Gamernode: Latest Xbox 360 News

Rockstar won't let you try before you buy

Rockstar probably hates you. Secret insider ninjas (actually, VideoGames.com) have informed us that Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network will not be seeing a demo for the year's most anticipated game, Grand Theft Auto 4. A Rockstar representative was quoted as saying, "Most people know the concept of GTA anyway. I don't know that the demo is worth the time and effort."

Most people know the concept of driving, but they still take a test drive in a car before the buy it. While it's true that not all games have demos, I think Rockstar is wrong for not putting one out. They are the ones who keep saying that this game is different than their other games. Showing off the new features (i.e. new targeting system!) to players, like myself, who are just burnt out on the GTA franchise would benef...

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Newly announced 'Lego Halo' is probably fake

Scans of the newest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly reveal a somewhat interesting, yet extremely questionable exclusive preview. The story introduces "Lego Halo", a brand new installment in both the Lego, and Halo series.

While this momentarily piqued my interest, on closer inspection, this story is probably one big farce. The first red flag is that the story appears in EGM's April issue, so even though it's barely even March yet, this would be the issue in which EGM's trend setting April Fools' joke will appear.

"Finished, shall you say?" the preview begins. "Or is it? Of course not! Master Chief might be good at saving the universe, but he's better at something else: making mountains of money. That's why developer Bungie is looking to construct some more cash with their newest project:...

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Lego Batman: The Video Game trailer

Now confirmed for release in September on about every gaming platform imaginable, Lego Batman: The Video Game is your next spin started by the success of the Lego Star Wars series. You got your share of gameplay scenes in the trailer, in addition to an introduction of a few villains. It's looking pretty entertaining to me!

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John DiMaggio talks Gears of War 2

With GDC just passing, info on a bunch of new games sputtered out of the pipes, one of which was the newly announced (but to no surprise) Gears of War 2. There wasn't much else said about GoW2 after that, until IGN had an interview with voice-actor John DiMaggio, voice of Futurama's Bender and Gears of War's Marcus Fenix.

On top of continuing his voice role as Marcus Fenix, he also voices the character of Franklin, leader of the Stranded back during the Nightfall level. DiMaggio said, "We're doing Gears of War 2 right now; we're in the middle of production. I'm reprising my role as Marcus again." He continued, "I'm doing one of the characters, Franklin - those are the two that I'm reprising."

"It's badass. In fact, I saw some of the stuff yesterday! Which level was it? It was, well listen, ...

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A possible Lost Odyssey 2?

I am a huge RPG fan and I have not yet had a chance to play Lost Odyssey because of my poor decision of letting my cousin in Florida borrow it for a few weeks.

But once I get that baby back, I'm going to be all over that game! So fans of Lost Odyssey might feel a bit happier when the first rumblings of a sequel, which orginates from a Japanese report on site Nikkei Trendy.net, came up a few hours ago.

According to the site, Microsoft has been quoted as saying that it's happy with the Blue Dragon follow-up's 100k sales in the Far East and that "the series will grow as time goes on."

Lost Odyssey is the second Xbox 360 exclusive RPG from Final Fantasy's creator-man, Hironobu Sakaguchi. Since Microsoft was happy with the sales of Blue Dragon in Japan, they are banking on a similar, if not mor...

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XBLA Peggle will feature downloadable content

It's only a matter of time till you Xbox 360 owners who haven't experience the wonderful, time-sink gaming addiction that is Peggle, will get to do so. While you still have a few more months to wait, the XBLA version of Peggle will contain additional features not shown in the PC version.

Over on 1UP, they have comments made during GDC from Garth Chouteau, public relations director for PopCap, saying that in addition to new (though still undetermined) multiplayer modes, players will be able to download new Peggle levels that'll be distributed through the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Other than that folks, that's it. So you got your downloadable content for Peggle, but prices haven't been confirmed.

I don't know about you, while I certainly enjoy Peggle for PC, I think the game's included 55 levels ...

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It's true! Xbox 360 HD DVD going for $50

Last week we reported a rumor that the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on player might be going for sale for only $50--an attempt by Microsoft to unload the obsolete technology in light of Blu-ray's victory in the high definition DVD wars.

Apparently the rumors have proven correct as various websites are reporting that Microsoft has made it official and is cutting the price of the Xbox 360 HD DVD player from $129.99 to $49.99.

According to the stories, the new price is effective immediately. Amazon.com quickly sold out its allotment of the units early this morning while K-mart made the units available at the new price even earlier on its website this past Sunday.

With the demise of the HD DVD player from the 360's roster, many have speculated that Microsoft has a Blu-ray player in the works to repla...

