Call of Duty Classic, the hip and groovy new name for the ol’ standby that is (was? Tense: who needs it?) Call of Duty 1, is now available on Xbox Live for 1,200 Microsoft Points/SpaceBucks. I don’t know if there’s any improvement over the original version of the game.

Anyway, here’s a video showing off the first 10 minutes of the game, which first came bundled with the omega version of Modern Warfare 2.

I can hear 14-year-olds screaming, “Eeeew, it’s not even modern!”

Fools.

At least 2 million Xbox Live users have logged into Facebook this past week, which I guess means the feature is a bit of a success. (You’ll recall that Microsoft launched Facebook and Twitter to so much enthusiasm last week.) Mysteriously, Microsoft didn’t reveal the number of people who logged into Twitter. Is this the end of Twitter?

No, of course not. Maybe it just means that Xbox Live users don’t see any value in using Twitter when there’s no way to click all those bit.ly links?

In related “social” news, Microsoft says that around half a million Last.fm account were created with the launch of Xbox Live-Last.fm compatibility.

Needless to say, these applications weren’t a total waste of time on Microsoft’s part. I’m still not convinced of the value of using Facebook or Twitter from the couch—don’t you have a Facebook or Twitter application on your phone in your pocket?—but I’m decidedly non-plussed by all these newfound “social” applications. It doesn’t help that, generally speaking, I’m an anti-social jerk :-)

Now, there’s a larger point to be made here about whether or not we actually want our video game consoles to become little more than low spec PCs. If you had a top-of-the-line PC, why would you want to buy the PS3 version of, say, Fallout 3 when you can grab the PC version, what with all those mods and whatnot?

Maybe I should save my beans and buy a gaming-worthy PC in the next year, and actually play games like Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Fallout 3, and Call of Duty the way they were meant to be played? I’m very much considering it. Too bad I know *nothing* about what makes a good gaming PC these days.

It’s safe to say that we hear at CrunchGear think you should be able to do whatever you want with hardware that you buy. Let’s take console modding. You wanna flash the drive on your 360 for whatever reason? Fine, go ahead. But don’t think that you can log onto Xbox Live with said modded console, and play your misbegotten wares (or is that warez?), on Microsoft’s network. It’s against the TOS, it makes a mockery of the entertainment medium that you purport to support, and, well, is unfair to the other players.

That said, I can almost understand where this law firm is coming from. AbingtonIP (which seems to specialize in class action lawsuits), a law firm with offices all over the mid-west, has a form on its Web site asking if you were affected by the recent Microsoft ban hammer. The law firm is specifically looking for people who haven’t had their Xbox Live service prorated. That is, say you were six months into your Xbox Live subscription when Microsoft booted you off—are you entitled to roughly $25 in recompense? (An Xbox Live Gold subscription is $50 per year, so if you only received half a year in service, then you can argue you are due $25 for services not rendered.)

Then again, maybe somewhere in the fine print it says that if Microsoft catches you using a modded console on Xbox Live it reserves the right to ban you without having to pay back a single penny for any time you had left on the agreement.

Or you can be a cynic and just assume these lawyers are out for a quick buck. Whatever works for ya.

Fair warning to those of you who play your modded Xbox 360 on Xbox Live: Microsoft is breaking out the ban hammer. Again.

While Microsoft hasn’t released official numbers, and only says that a “small percentage” of Xbox Live accounts have been banned, I’ve seen the number 600,000 used a lot.

So, 600,000 people who once were able to play their burned DVDs are no longer able to. I’d shed a tear for y’all, but to expect to be able to play copied games online is a bit of a stretch. You want to copy games? Go ahead, your business is your business; I’m not going to preach otherwise. But then to complain that you’re not able to play the game online, well, come on.

The Microsoft statement reads, as told to GamesIndustry.biz:

We have taken action against a small percentage of consoles have been modified to play pirated game discs. In line with our commitment to combat piracy and support safer and more secure gameplay for the more than 20 million members of our Xbox Live community, we are suspending these modded consoles from Xbox Live.

So there you have it. If you want to play online, you’re going to have to play by the rules. I know that can be difficult in places such as Brazil, where the cost of a legitimate, non-copied game can hover around the $150 mark, but that’s a matter for another day, if not an entire book.

Good news, everyone. (I hope people understand that reference.) Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City comes out tomorrow, and to help grease the wheels a little bit, this weekend will be a free-play weekend on Xbox Live for GTA IV. That is, if you have GTA IV but don’t subscribe to Xbox Live Gold, you’ll be able to play online multiplayer this weekend.

The deal goes from Friday to Sunday, and works for all the various GTA IV releases (The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony).

A couple of Rockstar people will be playing all night Saturday night, and their Gamertags are GwRockstar1 through GwRockstar16. Presumably there will be much trash talking and exploding cars.

Also, on Sunday, from 1pm to 3pm ET, you’ll be able to play with Henry Santos Jeter, who’s a singer in the band Aventura. So that’s neat, a successful musician taking time out of his day to run rampant throughout Liberty City with y’all.

Good evening, readers-

If you’re an Xbox Live subscriber in the US then Major Nelson has some news for you. Microsoft has rolled out Paypal as a method of payment for MS points, Xbox Live accounts and such, but it’s not what you think. You can’t actually do anything from your console and all transactions take place on Xbox.com.

