I can 100% admit that I did not see this coming. Final Fantasy XIII, the system seller for the Playstation 3, is coming to the Xbox 360. It was announced at the end of the Microsoft keynote by Square-Enix head, Yoichi Wada, and will probably go down as the biggest announcement of this years E3. It happened, we saw it, and I still don't think anyone really believed it until it was actually stated that it was "Available for the Xbox 360 At Launch in North America and Europe."

I said in an earlier post today that Microsoft has deep pockets, and I think this has proven it more than anything before. I still can't even imagine the amount of work that went into making this deal happen, add onto the fact that up until today, no one seemed to know anything about it. As proven by the "GASP!" heard around the conference room.

Personally, I think it's a great move for both Microsoft and Square-Enix. The Xbox 360 is the console leader (Wii doesn't count) outside of Japan and when it comes to maximizing profit, you go where the money is. Now all we need to know is when this damn game is coming out!

Check out the debut of Final Fantasy XIII on the Xbox 360 below.



Kim Fidler
InternetPopular.com

If there's one thing we love here at InternetPopular.com, it's our Xbox Live Arcade games. Since the original Geometry Wars hit the marketplace on the launch of the Xbox 360, we've fallen in love with the pick-up-and-play formula most arcade games have. Great for those days when you don't have much time to play, we've probably spent more time with them than anything retail we've purchased.

Microsoft understands the love most people have for the arcade titles, and it's because of that, that they are going out of their way to bring home some of the best titles out there.

Announced during the Microsoft press conference this afternoon was three games that are sure to become instant Arcade classics. So what were they you ask!? Actually there's a good chance you're not asking that because it states what they are in the title, so yeah...

Geometry Wars 2: It's back, it's bigger, and while we wouldn't bet the only underwear we brought to E3 on it, it's going to be better than ever. Geometry Wars 2 will allow you to team up for some 4-player co-op action and will also include 5 new modes to take your shape killing aggression out on. Looks great, and it would be even better if they made it available for 400 Microsoft points. Geometry Wars 2 hits the marketplace on August 6, 2009.



Galaga Legions: Now this is definitely something. I can't believe Galaga has never been remade but as Microsoft so nicely reminded us, it hasn't. Now for the first time in 20 years, Galaga is getting rebuffed, and the ones doing the buffing are the same people behind the insanely awesome "Pac-Man Championship Edition." Namco Bandai Games has once again hooked us up because "Galaga Legions" looks too good to be true.



Portal: Still Alive: While not a great amount of news has been released about "Portal: Still Alive," it is in fact coming to XBLA sometime this year. We've been told that it will continue the story from the original Portal, include new levels, achievements, and cake. You didn't think we could get through a Portal article without a cake joke did you?



Kim Fidler
InternetPopular.com

My laptop feels like it's going to explode into a million pieces from all the work that's being done on it! Zing!

We all saw it coming, we all heard about it a few months ago, but now it's confirmed and just as awesome as we thought it would be. Microsoft has finally fessed up and admitted that they are going to be introducing a new dashboard system in fall, along with Avatars. Mii-Like characters that players will be able to customize with over a thousand pieces of micro-transactions, oops, we mean clothing. One thing that totally caught us off-guard is that it's being designed by Rare. So that's what those guys have been doing!

The new dashboard system is drastically different and we're still not sure how well it's going to translate for those that are used to the current system. It's not like the current system is great, so we're expecting this update is going to be welcomed across the industry. The avatar system is ripped totally from Nintendo's Miis, but Microsoft is stepping it up with the amount of customization, and the amount of use these things are going to be getting. Rare is stating that your avatar is going to be everywhere. Xbox Live, Websites, and within games. If Microsoft doesn't hold them close to their chest like Nintendo has then we could see them becoming even more popular than Miis.

Quite possibly the best thing being added to Xbox Live in the fall is the ability to make 8 person parties that will transfer seamlessly from application to appliction. That means up to 8 people in a party that will be able to talk, jump from game to game, and even watch movies with one another. Yes, movies! Microsoft announced their partnership with Netflix which will give any Gold subscriber total access to the Netflix catalogue, absolutely free. See! That's why you pay for Xbox Live!

