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Banjo-Kazooie XBLA Dated, Priced

Tue, 24 Sep 2008 21:35:40 GMT

posted by franz

Rare's semi-retro Xbox Live Arcade remake of Banjo-Kazooie will hit the Xbox Live Marketplace on November 26, Microsoft revealed this morning.

The downloadable title will set you back $15 (1200 MS points), but those who pre-order the upcoming Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts will receive a code redeemable for a free download of the Nintendo 64 classic a full two weeks before its official release.

Additionally, Microsoft's announcement of the game's price point and release date included a small snippet about the game's sequel: It seems Banjo-Tooie will land on the Xbox Live Arcade early next year.

Image courtesy Rare

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XBLA Shooter Shred Nebula Out in September

Sun, 11 Aug 2008 20:30:28 GMT

posted by franz

Think you'll have some money (or Microsoft Points) left over once August is over? Following a "Summer of Arcade" filled with blockbuster releases (Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2, Braid, Bionic Commando: Rearmed), Microsoft has announced the first Xbox Live Arcade release for September: Shred Nebula.

The 3D shooter from indie developer CrunchTime Games is said to be influenced by SubSpace, an award-wining title first released in 1997 that introduced massively multiplaying to the genre. Shred Nebula will also feature a robust multiplayer mode, as well as a single mode, and plenty of weapons and ships to keep things interesting.

The title is set to hit the XBLA on September 3, for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

Image courtesy CrunchTime Games

Shred Nebula gasses XBLA September 3 [GameSpot]

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Braid Creator Explains His XBLA Certification Experience

Thu, 8 Aug 2008 16:55:20 GMT

posted by franz

Update: Blow responds in the comments:

I just want to comment that, reading this article, my opinion of working with Microsoft comes across as being more negative than it actually is (and I don't blame the interviewers for that because I don't remember the full interview -- it was pretty long). There were negative aspects to it, but also some positive ones -- see my comment on the Gamasutra posting for details.

I don't want this to blow up into some kind of big "Microsoft sucks" internet controversy; if it does, I will be disappointed.

Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade certification system favors triple-A titles, and unnecessarily hinders even the best independent games, believes Jonathan Blow, creator of indie critical-darling Braid.

"I put in a tremendous amount of work meeting all these requirements, when I could have put that work into the actual game, and made it even a little more polished, little bit better," Blow told Gamasutra.

Though the process has often been cited by Microsoft brass as the only safeguard between the current XBLA roster and glut of crap titles, Braid feels that the system as is "actually decreases the quality of games, because people spend so much of their energy on these things that users don't even really care about."

Still, Blow doesn't find the XBLA development process entirely disagreeable. Though it has hurdles, he qualifies them as "nothing quite bad enough to cause me to cancel releasing the game on Arcade."

Image courtesy Jonathan Blow

Blow: 'Unnecessary' XBLA Hurdles Hurt Game Quality [Gamasutra]

Headline updated to reflect Mr. Blow's comments

Wednesday’s Xbox Live Arcade Game Releases (9/10/08)

Tue, 10 Sep 2008 10:54:48 GMT

posted by chjossic

Info Source: Gaming Bits
Today’s new releases on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace includes RocketBowl, Samurai Shodown 2 and Shotest Shogi. Each one is available for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

See the individual game pages here on Xbox.xom:

RocketBowl

Samurai Shodown II

Shotest Shogi

There’s also new content for Buku Sudoku (1200 additional puzzles) and N+ (150 new single player levels, 50 multiplayer races and 25 survival maps). Each of those content packs are 200 Microsoft Points. PLenty of new stuff to play with today on XBLA!

More on Xbox Live Arcade Game Delisting

Sun, 2 Jun 2008 23:02:02 GMT

posted by franz

Since the news that Microsoft will begin to delist certain Xbox Live Arcade games from the Xbox 360's digital download service, a great deal more has been written on the matter.

I especially wanted to make sure everyone read a piece on GameSetWatch by Tadhg Kelly, a game designer formerly of Lionhead and Climax. He makes a number of very good points, but there's one major negative that didn't even occur to me when I wrote my own take on the news:

Developers will increasingly pitch for products that they think Microsoft will like, or products that Microsoft themselves might think should be on the service, and so XBLA will become a much more for-hire service.

He's totally right, of course: When developers know that their games could potentially get delisted for underperforming, they're going to stay firmly inside the box with their XBLA game pitches. Simply having the specter of delisting hovering over developers' heads is going to whitewash the games on the service, because they'll want to make sure that the games never fall beneath the standards.

Also, in an interview with MTV Multiplayer, Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg notes that another way you can buy delisted games is to have a friend recommend them to you.

Still not exactly the response I was hoping for from Microsoft, which for the record was "We are really sorry we even considered this and promise not to do it."