We got a great deal for all the Canadian readers in Xbox 360 Fanboy land. Future Shop (the "it" electronics retailer in Canada) is offering an irresistible Xbox 360 bundle. What's included is a premium Xbox 360, G.R.A.W, XBL Arcade: Unplugged, Ridge Racer 6, and our little gem Gears of War. The price is pretty nice and may make you want to slap yourself and call your pet salamander Sally. You get everything for the low, low Canadian price of $449.99. Better than playing hockey in the Summer and is just an all around good deal isn't it, eih?
Club Skill reports that Microsoft will release a new 360 Premium bundle on September 30 that incudes a copy of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfigher and Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged for $399.99. XBLA Unplugged includes 6 titles:
That's a great deal. But Club Skill doesn't reveal their source or offer any proof. File this under "wishful thinking" until we get official confirmation. Nice idea though. While we're talking fantasy bundles, why not throw in Oblivion and a 12 month subscription to XBL?
The results of last Sunday's GRAWpoll are in. A full 26% percent of those polled have already downloaded the new GRAW content. While a majority of those players seem to be happy with the purchase, just over a quarter feel that the content wasn't worth the money. Comparing those who've already purchased it with those who'd only get it for free, it's pretty close with 575 votes and 509 votes respectively.
Looking at the overall results, it seems that the sweetspot for content downloads is somewhere between free and $5 US. Still, a quarter of GRAW players are willing to shell out 15 bucks, and another third are willing to pay 5 or 10. That means 60% of those polled are willing to pay something. That's a pretty clear message for would be content providers.
Remember folks, you vote with your dollars...er...points. Judging by these results, Ubisoft didn't quite hit the nail on the head, but they made out pretty well.
Some of you may have noticed the rather vocal response to the news that new Ghost Recon content costs 1200 points. Most responses went to the tune of "Kiss my ass." Some have bitched and moaned, others gladly opened their wallets, and one person actually burst into flames. So, now that the content has hit, bringing with it the first signs of the apocalypse, the question is: did you get it? We'll take a look at these numbers next week.
Basic poll stuff: don't vote if you don't have XBL and a copy of GRAW. And yes, you could spam the poll and throw off the results, but then you'd be a stupid jerk. You're not a stupid jerk, are you?
Update 1: this poll is now closed. Check out the results here.
That low, droning whine you hear is the predictable response to the price of the Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter's Chapter 2 Expansion pack, now available for download on Marketplace. Here's what you get for 1200 MS Points:
Continuation of the multiplayer Co-op campaign with 4 all-new missions in Chapter 2
8 revisited, relit multiplayer Adversarial maps
2 all-new game types with 1 new game mode – Team Battle
2 new camouflage patterns
4 new character customization faces
5 new weapons
Holy crap! 1200 MS Points! That's 171.75 Pesos, 576.453 Thai Baht or $15 American Dollars, the most expensive downloadable content we've seen so far. I think your level of acceptance/disgust with Ubisoft's Ghost gouging depends on whether you convince yourself this content is a true expansion pack ( the kind you used to pay $20 or $30 on an old-fashioned disc) or glorified horse armour. Team Xbox's hands-on will help you make up your mind. Of course, some people over at Major Nelson's complaint repository already have. Sample quote:
"1200 MS Points? Kiss my ass."
How many people will be shelling out for this relatively expensive expansion? Also, can somebody tell me what the PC people are getting for free?
Still don't have an Xbox 360? Do you live in Chile? Then you're in luck my friend! The curvy white box hit store shelves in Chile last week, inspiring these ladies to impersonate protagonists from mediocre launch titles. Just for a moment, recall how disappointed you were when you played Perfect Dark Zero for the first time. Let that sink in for a second. That is what it's like to be a 360 fan in Chile right now. At least they have access to the best launch title, right?
Good lord, can you imagine having to wait 5 months for GRAW and Oblivion again?
Xboxyde has scored a handful of screenshots from the upcoming GRAW XBL content. The screens feature some of the new co-op campaign maps as well as some new equipment. The content will be released later this month and features "12 additional maps designed for Live multiplayer play, four new missions that extend the co-op campaign through Nicaragua, new game types (Team Blind Siege and Team Battle), more camouflage customisationoptions and five new weapons." Xboxyde also mentions that they are accepting questions for an upcoming interview with the GRAW team. If you have any burning questions for the team, you may submit them in the Xboxyde forum. If anything else is burning, I'd suggest you see a doctor.
If -- on the other hand -- you'd like to see more screens, click the read link below.
[update: removed (sic) from 'customisation' on account of it being the Queen's English.]
Ubisoft says new Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter downloadable content, rumored to included new multiplayer maps and a co-op level, will be playabe at their E3 booth. No word on when it will be available on XBLM.
Canadians are starting to wonder why their Prime Minister got the short end of the hockey stick when it came to which North American leaders would survive Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter:
Adrian Fernandez-Lacey, a senior co-ordinator for Ubisoft in France, said Canadians shouldn't take offence to the assassination.
The other leaders had to live to keep the game's tension high: Mexico's president needed to hang around to allow conflict with the rebels, while the U.S. president had remain alive because the elite group of soldiers charged with the rescue are American.