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Microsoft: Xbox 360 World is WRONG about Goldeneye...

Remember that fishy story GamerNode ran last week about Goldeneye once again being a "go" for Xbox Live Arcade? Well it appears to be a total farce - maybe a joke or maybe just a sleazy ploy to sell more magazines.

Eurogamer contacted Microsoft Games Studios about the matter, and an MS spokesprson told them that the story is in no way true:

"The story in Xbox World 360 is based entirely on rumour and speculation. Unfortunately, we were never contacted by the publication to confirm information or participate in the story in any way, as we would have confirmed that we do not have the necessary rights to release GoldenEye on Xbox Live Arcade."

Xbox World 360 has responded, saying that their feature contains "No rumour. No speculation. Oh, and contrary to reports, comment from Microsoft too." ...

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Famitsu confirms Tales of Vesperia for 360

Last December, GamerNode showed you a video of the upcoming Tales of Vesperia from Namco Bandai Games. At the time, we could only assume that the game would be coming to the Xbox 360 console because of some conspicuous website tagging, but now those suspicions have been confirmed.

Famitsu magazine has done the legwork and contacted Namco Bandai regarding the matter.  According to a company spokesperson, the next game in the lauded Tales series will indeed be an Xbox 360 title. That doesn't rule out other consoles, however;  Namco Bandai is still open to porting Vesperia:

"Yes, we have decided to release TOV overseas on the Xbox 360...We've decided to release TOV on the Xbox 360, but regarding other platforms, we're looking at all possibilities."

As for an official release date, nothing ha...

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Ninja Gaiden II demo is a...video?!

Xbox 360 owners (some, at least) have been eagerly awaiting the chance to get their paws on a playable demo of Ninja Gaiden II since the game was announced.  Well the "demo" has arrived, and it's not exactly what one might expect.

When you consider the definition of the word 'demonstration,' then technically this download counts as one. It's a video. That's right, a video demonstration of Ninja Gaiden II in action, with a neat little message below it that reads, "Ninja Gaiden II Demo - Coming Soon."

That's just wrong. To claim that a demo release is forthcoming only to deliver a simple video clip seems a bit slimy to me. What's your take on the situation?

As for an actual demo, there has been no specific word regarding its release as of yet.

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No more Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on players!

Just a few days after announcing they'd continue to support the HD DVD player add-on for the Xbox 360 during the wake of the HD DVD format's death, Microsoft announced they will no longer manufacture new HD DVD add-on players for the Xbox 360.

The primary reason for ceasing manufacturing is, of course, in response to decisions by Toshiba, Hollywood studios and retailers to withdraw their support for HD DVD. Microsoft will continue to support standard product and warrant support for all current HD DVD add-on players in the market, but that's it folks, no more will be manufactured.

If you're in the market for picking up the HD DVD add-on player for nostalgia purposes, it's expected that the price will drop to $50 next week. Cheap works for me!

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Microsoft: Gears of War 2 will kill on graphics

The Gears of War 2 trailer is out and although the figures and combatants are all shrouded in shadow and silhouette, the very news that another Gears is coming has a lot of gamers having to change their shorts.

But to add to the anticipation is Microsoft claiming that Gears 2 will raise the bar even higher for graphics.

Is Sony listening to this?

According to the Gears of War 2 fact sheet, "Gears of War set the standard for high-definition visuals and became the game to which all others are compared. Gears of War 2 raises the bar even further with the amazing technological advances of Unreal Engine 3."

This will be one heck of a throwdown as Sony's Resistance 2 and Killzone 2 enter the scene and go against Gears 2.

Sony has long proclaimed that the PS3 gaming experience would be superior to ...

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Goldeneye 007 REALLY coming to XBLA?

It was first rumored to be in development, then actually said to be on the way, then totally squashed, and now...really coming? British videogame magazine Xbox World 360 has announced that its next issue (on sale Wednesday, February 27th) will feature none other than Goldeneye 007 for XBLA.

The magazine promises "never-seen shots and hands-on details," and to answer questions such as "How different is it? What improvements have been made? What does it feel like on the 360 pad? And how can we make sure this incredible remake does see the light of day?"

The fact that there is supposedly enough info on the game to run this sort of feature is promising, but that last statement casts some doubt on the certainty of the game's release. I guess we will just have to wait until Wednesday to get the ...

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Gears of War 2 debut teaser

Now that Gears of War 2 has been given an official release date by lead designer Cliff Bleszinski at this year's GDC, I guess it's about time for the gaming community to start drooling over any and all footage that becomes available. Start ogling, because here is the game's debut teaser (which totally reveals nothing, but at least it's almost Gears footage). Enjoy...or complain that there isn't more to see:

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More Aliens: Colonial Marines details, due in 2008...

