Thursday, April 30, 2009

videogame cartoons that didn't really need to exist

While many videogame-based movies turn out to be total crap, television has been blessed over the years with several very awesome cartoon adaptations of video game stories. Wikipedia lists quite a few. After all, what child of the 80's didn't love Dr. Robotnik on Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog or the incredibly annoying Link on Legend of Zelda? Still, there had to be a few misses out there, and 1Up.com has a fun feature detailing 5 of them. The description of BattleToads is especially hilarious:
Of all of these, Battletoads probably stays closest to its subject material. I'm going to chalk that up to the fact that Battletoads was already just about the stupidest thing imaginable.
Top 5 Not-So-Classic Videogame Cartoons from 1Up.com

ps3 to dominate 3 to 5 years from now?

As the saying goes, when the video game market gives you lemons, make lemonade! Outgoing President of Sony Europe, David Reeves, calls the Playstation 3's market success a "tortoise and hare situation", predicting that the PS3 will slowly begin to steamroll the Xbox 360 and eventually reach a dead heat in sales. I guess he believes that there is real strength and promise in the selection of upcoming PS3 titles will eventually have people wondering why they ever doubted the system in the first place.
People will say PS3 took a while to get going but it really caught up very quickly and confounded many of the critics from the first year," he said of the consoles position on the market.
"When I see the line-up ahead, when I see what's lined up on the new product side, I'm very, very optimistic for what I see for PlayStation's future in the PAL territories," he added.
I have heard rumors that Sony is planning a re-release of the backwards-compatible Playstation 3 that plays most PS2 games. I could see potentially buying one at that point but the PS3's current price tag and fairly threadbare game library just aren't enough to get me yet. I guess we'll see if Reeves' predictions play out or if his optimism is just wishful thinking.

PS3 to be dominant in 3 - 5 years, says Reeves

how developers price dlc

Ever wondered exactly why Horse Armor costs 200 points and how developers like Bethesda Softworks come around to deciding how to price and market downloadable content for their games? Thanks to Gamesradar, we have an answer from Todd Howard, game director for Fallout 3:
For Fallout, we decided the sweet spot for us developing and for what the users wanted was to do themed “packs”, not one-off weapons or armors, but a pack that comes as one long adventure that has its own identity, that has some more meat on it. And so far, that model has been very popular both internally and externally.
GR Asks: How do devs decide the size and price of DLC?

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

marvel vs. capcom 2 on xbla and psn

Anyone who loves fighting games knows Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 is one of the hardest to find out there due to its limited run after Capcom losts its licensing of the Marvel franchise. Anyway, you can still find copies for the Playstation 2 and Xbox out there but they're expensive, so instead, you'll be able to download this classic 2D fighter on Xbox Live Arcade or on the Playstation Network. The game will cost $14.99 and will feature a few game changes and upgrading graphics.
One nifty bit of trivia that we learned is that the original 3D backgrounds for Marvel vs. Capcom 2 were created at a higher resolution than the arcades or home consoles could handle at the time. Those assets were saved, which means this new version of the game will have the best looking backgrounds yet seen in Marvel vs. Capcom 2.

Monday, April 27, 2009

new bundles everywhere

lime green nintendo ds bundleRight on the heels of the Greatest Hits bundle being announced, rumors abound that there might be yet another Xbox 360 Elite bundle coming out, this time featuring Grand Theft Auto IV and its expansion The Lost and Damned. On the other end of the gaming spectrum, Nintendo is releasing a Mother's Day limited edition DS Lite (yup, not DSi... weird) in a cute lime green color and packaged with Personal Trainer: Cooking and a flowery matching case. I think I still like my Brain Age ice blue DS better but the lime green is pretty awesome. I think it's actually one of the European exclusive colors - I met a guy once who had imported a lime green one bundled with New Super Mario Bros. in a bunch of different languages. With all these systems coming bundled with games, it's a good time to pick up a 360 or DS if you've never made the plunge before. Also, I never knew about the gold Zelda DS accented with Triforce bundle. Nintendo should re-release that one!

watching tv is a good thing!

