Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE – Momentum Facts ‘n Stats

Here are some fun facts just released by Microsoft to hold you over until you get your little hands on Halo 3.

Leadership: Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE are leading the charge into the future of gaming and entertainment, bringing the best games, an active community and a growing catalogue of high definition entertainment to all members of the household.

More than 11.6 million Xbox 360 consoles have sold across the 37 countries where it is currently available. Xbox LIVE is currently available in 25 countries across the globe.

According to U.S. NPD data, gamers have bought more software for the Xbox 360 (24.3 million units), than software for PS3 and Wii combined (19.8 million units).

Faster than expected, Xbox LIVE has eclipsed the 7 million member milestone and is on track to reach 10 million members by the end of June 2008. In fact, in the last year we’ve added a new Xbox LIVE member every 8 seconds.

Gaming: With the greatest lineup in the history of video games, Xbox 360 is hands down the best gaming console on the market.

There are more than 250 games available today on Xbox 360, including 86 Xbox LIVE Arcade games.

Xbox 360 is the next-gen console with the largest games attach rate at an astounding 6.3 games sold per Xbox 360 owner.

Xbox LIVE members have spent more than 3.2 billion hours playing games on Xbox LIVE with their friends around the world. That is equal to 137 million days or more than 376,000 years of gaming.

To date, Xbox 360 owners have unlocked more than 600 million Achievements. All of those unlocked Achievements have created a total combined Gamerscore of more than 14 billion.

There have been 2.5 billion game sessions hosted since the launch of Xbox 360, with more than 5.6 million hosted each day so far in 2007.

Xbox LIVE Arcade has been a huge hit on Xbox 360, with nearly 70% of all connected consoles downloading and playing Xbox LIVE Arcade titles.

Xbox LIVE Marketplace currently offers nearly 200 free trials and demos, giving owners more free playable content than any other console.

Entertainment: Xbox 360 is the center of digital entertainment in the living room, offering the best in high definition games, movies and television along with access to all your friends, digital music and pictures.

Xbox 360 continues to lead with the largest library of on-demand high-definition movies and television in the U.S. on-demand market. Twenty-nine movie studios and TV networks continue to provide a growing catalogue of premium high- and standard-definition entertainment content that to date totals 2,800 hours.

Xbox LIVE Marketplace is now the leading provider of on-demand high-definition content in the U.S., providing more than twice the number of hours as leading cable operators.

Xbox LIVE Marketplace is home to a growing catalogue of more than 9,000 pieces of individual gaming and entertainment content, downloadable at the click of a button.

There have been 290 million downloads of gaming and entertainment content from Xbox LIVE Marketplace

Social Networking: Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE offer the largest, most active online community of friends, family and rivals worldwide.

Xbox LIVE is the largest social network in the living room with 2.6 million IM, text and voice messages sent over the service every day.

Since Xbox LIVE launched, 3.1 billion games sessions have been hosted on the service.

The average Xbox LIVE Gold subscriber has 23 friends on their Xbox LIVE friends list.

More than 1.2 billion cross-game invites have been sent since the launch of Xbox 360.

Xbox LIVE Top 10: Check out the list of the top 10 games played over Xbox LIVE, as well as the top 10 worldwide downloads for Xbox LIVE Arcade and Xbox LIVE Marketplace Demos since Xbox 360 launched in November, 2006.

The top 10 games played over Xbox LIVE worldwide:

1. Halo 2
2. Gears of War
3. Hexic HD
4. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas
5. Call of Duty 3
6. Call of Duty 2
7. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 3
8. Elder Scrolls: Oblivion
9. Crackdown
10. PGR3

The top 10 Xbox LIVE Arcade downloads worldwide:

1. Aegis Wing
2. Uno
3. Texas Hold ‘em
4. Geometry Wars Retro Evolved
5. Bankshot Billiards 2
6. Street Fighter ‘II Hyper Fighting
7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1989 Classic Arcade
8. Worms
9. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
10. Contra

The top 10 Xbox LIVE Marketplace Demos downloads worldwide:

1. Crackdown
2. Lost Planet E3 2006
3. Dead Rising
4. BioShock
5. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas
6. Forza Motorsport 2
7. Sonic the Hedgehog
8. Saints Row
9. Superman Returns
10. Colin McRae: DIRT

Source: MSFT Press Release.

