EA just released a press release about how they are finally bringing some of the Hasbro properties that they licensed last year. Included in the list of titles announced are : BOGGLE, BATTLESHIP, YAHTZEE, CONNECT FOUR, SORRY! and SORRY! Sliders. While I personally hope that this means that EA has realized that selling Monopoly as a retail disk was a bad idea, but there is something even more interesting about the PR. Looking at the following quite:
Additional customisation features will allow players to earn virtual trophies, furniture and themes to decorate their personal virtual game rooms. The Hasbro Family Game Night lineup will take full advantage of Xbox LIVE community features such as online play, Achievements, the ability to launch new games without leaving the environment, and sharing customized space with friends. The EA Hasbro virtual game closet is slated to open in Spring 2009 with multiple games followed by additional releases throughout the year.
To me this sounds a lot more like the “Live Party” channel system (think 1 vs. 100) than XBLA, but unfortunately I haven’t been able to get anyone at EA to confirm or deny this yet. If it is indeed “Live Party” then it seems to reason that Microsoft is going full out for the service, perhaps trying to go after both the Wii Market and PS3’s Home in one shot.
What do you guys think of this, would you like to see more (read: any) “Live Party” games or should MS stick with the traditional XBLA titles?
Full PR After the break
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EA just released a press release about how they are finally bringing some of the Hasbro properties that they licensed last year. Included in the list of titles announced are : BOGGLE, BATTLESHIP, YAHTZEE, CONNECT FOUR, SORRY! and SORRY! Sliders. While I personally hope that this means that EA has realized that selling Monopoly as a retail disk was a bad idea, but there is something even more interesting about the PR. Looking at the following quite:
Additional customisation features will allow players to earn virtual trophies, furniture and themes to decorate their personal virtual game rooms. The Hasbro Family Game Night lineup will take full advantage of Xbox LIVE community features such as online play, Achievements, the ability to launch new games without leaving the environment, and sharing customized space with friends. The EA Hasbro virtual game closet is slated to open in Spring 2009 with multiple games followed by additional releases throughout the year.
To me this sounds a lot more like the “Live Party” channel system (think 1 vs. 100) than XBLA, but unfortunately I haven’t been able to get anyone at EA to confirm or deny this yet. If it is indeed “Live Party” then it seems to reason that Microsoft is going full out for the service, perhaps trying to go after both the Wii Market and PS3’s Home in one shot.
What do you guys think of this, would you like to see more (read: any) “Live Party” games or should MS stick with the traditional XBLA titles?
Full PR After the break
Guildford, UK, January 6, 2009 – Fans of casual, family-friendly games are about to see their circle of fun widen with a slate of new Hasbro-branded digital play experiences on a variety of platforms from Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: ERTS) in 2009. EA are gearing up to inject nostalgic fun into the Xbox LIVE® Arcade by bringing perennial board game favorites to the popular platform. Under a Hasbro Family Game Night banner, games such as BOGGLE, BATTLESHIP, YAHTZEE, CONNECT FOUR, SORRY! and SORRY! Sliders will begin to roll out in Spring 2009. EA will showcase the highly anticipated lineup at the Consumer Electronics Show on January 8-11, 2009 in Las Vegas. “We believe our Hasbro Family Game Night channel on Xbox LIVE Arcade will be one of the most dynamic and fun collections available on the platform,” said Chip Lange, General Manager of EA Hasbro. “We’ve been given the unique opportunity to create an exclusive EA Hasbro branded destination within the Xbox LIVE Arcade so players can easily find and play our lineup family-friendly digital board games. Just as families have game closets in their home, they will also be able to stock a digital game closet serving up hours of interactive play for kids and adults alike.” EA and Hasbro will stock Xbox LIVE Arcade with Hasbro Family Game Night, a crowd pleasing assortment of games that are instantly recognisable household names such as CONNECT FOUR, BOGGLE, YAHTZEE, BATTLESHIP, SORRY!, and SORRY! Sliders. All games will feature both original and new ways to play, including a Party Mode that features multiple mini-game versions of each title. Additional customisation features will allow players to earn virtual trophies, furniture and themes to decorate their personal virtual game rooms. The Hasbro Family Game Night lineup will take full advantage of Xbox LIVE community features such as online play, Achievements, the ability to launch new games without leaving the environment, and sharing customized space with friends. The EA Hasbro virtual game closet is slated to open in Spring 2009 with multiple games followed by additional releases throughout the year.
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For those of you that have not had the chance to download and enjoy Doritos' Dash of Destruction I give you the plethora of screens below (and after the break). If these screens make you wish you were home playing it now, you could always set it to download automagically next time you boot up your 360 right now. NinjaBee, and Mike Borland, have actually crafted a decent game here, albeit short and simplistic. But it has dashes of typical NinjaBee-style humor, a tricked-out delivery truck, and a cybernetic T-Rex. What more could you ask for?
