Joyride will be a FREE video game released on the XBOX Live Arcade by Microsoft.
What’s the catch? Your Avatar customization and micro-transactions inside the game.
While the game will be free, Microsoft is betting on the fact that you’ll want to customize your experience. And I think they’re making a great bet.
After all, when we play a First Person Shooter or especially when we play a Role Playing Game we customize our character in-game. Microsoft has tested this theory by marketing “upgradeable” or “exclusive” in-game items, such as the golden lancer in Gears of War 2.
Gamers want to be unique. Just look at the armor permutations in Halo 3. Would you have paid money for a special weapon? For special armor? For new abilities and equipment?
With Microsoft reporting that they’re expecting to generate $1 Billion, they are already seeing the growth of micro-transactions over their network. Gamers are spending many millions of dollars of maps and downloadable content that months later would be free to download. Gamers want exclusive content.
In Joyride, you’ll be able to play the game for free and you’ll be playing with your Avatar that you’ve got set-up in your New XBOX Experience dashboard. You’ll even be able to share some in-game content with other players for free (e.g., you can send them maps that you’ve gotten).
However, Microsoft is going to sell you upgrades for the game. Besides the obvious upgrades that you can make to your Avatar through the soon-to-be-released Avatar Marketplace, you’ll be able to buy in-game content and features for your presence in the Joyride game. You’ll be able to buy a new car, buy new engines and parts for it in a car marketplace, buy new maps, and unlock new features by paying money.
While it’s uncertain just what exactly you can buy, I wonder if those that can afford the upgrades will have any advantages over those that can’t.
I can’t help but wonder how much money MSBungie would have made it they made, say, the Halo 1 pistol a $10 purchase. Would the majority of hardcore Halo fans have made the purchase?
Major XBOX gaming news was announced by Microsoft today at their E3 briefing.
Project Netal adds new motion tracking accessories more powerful than Wii and allows you to play games without any controllers
A new Halo game, Halo Reach, was announced
Halo 3: ODST gets a release date and more
Left 4 Dead 2 comes out this year (exclusive to PC and 360)
Forza 3 comes out this year
Metal Gear Solid announced for 360
Facebook, Twitter, and Last.fm come to the New Xbox Experience
Full XBOX 360 titles will be downloadable from XBOX Live
Beatles for Rock Band announced
New skateboard peripheral announced for Tony Hawk game
Crackdown 2 announced
Splinter Cell: Conviction announced
Add Netflix titles to your queue via the XBOX
Simultaneous viewing of Netflix movies
Instant 1080p streaming for videos over the Marketplace
Avatar marketplace
Final Fantasy XIII releases spring 2010 for XBOX 360
Halo: Reach
A multiplayer beta of Halo: Reach will be available with the purchase of Halo 3: ODST which releases September 22nd. Halo: Reach will be released sometime in 2010.
There’s no indication what genre this game will be although many believe it to be a prequel.
Halo 3: ODST
Narrative for Halo 3: ODST:
The year is 2552. The Covenant control the city of New Mombasa. They are searching for something beneath its darkened streets. You are an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper. Your orders: Stay alive, meet up with your scattered squad, and escape the embattled city. Stop the Covenant and we just might win this war.
Firefight is a new co-op mode available in ODST. Form a squad and fend off the Covies.
All released Halo 3 DLC maps plus three new Halo 3 maps will ship with ODST: Heretic, Longshore, and Citadel.
Recon armor will be achievable by playing Halo 3 and ODST.
SGT. Johnson will be a unlockable character in ODST if you pre-order.
Left 4 Dead 4
New melee combat options announced. Chainsaw, frying pag, axe, baseball bat, and blunt-force objects can be used. New AI Director 2.0 announced and will direct weather effects, world objects, and pathways provided to players.
To be released November 17th.
Valve has said this game will be larger than the original game with more maps and campaigns.
Crackdown 2
Lego Rock Band 2
Beatles Rock Band
To feature harmonizing vocals.
I Saw Her Standing There
I Wanna Hold Your Hand
I Feel Fine
Day Tripper
Tax Man
I am the Walrus
Back in the USSR
Octopus's Garden
Here Comes the Sun
Get Back
"Abbey Road" will be the first downloadable album.
Forza 3
Screenshot:
Project Natal:
The “Project Natal” sensor is the world’s first to combine an RGB camera, depth sensor, multi-array microphone and custom processor running proprietary software all in one device.
Uses a 3D camera and a plethora of other sensors to detect emotion, the tone of your voice, recognize your face, and monitor you arm, hands, legs, feet, and body movements.
Call a play in a football game, and players will actually respond. Want to log onto Xbox LIVE? Simply step in front of the sensor
Steven Spielberg helped with the project.
Avatar Marketplace
Not only clothes, but new characters can be unlocked and purchased. Finally.
Submitted by rapture on Tue, 12/23/2008 - 12:07pm.
Never forget to bring H1 to a LAN again. The original HALO is just 600 points this week on the XBOX Live Marketplace. That equates to $7.50 dollars and is 50% off the original pricing. Go here to purchase.
...now if they would just add XBOX Live support into the game.
Submitted by Midnight on Sat, 11/22/2008 - 12:41pm.
UPDATE: DEAD. THIS DEAL IS DEAD.
UPDATE: DEAD. THIS DEAL IS DEAD.
A glitch in the Xbox Marketplace allows you to download exclusive game content to your Xbox 360 console for free. Most of this content was previously only accessibly if you had a redeemable code that came with your pre-order from a store like Gamestop or if you purchased a limited edition version of the game.
I did not buy the Limited Edition of Gow2. I do have the gold-plated Lancer. I have confirmed in-game that this download technique works. I've got the gold lancer now.
Follow the links to download game content to your Xbox 360. Due to your region, not all downloads may work:
Today is 7/7. In honor of Bungie Day a free Halo 3 map is being released. It's a remake of Chill Out from Halo 1. Also today, the Legendary Map Park has been reduced to 600 points.
Look for an announcement about a Halo 3 XBL meetup taking place one night soon.
It's out. The new downable content for Halo 3 costs 800 MS points and comes with 3 new maps, a legendary theme, and gamerpic.
The Legendary Map Pack blends old and new. Ghost Town’s asymmetrical mix of confined spaces and long lines of fire makes for frenetic games. Avalanche re-imagines the original Halo classic, Sidewinder, with new features, tweaked vehicles and massive outdoor spaces. Significant changes bring big improvements to the map, yet its contours and cliffs should provide a welcome sense of familiarity. Blackout, on the other hand, is the purest remake to date – all time favorite Lockout gets a graphical overhaul, but retains its challenging mix of ramps, platforms, tunnels and hallways. There are no refunds for this item.
If you're a fan of skateboarding or Tony Hawk, you owe it to yourself to try the Skate demo on Xbox Live marketplace right now. I was surprised how natural the controls felt, and the physics were spot on.
EA also had the balls to implement an amazing web feature. I went into the game, skated a little run, went into the reply editor, changed a few camera angles, video filters, speeds, etc., and was able to upload the final product to their website! You can view the video at the following link.
The video tool is intuitive and easy to use, and getting my vid online was as easy as linking my EA.com profile to my gamertag, then selecting "Upload Vid" from the Skate demo.