3 Red Lights of Death – The bricked XBox 360

It amazes me what companies can get away with these days. My XBOX 360 finally broke after 1.5 years. Now normally I wouldn’t be this upset about it, I’ve had electronics break before – sometimes they’ve just had enough.

Here’s my problem with this issue. Microsoft knows that there is a problem with the first Gen. XBOX 360s. They know this because nearly all the repairs they’ve had to do were for the same issue. Of course I am talking about the 3 red lights of death. It’s a problem that occurs so often, that Microsoft had to change their warranty from 90 days to 1 year.

So now my XBOX 360 is 1 1/2 years old and it has been bricked by the evil red lights. Microsoft knows the problem is theirs with the hardware, but since it’s past the first year I am going to get screwed out of $100. Sure they are now nice enough to cover shipping, where as before they’d make the consumer pay for shipping back the broken product, which Microsoft put out on the market in the first place.

Hey Microsoft – why don’t you just take care of all the fist Gen. 360s that have the same hardware issue. Why screw people that were lucky (or unlucky in my case) enough to not have this problem occur before the first year past.

Coincidentally enough, my 360 broke just in-time for the Elite.

New Halo 2 Maps – April 17th

Official Press Release:

Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie Studios today confirmed the upcoming release of two new, eagerly awaited downloadable maps for “Halo® 2.� The maps will be available as premium downloadable content for Xbox® and Xbox 360™ on April 17.

Fans of the original “Halo� have long requested the addition of some of their favorite maps to the critically acclaimed multiplayer experience of “Halo 2.� These re-creations, developed by Bungie and Certain Affinity Inc., are a perfect way to thank fans for their support as they surpass 800 million hours of “Halo 2� gaming on Xbox LIVE®.

The two maps will bring new life to ancient battlefields and legendary skirmishes, as both are new, improved and redesigned remakes of fan favorites from the original “Halo: Combat Evolved.� For the price of $4 for the pair, these maps bring a fresh burst of action to the seminal “Halo 2� online multiplayer experience. Both of the maps will be available through the “Halo 2� in-game content downloader for both Xbox and Xbox 360.*

The king of “Halo� maps has returned at last. Hang ’Em High, arguably the most popular multiplayer map for the original title, has been reimagined for “Halo 2� as Tombstone, with all-new graphics, features and a few hidden surprises. Now fans will enjoy the dangerous catwalks and trenches that made this the most requested “Halo� multiplayer map ever, with a modernized “Halo 2� flavor.

The second map, Desolation, is a symmetrical, Deathmatch-oriented map and a beautiful remake of the original Derelict. With new graphics and effects and a massive gameplay overhaul, the old favorite is now faster-paced and more balanced than ever — perfect for intense “Halo 2� combat.

“Halo 2� is the sequel to the highly successful and critically acclaimed “Halo: Combat Evolved� and represents the second chapter in the epic “Halo� trilogy. Since its launch in fall 2004, “Halo 2� has maintained its place as the most popular Xbox LIVE title ever. To date, gamers have logged more than 800 million hours of “Halo� multiplayer action on Xbox LIVE, and they are eagerly awaiting “Halo 3,� slated for release this fall. The “Halo� franchise is among the biggest worldwide entertainment properties in history and continues to change the way people think about interactive entertainment.

Worms on Xbox Live Arcade – Wednesday, March 7 (800 points)

I just got a press release saying that “Invertebrates Invade! “Wormsâ€? Now Available on Xbox Live Arcade.” However it seems that maybe this email was sent prematurely, or is just worded in a confusing way, as the email clearly states the game will be released on Wednesday, March 7 at 0800 GMT (1 a.m. PST). The XBLA game will be 800 points.

