According to Microsoft on April 15th 2010 they will be discontinuing there XBox LIVE services on the original XBox. The discontinuation of service will also include XBox v1 games that are backwards compatible on your XBox 360. So basically all you Halo 2 fans out there have been "cut-off". The original XBox LIVE had a good run, almost eight years from when it first debuted back in November 2002. Obviously there were numerous attempts at online gaming before XBox LIVE (Dreamcast anyone?), but none that became such a power house of online gaming. Read More...

The Behemoth, the cats responsible for Newgrounds, Alien Hominid, and Castle Crashers have given a name and a trailer for their newest title, "BatttleBlock Theater" (formerly "Game 3"). The plot is described over at the The Behemoth's official blog as, "Having been shipwrecked on a mysterious island you find yourself both betrayed by your best friend Hatty and captured by the locals. All of this is happening while being forced into deadly performances. This however, is just the start of your problems. Read More...

Thankfully, it is not being done by Uwe Bole. Un-thankfully, it looks like it will be just a bad Japanese subtitled flick that will have people like me hating subtitles even more. Too much reading when there is so much action going on behind those bogging words. But in any instance, it looks like it is still a go. Here is the trailer for the film, and it looks nothing like I remember from the game at all. Partially because it is only based off the game world and takes place in a separate part of the world and protagonized by two totally different characters. Read More...

No, unfortunately, this does not mean that Daniel Day Lewis will be abandoning his child (abandoning his boy), and being a gracious oilman on our next generation consoles. Nay, this deals with the blood that will be spilled via two downloadable titles coming this Wednesday on XBox Live and PSN. Death by Cube (800 ($10)) is a little gem by Square Enix with a story that suggests a sweet abundance of man's most precious videogame resource, violence, "Leo is a robot, one who awakes to find that he has lost his memory. All he knows is that he must reboot the heroine robot, so he sets forth on a mission hoping to regain his memory. To his surprise, he finds the world is now filled with battalions of enemy robots, drenched in bright red oil, and shooting bullets every direction. Read More...

It looks like the two games next up for the Games on Demand treatment are, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 and Kane&Lynch: Dead Men. I find it funny that with both game descriptions they more or less end with "no refunds are available for this item." It adds a deeper level to the game description for some reason. Try and read them in the same way you would the game description, envision the music for each. It's epic isn't it? Read More...

The sci-fi action-adventure Dark Void demo has dropped today for the Xbox 360 and will be following on the PSN tomorrow. With the demo you get the chance to take that jetpack for a spin, and engage in some aerial and on-foot combat. It is supposed to serve to wet the appetite for the games' January 19th release date. With some unique gameplay elements like vertical cover, I've been looking forward to taking this title for a test drive.The press release speaks with some glowing words of course, "With the launch of Capcom’s sci-fi shooter, Dark Void, right around the corner, Capcom is giving gamers a chance to test drive the void for themselves this week with a downloadable demo coming to Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network. Read More...

Today Popcap announced that Peggle and Peggle Nights will be releasing its addiction-y goodness on the PlayStation Network. They also announced that in tune with this release, Peggle Nights will also find itself on the XBox LIVE Arcade. Peggle on the PSN will be priced similarly to the original Peggle's release on XBLA ($10), while Peggle Nights will be priced at $5 (400 Microsoft points). Peggle is one of those games that seemingly anyone can get into. Yes, I'm sure there are three to four people that don't enjoy it, but where the game succeeds is its innate ability to keep everything simple and to do that simple well. Read More...

Microsoft announced yesterday that they have banned a very large number (rumored to be up to 1 million) Xbox Live player accounts for modding their Xbox systems and playing pirated games.With the current release of Modern Warfare 2, players are anxiously trying to get online and fragging their friends but it seems Microsoft has other plans.  Microsoft is citing it's terms of service agreement that players agree to when buying an xbox system:Download or use any material sent or provided by another user of the Service that you know, or reasonably should know, cannot be legally shared or distributed in such manner (except as expressly permitted by us).What they could and would do were clearly laid out:Microsoft may, among other things: (a) restrict or limit access to the Service; (b) retrieve information from the original Xbox, Xbox 360 console, personal computer, and any connected peripheral device used to log onto the Service as necessary to operate and protect the security of the Service, and to enforce this contract. Read More...

With the beta testing of this game-on-demand service launching not too long ago, it seems that OnLive has picked up even more steam and, perhaps, more ammunition against naysayers. Investors have gathered around the service and now include: AT&T Media Holdings, Lauder Partners and Maverick Capitol. These investors joined the ranks of other such partners as Warner Bros., who believe there may be a future in this. Yesterday a release from the CEO, via the official site, sounded as enthusiastic as ever: "Big news today — OnLive has closed a major round of funding with participation from AT&T Media Holdings, Inc. Read More...

"Ever want to watch your Xbox Live Avatar plummet helplessly through the air and smash into things? Well now you can in the humorously cruel new game "Avatar Drop"! You and your friends can experience the side-splitting hilarity of watching your digital alter-egos bump, scream and crash their way through random obstacles." This is the official description of this indie title by the name of Avatar Drop. Now, from that description it sounds like Xbox Live has found it’s equivalent to Playstation favorite, “Pain. Read More...

DataBox Games: Nine guys in their mid-20s on an island off Sweden. They are all attending Gotland University and working on their final thesis for their Bachelor's and Master's Degrees. Why is this important? Because much like the current wave of independent titles that flood the Xbox Marketplace - they are just a bunch of people with a love for games trying to deliver a unique experience. They don't have a major machine behind them, but they have a passion for crafting something that we can all get into and as such are definitely worth promoting around these parts. The game that they are currently working on is Penalty of Heroes, which I believe is their 26th title; most of the previous 25 have been made in ten weeks or less and have more fun crammed into them then a great majority of bigger budget titles. Read More...

This Thursday a demo for Mini Ninjas will be released for download simultaneously on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. While the PS3 and 360 versions will be available via the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace respectively, PC gamers will have to download the demo directly from the games website http://www.minininjas.com/. Read More...

XBox Live Summer Update Puts A World Of Entertainment At Your Fingertips Holy Hells there is a lot coming to XBox Live. All with in a week from today (August 5th, 2009). Not just minor updates either, but massive ones. Some of which teased about at E3 this year. Not to mention an "On Demand" type service for some the consoles games. You could pick and choose from the presser below what you think is awesome, but that might take too much time for you. That being said, let me sum up some of the larger additions and updates for the service here. Read More...

Since its inception in 2005, Video Games Live has been entertaining crowds across the globe.  With its epic scores, great energy and audience participation, VGL promotes the gaming industry in an extremely positive way.  Created by famous video game composers Jack Wall and Tommy Tallarico, the concert series’ agenda of solidifying game music as an art form and the games industry as a positive force are present and spotlighted but are carefully swaddled by the fun, excitement and showmanship.  The first show, in the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, had over 11,000 people and was instantly a phenomenon.  As the first few years have passed, the show has slowly made its way down to smaller cities and venues. Read More...

Just as a reminder, XBOX Live, as well as www.xbox.com, will be down for it's annual fix-up Tuesday, June 16th.Here are some things to do with your time:Actually finish the campaign mode of CoD4.Go on PSN (I still don't know whether this suggestion is a joke or not).Purchase Ghostbusters, it's mainly a single-player game, and it's pretty awesome, try beating it in one day!Purchase the 25th Anniversary Ghostbusters BluRay, my favorite comedy of all time.Go outside, have a KFC picnic. Read More...