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The benefits of Amazon.com's new Xbox Live Arcade Store continue to reveal themselves, as the two bestselling titles are Doom ($2.97) and Pac-Man C.E. ($4.97), both currently featured with discounted prices -- and both no-brainers for anyone who has previously passed on these two gems. Clearly, the Amazon option provides the possibility of more of these sweet discounts, in addition to perks like offering exact purchasing of games (instead of buying Microsoft Points in bulk), bonus money through participating credit cards, and potential sales tax dodging. But, a word to the wise: Check Amazon's prices against those listed on Xbox.com (80 Points = $1.00) before you buy, because some stated "discounts" are simply misleading.

Currently, at #6 on Amazon's XBLA bestseller list is the original Geometry Wars, which claims to be priced at a 50 percent discount -- wrong! Five dollars is the actual price of the game on Xbox Marketplace, and the presumed "broader" demographic now shopping for XBLA games on Amazon should be careful, as one would be better served to double down and purchase the superior sequel (#16 on the list) for ten. Alas, we're preaching to the choir here -- you, dear reader, already know this. (Whaddya gonna do, ya know?) Just take note of the real discounts, as they're good ones, and forget about those "others" being misled by the fake ones.

[Thanks, Chad]

Namco will be giving European Xbox 360 owners exclusive access (though, a $30 cover charge applies) to the Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade sometime this April.

The 360 edition of the Namco Museum includes 30+ arcade titles, various classics, new "Arrangement" versions of older games, a bunch of leaderboards and Live multiplayer for up to four players. Best part: the trippy visuals and morphing gameplay of Pac-Man Championship Edition will also be a part of the bundle. Wakka-wakka!

With two very remakes under its belt -- Pac-Man CE and Galaga Legions -- it looks like Namco Bandai has some more arcade remakes in mind. Speaking to MTV, Tadashi Iguchi, director of the team that made both Pac-Man CE and Galaga Legions, revealed that there are plans to do more remakes, which he refers to as "reconstructions". "I would like to make an action game with the same team again," says Iguchi, adding that a specific title has not been chosen, but he is "interested in making games that players who liked games in the 80's will enjoy." Might we suggest Rolling Thunder? Pleeeeease?

[Via Joystiq]

Keeping to their word, Microsoft just announced at GDC the winners of the first annual Xbox Live Arcade Awards and man oh man did Bomberman Live and Pac-Man: Championship Edition win big.

Out of the ten award categories, six category winners were chosen by the Xbox Live community who voted online this past January. And after the votes were tallied, Bomberman Live ended up being the big winner taking home the coveted Best Overall Arcade Game of 2007 as well as Best Competitive Multiplayer Game. Pac-Man: CE also came out on top, nabbing Best Original Game, Best Family-Friendly Game and Xbox LIVE Arcade Staff Choice honors. So, between Bomberman and Pac-Man, they took home half of all the awards. Not too shabby. After the break, check out all of 2007's top XBLA Award winners for each of the ten categories. And be sure to begin preparation for 2008's XBLA Awards, we have a feeling that the competition is going to be fierce.

Please, step back in time with us. Let's say it's February 2007, one year ago. A bedraggled, foul smelling man, wearing a sign that reads "The End is Nigh," approaches you and grabs you violently by the collar. He leans in close, his sour whisky breath burning your nostrils, and whispers, "One year from now, Pac-Man will be nominated for a Game Developers Choice Award!" The breath is so strong that you shut your eyes tight. Upon reopening them, the man is gone. You question your sanity, wondering if he was even real. A Pac-Man game nominated in 2008? Preposterous!

Rest assured, he was real, and he was right. Namco Bandai Games have announced that Pac-Man Championship Edition, released in June 2007, has been nominated for Best Downloadable Game in the eighth annual Game Developers Choice Awards, which are set to take place during the Game Developers Conference later this month. Best Downloadable Game of 2009? Dig Dug. You heard it here first.

Pac-Man Championship Edition (XBLA)

If not worthy of a Top 10 spot, then certainly Pac-Man deserves Joystiq's 'Comeback Player of the Year' award. I covered Pac-Man CE's overblown launch in early June, but it wasn't until I became a devoted player at home that I realized the sheer genius of the first true Pac-Man sequel since 'the Ms.' hit the maze in '82. Designer Toru Iwatani managed to scrape off a quarter-century of rust and fashion a remarkably relevant game that held me down during an otherwise punishing summer drought. Geometry Wars might be the most celebrated, but Pac-Man CE is Xbox Live Arcade's true star.