Here is the full press release:

Invertebrates Invade! “Worms� Now Available on Xbox Live Arcade

Worms have evolved and are taking no prisoners! Team17 Software Ltd. brings its popular “Worms� franchise to Xbox Live® Arcade, delivering the first turn-based strategy game to the platform. “Worms� will be available for download on Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360™ beginning Wednesday, March 7 at 0800 GMT (1 a.m. PST).

“Worms� is a cleverly balanced turn-based strategy game in which teams of heavily armed worms battle across bizarre, randomly generated landscapes for supremacy. Each team takes turns picking off opposing team members using crazy weapons, tools and other utilities along with whatever foul strategies they can devise. The simple and cute appearance belies the deep strategy of a game that is easy to play but difficult to master.

“Worms� will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft® Points.

GAME FEATURES

· A mix of strategy and arcade action that, although simple to understand, contains real depth and massive replayability

· Turn-based multiplayer action for up to four players locally or over Xbox Live*

· An assortment of game options:

o Landscape on which to do battle

o Turn and round times

o Starting weapon arsenal for each team

· Three detailed tutorials to introduce the mechanics to first-time players

· Twenty increasingly difficult single-player challenges

· Three graphical themes for play

· A random landscape generator to ensure that no two landscapes are ever the same

· Twenty-two weapons and utilities to deploy against your enemies

· Many customizable elements, including what worms and teams are named, what worms say, and which gravestone they have when they die

· High-definition visuals and many graphical improvements throughout the game

· Twelve achievements

· Weekly, monthly and overall leaderboards

WHERE CAN I GET IT?

You can download “Worms� beginning Wednesday, March 7, at 0800 GMT/1 a.m. PST on Xbox Live Arcade.

“Worms� will be available for 800 Microsoft Points, and rated E10+, Mild Cartoon Violence.

More information is available at http://www.xbox.com/games/livearcade.

* Multiplayer gameplay over Xbox Live requires Xbox Live Gold Membership.

Amazon: XBOX 360 Core for $100

Thanksgiving day starting at 11am PST, Amazon will begin selling XBOX 360 Core systems for $100. That’s $200 off the retail price. So, grab an extra one for yourself or for an xmas present for someone else. There will be limited quantities according to Amazon, so don’t hesitate.

Microsoft Xbox 360 to digitally deliver TV shows and movies to Gamers

Microsoft Press Release:

Xbox 360 Teams With CBS, MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures, Turner Broadcasting, UFC and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment to Digitally Deliver TV Shows and Movies to Gamers

Xbox 360 will become first gaming console to offer downloads of over 1,000 hours of TV shows such as “CSI,� “Robot Chicken� and “South Park,� and movies such as “V for Vendetta� and “Nacho Libre.�

REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 6, 2006 — Microsoft Corp. today announced agreements with CBS, MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures, Turner Broadcasting System Inc. (TBS Inc.), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment to bring an initial lineup of over 1,000 hours of hit TV shows and movies to Xbox 360™ gamers in the U.S. by the end of the year. Furthermore, Xbox 360 will be the first gaming console to bring standard and high-definition TV shows and movies via digital distribution over the Internet directly to the consumer.

Beginning Nov. 22, on its first anniversary, Xbox 360 will be the first gaming console in history to provide high-definition TV shows and movies directly to gamers in their living rooms. Xbox 360 gamers will have access to the full-length TV shows as downloads to own and movies to rent via download from the Xbox Live® network, the worldwide leader in online distribution of high-definition gaming and entertainment content. This announcement also brings with it several additional “firsts�:

“This groundbreaking announcement is a win for everyone,� said Peter Moore, corporate vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “It connects our partners with one of the most coveted audiences in entertainment today, and provides even greater value to our Xbox Live community, allowing them to enjoy the games and entertainment they want, when they want it.�

The initial lineup of TV shows available for download to own and feature films available for download to rent will include a growing catalog of popular hits. Examples of content that will be available on the network by the end of year include the following:

