XBOX

I don’t usually like to talk about specific dates for content, but my sources indicate that it’s ok this time : the long awaited ‘Crackdown’ demo will be available for Xbox Live Gold members next Tuesday (1/23) at 0200 PT. (What time is that in your area.)

More details in the official Crackdown forums

Name: Viva Pinata Trojan Horstachio Video (HD)
Price: Free
Available in: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom
Dash Details: Professor Pester and his henchmen disguise themselves as a female horstachio in order to trap Hudson. Hudson immediately falls in love with the new horstachio, but insists on showing her everything about him and his life. Pester will need to create a love greater than Hudson"s love for himself if he hopes to capture him. (Not Rated)

Name: Call of Duty 3 Valor Map Pack
Price: 800 Points
NOT Available in: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Five all-new Call of Duty 3 multiplayer maps for online, split-screen, and System Link play! Battle it out in abandoned prison camp in Stalag 23. Engage in epic house-to-house fighting in a rural French village in La Bourgade. Navigate the battered warehouses and naval machinery of an oceanfront shipyard in Ironclad. Launch an all-out assault across a battleground choke point in The Crossing. Take cover in the thick trees and overgrowth of a mountaintop listening post in Wildwood.

Edit: It turns out there is an issue w/ the map pack. The developer is aware and we"re all working on it. You can track the progress and updates from the developer here.

The following content is available for Xbox Live Gold members:

Name: Battlestations: Midway - Multiplayer Demo
Price: Free
NOT Available in: Japan
Dash Details: Download and play the Battlestations: Midway multiplayer demo and be one of the first to experience a new style of online warfare. Featuring massive Xbox Live battles with over 100 fully controllable warships, aircraft and submarines, each player can take full command of a fleet of units and fight cooperatively with their team-mates in the greatest sea battles of WWII. Prepare for war on a totally new scale!

Name: Battlestations: Midway Multiplayer Action Trailer (480p/720p)
Price: Free
NOT Available in: Japan
Dash Details: Download this new trailer for Battlestations: Midway for a taste of the multiplayer action. Featuring massive Xbox Live battles with over 100 fully controllable warships, aircraft and submarines, Battlestations: Midway will let you fight the greatest air sea and undersea battles of the Pacific war on a totally new scale.

Name: F.E.A.R. Accolades Trailer (720p)
Price: Free
Available in: Canada and the U.S.
Dash Details: [ESRB: M (MATURE) Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language] Download the F.E.A.R. Trailer.

Now this could be interesting…it was just announced that EA and Bizzare Creations (makers of PGR and Geo Wars) are teaming up to release a brand new Arcade title called ‘Boom Boom Rocket.’ According to the press release this EA’s first-ever downloadable game for a console.

Click here to download the press release in PDF format from EA.com

Edit:Fixed typo

Name: Gears of War Multiplayer Map Pack 1 Theme
Price: Free
Not Available in: Germany
Dash Details: Download it today. This theme is brought to you by Discovery Channel"s "FUTURE WEAPONS" The Next Generation of Firepower www.readyaimfuture.com


Edit: This was available last week….for some reason it popped up on my system again. (scratches head) I am locking this post since we’ve already discussed this content.

Mike Gannotti has instructions posted on his blog for adding the PDF icon to SharePoint 2007 as well as the steps required to install the PDF iFilter and include the File Type in the content index. He even links to the correct places on the Adobe site where you can not only download the [...]

One of the neat new features of a SharePoint document library in SharePoint 2007 is the ability to send a document to another location. This feature is great for a couple of reasons. The first is that most teams have a collaborative area where they create content that will eventually be consumed and available for [...]

So on the odd chance there still exists someone in this world who doesn’t know yet, I figured I would announce it here…Shane and I are getting married. He popped the question last night and I have been grinning like a silly fool ever since.  Actually technically he handed me a little white box and [...]

It’s been a long week and I am definitely feeling the strain of too much time on the road lately along with a seriously hectic schedule around the clock between work and the book.  So needless to say I enjoyed the opportunity to kick back in my hotel room tonight and laugh my butt off [...]

I realize its been a really long time since my last post.  Things have been crazy for Shane and I over the past month.  You can really see that if you look at the fact that even his blog as slowed down.  The fact is we are flat out working away on our book project [...]

Well my Ottawa trip has come to an end.  I was at the GTEC conference where I think I performed more consecutive SharePoint 2007 demos in a 3 day period than has ever been done before.  I even had my first experience of doing a demo while someone translated for me.  Very interesting…  Overall it [...]

I am on the road again this week.  This time I am in Ottawa for the GTEC 2006 conference.  If you are in town for the same, drop by the Microsoft booth and say hi.  I will be there demoing some of the work our team has done related to SharePoint 2007 and the RDP [...]

Back in the day…you know way back before InfoPath 2007…I used InfoPath 2003 (and SharePoint) to address a lot of my needs as a Product Manager and consultant.  I created a custom CRM system for managing our customer opportunities, billing requests, and project initiation processes.  I created custom templates for project costing, team status reporting, [...]

Just a quick post to break the silence.  It has been a difficult and long week.  As Shane has pointed out on his blog, we lost over dog this past week.  An event that has been far more difficult to deal with than I had even imagined it would be.  Given she had been very sick [...]

