New Xbox Originals: Stubbs And Gauntlet

I'd be quite interested to see the process involved with choosing what games become Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Originals. I am beginning to think a hat is involved. While some of the picks so far have been no-brainers, others are a bit more questionable.

Stubbs The Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse is one of those original Xbox titles I can see on the service, as it was a quality game that 360 newcomers shouldn't miss out on. Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows, on the other hand, was a nicely rendered hunk of crap that no one should bother spending 1200 Microsoft points on. There are seriously more than seven sorrows involved there.

If you want Gauntlet, download the Live Arcade version and enjoy yourself. If you want Stubbs, save up your points and get ready for the game's re-release on May 19th.

Xbox Originals: Stubbs the Zombie and Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows [Xbox Live's Major Nelson]

COD4 Map Pack Hits Million Downloads in Record Time

Call of Duty 4's Variety Map Pack was downloaded one million times in the first nine days, a new record for Xbox Live Marketplace, Activision said this morning.

The publisher said that more than 30 million sessions of the game, totalling 32 million hours of gameplay, were logged from April 4 to April 12. Sheesh, you guys really do live your COD.

"Infinity Ward is extremely grateful for support from our loyal Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare community around the world," said Robert Bowling, community relations manager, Infinity Ward. "From the beginning, we were committed to do our best and that continues now with the Variety Map Pack. We can't wait to get back online with everyone."

Hit the jump for the full release.

EA Charging For Bad Company Weapons?

Word from the Battlefield: Bad Company beta test is that several weapons in the game's arsenal are locked, with "Available for purchase on Xbox Live Marketplace" notations next to them. In total 10 weapons are listed as for sale, with five of them also available in the Gold Edition of the game. What this basically means is that people willing to drop a little extra cash, be it in the store or on Xbox Live, will have more weapons to choose from than someone who scrapes together just enough to pick up the game itself. This is not the way microtransactions should be used. Cosmetic additions and extra maps are all well and good, but allowing players to pay in order to get a leg up on the competition is just slimy. Multiplayer games suffer from enough balance issues without this sort of thing going on. Where will this lead? Perhaps eventually they'll allow you to purchase a much better surrogate player to represent you in matches, taking the term "professional gaming" to an all new level. Maybe we can pay for ammo next! "Everybody down! He bought extra clips!" *sigh*

EA charging for weapons in Bad Company Beta [Xbox 360 Fanboy]

Crystal Dynamics Dev Praises PSN

Crystal Dynamics may have recently released the full version of Tomb Raider Anniversary onto the Xbox Live Marketplace, but as far as Anniversary's lead designer Riley Cooper is concerned the PlayStation Network is where the future of digitally downloadable lies.

"I'm very, very interested in digital distribution and the potential it has," said Cooper, speaking during GDC Lyon last month. "PlayStation Network is extremely interesting because it's a more flexible space."

Tomb Raider Anniversary developer eyes PlayStation Network [GamesIndustry.biz]

Viacom, Microsoft Forge Alliance To Bring "Cribs" To Xbox 360s

An advertising and content sharing deal between Microsoft and Viacom, valued at some half-billion dollars, could bring even more Paramount, MTV and Comedy Central content to the Xbox Live Marketplace, including the MTV show Cribs, which could qualify as a rare win-win-win. Specifics on the "broad selection" of shows and movies that will be licensed as part of the deal weren't given but Live Marketplace already enjoys plenty of content from MTV, MTV2, VH1, Comedy Central, Spike and other Viacom brands. That content could increase to include the as-yet unavailable via Marketplace housing program Cribs. Yes, Cribs.

While major portions of the deal won't directly impact Xbox 360 owners, as it includes shared advertising revenues and content for MSN and blah blah blah, the prospect of increased Cribs access is too enticing to ignore. I can only hope this alliance will bring the criminally overlooked TV Funhouse to the list of available Comedy Central programs.

Microsoft, Viacom Ink $500 Mil Ad Deal [CNN/Money]

Oh, Canada, You're Getting The Xbox Live Marketplace Video Store Soon

Soon enough, our Canadian brothers and sisters can download quality hits like Pirates of Ghost Island and Krush Groove, legally, through their Xbox 360s. Microsoft has announced that it will be bringing a slew of high-def and regular-def content to the Canadian Xbox Live Marketplace video store on December 11th. That's right, Canada, the amazingly depressing and stomach-turning Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer will be yours to enjoy in under a week!

No Canadian television programming will be available at launch, sadly, but it sounds like plans are in the works. For a full list of what will be available on day one, with pricing schemes, check out the full interview at Xbox.com.

Now Playing! Xbox Live Marketplace Video Store Comes to Canada [Xbox.com]

UK 360 Video Store Launching Next Week

While the rest of creation has since moved on to Guitar Hero III or Rock Band, there are still some Xbox 360 owners out there who prefer the great taste of Guitar Hero II, and to you Red Octane is sending out some love. The Indie Label Pack has just gone up on Xbox Live, featuring three songs from artists whose names are only vaguely familiar to me. . For the standard Guitar Hero DLC price of 500 Microsoft points, you'll get "State of Massachusetts" by Dropkick Murphys, "You Should Be Ashamed of Myself" by The Bled, and "Memories of the Grove" by Maylene & The Sons of Disaster. Of the three, Dropkick Murphys is the most vaguely familiar, and so they get a nice giant picture atop the article. The other two must try harder, and maybe next time you'll make it!

New Guitar Hero 2 Song Pack Hits Xbox Live [Shacknews]

F.E.A.R. may be the Xbox 360's least talked about first-person shooter these days, what with the BioShock demo blessing Marketplace with its presence. That doesn't mean that Vivendi has forgotten its legion/smattering of F.E.A.R. fans, however, as a totally free new multiplayer map pack has made its way to Xbox Live today. There's a promise of "lush vegetation", a "dilapidated building" and "twisting tunnels" that will make the download easy to visualize while you wait for everyone to wrap up securing the BioShock demo.

Sorry continent of Asia and country of Mexico, but you guys and gals are barred from this free multiplayer fun.

The first batch of downloadable content for Turn 10 Studios' Forza Motorsport 2 will be available to download just hours from now, scheduled to hit Xbox Live at 2 AM PDT late tonight/early tomorrow morning. The first pack is free and features three Nissan rides, the 2007 Sentra SE-R, Altima, and 350Z. Slightly less attractive for Microsoft Point misers is the Peugeot 908 race car which one can download from the Xbox Live Marketplace for 50 MS points, about 63 cents. Whatta bargain!

Further details, including info on some upcoming Nissan sponsored contests, at the official site.

Nissan Brings 2007 Cars to Forza Motorsport 2 [Forza Motorsport 2]

Bungie Day Starts Tomorrow, Free Goodies Promised

Heavy Gamers Buy, Play The Most

New F.E.A.R. Multiplayer Modes Released

iDOLM@STER Pics Appear Mysteriously On US XBL