I had a great helpful interaction at work yesterday and I chalk it all up to watching too much TV. Thanks, cable! Anyway, I'm sure you've seen the slew of DS and DSi commercials that are out right now. Well, a lady came into our store looking for a game she had seen on one of these commercials. I was busy innocently stickering used games when I overheard my coworker blindly guessing at puzzle games to try and figure out what this lady was looking for ("Ummm, there's... Matchstick?"). Being a big fan of commercials as well as DS games, I butted in and asked if I could help. "Well, there's two women on a couch..." 'Nuff said! That's Professor Layton and the Curious Village. I confirmed that it was indeed the triangular coin-moving puzzle she had seen with Phoebe from friends, located the nearest store with it in stock and sent her on her way. The moral is that watching TV and especially commercials is in fact good for your job. LOL.

Friday, April 24, 2009

little king's story sounds pretty awesome

If you are a fan of RPGs and also a Wii player, you're in luck because the upcoming Wii title Little King's Story is getting fantastic reviews. Co-developed by Town Factory and Cing (who made my beloved Hotel Dusk and Trace Memory) and published by Marvelous Entertainment, Little King's Story is an RPG with a deep and completely explorable world full of side quests, collectibles and other unlockable goodness. Apparently the game may be the longest Wii adventure made thus far and promises much enjoyment in developing the world around you by battling and foraging for treasures. It's great to hear good things about this game, which has a June release date here in the US. Little King's Story sounds like one to check out this summer!

why spore didn't hit the consoles

Spore was released for the PC and Mac with miniature versions available for the iPhone and the DS. Now, Will Wright explains why the evolution game hasn't debuted on console systems... yet. Mostly he discusses why it's important to develop games with individual platforms in mind, and the necessity of adapting games to fit the unique qualities of each console. I think this says a lot about why his games are typically awesome, deep and wide-reaching. Says Wright:
We can't do everything at once, so we have to say, 'What platforms would it kind of evolve the fastest on?' So you can sort of look at a straight port to the PS3 and Xbox 360 and basically have the same game we have on the PC... or we could say, 'What can we do on this platform that will help us explore different parts of the design?' I think the Wii is really unique in that sense, with the things you can do on Wii that you can't do on other platforms right now. It's represented a lot of learning for us in terms of the directions we might take it. So I'd say that's one of the under-appreciated aspects of how we choose to deploy this on different platforms.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

motionplus bundled with two EA games

The long-anticipated Wii MotionPlus controller add-on will be hitting stores soon enough, and while Nintendo does not have Wii Sports Resort ready to go, Electronic Arts will be bundling two new sports titles with the MotionPlus this summer. The MotionPlus accessory will be for sale on its own, but if you're into sports games you'll be able to pick up either Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2010 or EA Grand Slam Tennis with the accessory bundled with the game. The MotionPlus controller will revolutionize the Wii motion controls and hopefully add some much needed accuracy and acceleration measurements to the Wii's control system. I'm looking forward to trying out new games with this add-on once it's been released.

spotlight on pikmin 2

As I mentioned previously, Pikmin 2 is one of several GameCube games re-released with Wii motion controls as part of the Wii's New Play Control! series. If you've never played the Pikmin games before, the original is pretty awesome and definitely not like many other games out there, but the real masterpiece in my opinion was the sequel. The second game really expanded the possibilities of the tiny world it's set in, plus you get two new kinds of Pikmin with all sorts of wacky puzzles and situations to deal with. The graphics are a real step up, and you no longer have the time/day restraints of the first game. Check out this review for more information on the New Play Control! Pikmin 2 plus more detail about the game itself.

new 360 elite bundle

Rumor has it that Microsoft has a new Xbox 360 Elite bundle on the way. Priced at its usual $399, this one comes with not one but two games, and both fairly desirable ones at that. The black console with a 120GB hard drive will be packaged with Halo 3 and Fable II, both Xbox 360 exclusives. If you've never owned a 360 before this is actually a pretty damn good deal, if you're the kind of gamer who needs the big hard drive. Personally I have yet to come close to filling up my 20GB but we don't download much stuff. Anyway, the black 360 is pretty cool looking and the games come close to a $100 value, so you're pretty much getting the black console and the extra 60 GB for the price of the regular Pro 60GB system. I still think Microsoft needs to come out with a rainbow spectrum of color options for 360 cases! That would definitely stand out against the black PS3 and the white Wii.

new fallout game

Looks like there is a new Fallout game in the works by Bethesda and Obsidian, makers of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II and Neverwinter Nights. The new title is called Fallout: New Vegas and is due out for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2010. It will apparently be an RPG like Fallout 3 although it isn't a sequel. I bet it will have a lot of the cool aspects of Fallout 3 like V.A.T.S. along with some interesting innovations and the obvious differences in setting between DC metro and Vegas. Sounds cool!

