Russ tells of console sales and other RPG deals as he begins, "September may have a lot of games coming out for it, so it is a good thing the prices of the 360 and PS3 dropped. Plus you still might be able to grab a decent computer during the back to school sales. Gaming triple play ahoy!"
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Console Monster writes: "The first titles have launched for the Xbox 360 Games on Demand. The seven titles are now available to Xbox Live members that were fortunate enough to obtain a place in the Preview Program. What's interesting about the titles is the game's pricing, which is listed in pound and pence, rather than in Microsoft Points. The titles currently available are as follows:

Call of Duty 2 - £19.99
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - £19.99
Need for Speed Carbon - £19.99
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga - £19.99
Mass Effect - £19.99
Viva Piñata - £19.99
Assassin's Creed - £19.99

The remaining Games on Demand titles, revealed yesterday, will be rolled out over the next few days, before the new dashboard update is available to all Xbox Live users on the 11th August..."
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Last night Microsofts controversial Games on Demand service went live. The games on demand service promises to deliver full retail Xbox 360 games for download and play straight to your hard drive.
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G4TV writes:

Just a friendly public service announcement, folks. Bethesda Softworks just confirmed to me that the version of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion that will be featured on Microsoft's impending Games On Demand downloadable service will be the original release of the game, not the Game of the Year edition that includes the downloadable expansions.
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2K Games and Bethesda Softworks, a ZeniMax Media company, announced today that the BioShock & The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Bundle is now available in shops across the UK for a suggested retail price of £29.99 for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and £19.99 for Windows PC.
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2K Games and Bethesda Softworks, a ZeniMax Media company, announced today that the BioShock and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Bundle is now available at retail outlets across North America.
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This week's new videogame releases:
(subject to change)

Xbox 360:
Bioshock & The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Bundle
The Bigs 2

PLAYSTATION 3:
The Bigs 2

Wii:
The Bigs 2

PC:
BioShock and Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Bundle
Street Fighter IV MadCatz Bundle
Street Fighter IV
Agatha Christie: Peril at End House
Europa Universalis Rome Gold
Hunting Unlimited 2010
The Hardy Boys: The Perfect Crime

DS & DSi:
no new releases

PSP:
The Bigs 2
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Following this morning's revelation that 2K Games and Bethesda Softworks are set to deliver a very high-profile double-pack for Xbox 360 and PC in the US, confirmation has now arrived of a UK release. The BioShock & The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Bundle will make it's way to UK stores this July, with a very respectable price-tag.
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Nick @ PS3Center writes:

BioShock and Oblivion are two of the most innovative first person games released this generation, combined winning some odd 80+ Game of the Year awards. So when a press release went out earlier today revealing a software bundle containing the two, a lot of people's interests were piqued. However, the bundle will not be making it's way to the PS3. Curious, PS3Center contacted Bethesda to find out why.
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OXM UK reports that Pete Hines says that it was the combination of bad timing and bad pricing that caused the infamous uproar against the Horse Armor DLC.

Hines tells OXM that if Horse Armour was the fifth bit of DLC Bethesda released for Oblivion rather than the first, the fuss would have been avoided.
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Bethesda Softworks is celebrating April Fools' Day and the 3 year anniversary of the first Elder Scrolls: Oblivion downloadable content: the Horse Armor. Instead of the usual 200 Microsoft Points ($2.50), which stirred up some controversy for DLC pricing, the Horse Armor will 400 Microsoft Points ($5).

Here's what Bethesda Softworks had to say on it:
"In celebration of the arrival of April, the wackiness of April Fool's Day, and the upcoming 3rd anniversary of the release of Horse Armor (Friday, April 3), we are pleased to announce that for the next week all Oblivion DLC for Xbox 360 is half price, except for Horse Armor, which is twice as much as usual. So if you've been waiting for just the right moment to get The Vile Lair, or Knights of the Nine, or Shivering Isles, now is the time."
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Gamer Limit doesn't just report on Bethesda's latest claim, they take a look into the amount of money they have made off of their DLC, and also comment on why gamers are disappointed with Horse Armor.

Just in case you never played Oblivion, here's a little backstory. Bethesda announced that they were releasing content that could be used in the Xbox 360 version of Oblivion, and gamers were immediately excited over the prospect of their favorite game getting new areas. However, while Bethesda did release a few new areas, they also sold another add-on: Horse Armor. What does horse armor do? Nothing. It makes your horse look cool. Many gamers bought the armor thinking that it would actually do something, then were thwarted by Xbox Live's "no refund policy". Read more to see Bethesda's top 10 download list.From Bethesda's Blog
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As released by the Bethesda Blog, a list of the top Oblivion DLC has come out. According to the blog post, "To this day, 2 years later. Looking at our Xbox Live reports, every day, tens of thousands of people STILL play Oblivion and they purchase thousands and thousands of downloadable content - again, every day. Yes, even Horse Armor continues to sell daily."

