Xbox 360 News Message Board

With all the hubbub lately over SoulCalibur 5's recent release and the impending punches contained within next month's Street Fighter X Tekken, its easy to lose track of more obsure upcoming releases like Phantom Breaker. The 360 exclusive fighter, developed by 5pb of Japan and localized for North American audiences by 7sixty, now has an English website and a new trailer to go with it, as seen above.

7sixty is also giving away two limited edition Phantom Breaker-themed Fusion Sapphire arcade sticks from boutique custom shop eightarc. Considering that only those deeply mired in the intricacies of the fighting game community know of eightarc's existence, this contest at least shows that 7sixty knows how to do its homework, if nothing else. You can enter for your chance to win either on the game's official site, or at its Facebook page.

Pugilists with a penchant for downloads will be delighted to hear that Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition has been added to Xbox Live's Games on Demand list. No longer are you forced to download that ordinary, boring Street Fighter IV -- a Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition download will set you back $29.99.

Now, before you go rushing to download this, we'd be remiss if we didn't point out that you could buy a physical copy of Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition for $19.99, a whole $10 off the price to download.

If Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus and the Zune marketplace haven't been enough to satiate your unquenchable thirst for all things cinematic, perhaps two more apps will help quell the raging torrent in your soul. Crackle, a free service, has a somewhat limited and eccentric selection of movies and television shows to choose from, although they do have a rather impressive selection of classic anime like Ah! My Goddess and Galaxy Express 999.

Best Buy's CinemaNow ecosystem has more new releases to choose from, but its services require cash money. It's unclear whether all of the content on these two services will be available through the respective apps, or if some content will be restricted, like the YouTube and Hulu Plus apps. If our calculations are correct, Xbox Live only needs 2 more movie apps and 4 more internet radio apps before it becomes self aware.

Brand caught our eye all the way back in August of last year, and we've just gotten word that the game is available now on Xbox Live Indie Games, yours for the low price of just 240 Microsoft points ($3). You can see a release trailer above, and all of those swords you see in there are custom-made, because the game allows you to create your own.

We're also told that you can play as your own Xbox Live avatar, and that there's about five hours of nonlinear exploration gameplay across three big areas. Looks good -- if you give it a download, let us know what you think.

If you're a proud owner of an Xbox 360, you've come to the right place. Podcast Unlocked is IGN's best (see: only) 360-centric podcast. If you want more insight into what's going on with Xbox Live, Kinect and other things in the 360 universe, download our show and revel in its magnificence. Or send us angry emails...

The marketing director of Microsoft France has said the 360 still has some life left in its hard drive, and Microsoft won't be unveiling anything new this year. "Xbox 360′s cycle is not at all finished. The proof is that we don't see the logic in cutting the price this year," Cedrick Delmax said in a French-language interview with Le Point, according to Develop. "E3 is still premature. What's certain is that there'll be nothing new in 2012."

This sends the journalism region of our guts tingling, so we contacted Microsoft for clarification. A spokesperson provided the following statement:

"We're always thinking about what is next and how we can push the boundaries of technology, as we did with Kinect. We believe the key to extending the lifespan of a console is not just about the console hardware, but about the games and entertainment experiences being delivered to consumers. We have made no announcements regarding a next generation console and do not comment on rumors or speculation."

Our guts are still roiling, but that could just be the burritos. Rumors are of course rampant about the next Xbox launching in 2013, with the latest report suggesting mass production of its GPU will begin at the end of 2012.

Rising Star Games, UK publisher of Japanese franchises such as Harvest Moon and No More Heroes, is making a foray into US publishing, MCV reports. Rising Star has opened an office in California and plans to release its first title, Cave's Akai Katana, on Xbox 360 in Q2 2012. We've watched with bitter jealousy as Japan and Europe enjoyed some of these releases exclusively, and Cave in particular has been very good at rubbing it in our faces. Party's over, Cave.

Rising Star has also launched an offshoot to handle its downloadable releases, called Rising Star Games Digital. "Rising Star Games Digital has been something we've been working on for a while," company MD Martin Defries said. "We envisage a huge growth in downloadable product over the coming years, and intend to play a big part shaping the future development of our exciting industry."

