Xbox 360 Marketplace and Arcade thread

[sportdan30]

Very good point Javi. I should have definitely done that.

What's weird is that the points that have been purchased haven't been used to buy anything as far as I can tell. So, I'm wondering whether this individual is trying to use the points for his own gamertag if possible. Who knows.

Dan,
Using a new credit card will not put the info on the other hard drive so you are safe there. I'm curious how this guy was able to even purchase points with your info to begin with. Even bigger question...how did he even get your hard drive?

I agree, it's strange how someone has been able to purchase points. My only two guesses is that it's either a screw up with MS and they inadvertently charged my account, or a Game Stop employee purchased the hard drive prior to them sending it back to MS. I really don't know. As I said, they haven't purchased anything with the points (game, theme, etc.) which is good. The points better stay on there as I want to use them to purchase UNO, Galaga, Paperboy, Root Beer Tapper, and Pac-Man. I was going to purchase points in any case. But how can there be two hard drives with the same account information? Is that even possible?

What I was worried about initially was that the person might be trying to use my credit card and then will attempt to change the gamertag and account. I guess it's no longer possible with the card being canceled.

Thanks for reassurance Badgun about using a new card.

[Zeppo]

But how can there be two hard drives with the same account information? Is that even possible?

That does seem impossible. Haven't people had trouble with the first machine after 'recovering' an account on two machines?

Dan, did you erase the HD before you took it back?

[sportdan30]

But how can there be two hard drives with the same account information? Is that even possible?

That does seem impossible. Haven't people had trouble with the first machine after 'recovering' an account on two machines?

Dan, did you erase the HD before you took it back?

No, I didn't erase the HD before I took it back. That was a big mistake obviously that I regret not doing.

I called and spoke to a Game Stop employee. He wasn't able to give me too much information other than if they try and sell a HD that's been previously used, it'll ring up at $999.00. Thus, that's another way to prevent them from selling it and letting them know they need to send it to MS.

I do wonder if it truly was sent back to MS, that it's possible that whomever reformatted the HD might not have erased it completely. Once they erase the account information, they then send it back to the store and sell it as refurbished according to the Game Stop employee.

[Badgun]

Very good point Javi. I should have definitely done that.

What's weird is that the points that have been purchased haven't been used to buy anything as far as I can tell. So, I'm wondering whether this individual is trying to use the points for his own gamertag if possible. Who knows.

Dan,
Using a new credit card will not put the info on the other hard drive so you are safe there. I'm curious how this guy was able to even purchase points with your info to begin with. Even bigger question...how did he even get your hard drive?

I agree, it's strange how someone has been able to purchase points. My only two guesses is that it's either a screw up with MS and they inadvertently charged my account, or a Game Stop employee purchased the hard drive prior to them sending it back to MS. I really don't know. As I said, they haven't purchased anything with the points (game, theme, etc.) which is good. The points better stay on there as I want to use them to purchase UNO, Galaga, Paperboy, Root Beer Tapper, and Pac-Man. I was going to purchase points in any case. But how can there be two hard drives with the same account information? Is that even possible?

What I was worried about initially was that the person might be trying to use my credit card and then will attempt to change the gamertag and account. I guess it's no longer possible with the card being canceled.

Thanks for reassurance Badgun about using a new card.

Nevermind...just got my answer.

[vader29]

So, today I received another email confirmation from MS that someone purchased 500 MS points for one dollar. This leads me to believe some kid has my hard drive with the account information. Why would they just purchase MS points with the card? Also, can my account information be on two separate hard drives?

That has to be a screwup with microsoft somehow, if not I'd like to know where to purchase 500 points for a dollar.

[ScoopBrady]

FIFA World Cup demo up. 600+mb.

[sportdan30]

FIFA World Cup demo up. 600+mb.

Excellent! I've been wanting to rent this game since its release, but can't find it anywhere. I was half tempted to purchase it, but a demo will do just fine.

By the way, I think there's only one Block Buster in my area that has a copy of Winning Eleven 9. And of course, it's always checked out.

[Badgun]

The Topspin 2 demo is also up.

[JRod]

FIFA World Cup demo up. 600+mb.

Excellent! I've been wanting to rent this game since its release, but can't find it anywhere. I was half tempted to purchase it, but a demo will do just fine.

By the way, I think there's only one Block Buster in my area that has a copy of Winning Eleven 9. And of course, it's always checked out.

Dan just buy WE9. You won't be disappointed.

[sportdan30]

FIFA World Cup demo up. 600+mb.