Also, if you're looking to get a quick 200 gamerscore, look no further. I polished off all 12 achievements in less than an hour.
Tons more screens after the break!
]]> For those of you that have not had the chance to download and enjoy Doritos' Dash of Destruction I give you the plethora of screens below (and after the break). If these screens make you wish you were home playing it now, you could always set it to download automagically next time you boot up your 360 right now. NinjaBee, and Mike Borland, have actually crafted a decent game here, albeit short and simplistic. But it has dashes of typical NinjaBee-style humor, a tricked-out delivery truck, and a cybernetic T-Rex. What more could you ask for?
Also, if you're looking to get a quick 200 gamerscore, look no further. I polished off all 12 achievements in less than an hour.
Tons more screens after the break!
]]>
Turns out that those achievements I pointed to last week were just the beginning. Starting this Wednesday we will all be able to judge whether the Doritos sponsored Unlock Xbox contest has resulted in a quality game. NinjaBee helped this game move from concept to completion so I'm anxious to see how they did with the dino-chasin', truck-drivin', dashin', and destructofyin' gameplay promised in the original concept. Will this game rise above its advergame birth or just become the next Yaris? No word yet on if the game will be free or if it will be accompanied by other releases.
[Update]: The game will indeed be free.
(Note: Image is not from the final game but from the free PC demo that was created as a test concept before NinjaBee was given the reigns.)
[via NinjaBee Forums]
]]> Turns out that those achievements I pointed to last week were just the beginning. Starting this Wednesday we will all be able to judge whether the Doritos sponsored Unlock Xbox contest has resulted in a quality game. NinjaBee helped this game move from concept to completion so I'm anxious to see how they did with the dino-chasin', truck-drivin', dashin', and destructofyin' gameplay promised in the original concept. Will this game rise above its advergame birth or just become the next Yaris? No word yet on if the game will be free or if it will be accompanied by other releases.
[Update]: The game will indeed be free.
(Note: Image is not from the final game but from the free PC demo that was created as a test concept before NinjaBee was given the reigns.)
[via NinjaBee Forums]
]]>
Thanks to all those diligent tipsters out there that have tipped me over the past few weeks, you know who you are. Some of you have seen your tips turned immediately into stories and others, not so much. That's not because the tips weren't good (they were) but because of me. So, to honor all of you (and catch up on a whole pile of news) I present a link dump of all the stories I haven't covered here over the past few weeks. Hit the jump and prepare to be as overwhelmed as I feel.
]]> Thanks to all those diligent tipsters out there that have tipped me over the past few weeks, you know who you are. Some of you have seen your tips turned immediately into stories and others, not so much. That's not because the tips weren't good (they were) but because of me. So, to honor all of you (and catch up on a whole pile of news) I present a link dump of all the stories I haven't covered here over the past few weeks. Hit the jump and prepare to be as overwhelmed as I feel.
Expansions!
Newly (or not so newly) Announced Games!
Pre-release Achievements!
Other Random News!
Again, thanks goes to the tipsters. Maybe one day soon I'll be able to post the minute I get the tips...just like old times. Sigh.
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This past week Q Entertainment announced that they would be bringing a collection of their XBLA games to retail in the form of a compilation disc. The disc lacks a firm release date but most speculate sometime early in 2009.
The disc will be titled Q3 and will include Rez HD, Lumines Live, and Every Extend Extra Extreme (aka E4). Apparently, it will also include all DLC for those titles (which is considerable in the case of Lumines Live) and will run around $40. And with that, Rez will have moved from disc to download and back to disc.
In my opinion, this compilation is a major steal for those that appreciate the work of Tetsuya Mizuguchi. Of course, if you already own these games you can plop down some cash on the just released Meteos Wars to complete your collection.
But Q is not alone. PopCap will be releasing another compilation, appropriately named PopCap Arcade Vol. 2. This $20 disc will net you Peggle, Feeding Frenzy 2, and Heavy Weapon. I guess that means we can assume that Peggle will actually hit XBLA sometime in the next few months as EBGames.com has this compilation disc shipping on 3/3/09. But knowing how speculative a games retailer's websites can be we have to take all that info with a grain of salt.
]]>This past week Q Entertainment announced that they would be bringing a collection of their XBLA games to retail in the form of a compilation disc. The disc lacks a firm release date but most speculate sometime early in 2009.
The disc will be titled Q3 and will include Rez HD, Lumines Live, and Every Extend Extra Extreme (aka E4). Apparently, it will also include all DLC for those titles (which is considerable in the case of Lumines Live) and will run around $40. And with that, Rez will have moved from disc to download and back to disc.
