"We try to stick to violence against small animals," said Kotick, (hopefully) joking, when Swisher asked him about the in-game violence issue:

Most of our users are over 18, they go to R-rated movies and we need to to cater to that preference. We are a broad-based medium today and we must appeal to as many demographics as we can. Part of that demographic audience enjoys in-game violence, and that includes gratuitous violence.

Bobby Kotick, Chairman and CEO of Guitar Hero-Maker Activision - D6 Highlights [All Things Digital]

Those new things are going to be successful in the future and we'll continue to create new brands for the machine. Compared with other publishers, the difference was going early as well as the huge amount of creativity we channel into the machine.

Arcade Hits [Xbox]

Larry Hyrb points out that Microsoft is slashing prices on four Xbox Live titles starting Sunday and ending Monday night. The Live fire sale cuts Small Arms, Zuma Deluxe, Gauntlet and Dig Dug prices in half starting 12:00 a.m. GMT on Sunday, September 2 and continuing until 11: 59 p.m. GMT on Monday, September 3.

Hit the jump for the list of games, description and prices.

Small Arms - 400 Microsoft Points (normally 800 Microsoft Points)
Easy to pick up but hard to put down, "Small Arms" is a frantic multiplayer action game with the feel of an arcade shooter.

Zuma Deluxe- 400 Microsoft Points (normally 800 Microsoft Points)
Explore more than 20 realms in Adventure mode and put your skills to the test in this fast-paced puzzle game.

Gauntlet - 200 Microsoft Points (normally 400 Microsoft Points)
The original dungeon crawler lets four adventurers explore and fight together as a warrior, valkyrie, wizard, and elf.

Dig Dug - 200 Microsoft Points (normally 400 Microsoft Points)
Experience the fast-paced action of this quarter-cruncher from 1982 as you take control of Dig Dug himself and vanquish Pookas and Fygars.

The Ivar & Gullarp pack for Small Arms just hit the Xbox 360 Live Arcade.

The 250-point pack gives you two new playable characters, two new levels and two new achievements:

Name: Ivar & Gullarp: Best Friends Forever - Frozen in Time Price: 250 Points Availability: All Xbox LIVE regions Dash Details: After spending one million years frozen together in the Arctic, Ivar and Gullarp know everything about each other. How could they not! They spent endless hours rambling about how to get stains out of their fur underpants, how to make the best stone tools, and which baby seals were the cutest. Yes, Ivar & Gullarp will be best friends forever, because forever certainly can't take any longer than global atmospheric climate change. This package includes playable characters Ivar and Gullarp as well as their 'Arctic Ice Float' and 'Pillaged Village' levels! This pack contains 2 new PDA levels.

The new achievements are:

Honorary Barbarian - 15 G
Complete Mission Mode playing as Ivar or Gullarp

Barbaric Recruiter - 20 G
Host an online match using the Iceberg or Village level

I might be picking this up. I like Small Arms, but I end up getting burnt out on it after about half an hour of play, so it's hard for me to judge whether a couple of new levels and characters will help that. Brian Crecente

Small Arms: Picture Pack and In game content [Major Nelson]

Included in the plug-and-play is Sonic 2, Ecco the Dolphin, Gain Ground, The Ooze, Columns, Alex Kidd and the Enchanted Castle. It probably makes a lovely keychain too. Kim Phu

Sega Deal: Miniature Consoles Going for a Miniature Price [Sega Nerds]

DS games? Small! PSP (ProDuo game or music) cards? Tiny! Wii SD cards? Micro! Here's a holder for those mini-media. Dubbed the Jimi Game Shell, it holds either two DS games, two Wii SD cards or two PSP cards. Made from 100 percent recycled polypropylene, it's water resistant, shockproof and can be attached to your backpack or keyring. They're US $9.95 each and good if you like to leave your house. Brian Ashcraft

Game Shell [Jimi via Pop Gadget]

Nano-sized Tetris. Cute, huh? Brian Ashcraft

Tiny Tetris [pya!]

How darling! Insert Credit points to Jason Winters and his Commodore 64 palmtop. Backstory: Jeri Ellsworth created a line of C64 plug 'n plays that were sold to Walmart and the like. The interesting part was that she put the entire thing on a chip, making it possible to create devices like this truly cool C64 palmtop. Nice work. Brian Ashcraft

The C64 Palmtop [Insert Credit]

I spent an hour or two playing Small Arms on the 360 last night and have come to decide that while I like it, it's a little too simple to be fun for long bouts of gaming.

So I'm about ready for another taste of original Xbox Live Arcade content. Hopefully, Assault Heroes will satisfy my itch. The arcade shooter sounds like it could be a lot of Ikari-Warriors fun, though without the kick-ass rotating joysticks. Brian Crecente

Microsoft announces the Xbox Live Arcade Challenge, a gaming tournament that focuses on games downloadable through Xbox Live. There are actually two different competitions. The Lumines Live! challenge will run from the 17th to the 23rd of December, with the Small Arms tourney running from the 24th to the 30th. When the competitions end, the top 105 people on the leaderboards are winners.

