Microsoft has just hiked up the price on Xbox Live subscriptions, as many of you already know. But there is a particular reason why they did: servers aren’t cheap. And because of the exclusive games presented on the system, a premium price must be placed. Craig Davison chatted with Gamasutra about the new increase, and explain Microsoft’s reasoning for raising the price of our subscriptions.

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Xbox Live’s resident know it all Major Nelson went over some of the new Xbox 360 dashboard features that people will be getting with the update today. The update looks like it includes everything but the kitchen sink, with changes being made to a vast majority of the current features. Anyone who turns on their internet capable Xbox 360 today will be asked to update their system, with a wait time (depending on their internet connection) of 5-10 minutes for the install to finish.

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The Need for Speed Blog announced that the demo for Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit will arrive on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network sometime today. The demo is going live two weeks before the November 16th release date, giving excited fans a chance to check out the highly anticipated racing title. On top of that, players will also receive 500 bounty points to put toward advancing their Cop and Racer careers once they get the retail version in hand.

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October 15, 2025 around 12PM PST, the $19.99 game Fable II went free on Xbox Live for around 1-2 hours. A lot of gamers that got wind of this ended up tweeting, calling each other, posting the word on Facebook, etc. telling others about the crazy “deal” that Microsoft currently held. What’s wild about this was that it wasn’t really supposed to happen, according to Microsoft, it was a mistake on their part.

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I’ve always liked Microsoft’s Xbox Live Service. Ever since I got it years ago when Star Wars: Battlefront I realized what kind of service I was paying for and didn’t mind it at all. Then the Xbox 360 came out and it got even better with cross game chat, party chat and a sleek interface. As time has gone by Microsoft has changed their interface, for better or for worse, and have added new features while maintaining a set price. That’s at least until November 1^st. Officially announced on Major Nelson’s Blog, on that date Xbox Live will cost more for members in Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom and the United States (the only people who are willing to pay for a subscription).

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GameStop may have arrived unstylishly tardy to the whole “digital download party,” but maybe we should all extend our courtesy and forget we’ve been practicing this immediacy via Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network since, well, a while now. It’s simply another case of weighing each service against another, so let’s see if GameStop has anything Earth-shattering to offer, shall we?

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This week’s Xbox Live updates and Deal of the Week include a bit of juiciness. In order to get you ramped up for next week’s newest DLC The Golems of Amgarrak for Dragon Age: Origins, the prices have been slashed for Warden’s Keep putting it at 400 MSP this week (definitely worth it!), Return to Ostagar is stripped down to only 240 MSP, which wasn’t amazing content but certainly not bad either (crucifixions!), especially for $3, and lastly the expansion Awakening is downloadable for $30 (instead of the original $40). Read on for the rest of the updates and additions being added to the Xbox Live marketplace! Plus, Shark Week.

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While waiting in line to play Limbo, the Xbox Live game based around what I can only assume is repeated suicide, I happened to see a new downloadable Castlevania game out of the corner of my eye. As there was a free station and I hate waiting in lines, I quickly changed my position and dove into the game for a good bit of time. Not only was I pleasantly surprised, but despite not even getting the full measure of the game during my time, I’m nearly dead-set on a day one purchase. The game is Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, is an Xbox Live only downloadable title, and features an eclectic mix of classic platforming and co-op puzzle action.

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It’s going to be called Late Night with Alan Wake and he’ll have special guests from the gaming industry on every night, including yours truly for the premiere episode. It promises to be a fantastic new addition to an already packed gaming lineup on Game TV, gaming’s number 1 prime time cable network. The show airs at 10pm est time Monday through Friday in one hour increments, and begins on April 31st!

All right, so none of that is true. But Alan Wake is getting his own show, and instead of being on an imaginary network with an imaginary lineup, he’s actually hitting Xbox Live. The show will be called “Bright Falls,” and the whole thing is completely live action with somewhat known actors. The press release does not say who plays Alan himself, but it does mention Tom Noonan, whose work you may have seen on Damages, and Cooper Huckabee who is soon to join the vampire smash True Blood. Yeah, I don’t know who they are either, but at least they didn’t just pull some bums off the street like Uwe Boll does. ”Bright Falls” is also directed by Phillip Van who has a decent pedigree of independent film awards under his belt. At the very least, this thing has potential.

The show itself will be a six part series premiering on Xbox Live on April 25th, or you can see it at the website, Brightfalls.com, on April 27th. It is a prequel to the events of the upcoming game, but nonetheless promises some edge-of-the-seat action and a true Twin Peaks vibe (though I’m assuming this won’t include the rampant nudity). A new episode will premier each weak, with the chilling and thrilling conclusion wrapping things up on May 18th, which is coincidentally enough the release date of the game itself. Convenient, no?

In a world of poorly programmed gaming specials, particularly on our consoles (the Tester anyone?), I’m looking forward to this despite not having any familiarity with the Alan Wake series at all. There’s even the potential of some Xbox Live parties to be had! Spawn Kill watches Alan Wake nights anyone?

Twisted Pixel has been damn good to the XBLA. The Maw set the stage and quickly became a favorite of many, and Splosion Man remains probably my fondest Xbox 360 memory to date. When their plans for Comic Jumper were announced oh the many moons ago, it was not difficult to perk up and take notice. The premise seemed cool: a wacky superhero jumping between the panels of a comic book in true brawler fashion. It promised a style and humor we can almost expect from Twisted Pixel even in their short time on the scene. At PAX East I was able to sit down and preview the first ten minutes of the game, which was being showcased at Twisted Pixel’s booth, and I found myself both very impressed yet slightly let down.

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