Excellent! I've been wanting to rent this game since its release, but can't find it anywhere. I was half tempted to purchase it, but a demo will do just fine.

By the way, I think there's only one Block Buster in my area that has a copy of Winning Eleven 9. And of course, it's always checked out.

Dan just buy WE9. You won't be disappointed.

I'm definitely considering it. What's the status on the next WE coming to the States for the 360? Also, how does the Xbox game play on the 360?

Thanks.

[10spro]

Dan ,WE9's gameplay on the 360 is the same, some people would swear that it looks much better on that system, I didn't find that much difference and it doesn't play at full stretch on my HDTV 16:9, unless yoiu manually do it yourself.

[Zeppo]

Dan ,WE9's gameplay on the 360 is the same, some people would swear that it looks much better on that system, I didn't find that much difference and it doesn't play at full stretch on my HDTV 16:9, unless yoiu manually do it yourself.

Well, it's a 4x3 game, so the only way to fill a 16x9 screen is to stretch it. It is undeniably crisper and sharper on the 360, even if the 360 is in 480p mode. It does, like many 4x3 Xbox games, have major underscan, which its own in-game 'screen settings' zoom feature can't get rid of entirely. For me, however, this underscan is a good thing since it makes the picture considerably less distorted when I use my TV's 'just' mode.

The best thing, though, has to be the controller, which with its shoulder buttons is much better for WE. However the D-pad is much worse, so if that's your preferred method of play you would need to get used to the analog stick.

This is total speculation, but I bet we see the first made-for-360 WE game not in Spring 07 but in Spring 08, if we see it at all. I don't know about the PS3. Of course, very little if anything stands in the way of Konami releasing WE10 here this summer, but they are crazy and for some reason are convinced that WE is best released here 10 or more months after the Japanese release and 6 months after the European release. Call me a fool, but I think they're stupid.

I am constantly in fear that we won't ever see another WE here again, since I've lived through that for a few years at the start of the PS2's life.

[Leebo33]

If you switch the cable from HDTV to regular TV on your X360 the game is almost full screen...at least on my TV. It looks the same either way. The only stupid thing is that the stands are empty on the wide camera angle, but I'm assuming that is the same on the Xbox version.

I was worried because I had to try to download and install the update 3 or 4 times, but I finally got it to work.

[Zeppo]

If you switch the cable from HDTV to regular TV on your X360 the game is almost full screen...at least on my TV. It looks the same either way. The only stupid thing is that the stands are empty on the wide camera angle, but I'm assuming that is the same on the Xbox version.

I was worried because I had to try to download and install the update 3 or 4 times, but I finally got it to work.

I could never get the update to complete with WE9. I ended up using Halo2, and it downloaded and installed fine with that game. Very weird.

I don't think that switch does anything different than changing the output settings to 480p in the dashboard. I tried it, but the underscan remained the same on my display. SC:CT has the same underscan, as do other 4x3 back-compat games I've tried.

[JRod]

To continue the thread jack...I'm not even touching WE9 on the 360 or Xbox. I had maybe one or two games of WE9 on the 360 and then WE10 came out. Back to the PS2. I hate that machine.

[dbdynsty25]

You're my idol. I'm so impressed.

[kevinpars]

I guess I will have a lot of downloading to do when I get my 360 back.

Speaking of which, doesn't this suck:

ATLANTA, GA, US 05/05/2006 12:57 P.M. ARRIVAL SCAN

My 360 is in town. While I spend the weekend working in the yard, washing the cars, painting the house trim, watching bad TV, throwing dishtowels at the cats, my 360 will be sitting in a UPS truck waiting for Monday delivery. Typical.

[sportdan30]

It appears Test Drive will have a demo on the Marketplace very soon.

http://www.360monster.com/newspost.php?id=0000000740

[Badgun]

It appears Test Drive will have a demo on the Marketplace very soon.

http://www.360monster.com/newspost.php?id=0000000740

The Test Drive demo is up. I downloaded it a few hours ago. 14 minute timed demo that is supposed to be both online and offline, but I got a message when I started the demo that the servers were down.

Played a little single player and was not impressed. Cars handle very sluggishly and the graphics are nothing like the screenshots I've seen before. Also, I thought it was very choppy.

I was really looking forward to this game. Hopefully they can polish it up and get a good solid frame rate going by release time. This is one of those demos that they have been better off not releasing as it may do more harm than good.