Wow what a week!  Shane and I have both been selected for MVP awards.  He received the MVP award for WSS and I got selected for SPS.  While its an individual award for each of us, there is something sweet about getting to celebrate it together.  It’s really quite an honor and I am grateful [...]

I have been asked by Intranet Journal to write a series of articles on SharePoint 2007.  Yesterday they started by posting my tutorial on enabling the creation of site collections from the Sites Directory with a brief description of how things have changed over SharePoint Portal Server 2003.  This is an area which I see [...]

I just saw over on Mike Gannotti’s uber fantastic SharePoint based blog that he is hosting a series of lunch and learn sessions on various aspects of everyone’s favoriate application system…Office 2007.  He is also going to be creating on demand versions as well.  Very cool stuff!

Finally a decent hockey game has been released for the Xbox 360 console!  I have always been a fan of the EA Sports NHL series and was pretty rotted when I brought my 360 that there was no version of the 2006 game available.  The Rockstar series just didn’t cut it at all for me.  [...]

Looks like the guys from the Gamerscore blog were having some fun creating videos acting out some of the scenarios from Cranium.  You can see a list on their blog post of the videos they created but my personal fave was this one.  It’s proof that there is just no way to hide that giant [...]

Yesterday Shane posted about an app called Feature Explorer that was created by one of our Developers, Lloyd Cotten to help him work with Features more easily.  The Team Tools Feature Explorer can be downloaded from our website for FREE here.    

Because the process for updating MOSS Beta 2 to the Beta 2TR might appear tricky to some, I have written the following step by step instructions for applying the update to an existing install.   For those looking to print these instructions off, I have created a PDF that you can download here. Since I realize sometimes it is easier to print [...]

The process for updating WSSv3 with the TR is pretty similar to that of MOSS 2007.  The process is described below and can also be downloaded here. Update: You can find the direct links to all TR Downloads on the Microsoft SharePoint Team weblog. Step 1: Confirm Appropriate Version of Windows SharePoint Services Confirm the version of Windows SharePoint Services is [...]

A very good read is available over on the Windows Mobile blog on how feature requests can or sometime cannot evolve into builds of the product.  It’s fascinating to read about the impacts of creating software for such a large user base.  I know we struggle with feature management with the development of our Team Tools line.  [...]

You know you have been slacking off from your normal activities (blogging, gaming, etc…) when even your Xbox starts giving your grief about not playing. 

I missed posting yesterday due to some unfortunate news we received from a trip to the vet with our sick dog.  Didn’t really feel like doing much after that other than coming home, feeling sick and sulking.  As it turns out she has both heart and liver failure (which is even worse than the news [...]

Last week I confessed my admiration of Chris Capossela and I linked to an interview where he details his career path.  This week, Shane pointed me to a podcast he participated in that is hosted on the IW Center site (which looks like a great resource for information too). Shane and I were also discussing last week [...]

Shane posted on this last week but it really is blowing my mind that so many good resources exist already for SharePoint 2007 compared to when we first started working on 2003 (and let’s not even go 2001).  Man those were some hard times.  I remember having to create EVERYTHING from scratch.  From the sales [...]

SharePoint 123! Level 200 August 30th at 3:30PM EST Join us for our next exciting INETA Live! Webcast event on August 30th at 3:30PM EST for the level 200 content from the SharePoint 123 Training Series! SharePoint 1, 2, 3! is a new concept in community-based training being offered to the development community by the development community. SharePoint [...]

I noticed from the Xbox team blog today that there have been a load of new games added to the supported by Xbox 360 list.  This is great news as my gen 1 games list is pretty massive but I haven’t been playing them at all since I got my 360.  In fact my old [...]

I have been running Vista on my personal computer for a couple of weeks now.  I really love the interface and behaviour of the operating system.  It’s fun to play with a new interface and get used to all the hidden gems.  I really love what they have done with the network settings as the [...]

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live. If the Xbox 360 list and the original Xbox list were combined, then Gears of War continues to be the top Xbox Live title.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles (UU’s)
1 Gears of War
2 Tom Clancy"s Rainbow Six® Vegas
3 Call Of Duty 3
4 Lost Planet
5 Madden NFL 07
6 Oblivion
7 Saints Row
8 Ghost Recon 3
9 UNO
10 Call of Duty 2


Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 Heavy Weapon
2 MS.PAC-MAN
3 UNO
4 Geometry Wars Evolved
5 Texas Hold "em
6 Street Fighter II" Hyper Fighting
7 Contra
8 Assault Heroes
9 DOOM
10 Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Madden NFL 07
3 Battlefield 2: MC
4 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
5 Counter-Strike
6 Call of Duty 3
7 Forza Motorsport
8 Ghost Recon 2
9 PGR 2
10 Rainbow Six 3

I guess I missed their first issue, but 360Zine has just published their second issue. This is an ezine that is distributed via a PDF file (31 pages this month) from Gamerzines and more importantly: it’s free and they don"t make you sign up for anything...just download away! (sounds like they understand their audience ;) )
I was impressed with the quality of the writing, content and layout of this publication. It’s worth a download if you’re looking for another way to get some gaming news supplemented with some pretty colour pictures (and other multi-media content) wrapped with snappy British writing. Check out the interactive Fable 2 quiz, it"s a lot of fun!