We think the Xbox Live announcements are a huge victory for Microsoft. They continue to work on their online components, while Nintendo and Sony are still trying to figure out what the Internet is. What we're really digging is the new bar Xbox Live is setting for bringing the community together. No longer will you have to be a normal person and invite friends over to watch a movie, now you can just invite them on Xbox Live and listen to them chew Cheetos through their mics. Score!

Click below to see the Netflix portion of the conference.



Kim Fidler
InternetPopular.com

It's hard to believe that it has already been 2 years since we saw Gears of War at E3 2006, and it's even harder to believe that we're already seeing such a polished looking sequel only 2 years later. Following a slick looking trailer showing off the meat shield system, Clifford Bleszinski comes out on stage, and shows off a level of the co-op campaign.

The level shows Dom and Marcus making their way through a destroyed city, taking cover when needed, and chainsawing their way through the hordes of baddies. Even more impressive is the indication that we're going to be able to pilot some big mofos with our co-op buddy. We think, they ended it at that. New stuff looks good, tight, and even more "gray" than ever before.

I hate to say it but I'm one of the few people in the world to never have played the original "Gears of War" to completion. Played it here and there, but never sat down and really learned the intricacies of it. If the new gameplay footage is any indication to what the full product will look like, I'll be securing myself a copy to get caught up.

Check out the Gears of War 2 segment of the conference down below.



Kim Fidler
InternetPopular.com

Sweet Umbrella sweaters. Seriously. Where can I get myself one of those?

Capcom did every single one of us a favor this morning when they showed off a Resident Evil 5 demo featuring some new environments, Chris' arsenal, and best of all, the rumored online co-op mode. It was talked about last month that co-op would be included with RE5, and that was confirmed by Capcom this morning.

In the demo you see how both characters can interact with each other to get passed obstacles, take down enemies, and defend one another when swarmed by zombies (oh sorry, I mean people with a disease). Unfortunately, right when they were about to show how you could work together to take down a chainsaw-wielding potato sack wearing baddie, they ran out of time. Totally anticlimactic.

Thankfully they had enough time to tell us that Resident Evil 5 would be hitting stores in North America and Europe on March 13, 2009. Japan would be ahead by one day on March 12, 2009.

Check out the Capcom portion of the press conference below.



Kim Fidler
InternetPopular.com

"Fable 2 is finished."

Wow, I didn't see that coming, let's release this thing! Actually, it's not getting released in the next couple of weeks but rest assured that Peter Molyneux stated himself that it will be out on store shelves in October. If that doesn't happen, don't blame us, blame him.

In the Press Conference, Peter also showed off the very impressive co-op over Live component within the game. In what is being referred to as "ambient orbs," your friends will show up as glowing orbs within your game. At any point you can run up to these orbs, touch them, and your friends will automatically be able to join your game. No lobbies, no party menus. Totally seamless, and definitely something we'd like to see in more titles.

The animations look pretty great, and the character designs look better than the ogres inhabiting the land in the first Fable. Personally, I wasn't that excited about Fable 2 before today, but with the promise of a great co-op mode. I'm down.

Oh! Did we also mention that there's a dog in the game? Because Molyneux can't seem to stop talking about the damn thing.

Check out the clip from the press conference below.



Kim Fidler
InternetPopular.com

Oh Microsoft, how deep are those pockets? Fallout 3 kicked off the Microsoft Press Conference this morning with the announcement that the 360 and Windows version of the game will be getting "extensive" downloadable content. Even though we haven't yet seen the exclusive DLC for Grand Theft Auto IV, we're going to say that there is a good chance that it's going to be pretty substantial. I wonder how much more they could add to a game that is already 100+ hours in length?

Along with the DLC announcement, Bethesda showed off a 4 minute gameplay video of Fallout 3. I think it's safe to say that the game should live up to any expectations that even the most die-hard Fallout fanboys have. Well, maybe not any, but the demo should at least quell the crying that we've heard since it was first announced.

Check out the developer video below.



Kim Fidler
InternetPopular.com