In my opinion, this compilation is a major steal for those that appreciate the work of Tetsuya Mizuguchi. Of course, if you already own these games you can plop down some cash on the just released Meteos Wars to complete your collection.
But Q is not alone. PopCap will be releasing another compilation, appropriately named PopCap Arcade Vol. 2. This $20 disc will net you Peggle, Feeding Frenzy 2, and Heavy Weapon. I guess that means we can assume that Peggle will actually hit XBLA sometime in the next few months as EBGames.com has this compilation disc shipping on 3/3/09. But knowing how speculative a games retailer's websites can be we have to take all that info with a grain of salt.
It appears that despite all the wonders that Xbox Live has delivered directly to our homes, discs are not in any danger of disappearing in the near future. Now if only they would compile and discount the downloads the same way. Hmm...
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Sure, Gamerscoreblog is behind. And yes, I've been under a proverbial rock for the past week. That said, X3F has come through to let us know that Meteos Wars and PowerUp Forever are your XBLA games this week so go get 'em right now. Each costs 800 MSP.
Hit up xbox.com for info on either PowerUp Forever or Meteos Wars.
[via X3F]
]]> Sure, Gamerscoreblog is behind. And yes, I've been under a proverbial rock for the past week. That said, X3F has come through to let us know that Meteos Wars and PowerUp Forever are your XBLA games this week so go get 'em right now. Each costs 800 MSP.
Hit up xbox.com for info on either PowerUp Forever or Meteos Wars.
[via X3F]
]]>
If you didn't pre-order Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts and didn't receive your free advance copy of the XBLA refresh of the original Banjo-Kazooie three weeks ago, then this announcement is for you. Banjo-Kazooie will arrive on XBLA for everyone tomorrow, December 3rd, for 1200 MSP. This begs the question though, are there any people out there that fall into the category I described above? Seems like it would be a small niche to me but I'll let you guys and gals inform me that I'm crazy for thinking that.
Personally, I've been playing Banjo-Kazooie for the past couple days (I was in the pre-ordering category) and the gameplay stands up remarkably well to this day. Whether it's worth 1200 MSP to you is your call, but for me it's been loads of fun to jump into all over again.
[via Gamerscoreblog]
]]> If you didn't pre-order Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts and didn't receive your free advance copy of the XBLA refresh of the original Banjo-Kazooie three weeks ago, then this announcement is for you. Banjo-Kazooie will arrive on XBLA for everyone tomorrow, December 3rd, for 1200 MSP. This begs the question though, are there any people out there that fall into the category I described above? Seems like it would be a small niche to me but I'll let you guys and gals inform me that I'm crazy for thinking that.
Personally, I've been playing Banjo-Kazooie for the past couple days (I was in the pre-ordering category) and the gameplay stands up remarkably well to this day. Whether it's worth 1200 MSP to you is your call, but for me it's been loads of fun to jump into all over again.
[via Gamerscoreblog]
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Got Xbox Live Gold? Live in the U.S.? If you answered yes to both of those questions you'll be pleased to know that your geography and willingness to subscribe to Gold will net you a bevy of Black Friday deals. Seven different XBLA games will be discounted starting Friday and going through Sunday evening. Here are the deets. Rez HD -- 500 MSP (was 800 MSP)
Arkadian Warriors -- 500 MSP (was 800 MSP)
Assault Heroes -- 250 MSP (was 400 MSP)
Catan -- 500 MSP (was 800 MSP)
Brain Challenge -- 500 MSP (was 800 MSP)
Boogie Bunnies -- 500 MSP (was 800 MSP)
Golf: Tee It Up! -- 500 MSP (was 800 MSP)
There will also be a bunch of DLC and Themes available for cheap too, so check out Major Nelson's blog for more info. And if you don't think Assault Heroes is worth $3.13 then you're crazy.
[via Major Nelson]
]]> Got Xbox Live Gold? Live in the U.S.? If you answered yes to both of those questions you'll be pleased to know that your geography and willingness to subscribe to Gold will net you a bevy of Black Friday deals. Seven different XBLA games will be discounted starting Friday and going through Sunday evening. Here are the deets. Rez HD -- 500 MSP (was 800 MSP)
Arkadian Warriors -- 500 MSP (was 800 MSP)
Assault Heroes -- 250 MSP (was 400 MSP)
Catan -- 500 MSP (was 800 MSP)
Brain Challenge -- 500 MSP (was 800 MSP)
Boogie Bunnies -- 500 MSP (was 800 MSP)
Golf: Tee It Up! -- 500 MSP (was 800 MSP)
There will also be a bunch of DLC and Themes available for cheap too, so check out Major Nelson's blog for more info. And if you don't think Assault Heroes is worth $3.13 then you're crazy.
[via Major Nelson]
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