Note: I did have to download Acrobat 8 to read it. It’s a bummer that my favorite PDF reader, Foxit Reader choked on the file.

This week’s show:
Xbox news
Interview: COD3 Multiplayer producer on the new maps
Name the Game
Gadgets
…and much more!

Get the blogcast
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3) Listen in iTunes? Submit a review
[RSS] Add the Major Nelson Blogcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (MP3).
[MP3] Download the show (MP3)

Format:
0:45:52, 12.8 MB, MP3

Link dump (links to things I mention in this episode):
http://news.com.com/2300-1026_3-6150404-1.html?tag=ne.gall.pg
http://blogs.nypost.com/pgr/
http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/12590/New-Lumines-Live-Downloads-to-Arrive-Next-Wednesday/
http://forums.crackdownoncrime.com/forums/thread/3834.aspx
http://live.xbox.com/en-US/profile/profile.aspx?pp=0&GamerTag=Ozymandias
http://ozymandias.com/archive/2007/01/16/Your-Thoughts-on-the-Future-of-Live_3F00_.aspx
http://www.gamerzines.com/360zine
http://www.gamerzines.com/
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/c/callofduty3xbox360/
http://live.xbox.com/en-US/profile/profile.aspx?pp=0&GamerTag=Axis0f3vil
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/connecttolive/xbox360/homenetworking/equipment.htm
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/
http://www.samsungblackjack.com/ 
http://www.autosock.co.uk/

This week’s show:
Xbox news
Interview: COD3 Multiplayer producer on the new maps
Name the Game
Gadgets
…and much more!

Get the blogcast
[RSS] Add the Major Nelson Blogcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (WMA).
[WMA] Download the show This is an enhanced blogcast. [?]

Format:
0:45:52, 12.9 MB, WMA

Link dump (links to things I mention in this episode):
http://news.com.com/2300-1026_3-6150404-1.html?tag=ne.gall.pg
http://blogs.nypost.com/pgr/
http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/12590/New-Lumines-Live-Downloads-to-Arrive-Next-Wednesday/
http://forums.crackdownoncrime.com/forums/thread/3834.aspx
http://live.xbox.com/en-US/profile/profile.aspx?pp=0&GamerTag=Ozymandias
http://ozymandias.com/archive/2007/01/16/Your-Thoughts-on-the-Future-of-Live_3F00_.aspx
http://www.gamerzines.com/360zine
http://www.gamerzines.com/
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/c/callofduty3xbox360/
http://live.xbox.com/en-US/profile/profile.aspx?pp=0&GamerTag=Axis0f3vil
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/connecttolive/xbox360/homenetworking/equipment.htm
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/
http://www.samsungblackjack.com/ 
http://www.autosock.co.uk/

The following Sonic the Hedgehog content is now available on Marketplace for all Xbox Live members:

Name: Dr. Eggman Picture Pack
Price: 100 Points
Available in: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Download this picture pack

Name: Soleanna Picture Pack
Price: 100 Points
Available in: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Download this picture pack

Name: Memorial Sonic Picture Pack
Price: 100 Points
Available in: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Download this picture pack

Name: Dr. Eggman"s Theme
Price: 120 Points
Available in: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Download this theme

Name: Soleanna"s Theme
Price: 120 Points
Available in: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Download this theme

Name: Memorial Sonic"s Theme
Price: 120 Points
Available in: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Download this theme

The following demo is now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace for Xbox Live Gold* members:

Name: Crackdown Playable Demo
Price: Free
NOT Available in: Germany and Japan
Dash Details: [ESRB: M (MATURE) Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs] It"s time to clean up the streets. It"s time for a Crackdown. Download the Crackdown demo today - featuring both single player and online cooperative play.

More details on the demo from Xbox.com


This content will be available to Silver members in one week.

I am going to be taking a little time away from the blog for a few days as I travel to the ‘Sunshine State’ to visit some family. Don’t worry, I’ll be posting if anything big happens on Marketplace, but (as I mentioned in Sunday’s show) there is no show next week. As usual, feel free to post in the comments if you stumble across something on Marketplace I have not covered. (It may help if you post what Country you are from as well.) I"ll be checking in as I can, but go easy on Litheon please ;)

Name: VS CPU Pack - LUMINES™ LIVE!
Price: 100 Points
NOT Available in: Japan
Dash Details: Promotional price: for a limited time only! Here"s your chance to rage against the machine with 9 new opponents! Challenge the CPU and show that box who"s boss with the VS CPU Pack for LUMINES LIVE! With each stage, you get some stylin"-themed skin and character designs. And if you can walk your talk, a special bonus skin awaits you at the very end of the challenge! VS CPU Pack requires the LUMINES™ LIVE! Standard Edition for play. Pack available for 100 MS Points (Regular Price: 300 MS Points) for a limited time only, starting January 24, 2007- February 21, 2007.

