The state of gaming as of right now is about to get a whole lot better. With the 2009 fiscal year ending in October, it's finally time to say goodbye to a fairly bleak year, and say hello to a really good year. For the purposes of this article, I am writing about the fiscal years: 2009 means October of 2008 to September of 2009 with 2010 meaning October of 2009 to September of 2010 Sure, 2009 had it's hits: Fallout 3 Left 4 Dead Dead Space Rock Band 2/Rock Band Beatles/Guitar Hero World Tour/Guitar Hero 5/Lego Rock Band/Band Hero Fable 2 Call of Duty: World at War KillZone 2 Halo Wars Resident Evil 5 Batman Arkham Asylum Halo 3: ODST They are all just some of the great games of 2009 but most of them came out right at the beginning of fiscal year 2009 (and the end of calendar year 2008) Fiscal year 2010 got started off with a bang with Uncharted 2, Ratchet and Clank: A Crank in Time, Borderlands, Assassin's Creed 2, and Forza 3, (not to mention the PSPGo, who was released on the very first day of fiscal year 2010) but will include: A New Wii? Project Natal? Sony PS3 Motion Controller Left 4 Dead 2 Modern Warfare 2 Halo Reach Splinter Cell Conviction Bayonetta Crackdown 2 Gran Turismo 5 God of War III BioShock 2 Mass Effect 2 Metal Gear Rising Max Payne 3 Deus Ex 3 Dead Rising 2 The Saboteur MAG Final Fantasy XIII/XIV Star Wars The Old Republic Those are just a few of the really exciting games that 2010 will have in store for us. Read More...

Nintendo is by far the most kid-friendly system company, but how does is stack up against other things that kids love? A recent study done by Smarty Pants that tested “brand awareness, popularity, and love” of various brands among kids in 2009 puts Nintendo right at the top. Nintendo, which for some reason counts as 2 different brands, takes the top 2 spots: Nintendo Wii Ninendo DS Oreos McDonald's M&M's Doritos Nickelodeon Kraft Macaroni&Cheese Cheetos Disney Other game related brands that make the list:     14. Sony Playstation     31. Sony PSP     42. Read More...

You could potentially get your hands on the new Firefight mode from one of the most anticipated titles of the year. Bungie, Microsoft, and Gamestop have joined into an unholy alliance and are presenting a Halo 3: ODST Transport vehicle that will be making stops at GameStops all across the US, giving lucky folks a go with the title. Major Nelson via his blog, dropped the dates for the tour, and hopefully one of them are going to be close to you - if you are interested, that is: Halo 3: ODST Transport Vehicle Stops City Location Date Seattle (Redmond, WA) Redmond Town Center 8/22 Portland (Hillsboro, OR) Tanasbourne Town Center 8/23 San Francisco (Union City, CA) Union Landing 8/25 San Jose (Antioch, CA) Center At Slatten Ranch 8/26 Los Angeles (Pasadena, CA) Hastings Village 8/28 San Diego, CA Carmel Mt. Read More...

As the prophecy foretold, the XBOX 360 Pro was going away. Now we have pictures, not too shabby ones either. As you can plainly see in the image, the information on the box no longer lists the Pro in the comparison sheet. This jives with the reports back in June that Microsoft was looking to replace the Pro with the Elite, shaving the Pro from the lineup. The prophecy, also spoke of another fate for the 360: a September price drop. While this may not seem necessary as the 360 is already the cheapest current-gen system available, it would make sense as who would buy a Pro for $299. Read More...

So you may have read my previous article in which 1UP reported that a new XBOX console was coming next fall. Well (more than) a few people called shenanigans. Throw Microsoft and Team XBOX into that circle now. "I think part of the excitement about this announcement is that in many ways we are delivering a next generation experience this generation. With that said, I can confirm that Natal will run on Xbox 360 so no new console investment will be necessary." says Aaron Greenberg, director of product management, in an interview with Eurogamer. Read More...

You heard right, a new Microsoft console is allegedly on the horizon for Fall 2010, to coincide with Project Natal. Let the name-game begin (to reiterate myself I would prefer XBOX 4 but more on this later)1up.com is reporting on something that I touched on yesterday, a new game console. If 1up's reports are to be true, than a new Microsoft console will be released alongside Natal next year. While it won't be a new XBOX, it will be more like an update. Think DSi to DS lite or PSP Go to PSP. Read More...

