It's going to be a great month of Xbox Live Marketplace downloads in November.

We'll be all over the Halo Reach: Noble Map pack on November 30, and the re-release of Dreamcast classic Crazy Taxi on November 24.

But there's also open world madness in the new Crackdown 2 Deluge Pack DLC, and Mafia 2 gets its 'Joe's Adventures' mission pack on November 23.

Below is the full list, and head through to Major Nelson for details of Gold membership deals and an ESPN-related contest.

Xbox LIVE Arcade:

November 17: Alien Breed 3: Descent, 800 Microsoft Points
November 24: Crazy Taxi, 800 Microsoft Points

Xbox LIVE Deal of the Week** :

Week of November 22: Save 50% on Hasbro Family Game Night titles:
Connect 4X4, 400 Microsoft Points
Jenga, 400 Microsoft Points
Pictureka, 400 Microsoft Points
Sorry! Sliders, 400 Microsoft Points
Boggle, 400 Microsoft Points
Sorry!, 400 Microsoft Points
Battleship, 400 Microsoft Points
Connect 4, 400 Microsoft Points
Scrabble, 400 Microsoft Points
Yahtzee, 400 Microsoft Points

**Special pricing available for Xbox LIVE Gold Members

Xbox Games On Demand:
November 23: Alan Wake

Xbox LIVE Avatar Marketplace:
November 16: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
November 18: Mafia II

Xbox Game Add-Ons:
November 16: Crackdown 2 The Deluge Pack, 560 Microsoft Points
November 17: Space Invaders: Infinity Gene Add-on , 240 Microsoft Points
November 23: Mafia II Joe's Adventures, 800 Microsoft Points
November 23: 3D Ultra MiniGolf Adventures 2: Fairy Tales Map Pack, 240 Microsoft Points
November 30: Halo: Reach Noble Map Pack, 800 Microsoft Points

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS ...

THQ president Brian Farrell thinks the $59.99 asking price for games is "keeping people out," and plans to explore cheaper price points in a move that he says is "the way games are gonna go".

"What we're thinking about the business is we're turning it on its head a little bit," said Farrell at the BMO Capital Markets conference this week (via Gamasutra). "It's not, 'how high a price can we get', but 'how many users',"

"If you can capture everyone under that economic curve, that's where you can make the most money," he explained, adding that he believes the $59.99 price of games is "keeping people out".

"When we launched [MX vs. ATV] at $59.99, we'd do some units, and then when we brought the price down to the mass market-friendly price of $39.99, it would just pop,"

Thus Farrell hopes that launching at a lower price point from the start would garner a larger install base to which he can flog large amounts of DLC content.

"So the thinking this time is, let's initially launch at $39.99 -- it's a very robust game, very high quality, so this is not about trying to get a secondary title out.

"It's an AAA title, at that price point, but then with a series of DLC so people can extend their experience. We think this is the future of gaming. We think that's the way games are gonna go in the long term."

What do you think?

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS ...

The Nintendo Wii has become the fastest selling console in Australia, claiming a two million installed base in 47 months.
According to IGN, the previous record holder was Nintendo's DS which sold the same amount of hardware in 52 months.
The Nintendo Wii is available as a black sku in Australia and comes bundled with Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort, priced at AUS $299.95.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/41771/Wii-...les-Down-Under ...

Last week we gave Steven Beall a platform and he ranted about Microsoft's Kinect. CVG reader Matt Brown (dubplate240) also mourned the loss of some old friends.

This week James Ward gives his two cents about developers' attitudes towards the PSP in issue 134 of PSM3 while Jonnty Higham makes a simple request...

PORTABLE PASSION
love my PSP. I think it's a marvellous bit of kit and completely undervalued and underrated by a lot of people. When Peace Walker came along, PSP went up further in my estimation.


It's wonderfully addictive and I must have played it more than a lot of my fully fledged PS3 games - and I'm not even close to stopping.

I think it was a masterstroke to put PW onto the PSP, as I'm sure I wouldn't have put anywhere near as much time into it if I was sat in front of my TV.

The little screen just seems to suck me in and, with a pair of headphones, I get totally immersed in the experience. Those hand-drawn cut scenes are just outstanding, and I love micro-managing my ever expanding military outfit.

It's those RPG elements that just get me hooked, coming away from a mission finding your Gustav Rocket Launcher is now a four-star, lean-mean-tank-killingmachine is very rewarding.

I was initially worried when it was first released, with a heavy emphasis on co-op play, as I thought this was going to be mandatory.

Thankfully, I got through the main campaign on my own with just the right amount of challenge from the excellent bosses.

What frustrates me about the PSP - as highlighted by Peace Walker - is the lack of AAA games. If developers really took the time they could make some fantastic titles, some fully fledged games.

Too many PSP games just seem like throw-away spin-offs. The problem is that a lot of developers don't take it seriously enough. Maybe Peace Walker will make people sit up and take notice and want to make PSP games that are just as good!

PSM3 responds: It's good to hear someone sticking up for PSP. Peace Walker is, arguably, the best portable game ever - and so ideally structured for handheld play, that a HD PS3 version, as some demanded, would be missing the point.

Sony's PSP strategy has been hit and miss - they've had great ideas, such as Wi-Fi and direct PSN access for game downloads, but they're too fiddly, or poorly implemented.

Piracy has killed the software market, too. We're almost certain to see a PSP2 next year, so let's pray they get that right from the off.


CVG says: We agree with James, the PSP is a great handheld with life left in it, so it's a shame it's being somewhat ignored. As he's highlighted, games like Peace Walker and both God of War: Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta are proof of that.