Out of the movie franchise, Aliens is my favorite because of its excellent action sequences and downright creepy moments. There's nothing more heart-pounding than seeing a motion sensor light-up by upcoming aliens. So to hear that seasoned FPS developers Gearbox Software is working on a brand-new Aliens FPS called Aliens: Colonial Marines, I immediately became interested.

SEGA released some new information today regarding the game; it's coming to PS3, Xbox 360 and PC in late 2008. Players will don the boots of the United States Colonial Marine squad as they travel through and muscle against an alien assault. Confirmed weapons include pulse rifles and flamethrowers while new equipment and skills within a squad-based combat system will be introduced.

In addition to a story driven single playe...

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Rumor: Xbox 360 HD DVD to drop to $50 next week

OK, everybody knows that HD DVD is dead. But if this juicy little tidbit of a rumor is true, it may be Microsoft's way of going out in a blaze of glory.

According to xboxfamily.com, several retailers have indicated that they will be selling the Xbox 360 HD DVD player for a mere $50. Please note that we didn't say a discount of $50 but that the unit will actually cost you $50.

Besides the obvious attempt to unload warehouses full of the 360 HD DVD players to cut Microsoft's losses, it just might be a last dying gasp to perhaps boost sales of the unit in light of Blu-ray claiming victory over the dead body of the HD DVD format.

Ironically enough, if the rumor proves true, it just might generate a huge amount sales for the extinct piece of hardware and bring in more revenue than it could have...

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Microsoft says Xbox 360 is "simply...better"

A game industry professional proclaimed at the GDC in San Francisco, "Games sell better on the Xbox 360 because they simply play better on Xbox 360."

This piece of gaming wisdom came from John Schappert, Microsoft's corporate vice president of Entertainment Business. So as they say, consider the source. 

Schappert continued his cheer leading by saying, "We've got the best development tools and the best online service. You can simply do more on our platform."

While gamers who hold their allegiance to either the PS3 or Wii would dispute Schappert's statements, there is no doubt that the Xbox 360 is a very popular game console.

However, with the PS3 gaining momentum and the Wii continuing to be a top seller, Microsoft can ill afford to just sit on its laurels and proclaim itself the winner--the...

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Microsoft GDC: big plans for XNA program

And now, for the second half of Microsoft's GDC presentation!

In addition to the other announcements, Microsoft also spent some time talking about their XNA game development program. The program, which was created to give homebrew creators a chance to let their products shine on XBLA, seems to finally be taking some more form.

Chief XNA Architect Chris Satchell took the stage to talk a little about the program. The XNA game studio was revealed 18 months ago, as one of Microsoft's many little experiments. "The response has been incredible," said Satchell, revealing that there have been over 800,000 downloads of the toolset. "That's a lot of creativity and passion that we've tapped into out there." In addition to the 800,000 downloads, several hundred universities all over the world have embr...

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Microsoft GDC: Gears 2 dated, Fable 2 multiplayer,...

It's been a busy keynote morning for Microsoft. In addition to all the XNA news (look for that in a moment), Microsoft's presentation at the GDC unveiled some other juicy tidbits Xbox 360 owners are going to love.

The biggest news came at the end, with Cliffy B revealing that Gears of War 2 will hit the stores in November, "exclusively" for the Xbox 360. (I wouldn't be too surprised if we saw another PC port a year or so after.) Gears of War was -- at one point -- the biggest and best offering on the Xbox 360, but the last year or so its title has been taken away by games such as Halo 3, Bioshock, and Call of Duty 4. We'll have to see how the further adventures of Marcus Fenix turn out, but I for one can't wait.

Peter Molyneux was also on-hand, and other than making comments about PC gaming...

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Display 360 gets RRoD at GDC

Cataclysmic despair! At one of Microsoft's show floor booths at GDC an Xbox 360 console actually just got the red ring of death. Short of Bill Gates coming down from on high to say the "PS3 rules," I can't imagine a more embarrassing circumstance for Microsoft.

MS has been touting for a while now that the failure rate of 360s is not nearly as bad as the hype. A gaming sensus company just broke the news to the world that the failure rate probably is as bad as all that. Somewhere around 16 percent.

Despite that though, MS kept singing their tune, until today, when one of their machines died on the show floor. Even when MS had a chance to get brand new machines out there and to hand pick what they wanted, they still couldn't keep the damned things operational for a few days.

The Xbox 360 is a ph...

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