December 10th 2009 3:00 pm PT

Major is there going to be a Theme for Christmas like last year you guys did?

Wow, Shadow Complex for $10. That is a serious deal. Best deal of the week ever?

Finally some great deals, might need to look into a few.

Awesome deal on Shadow Complex. Question Major, What happened to Joyride? It supposed to be out this month/Q4, right?

TodayHaloslayer, I still have that holiday theme from last year. Never deleted it. I just switched to it a couple of days ago from the Borderlands theme that was on the OXM disc a couple of issues ago.

Looks like I may finally spend all these points I’ve been holding

don’t you mean devil may cry 4

Maybe they’ll release joy ride between th 18th and the 31st.

Niiiice.

@Dopefish I still have mine also. It would be really cool to have a new one. I think it has 2008 on it? Or at least update the 2008 to 2009 I don’t care if its the same one. Just a nice change.

Games on Demand would be a lot more useful if we had larger hard drives on which we could store the games…

Maybe I’ll have some Christmas points to spend on Shadow Complex. (or the Trials HD pack) Not like I need anything new to play. Can we just put all new games off for a year so I can catch up? Thanks.

everyone is liking this but its only rating 1 star out of 5???

anyways…..that shadow complex deal is a brilliant price…..but saying all these price reductions now won’t that dent the sales of the games until the dates they are getting reducted?

I am only interested in Alien Breed or the Holiday Deals (potentially). I either own or don’t care about anything else. Still waiting for Serious Sam HD, or more PopCap games like Bookworm. But I appreciate Major posting all this stuff early! I love advanced knowledge!

December 16: Alien Breed Evolution (Episode 1) for 800 Microsoft Points

I’m really looking for that!

How about a deal with Qix++ where you actually get the game you paid for? At the moment, you play the trial, you read the game description and “help” pages where it lists what you’ll get, but once you pay for it, it reveals “HA-HA You gotta pay more for levels 3 and 4″

NOW this is what im TALKING ABOUT!!LOL

any news on when joy ride will be coming to the arcade ?

What about the Games On Demand for PC titles? That’s launching this month, right?

I might buy Shadow Complex for $10, a price it should have always been.

ehr.. Viva Pinata: TIP is STILL downloadable (actually from the preview program)..
it is not between games on demand, but if u go inside games>>>browse>>>viva pinata: TIP, there it is..

well at least in Italy

I want Perfect Dark and Plants vs Zombies.

Ooh. Shadow complex, sounds tempting! Lots of good deals here.

I’m still content with paying $15 for Shadow Complex, everybody else should take advantage of that price while you can. Hopefully we will get some great savings during the daily sales that start on the 18th!

Awesome work on the deals. They’ve been getting better and better.

When are we getting the XBLA version of Earthworm Jim? I thought it was coming in Nov. and cannot find anything about it anywhere. (aside that its coming in Nov.)

@Ziesel86
Earthworm Jim isnt coming to the arcade, Toejam&Earl is, SEGA couldent get the rights to Earthworm Jim, so they switched it.

Cool to see Gears 1 on GoD. I kind of wish I hadn’t traded it in for GoW2, in retrospect…

@xlrking: where did u get your gamerpic?
lol

Interested in the Shadow Complex one.

But are these holiday deals like the deal of the weeks, or specifically towards holiday items?

Oh come on, no XBLA game on Dec 23rd? JOY. RIDE. Do we have to spell it out?!

SHADOW COMPLEX 800 MSP DEAL + TRIALS HD BIG PACK 400 MSP +…+ “HOLIDAY DAILY DEAL”…
It’s fully awezone ! What we can say in more : Thanks ! End ot this year on XBLA will be crazy and I am sure beginning of next one also Maybe Joyride the 30th of December of course !
@+
Sined from http://www.xbla360.fr

this is going to be a very merry christmas! great deals!

@Ziesel86
i’m pretty sure it’s in limbo. if i remember right it’s licensing issues. sega had a poll for which game people would want next on XBLA, earthworm jim was one of the options but was later pulled and no longer offered as an option.

I can’t find a way to give the avatar items as gifts. For some XBLA downloads, I can go to Amazon and pay for a code that I can then send to friends and family. I haven’t found a place to do that for Avatar items. Is there any such thing, now or in the works?

(I wanted to give the “gift” prop to a few family members.)

That’s pretty funny – I suggested MS do precisely this (announce marketplace content a month in advance) earlier this week under the Qix thread!

@FTICRMS : There are 20GB, 60GB, 120GB and 250GB drives. If you are still stuck on the 20GB or 60GB then you need to think about a larger one yourself. The 250GB drives are only officially with the modern warfare 2 console bundle but there are other unofficial routes to getting one.