Monday, April 20, 2009

godfather 2 is pretty cool

We picked up Electronic Arts' recent release Godfather 2 and have been enjoying it so far. The graphics are very nice and we haven't seen much clipping or graphical issues yet despite some reviews mentioning problems there. We haven't gone very far but one of my first impressions is how awesome the character design system is. There are tons of customization options for hair, eye color, face shape and clothing. Even on the extreme ends of the x-y axis sliders the faces all look believable and lifelike. It actually made me wonder if EA borrowed from new character design in the Sims 3 for this game... I was very impressed with how much you could custom-create a character and it really felt very Sims-like to me, so if Sims 3 delivers a character design system as good as the one in Godfather 2 I'll be very happy!

more new play control titles announced

Following the release of Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis and the upcoming date for Donkey Kong Jungle Beat in May, Nintendo has announced a few more classic GameCube titles that will be re-released for the Wii with new motion controls. Joining the New Play Control! series will be Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Chibi-Robo!. Pikmin 2 and Metroid Prime have already been released as New Play Control! games in Japan but neither they nor the two new announced titles, which will debut in Japan in June, have launch dates in the US as of yet. I think the Wii control series is a great way to bridge new Wii customers with the amazing library of GameCube games, which Nintendo was nice enough to make compatible for the Wii. I heart Nintendo!

fallout movie in the works?

Apparently developer Bethesda Softworks has trademarked the rights to a television series and film based on the Fallout universe that was the focus of Fallout 3, one of last year's most highly acclaimed games. This seems to indicate that we will probably see a major motion picture in the works over the next few years based on Fallout 3. Cool stuff! While Fallout will make a cool story for a movie, I think it would be even more awesome if they eventually make an Elder Scrolls movie! That would really rock.

square enix moves west

Game developer Square Enix is set to publish its first title outside of Japan and it certainly is a contrast to Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and other very Japanese games they are known for. Square Enix's first western title will be Order of War, a real-time strategy game set in the second World War. The company says Order of War's setting will be on a "massive scale" with "cinematic intensity never before seen in a WWII strategy game". The game's campaigns cover the war's eastern and western fronts, and screenshots and trailers thus far look pretty beautiful, but it seems like this game's been done before. Guess we'll see when it comes out!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

level editor in pc version of braid

Video games have truly had their gears exposed in the current world of user-generated content and the new release of Braid for the PC is no exception. Apparently built into the game is a level editor that allows users to create custom levels of the critically acclaimed puzzle game previously just on XBLA. Braid creator Jonathan Blow has confirmed the existence of the level editor within the PC game and has hinted that he will be following it up with more developer tools. In the future you may even be able to make your own entire game based on these tools, even importing photoshop files to customize backgrounds. Cool stuff.

Braid PC has hidden bonus: a level editor

halo encyclopedia to be released

Because clearly the six novelizations of the insanely popular game franchise Halo were not enough, publisher DK and Microsoft are teaming up to release a Halo Encyclopedia later this year. The tome will contain everything you ever needed to know about Master Chief and the Spartans, the bad guys, the weapons, the environments and really anything else ever mentioned in the Halo series. Do you see yourself buying the Halo Encyclopedia when it is available later this year?

Monday, April 13, 2009

wii silent hill looks very promising

Konami's announced Wii title Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is certainly getting gamers excited all over the place. It really does sound awesome and screenshots and demo videos have the online world abuzz over how awesome this game hopefully will be. It looks like you control your view with a flashlight shining, a control system similar to Dementium 13: the Ward, a great survival horror title on the DS. This new Silent Hill game should really set a standard for great M-for-mature games on the Wii and show everyone just how cool the Wii can really be. The game will also be out on the Playstation 2 and PSP systems but the Wii's motion controls should give it an edge. Can't wait!