You clutch the weapon, your breath short as your lungs are barely functioning. You try and remember every point of entry the enemy will come from. You can hear the echoes of their battle cries fill every precipice and crack in the walls – but you hold still and ready. To engage them fully would be suicide you think, and the only death you are willing to give allowance to is theirs. So you sit, and you wait. Each moment becoming more visceral then the last, and then you see them, and your body empties a war cry from every sinew, bone, and cell. Read More...

With embers cooling at the end of day 0 of the Electronics Entertainment Expo (officially, E3 kicks off tomorrow with the mayor welcoming us gamers to the city), the writing staff attending E3 from Aggrogamer.com wanted to send out a recap of what we’ve seen and heard in our short time here today.  We hope you are following us on Twitter as it is the fastest and easiest way to follow David, Binh, Ben, Mike and myself as we attend the media briefings, industry appointments and walk the convention center floor.  If you haven’t picked up the new Aggrogamer. Read More...

Attention Aggrogamer Readers! We will be in attendance at E3 this year and bringing you news, previews, and hands on impressions throughout the show. Keep your eyes peeled to the website as E3 essentially kicks off with three press events tomorrow (Microsoft, EA and Ubisoft). David, Brian, Ben, Binh, Andy and myself will be there for Aggrogamer.The Aggrocast will be in effect as well, as we will be doing nightly recordings where Michael, Brian and Binh will be joined by Ben, David, and Andy. We will discuss everything we have seen each day and we may bring in some special guests each night. Read More...

Finally we get the word on the release date for Banjo Tooie on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The bear and birds second adventure will be out next week on Wednesday the 29th for probably the same amount as the original Banjo Kazooie, 1200 Microsoft Points ($15)The game will allow you to swop any of the hidden eggs you found in Banjo Kazooie at Heggy's Hen for brand new moves that were not on the original N64 version. Here's a little video that came out a couple days before Easter that shows you a preview of the stop n swop and where to find any of the eggs in case you missed them.    Also a list of all the achievements can be read here if you're interested. Read More...

From GameIndustry.Biz:Amazon.com has become the first retailer to begin selling Xbox Live Arcade content, previously only available through Microsoft's official website or the Xbox 360 Marketplace.The beta service offers US customers Xbox Live Arcade game codes, Microsoft Points and subscription cards"PC gamers have enjoyed the convenience of digital downloads on Amazon.com for some time. Now Amazon. Read More...

It was almost two months ago that Capcom announced exclusive Xbox 360 and PlayStaion 3 console bundles exclusive to Japan. It seems as though half that good news is coming to North America as Capcom and Microsoft are celebrating the much anticipated debut of the Resident Evil series on the Xbox 360 with the release of a red, limited edition bundle. As with the stand-alone game, the console bundle will arrive on store shelves on Friday, March 13. The pack will feature a copy of Resident Evil 5, red Xbox 360 Elite with 120 GB Hard Drive, matching limited edition red wireless controller, a black Xbox 360 headset, and exclusive premium Resident Evil 5 theme downloaded over Xbox Live. Read More...

With the new Friday the 13th movie coming in just a few weeks, the Gears team is hosting nearly 2 weeks of giveaways on Xbox Live starting February 1st. That's 65 daily prize packages and 13 grand prize packages.The daily packs come with: * Gears of War 2 video game soundtrack * Gears of War Aspho Fields novel * A 12" x 18" Gears of War 2 promotional poster autographed by members of the Epic development team * An in-game Golden Hammerburst and Lancer weapon The grand prize packs come with: * A Samsung 40-inch 1080p flat panel LCD HDTV * A Locust Bust * A red Xbox 360 Wireless Controller * A Marcus Fenix bronze statue * Gears of War 2 video game soundtrack * Gears of War Aspho Fields novel * A 12" x 18" Gears of War 2 promotional poster autographed by members of the Epic development team * An in-game Golden Hammerburst and Lancer weaponTo register, you either need to go on Xbox.com or download the 13 Days of Gears Registration Gamer Picture from the Marketplace. The rest of the info can be found here. Read More...

A while back, I posted about a Gears of War 2 patch coming later this month. Now it turns out that coming along with the patch are seven new achievements. No official release date has been said, but should go live once the patch is released. All seven equal up to 175 points, mostly focused on the flashback and combustible maps. Go here to see more about it. Read More...

Windows 7 Beta Download So for those of you that enjoy having the latest and greatest of Microsoft, they literally just announce that you can download Windows 7 direct from their website. Link Below. So if you want to give it a whirl, go ahead and download the new beta for Microsoft's operating system. I know I'll be checking it out when I get home from CES tonight. On another fun side note, Totally got to play like 2 minutes of Halo Wars... Read More...