Name: Puzzle/Mission Pack - LUMINES™ LIVE!
Price: 100 Points
NOT Available in: Japan
Dash Details: Promotional price: for a limited time only! LUMINES™ LIVE! is not just about dropping blocks. In Puzzle mode, you have to use just the right blocks to create a certain shape. In the brand new Mission mode, you"ll have to clear all blocks in a tightly limited number of moves. With 90 additional puzzles to solve 40 new missions to clear, you won"t want to miss this Pack! LUMINES™ LIVE! Standard Edition must be downloaded in order to play Puzzle/Mission Pack. Pack available for 100 MS Points (Regular Price: 300 MS Points) for a limited time only, starting January 24, 2007- February 21, 2007.

Name: Heavenly Star Skin - LUMINES™ LIVE!
Price: Free until  Feburary 21, 2007 for Xbox Live Gold Members
NOT Available in: Japan
Dash Details: Promotional price: for a limited time only! Performed by a new group called Genki Rockets and produced by Q Entertainment"s own Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the song"s catchy and uplifting tune combined with equally striking video is sure to have gamers playing their way through the falling blocks. This special skin is available for Gold members, for a limited time only. LUMINES™ LIVE! Standard Edition must be downloaded in order to play "Heavenly Star." Limited Time Offer: Launching on January 24, 2007 and will be FREE to Gold members only until Feb 21, 2007. (Regular Price: 150 MS Points)

Details on all three packs on Xbox.com

Name: Assault Heroes - Picture Pack 2
Price: 80 Points
Available in: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Transform your gamer pic with infamous Assault Heroes big bosses. Download it now!

Name: Assault Heroes - Theme Pack 2
Price: 150 Points
Available in: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Transform your Xbox 360 dashboard with infamous Assault Heroes bosses in this exclusive theme pack collection. Download it now!

The headline says it all.

Until they fix it, you can see that clearly the main image used on Sony’s PSP Connect site to promote the Gran Turismo HD Preview was stolen borrowed from the Xbox 360 title Project Gotham Racing 3. You can find the original PGR3 shot they used over from Bizarre Creations here.

I grabbed a screen shot of the original web page and posted it on Flickr to capture the moment.

This one was too good for me not to stop my vacation for a few minutes to post

Name: Battlestations: Midway ‘Choose Your Role’ Trailer (480p/720p)
Price: Free
NOT Available in: Japan
Dash Details: Download this new trailer for Battlestations: Midway for a taste of the multiplayer action. Featuring massive Xbox Live battles with over 100 fully controllable warships, aircraft and submarines, Battlestations: Midway will let you fight the greatest air sea and undersea battles of the Pacific war on a totally new scale.

I just heard from the Video Marketplace team that we have a bunch of new content posted, including a FREE episode of ‘Skyland.’ Plus, starting today, Lionsgate Studio is now a VM partner:

Here is a list of some of the new content on the Video Marketplace this week:

Skyland (Nicktoons) - Season 1, Episode 1 free until Monday 1/29 at 11:59PM PST
Wild World of Spike
Inconvenient Truth  2007 Academy Award nominated!
Lady in the Water (HD)
Beerfest (HD)
Wickerman (HD)
The Descent (HD)
American Haunting (HD)
See No Evil (HD)
Blair Witch Project (HD)
Requiem for a Dream (HD)
Cecil B. Demented (HD)

And later this week, the following movies will be available:
World Trade Center
Barnyard

Remember, the above content is only available in the U.S. We know you want it in your region (so do we) but we’re not there yet.

Here is a list of some of the new content on the VideoMarketplace* this week. Is anyone else looking forward to the Sarah Silverman program? I know I am…she was pretty funny in ‘The Aristocrats.’

TV
TNA: Impact - Season 1 and 4 episodes from the season 2
 Pros v. Joes - Season 2, episode 1 for FREE now through Monday February 5 at 11:59PM PST
The Sarah Silverman Program - Series premiere FREE starting Friday 2/2 through Monday, 2/5 at 11:59PM PST
ER - Season 1 and 2

Movies
Hunt for Red October - Paramount (SD)

Music
New Epic Artist of the Month on - Good Charlotte
Keep Your Hands Off My Girl" music video (TV-MA rated)
"Keep Your Hands Off My Girl" behind the scenes

*US Only

Name: Emergence Day: Canadian Community Video (HD)
Price: Free
Availability: Gold Members in Canada
Dash Details: Canadian gamers get an exclusive sneak peak at Gears of War.

Name: Fuzion Frenzy 2 Demo
Price: Free
NOT Available in: Japan
Dash Details: Fuzion Frenzy 2 has arrived with even more futuristic arcade action plus new features like custom tournaments and Xbox Live multiplayer. Sample 3 of the more than forty mini-games and get a taste of the ultimate party game exclusive on Xbox 360!

Note: This demo was released last week for Gold members, but I missed it when I was away. The demo is now available for all Xbox Live Members.

