Major Nelson will talk about anything Live-related that you can dream of. Such as: Why is there no Xbox Live Platinum membership? (I'm sure you can do better!)

He follows the Kotaku Talk Radio guest-appearance trail-blazing of Amy Hennig, Ken Levine, Tim Schafer, Cliff Bleszinski, Jeremiah Slaczka, and Randy Pitchford. And that was just 2009.

On Wednesday at 11am Kotaku Time (that's 1pm ET, 10am PT), you will be able to call in and ask Major Nelson anything you want.

Look for a reminder post about the podcast at 10:55 AM mountain time (12:55 ET) on Wednesday. The post will include call-in info so you can ask your questions. The show will be live at 11am MT, 1pm ET. I'll expect to hear you calling our switchboard then.

Authorities say a 13-year-old Scottish boy was stabbed by his 55-year-old babysitter after he refused to stop playing his Xbox (original or 360, naturally, unspecified. I'm betting the latter.) While Isobel Mackenzie says the wee lad cut himself to get her in trouble, she did her case no favors by admitting to getting drunk before the incident. A three-day trial found her guilty and ...

She was ordered to do 300 hours' community service. Now, a seven-plus work weeks picking up busted condoms by the roadside is no picnic, but for stabbing a kid, that's a wow. Over here, Lord knows what sentence she'd have drawn.

While we're on this subject, can I rant about something else? Is it a law that cop reports don't specify what console or game people are playing when stupid stuff like this happens? Not that it changes the facts of the case any, but - soapbox here - I'd argue that this persistent generic treatment is one reason games are portrayed so trivially in these types of stories.

Drunken Woman Stabbed Boy, 13, in Row Over Xbox [Scotsman.com via Gizmodo]

In an interview with GI.biz, Microsoft's David Dennis has said that marketing games towards a casual audience - something Nintendo are very good at - is nowhere near as easy as marketing games to the "core" market.

"The core are going to buy the games", he says, "we don't have to focus on marketing those - well, we do, but those games in a lot of ways will sell themselves because they're such immersive and intense experiences that the core is going to buy, and buy disproportionally for the Xbox".

As for casual games, that's a market Microsoft think they'll crack with Project Natal. Then again, they said that about Scene It?, and Viva Pinata, and...

Microsoft: Hardcore games easiest to sell [GI.biz]

Some highlights or lowlights - really, you should go see the whole thing - Marvel vs. Capcom 2 bottomed out after releasing to Xbox Live Arcade and PSN this year. After reaching highs of $109.99 (PlayStation 2) and $91.99 (Xbox), they slumped to $43 and $30 respectively after the title went out online. Ouch.

The games get a dead-cat bounce but prospects for a recovery beyond that aren't good, if Castlevania is any indication. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in its PSOne form hit $50.75 in December 2006. The next year, the game was released on XBLA and PSN, dropping the hard copy value to $19.99. It's recovered slightly to $27.12, but that's just a little over half its pre-re-release (say that three times fast) high.

MTV Multiplayer did its analysis according to VideoGamePriceCharts.com. Really, though, take a look for yourself. They covered much more than those two titles above, and offer tips for the safest investments unlikely to be undercut by re-releases.

Video Game Collectors Feeling the Pain of Re-Releases [MTV Multiplayer]

You might know of Shiraz Malik - he's the longtime commenter Spoony Bard here, and he was also our comment ombudsman last year. He's currently pursuing his MBA at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, and he and his wife are expecting a baby soon.

Although a committed gamer for life, Shiraz is facing some mature decisions on the road to fatherhood, a path that has less time for games, in a household with not much space for them, either. He's written about his decision to sell his video game collection, the nostalgia he feels saying goodbye to those old friends, but knowing there will be new ones as soon, when his son arrives and embarks on his boyhood.