@Shinji257

Quite frankly as I have the 120GB I do not personally feel upgrading to the 250GB would be a good deal. Now a 320GB or even better 500GB, that would be brilliant.

I really want to be able to just install ALL my games and never worry about the noise of the DVD-ROM drive any more. It would definitely be tempting to buy Games on Demand if I had enough space to not worry about having to delete them if I do not play on them for a while, to make space for games I am currently playing.

If it supported replacing the drive like the PS3 does I would have stuck a 500GB in months ago and probably bought a few Games on Demand by now too, especially as the PS3 also has support for backing up your HDD and recently added the ability to transfer all content from one PS3 to another. Microsoft are lucky the PS3 still is nothing close to have good as Xbox for Live functionality and joypad comfort (for me at least).

“where did u get your gamerpic?”

Place your mouse cursor of the pic and it’ll tell you the name of the game. memories off 6 next relation

Thank you Major Nelson and Xbox Team for creating a Hanukkah item! (Dreidel)
As an Xbox LIVE member, this is the first time I have seen a Jewish item available to purchase on the Xbox Marketplace.
I’d love to see more Hanukkah items (Gamertagpics, Themes, Avatar item, etc.) and for other Jewish holidays.
Thank you so much ^_^
Looking forward to the winter deals!

Lol 240 points for a Dreidel marry Xmas jews! from M$ WHERES THE GIVING SPIRIT M$?!?!

Put Gears of War at £9.99 and that would be perfect!

Im disapointed there are no FREE holiday avatar items or themes … what a joke … come on MS, does your greed know no bounds?

Avatar xmas items.

’tis the season to be greedy!!!

Alien Breed and the Trials DLC arent the only games for a December release, the devs of Puzzlegeddon have just announced it for release on the 16th and also 0 day attack on earth has been announced for a December 23rd release worldwide

Thanks for the responses Xirking and Sho220.

I remember the poll, but I also remember it being said that a different company was releasing it and that was why Sega couldn’t get the license or some such. Anyone else know anything more? Major? :p

Devil May Cry 4 FTW as soon as it comes out!

awesome deals major, keep it up M$. Can’t wait to see the daily deals. I’ll save some of my points for then But shadow complex at 800pts is a killer deal.

Major when will splosion man be 400 points

Well I’d mos’definitely buy Shadow Complex, if I didn’t already have it. It’s a shame you can’t gift these like with Amazon. And, I wish they’d put Pinball FX’s DLC on sale as well; I already have the main game. Would have loved to pick up the 2 playfields that I’m missing.

Very nice of MS to include silver members in the 14 limited time, one-day discounts. Looking forward to see what those deals are.

No mention of JoyRide…

I really am considering stopping giving Microsoft any money. It’s disgusting how they refuse to recognize Christmas. That trend is so 4 years ago, it’s pretty well agreed that Christmas is not an offensive term, and most companies have resumed using it in their advertising. For Microsoft to still have to say “holiday” is quite disgusting.

The “Present Prop” is listed @ 240MSP. Am I misinterpreting the following line of the press release?

“On December 10, get your Avatar in the holiday spirit with specialty items including an ugly holiday sweater and even a free holiday gift for your Avatar to unwrap!”

TrailHD Pack sounds great if this includes the game.

@Henkvdweerdt: what extra stuff are included in the Trail HD big pack?

I’ve been waiting for serious sam hd for ages Thanks for the heads up; at least I now know I have to buy it from steam if I want it before christmas. On the plus side I can’t wait for alien breed!

So will the new games on demand be CHEAPER than the retail MSRP or will they be overpriced?

I think I may get Shadow Complex.
I wish Trials HD was also on offer

Some good deals and new releases here, I will probably get Shadow Complex and definitely Alien Breed. Loved the original on the Commodore Amiga, great to see it “reborn”.

However you do have a massive game library now to exploit – surely more offers are possible and as I said before some “permanent” price drops would be good. Sometimes we don’t have enough money the same week as an offer!

Looking forward to a good gaming Christmas though!

@ HenkvdWeerdt

The Trials HD Big Pack is DLC for the game, you have to buy the game separate (1200 Microsoft Points)

@ MasterBoy90

The Trials HD Big Pack DLC includes 50 levels/tracks

The Trials pack contains 23 tracks, new mini game, new objects and bug fixes (including a leaderboard reset for glitched scores), not 50 tracks

Obligatory comment about Perfect Dark release date.

Good joke… but where is Perfect Dark. Clearly December 23rd was meant to have Perfect Dark but all we get is an expansion for a game now? Oh well, I can’t complain about the deal of the day thing starting the 18th.

Real $$$ for x-mas bling for my avatar that will be used for maybe 2-3 weeks tops… NOW THAT’S THE X-MAS SPIRIT!!! Think I’ll just stick with my free x-mas theme from last year and save my money to buy REAL presents for my kids.

