though that other open-world crime drama just got a huge booster shot in the form of the release of Ballad of Gay Tony, Volition's Saints Row 2 is getting a helping hand from its ol' pal Microsoft. Major Nelson recently announced that the game's DLC pack, "Ultor Exposed," is the Xbox Live Marketplace Deal of the Week. The pack, which offers three new missions, a new co-op mode and a playable character modeled after real-life porn star Tera Patrick, has had its price cut to 560

($7). That's a 30 percent discount from the add-on's usual 800

($10) price point.

With that, we'd like to welcome the naughty folks who ended up here after searching Google for "porn star Tera Patrick." Welcome! Sorry, there's no images of your erotic quarry to be found here, but take a look around, anyways! You might just like what you see.

Xbox Live Top 10: Halo 3, Trials HD continue to dominate

by Xav de Matos { Oct 31st 2009 at 11:05PM }

Surprising no one, Major Nelson's weekly list of most-played games on Xbox Live showcases Halo 3 and a double dose of Call of Duty on the top of the charts, with Modern Warfare and World at War grabbing second and third, respectively. XBLA top-seller Trials HD continues to lead the downloadable space, beating out newcomers Tower Bloxx Deluxe and Panzer General: Allied Assault.

The most notable item on the list is Gearbox Software's Borderlands, debuting at (a disappointing) ninth on the list. Perhaps evidence that inventory shortages may in fact muck up the wheels of a critically acclaimed game's launch. Color us surprised ... then trace us with sarcasm.

PSA: Xbox mandatory update isn't 'The Big One,' adds WPA2 support for wireless adapter

by Ben Gilbert { Oct 28th 2009 at 3:00PM }

Those of you who woke up extra early this morning to get in precious alone time with your Xbox 360 (we understand – we do it all the time) may have been tricked when a mandatory system update greeted you in place of the dashboard. Alas, the much ballyhoo'd Facebook/Twitter/Last.fm update has not yet arrived, as Microsoft's Major Nelson points out on his site.

Instead, the update brings with it support for the now five-year-old WPA2 security protocol. With that new and improved 802.11n wireless adapter hitting retailers next month, and with WPA2 certification being mandatory for all new Wi-Fi devices as of March 2006, Microsoft seems to be rolling out that addition in software. That's good news for those of you with a four-year-old Xbox 360 Wireless Adapter!

Upcoming Xbox 360 update locking out 'unauthorized' Memory Units

by Ben Gilbert { Oct 17th 2009 at 7:00PM }

Don't worry, folks -- Microsoft knows you really hate those subversive little devils making third-party Memory Units, what with their 2GB and 4GB offerings for the Xbox 360. In an effort to stamp out these Doris Dogooders from your Xbox Live Experience™, Microsoft's Major Nelson announced on his blog yesterday that "When Preview Program members start receiving the Xbox 360 system update next week, one of the changes is that unauthorized Memory Units will no longer work."

In plain English, this means that any third-party Memory Unit you might have been using will be rendered useless. Mr. Hryb suggests moving any saves on said devices get moved to an authorized one, unless losing access to "stored profile or saves games" simply ain't no thang for you.

This Wednesday: Bubble Bobble Neo, Red Alert 3: Commander's Challenge arrive on XBLA

by Ben Gilbert { Sep 14th 2009 at 4:30PM }

Well, folks, it's not quite the Summer of Arcade anymore. Microsoft's Major Nelson has announced C&C Red Alert 3: Commander's Challenge and Bubble Bobble Neo as this week's Xbox Live Arcade releases. Despite the inclusion of "C&C Red Alert 3" right there in the title, the former game is a standalone experience and can be played without the original Red Alert 3 game disc.

Each title will draw 800

($10) from your account, assuming it doesn't go toward this week's Xbox Live deal, Lode Runner.

Gallery: Bubble Bobble Neo (XBLA)

FIFA 10 demo up on XBLM (except for you, America)

by Alexander Sliwinski { Sep 10th 2009 at 1:00PM }

Imagine our excitement upon seeing Major Nelson announce that the demo for footy fiesta FIFA 10 was available on XBLM. Now, imagine our excitement being boiled like a Fatal Attraction bunny as we discovered the demo wasn't available in Japan ... or North America. That's outrageous! We live and breathe for the sport!

Apparently, the excluded regions will have to wait before taking their linebacker down the field and scoring a run in the other guy's hoop. The whole thing makes us want to scream like an athlete on an EA Sports cover.

Gallery: FIFA 10 (360/PS3)

How Xbox Live tenure on your gamercard works

by Ben Gilbert { Aug 12th 2009 at 7:30PM }

Wait, but we've been using Xbox Live since its inception! Shouldn't our gamercard have a little seven in the upper right corner? According to Microsoft's Major Nelson, not exactly. In fact, the first ever gamertag created ("e," for Xbox Live operations manager Eric Neustadter), won't officially turn seven until tomorrow. "Your Gold Veteran Status counts full years so if you've been a Gold member for 2 years, 11 months and 27 days; your status will display 2 years," says the Major.

