Good news for Xbox 360 owners: Skyrim's Dawnguard expansion pack is now available for download on the marketplace for 1600 MS points. Hopefully all goes well, but Bethesda is notorious for buggy launches, so it might behoove you to proceed with caution.
For any anxious PC owners who have to wait, there's a bright side: The Mass Effect 3 Apology Extended Cut DLC is also available on Origin, free of charge.
An administrative law judge with the International Trade Commission has recommended that Microsoft be banned from selling the Xbox 360 in the U.S. until a patent battle between Microsoft and Motorola has been resolved. The Xbox 360 was blocked from sale in Germany earlier this month.
Judge David Shaw said he arrived at his opinion because, "Enforcing intellectual property rights outweighs any potential economic impact on video game console buyers," and Sony and Nintendo can handle any extra demand from consumers.
That's probably not going to cut it for Xbox 360 loyalists and developers, though.
The Commission's final recommendation isn't due until August, and President Obama has the authority to override any recommendation they might make.
[blastr.]
Microsoft is reportedly considering offering a deeply discounted Xbox 360 and Kinect bundle to customers who are willing to take on a two-year Xbox Live subscription.
The bundle would cost a paltry $100 up front, with subscription fees of $15/mo, and would include Xbox Live Gold service and "various types of streaming content," The Verge reports.
The contracts would reportedly also have an early termination fee, much like the cell contracts that seemingly inspired this subsidized Xbox package.
The total cost would add up to roughly $460 over that two-year period.
Microsoft hasn't commented on the rumor.
[joystiq.]
Along with today's release of a free Kinect update for Skyrim, Bethesda has announced that the first DLC pack for the game, entitled Dawnguard, will be hitting the Xbox 360 this summer, with more information to come at E3.
In a tweet, the company clarified that Dawnguard will eventually reach other platforms, but will launch as an XBox 360 exclusive.
Incidentally, today is also the 10th anniversary of another Elder Scrolls title, Morrowind. It's hard to believe it's been that long, but time flies when you're playing RPGs.
[joystiq.]
New footage from Kinect Star Wars's much-mocked Galactic Dance-Off mode shows that even Han Solo isn't immune to the childhood-destroying combination of Star Wars and Dance Central.
Han gets down to a remixed version of Jason Derulo's "Ridin' Solo" -- "I'm Han Solo," natch -- in a dance-off against Lando Calrissian. No matter who wins, we all lose.
Kinect Star Wars is out tomorrow, so you still have one more night to think about how much you really want that R2-D2 Xbox.
Microsoft has announced an official release date and details for the Xbox 360 version of Minecraft. Mojang's insanely popular freeform world-building game will hit Xbox Live Arcade on May 9th.
The company says the 360 edition of Minecraft will feature a brand new crafting interface, as well as "natural controller movements" and a split-screen mode for up to 4 players -- with up to 8 players if you combine splitscreen and online play.
It will sell for 1600 points ($20).
[usatoday]
