Today, we’re introducing a comprehensive destination for all Latino-oriented content on Xbox LIVE called “Zona Latina,” as well as the new app, Slacker.
Zona Latina (United States)
The first experience on Xbox LIVE to allow you to access rich TV, movie, music, news and sports from various partners in a designated and easy-to-use Hispanic media hub available across the Xbox LIVE dashboard.
Features culturally relevant content for Latinos from entertainment providers* such as Telemundo, Univision HBO GO, Hulu Plus, NBC Latino, and VEVO.
Slacker (United States, Canada)
Explore millions of songs and hundreds of expert-programmed stations for free to Xbox LIVE subscribers.*
Discover the latest music news, artist interviews and recommendations from Slacker’s team of music curators.
Enjoy a personalized music experience with controls to adjust your radio with newer, older or more popular songs.
*Additional subscriptions/fees may be required or sold separately. Kinect functionality available with select Xbox LIVE content and varies by feature and country. For additional details and availability, see http://www.xbox.com/live.
I wanted to let you know that starting February 26, 2013 and running through March 4, 2013, over 60 Xbox 360 Games on Demand titles will be on sale up to 75% off with some as much as 85% off for the “Xbox Ultimate Game Sale”*
Each day, a different set of titles will be on sale, so be sure to follow me on Twitter where I’ll announce what that day’s special offer. The Ultimate Game Sale only occurs once a year so you won’t want to miss it
Assassins Creed Assassins Creed 2 Batman Arkham Asylum Batman Arkham city Bioshock Borderlands Borderlands 2 Brotherhood (Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood) Call of Juarez Call of Duty 2 Call of Duty 3 Call of Duty: Black Ops Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Code Veronica Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements Dead Island Dirt 2 Dishonored El Shaddai Ascension of the Metatron Fable III Fallout 3 Fallout 3 New Vegas GRID Halo 3 Halo 4 Halo Reach Halo Wars Kane & Lynch Dead Men Left for Dead 2 Max Payne 3 Metal Gear Solid HD Metal Gear Solid Peacewalker Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat vs. DCU Orange Box Portal 2 Raccoon City Rainbow Six Vegas Rayman Raving Rabbids Resident Evil 4 Resident Evil 5 Resident Evil 6 Red Dead Redemption Revelations (Assassin’s Creed Revelations) Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution Street Fighter IV Street Fighter X Tekken Super Streetfighter IV Arcade Edition TC’s H.A.W.X. Tekken 6 Tekken Tag Tournament 2 The Darkness The King of Fighters XIII Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 Tomb Raider Legend Virtua Fighter 5 World at War (Call of Duty: World at War)
*Content availability and pricing may vary by region
Again, follow me on twitter so you don’t miss any of the deals.
The 320GB Media Hard Drive will now come with a few new games*. It will include two full downloadable Xbox 360 games: Need for Speed Hot Pursuit and Ms. Splosion Man, plusPinball FX2 (with Sorcerer’s Lair).
The Hard Drive will be available in March at USD$129.99 ERP
Note: If you do not have an e-mail address or Twitter name associated with your Disqus login, you must include your Twitter information in your comment to be eligible. Any winner who does not respond to my notification within 72 hours will forfeit the prize. For faster notification, follow me on Twitter where I can DM you if you won.
Contest is now closed. I have notified a couple of people and will post their names once I hear back from them.
Today, we’re pleased to share the announcement that LeBron James’ breakout animated series, “The LeBrons” is back for season two and will be available this spring exclusively on Microsoft consumer networks, including Xbox LIVE and MSN. “The LeBrons” is a family entertainment show designed to provide positive life messages to today’s young adults and is co-executive produced by LeBron James, Maverick Carter and Believe Entertainment Group. The hit show received over 50 million episode views across the web during its inaugural season in 2011 and all Xbox LIVE subscribers in the U.S. will soon be able to watch the second season right from their Xbox 360. Season two jumps off the screen using computer-generated animation to create a more realistic three-dimensional world.
Don’t forget that you can also watch live NBA games, catch replays, follow your favorite teams and players and check out daily highlights from around the league on your Xbox with the NBA Game Time* app.