Where are the “Live Activity” results for the last 2 weeks?

I agree with everyone about Perfect Dark, Rare has had more than enough time, they arent even working on a new main series game at this point.
Unless there is another Banjo Kazooie in the process, then i dont wanna hear how they didnt release it on time.

alien breed!!! woohoo!!!

What a joke. Microsoft is getting overly greedy, especially during the holidays. Why not offer a free Santa hat to all Gold Subscribers or at least a new Christmas Premium theme? The new Christmas theme is on Live, but will cost you $3. Problem is, MS knows they can get away with it. What’s a buck for a Santa hat? No biggie, but it’s the principle. As a paying member, I would expect a bone here and there. It’s pathetic, MS.

What a joke. Microsoft is getting overly greedy, especially during the holidays. Why not offer a free Santa hat to all Gold Subscribers or at least a new Christmas Premium theme? The new Christmas theme is on Live, but will cost you $3. Problem is, MS knows they can get away with it. What’s a buck for a Santa hat? No biggie, but it’s the principle. As a paying member, I would expect a bone here and there. It’s pathetic, MS.

I wonder what happened to Serious Sam HD?

Weird, I can’t sign up to the site with Firefox. Anyways, nice deal for Shadow Complex and if Geo Wars 2 is on sale, I’m buying that, too.

Is there going to be a VGA chat on the site like last year? Didn’t know where else to ask.

Any chance of posting an advance schedule of daily deals? Live point cards are difficult to come buy where I live.

This would be great news IF I wasn’t living in Romania where we get the shaft from Microsoft on everything because of the region locking. I realize this is not your fault Major and I am not attacking you but I feel the need to lobby somehow against these ridiculous policies. While our money is good enough to buy Xbox 360 consoles and games, our money is not good when it comes to Xbox Live marketplace content. Just recently I lost 1200 points in a stupid attempt to get Ninja Gaiden Black. I don’t understand the general disrespect Microsoft has for my country, after all we gave you a lot of the programmers that work for you in Redmond. I know some of them so I would say it’s say you are aware of our existence. However you are not willing to admit we exist in Xbox Live as we cannot create an account with Romania as the locale. Since Xbox Live is a big part of the Xbox 360 market hype why not stop selling consoles in Romania until Xbox Live is available in this country? I am not sure what you are afraid of when you region lock your content. Sales? Good business? God forbid some poor guy from a 3rd world country shoudl spend some money in your marketplace(I am not talking about me). Oh, I see, you are trying to protect us, so we don’t spend money foolishly. Now I get it!
Flame if you want, I don’t care; take all your Christmas content I will not be able to access with you. This is where I stand.
Good bye.

Perfect Dark can sit on the back-burner for a while if that means Rare is busy putting the final touches on Killer Instinct HD

Man, thats right, i forgot about Killer Instinct, they did say they wanted to make a new one, but that was back in 2008, and i still see no word of the HD version of the original either, so im really worried about that.

My New years wish is that Games on Demand will have a new era in 2010 and will be priced equally low in every region of the world. Microsoft wake up and what Bill Gates in the beginning did, take a low price of every copy sold and the sale will explode and maybe you will start earning money

Why is the price so ridiculous anyway? Shouldnt a digital copy be almost free to produce compared to a dvd/with cover and manual?

Hey Major, what happened to Joyride the free game for XBox Gold memebers coming this fall / Xmas?

Also when you can you start talking about the new Xbox coming next fall that Steve Ballmer accidently let slip, I hear it’s coming with blu-ray ( I hear the same for the new Wii too ! ). Will the new console ship with DX11 or even DX12, of course the Natal is already a given, not that I’d ever buy it soley for Natal. Do you guy’s honestly believe one day you’ll be able to a fly a real plane or drive a real car by holding your hands in front of camera?

Looking forward to the Halo Reach beta next year though.

Seriously…..

Releasing Mushihimesama Futari on Marketplace with typo’s in the title ((Hutari Black Lavel and titled in Japanese on the European Marketplace too), labeled as an add-on no less when it is a full game and for 1200MSP makes me LOL!

IS THERE NOBODY AT MS THAT CHECKS FOR THESE ERRORS BEFORE POSTING STUFF ON MARKETPLACE???

The entire marketplace needs to be checked for these kinds of errors. It’s bad for your rep guys and gals, get a grip on it!

I paid for the present prop for my avatar and now it’s free just one day later, will I get my points back?

Mushihimesama Futari is the full game after all? I thought it was just a ridiculously expensive expansion for a JP retailgame.

Let’s see if it’s still on there then. I love bullethell shooters and Excelica Triggerheart is getting really old.