What do they win? 1st place walks away with a 42inch Hitachi Plasma HDTV, with four runners up receiving an HD-DVD bundle, a wireless headset, and the ultra-pricey 360 wireless racing wheel. The remaining 100 ranking players for Lumines get '500 MS Points Tokens to be redeemed for Xbox Live imagery', with the Small Arms players getting a game theme plus 100 of the point tokens. Point tokens? Xbox Live imagery? Are these not just standard Live points? Confusing. Frankly doesn't seem worth downloading the full version of either of these if you aren't in the top five, so play to win, damn you. Make us proud.

Registration is set to start today, so keep an eye on the link below if you want a chance at delicious plasma TV goodness.

Xbox Live Global Tournament Registration Site [via Eurogamer]

In "Small Arms," up to four players can join in the battles across many dynamic and richly detailed levels. Gamers can choose from a cast of outrageous fighters like the cyborg tabby cat, assassin truffle pig and mutant chimney sweep. While jumping from platform to platform shooting with 360 aim, gamers of all skill levels will be able to pick up and play this innovative side-scrolling action title.

Full press release after the jump.

Small Arms Embraces Social Gaming on Xbox Live Arcade

Networking with friends reaps new rewards with this highly anticipated Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday release. The frantic multiplayer brawling game "Small Arms" will be available for download on Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360 beginning Wednesday, November 22, after 0800 GMT (1:00 a.m. PST).

Social gaming innovation in "Small Arms," which begins with the four developers at Gastronaut Studios, will pass to Xbox Live Arcade gamers from around the world. "Small Arms" includes a unique social networking Achievement called "Six Degrees of Small Arms" that can only be earned by playing with someone who already has it - and which only the game's creators will possess at launch!

In "Small Arms," up to four players can join in the battles across many dynamic and richly detailed levels. Gamers can choose from a cast of outrageous fighters like the cyborg tabby cat, assassin truffle pig and mutant chimney sweep. While jumping from platform to platform shooting with 360? aim, gamers of all skill levels will be able to pick up and play this innovative side-scrolling action title.

"Small Arms" is available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points.

GAME FEATURES:

12 characters, each with their own weapon
8 unique levels
12 Achievements, including the innovative "Six Degrees of Small Arms" viral achievement
Up to 4-player multiplayer offline and on Xbox Live
Local Multiplayer / Xbox Live Swap - allows players to swap out a local friend with a friend over Live without leaving the game!
Three single player game modes (Story, Challenge, and Shooting Range)
Colorful 3D graphics with classic side-scrolling run and gun action
Expect premium downloadable content for this title in the future - providing new game play elements and unique challenges for Small Arms fans
Download "Small Arms" beginning on Wednesday, November 22, at 1 a.m. PST on Xbox Live Arcade.

"Small Arms": 800 Microsoft Points, Rated E10+, Comic Mischief, Fantasy Violence

For more information, please visit http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/livearcade.

"Six Degrees of Small Arms" viral achievement? I am intrigued. Michael Fahey

The Wii? Whatever. The Xbox 360? Pffft. Sony's playing field is wider than that. Way wider! While giving his typical we-were-never-first spiel, he got down to brass tacks regarding whom Sony is competing with:

If you look back at the history of product launches we were never first. The real test comes when any other products are available in abundance so the consumer can walk into any retailer and pick up whatever console they want.

...and...

There have always been other entertainment options. Certainly YouTube and iPods are other entertainment options we are now competing with.

Not only that, the PS3 is also competing with sunlight. Oxygen, you're next! WATCH OUT. Brian Ashcraft

PS3 Takes On Everything [Yahoo]

Just because your father likes to make an ass out of himself at E3 press conferences does not mean he can get you a PLAYSTATION 3. A PlayStation 2? That, he can swing. But, forget about that new Sony console, sonny.

The company plans to launch 400,000 consoles this month in North America and have an additional 600,000 by December 2006. By next year, Sony aims to have a cool 2 million machines out by the end of next year. Sony Computer Entertainment of America president Kaz Hirai says there will be "some shortages" and asks for "everyone's patience." And to show what a company man he is, Kaz won't even let his 12 year-old son have a PS3 yet:

He talks a good game about PLAYSTATION 3 when he's at school, but he hasn't touched one and he hasn't seen one. That's only fair for everybody.

Just give the squirt a panini maker for the time being, Kaz. Brian Ashcraft

Kaz's House Is PS3-less [VGB]

While the humor has long worn off, the meme still exists in the internet's deepest bowls. Somewhere someone is clacking our "Riiiiiiiiiiiiidge Racer" and cackling. Alone. We have since moved on and found different things to make fun of. But for those who missed the follies...