We’ll share more details as we get closer to launch of “The LeBrons” season two and as more great entertainment comes to Xbox.
*Xbox LIVE Gold subscription and/or additional subscriptions/fees may be required and sold separately. Kinect functionality available with select Xbox LIVE content and varies by feature and country. For additional details and availability, see www.xbox.com.
Two new entertainment apps are now available on Xbox. More details below and be sure to check them out by downloading from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace.
Telemundo* (United States) Watch clips of your favorite Telemundo novelas and shows, including “Caso Cerrago,” “12 Corazones,” “La Patrona,” “Pasión Prohibida,” “Fandango Cine” and “Crossover One on One.” Plus, enjoy Telemundo in a whole new way with Kinect.*
Neon Alley* (United States, Canada) Watch some of the most popular, uncut and English dubbed Anime 24/7 with Neon Alley on Xbox 360. Exclusive premieres of new titles hitting North America are featured in addition to news and information on the world of Anime. Check it out with a one-week free trial from Neon Alley.* Neon Alley is also available to subscribers in Canada.
We’re also excited to announce that Crunchyroll is expanding to new regions today, including Saudi Arabia, Slovakia and the United Arab Emirates.
*Xbox LIVE Gold subscription and/or additional subscriptions/fees may be required and sold separately. Kinect functionality available with select Xbox LIVE content and varies by feature and country. For additional details and availability, see http://www.xbox.com/live.
If you are in the Northeastern part of North America, you’ve got quite a weekend in store. Winter Storm Nemo is your unscheduled guest this weekend and she (he?) may leave quite the mess upon departure. Be sure to read up on how to deal with a Blizzard. Assuming you’ve taken the proper precautions to keep your family pets and home safe as the storm blows through (and your power remains on!) I wanted to suggest a few things to do on Xbox LIVE this weekend.
Finally finish that game that has been sitting in your console for a few weeks (months?)
Rent a movie or watch a TV show on the Xbox Video Marketplace (Skyfall is on my list to watch this weekend)
Need more to do? We have a full list of video partner apps like Amazon Instant Video, CinemaNow, HBO GO, EPSN and many many more.
Games Games Games. THOUSANDS of Xbox LIVE Arcade games and Indy Games are available for download…and every single one comes with a demo so you can try before you buy. All without heading out into the Snow.
Today marks the start to the second annual Gamer Safety Week. This year, Xbox and our partners in the Gamer Safety Alliance hope you’ll take some time to focus on “account safety and security in the online world.” You spend years building your online reputation. If someone you don’t know or trust gains access to your account, they can wipe out that reputation in no time at all. Don’t wait. Take a few minutes now to help ensure your accounts are protected.
If you haven’t already, start by adding security proofs like phone numbers, alternate email addresses, and security questions and answers to your accounts. If one of your accounts is vulnerable, your entire online identity may be at risk, so it’s important to add proofs to all your online accounts where available. Be sure to check your security information from time to time to make sure you have access to your proofs should you ever need them.
Taking simple steps like these can help prevent your online experience from turning into a headache if someone tries to hijack your accounts.
So this Gamer Safety Week take a moment and proof up.
It’s a big week for the Xbox community. Check out the latest entertainment news below.
Netflix Unlocked this weekend on Xbox Access to the Netflix app is unlocked this weekend on Xbox! Watch every episode of the new Netflix original series "House of Cards" premiering Feb. 1. Xbox will unlock the Netflix app, so all LIVE users with a Netflix subscription can watch all weekend long. (All Netflix regions)
Let Xbox join you for The Big Game Super Bowl XLVII is right around the corner and starting today, Xbox will be bringing you exclusive content from some of your favorite entertainment providers. Just in time for the big game, you can access the Hulu AdZone *and watch your favorite commercials from this year’s Super Bowl, as well as commercials from as far back as 2008.. Also, be sure to check out videos and clips from Maxim including daily favorites like “Lingerie Football” and “Tailgating Maxim Style” as well as special programming from partners like Crunchyroll, EPIX, iHeartRadio and DailyMotion. To access all of our Super Bowl content, just locate the “Ready to Rumble” tile on the home screen of the Xbox dash. This will take you to the Sports Hub where you’ll find a tile called “The Last Game Is Also The Biggest.” (US only)
*Xbox LIVE Gold subscription and/or additional subscriptions/fees may be required and sold separately. Kinect functionality available with select Xbox LIVE content and varies by feature and country. For additional details and availability, see http://www.xbox.com/live.
