Games For Windows Live Is Now Free

On July 22nd, Microsoft made Games For Windows Live free! This also includes cross-platform play with the XBox 360. Which obviously raises the question of whether Live will ever be free on Xbox? We think it's a pretty safe no because unlike Games For Windows, XBox Live actually makes money, which is pretty hard to turn down, and without a ton of competitive pressure from, say, Playstation Home, it's hard to see why Microsoft would turn that cash fountain off. Still, there's always hoping, right?

Source: Here

Spore Coming To XBox 360

Spore is one of the most anticipated PC games currently in development. Spore is the next big game from Will Wright, the man behind The Sims. We are not 100% sure it is coming to XBox yet, but Will Wright made it pretty clear that it probably will.

“Well, actually we are going to go on all platforms, but we will come out on PC first. We will even come out on cell phones and stuff. One of the things in the game is that as you go around and encounter things… creatures and plants, or whatever, you make trading cards of each thing. That is the metaphor for the database -- trading cards. So you can collect your cards. You can print them out. You can now play your own card game. That might be like the cell phone part. That stuff is so light. It's more about collectability as opposed to interaction. Every creature in the PC game is three or four megabytes. But the cards, that is the database that the player is building."

Source: Here

Microsoft Confirmed A New Dashboard

Today, Microsoft confirmed that they will release a new 3D interface and dashboard via a system update in the fall. The system is set up like a photo album with large icons that include your Gamercard, the marketplace, your disk tray, ect.

The system update will include personalized avatars that can be created in cartoon styles. Clothes and accessories can be added to the avatars. XBox Live friends are represented by their avatars. The update will also include the ability to have 8 friends to chat in a "live party". Photos can be shared with the party.

The Primetime channel was also announced. The channel is a gameshow-style network, where players will take part in contests to win real prizes. The update is set to go live this fall.

"More fun, more social, and simpler to use," said Xbox Live services VP John Schappert. "Our vision is to make every experience a shared experience."

Source: Here

Microsoft Points Giveaway

XBox360Central is hosting a Microsoft Point giveaway! Micorosoft points are points that can be bought from Microsoft for Zune music and videos or for XBox 360 games, gamerpics, themes, movies, and more. We will be giving out about 20 cards each holding 100 points.
Every day, I will be adding a code to the list below. I have changed it now, I will post it at a random time, so keep checking back to see if it is here yet. Whoever is the first to redeem the code gets the points. There is a limit of one code per person and if you use one code, you will be unable to redeem the next one.
To redeem the codes, click here, sign in, and click on Redeem A Microsoft Points prepaid or promotional card. The code will not work if you enter it on the XBox console. Please comment saying you used the code so other people won't bother to try it.

Codes
WHDHX-RQH33-2CQTV-7BGP6-W4KF8 - Monday, July 14th
RWTTC-QWV48-3KR6K-Y6J32-QHTR8 - Tuesday, July 15th
PCFKM-M8F8R-4XYR2-87PHH-TYRWW - Wednesday, July 16th
XFTT8-BPV4P-R82CR-C3C3P-Q3Y8W - Thursday, July 17th
MHQT2-9MRGG-QY683-VQ6RC-68VPJ - Friday, July 18th
CRD47-JK4PG-GGJGG-JCTP7-Q9248 - Saturday, July 19th
GG72R-YRD7Y-4M9WD-HDJJ7-QYGR8 - Sunday, July 20th
MCVD4-D2MXB-8R7KC-TTW2M-2JY8W - Monday, July 21st
TQG62-26K42-RXRFH-PBJ9M-GHHPJ - Tuesday, July 22nd
M3JBD-3YWTX-BRC3V-F9PXG-KHYCJ - Wednesday, July 23rd
CRHC3-F3MD7-BXJBV-CTD8R-9DP48 - Thursday, July 24th
HR8FM-TTH38-8BK4H-P93BF-TDVPJ - Friday, July 25th
DBFPY-Y6YB7-P8PVB-R3G2T-66GR8 - Saturday, July 26th
HR8FM-TTH38-8BK4H-P93BF-TDVPJ - Sunday, July 27th
DBFPY-Y6YB7-P8PVB-R3G2T-66GR8 - Monday, July 28th
M7YQ7-CMWW8-GWF7J-MHJWB-KWP48 - Tuesday, July 29th
TTK68-WQ9RK-RB3B3-K4CCK-KXKF8 - Wednesday, July 30th
HG97B-J672V-VQMCH-98PGP-CG8JW - Thursday, July 31st
JK8BG-HHPDM-B9YGY-G7YPK-2GB8W - Friday, August 1st

The giveaway is over. No more codes will be entered.