When I was four years old, my dad brought home an Atari 7800. In retrospect, that was his first mistake. I became hopelessly addicted to the wonderful world of video games. I made time for Mario, hung out with Alex Kidd in Miracle World, dreamed about Mega Man while doodling in class, and I soared through the sky with Starfox.

Twenty-six years later, I'm juggling graduate school, married life and a job search, and I still have managed to find the time to get my game on. Somehow I was even able to do some comment moderating for Kotaku in that time, too. Through it all, I've made sure to keep my love of video games alive in some way. But now, we have a new situation.

You see, the day my wife told me that she was pregnant, everything changed. All of a sudden, we're spending our free time taking classes and picking out baby names. Try as I might, the wisdom of hanging on to all of my video games seems to make less sense as time goes by. And in this tough job market, with the mountain of debt school has forced us to carry, we have looked for ways to scrounge up a baby fund.

So after lengthy debate, we decided on my extensive video game collection. I was hoping to hold on to some of my vintage game systems for my future kids, but we simply don't have the space anymore. My wife reminds me that I can play a lot of these games on a virtual console ... but she doesn't understand what game collecting is about. We hardcore gamers take pride in our amassed collections of gaming systems and games; there's just something special about that bygone era when you stayed up all night playing Mega Man II with a friend while your parents were asleep.

Now I look around at the game systems I must sell ... here's my green Xbox Halo Edition along with all my Bioware RPGs ... it has to go. Hey, there's my old N64 ... in college, we played it until the sun came up, and then we played some more. To date, I've never been as good at a single game since Goldeneye. And there goes my silver Gamecube that entertained me and my friends at parties.

I must console (no pun intended) myself with the fact that whatever I make will go towards making sure we can buy my son (yep, it's a boy!) of what he will need, and I certainly hope that one day I can share my love of video games with him along with my other passions. In fact, I've already planned how we're going to watch the Star Wars movies - starting with New Hope and ending with Revenge of the Sith, the only way they should be watched!

But most importantly, I hope he has fond memories of growing up like I did, and if that requires me to expunge some of the things that gave me joy, so be it. In a way, I'm cleaning out my past to make way for his future.

- Shiraz Malik (Spoony Bard)

Kotaku has witnessed the human and Predator sides of the game. Now Aliens.

The Aliens campaign, like those of the human and Predator, can be activated separately by players, though the three narratives intersect to form the game's overall plot. The Aliens' story starts with the character's violent birth. Specimen 6 bursts out of a lab-patient's chest into a glorified test tube. Soon you've grown and soon enough you're out of your shackles, killing people.

All three campaigns are played from a first-person perspective. The Alien stands lower than the human, who stands lower than the Predator. When you make quick turns as an Alien, you see your tail swish by. When you trigger one of the game's gruesome killing animations, your famous mouth-within-a-mouth juts out and fills the screen as it chomps your victim.

Aliens run up walls, onto the ceiling and can leap to the floor. A targeting reticule always points in the direction of the floor so you don't get too dizzy. The Alien is fast and brutal with melee kills. I didn't see it use guns, and one would think it can't. But it can take orders from a momma Alien, who utters its commands via a floating-Alien-head icon in the corner of the screen. The Alien also can smell well, sniffing the outlines of other characters through walls and reading the color of their outlines to determine if that character is hostile and on the attack.

The Alien can do light and heavy attacks, can lock on and can perform stealth kills. I saw all of this and saw the Alien have to climb up into the vents above the lab where it was born. Momma was summoning but the vents were blocked. I had to leave the demo, but was told that the Alien would soon be joining other non-controllable members of its species for more violence.

My glimpse of the Alien section was brief, though two things did stand out. It looked nothing like the Predator mode I'd seen, which involved thermal-vision-assisted high-altitude stalking through jungle trees. The other detail: This game is indeed for gore lovers. The Sega rep showing me the game was quite enthusiastic about how the Alien can chomp at brains and how the Predator's wrist blades can go up a man's throat and be visible down his shouting mouth. Sounds a bit much, but as noted above, these aliens are not diplomats.