Not shocking that many people still play Oblivion. Shocking that Horse Armor still sells daily - as it's ranked number 9 on the list. I would of thought the Shivering Isles expansion would have been at the top of the list, instead it ranks only one higher than the Horse Armor.

Here is the complete list:
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For a limited time only (well, until the end of October) the Xbox Live Marketplace is running an 'Extended Play Download Days' promotion which is offering some pretty good savings on some of the more popular DLC.

Games include:
Mass Effect
Lost Odyssey
Forza Motorsport 2
Oblivion
Guitar Hero 3
Beautiful Katamari
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Speaking to VideoGamer.com at a recent roundtable interview in London, Bethesda Softworks vice president Pete Hines has confidently declared that Fallout 3 is a better game than the highly praised The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Asked directly if he felt the review scores for Fallout 3 will beat those of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Hines wasn't to be drawn on Fallout 3's review scores, but did express his confidence in the game.

"I don't have any doubts that on the whole, and I think this is a belief universally shared on the team that Fallout is a better game," said Hines. "But we're also not oblivious to the fact that we have a lot of extra baggage that we're carrying, being the guys picking up this franchise, that are re-imagining this series from 10 years ago, and there's something that comes along with that. We're very well aware of what we're up against."

He added: "I have no doubts in my mind that, at its core and for everything that it provides that Fallout is a better game than Oblivion was. For sure."
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MTV Multiplayer Blog writes: "It's only been this generation that downloadable content has become a viable opportunity on consoles, and the Entertainment Software Ratings Board finds itself in a position to regulate this uncharted territory of content.

"The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" expansion packs and the upcoming "Grand Theft Auto IV" upcoming add-ons represent the industry's most expansive departures from a game's original content. The catch: that content must remain consistent with the original rating branded by the ESRB.

New content cannot introduce elements that would alter the original rating, or the overall rating must change. ESRB president Patricia Vance explained what this meant for content makers at a MI6 Conference panel on marketing and user generated content last week."
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A group of 12 editorial staff from Enterbrain (the folks that put out Famitsu in all it's various iterations) sat down and voted on the game they felt was the best title of the year in Japan without regard for sales figures, fame of the franchise, etc. Only one vote per person, game with the most votes wins. In the end, Oblivion took home the honor as the best game of 2007 with 5 votes. The tally was:

#1 - Oblivion (5 votes)
#2 - God of War 2 (2 votes)
#3 - Super Mario Galaxy (1 vote)
#4 - Legend of Zelda DS (1 vote)
#5 - Monster Hunter Portable (1 vote)
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As usual, here's today's XBOX Live Marketplace Update for Tuesday 15th January 2008!

DP (Disruptive Publishers) Girls: Timea Majorova Theme
Available: All XBOX Live Regions
Price: 200 Microsoft Points
Description: International fitness champion Timea Majorova shows off her award-winning physique in this theme. Preview and interact at disruptivepublishers.com. © 2007 Alex Ardenti Photography. There are no refunds for this item. For more information, see www.xbox.com/live/accounts.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion ¿ The Vile Lair
Available: Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland
Price: 150 Microsoft Points
Description: [USK: Freigegeben ab 12 Jahren] Dieses Unterwasserversteck bietet deinem verrufenen Character einen Zufluchtsort. Die, die sich willentlich dem Vampirismus hingegeben haben (oder sollte man sagen damit beehrt wurden), werden Nahrung und, sofern nötig, eine Möglichkeit finden, sich von ihrer Auferlegung zu befreien. Heuere böse Lakaien an, bete zum finsteren Gott Sithis und freu dich auf eine ganze Reihe anderer Funktionen! Für diesen Inhalt gibt es keine Rückerstattung. Weitere Informationen finden Sie unter www.xbox.com/live/accounts.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion ¿ The Fighter's Stronghold
Available: Not available in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States
Price: 150 Microsoft Points
Description: [PEGI: 16+] Defeat the attacking marauders and become lord of Battlehorn Castle. Located in the Colovian Highlands west of Chorrol, this expansive castle will allow you to live the life of a noble warrior, with private quarters, grand dining hall, wine cellar, barracks, training room and more. And what castle would be complete without a few hidden passages and dark secrets? Du kan ikke få penge tilbage for dette element....
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Here are the top games for 2007, based on Xbox Live connectivity. The following rankings are based on data collected from 1/1/07 ¿ 12/31/07. Unique Users is the number of Gamertags that have played a game. In the case of Arcade titles, the list is ranked by purchased games. The top 3 for each charts are listed below, see the source for the complete top 10 lists.

2007 Top Xbox 360 Titles (Unique Users)
1. Halo 3
2. Gears of War
3. Call of Duty 4

2007 Top Xbox LIVE Arcade Titles (Sales)
1. TMNT 1989 Arcade
2. Worms
3. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

2007 Top Original Xbox Titles (Unique Users)
1. Halo 2
2. Star Wars: Battlefront 2
3. Counter-Strike
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Xbox360Fanboy took the time to go through all the Black Friday ads and list all the Xbox 360 deals.
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