Announcements

Turns out that Sonic the Hedgehog and Golden Axe are merely the tip of the iceberg. SEGA has formally announced their SEGA Vintage Collection for XBLA. What it breaks down to for us is this: more vintage SEGA games; In HD; With online multiplayer (where appropriate), achievements, and leaderboards.

Sounds pretty good right? (Actually, it sounds pretty amazing to me personally.)

The scoop is that the next set of games out of SEGA for XBLA will be Ecco the Dolphin, Streets of Rage 2, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (the latter two sporting online multiplayer).

Keep 'em coming SEGA. Or as Destructoid says "MOAR PLZ!"

[via Destructoid]

Hidden amongst a huge list of content coming out of E3 comes word of two pieces for the XBLA fan. First, under the radar as always, comes a new addition to Soltrio Solitaire. Second, a picture pack for Double Dragon. Details below:

Title: Soltrio Solitaire

• Content: Soltrio Solitaire - Game Pack 3
• Price: 150 Microsoft Points
• Availability: All regions
• Dash Text: [ESRB: E (Everyone)] 10 games including Blind Alleys, Grandfather and Beleaguered castle.

Title: Double Dragon

• Content: Double Dragon - Picture Pack 2
• Price: 100 Microsoft Points
• Availability: All regions
• Dash Text: [ESRB: E10+ (Everyone 10+) MILD SUGGESTIVE THEMES,VIOLENCE] Indulge your inner villain with these five bad-guy character portraits from Double Dragon! Put a little Abobo, Bolo, Boss Willy, Jeff, or Linda on your gamercard. There are no refunds for this item.

[Via Major Nelson]

At Microsoft's Press Conference from E3 this year, the emphasis was on games arriving this year. Alongside all of their retail game announcements they gave us a list of Xbox Live Arcade games that we can assume will arrive before 2008.

Bomberman Live!
Undertow
Sonic the Hedgehog
WarWorld
Sensible World of Soccer
Hexic 2 (Looks to add multiplayer to the successful formula)
Geon
Wing commander: Arena
Every Extend Extra Extreme
Feeding Frenzy 2: Shipwreck Showdown
Track & Field
Golden Axe
Spyglass Board Games
Space Giraffe
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
Word Puzzle
Marathon: Durandal
Poker Smash
Switchball
Tetris Splash
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
Boku Sudoku

Many of these are old news and some are new but together with those game already out, XBLA will finally break the 100 game threshold. And as Peter Moore said, all these games will be out before 2008.

More as we discover it.

Sierra Online, a huge supporter of XBLA (see: Assault Heroes, Carcassonne, 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures), has given TeamXbox an exclusive advanced look at their E3 XBLA lineup. The coverage details three of Sierra Online's upcoming XBLA games (one we knew about, one we had a hunch about, and one out of the blue).

Maybe this strong XBLA push by Sierra Online has something to do with Ross Erickson's move from Microsoft to Sierra Online in February? Hmm, I wonder.

Who's excited (besides me, that is)?

[via TeamXbox, thanks to everyone that sent this in!]

Blurbs about each of the games and links to the screenshot galleries after the break.

Nintendo has finally joined the wave of the future; they have announced their own platform to allow Wii users to download fresh, pipin' hot games designed and built for the Wii. It's called WiiWare.

What does that have to do with Xbox Live Arcade? Well, a lot.

We all know that Nintendo has a huge advantage over XBLA in the retro space due to the sheer quantity of titles they are propping (All Nintendo consoles, TurboGrafx-16, *and* Genesis games). Yes, XBLA can argue quantity over quality since XBLA has enhanced versions of many of the same games. However, the retro ports of XBLA have been very hit or miss.

Up until now, the true advantage of XBLA over the Wii Shop Channel was the presence of compelling new content (whether indie or not) such as Small Arms, Geometry Wars: R.E., Cloning Clyde, Wik: Fable of Souls, or Boom Boom Rocket. With the announcement of WiiWare, Nintendo is attacking the core of XBLA, and that is big news.

Games will not arrive on the service before early 2008, so XBLA still has a bit of breathing room. But since the Wii is a major hit amongst casual gamers, a downloadable casual games service on the Wii sounds like a no-brainer. And based on the current wave of adoration for the system it sounds like a huge money maker.

How will Microsoft respond? Will they do anything differently? How does this competition push Microsoft to a higher standard? Is this good for all gamers? Ready. Fight.

[via Kotaku]

Press Release after the break.

A bit of news came out last week (from N'Gai Croal actually) about the newest Katamari installment (titled Beautiful Katamari) possibly being a 360 exclusive. As a 360 owner I was excited but I assumed it had nothing to do with us here at XBLArcade.com. But GameSpot may have proven our assumptions very very wrong.

Brad Shoemaker, of GameSpot, is reporting that Namco Bandai will not only be making Beautiful Katamari a 360 exclusive, but also that it was arrive in October on Xbox Live Arcade.

If this all proves true, the news is so good it is likely to spawn more "Microsoft to buy Namco Bandai" rumors. With the current 1200 MS Point ceiling for XBLA titles, any Katamari fan would likely pounce on it. And for those new to the franchise, even at $15 the price certainly seems right. Whatever happens, I say keep it coming Namco Bandai.

[via GameSpot, thanks Measure, sorry for the delay!]

Well, everyone here already knew, but the official-official confirmation (via Ubisoft press release) has been made. Even John Porcaro of GamerScoreBlog acknowledges this as old news.

Hopefully this revamp of this classic game will live up to the hype. Anyone spending some more points this week?

[via GamerScoreBlog + AceyBongo]

[Update]: GamerScoreBlog now has the usual release details on their site. Read more for a rundown of game features