Microsoft France says the next Xbox will not be coming in 2012. French marketing director Cedrick Delmas says that despite several rumors about the system, it won't be released this year...

After accruing millions of fans and billions of dollars through mainstream blockbusters such as the Call of Duty franchise, Activision is going indie. Dark Reign: Redux is a modern, fan-made remake of the 1997 title, Dark Reign: The Future of War, which was developed by Auran and published by Activision. The revamp is available on XBLIG and was developed by Magnetar (no, that's not a Pokemon) Games to include updated resolution, widescreen, and PC, console and mobile capability.

Dark Reign: Redux is $5 (400 MS Points) on XBLIG now, and buying it supports the indie and mega-huge gaming industry in one blow.

Update: Activision isn't the direct publisher of Dark Reign: Redux, but it did OK the title in a licensing agreement with Magnetar Games, who self-published it.

Guttenberg! Yes, it's the IGN AU Pubcast - the world's leading podcast on all things Police Academy... and gaming, movies, dolphin love... you know the drill by now! This episode, we continue our 'Police Academy Watch' with a live update from the Police Academy stunt show at Warner Bros. Movie Wo...

After accruing millions of fans and billions of dollars through mainstream blockbusters such as the Call of Duty franchise, Activision is going indie. Dark Reign: Redux is a modern, fan-made remake of the 1997 title, Dark Reign: The Future of War, which was developed by Auran and published by Activision. The revamp is available on XBLIG and was developed by Magnetar (no, that's not a Pokemon) Games to include updated resolution, widescreen, and PC, console and mobile capability.

Dark Reign: Redux is $5 (400 MS Points) on XBLIG now, and buying it supports the indie and mega-huge gaming industry in one blow.

Warning: This is only for gamers that have finished the first two Mass Effect games and all the Dragon Age content released to date. Major spoilers ahead! BioWare wants you to choose. Throughout the course of Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, your Commander Shepard has no doubt made some pretty hairy ...

NextBox, Xbox 720, Loopwhatever you want to call it at this point, Microsoft's upcoming unannounced successor to the Xbox 360 received a deluge of attention this week, as new rumors and unconfirmed reports created a firestorm of buzz around the system. Therefore, we've put together all the Xbox 720 reports from the week into one handy package. Read on for the full scoop...

Have you ever bought a used car? Do you frequent those loveliest of places, second-hand bookstores? Will you be wearing, at some point soon, a cherished article of clothing purchased from a sweet lady at a thrift store? If you have engaged in any of these practices, welcome friend, to the bustling reality of trade, an element of society that goes back to the Stone Age...

Looking to save some scratch on an Xbox Live Gold subscription? Look no further than Amazon, which currently has 12 month cards for $36 ($24 off the usual price). These tend to sell out quickly, so act fast if you're in the market for more Live.

Your quest to make your Xbox Live Avatar look exactly like you has just gotten a bit easier, provided you own a bunch of shirts from Threadless (or don't mind buying one). The Avatar Marketplace now features a selection of classic t-shirts and hoodies from the retailer, all based on user-submitted designs.

Shirts sell for 80 MSP, with hoodies for 160 MSP, because they use more ... virtual ... fabric? You can try them all on at the Avatar Marketplace.

If you're a proud owner of an Xbox 360, you've come to the right place. Podcast Unlocked is IGN's best (see: only) 360-centric podcast. If you want more insight into what's going on with Xbox Live, Kinect and other things in the 360 universe, download our show and revel in its magnificence. Or send us angry emails...

Rumor has it the next-generation Xbox may limit exactly what kind of games you're allowed to play. According to sources speaking to Kotaku, the Xbox 360's successor will have some kind of anti-used-game enforcement. There's no explanation of what that means, but speculation surrounding the issue says the console could outright reject used-games altogether...

The next-gen Xbox's GPU will derive from 2011's AMD 6000 series, similar to the Radeon HD 6670, which supports DirectX11, 1080p HD, multi-display output and 3D, IGN reports, citing sources close to the project. Mass production of its GPU will begin at the end of 2012, IGN says, with a full-console launch scheduled in October or November 2013.

