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.
Breakthrough Xbox 360 game “Viva Piñata” hits store shelves and creates new Piñata Islands around the world.
REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 9, 2006 — Horstachios, Fizzlybears, Fudgehogs, Mousemallows, Elephanillas and Pretztails are just a handful of the 60 species of wild piñata, coming to homes this holiday season in “Viva Piñata™,” the highly anticipated Xbox 360™ game for kids of all ages.
Breaking new ground in Xbox 360 family entertainment, “Viva Piñata” was shipped to stores on Nov. 9, and it will continue to be rolled out to retailers throughout the U.S. and worldwide through Dec. 2. Created by world-renowned video game developer Rare Ltd. and Microsoft Game Studios exclusively for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, the two-disc “Viva Piñata” Special Edition invites game-players to escape to Piñata Island, where wild-roaming, living piñata animals are looking for a home.
“With the arrival of ‘Viva Piñata,’ we’re opening up Xbox 360 to new audiences and inviting more people to jump into the fun,” said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios. “This is a game that will have broad appeal. Families will play it together. Kids will play it by day, and, I’m willing to bet, their parents will play it at night. Even for the seasoned gamer, ‘Viva Piñata’ will be a great escape, and they’ll see it as a guilty pleasure.”
People of all ages will enjoy the vibrant world where they can create and customize their own environment to attract, tame and nurture more than 60 species of wild piñata and make their experience uniquely their own. Packed with hundreds of personalization options, “Viva Piñata” lets people name their piñatas, choose accessories for them to wear, decide where to plant grass and flowers, and more. The colorful, fully customizable game invites people into a world with all kinds of possibilities.
People first experienced the world of “Viva Piñata” in September, with the debut of the Saturday-morning computer-generated animation series produced by 4Kids Entertainment and Bardel Entertainment on 4Kids TV on FOX. The arrival of “Viva Piñata” for Xbox 360 establishes a crossover between the show and the game as people, young and old, tune in to the series to pick up hints and tricks to take back to the game.
“Viva Piñata” gameplay will be extended through the Xbox Live® online entertainment network. Xbox Live Gold subscribers will be able to connect with friends, family or other players from around the globe to trade items from their piñata paradise — everything from the smallest plant to the largest piñata. Players with the free Xbox Live Silver membership also can trade items. And Xbox Live will offer accessories for download into the game to personalize piñata collections.
The genesis of the “Viva Piñata” franchise came from Rare Ltd., known for such all-age-friendly games as “Banjo-Kazooie®” and “Grabbed by the Ghoulies®.” Veteran developers of these games, as well as a new crop of talent, worked together to craft “Viva Piñata” into the fun-filled game available now on store shelves.
“Right from the start, we knew we wanted to create a game that featured a garden full of customizable, tradable animals with unique appearances and behavior patterns,” said Gregg Mayles, lead designer for “Viva Piñata” at Rare Ltd. “When we were looking for a design twist to make it stand out, our concept artist came up with piñata-themed sketches, and the look immediately stuck.”
Additional “Viva Piñata” products are expected to debut in fall 2007, with Playmates Toys Inc. and American Greetings Corp. already on board for toys and party goods. The latest information about “Viva Piñata” is available at http://www.vivapinata.com, the virtual island where gamers can find hints and tips for the Xbox 360 video game, get the latest updates on the 4Kids TV animated TV series, and score exclusive extras including games, activities, ring tones and avatars.
“Viva Piñata” from Rare and Microsoft Game Studios is rated “E” for Everyone and is available exclusively on Xbox 360. The game started being shipped on Nov. 9, and will be on store shelves by the following week with an estimated retail price of $49.99. The two-disc “Viva Piñata” Special Edition Xbox 360 game, available for a limited time, will include a second disc with playable demos of LucasArts’ “LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy,” the arcade classic “Frogger” as well as family favorites “Cloning Clyde,” “Time Pilot” and “Marble Blast.” In addition, a full-length episode from the zany, anything-can-happen animated TV series “Viva Piñata” is also included.
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!
Viva Piñata™” Xbox 360 Video Game Breaks onto the Scene with Special Edition Game for Hours of Family Fun.
When the highly-anticipated “Viva Piñata” video game for the Xbox 360™ hits store shelves this November, kids and adults can break into the two-disc Special Edition
“Viva Piñata”™ Xbox 360 game with added bonuses for the whole family to enjoy. The Special Edition game, available for a limited time, will include playable demos of the season’s hottest family-friendly titles and an episode from the “Viva Piñata” animated series.
“Viva Piñata,” the high-energy, mass-appeal entertainment property created by Rare and brought to life by Microsoft and 4Kids Entertainment, reveals a vibrant world of living piñata animals designed to capture and inspire the imagination of people of all ages. Kids were recently introduced to the cast of characters from the “Viva Piñata” animated series now on air and available for download via Xbox Live Marketplace in the US and Canada and soon around the world. They can look forward to even more piñata fun when the Xbox 360 game hits store shelves this holiday season.
In addition to the “Viva Piñata” game, which will allow players to create their own environment where they can attract and host more than 60 species of wild piñatas and customize piñata-filled adventures in their unique-ever-growing world, the Special Edition “Viva Piñata” game, priced at $49.99 USD.
Viva Piñata will include:
- A playable demo of LucasArts’ “LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy,” which combines the fun and endless customization of LEGO play and with a hilarious tongue-in-cheek take on the epic story, characters and action from the classic Star Wars: Episodes IV, V and VI films
- A playable demo of the arcade classic “Frogger” that is enhanced and reinvigorated for the Xbox 360. The game features new artwork that matches and compliments the original style
- A playable demo of “Cloning Clyde” for gamers to explore a visually compelling world filled with hilarious action and crazy adventure as they struggle to escape the clutches of the evil company Dupliclone, Inc.
- A “Time Pilot” playable demo for gamers to fly a futuristic fighter jet with the capability to travel through time to destroy wave after wave of enemies.
- A return to AstroLab for a playable demo of “Marble Blast,” where players guide their marbles through a rich cartoon landscape of moving platforms and perilous obstacles
Also included in the Special Edition “Viva Piñata” game will be a sneak peek at the wacky, zany, anything-can-happen animated TV series, produced by 4Kids Entertainment & Bardel Entertainment. With this full-length episode of the colorful animated series, Kids can experience Piñata Island for themselves, where multitudes of happy, colorful piñatas live the sweet life.
Those wondering if EA's behemoth could remove Halo 2 as the all time top game, you can quit worrying now as Halo 2 is still the most played game on Xbox Live. Texas Hold'em is not only the top XBLA game, but as you can see it also placed on the top 10 Overall Xbox 360 titles.
Microsoft have detailed the titles due for release via Xbox Live in the forthcoming weeks, revealing in the process, the drop date of the much anticipated Lumines Live!
Xbox Live Wednesdays are set to continue into August and September, with Pac-Man and ther previously announced Texas Hold 'Em poker leading the way.
Lesser known titles, Time Pilot and Scramble are soon to follow with Lumines kicking off September in fine fashion. The highly addictive Lumines Live! puts a next-gen twist on the familiar puzzle title with its in-game 'skins' - acting as background to the block busting action, the 360 version will offer popular music videos as the backdrop to your play. With an initial number included on purchase and more to follow, again over Xbox Live, in the Artist Pack.
Build Your Empire: 'Rise of Industry 2' Coming to Xbox, PS5, and PC Rise of Industry 2 (@RiseofIndustry), the innovative sequel to the hit indie business tycoon game is coming to Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC. Navigate the competitive industrial landscape of ..
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