Hasta La Gadget!

Five years ago, Microsoft launched an idea to generate buzz around its Xbox Live Arcade platform during the dog days of summer by creating a weeks-long promotion in which new games would be featured every week and special deals and promotions would encourage gamers to download new content at a time of the year when they had nothing better to do. Today, it’s still doing the same thing.

So to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Summer of Arcade, Microsoft has decided to dole out some exclusive downloadable content for a couple of its most popular Xbox Live Arcade titles – Minecraft and Trials Evolution. The former is an indie PC hit-turned console phenomenon while the latter give players access to a motorcycle racing frenzy. So on July 18, any Xbox Live user who visits the Summer of Arcade on the XBL Dashboard will receive content for both titles.

On Minecraft – “Get an exclusive free customized Summer of Arcade Skin Pack exclusively by visiting the Xbox LIVE experience on your Xbox 360 during the promotion. The pack will contain skins for all five Summer of Arcade games.” And on Trials – “Each week during the Summer of Arcade, you can download a free track for Trials Evolution, inspired by each new Summer of Arcade game release.” Also launching on July 18 is Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD, the first featured downloadable game for the Summer of Arcade.

[via Major Nelson]

Microsoft announces Summer of Arcade freebies is written by Mark Raby & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

NPD has released its report of video game sales data for June 2012, and like the months before, it isn’t all that pretty. Overall sales of both hardware and software were down 30% year-over-year, dropping from $989 million in June 2011 to $699 million last month. Hardware was the biggest loser, falling a whopping 45% to just $201 million in June.

Though software didn’t fare as bad as hardware did, it still did pretty terrible. In June 2011 software sales rang in at $461 million, but last month that figure took a 29% dive to $328 million. Accessories, on the other hand, actually grew year-over-year last month, climbing 4% to $169.8 million.

But wait! Before you start saying that we’re headed directly for another video game crash, keep in mind that NPD only tracks data for physical hardware, software, and accessories sales, meaning that everything else isn’t included in these figures. In fact, NPD analyst Anita Frazier says that when the company’s estimates for things like digital software purchases, DLC purchases (which includes money spent on microstransactions and subscriptions), rentals, used sales, and social game spending are all tallied up, consumers spent an estimated $1.36 billion on video games in June.

Looking at the top 10 software list for June, we see that Lego Batman 2 took the top spot, followed by Ghost Recon: Future Soldier in second place. Diablo III landed a third place ranking, while Max Payne 3 and NBA 2K12 rounded out the top five. Take a look at the full top ten list, but remember that this list only covers physical media sales:

1. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes – 360, Wii, PS3, PC, DS, 3DS, Vita
2. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier – PC, PS3, 360
3. Diablo III – PC
4. Max Payne 3 – PC, 360, PS3
5. NBA 2K12 – PC, 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP
6. Batman: Arkham City – PC, 360, PS3
7. Pokemon Conquest – DS
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – 360, Wii, PS3, PC
9. Battlefield 3 – PC, 360, PS3
10. The Amazing Spider-Man – 360, PS3, Wii, DS, 3DS

Finally, the Xbox 360 finished off the month with 257,000 units sold, while Nintendo says that the 3DS sold 155,000 units, the DS 150,000, and the Wii rounded out the bottom with 95,000 sales. Sony has not yet commented on how many PS3s, PSPs, and Vitas were sold last month.

[via VG247]

June NPD: Lego Batman 2 on top, game sales down overall is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Wondering how Rocksteady is going to follow-up on the near-perfect Batman: Arkham City? According to sources speaking to Variety, we aren’t headed for another sequel, but instead a prequel that will feature Batman’s Justice League team mates. Yes, you heard right – apparently ol’ Bats won’t be alone in his next video game outing, as he’ll have the likes of Superman and Wonder Woman around to give him a hand.

According the rumor, the next Batman game from Rocksteady is set during the silver age of comics (which began in the mid-1950s, ending around 1970) and will focus on the Caped Crusader’s first encounter with the Joker. The game also covers the formation of the Justice League of America, which suggests that characters like Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Green Lantern will appear in some capacity.

A game that focuses on the early days of the Justice League would definitely be one to pay attention to, especially if it’s coming from Rocksteady. Though this is merely a rumor at this point in time, it definitely isn’t outside the realm of possibility, considering Rocksteady has said in the past that it would like to branch out and make video games about different superheroes.

Here’s hoping that Warner Brothers gets the ball rolling on such a project, if only because Superman is in dire need of being associated with something that’s actually good.

[via Variety]

Justice League prequel planned as follow-up to Batman: Arkham City is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

BioWare is set to offer yet another multiplayer add on for March’s Mass Effect 3, confirming that Earth will be the next war zone players will have to defend. We already had an idea that Earth was going to be the focus of the game’s next multiplayer DLC thanks to a leaked product listing that popped up last month, but after getting a release date for the Xbox 360 version yesterday, BioWare has officially confirmed and detailed the DLC for all three platforms. Hit the jump for all the details.

Just like that leaked listing from last month told us, this Earth DLC pack will have players fighting off the Reapers, Geth, and Cerberus in London, Rio, and Vancouver. The pack also tosses three new weapons into the mix – the Piranha assault shotgun, Acolyte pistol, and Typhoon assault rifle – and adds six new human classes to the roster of playable characters: the Destroyer Soldier, Paladin Sentinel, Demolisher Engineer, Slayer Vanguard, Shadow Infiltrator, and Fury Adept.

The pack is getting a worldwide Xbox 360 and PC release on July 17, with the North American PS3 version arriving on that day as well. If you’re playing on PS3 and live in Europe, you’re going to have to wait until July 18 to download it. Like all Mass Effect 3 multiplayer DLCs before this, the Earth pack will cost the very reasonable amount of absolutely nothing.

For more information on Mass Effect 3′s various DLC packs (and the controversy that surrounds some of them), check out the story timeline below!

[via BioWare]

Mass Effect 3 Earth DLC officially confirmed by BioWare is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Rovio has announced that it will be bringing the Angry Birds Trilogy to the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and the Nintendo 3DS. The company dropped some hints previously that it would be bringing the popular games from mobile devices to consoles, and now Rovio has said it will bring upgraded versions of the games to three consoles. There’s no word on when the Trilogy will be officially released, but the company is current working on enhancing the games.

Rovio’s Executive Vice President of Games, Petri Järvilehto, says the team reworked all the games for HDTVs and consoles: “There are new cinematics, extras and other entertaining content. In addition all of the existing material has been uprezzed and re-treated for the high-resolution and big screen.” Backgrounds have also been animated, and there are several lighting modes as well.

Angry Birds, Angry Birds Season, and Angry Birds Rio will be sold on one disc (or cartridge in the 3DS’ case), although there’s no mention of Angry Birds Space, or if the Trilogy will include the extra free levels found on iOS and Android. The company says that there are those with consoles perfectly content with a “casual” gaming experience, and that’s exactly who Rovio is targeting with this release.

The games will also support Kinect, PlayStation Move, and StreetPass. There’s no firm release date, but Rovio says it should be available to purchase in time for the all important holiday season.

[via IGN]

Angry Birds Trilogy coming to Xbox 360, PS3, and 3DS is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.