"Basically, for the game, the Canadian guy was the only one that we could actually sacrifice in the story," he said. "We weren't being malicious or anything like that."
In fact, it was Mr. Fernandez-Lacey who took offence at first. Because he was born in Montreal and is half-Canadian and half-Mexican, he joked with the game's creators about hitting him on two fronts.
"When they first sent the scenario to me, I said, 'Look, you're invading my country and you're killing my prime minister,' "
Poor Canucks get no respect. It's bad enough that most Americans can't name a Canadian politician. Now French game developers have deemed them expendable.
The real Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, was in Mexico last week meeting with Presidents Fox and Bush. Not surprisingly, he was unwilling to comment on the unpleasant fate that befell his video game counterpart.
Sure, the Battlefield 2 demo was nice, but this is the big one, the one we are were all waiting for! The demo for Ghost Recon: Advanced Warrior has finally been released!
It was a long timecoming, we were teased by reviews, sold out signs, and demo false alarms, but it's all over now. If you haven't picked this up already (all three of you) then get downloading and let us know how it stacks up to the effusive praise.
If you've been tearing it up online since G.R.A.W. has been out, you may get the chance to show something for it. Best Buy is putting on a tournament sponsored by Dodge for a chance to win a 2007 Dodge Caliber and other cash prizes. The competition is being assisted by the Global Gaming League (GGL) and everyone wanting to participate is going to need an Xbox Live Gold account.
From the beginning of April until May, two-man teams will fight for a chance to make it to the finals at E3. Once you've gotten this far you're already a winner. The deathmatch final will award the slick new ride and $5,000 to the overall winner. Second placers get a thousand bucks each. Gamers have until the 31st of this month to register, so don't delay! We hope to see some of you in Los Angeles, so good luck.
In just a week, Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter has become the fastest selling Xbox 360 title to date. Moving 240,000 copies here in the States and half that number in Europe, GRAW is now Ubisoft's most impressive launch. We all knew how well this title was going to do when we first heard that some people were having a little trouble getting their hands on it.
Here's how to save a few bucks on your copy of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfigher:
The Asian region (Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore) can now purchase Xbox 360s specifically for their region. All of these are NTSC-J encoded, the same as the Japanese 360s. So what’s the difference? It’s actually the software. In an effort to bring as many games to the region as possible Microsoft is bringing English language North American titles over. For instance Ubisoft’s Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter is the same as the USA version and it’s also compatible with US region Xbox 360s. Also all of the Asian version Xbox 360 games are sold at a budget price. Most import retailers are selling them for $39.99, considerably cheaper than the $59.99 price point for North American games.
Indeed, Play-Asia.com is selling what appears to be a region-free version of GRAW for $30.90 plus $3.10 shipping. According to their compatibility chart, it's the only "Asian" game so far that will work on your Peoria-purchased 360. Can anyone confirm that it actually works?
Update: I'm so used to paying through the nose, I forgot to ask: Why is Hong Kong getting bargain rates anyway?
Xbox.com says the long-awaited Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter demo is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace, but gamers from the US and Europe report they're still not seeing it. Will the cruelty ever stop?
One of the few knocks against Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter is the lack of southpaw and legacy mode. GRAW lead multiplayer designer Christian Allen dropped the following hint to a poster in the Ubi forums:
Southpaw will not be available at ship. We have the message, the appropriate people have been notified.
Not sure how much you care about southpaw mode, but it would be great to see a patch that genuinely improves a game (at least for the left-handed), not just fixes something that is broken. Do you think Ubisoft was remiss in leaving this option out the disc (it was delayed afterall) or is this the way updates are supposed to work?
We got a great deal for all the Canadian readers in Xbox 360 Fanboy land. Future Shop (the "it" electronics retailer in Canada) is offering an irresistible Xbox 360 bundle. What's included is a premium Xbox 360, G.R.A.W, XBL Arcade: Unplugged, Ridge Racer 6, and our little gem Gears of War. The price is pretty nice and may make you want to slap yourself and call your pet salamander Sally. You get everything for the low, low Canadian price of $449.99. Better than playing hockey in the Summer and is just an all around good deal isn't it, eih?
Still don't have an Xbox 360? Do you live in Chile? Then you're in luck my friend! The curvy white box hit store shelves in Chile last week, inspiring these ladies to impersonate protagonists from mediocre launch titles. Just for a moment, recall how disappointed you were when you played Perfect Dark Zero for the first time. Let that sink in for a second. That is what it's like to be a 360 fan in Chile right now. At least they have access to the best launch title, right?
Canadians are starting to wonder why their Prime Minister got the short end of the hockey stick when it came to which North American leaders would survive Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter:
If you've been tearing it up online since G.R.A.W. has been out, you may get the chance to show something for it. Best Buy is putting on a tournament sponsored by Dodge for a chance to win a 2007 Dodge Caliber and other cash prizes. The competition is being assisted by the Global Gaming League (GGL) and everyone wanting to participate is going to need an Xbox Live Gold account.
One of the few knocks against Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter is the lack of southpaw and legacy mode. GRAW lead multiplayer designer Christian Allen dropped the following hint to a poster in the Ubi forums:
