2008 was a banner year for Xbox LIVE Arcade titles and were going to kick off the Second Annual Arcade Awards on March 3rd. The cool thing is this year, you get to cast your votes directly on your Xbox 360 within NXE.
The voting starts on Tuesday, March 3 at 2:00 A.M. Pacific Time (10:00 A.M. GMT), and ends Tuesday, March 10 at 3:59 P.M. PT (11:59 P.M. GMT).
Not sure what game to vote for ? Each Arcade title has a free demo to give you a taste of the action. To get you started, here are the categories and nominees:
How to Vote
1. From your Xbox LIVE console, locate the Arcade Awards Voting Application slot in the Spotlight or Game Marketplace channel, and then press A to download the application.
2. Once the application has finished downloading, launch the application in either of the following ways:
In Spotlight or Game Marketplace, navigate to the slot image that now says Vote Now instead of Download Now, and then press A.
In your Game Library, browse Game Demos and Trials to locate and launch the application.;
3. Select your favorite arcade game in any or all of the nine different categories, and then select the appropriate button below:
To vote, press A.
To view game screenshots, press X.
To download the game demo, press Y.
To exit, press B.
Winners will be announced by Major Nelson and posted at Xbox.com.
For more detailed information on any Xbox Live Arcade games including game info, screenshots, videos & trailers, achievements, cheats, reviews, news and much more please visit the 360-HQ Xbox 360 Games Database from the links provided.
So it looks like gamesindustry.biz has had a little set down with Epic's president to get his take on all angles of the game industry including topics like social gaming, the new Xbox Live Experience and the company's business plans and in all i must say i started out just looking it over and found myself reading it all.
GamesIndustry reports: Q: Gears of War was Epic's first narrative game. When you first set out on the project, did you have any idea it would capture gamers' imaginations in the way it has?
Dr Michael Capps: You always aim for that, right? We were actually scared to death, because our numbers for online interest were tracking really, really dangerously big - and we were worried about bring over-hyped.
I mean, we were number one on 1up, number one on Gamespot, everyone was so excited and we were like, "How do we live up to this? Everyone's expecting so much". Inevitably, when you've got sort of interest coming in before you sell it, you've got the folks who are saying, "Well, it isn't perfect" - there's always a little bit of detracting that way.
But [the excitement] was so much more than we ever would have expected. We thought we'd made a really fun videogame, but we didn't know people would have so much interest... I mean, Newline is making a movie! We've never been in that space before.
Q: Do you think there's a key element of the game that caught peoples' imagination?
Dr Michael Capps: We built a really beautiful game. Our technology set the bar, I think, for next-gen gaming. There were a lot of people with brand new HD TVs and Xboxes and they bought Gears of War to show off. I mean, with videogames graphics is what catches your interest and the controls are what keep it.
I think the idea of 'destroyed beauty' really resonated with people, more than just the hardcore shooter owner. The Mad World commercial is a good example - we didn't aim that at 18 year-olds who like to shoot stuff up in videogames, we aimed it at their girlfriends and their moms, people who would see that this is a deeper, more resonant world.
Q: I love the idea that you based the development of Gears around one phrase - 'destroyed beauty'. Is that an ethos you bring to all game development at Epic?
Dr Michael Capps: It is now! We actually had a few statements about Gears - another is 'you never fight alone'. This is a game where it's you and your mates and you're playing as a team together against crazy odds.
You're not one guy going round as a super hero - you're a team of guys. In the second one those relationships between the characters play an even greater part.
Q: Gears, then, is part of this industry trend toward social gaming?
Dr Michael Capps: Yes. I really want to be able to have my girlfriend or my mom play this game. My girlfriend's a gamer, but she's a Nintendo gamer - this isn't her sort of thing at all. But she had a blast, she looked around, saw the pretty settings and love the cinematics.
We want to make it accessible - I mean, that's how you sell videogames. The Sims sells for a lot of reasons: one, because it's great and two, because it's so accessible to everyone. So trying to take a game that's such a niche hardcore title, but open up the controls and the story to make it more widely appealing - so far it's worked pretty well.
The guys over at Xbox 360 Rally have done a fantastic job and gone to all the effort of writing up a Complete List of FREE Xbox 360 Live Marketplace Downloads..
Kudo's must go to the guys for putting in such a great effort..
Please remember that this is a US-based list! If you live in, say, Canada or the EU and see items on here that are region specific.
The Xbox LIVE Marketplace is a true cornucopia of stuff. Whether it be classic arcade games like Paperboy, Time Pilot and Contra, or downloadable content for your favorite games, like Santa Claus outfits for Saints Row and expansions for Oblivion, Xbox LIVE is chock full o’ stuff for just about everyone. If you have the MS Points, you can open the door to all the world’s delight and joy.
But what if you’re broke? Are you just left outside in the snow, to stare in the window from behind the bushes to see all the joyous boys and girls playing with their horse armor and their extra Crackdown skins? Of course not! There’s stuff for you, too, cheap ass!
In fact, there is a LOT of free stuff for you. Whether it be extra content for your favorite game, or the most worthless of things (*coughgamerpicscough*), there is a surprisingly large amount of free stuff for your downloading delight on Xbox LIVE.
Here are the top games for 2006, based on Xbox Live connectivity.
The following rankings are based on data collected from 1/1/06 – 12/29/06:
2006 Top Xbox 360 Titles (UU's)
1 Gears of War
2 Hexic HD
3 Call of Duty 2
4 Ghost Recon 3
5 Oblivion
6 PGR3
7 Perfect Dark Zero
8 Call Of Duty 3
9 UNO
10 EA SPORTS™ Fight Night Round 3
11 Saints Row
12 Geometry Wars Evolved
13 DEAD OR ALIVE 4
14 Texas Hold 'em
15 Madden NFL 07
16 DEAD RISING
17 Need for Speed™ Most Wanted
18 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six® Vegas
19 BFMC
20 Splinter Cell Double Agent
Thanks to services like GameTap and Xbox Live Arcade, classic games are being given new life and are bringing in revenue years and years after they first hit the market. GameTap's Stuart Synder, XBLA's Greg Canessa and others chime in on the retro phenomenon.
Want to feel really old? It's been 26 years since the sound of "waka-waka-waka" first resounded in an arcade. Yes, 1980 was the year Midway licensed and installed the coin-op version of Namco's "Pac-Man" in the U.S. And 2006 is the year that "Pac-Man" has become one of the most popular downloads on Xbox Live Arcade and GameTap.
Talk about a game with legs.
In fact, while most of the video games industry is marveling over the success of today's casual games -- those small, downloadable games with simple rules that make it easy for a mass audience to begin playing almost immediately -- less-noticed is the fact that a subset of casual games has become hot this last year and is getting hotter. Indeed, here come the retro arcade classics!
Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays roll on with the July 26 explosive debut of 'Galaga'
Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays continue with the launch of 'Galaga', one of the most popular retro arcade games of all time. Originally released in 1981 by Namco, the addictive action shooter marks its 25 year anniversary with a next generation debut on Xbox Live Arcade on July 26.
GAME FOCUS:
Following its release in 1981 'Galaga' became an instant classic with its innovative fighter combination system and varied enemy attack patterns. Now the original 'Galaga' retro gameplay action is back! Take control of your fighter and defend against invading aliens. Join forces with other rescued fighters to form a Dual Fighter and attack with twice the firepower!
GAME FEATURES:
With high-definition graphics, Xbox Live Achievements and Leaderboards, the Xbox Live Arcade version of this all-time classic shooting game provides hours of fun.
'Galaga' boasts:
* Classic Galaga shooter action is back!
* Over 250 levels
* 12 unique Achievements
* Earn Perfect Bonuses and increase your fighter status
* Full worldwide Leaderboards
* Unique Dual Fighter combination attack mode
* Original music and sound effects
WHEN CAN I GET IT: Download 'Galaga', Wednesday, July 26, at 1am PDT on Xbox Live Arcade.
'Galaga' (Namco): 400 Microsoft Points
For more information please visit Xbox.com or our games database entry.
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