Shortly after they hit the scene, we tracked down the bands members to talk to them about their apparent connection to New Hope International Church, a Bellevue, Washington-based Christian church that hopes to "turn lost people into fully devoted Spirit-filled disciples of Jesus Christ in our city and all over the world."

The band's leader, Phil Fischer, denied the connection and said that the band was formed in hopes that Microsoft would eventually back them.

Today Fischer contacted Kotaku to let us know that Microsoft has officially nixed the idea, saying that they couldn't take the time to track how their logo and name was being used:

I wanted to write this letter to you and advise you that Microsoft officially told us that they would not endorse us, so the band is breaking up. For months I was angry at you for the story you wrote about us, but I got over it.

We decided to go into the studio last week and blow the last of my savings on a song about someone I have been in love with for years, Cortana. I put it up on our myspace page at www.myspace.com/thexboxboys.

Anyway, I never got to know you that well, but I think your forum kicks ass and I wish you well.

By: Brian Crecente and Michael McWhertor

They've been called fanboys, gaming's fab four and Microsoft employee wannabes, the game-inspired rock band The Xbox Boys crashed onto the gaming scene earlier this year with a set of catchy tunes and an oddly religious fervor for the Xbox 360.

But that fervor doesn't seem as odd when considering that many of the band members have or had ties to New Hope International Church, a Bellevue, Washington-based Christian church that hopes to "turn lost people into fully devoted Spirit-filled disciples of Jesus Christ in our city and all over the world."

When contacted for comment, band front man and church couples minster, Brendan Aye, said that "none of The Xbox Boys work for MS or any marketing companies. Just a bunch of fanboys who like music and gaming (maybe too much)."

Aye, who said he is not part of the band but takes care of their "business/Internet dealings", did not return emails in response to questions about the group's ties to New Hope International Church.

Reached by phone Wednesday, the band's lead singer, Phil Fischer said that the band was "not a religious thing, it was just an Xbox thing."

"We are just in love with the Xbox. This has nothing to do with our religion at all."

The band lists four members in its group, P-Box, B-Box, Beat Box and D-Box. But none of them use their real names. Fischer confirmed this afternoon that the group is made up of: guitarist Bryan Barrows, AKA B-Box; Seattle-area drummer, Bryan Lash, AKA Beat Box; bassist Dave "Kitz" Sproull, AKA D-Box, and himself, a 37-year-old Seattle singer song-writer and former church music minster.

Lash is also a former member of New Hope International Church and Sproull says in his MySpace page that he is a local student worship leader

Fischer said that while the group has nothing to do with religion, its members are Christian. "We aren't ashamed of that, but this is about our love for a console."

According to the official Phil Fischer website, Fischer, who up until recently was a church couples minster with Aye at New Hope International Church, decided to drop his first solo album, "Wounded Soul" and devote his life to God about five years ago.

"I now use my talents to serve Jesus Christ, who without him, none of this would be possible," Fischer writes on his site. In his "Six Promises to You Lord" Fischer says he will "worship you in bars, dancehalls, taverns and other places to reach non-believers."

On the official Xbox Boys site, Fischer, also known as P-Box, lists a different set of laws, laws of the "Keepers of the Orb":

1. Uphold gaming integrity for all gamers of the world
2 .Bring the power of the Xbox to all countries by performing and showcasing the games and consoles
3. Make sure that all age groups and all peoples of Earth have access to the X-Box console and to its games."

These laws, the site says, were delivered to the four band members in the woods of Bellevue, near Microsoft's campus, from a voice "sounding like a thousand horns all at once, but also as quite(SIC) as a single violin note".

The voice also delivered a prophecy, according to the site:

"For thousands of years I have watched, and waited for this moment. I give you three laws to follow. But there are ten total. The final laws the Xbox boys are to uphold are to be written by Microsoft itself when the final prophecy is to be revealed. The final prophecy is that you four, four of integrity and honestly, will receive an endorsement contract by Microsoft. You will perform shows; sell merchandise, and UPHOLD THE LAWS OF GAMING AND THE INTEGRITY OF MICROSOFT. THIS IS THE final prophecy."

The band's official site currently hosts two music videos, one dedicated to Xbox Live and the other to the killing of the final boss in Gears of War. Both are catchy, though bland, pop-rock pieces.

What is unclear is if the messaging of the Xbox Boys band is a deliberate tie-in to Christian themes because the band is, in fact, a Christian rock band or because their leader has such strong ties to religion and Christan rock. A source close to the band said that whichever the case is, Fischer does want to use the money earned from The Xbox Boys to help fund his ministry work in other countries.

Again, Fischer denies this, and asked that the story not run because he feared his budding fan-base wouldn't believe the group is strictly secular.

Erika Doss, a professor of Art and Art History at the University of Colorado Boulder and soon to be chair of Notre Dame's American Studies Department, says it's not unusual for a ministerial group to borrow the language of the people they are trying to reach in order to connect with them.

Doss, who studies the issue of religion and pop culture, said the Xbox Boys site seems to be filled with religious themes.

"It's rare when you listen to Christian music that you would hear the word Jesus," she said. "But everyone usually gets it, there's this pervasiveness of Christian rhetoric."

And the fact that the Xbox Boys aren't upfront about their religious ties isn't unusual either, she said.

"They are appropriating the current technological means in order to proselytize on behalf of their faith," she said. "They are appropriating the whole culture's rhetoric under (their) vision statement."

Doss said she is a little concerned with their possible duplicity, but said proselytizing is about "bringing people to the light through any means possible."

"If they are really about proselytizing then I have some problems with that because they are not being up front about it."

Luke Plunkett contributed to this story.

A St. Paul Minnesota Boys & Girls Club has come up with a revolutionary way to keep children occupied after school. Video games. Apparently kids like to play them. Who knew? The club has created a video game center complete with a 42 inch LCD television and an Xbox 360 in hopes of luring inner city kids away from the violence of the streets.

But wait, aren't video games supposed to promote violence in children? I'm so confused.

The center is part of a nationwide program sponsored by Best Buy and Microsoft in an effort to teach the inner city youth about all the technology they can buy from Best Buy and Microsoft if they would just stop shooting at each other for five minutes.

Club directors hope that kids who come for the video games will stay for some of the club's other activities. I personally hope a knife fight doesn't break out between a dozen angry inner city youth with only one 360 between them. Michael Fahey

Kids club opens a gaming center [St. Paul Pioneer Press - requires registration]