• “Robot Chickenâ€? and “Aqua Teen Hunger Forceâ€? from Adult Swim
• “CSI,â€? “Survivorâ€? and “Star Trekâ€? from CBS
• Emmy and Peabody award-winning “South Parkâ€? and “Chappelle’s Showâ€? from COMEDY CENTRAL
• “The Real Worldâ€? and “Pimp My Rideâ€? from MTV
• “Avatar: The Last Airbenderâ€? and â€?SpongeBob SquarePantsâ€? from Nickelodeon
• “Skylandâ€? and “The Nicktoons Network Animation Festivalâ€? from Nicktoons Network
• “M:i:III,â€? Nacho Libreâ€? and “Jackass: The Movieâ€? from Paramount Pictures
• “Carpocalypseâ€? and “Raising the Roofsâ€? from Spike TV
• “Race Rewindâ€? provided by NASCAR.COM
• Select episodes of the original season of “The Ultimate Fighterâ€? reality series and the “UFC: All Accessâ€? shows from the UFC
• “Breaking Bonaduceâ€? and “Hogan Knows Bestâ€? from VH1
• “The Matrix,â€? “Superman Returnsâ€? and “Batman Foreverâ€? from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

Xbox 360 gamers can access Xbox Live Marketplace with a free Xbox Live Silver membership and a broadband connection. More information about the content available on Xbox Live Marketplace can be found at http://www.xbox.com/marketplaceentertainment.

Bungie is a tease

That’s right, we said it. Today Bungie posted about the latest Humpday Challenge, which just happened to be an internal challenge, and the first on Halo 3.

You WILL NOT find new Halo 3 material in this write-up, it’s just for fun. If you are let down to find no new Halo 3 information in this write-up, you’ll have only yourself to blame.

Check out the results, with no good Halo 3 info here..

Saints Row Video Preview

Saints Row For The Xbox 360

Publisher: THQ
Developer: Volition
Genre: Third-Person Action
Release Date: August 29, 2006
ESRB: Mature

The excitement for this game is clear: “Saints Row, the single-player demo set a new record for downloads over Xbox Live Marketplace. The file, which hit Xbox Live on August 1, was jacked 350,000 times in its first week of release–the most of any demo for the Xbox 360.” Source

Quick impressions: Saints Row should stack up comparably to the much loved Grand Theft Auto series. This one of the games that should display the great power of the Xbox 360 and figures to impress. The fact that customization of the main character is involved really puts the game over the top. People love to get involved with any story, and making the character feel and appear any way you want is a major plus. This game will succeed for the simple fact that it can be taken onto Xbox Live.

Check out g4’s sneak peak of Saints Row:

Sneak Peak At Madden 2007 – Video, Screenshots, Details, GIVEAWAY

UPDATE: This contest has ended, thanks for your comments. Please look for our next contest.

**This is our first impression of the game. Check back tomorrow for follow up review!**

-First some proof that we played the game:

Today iBloggedThis was fortunate enough to get our hands on a copy of Madden 2007 for the XBOX 360. Without boring you with unnecessary details, here is my review of the game: (Please note that this was just jotting down notes as it came to me)

First thing right out of the gate, my 360 told me I had to update my console. Now I haven’t played much of my 360 due to time constraints, but this is the first time I have ever seen this. I was worried at first ;)

First things first, pick your favorite team. Easy selection for me personally, the New York Jets.

Here is a breakdown of the game menu:

Play Now

Game Modes
-Mini Games
-SuperStar
-Franchise
-Hall of Fame
-Madden Gamer Level
-Practice

My Madden

-New Features and Controls
-Create A Player
-Rosters
-Strategy
-Settings
-Save
-Load -Delete

My Media

Now onto the Jets roster, got to see how Madden rated my boys. Wow, Shaun Ellis a 93 (Overrated!), Doug Jolley a 80 (WAY to high), Adrian Jones a 79 (too low), Kerry Rhodes a 78 (WAY WAY WAY Low, should have been an 85!), Overall I think Madden overrated a lot of Jets, and underrated a lot of Jets; I am a little disappointed.