[sportdan30]

Ugh. That's disappointing to hear. Is the Lost Planet demo up? I had heard it was, and was getting favorable reviews so far.

Thanks.

[Badgun]

Ugh. That's disappointing to hear. Is the Lost Planet demo up? I had heard it was, and was getting favorable reviews so far.

Thanks.

Lost Planet was up briefly and then taken down. Seems it wasn't supposed to go up until tomorrow.

[Zeppo]

Holy crap, I can't believe how much stuff there is on the marketplace all of a sudden! Lots of them are just videos, but what's the matter with seeing these videos in nice 720p rather than some tiny window on the computer? I'm giong to have to pick and choose what to look at, but it's nice to see all these options of stuff from E3.

[Boom]

Here's a Marketplace release schedule for this week:

http://www.xboxic.com/news/859

Marketplace Trailers:

Download these high-definition Xbox E3 booth montages for many of the games on display at E3.

* Monday, May 8: Check out The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II and many more.
* Tuesday, May 9: Get a sneak peak at lots more new Xbox 360 game trailers.
* Wednesday, May 10: See WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 in action, plus many more game trailers.
* Thursday, May 11: Take an early look at Dead or Alive Extreme 2.
* Friday, May 12: The trailer for Saint’s Row is finally unveiled.

Marketplace Demos

* Monday, May 8: Test Drive Unlimited: Race exotic vehicles on diverse Hawaiian roads in Atari’s fast-paced racer.
* Tuesday, May 9: Lost Planet : Capcom shows off its upcoming action sci-fi shooter set on the frozen tundra of a hostile planet.
* Thursday, May 11: MotoGP ‘06: Experience extreme racing with stunning photorealistic graphics and a blisteringly fast game engine.

Marketplace Premium Downloadable Content:

* Tuesday, May 9: UNO: The latest additon to Xbox Live Arcade is the classic party card game that’s number one for family fun! Compete against three other players to match colors and symbols, go Wild with special command cards such as Skip and Reverse, and be the first to play all your cards. Add-on theme decks offer new art and new card effects, keeping the game fresh and challenging. Like all Arcade titles, you can download the demo and try it out free. Get ready to shout, “UNO!”
* Wednesday, May 10: Call of Duty 2 Map Packs: Activision has some exciting new premium and free map packs to get you through the week. Battle across new multiplayer maps for this intense WWII shooter.

Bonus Map Pack: These free multiplayer maps bring combat realism to new heights. Both are for online, split-screen, and system-link play. Vossenack, Germany challenges you with limited cover and varied terrain. Wallendar, Germany is perfect for squad-based combat, including hidden paths, rubble, and high-cover areas. Its war-torn cityscape embodies World War II-style urban warfare.
Skirmish Pack (400 MS Points): Two more all-new multiplayer maps, both for online, split-screen, and system-link play. Kalach, Russia is a multi-level war zone with twisting passageways perfect for sniper attacks. Beaumont-Hague, France features open fields for rushes and clustered buildings for ambush maneuvers.

Marketplace Digital Entertainment Lifestyle:

Check this section often—we’ll be adding new trailers and exclusive content every day!

* Monday, May 8: Poseidon movie trailer.
* Wednesday, May 10: A Scanner Darkly movie trailer.
* Thursday, May 11: Rihanna will have a live performance of her song, “S.O.S.”
* Friday, May 12: Hip-hop star Chris Brown will perform three songs live.
* Saturday, May 13: The Promise movie trailer.

Marketplace Gamer Pictures and Themes:

Download exclusive gamer pictures and change your dashboard with these E3 themes.

* Monday, May 8: adidas Picture Pack.
* Monday, May 8: X-Men Picture Pack.
* Tuesday, May 9: adidas dashboard theme
* Wednesday, May 10: Silver and Gold Picture Pack
* Wednesday, May 10: X-Men dashboard theme
* Wednesday, May 10: adidas dashboard theme
* Thursday, May 11: Silver and Gold dashboard themes
* Thursday, May 11: X-Men Picture Pack
* Thursday, May 11: adidas dashboard theme
* Friday, May 12: X-Men dashboard theme
* Saturday, May 13 and Sunday, May 14: X-Men Picture Pack

[sportdan30]

I'm reading that there are trailers for Halo 3 and Fable 2 up on the marketplace.

Also, what's this I'm reading about Lumines Live?

DSP sure is slow seeing that's there's a lot of info popping up at E3.

[sportdan30]

I'm hearing UNO is up.

Also, Contra and Super Contra will be on the marketplace in the near future.