Microsoft Makes Special Consoles for Xbox Live 10th Anniversary

Microsoft is rewarding the members who have been on Xbox Live the longest with special consoles. As revealed by Xbox Live’s Major Nelson on Twitter, Microsoft is “surprising some of the Xbox Live members that have been with us the longest” by sending them a special limited edition console featuring 10 year anniversary imagery.

A Microsoft spokesperson explained to IGN that “we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of Xbox Live by conducting special promotions for our members worldwide and today we began to surprise a select number of our loyal 10 year Xbox Live members in the U.S. with special edition anniversary consoles. These consoles were created for a special promotion and will not be available at retail locations.”

The console features a special “Xbox Live: A Decade of Entertainment” logo that includes imagery from the original Xbox, Kinect, the Vision camera and much more from Xbox’s history. In addition, the disc drive says “XBL 10” instead of the usual Xbox 360.

It’s unclear how many of the systems will be manufactured and what the specific qualifications are to earn one, but we’ve reached out to Microsoft and will update with any additional info we receive. Until then, watch out interview with Bungie’s Harold Ryan about Xbox Live’s 10th anniversary on Up At Noon:

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following @garfep on Twitter or garfep on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Minecraft Beats Modern Warfare 3 and FIFA 13 on XBLA

Minecraft is being played by more people on Xbox Live Arcade than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 or FIFA 13.

As posted by Major Nelson, the Microsoft Live activity chart for the week ending October 15 shows Minecraft (Xbox 360 Edition) has topped the charts for the very first time, beating out retail heavy-hitters Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and FIFA 13. They had to settle for second and third places, respectively.

A quick scan through previous chart updates shows that Call of Duty games have pretty much nabbed the top spot for the past four years. It's another colossal milestone for the game, which was recently revealed to have sold four million copies on Microsoft's console, making it the best-selling XBLA game ever.

The Microsoft Live activity chart counts how many unique users are playing a game whilst connected to Xbox Live. In addition to Minecraft, Modern Warfare 3 and FIFA 13, the rest of the top five is rounded out by Call of Duty: Black Ops and Borderlands 2.

Minecraft was the recipient of a massive patch last week, which brought with it a host of changes to the game. A full list of the latest additions and changes to the game can be found in the Minecraft Wiki.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant and has a vested interest in mines, being Welsh and all. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

NBA Live 13 Would Have Been Downloadable

Microsoft has revealed that EA’s canceled NBA Live 13 would have been a downloadable title. In a post on Twitter, Xbox Live’s Larry Hryb (Major Nelson) wrote “NBA Live 13 was supposed to be today's XBLA title, but EA made the decision not to launch it today.”

Hryb is referring to EA’s announcement last week that NBA Live 13 will not be released, as EA will instead hold off to focus on next year’s entry. While no platforms were ever discussed, it was previously assumed that NBA Live 13 was scheduled for a retail release since the last entry in the franchise -- NBA Live 10 -- was released on disc. Whether or not the game would have been exclusive to Xbox or multiplatform is unknown.

EA has discussed plans to continue the NBA Live franchise in the future, but whether that will be at retail or as a download remains to be seen. For more on EA’s decision not to release NBA Live 13, you can read the full statement from EA Sports executive vice president Andrew Wilson.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

NBA Live 13 Would Have Been Downloadable

Microsoft has revealed that EA’s canceled NBA Live 13 would have been a downloadable title. In a post on Twitter, Xbox Live’s Larry Hryb (Major Nelson) wrote “NBA Live 13 was supposed to be today's XBLA title, but EA made the decision not to launch it today.”

Hryb is referring to EA’s announcement last week that NBA Live 13 will not be released, as EA will instead hold off to focus on next year’s entry. While no platforms were ever discussed, it was previously assumed that NBA Live 13 was scheduled for a retail release since the last entry in the franchise -- NBA Live 10 -- was released on disc. Whether or not the game would have been exclusive to Xbox or multiplatform is unknown.

EA has discussed plans to continue the NBA Live franchise in the future, but whether that will be at retail or as a download remains to be seen. For more on EA’s decision not to release NBA Live 13, you can read the full statement from EA Sports executive vice president Andrew Wilson.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com