Soulcalibur, Tekken And Katamari Now Available For Download

Today Namco Bandai announced that it would start making future releases and back-catalogue titles available for download via PSN and Xbox Live.

"Expanding our distribution presence across all major platforms is an essential part of our worldwide corporate strategy," Robert Stevenson, vice president of online development at Namco Bandai Games America said.

"Through this initiative, our consumers will have access to our latest releases, best sellers, and hard to find classics with the press of a button."

Announced PlayStation Network Games for the PSP system:

Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny - $39.99

Tekken 6 - $39.99

Ridge Racer - $14.99

Me & My Katamari, available Dec. 22nd, - $14.99

Announced Xbox Live Games:

Ridge Racer 6 -1600 Microsoft Points

Beautiful Katamari, available Q1 2010

A lot of gamers will be very please by this announcement. I know I am. What's your most wanted classic game from Namco Bandai? Let us know in the comments below.

12/23/09 Ernice Gilbert

Xbox avatar pets available December 3rd

The dogs are about to be let out (awesome pun) today when a new and cuddly partner comes to join your Xbox avatar.

Major Nelson stated yesterday that you will now be able to buy yourself an animal buddy accessory for 240 Microsoft Points ($3) each ranging from animals such a large dog, pug dog, cat, Siamese cat, long haired cat, goldfish, monkey, bird, snake, pony, and for the few of you out there that strive to be like Paris Hilton, a purse dog.

Is it just a coincidence that these pet items are following in the wake of the recently announced 'Chocobo' item being used to promote Final Fantasy XIII? Probably, but we don't see why these items can't be put to good use.

I can see it now, an avatar game where you can level up and battle your pets for Xbox Live supremacy. Come on Microsoft, make it happen.

Get a free Final Fantasy XIII avatar item on the Xbox 360!

Remember how Microsoft and Square-Enix were holding a Twitter promo for the Xbox 360 release of Final Fantasy XIII? Well, fans of the series banded together and unlocked the prize which just happens to be a special avatar item.

What item is this you're asking? Well let's just say its 'Warking' awesome! That was a terrible pun, but regardless, go to the link provided and sign up for a free avatar Chocobo! All you need is an Xbox Live account!

Sadly, it is only available in the US region so Canadians (like myself) are out of lucky.

11/26/09 Colton West

MS: Xbox Live is 12 to 18 months ahead of PSN

The good folks at Microsoft have never been the type to keep quiet when it comes to sharing how they feel about their main rival in the gaming industry, Sony and the PS3. Yes, they're not afraid of speaking what to them is the truth at all.

While going through the company's recent London Press release, I spotted what really alarmed me, It's true Live might ahead of PSN, although some would argue that the two online services are on par. But 12 to 18 months ahead is kind of far fetched to me.

In the second paragraph, Martin Olausson, Director of Digital Media Research at Strategy Analytics said "Xbox 360 continues to pull ahead of the competition when it comes to delivering on a complete home entertainment experience and we think that Xbox Live currently is about 12 to 18 months ahead of its main rival Playstation Network when it comes to offering service and content beyond traditional games."

"By introducing innovative services and content such as Natal, instant streaming of full 1080P HD video, and integrating social media features such as Twitter and Facebook, Xbox will likely attract a wider audience than its rivals and is in a great position to maximize sales in the next few year."

Um..... Thoughts?

Full thing is here.

11/14/09 Ernice Gilbert

1 Million Xbox Live accounts banned this week

Throughout this week, Microsoft managed to bring the rain down on 1 million Xbox Live players who they believed were using modded consoles to play pirated games online.

"The health of the video game business depends on customers paying for the genuine products and services they receive from manufacturers, retailers, and the third parties that support them," Microsoft said.

It is still not known how Microsoft managed to identify the modded accounts, but we feel sorry for the poor 360 owners who managed to get a pirated copy of Modern Warfare 2 only to have their accounts banned. Not really.

The accounts affected by this large-scale ban does not spread to the console however. Players are still able to play single player games, they just cannot use the service.

PS3 was saved by the Wii, according to analyst

Okay, it's perceived that the PS3 wasn't obliterated by the Xbox 360 because of the exclusive blockbuster titles, Blu-ray, PSN which is now on par with Live, what else? It's now $299 (could not forget this one). Nope, the predictors were all wrong according DFC Intelligence, they said it's because of the Wii.

"The main danger that Sony faced is that the Xbox 360 would become embedded as the system of choice," according to a new report from the agency.

"Instead consumers flocked to the Nintendo Wii. The Xbox 360 had solid sales, but they have not been enough to give Microsoft any where near a break out market position."

If the decline of Wii sales continue through the holidays, the PS3 will become the main attraction because of its new price point and the imminence of God of War III, the report adds.

So Sony you're on top now. Maintain it.

Get more here.

11/05/09 Ernice Gilbert

Xbox Live Preview: The Halo Waypoint Update

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Jesse Burrows and I’m a new writer for Gamesthirst.com. I bring 25 years of social gaming and passion to the gaming table. With the introduction being said lets jump right to business, shall we?

After turning on my Xbox 360 to check out the free Forza 3 LCE that was accidently leaked (It does look nice on the dashboard), I found the Halo Waypoint update, available to Xbox Live Update Preview consoles only. First off, let me say I’m not the Halo player that I used to be since Halo 2, but I did play Halo 3. This update is for all you Halo fans out there.

The update offers everything a fan would be interested in. From a set of achievements, to a complete update on all the Halo news. As I navigated through the menus, I unlocked an avatar award, which got me excited and anticipating what else the update had to offer. On the menu, two options exist to open up everything:

The Intel and Career tab. The Intel tab gives all the latest news and past events that went on with the Halo: ODST launch, I personally won’t check out this tab since I haven’t really been playing Halo. It also opened a new set of menus called Career Milestones, Waypoint Awards and finally, Achievements. The Career Milestones tab tracks your progress from all three Halo games (minus Halo 1 and 2); you have to complete 40 milestones to reach a grand total of 2,900 points. For all you who have not completed the fight like me, you can have about eight milestones completed when you start the update. I really don’t know what the reward is for having the milestones complete because I haven’t.

This update gives me the fuel to buy the game again so I can unlock all the milestones. The waypoint awards are a collection of 15 awards that show when you beat the games on various levels. The achievements tab is exactly what it says it is. Last, but definitely not least is the Learn More tab, which breaks down everything you need to know to navigate around the Waypoint. Anyone out there who is a Halo fan and doesn’t have access to the update now can check it out on November 5.

10/31/09 Jesse Burrows