Say Goodbye to Backwards Compatability Updates on the Xbox 360

It’s been quite awhile since Microsoft last updated the Xbox 360 backward compatibility list, and with their ‘Xbox Originals’ coming in exactly one week, it looks like the industry giant is putting an end to the ability to play Xbox games you already own on the 360… unless they’re already on the current backwards-compatibility list.

In case you haven’t heard about last month’s announcement of Xbox Originals, Microsoft will be re-releasing popular original Xbox titles on their Marketplace for $15 a pop. The initial titles announced to kick off this service will be a little game called Halo, the overlooked cult-classic Psychonauts, and the highly-successful action-RPG Fable.

Honestly, I think this is dreadful news. If you’ve been itching to play that copy of Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath on your 360, it means you’re S.O.L…. until Microsoft charges you $15 to re-purchase it again on Marketplace. This goes for dozens upon dozens of other titles that are currently unplayable on the Xbox 360 without a backwards-compatibility update. Not only that, but the titles being released right now are actually more costly to download as digital files than to own the physical disc editions. Halo and Fable are both ‘Best of Platinum Hits’ releases, which means they retail for a paltry $9.99, and Psychonauts is pretty much universally cheap to own (I picked up a copy on clearance for a mere $5.50!).

I’ve never been a fan of digital distribution, and the more gamers eat up this nonsense the more widespread it’ll become.

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Game Wallpapers - Give Your Desktop Some Flavor!

Inspired by our good friend The Elderly (who is currently on blogging hiatus), I have discovered several delightful gaming wallpapers that will bring some flavor to your desktop.

Enough with the idle chit-chat... take a look at them yourself!

(To see the wallpapers in their glorious full-screen size, click on the images).


Resident Evil 4
















Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Courtesy of RPGRealm.com)
















DarkStalkers (courtesy of RPGRealm.com)














BloodRayne















Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Artists See Record-Sales Increase Thanks to Guitar Hero III

It’s no secret that the recent gaming phenomenon, Guitar Hero, has been widely successful at retail, but how about the bands that have their music featured in the newest entry, Guitar Hero III? According to Roadrunner records (perhaps the most successful metal label of all time), albums have seen a dramatic spike in sales!

Dragonforce, whose fast-paced metal song ‘Through the Fire and Flames’ appears in the series latest entry, has had nearly a 130% increase in weekly sales for their album ‘Inhuman Rampage’. Other popular bands on the label, such as nu-metal heroes Slipknot, also have also seen a staggering increase in weekly album sales.

This news finally proves that many people who dig a song on a game will most likely run out and buy the album for the respective artist. Hey, even I’ve done it in the past Perhaps more music labels will want to get their music in video games now that this information has been released…

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Gears of War Finally Reaches Platinum Hits Status... In Asia, At Least!

Microsoft’s 2006 blockbuster, Gears of War, has finally gone Platinum… in Asia, at least. Gears of War, which was released exactly one year ago, has become one of the best-selling Xbox 360 games to date, and is the fourth highest-rated Xbox 360 title on Game Rankings (sitting at a highly-impressive 94% average).

While Gears of War probably won’t become a Platinum Hits title in the U.S. for quite some time (despite being released for a year, it’s still selling steadily on this side of the pond), you can still import a brand new copy at Play-Asia for a mere $29.90. Even better is the fact that the Asian version is region free! Regardless if you call the world’s most popular sport soccer, football, or, perhaps, fútbol, you can still play this title on your console. However, here’s hoping you know how to speak either English or Chinese, because language settings are strictly limited to those two.

One Year Ago This Month in Pro-Gamer... (November 2006)

An entire year has passed, and yet I still haven't raked in any dough off Pro-Gamer. Damn. But knowing that other people enjoy this blog is worth more than any dollar amount.... now throw some change over here, will ya?

It turns out that your fancy-shamcy Halo 3 Legendary Edition ended up costing more than the original estimated $100 .

Finding a Wii in any major retail store one full year later is still a toilsome task.

Sega's repulsive GBA port of the original Sonic the Hedgehog turned out to be a major slap in the face to loyal Sega fans.

And Mystery Dungeon Blue turned out to be yet another addictive entry in the outrageously-popular Pokemon franchise.