Just a quick reminder from your friends at Joystiq, if you wanted to try your hand at the totally cool visual game programming of Kodu Game Lab, the title is now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace (though you'll have to navigate over to the Community Games section to find it).

For just 400 MS points ($5) you can build your very own game from the ground up, all the while being reminded that no matter how hard you work at it, Sparrow still owns you. If you manage to make anything cool (though admittedly never as cool as what Sparrow makes) let us know in the comments below.

Square Enix has released some brand new DLC for its saccharine puzzler, Yosumin Live. Called "Yosumin Adventure," the content has players traveling "the world to recover the pieces of a beautiful stained-glass window." That's just precious, which is in keeping with the game's already colorful presentation. According to Siliconera, the content adds a full 180 stages to the game. At only 80 ($1), we'd say it's a steal for Yosumin fans.

Add "Yosumin Adventure" to your Xbox 360 download queue.

[Via Siliconera]

Major Nelson sends word that new summer fashions are now available (and free!) for Xbox 360 Avatars. The ladies get the bulk of the new clothing options, with the flower vest, surfer hot pants, surfer skirts, surfer shorts and the surfer dress (protip: Don't surf in a dress). Male Avatars get the rashguard, swim shorts, surfer shorts and what Microsoft calls a "white vest." Come on Microsoft, we know a K-Fed tank top when we see one.

In what will assuredly be the longest headline for any Xbox Live Deal of the Week post we'll ever run, Microsoft's offering a $5 reduction in price (from 1200 to 800) on Capcom's Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix this week.

That's right, folks -- you're reading this correctly. We're on the second week straight that the Xbox Live Deal of the Week was something worthwhile and not, say, DLC from a three year old game or, erm, DLC from a two year old game. We're not quite sure that the big M and Xbox Live are giving Steam a run for its money with deals quite yet, but we are plopping down our virtual bucks that much more frequently on the service as of late. Here's hoping that we'll keep seeing tasty deals like this rather than some of the ... ahem ... less than savory items we've seen in the past.

It appears as though Microsoft's plans for an August launch of its Games on Demand service is popping up a bit early. Why just this morning, we spotted a listing for the already confirmed Mass Effect (sporting its snazzy new Platinum Hits packaging) in our Xbox.com Marketplace RSS feed. Unsurprisingly, the listing has been removed from the website itself, though RSS feeds won't allow for editing after something has been published.

As 360sync.com rightfully points out, game manuals will be provided virtually through the Xbox.com Marketplace website according to the listing, so you've got that going for ya (which is nice). We're not sure when these puppies are showin' up on XBL for sure, but from the looks of things, we'd say sooner rather than later. For a video tour of the upcoming Games on Demand service, hit the break.

[Via 360sync]

Fans of Criterion's beloved Billy Joel driving/crashing simulator, Burnout Paradise, were hit hard by the events of yesterday's Xbox Live Marketplace implosion -- frequent Burn-ers have been unable to download the game's long anticipated territorial expansion, Big Surf Island. According to Criterion, "unforeseen technical problems caused this content to be to be removed from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace." Fortunately, the Burnout team is all up on it, working with Microsoft to get a fix out as soon as possible. We'll let you know when they're successful!

Update: Success! Just like that, Criterion's got Big Surf Island online. If you've got $12.99 to drop, Burnout Paradise has a new landmass for you explore.

How about that, this week's XBLM Deal of the Week is actually a deal. This week, you can snag the Fallout 3 "Operation: Anchorage" DLC for 560 ($7), 30 percent off the usual price of 800 ($10). Granted, you can pick up a used copy of the recently released "Operation: Anchorage" and "The Pitt" combo pack for about $15 at GameStop, but this download-only deal is still pretty decent. At any rate, it certainly stacks up better than most of the "deals" we usually see.

Add Operation: Anchorage to your Xbox 360 download queue

We were a little miffed that we were completely unable to download Rocket Riot from Xbox Live Marketplace this morning. We were slightly more miffed when the download for Magic: The Gathering also failed. When the download for Sam & Max failed, however, we were positively livid. And now, we've received a tip that certain content on XBLM has disappeared entirely, namely Burnout Paradise's Big Surf Island DLC. The new Sega Vintage Collection games seem to have vanished as well.

We're not sure what's going on, but we're willing to bet it's got something to do with the Xbox Live maintenance that took place yesterday. We've contacted Microsoft and will update this post as soon as we hear anything more.

[Update: Microsoft has informed Joystiq that it is "aware of an issue affecting a small amount of content on Xbox LIVE Marketplace since the service came back online" and hopes to "resolve the issue soon." We'll update this post again once services return to normal.]

[Thanks, Jack]

Those of you looking to bling out your Saint's Row 2 characters with a bevvy of fancy new accoutrement need wait no longer, as Volition just released "The Unkut Pack" of free DLC this week. Virtual ganstas are now able to choose from "62 unique customization options" with "The Unkut Pack," though those of you without Gold acounts on Xbox Live won't be able to participate without ponying up for an upgraded membership, as the DLC is Gold member exclusive.

Peep the example gallery below for a few shots of the new duds, tats and "bigass chains," and check out the game's website for a full list of everything, if you're into that kind of thing. And revel in it, 'cause according to Volition, this is the "third and final DLC Pack for Saints Row 2." Saint's Row 3, anyone?

How this will work exactly won't be fully revealed until E3, where Microsoft promises that attendees will learn "how Zune integrates into Xbox LIVE creating a game-changing entertainment experience." This integration could very well be related to the hinted-at 360-Zune team-up we posted about last December.

Still, the announcement does bring up some interesting questions in the meantime. Chiefly among them: Will video content purchased on one device be playable on the other and vice-versa? Microsoft isn't saying, although that would make perfect sense. Also, the Zune marketplace offers an extensive catalog of downloadable songs -- could this be an indication of an iTunes-like music service debuting for 360? Microsoft's press conference has just become more unpredictable.

Update: The Guardian reports that Microsoft told it to expect movie, TV and music downloads via the Zune marketplace on 360. In addition, a subscription service like (or one and the same to) Zune Pass will likely be offered to Live users, allowing them unlimited song playback and 10 song downloads a month for a set fee. Final details are expected to be announced at next week's E3.

Major Nelson has announced that an X-Blades demo is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. If X-Blades managed to slip under your radar, we wouldn't blame you. All you really need to know is that the game features a scantily clad lady slicing and dicing bad guys with swords. Oh, the lady is attractive too. That's important. You can add the demo to your 360 download queue right here.

In the world of Saint's Row 2, the Ultor Corporation isn't looking for a massive government bailout -- it has an internal "civil war" to deal with. "Corporate Warfare," the second DLC offering for THQ and Volition's open-world crime game, hits Thursday, May 28, bringing a new mission and multiplayer maps, more vehicles, expanded customization options and additional Achievements (for Xbox 360). Also: corporate warfare. Who'd have thunk?

The pack will set purchasers back 560 ($7) for 360 and $7 in non- space-money for PS3. Check out the gallery below for a glimpse of what awaits down on the 'Row.

Demos for Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection and Up are now available on the marketplace. Coincidentally, the Sonic demo downloads ultra fast. However, the Up demo, which is over a gigglebyte, downloads about as slow as its protaganist can walk with that tennis ball cane. Actually, the Up demo is quite enjoyable -- in a Lego Star Wars kind of way.

The Sonic demo includes trials of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Streets of Rage 3 and Space Harrier. Playing the demos reminds us that nostalgia isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Update: In case it was missed, Wolverine went live last night. Thanks for the backup, B1ggrandall.

[Add the Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection demo to your download queue]
[Add the UP Demo to your download queue ]