On Unboxing: iPod touch 2G unboxing gallery

Xbox 360 Content License Transfer Tool now available

Looks like has finally gotten around to attempting to fix the horribly, horribly broken DRM model, which we have written about in the past here and here, with the release of the Xbox 360 Content License Transfer Tool. The video above, hosted by Major Nelson, shows off exactly how users go about consolidating all their licenses to a single Xbox 360 console. There are a couple of issues here though, and they need to be addressed - after all, if you are going to work on a tool to help your users, the help shouldn’t result in new problems.

Click to continue reading Xbox 360 Content License Transfer Tool now available


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Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground Demo Released Today

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground

Following close behind EA’s demo for new blood competitor Skate, Activision is dropping a demo of Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground onto the Xbox Live Marketplace today.

Proving Ground is supposed to challenge Skate with enhanced customization features, especially centered around making videos, and plenty of refinements to the online experience like seamless solo to multiplayer transitions. They’re also throwing in a nail-the-grab feature to compliment the popular nail-the-trick mode from last year’s Project 8 entry and multiple career paths. There is no firm release date set, but the game is expected to hit store shelves for most current platforms sometime in October.

Read More | Team Xbox

Gears of War For-Pay Map Pack Available Free Today

Gears of War's Marcus FenixThe Hidden Fronts map pack for the popular title , originally offered for 800 Microsoft Points several months back over some protestations from gamers and Epic themselves, is now available for free as promised.

Hidden Fronts includes four new multiplayer maps, Bullet Marsh, Garden, Process and Subway. For those looking to stretch a bit more life out of their Xbox Live multiplayer experience until hits, this may be the way to do it.


EA’s Skate Demo Rescheduled

skate.

After postponing the demo for their upcoming skateboarding game —originally scheduled for August 15—publisher has settled on Tuesday, August 21st as a new release date. One of the anticipated features of the game that was to be available on the demo is the video capture and upload capabilities. It was reportedly technical problems with this functionality that delayed the demo’s release in the first place, but EA believes they have hammered out the issues. This allows players to make video clips of their game play and upload them to share with other players online.

Skate is challenging the long-running and popular skateboard series and is scheduled for release on September 12.

Read More | IGN

E3 2007: This Week’s Xbox Live Marketplace Content Update

This post make your head explodeThere were plenty of releases on the Xbox Live Marketplace this week, and thanks to Major Nelson we can now easily compile it all for you en masse. Demos, trailers, Arcade games – you name it, you got it. Apologies if anything was missed, but there was an insane amount of content. Hit up the comments section if you like this story and would like to see a weekly round-up of downloadable content each week. And just as a warning: if lists irritate you, your head will likely explode if you check out the rest of the story after the break.

Demos:

  • NCAA Football 08
  • Blue Dragon
  • Ace Combat 6 (campaign)
  • Stuntman: Ignition
  • The Bigs
  • Harry Potter OOTP

Click to continue reading E3 2007: This Week’s Xbox Live Marketplace Content Update


Blue Dragon Demo To Be Launched On July 20, Game Releases On August 28

Blue Dragon boxIf you’re a JRPG fan with access to nothing more than an Xbox 360, then things have been a bit slow going. That’s an understatement… since release, you’ve gotten nothing more than Enchanted Arms, which is arguably not all that good. But worry not, because a JRPG is coming to the U.S. next month in the form of Blue Dragon. Originally released in Japan late last year, Blue Dragon has gotten a tremendous amount of attention due to Hironobu Sakaguchi –creator of the Final Fantasy series.

Those wanting to give Blue Dragon a try before plopping down the cash for a copy will have that opportunity, as a 1.1GB demo is going to be available for download from July 20 – August 3. 


Heavenly Sword Demo Coming In “Very Near Future”

Posted by Chris Pereira
Categories: Action, PlayStation 3

Heavenly Sword

I’ve aired my concerns over Heavenly Sword, which by all indications looks to be nothing more than a game where you beat the hell out of enemies in a coliseum setting. We’ve been promised a lot more, but we haven’t seen much more, so I’ve been reserving my excitement for when we get to see some of the real meat of the game. Well, it looks like we’ll have that opportunity when a demo is released on the PlayStation Network in the “very near future,” whatever that means.

The head of production at developer Ninja Theory, Mat Hart, had this to say on the developer’s IGN blog:

I can confirm that we are, of course, going to be releasing a demo for Heavenly Sword - and soon! This will be downloadable via the Playstation Network, so keep an eye out for it in the very near future - and I mean very near future!

Maybe this will be something we’ll see next week during E3. We know that Microsoft will be releasing tons of Marketplace content during the event as it did last year, so perhaps this is Sony’s way of combating that. Keep your fingers crossed.

Read More | Ninja Theory IGN Blog via Eurogamer


New Content For Xbox Live Video Marketplace

AkiraOver in Microsoft’s camp, chest thumping has commenced with their announcement of over 7,000 pieces of digital content for their burgeoning, yet still controversial – see Guitar Hero II, horse armor – Xbox Live Marketplace. The month of June will absolutely clobber their current video collection with brand new stuff.

Geneon/Funimation is preparing an all new addition to the Video Marketplace stable: Anime! Akira, Samurai 7, Basilisk, and Lupin the 3rd should be tempting you as early as next week. It’s said that more are to come soon, so let’s cross our fingers for HD Evangelion and Samurai Champloo, shall we?

MTV is offering a slate of Country Music Television programs to the table, including Comedy Stage, Foxworthy’s Big Night Out, and Prankville. Another slate comes from the networks gay/lesbian channel, Logo, offering up The Big Gay Sketch Show and Noah’s Arc. While it’s nice to see companies attempting to broaden the current demographic, one has to wonder how this kind of content will do on the notoriously immature Xbox Live service.

The obligatory new movies are also on their way: Pan’s Labyrinth, Dreamgirls, Shooter, Black Snake Moan, Team America: World Police, and Letters from Iwo Jima are all scheduled to arrive in June.


Tons Of Crackdown Content Coming

Crackdown leaping through air

As if your Crackdown disc didn’t already have enough worth – it’s your key into the beta, after all – Microsoft and developer Real Time Worlds are planning on releasing nothing short of a mammoth load of content for the game. Through a combination of a title update and two content packs – one free, and one premium – there will be plenty of reasons to keep Crackdown in your 360 drive long after the Halo 3 beta ends.

Before getting into this laundry list of content, one nifty feature that has been implemented is basically a “try before you buy” system. Join up in a co-op game with someone that owns the “Getting’ Busy Bonus Pack” (the name of the 800 Microsoft Point premium content pack) and you’ll temporarily be given full access to everything included in the pack. 

Click to continue reading Tons Of Crackdown Content Coming

Read More | Major Nelson

GoldenEye On Arcade Or Virtual Console? “It’s Possible,” Says Rare

GoldenEye 007 box art

GoldenEye 007 is one of those titles that most gamers have fond recollections of. Released in 1997, it was the first console FPS that really got it - that is, up until that point, everyone looked at FPSs as something that only worked on PCs. But with a solid combination of single player and multiplayer mayhem, it captured the hearts of N64 owners to the tune of eight million copies sold. It seems only natural that a classic of this caliber would eventually makes its way onto the Virtual Console.

But there’s one problem – when developer Rare was sold to Microsoft, the rights to the title became, as Rare put it, “… caught up in a convoluted web of rights the likes of which would make the Weaver from Perdido Street Station jealous. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen, just that a lot of people with a lot of different perspectives are involved.”

Click to continue reading GoldenEye On Arcade Or Virtual Console? “It’s Possible,” Says Rare

Read More | Scribes via Cubed3


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