Aliens Vs. Predator is set for release on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in February. Developed by Rebellion, published by Sega.

It's two great tastes that taste odd together! The combination of Slipknot and Simon & Garfunkel is very much how I'd imagine a jelly doughnut filled with pickle relish would taste. Luckily you don't have to buy them together. Still, Slipknot's "Duality," "Psychosocial," and "Sulfur" could be just the right counterbalance to the soothing classics "I Am A Rock" and "The Sounds of Silence." It's the sort of odd pairing I don't think anyone has attempted. I'd daresay that if you played all five tracks on random in an MP3 player it might commit suicide.

One of the artists' additions are also playable in LEGO Rock Band. I'll let you figure out which.

Also coming next week is Light Resolve's "Dreaming of Love," which is only appearing on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 Rock Band Music Store. Sorry Wii owners. You can go listen to the track on the group's MySpace page if that makes you feel better.

Four cops in a Detroit suburb overpowered a 43-year-old man who tried to return an Xbox without a receipt and, once rebuffed, got so PO'd he threatened to kill someone.

These days, "I'm gonna kill someone," are the magic words for a bigtime police response. When the dissatisfied customer left - to get something from his vehicle he said - police answered a 911 call and did something called "active shooter response," which means getting people the f—- out of the way and putting the perp up on the f—-ing wall. Which they did. After cuffing the guy, they only found a stun gun on him, whose possession is illegal in Michigan (at least, under these circumstances it was).

Dude faces a felony for the stun gun, plus a discon misdemeanor for, I guess, raising the ruckus and requiring cops to slam him over a counter.
Armed Cops Subdue Angry Shopper Denied Refund at Oakland Mall [Detroit Free Press, thanks Paul W.]

I suppose that was a rather large hint, but I just couldn't keep our readers in suspense. The Dante's Inferno Gates of Hell demo will be hitting the PlayStation Network on December 10th, arriving on Xbox Live two weeks later on the 24th. Announced last month, the demo features the entire opening level of the game, detailing Dante's journey to Hell's gates in order to rescue his murdered love, Beatrice.

"The world of Alighieri's Dante's Inferno is such a rich, detailed, and often alarming universe, that all of us at Visceral Games put our hearts, and dare I say souls, into creating something truly intense and exciting," said executive producer Jonathan Knight. "We hope gamers enjoy this tease of hell, and come away from the experience lusting for more when the game comes out on February 9."

In the spirit of the holidays, I urge PlayStation 3 owners to invite an Xbox 360 owner to their home on December 10th in order to promote console harmony. Call it a kinder, gentler way of saying "go to hell."

Gamers made noise when the sequel to last year's cooperative survival horror title was announced earlier this year, but the quick follow-up doesn't seem to have hurt Left 4 Dead 2's sales figures. More than 2 million copies of the PC and Xbox 360 versions have sold at retail, a figure that doesn't even take Steam purchases into account. That's great news for Valve, who in turn have more great news on the way.

"Left 4 Dead 2 is off to a great start with strong support at retail and great reviews from the press," said Doug Lombardi, VP of marketing at Valve. "Meanwhile the title has already been played by over 1 million Xbox LIVE Gold account holders, and news regarding L4D2 DLC 1 is coming very soon."

I'd urge our readers to keep their eyes on Kotaku for said DLC news, but that's no way to survive the zombie apocalypse.

Possibly the purest Magic: The Gathering experience ever to grace a game console, Wizards of the Coast is keen to bring Duels of the Planeswalkers to the PlayStation 3 and PC audience, while continuing to show love to the Xbox 360 audience with a couple of new expansions. The PC version of Duels is scheduled for release in the Summer of 2010, featuring the same gameplay of the Xbox Live Arcade version with an "extra bonus." I'm guessing the extra bonus is some sort of card marketplace, but don't quote me on that.