In fact, there's a whole handful of little caveats regarding the tiny gamercard number that have been all layed out in plain English over at his blog. Unfortunately for us, regardless of those caveats, we'll likely never be as cool in Nerdland as Eric Neustadter.

[Via Xbox Gaming]

R-Type finally comes down to a reasonable price for deal of the week

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 3rd 2009 at 10:30AM }

Xbox Live gold members can pick up R-Type Dimensions for the reduced price of 800

($10) this week. How is that reduced, you ask? Well, for some strange reason, the side-scrolling shmup is normally a tad on the expensive side at 1200

($15).

At present, though, its probably best to spend those Microsoft space bucks on the excellent 'Splosion Man or wait a couple weeks until Shadow Complex releases. However, if you gotta have the R-Type, at least you'll get a deal on the game this week.

Add R-Type Dimensions to your queue

Gallery: R-Type Dimensions (XBLA)

Major Nelson: Don't sweat Xbox Live Silverlight ads

by Justin McElroy { Jul 2nd 2009 at 12:15PM }

Just when we were starting to get all excited about Silverlight-powered ads for Mountain Dew and Axe Body Spray littering the Xbox Dashboard, Xbox Live spokesman Major Nelson rains on our parade, telling readers that they don't need to sweat.

The Major recently posted, "One of our core principles is to enhance, not interfere with the gaming experience, and we work directly with our partners to only deliver experiences that are relevant to the LIVE community. Silverlight will help make those ads a more organic part of the dashboard, like we've done with some of the NXE slots in the past."

Aww, come on. Maybe just one "Get Totally Crunchatized With Doritos" ad? Something?

Custom Twitter, Last.fm, Facebook X360s (for MS 'partners' only!)

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jun 25th 2009 at 8:30AM }

Microsoft's Major Nelson showed off several consoles that the company will be giving to its new partners, now being integrated into Xbox Live. The Major even noted that he may even "liberate" one and asked if anyone was with him. Um, yeah! Now we want Joystiq integration on Xbox just so we can finagle a console in our blue or yellowy/orangish color.

Also, theft is likely the only way to get your hands on one of these custom consoles (unless you've got a high-level insider at one of the involved companies). The Major makes sure to note, "To be VERY clear ... Those are special consoles made for our partners. They are not for sale anywhere." Hmm, five-finger discount it is.

[Thanks, B. Marriner]

Major Nelson: Xbox 360 guide faster after next update

by Justin McElroy { Jun 22nd 2009 at 1:45PM }

Oh, you thought NXE was the last dashboard update you'd be able to sink you mitts into? No dice. Xbox Live spokesman Major Nelson said on his show this week that the next update for the 360 would increase the speed of the guide. "Whatever we call it (and it's not going to be called the NNXE), but whatever the next version of the dashboard is called, it's better with a lot of very cool new features," he said. "That update will be out later this year."

We haven't talked about this sort of thing in a while, so we're curious: What updates would you still like to see to the dashboard?

[Via CVG]

Major Nelson: Xbox Live Marketplace problems fixed

by David Hinkle { Jun 18th 2009 at 2:15PM }

After encountering some problems while reopening the virtual doors to Xbox Live yesterday, Major Nelson is reporting everything is back to working order. However, believing everything we read isn't in our job description (even when the source is one we trust), so we put on our Tron suit and hopped into Microsoft's virtual world to find out for ourselves.

Going through Xbox Live and its Marketplace, we were able to do pretty much everything we normally could. We downloaded the trial game for Rocket Riot, then snagged a free gamer picture, and even pulled down the demo of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In fact, we even checked out the Video Marketplace, and viewed a preview for the movie Outlander. So, we think it's safe to say that Xbox Live is back to its old self again. Are any of you still encountering issues?

Xbox Live down for server maintenance June 16

by Griffin McElroy { Jun 9th 2009 at 7:45PM }

Start stocking up on canned foods and survival gear, folks. One week from today, the Xbox Live service will be going down for server maintenance. According to Major Nelson's most recent blog post, Microsoft is flipping the "off" switch at 12:01 a.m. on June 16, and is expected to keep things offline for "up to 24 hours." Yes, for an entire day, the vile hatred and foul-mouthedness that consumes the online gaming universe will be freed from its fiberglass prison and released into the physical world. We humbly suggest staying indoors.

[Via 1UP]

Burgers and fries at Xbox Live's E3 meetup

by Dustin Burg { Jun 4th 2009 at 1:00AM }

With stomachs full of In-N-Out's fatty burger goodness, we're happy to present photographic proof that we were in attendance at Xbox Live's E3 reader meetup. Not that we need any photos to do that, the ketchup stains on our pants and our bloated bellies should be proof enough. Go ahead, take a gander through the photo gallery below to experience Xbox Live community at its ~~greasiest~~ finest!