Bungie Day '08

Its Bungie Day '08! Bungie has released a bunch of new content for free including gamer pictures, a theme, and a brand new map. The map, gamer pictures, and theme are free, so you have no excuse not to download them.
Bungie also dropped the price of the Legendary Map Pack from 800 MS points to 600 MS points. You have nothing to lose! Except your social life...

Call of Duty: World At War Preview

This is a scariest Call of Duty than we've ever seen," announced the head of Treyarch, Mark Lamir. "The direction for the team was to make the best game they could, and as they were doing this they created a grittiness that quite frankly made some people very uncomfortable."










Treyarch recently released a debut trailer to their newest game, "Call of Duty: World At War". This game is a sequel to the award winning game that sold over eight million copies, "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare". The debut trailer can be viewed here or for a better quality version, it can be downloaded from the XBox Live marketplace for free.










Treyarch has also, more recently, released some high quality screenshots. Some of these screenshots depict possible features in the game such as melting people with a flamethrower, climbing into trees, and piloting planes. All we can do is hope these features will be implemented into the game.

Source: Here

Rock Band 2 Announced

Rock Band 2 builds upon the foundation of the original Rock Band as the first music game to deliver co-op play, several instruments, potent online multiplayer, an unrivaled assortment of downloadable songs, and multiple new features including:

• Backwards compatibility with Rock Band downloadable music content. All previously purchased tracks will immediately load into your Rock Band 2 song list. No need to re-purchase or re-download.
• The biggest and most diverse soundtrack ever featuring some of rock’s most prolific acts, comprised entirely of master recordings.
• Major new and dynamic online modes that will connect the entire Rock Band community in more ways than ever before both locally and globally.
• More variety of instrument choices than ever before with new and improved drum and guitar peripherals, enhanced functionality and innovative new designs - all fully compatible with the original Rock Band instruments.
• And much more.

XBox 360 Price Cut Expected On Sunday

Microsoft plans to cut $50 off the price of the XBox 360 Pro console. This means XBox 360 Pro Consoles will be sold at a price of $299. Microsoft is expected to announce this price cut on Sunday, July 13 just before the E3 game show in L.A. Microsoft would have introduced this price cut sooner if it wasn't for the billion-dollar write-off last year for defective XBox 360 consoles.

A year ago, Microsoft dropped the price from $399 to $349. Microsoft says they continuously cut the costs of the components in the XBox 360 consoles and passes these price cuts along to consumers.

Source: Here

Dead Rising 2 Rumored To Be Set In Vegas

Back in February, McWhertor wrote up a rumor saying that Dead Rising 2 might be developed by a western developer. We've just gotten tipped off from another source that the makers of "The Bigs" are working on a sequel to Dead Rising. We were also told that Dead Rising 2 will leave the wilds of Colorado and venture into Las Vegas.

Source: Here

Gears Of War Release Date Changed?

On the Official Gears Of War 2 Website, an image appeared recently showing some dog tags with a set of numbers on them. When the numbers are unscrambled, they are believed to reveal the release date for Gears of War 2 as November 9th, (one week earlier than the announced release date).

The dog tags read "033-116-117-126-071". In ASCII octal values, the dog tags decipher to ESC-N-O-V-9. We imagine that we will know for sure when Gears of War 2 will be released by next Monday.

Source: Here

Bungie Hints A New Halo Game

Over the past few days, there have been several rumors and hints about a new Halo game being released. The old "I Love Bees" website resurfaced recently.

For those of you who don't know, I Love Bees was an alternate reality game. Players who investigated the peculiar website found that it appeared to be hacked by an unknown intelligence. Players solved puzzles and audio logs were posted which revealed a Halo back-story. Over three million gamers viewed the site over a course of three months and it was a marketing success.

Also, it was discovered that in Bungie's latest podcast Brian Jarrard and Luke Smith teased about something because revealed at E3.

"Brian: Isn't there something going on on July 14th or something like that?
Luke: Yeah, around then.
Brian: Somehow that's sticking in my head for some reason. Guess we'll have to see.
Luke: Yep, we'll just have to be patient. Who could say?"