The PlayStation Network version of the game won't be hitting until fall of 2010.

Meanwhile, Xbox Live players will enjoy the release of the 2nd and 3rd expansions for the game in Spring and Summer of next year respectively.

I've yet to download the first expansion, what with the fall review season in full swing, but I look forward to sitting down and getting my game on soon. Once a Magic addict; always a Magic addict.

Three shots of Nirvana and a four-pack of Foo Fighters grace the Rock Band Music Store next week, with Joan Jett and the Blackheart's "Fake Friends" this week's sole non Nirvana-related track.

For those of you who prefer Dave Grohl stick to drumming, Nirvana's "About a Girl," "School," and "Blew" will keep him quietly hitting the skins. Those of you wishing for a more pronounced Grohl presence should be pleased with "Best of You," "The Pretender," "Wheels," and "Word Forward" from the Foo Fighters.

If you prefer a more portable Rock Band experience, there's always Bullet For My Valentine's "Waking the Demon" and System of a Down's "Toxicity" for Rock Band Unplugged on the PSP, both of which contain zero Grohl-levels.

Available on Xbox 360 and Wii (Nov. 3) and PlayStation 3 system (Nov. 5):

• Foo Fighters – "Best of You"
• Foo Fighters – "The Pretender"
• Foo Fighters – "Wheels"
• Foo Fighters – "Word Forward"
• Nirvana – "About a Girl"
• Nirvana – "Blew"
• Nirvana – "School"
• Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – "Fake Friends"

Tracks available for Rock Band Unplugged (Nov. 5):

• Bullet For My Valentine – "Waking the Demon"
• System of a Down – "Toxicity"

LEGO Rock Band's support of Rock Band store purchases is limited to only those songs "identified to be suitable for all ages," according to a press release.

"Those cleared songs are the only tracks that will appear within the LEGO Rock Band store for purchase. The LEGO Rock Band store will continually highlight any new family-friendly tunes that can be played across the Rock Band platform as they are released for Rock Band. "

While I understand why Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and MTV Games might think this is a good idea (and maybe this is a ratings issue), shouldn't they let parents make the decision on which music their children can listen to?

Songs included on LEGO Rock Band can be transfered to your hard drive to play on other Rock Band games for $10 for all but the Wii version.

Here's your full listing of songs for the game due out on the Playstation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 this holiday. I've also listed out the 23 songs included on the DS version of the game.

PS3/Xbox 360 Version
All American Rejects, "Swing, Swing"
The Kooks, "Naïve"
The Automatic, "Monster"
KoRn, "Word Up!"
Blink-182, "Aliens Exist"
KT Tunstall, "Suddenly I See"
Blur, "Song 2"
Lostprophets, "Rooftops"
Bon Jovi, "You Give Love a Bad Name"
P!NK, "So What"
Boys like Girls, "Thunder"
The Police,
"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"
Bryan Adams, "Summer of 69"
The Primitives, "Crash"
Carl Douglas, "Kung Fu Fighting"
Queen, "We Are The Champions"
The Coral, "Dreaming of You"
Queen, "We Will Rock You"
Counting Crows, "Accidentally in Love"
Rascal Flatts, "Life is a Highway"
David Bowie, "Let's Dance"
Ray Parker Jr., "Ghostbusters"
Elton John, "Crocodile Rock"
Razorlight, "Stumble and Fall"
Europe, "The Final Countdown"
Spin Doctors, "Two Princes"
Everlife, "Real Wild Child"
Spinal Tap, "Short & Sweet"
Foo Fighters, "Breakout"
Steve Harly, "Make Me Smile"
Good Charlotte, "Girls & Boys"
Sum 41, "In Too Deep"
The Hives, "Tick Tick Boom!"
Supergrass, "Grace"
Iggy Pop, "The Passenger"
Tom Petty, "Free Fallin"
Incubus, "Dig"
T-Rex, "Ride a White Swan"
Jackson 5, "I Want You Back"
Vampire Weekend, "A-Punk"
Jimi Hendrix, "Fire"
We the Kings, "Check Yes Juliet"
Kaiser Chiefs, "Ruby"
The Zutons, "Valerie"
Katrina & The Waves, "Walking on Sunshine"