Content: Crysis 3 Multiplayer Open Beta Price: Free Availability: Check availability in your Xbox LIVE region Dash Text: The Crysis 3 Open Beta lets you experience hands-on Crysis 3′s unique sandbox Multiplayer action before the game’s official release in February 2013. Set in the 7 Wonders of New York’s Liberty Dome play both Crash Site and the brand new Hunter game modes on two unique maps, Museum and Airport.
Today, NHL GameCenter will launch on Xbox LIVE* around the globe, giving Gold subscribers access to their favorite NHL hockey action right from their Xbox and just in time for the 2013 season to take center ice.
NHL GameCenter for Xbox 360 brings you live games, replays, classic games, and videos from NHL VideoCenter, plus controller-free entertainment with the power of Kinect for Xbox 360.
NHL GameCenter on Xbox LIVE offers the following features:
Follow the Action from the 2013 NHL Season – Get real-time game scores, player stats and team standings. All Xbox LIVE Gold Members can also follow the action on and off the ice from the NHL VideoCenterTM. Watch the best goals, saves and hits from around the league this season.
Live Games and Replays with NHL Game Center LIVE – With your NHL GameCenter LIVE™ subscription ($49.99 USD for the 2012-13 season), watch live, out-of-market games from the NHL regular season. Miss a game? Watch full-length archived games or condensed replays from this season and last.
Every game with an HD-Quality Picture – NHL GameCenter delivers every game in a beautiful, HD-quality picture, and each broadcast gives every fan the option of the Home or Away audio feed. With NHL GameCenter on Xbox 360, you will feel like your team is the home team.
Keep Up With Your Favorite Teams – NHL GameCenter on Xbox 360 lets you personalize the experience to get to the information you care about most. Select up to five teams to follow so you can be sure not to miss a beat on your favorite teams and players. Get the scores, player stats, schedule and live games, right at your fingertips.
Season Central – A quick calendar view of the league schedule or just your favorite teams is a click away. Season Central is the best way to find out what games are on today, this week, or next month.
Mini Guide – The Mini Guide gives you a quick preview of all of today’s action right at the bottom of your screen, and makes it easier than ever to switch between games.
Split Screen – Keep an eye on the rest of the league while cheering on your home team! With Split Screen, you can watch two games at once and do just that. Watch live games on both screens or a live game on one while you catch up with a game recap on the other. You can control both screens independently, pausing and rewinding each separately so you never miss a second of the action.
Classic Games from NHL Vault™ –Relive your favorite moments in NHL history with on-demand access to over 800 classic games from NHL Vault™. Watch some of the best Original Six battles from the 1960s or re-watch the best games from the Stanley Cup® Playoffs through the years. You now have the best way to watch these games on your big screen with Xbox 360.
Voice and Gesture Control with Kinect for Xbox 360 – Focus on the puck instead of looking for the remote. Navigate through Season Central, or play, pause, and rewind that behind-the-back goal, all with the power of Kinect for Xbox 360.
*Xbox LIVE Gold membership required. Subscription for NHL GameCenter LIVE is required for access to live games, replays and other content. . The NHL app will not be available on Xbox within the Nordic markets (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) due to an existing agreement in place between NHL and Scandinavian broadcaster, Modern Times Group (MTG). NHL games can be viewed instead via the Viaplay app, which launched on Xbox in December 2012.The Viaplay app is available immediately for download via Xbox LIVE and for further information, please visit http://viaplay.se/devices/xbox360.
I am happy to share the news that we can now offer Xbox LIVE Account Region Migration. If you have moved to a different Xbox LIVE region, you can now move your account and take your gamerscore, unlocked achievements, any Microsoft Points already in your account and any remaining time on your Gold membership.