braid on pc

Last year's innovative and critically acclaimed Xbox Live Arcade title Braid is now available for PC users for $14.99. From everything I've heard about Braid this sounds like a very fair price for the pretty little game that got much attention after its August 2008 release for download from XBLA. I still haven't tried this game but I really ought to. I will probably download it one of these days onto the 360 but it's nice that PC users can now play Braid as well.

ea sends out promotional brass knuckles, recalls them

It's just like the headline says. Electronic Arts sent out promotional kits to game reviewers for Godfather II which launched last week and included were "novelty brass knuckles" that EA is now asking reviewers to send back. Apparently brass knuckles even of the novelty variety are not so legal in several states where reviewers recieved these clever but misdemeanorizing press kits. EA of course had nothing very interesting to say regarding the issue. Godfather II got a 7.7 from IGN and seems like it might be pretty fun, but hopefully EA didn't spend too much money on brass knuckles...

Friday, April 10, 2009

game retailer scandal!

What an incendiary headline, right? Anyway, here is an interesting article regarding a situation with a policy at a certain video game retailer. All I can say is... no comment!
The alleged practice of GameStop lending new copies of games to employees at their stores and then later selling those games as new, unused copies, may be a violation of federal law.

GameStop's "check-out" policy, confirmed to Kotaku by a number of the chain's managers and employees, could fall under scrutiny of the Federal Trade Commission.

gaming's best easter eggs

We all love Easter Eggs - no, not the delicious chocolate variety but the kind left behind in video games by developers or programmers as inside jokes or shoutouts to players exploring the game or taking advantage of glitches. In the spirit of Easter this Sunday, IGN has assembled their list of the top ten Easter Eggs in video games. My favorite is the first listed, where a bad guy in Metal Gear Solid would scan your memory card for Konami saved games and comment on the games you've played. Love it!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

the dsi is selling well

The Nintendo DSi sold 600,000 units over this past weekend between the American and European markets. Considering how many people in the world already own or have owned a DS original or DS Lite, and the current lack of DSi specific games other than downloadable applications, those are pretty huge numbers. Not surprising though, as Nintendo has been marketing the DSi all over the place and has a good formula for making their products must-haves.

30 adventure games worth playing

One of my favorite genres of games is the adventure game, which is generally characterized by an open environment you can explore, items to find, use and combine, puzzles to solve, and a deeper plot and character development than you get with most games these days. I personally prefer the point-and-click variety that don't demand real-time action or fighting but I've played quite a few adventure titles in my day and they definitely offer a more all-encompassing gaming experience than your average shooter or beat-em-up. This list doesn't include my all-time favorite adventure franchise, the Gabriel Knight series, but then again those are old. Still, this is a pretty comprehensive list of the adventure genre with a lot of great suggestions, some of which I have already tracked down and plan on trying out.

eternal darkness is cool

We've been using our Wii more and more to enjoy classic GameCube games lately. Backwards compatibility is a wonderful thing. Thank you, Nintendo! Anyway we just picked up Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem the other day and it seems like a very cool, very promising adventure game. This one gets an awesome 9.6 on IGN's review and though I don't usually like adventure games that also make you fight stuff in real time, this one works it into the game in a well thought-out way that makes it less of a hindrance than I expected. You are constantly learning as you play and adapting to make better decisions, like how to kill guys and whatnot. There is an element of "insanity" that causes hallucinations and other weird things to happen if you don't manage it properly. The main character is a girl whose family history is the focus of the game's plot. You also get to play 12 different characters over thousands of years, and there are three intertwined plots that all need to be completed to view the ultimate ending. I'm looking forward to delving further into this GameCube game, which looks great on the Wii despite last generation graphics. Definitely one to check out if you like epic adventures or are a fan of the GameCube.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

re5 dlc not so huge, already on disc?