DS Version
All American Rejects, "Swing, Swing"
P!NK, "So What"
The Automatic, "Monster"
The Primitives, "Crash"
Blur, "Song 2"
Queen, "We Are The Champions"
Carl Douglas, "Kung Fu Fighting"
Queen, "We Will Rock You"
Counting Crows, "Accidentally in Love"
Rascal Flatts, "Life is a Highway"
David Bowie, "Let's Dance"
Ray Parker Jr., "Ghostbusters"
Europe, "The Final Countdown"
Spin Doctors, "Two Princes"
Good Charlotte, "Girls & Boys"
Sum 41, "In Too Deep"
Iggy Pop, "The Passenger"
Supergrass, "Grace"
Jackson 5, "I Want You Back"
Tom Petty, "Free Fallin'"
Kaiser Chiefs, "Ruby"
Vampire Weekend, "A-Punk"
Katrina & the Waves, "Walking on Sunshine"
We the Kings, "Check Yes Juliet"
KT Tunstall, "Suddenly I See"

Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition will is scheduled to release in March 2010. The first-person brawler will include a new cooperative mode in the game's Tower Challenges, Atlus said in a release. The game will also feature "new features, and added content combine with a series of tweaks and improvements based on fan feedback to deliver the definitive version of the critically-acclaimed game."

No price was named in the release. Atlus's announcement also teased an "as-of-yet-unannounced other new mode exclusive to the Ultimate Edition," plus other features.

Atlus Announces Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition for Xbox Live Arcade [Atlus Forums]

In a peppy speech that focused on promoting education and personal responsibility, Obama made brief mention of Microsoft's console efforts. "I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox," Obama said today, according to prepared remarks offered by the White House.

Oh sure, first he doesn't want us to become ever-softening sloths by exercising instead of sitting on the couch all day, controller in hand. Now he wants us to study and not play our Xboxes even more, an inalienable right outlined the Constitution (probably). I'll check. But it sounds like we might have a fanboy in the White House. After all, he is a Wii man.

At the very least, the President's comments about the console helps illustrate its popularity, giving this generation its blanket console name, as confirmed at the highest levels of government.

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama - Back to School Event [Whitehouse.gov]

The tumbelog teendrama picked this up - the writer's pal spied the multiplayer shenanigans in the New York Public Library. The guy above brought in a monitor, Xbox, wireless router, what looks like a Turtle Beach Ear Force gaming headset (I have one), and an external hard drive. His controller is concealed by yesterday's New York Post.

"He proceeded to play Quake/Halo/Call of Duty," says the photographer, "some nerd fighter game while yelling out instructions to his 'teammates.'"

Small wonder then, that it "took him 20 minutes to set it all up. Took him 2 minutes to get kicked out."

Awesome. Grellan Spies a Guy Who Snuck an Xbox [dpstyles.tumblr.com. Picture by dynatrite, at Flickr]

The guy's name is Bandit5317, and his Xbox is one-inch wide, losing the clunky disc drive and replacing it with a 320GB HDD. It's like the Xbox of the past and the Xbox of the future, coming together in one slick little media centre server.

The Xbox Micro, the smallest one yet... [Xbox-Scene, via Gizmodo]

As part of a little Q&A about the new Xbox dashboard, Microsoft's Larry Hryb has disclosed that the very first gamertag in the world is "e", which belongs to Microsoft's Xbox Live operations manager Eric Neustadter.

It was created all the way back on August 13, 2002, meaning that later this week his will be the first gamertag in the world to turn 7.

Awww, they grow up so fast!

Some of your Xbox LIVE Tenure questions answered [Microsoft]