If you missed the sign up for early access to the Dead Space 3 demo on Xbox LIVE, you are in luck.
I have 10 codes to giveaway. How do you win?
Post in the comments below who you think is pictured above dressed as Dead Space engineer Isaac Clarke(Hint: if you listen to my podcast, you are on the right track)
Deadline to enter: TODAY (Tuesday January 15th) at 9p ET /6p PT / 0200 UTC
10 randomly selected winners will be notified by e-mail or Twitter. One entry per person. Read this if you have questions about the Disqus commenting system. Contest is open to anyone who lives in an Xbox region
Note: If you do not have an e-mail address or Twitter name associated with your Disqus login, you must include your Twitter information in your comment to be eligible. Any winner who does not respond to my notification within 72 hours will forfeit the prize. For faster notification, follow me on Twitter where I can DM you if you won.
Contest is over and the winners have been notified. Here are the winners twitter names:
Today we are announcing the Xbox 360 TOMB RAIDER Limited Edition Wireless Controller. I did a quick video (above) that shows a few of the features and laser etched details. I also posted more photos on my Flickr page as well. The controller will be priced at US $59.99 (MSRP, check your local retailer for pricing) and be available world-wide when the game launches in March. Here is the official press release:
Experience Lara Croft’s First Adventure with the Xbox 360 TOMB RAIDER™ Limited Edition Wireless Controller
At the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today, Microsoft, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix unveiled the Xbox 360 TOMB RAIDER™ Limited Edition Wireless Controller – the perfect commemorative companion marking Lara Croft’s return to the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.
Developed in collaboration with artists at Crystal Dynamics, the design of the controller features a two-layer color finish with laser etching to create a realistic and tactile worn appearance inspired by Lara’s iconic climbing axe and the tourniquets that result from the adventure in her intense origin story, as told in this latest title. The controller also features a customizable D-pad that switches from a “plus” design to a “disc” pattern for better control, and a wireless range of up to 30-feet that allows for more freedom in your home environment as you explore and play the game.
In addition, those who purchase the Xbox 360 TOMB RAIDER Limited Edition Wireless Controller will receive a download token for an Xbox 360 exclusive playable TOMB RAIDER character. The controller will be available timed to the launch of the game worldwide and is priced at $59.99 (U.S. ERP).
About TOMB RAIDER
Available beginning March 5, 2013, built from the ground up for the Xbox 360 and featuring add-on content which will be available first on the platform, TOMB RAIDER explores the intense and gritty origin story of Lara Croft and her ascent from a frightened young woman to a hardened survivor. Armed only with raw instincts and the ability to push beyond the limits of human endurance, Lara must fight to unravel the dark history of a forgotten island to escape its relentless hold. In the all-new TOMB RAIDER a survivor is born.
# # #
PLUS: I’ve got five of this beauties to give away. How do you win? Simple:
In the comments below, post what your favorite ‘Tomb Raider’ video game is and why.
I’ll then randomly choose FIVE people to win an Xbox 360 Tomb Raider LE Controller.
Note: If you do not have an e-mail address or Twitter name associated with your Disqus login, you must include your Twitter information in your comment to be eligible. Any winner who does not respond to my notification within 72 hours will forfeit the prize. For faster notification, follow me on Twitter where I can DM you if you won.
We’ve got a lot to look forward to in 2013. Some of the big scheduled to release are: Bioshock Infinite, Dead Space 3, Gears of War: Judgement, Grand Theft Auto V, South Park Stick of Truth, Splinter Cell Blacklist and Tomb Raider just to name a few.
What game are you looking forward in 2013? (it does not have to be one of those mentioned above)
Drop by the comments below and then I’ll randomly choose one person to win a free 12-month Xbox LIVE Gold membership.