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live. If the Xbox 360 list and the original Xbox list were combined, then Gears of War would be the top Xbox Live title.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles (UU’s)
1 Gears of War
2 Tom Clancy"s Rainbow Six Vegas
3 Call Of Duty 3
4 Crackdown Demo
5 Lost Planet
6 Heavy Weapon
7 Battlestations: Midway Demo
8 Madden NFL 07
9 Oblivion
10 Saints Row


Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 Heavy Weapon
2 LUMINES LIVE!
3 UNO
4 MS.PAC-MAN
5 Geometry Wars Evolved
6 Street Fighter II" Hyper Fighting
7 Texas Hold "em
8 Contra
9 Assault Heroes
10 Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Madden NFL 07
3 Battlefield 2: MC
4 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
5 Counter-Strike
6 Call of Duty 3
7 Forza Motorsport
8 Ghost Recon 2
9 PGR 2
10 Rainbow Six 3

I am headed back to Seattle tonight after a few days off. I found out there is a copy of ‘Crackdown’ waiting for me on my desk…so I can’t wait to check that out and see what the online coop is like. How is the demo? From what I can tell from the comments, it’s pretty solid. I am working on some interviews this week show, including one with the Games for Windows guys about gaming in Vista (which is launching this week.)  That’s all for now….time for me to take my place next to one of the dozen or so crying babies lining up to board.

Posted from Gate 11 at Orlando International Airport

Name: Battlestations: Midway Turning Point Trailer (480p/720p)
Price: Free
NOT Available in: Japan
Dash Details: Relive the epic Battle of Midway in this new Battlestations: Midway trailer. Featuring a deep single player campaign, a host of unique challenge missions and a totally unique Xbox Live experience, Battlestaions: Midway presents war on a totally new scale!

Name: Pin-up Girls (batch 3) Theme
Price: 150 Points
NOT Available in: Japan
Dash Details: Add a bit of glamour to your dashboard with these all new Battlestations: Midway pin-up girls.

A list of 10 upcoming Arcade titles has just been released. Starting in February, you can expect new and classic titles "Settlers of Catan", "Worms" and more.

[Read the press release here]

Edit: Removed "February 10th" as the start date...since I misread the release. Chalk it up to my extreme state of post-vacation relaxation.

Name: GRAW2 Gameplay Music Video (480p/720p)
Price: Free
Available in: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: GRAW 2 gameplay video featuring exclusive song "Gimme Danger" written and performed by Frank Black. (English, Not Rated)

Name: Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 Demo
Price: Free
Available for: Gold Members in all Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Following up the 2006 platinum seller Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (GRAW), Ubisoft brings the sequel GRAW2, with more of what fans loved about the original with 12 single player missions, 14 multiplayer maps, and a 6 mission coop campaign. You are the Soldier of the Future 2.0. All systems have been upgraded to give you more power and control on the battlefield. Following the failure of the “coup d’etat” in Mexico City Mexican rebels have gathered their remaining forces along the US border. Lead your team of elite Special Forces for the first time on US soil - straddling the border between Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas. The Ghosts have less than 72 hours to stop a nuclear attack.

This size of this demo is about 625 MB.

They OXM team has just posted part one of their two part Awards Show with a huge list of Xbox stars.  It’s well worth the listen. Look for part two next week.

Name: NBA Street Homecourt Demo
Price: Free
Availability: Gold members in all Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: NBA Street Homecourt Demo. Put your Homecourt on the map February 20th.

Name: Viva Pinata™ The Crush Video (HD)
Price: Free
Availability: Members in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and United Kingdom
Dash Details: Paulie Pretztail and Fergy Fudgehog are the best of pals. But what happens when even the best of friends both innocently ask Ella Elephanilla -- the most forgetful Elephanilla in the world -- to The Dance of Romance?

BIGVIP, who is a regular guest on my weekly show, has just posted over at the Gamerscore blog on achievements and a few of the policies we have in place that game developers need to follow. Give them a read and then swing back here and post your comments… let me us know you think. I emailed BIGVIP and asked him to come (back) on the show this weekend to talk more about this policies, but feel free to send him a message telling him you’d like him on this week to talk about this. If he comes on, I’ll share some of your comments (and questions) with him.

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live. If the Xbox 360 list and the original Xbox list were combined, then Gears of War continues to be the top Xbox Live title.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles (UU’s)
1 Gears of War
2 Crackdown Demo
3 Tom Clancy"s Rainbow Six® Vegas
4 Call Of Duty 3
5 Lost Planet
6 Madden NFL 07
7 Battlestations: Midway Demo
8 Oblivion
9 Heavy Weapon
10 Saints Row


Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 Heavy Weapon
2 Hexic HD
3 UNO
4 LUMINES LIVE!
5 Geometry Wars Evolved
6 Texas Hold "em
7 Street Fighter II" Hyper Fighting
8 Bankshot Billiards 2
9 Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
10 Assault Heroes

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Battlefield 2: MC
3 Madden NFL 07
4 Counter-Strike
5 Call of Duty 3
6 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
7 Forza Motorsport
8 Ghost Recon 2
9 Rainbow Six 3 BA
10 Rainbow Six 3

Movies Top 10
1 The Descent HD
2 Beerfest HD
3 Lady in the Water HD
4 See No Evil HD
5 Scanner Darkly, A
6 World Trade Center
7 Hard Candy HD
8 Superman Returns HD
9 Inconvenient Truth, An
10 Barnyard

TV Series Top 10
1 South Park
2 Skyland
3 Enterprise HD
4 Chappelle"s Show: Uncensored
5 Avatar: The Last Airbender
6 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation HD
7 UFC Fights HD
8 Supernatural
9 Viva La Bam
10 Robot Chicken

If you played Halo 2 between Feb 1st and Feb 3rd on your Xbox 360 then you are qualified to register to win a slot in the H3 Beta…but you you need to register first. If you did not play between these dates, don’t worry you’ll still have a chance when Crackdown hits the streets on February 20th.