With these specs, the next Xbox will have six times the processing power of the Xbox 360 and is expected to support performance 20 times greater than Nintendo's Wii U, which is using the R770, a chip that is competitively stronger than the GPUs of both the Xbox 360 and PS3.

Previously uncovered Microsoft resumes listed gesture and voice input, which suggests some form of Kinect integration will be present in the coming Xbox model.

You want to play Xbox games, but you also want to eat a piping hot microwaved meat turnover. What do you do? If you're us, you have to clean your controller. If you're renowned modder Ben Heckendorn, you go into your workshop and build a Hot Pocket pocket that clips to your Xbox controller.

Heck's device is literally the most impressive Hot Pocket technology we've ever seen, allowing the hungry gamer to slowly slide the sandwich out of the holder as it is eaten. It is also the only Hot Pocket technology we've ever seen.

We must admit, as fans of the Periborg "Shock-C" gaming food delivery tech, we're impressed. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to go attach a pizza cutter to a Wiimote.

Some new job listings on Microsoft's careers website suggests the Xbox 360 creator is expanding its internal work on Kinect projects. A human resources position notes the applicant will work with a "key internal studio" called Platform Next Studios, who are "pioneering experiences on Kinect." Another job post, this one for a level designer, advertises for a new Microsoft Studios endeavor called LEAP. Microsoft hasn't announced either of these teams...

The chipset for a next generation Xbox console has been in production since last month, and will go into full production by the end of the year, according to technology news reports...

Microsoft is staffing up for two new studios within Microsoft Studios: LEAP and Platform Next. The job listing for Platform Next sufficiently explains the purpose of that studio: "pioneering experiences on Kinect." We assume that means innovative uses of the tech, not The Oregon Trail.

LEAP, however, is more nebulous: it's an "incubation team," identified as "the people that developed Kinect and profoundly changed the way people interact with technology." It sounds like some kind of think tank for games -- but one that is making a game right now, as it needs a level designer.

More than ever before games are taking great strides towards adding post-release content to their repertoires, not just perfunctory extras like new songs, added skins, or avatar awards, but also in content passes and new release models...

Microsoft has yet to reveal its full 2012 lineup of original games for Xbox 360. While Halo 4 is scheduled to arrive sometime this year, as is Fable: The Journey, we still don't have a solid map of where the system will head in the coming months outside of a handful of downloadable release dates...

Video games have directors, as do films, and yet the former group is far less likely to be in the spotlight. Think about it. If you surveyed the film-going population on who Avatar was directed by, as well as asking gamers to name Skyrim's director, my guess would be that the results would be emphat...

The Xbox 360 dashboard update left some users seeing gray -- not metaphorically in the "their lives had lost all color and meaning" way, but in a literal sense. Videos on the new dash have appeared washed out and dull for some users, with black reading as gray, and Microsoft had previously ignored the complaint, even when it was brought up in beta testing, Eurogamer reports.

Xbox's Major Nelson tweeted yesterday that he's heard the public outcry -- or maybe he saw Eurogamer's in-depth demonstration of the new dash's short-range RGB levels -- and he says the team is working on a solution. "We're aware of the colorspace issue w/ some Xbox video apps & are working on a fix," Major Nelson wrote. "No ETA yet but we hope to have an update soon."

For now, maybe pretend all the new videos you watch on the Xbox dash are in "sepia" mode.

When humanity falls apart after a deadly virus sweeps the planet, one gruff individual in the Pacific Northwest of America is trying his best to survive. Deadlight's main character, Randall Wayne, is just trying to find some peace and quiet in scenic Vancouver, Canada. What he finds instead, of course, is trouble.

If you're a proud owner of an Xbox 360, you've come to the right place. Podcast Unlocked is IGN's best (see: only) 360-centric podcast. If you want more insight into what's going on with Xbox Live, Kinect and other things in the 360 universe, download our show and revel in its magnificence. Or send us angry emails...

We haven't really heard anything about the Xbox Live Arcade version of Dungeon Fighter Online since it was announced last year. Today we have the first trailer and news that the game has received a new (and much longer) title. Henceforth, it shall be known as Dungeon Fighter Live: Fall of Hendon Myre.

Also of note -- especially after missing the original 2011 launch window -- Nexon has revealed that Dungeon Fighter Live will now be released "later this year."