Microsoft gives away a free game download to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Xbox Live.
XBLA members can download Carcassonne between 12:01 a.m. PST on Nov. 15 and 11:59 p.m. PST on Nov. 16. Members who have joined the service back in 2002 will also be given 500 free Microsoft Points. Members in Korea will have to make due with a free copy of Hexic 2.
Happy Anniversary!!!
A Third of all Xbox360 owners do not know about Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA).
According to an exclusive video game industry research column from Frank N. Magid Associates, posted by Gamedaily 30% of Xbox 360 owners report that they have never even heard of XBLA. Considering these buyers of the Xbox 360 are serious, if not hard-core gamers, and all the attention given to XBLA, it is surprising to us that still almost a third of Xbox owners are not familiar with XBLA.
Data from a national online survey of 1800 U.S. households, of which 149 owned an Xbox 360, over 64% of whom indicate they play games online with their Xbox 360. Data also shows that 70% of owners have used Xbox Live Arcade – both to try free games, as well as buy games. However, the larger group (42%) have only tried out free games. While 28% have actually bought a game at XBLA.
Not sure what all the fuzz is about – click here for our choice of XBLA Games and an XBLA Introduction.
This research makes us wonder how many Wii owners don’t know about “Virtual Console“…
Carcassonne for Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a clever tile-laying game based on the very successful board game by Klaus-Juergen Wrede, published in 2000 by “Hans im Glueck” in German and “Rio Grande” in English. The board game won multiple awards including German “Game of the Year”. This prestigious award was created in 1978 to reward excellence in game design, and to promote top-quality games.
Carcassonne got its name from the southern French city of Carcassonne. The city is famous for it’s unique Roman and Medieval fortifications.
The game let’s players develop land and deploy their followers on roads as thieves, in cities as knights, in cloisters as monks and in the field as farmers. Players score points when cities, roads and cloisters are complete. The skill of the players to develop the area will determine who wins.
Let’s face it, Forza Motorsport 2 is probably not going to be your child’s favorite racing game. Why? According to my son (8), the latest Forza game is 1) too Difficult, 2) too Complex, 3) the Tracks are boring. From his perspective - I must agree. However I DO recommend Forza Motorsports to all dads and teens out there. More on Forza 2 soon.
If you are looking for a fun racer for the young ones or if you simply need a break from looking at real time Telemetry Data while racing the Nürburgring Nordschleife for the 20th time, go check out MadTracks on Xbox Live Arcade. This “Toy-Car” racer is set in everyday environments such as toy stores, mini golf parks, and restaurants. The Game is surprisingly fun and the Demo is free. And as so often before, the free demo may be all your kids need for an hour of fun.
Does MadTracks ring any bells? Yes, the game was released in 2006 for the PC. Click here for the PC demo.
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60% of all Americans ages six and older identified computer and video games as the most fun entertainment activity. That’s more than television (18%) and movies (11%) combined!
Which means - Someone has to create all this fun.
Unlike several years ago, your kids can now go to college and get a degree in one of the many aspects of game design and development. Does it pay the rent? You bet. Click here for the latest Game Industry Salary Survey. If you have your kids attention by now go to the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) website for a breakdown of the different jobs in the game industry. “World of Warcraft” (WoW) maker Blizzard put together a short guide too.
Now, all we need is a good success story to round things up…
How about Microsoft, who will offer a game called “Aegis Wing” made by three interns for the Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA), a service that sells downloadable games for the Xbox 360 console. The service specializes in so-called “casual” games that are easy to download and play. The three students decided on a space-shooter game, where players working together can combine their ships to fight alien villains. The interns worked closely with Carbonated Games, an internal studio that develops casual games for a number of Microsoft platforms. The interns are now official employees and the game will be available as a free download to all Xbox Live Gold and Silver members starting today (05.16.07).