[Complete details here]

Good luck!

Edit: Fixed spelling.

Name: Penny Arcade CTS Theme
Price: 150 Points
Availability: Members in all Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Please enjoy our newest Dashboard theme, based on a recent storyline entitled "The Hawk And The Hare."

This week’s show:
Xbox news
Interview: Rich Wickam, Games for Windows
Interview: Andre Vrignaud, Ozymandias.com
Name the Game
Gadgets
…and much more!

Get the blogcast
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3) Listen in iTunes? Submit a review
[RSS] Add the Major Nelson Blogcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (MP3).
[MP3] Download the show (MP3)

Format:
1:34:01, 27.5 MB, MP3

Link dump (links to things I mention in this episode):
http://www.superbowl.com/
http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/firstandten.ars/1
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/index
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/features/harmony/0/0,CRID=2078
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/default.mspx
http://www.showusyourwow.com/?wt_svl=20050a&mg_id=20050b
http://www.rocketplane.com/press/20070108a.html
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/news/2007/0129-xbox360andwindowsvista.htm?WText.camp=TS1-Xbox360WindowsVista&WText.campSrc=Home
http://soapbox.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=79ca32c3-84b0-4c0f-b036-988d177ad119
http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2007/02/01/540575.aspx
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/c/crackdown/default.htm
http://achievements.schrankmonster.de/ 
http://www.oxmpodcast.com/?p=65
http://www.gamesforwindows.com/
http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2007/02/01/540568.aspx
http://www.gamerzines.com/pcgzine
http://live.xbox.com/en-US/profile/profile.aspx?pp=0&GamerTag=Ozymandias
http://ozymandias.com/
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/pcsetup/XPSP2.htm
http://support.microsoft.com/selectindex/?target=rss
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/4345/
http://blogs.technet.com/homeserver/
http://www.majornelson.com/archive/2007/01/25/psp-connect-using-pgr3-screenshot.aspx
http://tailrank.com/track/1152609

This week’s show:
Xbox news
Interview: Rich Wickam, Games for Windows
Interview: Andre Vrignaud, Ozymandias.com
Name the Game
Gadgets
…and much more!

Get the blogcast
[RSS] Add the Major Nelson Blogcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (WMA).
[WMA] Download the show This is an enhanced blogcast. [?]

Format:
1:34:01, 27.5 MB, WMA

Link dump (links to things I mention in this episode):
http://www.superbowl.com/
http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/firstandten.ars/1
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/index
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/features/harmony/0/0,CRID=2078
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/default.mspx
http://www.showusyourwow.com/?wt_svl=20050a&mg_id=20050b
http://www.rocketplane.com/press/20070108a.html
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/news/2007/0129-xbox360andwindowsvista.htm?WText.camp=TS1-Xbox360WindowsVista&WText.campSrc=Home
http://soapbox.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=79ca32c3-84b0-4c0f-b036-988d177ad119
http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2007/02/01/540575.aspx
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/c/crackdown/default.htm
http://achievements.schrankmonster.de/ 
http://www.oxmpodcast.com/?p=65
http://www.gamesforwindows.com/
http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2007/02/01/540568.aspx
http://www.gamerzines.com/pcgzine
http://live.xbox.com/en-US/profile/profile.aspx?pp=0&GamerTag=Ozymandias
http://ozymandias.com/
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/pcsetup/XPSP2.htm
http://support.microsoft.com/selectindex/?target=rss
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/4345/
http://blogs.technet.com/homeserver/
http://www.majornelson.com/archive/2007/01/25/psp-connect-using-pgr3-screenshot.aspx
http://tailrank.com/track/1152609

Last month I made a post, asking you for your thoughts and suggestions on how we can make the Xbox 360 experience better. This month, I’d like to kick off another conversation this time around Marketplace. The Xbox Live Marketplace is an area where the community has had some vibrant and colorful discussions. Last week we posted details on some of the polices around Gamerscore, but I wanted to extend that to Marketplace. As you can imagine, we have some very specific guidelines and policies in place for Marketplace, but I want to open up the floor for discussion and see what the community thinks. I’d like to frame this as what should the ‘Xbox Live Marketplace 10 Commandments’ look like?

Discuss.

Looking to see what’s up at DICE this week? Check out Wired’s coverage here. Good stuff happening, including this session with Phil Harrison and N"Gai Croal from Newsweek. Be sure to check out the awards to see how your favorite games did. (Gears did very well.)

Name: Penny Arcade Picture Pack 3
Price: 200 Points
Availability: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: This picture pack contains nineteen gamerpics, including (but not limited to) L. H. Franzibald, Porkfry, a Cat, I believe there is also a pig. Oh! And also The Lord.

Name: Penny Arcade Picture Pack 4
Price: 200 Points
Availability: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: This picture pack contains twenty gamerpics, including (but not limited to) the Fruit "Friend," a d20, Kevin The Food Court Gangster, and some tough looking special forces guys.

Name: Penny Arcade Picture Pack 5
Price: 200 Points
Availability: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: This picture pack includes (but is not limited to) several fantasy monsters, Santa, the Merch, and four ladies.