The Free Agent pool is a little out-dated (that is standard though!) Ty Law is still a free agent, instead of being a part of Herm Edward’s squad.

Now onto playing: the play now feature gave me Jets vs Dolphins, perfect. They added the ability to pick what time you want to play, I chose 1:00pm.

I am a little rusty, and I didn’t take a look at the controls, so this should be an experience.
Nice a Home Team introduction. Madden will do what all real games do, and introduce the home team. The cheers, the smoke, the fireworks, nice little touch. They don’t introdce all the players, I only got Shaun Ellis, Curtis Martin, Lav Coles, and Chad Pennington. The away team received no such introduction.

Kicking is different, lets give it a try. (Thankfully I got a small tutorial real quick) – Weird, it is a pull the stick back and flick forward, think Mario Party fishing. But it is fairly easy.

Now for my pre-game adjustments: took out Chad for Kellen Clemens, Curtis for Cedrick Houston, started Mangold.

First play, they threw it for 3 yards, no biggie. My feet are now wet.

Now to play a little without you guys!

Audibles are cool, a little zoom in on the top right corner on the QB. It seems like audibles are more frequent this year, or its just Daunte. Stopped the Phins and forced a 55 yard field goal, some how the computer made it. Stupid Olindo Mare.

Well that didn’t go well, third and four and I ran a playaction. I see my fullback wide open for the easy first, but off screen is Will Allen. Needless to say it is 7 the other way. That was the games fault, which kind of sucks! (I honestly believe that the field needs to be wider.)

Vilma with an interception, I hope INT’s aren’t this easy!

Cedric Houston fumbled on the 3! Zach Thomas picked up the ball and took it the other way. The play will be reviewed since it occurred with under 2 minutes left in the half. Overturned, phew! Reviews are very similar.

You can actually bat balls at the line of scrimmage as a DT. I tried it with full intentions of doing it, and it worked, pleasantly suprised!

At the half the Jets are up 14-10.

You can even develop screen plays, nice! I almost thought that the screen would never, ever work in a Madden game.

The deep ball is interesting, the game slows down ever so slightly when there is a big play possible. Even a little sound is made when this happens. That being said, Touchdown Coles.

Just like any year, and in real football, it is tough to recover when you gamble for the interception. Touchdown Marty Booker, 21-17, Jets.

I am finding that there really isn’t a happy median between pass rush. I either get a lot, or very little pressure when throwing the ball.

Weird tackle, I just ran into Ronnie Brown with Victor Hobson, and Brown went down without any animation. That is still a minor flaw. Hopefully Madden will fix that one day :-/

Can’t believe I am saying this, but I miss Madden in the booth a little bit. The hometown announcer is some how too quiet.

I think I have gone though the entire playbook, same old same old, nothing they can do about that really.

Blocking is much more realistic, still having problems with a natural pass rush though. Only one sack this game.

Overall Impressions:

I liked the game, but it did not blow me away. It seems that Madden has peaked a little bit in terms of what they can do to improve the game. That being said I have not fully embraced all the new features, and all football junkies will enjoy the new rosters and minor tweaks. I hope that I will come to like this game a lot more over the next few games, but I am not too hopeful.

Game Play: 8
Graphics: 7
Realism: 7.5

Now For the Giveaway Watch The Video!

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Dead Rising Demo Available For Xbox 360

The much anticipate game “Dead Rising” demo is now available for download for the Xbox 360. The demo download is 1014 MB in size and has received some nice reviews already. Right now the game is purely single player and does not have any multi-player functions. The game is only playable for 15 minutes, which kind of stinks, but gives players a nice taste of what is to come. The game’s hero, Frank, starts equipped with a sledgehammer and a shotgun, and as gamers progress through the zombie-infested mall, they can pick up other items to use against the undead meatbags. The Demo is not available in Mexico, Germany, Australia, New Zealand or Asia. The game will be available for purchase on August 8th for those in the USA, and on September 8th for those in Europe.