And obligatory:

I want MY Serious Sam in HD!

that, and still hoping for an announcement of Radiant Silvergun HD.
.
.
.
a man can dream, no?

….or not. I paid 1200 points for Mushihimesama Futari on the EU marketplace and now I get the message that I can’t play it because of certain restrictions. I immediatly called the support desk and they said they can’t do anything about it, can’t even give me a refund. What…the…hell. So, there is a new item on the EU marketplace, waiting for fans of the original game to pay for it, but there is no way to play it in Europe .
The helpdesk told me to write a letter (yes, classic snail mail) to the US division of Microsoft (and I live in Belgium) in order to TRY to get anything done about it.
Man, I feel ripped off

….or not. I paid 1200 points for Mushihimesama Futari on the EU marketplace and now I get the message that I can’t play it because of certain restrictions. I immediatly called the support desk and they said they can’t do anything about it, can’t even give me a refund. What…the…hell. So, there is a new item on the EU marketplace, waiting for fans of the original game to pay for it, but there is no way to play it in Europe .
The helpdesk told me to write a letter (yes, classic snail mail) to the US division of Microsoft (and I live in Belgium) in order to TRY to get anything done about it.
Man, I feel ripped off

WOW GEARS OF WAR!! Too bad i already have it and have basically got the easy achievements on Viva Pinata

So for those that may have missed it, there is a free Holiday item on the Marketplace. Get the present prop for your avatar complete with good and no so good gifts included in the box!

Link: http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/avatar/offers/011f0001-0000-4000-8000-000058580828/

Regarding the Mushihimesama Futari add-on. I saw it myself last night and considered buying it but was concerned it was an error, and was a Japanese region only game that may require a NTSC-J console as it had all that text in Japanese and was not an Xbox Indie game. That’s a bit suspect if you ask me.

Link from marketplace at the time of this posting: http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/offers/0ccf0002-0000-4000-8000-0000435a07d7

Also, I did notice that the present prop was available for 240 MS Points and also considered buying it, but I bought other holiday items instead.

If you bought either item, I would keep working with Xbox Support if you have an issue. It’s likely your best recourse.

Well, it was an awesome game on the ps2, so I was quite enthousiastic about buying it. Not the smartest thing to, expensive mistake :/. Xbox support tells me clearly they can’t do anything about bought content or refunds. I do believe there IS a “no refund” policy, but downright unusable content on the marketplace is a special case I’d guess

Ah well, I should stop dragging out my problem here

I’ll definitely be picking up Shadow Complex

Lucky 13 X – Mushihimesama Futari (on disc) is region free, which makes a change for Japanese releases. There’s a big thread about it on NeoGAF where people from the US and UK say that they’ve downloaded the Black Label DLC and it works OK. I’ve not tried it myself and I’m not sure why Boe2 is having problems, but if the DLC was available in his region but can’t be played in his region, then MS should refund his points.

Major, it seems that the price of the game Alien Breed is wrong on Xbox.com. You said it would cost 800 MSP but on xbox.com says 1.200 MSP.What is the correct? It’s too expensive for 1.200.

Thanks for the clarification stststststq, I was not aware. Woah, that’s a lot of “st”s.

@ Baroni, I commented about the concern in the Games for Windows – Games on Demand launch blog post, but you can either wait to see if it is clarified later today, or you can go ahead and buy the game if it is worth it to you at that price point after playing the demo. It seems that it isn’t to you at the moment, but either way it’s your choice.

Happy gaming!

Baroni – That price is a mistake. From AceyBongo’s Twitter page: -

“To clarify – Alien Breed Evolution should be 800 MS Points, not 1200 MS Points. It’s being fixed as we speak, apologies for the hassle”

@ Lucky 13 X: I understood, but the page itself is set to 800 MSP. I believe it is an error in the value of the marketplace. But I’m going to buy anyway, rs.

Check this: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/a/alienbreedevoxbla/

@ stststststq: That’s what I thought, now I’ll wait for the right price, rs.

Thanks.

First of all, thanks for posting the bazar schelude… when I saw it I automatically recalled El Cid’s post concerning that matter so the fact you shared it with the users means that actually someone cares about what we thind.

Now the alien breed part. You said 800 microsoft points… well, its out now for 1200 !! and it’s supposed to be a 3 episode part game wich is crazy !! (1200 x 3 = 3600 for an arcade game)

Seriously, I have 900 points and was going to buy this and then get more points for shadow complex’s DOTW but no I know I’ll skip this and save my 900 for shadow complex. Needless to say I won’t buy more microsoft poins any sooner.

Cheers

Alien Breed Evolution is only 800 MS Points, not 1200. The original pricing was a mistake. It’s been corrected already (at least here in the UK).