That’s why Microsoft isn’t planning on releasing the new controller until they think its ready and has a good lineup of launch titles to get people using it. They’ve got Rare working on games for the device, though fans are concerned given some of the unimpressive 360 launch titles the developer put out in the past.

Microsoft claims they’re not going after the casual gaming market or any other existing market segment with the Natal. They’re aiming to get people who still aren’t gaming into the mix, claiming that for many the controller is a barrier which they hope to eliminate by making all the controls dependent upon simple body motion. At this point it seems unlikely that they’ll get too many more people involved. There’s still a big portion of the populace who consider video games and anti-social waste of time.

The original Perfect Dark was announced a few days back for the Xbox Live Arcade, and now we have some screens of the game in its 1080p glory. In addition to the game being outputted into full HD, there is also an improvement in frame rate.

Through the official Xbox website, it is now known that the game will have updated visuals, online multiplayer for up to four players, and a leaderboard. Hit the jump for the rest of the screens.

Now here’s a funny story — A World of Warcraft user by the name of KarateChop recently was found to have been blowing through some of the game’s hardest instances without even breaking a sweat, even one-shotting the boss of Ulduar. But how?

Well, as the story goes, KarateChop logged on one day only to find a peculiar item (pictured above) sitting in his mailbox. Low and behold, the item was the Martin Fury, a developer only item that was accidently mailed to KarateChop.

Once Blizzard got wind of this they quickly proceeded to ban the offender’s entire guild; even guildies who weren’t present during Mr. Chop’s escapades. So a word of wisdom, if you find an item in your mailbox that gives you the possibility to take over the World of Warcraft, contact a GM.

Read (WoWInsider)

Rare has recently announced that 4J Studios’ Xbox Live Arcade port of popular N64 title, Banjo-Tooie is set to hit the service on April 29th.

The port will feature a “super-charged frame rate” along with a Stop ‘N’ Swop that was absent from the original release.

If you’re a real Banjo-Kazooie fan, you’ll be happy to hear that Rare will also release an appropriately themed Gamerpic pack for 80 Microsoft Points, featured above. Yippee!

Read (Banjo-Kazooie)

The 400 point-worth ($5) DLC is dubbed “LOG’s Lost Challenges” and will offer 12 new challenges, 7 new multiplayer modes and new achievements. It also offers some connectivity with the upcoming XBLA release of Banjo Tooie, enabling players of both games to unlock seven more vehicle blueprints.

Nuts & Bolts is Rare’s construction-centric take on the classic platformer series. It is exclusive to Xbox 360.

Microsoft recently announced plans to restructure the fabled Rare due to the current economical climate. But why restructure such a great development studio?

Well, Microsoft says:

“As the entire industry struggles to address the increasing scale and cost of development, we too have felt a need to restructure our current approach so we can speed development and better manage the scale required to create high quality games,” commented Mark Betteridge, studio manager.

It’s also noted that this could possible result in a few Rare employees to pack their bags even though the studio apparently has 4 unannounced titles in the works. This is really too bad, I remember falling in love with Rare ever since the Donkey Kong titles for SNES and the Banjo-Kazooie series for N64.
Read (GamesIndustry.Biz)

"We would like to assure you that contrary to earlier reports, we are aware of the issue and currently working on a title update to be released within the next 30 days that will fix it for those with Standard Definition TVs," reads an update on the company’s official Banjo blog.

The game is due out November 11, but the problem was noticed by gamers who downloaded the gameplay demo.

He was referring to the sudden closure of Ensemble Studios, the much vaunted developer of the Age of Empires series.

Both Rare and Lionhead have been criticized for not producing any solid franchise other than the ones it had pre-MGS days. Lionhead’s Fable 2 just went gold, and Rare is working on releasing a Banjo and Kazooie sequel for the Xbox 360.

It will be priced at 1200 Microsoft points ($15), but will be available as a free download to those who pre-order Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, which hits stores November 11.

The XBLA version of the game will feature additional content. Its sequel will also be getting the XBLA treatment early next year.

However, what is more interesting is that those who pre-order the game will receive a free download code for the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade release of the original Banjo Kazooie game. These customers will be able to access the game two weeks before the general public and will also be able to unlock extra content and features.

No release date for the XBLA game was provided, though Microsoft noted that it would be some time after Nuts and Bolts.

Although gamers want to play through the legendary Nintendo 64 shooter GoldenEye 007 again, licensing issues and other problems have kept Rare from bringing the game to either Xbox Live Arcade or the Wii Shop Channel.

“The ball’s not in anybody at Rare’s court really,” said Rare senior engineer Nick Burton. “It’s squarely in the license holders’ courts. It’s a shame. It’s kind of locked in this no man’s land. There’s nothing on [Xbox] Live Arcade, there’s nothing on Wii.”

A XBLA port was developed, however, it wasn’t released because Rare could not acquire the rights from Nintendo, which originally published the game.

“You’ve got the guys that own the license to the gaming rights now, the guys that have the licence to Bond as an IP, and there are umpteen licensees,” he continued. “You have to treat something that’s not seen the light of day as a prototype. I’ve had, what, four or five things that never happened. It’s funny that we don’t even talk about them a lot of the time, because you think, well, we might revisit it.”