Name: Various NCAA March Madness 07 Themes (see below for complete list)
Price: 150 Points
Availability: Canada and U.S. only
Dash Details: how your school pride and spice up your Xbox 360 dashboard with cheerleaders, mascots and more!

Kansas
Michigan State
Ohio State
Wisconsin
Connecticut
Arkansas
Notre Dame
Oregon
Purdue
Rutgers
Washington
Texas

Name: DEF JAM: ICON Demo
Price: Free
Availability: Gold members in all Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: From the team behind the critically acclaimed EA SPORTS™ Fight Night series brings you DEF JAM: ICON, an integration hip hop culture and gaming like never before. With the hottest music seamlessly infused into the world around you, the game’s environments pulsate, crumble, and explode to life with every bone-jarring beat.

Experiencing slow downloads? Make sure your P2P software is turned off, and you have an Xbox Live Compatible router.

Which means you need to do something nice with the SO in your life. Don’t wait until the last minute, so head over to Xbox.com for some Valentine’s Day advice, events and more. Warning: TriXie worked on this page…so it’s really pink. You have been warned.

On my show this past Sunday, I was talking about how I have been playing Crackdown and having a great time with it…but that it has lead to some strange problems in real life. If you have downloaded the free demo, you"ll know what I mean. You see, Crackdown is one of those rare video games that you can"t shake even when you return to the real world. On my show Sunday I was talking about how when I walk around the Microsoft Campus, I am constantly searching for agility orbs (have not found one yet) as well as window sills to grab and buildings to jump over. I am constantly scanning the landscape for objects to pick up and high points to reach. Basically, I am looking for ways to stretch all the new skills I have acquired as I have been progressing through the game.  I am glad to know I am not alone in my Crackdown induced delusions of grandeur; it turns our Stephen over at MTV feels the same way.

Thanks for the link Billservo!

Edit: It looks like other people are having similar issues based on this photo album

Name: Small Arms - Picture Pack 2
Price: 100 Points
Availability: Members in all Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: This package contains gamer pictures for the characters Pector El Pollo, Zoe, Unit 51, and Mr. Truffles, as well as the ‘Roast Chicken’ health item.

Name: Small Arms - Picture Pack 3
Price: 100 Points
Availability: Members in all Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: This package contains gamer pictures for the characters Professor Von Brown, Mousey McNuts, Billy Ray Logg, and ISO-7982, as well as the ‘Sardine Tin’ health item.

Name: Small Arms - Theme Pack 2
Price: 150 Points
Availability: Members in all Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: This theme contains backgrounds of the characters Zoe, Pector El Pollo, Unit 51, and Mr. Truffles.

Name: Small Arms - Theme Pack 3
Price: 150 Points
Availability: Members in all Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: his theme contains backgrounds of the characters Billy Ray Logg, Mousey McNuts, Professor Von Brown, and ISO-7982.

Name: ROOT BEER TAPPER
Price: 400 Points
Availability: Not available in Japan or South Korea
Dash Details: Single Player, HD (High Definition). Serve them up! Take on a bar full of thirsty folks in ROOT BEER TAPPER and see if you can keep their mugs full!

Name: BSG - Gamer Picture Pack #1
Price: 80 Points
Availability: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Show your allegiance to Battlestar Galactica with these iconic images

Name: BSG Themepack #1
Price: 150 Points
Availability: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Customize your dashboard and join the fight with the Battlestar Galactica themepack.

Name: NBA Street Homecourt Demo
Price: Free
Availability: Gold members in all Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: NBA Street Homecourt Demo. Put your Homecourt on the map February 20th.

Experiencing slow downloads? Make sure your P2P software is turned off, and you have an Xbox Live Compatible router.

Edit: Yes, this went live for Gold members last week…and Silver today. Sorry for the confusion.

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live. If the Xbox 360 list and the original Xbox list were combined, then Gears of War continues to be the top Xbox Live title.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles (UU’s)
1 Gears of War
2 Tom Clancy"s Rainbow Six Vegas
3 Crackdown (Demo)
4 GRAW 2 (Demo)
5 Call Of Duty 3
6 Madden NFL 07
7 Lost Planet
8 NBA STREET (Demo)
9 Oblivion
10 GRAW


Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 Root Beer Tapper
2 UNO
3 Heavy Weapon
4 Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
5 LUMINES LIVE!
6 Street Fighter II" Hyper Fighting
7 Contra
8 Texas Hold "em
9 Assault Heroes
10 Geometry Wars Evolved

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Battlefield 2: MC
3 Madden NFL 07
4 Call of Duty 3
5 Counter-Strike
6 Forza Motorsport
7 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
8 Ghost Recon 2
9 Rainbow Six 3 BA
10 PGR 2

Paperboy.

Details @ the GS blog

This week’s show:
Xbox news
Interview: Shane Kim, VP of MGS
Interview: BIG VIP on Achievements
Name the Game
Xbox 101
Gadgets
…and much more!

