Kotaku: Live Marketplace

PES2008 Demo Hits Europe

Mike Fahey — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 19:15:21 EDT

And suddenly downloads of the Fifa 2008 demo in Europe drop like a stone, as Pro Evo 2008's demo hits Xbox Live Marketplace. Weighing in at a healthy 1.18GB, the demo is available everywhere fine Xbox Live players are found, with the exception of North America and Asia, because North Americans don't appreciate the sport enough and both call it Winning Eleven instead of the proper PES. I really wish I could say more, but I just don't follow the sport. Otherwise I'd make some witty, team-specific comment or something that would cause some sort of comment-brawl. My exposure to soccer is limited to high school PE, where the upper classmen used it as an excuse to repeatedly kick the lower classmen in the junk. Here's hoping PES 2008 is better than a kick in the sack! More »

Viva Piñata: Party Animals Demo

Mike Fahey — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 18:00:00 EDT

Those wacky pinatas are back and ready to party! Have you got 971MB of hard disk space left on your Xbox 360? If so, the Viva Piñata: Party Animals demo is now available to fill both it and your heart with all the joy and rapture living paper statues filled with candy can muster. Enjoy a selection of mini-games and races that will give you just a taste of what you'll be getting once the full game hits late next month. The demo supports 1-4 players, so get together your family and friends and get them all excited to play, only to have their hearts crushed when the demo ends. If anything it's something for all you Halo 3 fans to do until Tuesday, or your eBay copies arrive. More »

Xbox 360 By The Numbers

Mike Fahey — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 13:40:18 EDT

With Halo 3 just around the corner, Microsoft has released a boatload of statistics regarding the state of Xbox Live and the 360, perhaps as a way to take a snapshot of before and after the game's gigantic launch week. The stats cover everything from Xbox Live play hours (3.2 billion, or 376,000 years), Xbox Live content downloads (over 290 million), games sold per console (6.3 on average), and just oodles more. The most interesting thing to me is that before this console generation, most of these stats didn't even apply to gaming consoles, so aside from being a big opportunity for Microsoft to pat themselves on their backs, it's an interesting look at how the face of console gaming has changed over the past few years. Hit the jump for all the numbers! More »

New Guitar Hero II Song Pack Tomorrow

Mike Fahey — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 18:40:26 EDT

Three more songs are being added to the Xbox 360 Guitar Hero II lineup tomorrow morning at 2AM Pacific, once again for the bargain basement or entirely too expensive price of 500 Microsoft points, depending on where you stand on that issue. The three new tracks consist of: More »

GRAW2 Throwback Pack 2 On Live

Mike Fahey — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 14:30:08 EDT

I really love the concept of the Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 throwback packs, which take classic maps from old Ghost Recon titles and port them for use in GRAW2. The second of said packs is now available for download via Xbox Live Marketplace for the low, low price of free. The pack not only contains seven classic GR maps for use in multiplayer, but also comes with a whole new game mode. Co-op Exfiltration is a co-op game mode that challenges your squad to protect AI officers as they try to reach a helicopter extraction zone. Did I mention it was free? Hit the jump for details on all seven maps included in this lovely little slice of free DLC. More »

Blazing Angels 2 Demo On Live

Mike Fahey — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 11:20:44 EDT

The original Blazing Angels completely failed to capture my interest, which is odd considering I've long been facinated by the history of aviation and warfare. Perhaps Ubisoft can capture my attention the second time around with Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions of World War II. A demo of the game has just gone up on Xbox Live, and according to some early players over at Major Nelson's Blog it contains the most excite example of leaflet dropping you've ever seen in an air combat game. The 619MB download includes multiplayer dogfighting as well as single player gameplay, so if all else fails you'll get to kill a few people. Just remember to be courteous and wait for my download to finish before starting yours! More »

360 Skate Demo Delayed

Mike Fahey — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 12:20:51 EDT

Yeah, so about that Skate demo for the Xbox 360 I told you about the other day that was scheduled for the 15th of this month? Isn't happening. In a post on the EA forums, Executive Producer Scott Blackwood explains that overly-ambitious features are pushing the demo back by several days, though not more than a week.

The thing is: the skate.reel video upload functionality is much more technically complex than a standard offline demo. So after submitting it to MS, we got blindsided by a technical (server related) issue we needed to address. Unfortunately it wasn't really something that could have been avoided - just an unfortunate side-effect of doing something totally new in a demo environment.

