I wanted to let you know that on April 15, 2010 Microsoft will discontinue Xbox LIVE service for original Xbox consoles and games, including Xbox 1 games playable on Xbox 360. Our first step in this process will be to turn off auto-renewals for those members who only use Xbox LIVE on a v1 Xbox. While I can’t comment on the specifics, this change will allow us to continue evolving the LIVE service with new features and experiences that fully harness the power of Xbox 360 and the Xbox LIVE community. We did not make this decision lightly, but after careful consideration and review we realize that this decision will allow us unprecedented flexibility for future features.
Reminder of the post by Major Nelson
Personally, I'm going to hit up some Xbox 1 games on the 14th....
Get all that DLC while you can! Remember, you'll still be able to play Xbox 1 consoles and games, just not over live
[Submitted by Pinkeye69]

Somebody at Microsoft appears to have flicked a switch a little early, with an advertisement appearing on the Xbox 360 dashboard tonight for Gears of War 3.

There's the trademark Gears of War logo, and a tagline that reads "The epic story concludes April 2011".
Source and Story : Kotaku
[Submitted by Pinkeye69]

Despite rumours of Call of Duty developers being "held hostage" over withheld bonus payments, it nevertheless looks like more of those involved with the series have begun to leave Infinity Ward following the sacking of the studio's founders.

As revealed by the pair's Linkedin profiles (pictured below), Todd Alderman, a Lead Designer and one of the key personnel involved in Modern Warfare's multiplayer (not to mention Modern Warfare 2's story), left the company last week, as did Francesco Gigliotti, Infinity Ward's lead software engineer. Both were long-serving members of the studio, Alderman having been with Infinity Ward for eight years, Gigliotti for seven.
Source and full story Kotaku

This all sounds vaguely familiar....
[Submitted by Pinkeye69]

Here is a list of upcoming content scheduled for the Xbox LIVE Marketplace* Please see the blog post I’ll make for each of these for regional availability.

Xbox LIVE Deal of the Week:
April 12: Left 4 Dead Crash Course, 320 Points
April 12: The Maw, 400 Points (Japan only)
April 19: Borderlands Zombie Island, 400 Points

Xbox LIVE Games on Demand:
April 13: Tomb Raider: Legend (North America)
April 13: Devil May Cry 4 (Europe, Australia and New Zealand)
April 20: Halo 3 (All Xbox LIVE Regions)
April 20: Saints Row (Europe)

Xbox LIVE Arcade:
April 14: Final Fight: Double Impact, 800 Points

Xbox Avatar Marketplace:
These are just a few of the collections scheduled for the Xbox LIVE Avatar Marketplace.
April 13: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction
April 15: Forza Motorsport 3

Also, the following Xbox 360 Game Add-Ons are scheduled to be available:
April 7 Mega Man 10 Bass and Mega Man 10 Special Stage 1 Game Add-ons, 80 points each
April 13: Forza Motorsport® 3 Road & Track Car Pack, 400 Points

Source: MajorNelson
[Submitted by Pinkeye69]

Popping onto Xbox Live spokesman Larry Hryb's podcast to promote Modern Warfare 2's upcoming "Stimulus Package" map pack (which is launching first on Microsoft's console), Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling revealed that the five maps - two of which are old maps being re-released for this game - will cost 1200 Microsoft Points.
Source: Kotaku
Now weigh this againt Battlefield Bad Company 2 who by the same relesae date of 30th March will have released 2 map packs for free. Oh and as far as we know the MW2 DLC doesn't add extra Spec Ops :(
[Submitted by Pinkeye69]

While most of you slept, drama struck Infinity Ward, the creators of the Call of Duty series, with allegations of "insubordination" from publishers Activision and the rumoured departure of the studio's two top men. This post will be updated throughout the day.

The news first hit yesterday afternoon, when G4 reported that IW heads Vince Zampella and Jason West had met with Activision, after which neither were seen from again by staffers and "a bunch of bouncer-types" showed up outside Infinity Ward's offices.

The situation between the developer and publisher had been described as "tense" for some time.

Things got interesting a few hours later, when updates to Jason West's Linkedin page revealed that he had ceased employment at the developer.

And then got really interesting when an SEC filing from earlier in the day revealed that Activision had launched an investigation into some allegedly iffy conduct at Infinity Ward, including "insubordination" and "breaches of contract" that affected "two senior employees" at the studio.

Full Article here @ Kotaku
[Submitted by Pinkeye69]

UPDATE from Activision via a press release
It does seems like Activision are making a COD-specific business unit, much like Microsoft has 343 to handle Halo. Makes sense. In the last 2-3 years since Modern Warfare the COD userbase has exceeded the Halo userbase on xbox live usage.

Now available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 800 Microsoft points, the “VIP Membership Car Pack” gives you exclusive access and visibility in the “Forza Motorsport” community. Besides the occasional bonus cars (gifts arrive in your FM3 in-game inbox) VIP members receive from Turn 10, you’ll gain special recognition on scoreboards, in multiplayer lobbies, on ForzaMotorsport.net, in the “Forza Motorsport 3” Storefront, and it places your VIP auctions at the top of the “Forza Motorsport 3” Auction House. VIP membership also includes these five must-have exclusive VIP Cars:

•2008 Aston Martin DBS
•2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
•2007 Ferrari F430 Scuderia
•2007 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera
•2007 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997)
(IMPORTANT NOTE: VIP Membership is also available for FREE with an Xbox LIVE token included in new Limited Collector’s Edition copies of “Forza Motorsport 3.”)

For every purchase of the “VIP Membership Car Pack” during the month of March, Turn 10 pledges to donate $10 to Save the Children up to $100,000.

More details here @ Forzamotorsport.net

So does this dilute the limited edition copies of forza? well Turn10 never said VIP membership waws exclusive to the limited edition, and LE owners still have the 5 LE edition cars, keyring, and USB stick. And according to Turn 10 the LE editions only count for a very small percentage of forza owners
[Submitted by Pinkeye69]

Earlier this month at the X10 Media event, we announced the upcoming Xbox LIVE Arcade Block Party* promotion. Today we’re announcing additional promotion details and the release schedule1

March 3rd: Toy Soldiers -1200 points
March 10: Scrap Metal – 1200 points
March 17: Perfect Dark – 800 points
March 24: Game Room – Free to download. Individual games will cost 240 to 400 points

Plus: When you purchase all three Block Party titles and download the free Game Room app you’ll receive 400 Microsoft Points back to your account**! And if you’re an Xbox LIVE Gold Members you’ll also get an extra month of Gold absolutely free**!

Full details plus T&C here @ MajorNelson.com
[Submitted by Pinkeye69]

The children's charity started by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik of Penny Arcade fame, Child's Play, has broken the $1m barrier.

The incredibly generous fans of the top geek-culture site have gone all out buying gifts and donating money to various children's hospitals around the world.

This news surely cements the guys at PA as being the true ambassadors for the 'good' side of gaming.

Child's Play

Studio head, Mark Betteridge, has told the industry games magazine Games TM that if the popular Nintendo/Arcade classic beat-em-up were to return then they would have to bring something new to the genre. The article goes on to suggest that the studio has been investigating Natal beat-em-up mechanics.

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