At E3, Sony Computer Entertainment of America honcho Kaz Hirai demonstrated how to plow into a wall on the PSP version. And Ridge Racer producer Hirofumi Inagaki's thoughts? He tells Gamasutra's Brandon Sheffield:

Oh...well I'm not as happy with that! But hey, if he's having fun with it, that's ok, even if he can't play... I'm happy people are saying the game's name so much.

Well Mr. Positive, they weren't just saying the game's name, you know. Brian Ashcraft

Kaz Suxor at Ridge Racer [Gamasutra]

Microsoft has rolled out an impressive online service with Xbox Live—a service that has taken the company years to create. Sony's coming late to the party, so how can the company compete?

Sony Computer Entertainment of America chief Kaz Hirai believes it can. He tells game site Next Generation that, for example, Resistance: Fall of Man will support up to 40 players online, as well as video chat, text chat, voice chat, rankings and additional content available for download. Though, he adds this depends "on the game and their online capabilities." Moreover, Kaz says:

What we don't do however is have a brand name for the network service, you know, like PlayStation Online or PlayStation Live, and this is because we don't we don't see a "PlayStation offline".

What I'm trying to say is that it doesn't matter if you are enjoying content from a Blu-ray disc or you are enjoying content you just downloaded from the network, at the end of the day it's all PLAYSTATION 3 so we don't differentiate between content, and I think that makes a clear point between us and some of our competitors...

That and an astromical price tag. Zing! Brian Ashcraft

No PlayStation Offline [Next-Gen]

Hey, thanks, Capcom! After oodles of potential zombie killers deprived of HDTV started complaining that the text in Dead Rising was so small that a single letter could be comfortably mapped upon the convexity of a single micron, there was great hope for a patch.

Will there be? Ha. No. According to 1UP:

So, the question is, will there ever be a patch? Unfortunately, that's a no. "Due to the amount of text and the size of the patch necessary to change the text, a patch isn't possible for this issue," said the company. "We had asked the team if it was even possible but ... due to the scope of what a patch would need to cover, it wasn't possible."

Yeah, those font file sizes are just killer. Bastiches. Florian Eckhardt

Dead Rising Fans: No Patch For You [1UP]

Those without HD have found themselves squinting and scrabbling at their blue-glowy screens in an attempt to interpret the mission objectives and other assorted text in Dead Rising. The furor on the Internet is rising to an irritating pitch, much like a near-ear mosquito.

But according to a post on the official Capcom boards, Capcom hears all and wants to make it better.

Dear Everyone, I have heard your concerns and passed them to every source within Capcom possible. I feel your pain as I, myself, have a large SDTV and am having trouble reading the mission objectives, item names, etc.

I'd like you all to know we have heard your concerns and take them seriously. I have been seeing campaigns on other forums to send hundreds of emails to our support email. Unfortunately this doesn't expedite or increase the importance of the concern in any way, but it does take time and resources from other fans' equally deserving concerns. All concerns are always important to us and we do what we can.

We also would like you to know that we appreciate your feedback as the game was just released and it's feedback from our fans and gamers that make our games great. We appreciate your continued support of Capcom products!

The above was posted by Capcom board administrator "WickedKitty", who lists her location as Capcom, USA. I assume she actually has contact with the company itself, but it's impossible to tell. Eliza Gauger

Text Too Small [Capcom Forums (thanks Adam)]

When it comes to announced XBox Live games, we pretty much abandon all hope until the game can actually be seen glowing through the cathode tubes of our television screens. Still, this is very cool: according to 1UP, the upcoming XBLA shooter/brawler Small Arms (video, above, because we couldn't find a screenshot) will have an achievement that can be gained by every gamer who comes in contact with someone who already has it:

The achievement, called "Six Degress of Small Arms," will start with the four Gastronaut (studio making Small Arms) employees as the only ones with the achievement. When someone plays with the Gastronaut employees, they'll get the achievement and the achievement will be contagious, spreading to players who don't have the achievement when they play with players who do. Pretty slick.

Just like syphillis! Florian Eckhardt

XBLA's Small Arms Nets Slick Achievement [1UP]

Extremely unfortunately named game blog K1lla's Xbox Domain just posted an interview with Co-Director/Developer for Gastronaut Studios, Don Wurster. Don is bright-eyed and full of beans about his new baby, which looks like a cross between Smash Brothers and Kung Fu Chaos:

Another character 'Mr Truffles' is an assassin truffle pig who uses a sniper rifle as his default weapon. The primary attack is a deadly accurate sniper rifle with a laser sight. As a secondary attack, the sniper rifle provides 'proximity mines' which you can leave behind around the level for unsuspecting opponents.

I already know who my favorite character will be! Also featured: rotisserie chicken. Eliza Gauger

'Small Arms' Dev Interview [K1lla's Xbox Domain]