The PSP is particularly well-suited for RPG games so it's a shame Square Enix has thrown its catalog of Final Fantasy remakes exclusively on the Nintendo DS.

However, when all is said and done, it's about doing what's necessary to guarantee the health of your product and ultimately make money. Unfortunately the PSP install base is much smaller than that of the DS and piracy is rampant. Let's hope Sony has better fortunes with the PSP2.

GIVE US HITMAN
Eidos' best franchise is the Hitman series. Forget Just Cause, Kane & Lynch and even the Lara Croft games: Agent 47's adventures produce some of the best experiences you're ever likely to have on a PlayStation.

Big baldy has yet to receive an outing on PS3 - my question is, what's taking so long? I want to get the thrill of following a target through the chaos of Mardi Gras; I want to experience the excitement of putting together my W2000 sniper rifle with the intent of calmly head-shotting my would-be victims; I want to feel the adrenaline pump as I try to be a silent assassin.

Blood Money left us with an exceptional ending. Agent 47 wasn't actually betrayed. It was just a ruse so that he could take out the head honcho of the Franchise at his 'funeral'. Diana works for the royal
family! C'mon! How could you not love that ending? Now


Now just think what they could do on the PS3. Get it together, Eidos, and make a new Hitman game.

PSM3 responds: We agree. Hitman is Eidos' best property, but since Blood Money, developer IO have churned out two mediocre Kane & Lynch games and Mini Ninjas.

Hitman 5 was tipped for this year, but went quiet. Expectations are so high, we hope the delay is born of IO's perfectionism, not struggles with PS3 - which sealed the fate of fellow PS2 gods Pandemic and Free Radical. Still, we're bracing for good news soon.

CVG says: The developer's work on the Kane & Lynch franchise doesn't exactly inspire us to champion a new Hitman, but after that brief recap how could we say no - we're with you Jonny.

One minor issue though; we're pretty sure Eidos (now owned by Square Enix) also has the Soul Reaver franchise, and if it's a choice between Agent 47 and Raziel - we're backing the vampire-turned-wraith all the way.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS ...

It seems after 2 years of first talking about going open source with freeDO, the team have actually finally release it.

Admin/felix of the freedo forums posted:

So anyone looking forward to playing a few 3DO games on there Dreamcast, PSP, PS3 etc?

Thanks to Basile for the news ...

Hi All,

SimCoupe emulates a SAM Coupe - an 8-bit, Z80-based home computer released in 1989 by Miles Gordon Technology.
For more information on the machine itself, including history and technical specification you can have a look on http://www.simcoupe.org

Originally developed for UNIX and DOS systems by Allan Skillman, it has been then improved and ported to SDL by Simon Owen, Dave Laundon.

Caanoo-SIm is a port of the PSP/Gp2X versions i've previously released. Special thanks to Nick666 for gfx.

How to use it ? Everything is in the README.txt file.

on my blog

Enjoy,

Zx. ...

According to a recent research survey, iPhone 4s are the most reliable smartphones, while still being the most prone to accidental damage. Third-party warranty provider SquareTrade looked at their SquareTrade Care Plan database and analyzed failure rates of over 50,000 smart phones covered by the company's Care Plans, finding that the iPhone 4 had the least malfunctions but was the most susceptible to accidents. The study also showed that all manufacturers improved their failure rate since the first such study in 2008.

SquareTrade looked at four months of iPhone 4 warranty claims, eight months of claims from Motorola and HTC owners, and a year of iPhone 3GS claims, then extrapolated a 12-month failure rate - excluding accidental damage - for all devices. The iPhone 4 device was the most reliable with only 2.1% of the owners reporting a malfunction, followed closely by iPhone 3GS...

http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-news...dont-drop.html ...

According to a recent research survey, iPhone 4s are the most reliable smartphones, while still being the most prone to accidental damage. Third-party warranty provider SquareTrade looked at their SquareTrade Care Plan database and analyzed failure rates of over 50,000 smart phones covered by the company's Care Plans, finding that the iPhone 4 had the least malfunctions but was the most susceptible to accidents. The study also showed that all manufacturers improved their failure rate since the first such study in 2008.

SquareTrade looked at four months of iPhone 4 warranty claims, eight months of claims from Motorola and HTC owners, and a year of iPhone 3GS claims, then extrapolated a 12-month failure rate - excluding accidental damage - for all devices. The iPhone 4 device was the most reliable with only 2.1% of the owners reporting a malfunction, followed closely by iPhone 3GS...

http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-news...dont-drop.html ...

News via http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/...ZkIxlqNlPd.php

Marcan released the first Open Source Drivers for Kinect:
[QUOTE]
Horribly hacky first take at a Kinect Camera driver. Does RGB and Depth.

main.c implements a simple OpenGL visualization. Hopefully it should be mostly self-explanatory... You pretty much just open the USB device, call cams_init(dev, depthimg, rgbimg), and your depthimg and rgbimg callbacks getcalled as libusb processes events.

TODO:
- TONS of cleanup. I mean LOTS.
- Proper buildsystem (CMake probably)
- Determine exactly what the inits do
- Bayer to RGB conversion that doesn't suck
- Integrate support for the servo and accelerometer (which have already been reverse engineered)

BIG TODO: audio. The audio chip (the Marvell) requires firmware and more init and does a TON of stuff including the crypto authentication to prove that it is an original Kinect and not a clone. Who knows what this thing does to the incoming audio. This should be interesting to look at.

Official Site: http://www.marcansoft.com ...