The rules: Deadline to enter is 12:01 a.m. Pacific on January 7, 2013. One randomly selected winner will be notified by e-mail or Twitter. One entry per person. Read this if you have questions about the Disqus commenting system. Contest is open to anyone who lives in an Xbox region
Note: If you do not have an e-mail address or Twitter name associated with your Disqus login, you must include your Twitter information in your comment to be eligible. Any winner who does not respond to my notification within 72 hours will forfeit the prize. For faster notification, follow me on Twitter where I can DM you if you won.
Update: Contest is now over. Congratulations to the winner: “Juanito Shanchez”
I wanted to update everyone that the Xbox LIVE Cloud Saved Games feature is back online. The Xbox Operations team has been working around the clock to get the issues resolved. I also wanted to pass along the below note from Alex Garden and let you know what we’re doing for those that were affected by the issue.
We want to thank all of our Xbox LIVE members impacted by the Cloud Saved Games service issue for your patience and understanding. It took longer than we expected to get back to full performance as we needed to ensure the integrity of everyone’s game saves. Whether you couldn’t access your game saves for a couple of hours or a couple of days, we sincerely apologize for the delay and inconvenience. We will be automatically applying a one-month extension to the Xbox LIVE Gold memberships of everyone who was impacted. We can assure you we’ll also be doing a thorough post mortem to help prevent this from happening again.
As always, I welcome your feedback. Game on!
Alex Garden Email: Alex dot Garden at Microsoft dot com General Manager, Xbox LIVE
BTW: You don’t need to call support for your free month. We know exactly who was affected and we’ll handle all of this on our end.
Update: I wanted to share an update for members affected by the Xbox LIVE Cloud Saved Games service issue at the end of the year and thank you for your patience as we’ve worked through the logistics of applying a free month of Xbox LIVE Gold to eligible accounts. As mentioned previously, we know who was impacted and have started applying the free one-month extension. This only includes member accounts that attempted to access cloud saved games between 12/28/12 and 12/30/12 and received an error message. This is a rollout and we expect to be finished by the end of the month. When we’ve completed this work, we will send a LIVE message to everyone who was impacted. There is no need to contact customer support. Again, we want to thank all of our Xbox LIVE members impacted by this service issue for your patience and understanding
Final Update: Good news all, we’ve completed deployment of the free month of Xbox LIVE Gold for our members affected by the Cloud Saved Games service issue between 12/28/12 and 12/30/12. At this time, any other questions should be directed to a special forum on this topic. As a reminder, don’t call support if you have questions as you’ll be redirected to this forum. Thanks again to everyone for your patience as we worked through the service issue itself and the deployment of the free month. (Posted: 31, January 2013)
The holidays are almost over, but there’s still time to take advantage of the limited time offers available on select Xbox 360 consoles and bundles.
These offers will be available at select major national retailers in the US until Jan. 5 and while supplies last.
Following Jan. 5, standard retail pricing will resume.
National retailers including Best Buy, GameStop, Amazon, Target, Toys ‘R Us and Walmart, will continue to offer Xbox 360 holiday console bundles, which include Xbox 360 hardware, games as well as one free month of Xbox LIVE Gold, Hulu Plus and EPIX. Details include:
4GB Xbox 360 with Kinect and “Kinect Disneyland Adventures” and “Kinect Adventures” and one month of Xbox LIVE Gold for $299.99 USD (ERP)
250GB Xbox 360 with two games: “Skyrim” and “Forza 4 Essentials Edition” and one month of Xbox LIVE Gold for $299.99 USD (ERP)
250GB Xbox 360 with Kinect and “Dance Central 2,” “Kinect Sports,” and “Kinect Adventures” and one month of Xbox LIVE Gold for $399.99 USD (ERP)
The $50-off pricing promotion on select Xbox 360 consoles and bundles are also still available at select major national retailers. The $50-off price promotion applies to:
250GB Xbox 360
4GB Xbox 360 with Kinect
250GB Xbox 360 with Kinect
Xbox 360 Nike+ Kinect Training Bundle
Check with your local retailer for deals through the New Year.
The 320GB Media Hard Drive will now come with a few new games*. It will include two full downloadable Xbox 360 games: Need for Speed Hot Pursuit and Ms. Splosion Man, plus Pinball FX2 (with Sorcerer’s Lair). 
Content: 