Rumors are flying on the internet that the Resident Evil 5 downloadable content, which adds achievements, objects and new online modes to the game on the 360 and PS3, may have been packaged with the game all along, despite Capcom's claims that it was beyond their development scope for the initial launch. The downloads are suspiciously tiny (1.8 MB on the 360 and only 351 KB on the PS3), indicating that it's just a key that unlocks content already on the game disc. Sooo, it's a little bunk to be charged $5 for this content after paying $60 for the game. Still, I'm sure it's going to sell like hotcakes, with the popularity of the game and of online multiplayer modes in general.

fatal frame 4 won't come to america

If you haven't heard of Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse, it sounds awesome - it's an adventure game where your only weapon against ghosts in a haunted mansion is a soul-capturing camera. Sick, right? Unfortunately it will never see daylight in North America, according to Tecmo, whose spokespeople said that Nintendo North America predicted the game wouldn't do well commercially and thus didn't warrant a release. Boo! Not fair. Maybe someday down the road they will change their minds. Until then we can only hope for more cool survival horror-style games for the Wii to come out this year.

Monday, April 6, 2009

ds games to come in 2009

Now that the DSi has finally launched you can bet we will be seeing more and more titles coming out for the Nintendo DS/DSi in the coming year. Granted, there's a ton of crap coming out, much of it aimed at little girls (Girl Time? Imagine: Makeup Artist? Barf.) but still, there are quite a few titles that have already piqued my interest. Here are three of them:
Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Mummy (ships 5/26/09). Sounds like another hopefully good point-and-click mystery adventure surrounding a murder most foul. The plot involves archaeology and a mummy and claims to have many challenging riddles and puzzles to solve.

Miami Law (ships 6/9/09). Another adventure game although this one is a little more action-y as well. IGN calls it somewhat Phoenix Wright-like in its graphic novel format which sounds like my cup of tea, plus it just looks kind of cool!

Flower Sun and Rain (ships 6/16/09). From Killer 7 and No More Heroes creator Suda51, this is actually a remake of a PS2 game. The plot follows the main character as he experiences the same day - and terrorist attack - over and over at a hotel and must figure out why. This one's getting a lot of hype and hopefully will incorporate some creative touch-screen functions into the game along with many new puzzles that have been added from the PS2 version.

wii emulator in 720p

Everyone knows the Wii is limited to games in 480p resolution, but now there's a Wii emulator called Dolphin that will run Wii games from a (high-performance) PC in HD. Videos on YouTube have shown what Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King would look like in 720p HD. Pretty cool stuff.

gamestop game days sale is on

GameStop's huge annual sale has begun and you can get a few good titles for really good prices if you're looking for some good deals. The highlight of the sale I think is Guitar Hero: Aerosmith for the 360, which is marked down to $9.99 and comes with a free white wired guitar controller. Other steals include the Playstation 2 trilogy packs like the Mortal Kombat Kollection and Resident Evil: the Essentials for $19.99. Check out the full list of Game Days sale titles at GameStop.

harvest moon ds: island of happiness

I picked up Harvest Moon DS: Island of Happiness the other day and man, it is like crack to me! I start playing and before I know it it's been four hours of planting, weeding, walkin' around and buying stuff for the farm. I actually think this is my favorite format of Harvest Moon that I've played and the sprites and backrounds look great on the DS's screens. Having the choice of boy or girl character and the resulting bachelors/bachelorettes in town makes this game a good one for guys and girl gamers alike. The touch controls complement this game wonderfully and I looove the Pet the Animal minigame! So cute. If you're a fan of the series Island of Happiness is definitely a must-have.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

sony's response to the dsi

I don't usually post on weekends nor do I make it a habit of posting after imbibing alcohol but I just can't help myself tonight! I worked a late night setting up our store for the DSi launch and while I can't say I have a DSi reserved for myself, nor do I see anything super innovative from the DSi - I mean, I have a DS Lite, an excellent digital camera and an iPod - they're still kind of cool with some new features. I don't think I need one. Still, if I were the PR person for a major competitor (*cough* Sony *cough*) I'm not sure I would have gone to these lengths:
If Nintendo is really committed to reaching a broader, more diverse audience of gamers beyond the "kids" market that they've always engaged, there isn't much new with the DSi to support that. Significant gamer demographic groups are being ignored, and there continues to be limited opportunities for games from external publishers to do well on the DSi. Compare that with the PSP platform, where we have many blockbuster franchises from our publishing partners launching this year, representing a wide variety of genres and targeting diverse demographics. Games such as Rock Band Unplugged from MTV Games, Assassin's Creed from Ubisoft, Dissidia Final Fantasy from Square Enix, and Hannah Montana from Disney demonstrate the commitment that publishers have to the PSP. From our own first-party studios, we're launching unique versions of LittleBigPlanet and MotorStorm, and we're also planning a steady stream of downloadable games -- both new titles and PSone classics -- to add to the content that PSP owners can already purchase wirelessly through PlayStation Store.