Get the blogcast
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3) Listen in iTunes? Submit a review
[RSS] Add the Major Nelson Blogcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (MP3).
[MP3] Download the show (MP3)

Format:
1:13:31, 21.5 MB, MP3

Link dump (links to things I mention in this episode):
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/news/2007/0205-xboxrewards.htm?WText.camp=TS1-XboxRewards&WText.campSrc=Home
http://www.majornelson.com/archive/2007/02/07/my-crackdown-reality-crisis.aspx
http://www.majornelson.com/archive/2007/02/06/marketplace-10-commandments.aspx
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/d/defjamicon/default.htm
http://www.xbox.com/ja-JP/games/a/aquazone/
http://www.penny-arcade.com/2007/02/09#1171012920
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/kim/default.mspx
http://live.xbox.com/en-US/profile/profile.aspx?pp=0&GamerTag=BIGVIP
http://flickr.com/photos/majornelson/
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/p/pimpmyride/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/09/windows-mobile-6-professional-in-pictures/
http://blogs.msdn.com/kamvedbrat/
http://shellrevealed.com/blogs/shellblog/archive/2006/10/16/Do-things-faster-with-Keyboard-Shortcuts.aspx
http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2007/20070210.jpg

This week’s show:
Xbox news
Interview: Shane Kim, VP of MGS
Interview: BIG VIP on Achievements
Name the Game
Xbox 101
Gadgets
…and much more!

Get the blogcast
[RSS] Add the Major Nelson Blogcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (WMA).
[WMA] Download the show This is an enhanced blogcast. [?]

Format:
1:13:31, 21.7 MB, WMA

Link dump (links to things I mention in this episode):
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/news/2007/0205-xboxrewards.htm?WText.camp=TS1-XboxRewards&WText.campSrc=Home
http://www.majornelson.com/archive/2007/02/07/my-crackdown-reality-crisis.aspx
http://www.majornelson.com/archive/2007/02/06/marketplace-10-commandments.aspx
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/d/defjamicon/default.htm
http://www.xbox.com/ja-JP/games/a/aquazone/
http://www.penny-arcade.com/2007/02/09#1171012920
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/kim/default.mspx
http://live.xbox.com/en-US/profile/profile.aspx?pp=0&GamerTag=BIGVIP
http://flickr.com/photos/majornelson/
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/p/pimpmyride/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/09/windows-mobile-6-professional-in-pictures/
http://blogs.msdn.com/kamvedbrat/
http://shellrevealed.com/blogs/shellblog/archive/2006/10/16/Do-things-faster-with-Keyboard-Shortcuts.aspx
http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2007/20070210.jpg

Frankie reported over at Bungie.net that they will have an ‘A-hole Button’ in Halo 3, but did you know you already have something similar to this in ALL your current Xbox 360 games?

According to the Bungie.net article, when you are playing Halo 3 with someone you"d rather not hear, the button will allow you to:

‘ …highlight the miscreant and you can then instantly mute them for the rest of the game.’

The ‘mute a player option’ in the Xbox 360 guide actually lets you mute players permanently (not just one game session) and it mutes them across ALL Xbox 360 games.

Here is how you do it (it sounds harder than it actually is):

While you are playing in any Xbox 360 game, press the guide button, scroll down to the ‘Community’ section then click to the right and press A on the icon of the controller. That will bring up a list of people are you are currently playing with followed by others you have played with in recent games. (we call this the recent players list.)  Then scroll down to the gamertag who is bothering you with their yammering and press A to get to their profile…scroll to the bottom and click MUTE. Bam…the player is now muted in your current game session. You can now continue your game in peace. (You can always go through the same steps to unmute a player.)

Oh, and while you’re at select SUBMIT PLAYER REVIEW (two clicks up from MUTE) and be sure to select AVOID THIS PLAYER (and select why.) This will tell Xbox Live that you would prefer not to play with this person in ANY GAME and our system will do its best to NOT match you up again with that person. 

So there have it. A feature in Halo 3 that you (sort of) already have today.

Head over there to sign in and register your gamertag.

Don’t know what this is all about? Details here

I’ve received a couple of emails from folks who have received an email that said they were getting a refund from Xbox Live, asking if this is real. The answer is yes, it is real. I have included a sample image here (click to see the full size version.) Now would be a good time to go over to Xbox.com to update your billing and contact information so that if you are due a credit, there won’t be any problems. Not everyone that purchased points is entitled to a refund.

Regardless, the good news is you don’t have to do anything…just sit back and wait for that credit to hit your account. As usual, we will never ask for your private information in an email, so while this is legit; be wary of other emails that ask for your personal information.

Name: RIOT ACT 体験版
Price: Free
Availability: Gold members in Japan.
Dash Details: 才未満の方はご利用いただけません] 無法の町に秩序を取り戻せ。犯罪者を許すな。RIOT ACT の体験版を今すぐダウンロードしよう。ソロプレイ ゲームと協力プレイ ゲームを楽しめます。

Don’t worry, you probably already have this. Riot Act is what Crackdown is called in Japan.

Name: Picture Pack 1 - RoboBlitz
Price: 100 Points
Availability: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Bust out a Blitz pose, put on a Karl face, or show your inner space pirate with one these five cartoon-style RoboBlitz gamer pics. Download it now!

Name: Theme Pack 1 - RoboBlitz
Price: 150 Points
Availability: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Bring the RoboBlitz world to your Xbox Dashboard with these fresh environments.