Of course the forum-goers have been nothing but understanding. "what a sh*t company to pull out and have screw ups like this... thats totally unprofessional... " See? Hit the link and feel the love. More »

EA Makes Skate Date - 360 Demo Coming

Mike Fahey — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 12:00:50 EDT

EA's entry into the Tony Hawk dominated skateboarding genre can't be contained by just one release date, so Electronic Arts has spread the love across four of them. The Xbox 360 version will be rolling into US stores on the 12th of September, with the UK version dropping two days later on the 14th. Then the US PlayStation 3 version will come waltzing in, easy as you please on the 24th in the states, with the UK release scheduled for October 2nd. I suppose in some circles this could be viewed as an Xbox 360 timed exclusive, but those circles are petty and short-sighted. What does seem to be exclusive on the 360 is the downloadable demo available on the 15th of this month via Xbox Live Marketplace, giving owners of the Microsoft console some idea of whether or not they should cancel their preorders. I'd like to think the demo will foster cooperation between owners of the two consoles, with the 360 fans reaching out to the PS3 owners with helpful tips and encouragement. *hides in bunker til smoke clears* More »

Resident Evil 5 In Still Life

Mike Fahey — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 17:40:32 EDT

Now that the extended Resident Evil 5 trailer is safely ensconced on both Xbox Live and the PlayStation Store, Capcom has released fourteen screenshots from it so those of you without the ability to download it can pretend you already did and you're just on pause. Virtual pause technology is just one of the many innovations Capcom has in store for you with Resident Evil 5. Capcom: Innovation is job 1, probably. More »

Test Drive Unlimited Pack Five Live

Mike Fahey — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 13:20:53 EDT

Atari's support for the large community of folks who enjoy just randomly driving around in Test Drive Unlimited of the Xbox 360 is still going strong, if the latest vehicle pack is any indicator. The fifth such pack since the game was released back in September of last year, this time around drivers will get to download and purchase in-game the Chrysler Crossfire SRT6 Coupe, Dodge Charger Super Bee, Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole, Ferrari 512 TR, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R, and the Spyker C8 Spyder, all for 350 Microsoft points. The Charger is worth the price of admission in my opinion. As is tradition, the release of the pack also heralds a new completely free car, the Holden Efijy Concept, seen above. Not a bad little stable of vehicles to add to the 90+ already in the game. Hit the gallery below for multiple shots of all the new rides! More »

Bullet Witch DLC - Anyone Care?

Mike Fahey — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 13:20:55 EDT

Of all the Xbox 360 games to have their content bolstered by inexpensive downloadable content, it had to be Bullet Witch, the most amazingly average game ever released for the console. Atari has announced the beginnings of a long stream of DLC coming out over the course of the coming weeks, starting with a free White Witch costume, a theme pack, and the new "Dynamite Beauty" mission, which only costs 20 points. Both of these should be available soon, if not now. More »

360 Ultimate Alliance Gets DLC TLC

Mike Fahey — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 14:20:36 EDT

I loved Marvel Ultimate Alliance so much that I played through it on no less that four separate platforms, just to experience the differences between characters and controls. Ultimately the 360 was my favorite (Achievements + Moon Knight!), and now Activision has announced there is more 360 goodness on the way, in the form of new downloadable heroes and villains, available next month via Live Marketplace. More »

New Battlestations Content Tomorrow

Mike Fahey — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 11:40:09 EST

Eidos is delivering a little DLC to Xbox 360 owners tomorrow in the form of new battle maps for their World War 2 strategy game, Battlestations: Midway. Two new maps to be precise, one for the single player campaign called The Raid on Truk, and one multiplayer map, The Battle of the Sibuyan Sea. Also included in the new content pack is a variety of new vehicles, including the P-38 Lightning and the stealthy Type A mini-sub. More »

CoD3 Map Pack Broken

Mike Fahey — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 17:50:52 EST

We've been talking up the new Call of Duty 3 map pack for quite awhile now, and today it is finally available for purchase via Live Marketplace. So what do you get with your $10 worth of MS points? More »

Crackdown Demo Hits in Jan.

Brian Crecente — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 17:00:48 EST

A single-player and online coop demo for Crackdown hits the Xbox Live Marketplace on Jan. 18, according to Microsoft. More »

Clips: Halo 3 Brute Video

Mike Fahey — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 14:40:10 EST

For those of you finding yourselves too far from or without an XBox 360 entirely, GameVideos.com has already uploaded all 7 minutes of the vidoc for your veiwing pleasure. More »

Halo 3 Brute Video on Live Now

Mike Fahey — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 08:10:48 EST

For those of you who weren't up at 2AM Pacific eagerly refreshing your Xbox Live Marketplace, the second Halo 3 vidoc is now available for download in 480p and 720p flavors. The seven minute video showcases the Brutes in all their redesigned glory. The 480p version clocks in at just under 100 megs, so you won't be that late to work. More »

Video Tour of XBox Live Spring Update

brownlee — Tue, 30 May 2006 10:00:27 EDT

GameVideos.com has posted a comprehensive twenty minute review of the upcoming XBox Live Update, narrated by our very ex-own Luke Smith, once of Kotaku, now of 1UP. Most of the changes seem relatively small, but it's invigorating to see the service's usability constantly improved. We've posted the video after the jump. FLORIAN ECKHARDT More »

The Outfit Demo Blows Up March 3

lsmith — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 14:40:25 EST

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Prodigious Gaming reports on the THQ announcement of The Outfit's multiplayer demo heading to the Xbox Marketplace on March 3, in addition to being available in issues of Official Xbox Magazine. More »