Friday, April 3, 2009

nintendo game boy turns 20

The original Nintendo Game Boy launched in April, 1989, making it 20 years old this month! The Game Boy did for games what his older friend Walkman did for music by making it portable; my generation truly grew up mashing buttons on the handheld devices. Tetris, Final Fantasy, plus Zelda, Mario, Pokemon... All our favorite Nintendo heroes going with us wherever we wanted them to. Cheers, little Game Boy!
The 8-bit Game Boy family ruled portable gaming from 1989 until its 32-bit successor, the Game Boy Advance, came along in 2001. The system wasn't actually discontinued until 2003, a 14-year reign unmatched by any platform besides the Atari VCS and SNK's Neo-Geo. The difference, of course, is that the Game Boy sold healthily until the very end, where those longer-lived contenders were well into "obscure niche" territory by the time they wheezed to an obsolescent finale. The only system that's ever outsold the Game Boy family (by which I mean Game Boy, GB Pocket, GB Light, and GB Color) is PlayStation 2...although the DS is closing in rapidly.

ps2 to compete with wii for family market?

Since the Playstation 2's recent price drop to $99, apparently it is being repositioned as a family-friendly console in hopes of digging into the Nintendo Wii's near monopoly hold on the kiddies and their parents. Personally I think the Wii's unique control system and overall "voice" will keep it at the top of the family market, although there certainly are lots and lots of games available for the PS2 that are kid-friendly. Plus it is kind of hard to imagine what is essentially a 15-year old console competing too heavily with the innovative Wii and its modernized games and wireless capabilities. Also, not so sure how selling PS2s will ultimately sell more PS3s unless they re-backwards-compatible-ize the PS3 since the game library for the new system is still pretty shallow and includes almost no family-oriented games besides Sing It! and movie licenses like Madagascar.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

mc chris is funny

Shot at a Gamespot After Hours event, this video features MC Chris sharing his feelings on Kingdom Hearts II and why Resident Evil 4 is way better. Hilarious and pretty NSFW unless you have headphones or your own office and don't mind loud swearing and a drug reference. Enjoy!


take 2 interactive settles in court

Take 2 Interactive, makers of the Grand Theft Auto series, have agreed to pay $3 million for a settlement in a stock options lawsuit related to backdating options to an all-time low price.
“Take-Two’s seven-year backdating scheme was egregious and pervasive, and caused the company to materially misrepresent its financial condition to investors,” Christopher Conte, an S.E.C. attorney in Washington overseeing the case, said in a statement.

The S.E.C. contended Mr. Brant and other former senior executives had “fraudulently enriched” key employees by granting them stock options backdated to days of historically low closing prices. Mr. Brant pleaded guilty to falsifying records and was sentenced to five years’ probation.

silent hill: shattered memories on the wii

Nintendo Power has revealed an upcoming "new" Silent Hill game (not officially being called a remake but a "revisiting" of the first title in the Silent Hill series) called Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. The Wii motion controls will let the player interact with environmental puzzles and explore the freaky ash-falling world of Silent Hill. I have a soft spot for the movie version but have never really played the games. I've heard bad things about the latest installment, Silent Hill: Homecoming but I'm still glad to see more scary games coming out on the Wii. Keep 'em coming, developers!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

oblivion dlc discounts, horse armor increase

Strange marketing decisions, or just a silly April Fool's Day gimmick? Who knows. Bethesda Softworks has discounted its downloadable content for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for the next week so if you've never expanded your Oblivion world, now's the time to pick up these expansion packs. Every Oblivion DLC is half-price for the next week, except the Horse Armor pack, which has jumped from 200 to 400 Microsoft points ($5). Bethesda's PR/marketing guy Pete Hines had this to say:
"In celebration of the arrival of April, the wackiness of April Fool's Day, and the upcoming 3rd anniversary of the release of Horse Armor (Friday, April 3), we are pleased to announce that for the next week all Oblivion DLC for Xbox 360 is half price, except for Horse Armor, which is twice as much as usual."
Oblivion DLC half off, Horse armor twice as much