A couple of things to point out:

PayPal is currently supported for Xbox LIVE users in the U.S. only.
PayPal can only be used to purchase Microsoft Points on Xbox.com.
PayPal accounts are not available for purchasing Microsoft Points on the Xbox 360 console.
You can associate multiple Pay Pal accounts with your Xbox LIVE account.

via MJ

After a slow start, Microsoft finally pushed out the Fall Xbox Live Update preview last night for press and other folk. Don’t be too jealous because the Xbox team is offering the update to you, reader, starting this Monday. All the details on this update can be found here. Hop on over to Major Nelson’s blog and sign up for a chance to be apart of the preview. Good luck!

All of this drops on August 11. Games On Demand titles confirmed for 8/11 are as follows: Assassin’s Creed, BioShock, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Mass Effect and Sonic the Hedgehog. We’ll have to wait for the next update to get Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm, Zune Video and 1080p Instant On. That is all.

A (press) preview of the upcoming Xbox Live update goes live on Monday, but we’ve got all the details to share with you now. And we have a gaggle of screenshots to boot.

What does this Xbox LIVE Update include?

Netflix Updates

Now you can watch movies with your friends no matter where they are and manage your queue from the comfort of your couch.

Movie Parties – Xbox LIVE Gold members can sit together in a virtual theater with up to seven friends no matter where they are while your Avatars watch a movie, flirt or even throw popcorn at each other.

Manage Your Queue – Browse the Netflix Instant Watch video catalogue, choose from the most popular movies and genres and add to your queue all from the comfort of your couch – no computer required.

Enhanced Playback Experience – Enjoy a smooth viewing experience when your internet bandwidth fluctuates.

Friends Info – Richer information is now displayed in the Friends channel and in the Guide showing what you and your friends are doing.

Avatar Marketplace

Express yourself! Deck your Avatar out with the latest clothing and props from the top brands and game franchises.

Clothing – Download premium items, including branded apparel from your favorite fashion labels and Xbox 360 games such as “Halo.”

Props – You can now equip your avatar with animated items they can carry around and interact with.

Awardables – The ability to earn Avatar clothing and props as rewards within games has been added. Please stay tuned for an update on supporting titles.

Games on Demand(Games on Demand will be available in the preview beginning early August.)

Enjoy 24 x 7 access to a growing online library of popular full game titles on Xbox LIVE whenever you want them, in the comfort of your living room.

Purchase Options – Browse and download a great selection of full Xbox 360 games using Microsoft Points, direct debit, or credit card.

Game Manuals – Game manuals for Games on Demand titles can be viewed, downloaded or printed on Xbox.com.

It’s Yours Forever! – As with other Xbox LIVE content, Games on Demand titles are linked to your Xbox LIVE account, so you can delete and re-download anything you have already purchased to the same console or another console.

User Ratings

User ratings help you find games that other people think are awesome!

Rate it – You can now rate every game on the Xbox LIVE Games Marketplace using a 5-star system.

Sort and Find it – Now you can easily find the games that everyone’s been raving about by visiting the Top Rated games in the Browse All category of Xbox LIVE Games Marketplace.

Xbox LIVE Parties

Everyone loves to Party! Check out the new and improved Xbox LIVE Party features.

Party Reconnections – If you are accidently disconnected from your party, Xbox LIVE will automatically reconnect you.

Streamlined Party Invites – Invites are now just one click away! No need to click through multiple screens to get all your friends together.

Video Display Options

We’ve made it easier for you to see your entertainment in the highest resolution possible on your TV using an HDMI connection.

• Display Discovery – Make sure you can see and hear your entertainment in the highest resolution and sound quality possible with the option to override and select audio and video formats independent of the information your television sends to your Xbox 360 console.

Other Improvements

We’re always listening to you for feedback, and this Xbox LIVE update will include numerous dashboard updates.

Gold Member Veterans – Xbox LIVE Gold members get to show it off with a stamp on your Gamer Card that tells people how long you’ve been a Gold member.

• Indie Games – Xbox LIVE Community Games has been renamed Xbox LIVE Indie Games. We feel this new name better represents the independent spirit of these titles.

Achievement Browser – We’ve revamped the Achievements browser so it’s now easier to read through all the achievements while playing a game. You can now also launch a game directly from the browser.

Achievements Tracking – A new view inside the profile panel which includes a summary of Achievements earned across all the games played, and shows of all your completed games.

• Streamlined Navigation – Streamlined navigation, including new entry points in the dashboard for Active Downloads, redeeming codes, recovering Gamertags and more.

Voice Messages – No more blank voice messages! When recording a voice message, a warning will pop up if no audio is detected.

Friends List Sorting – It’s now easier to find your friends! Find and sort your friends by activity, Gamertag or online status by pressing the Y button while viewing the friends list in the Guide.

Memory – Time stamps now appear in the memory area, which particular handy when managing saved games.

Account Management

We’ve made some changes to make your life easier.

Subscription Notification – If your Xbox LIVE subscription is about to run out, you will now be notified when you sign into Xbox LIVE.

Updates for Invalid Windows Live IDs – If the Windows Live ID you provided has expired, you will now be prompted to update it the next time you sign into Xbox LIVE.

Account recovery – We’ve enhanced the account recovery process to make it faster and more reliable.

What does this Xbox LIVE Update not include?

The following features will be coming in future Xbox LIVE updates, which we’ll be sure to let you know about.

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Zune video and 1080p Instant On
• Last.fm

Hey there, amigo. Have you logged onto Xbox Live today? Don’t! Well, not unless you’re looking forward to dealing with a few post-maintenance glitches.

What type of glitches, you ask? SaysMicrosoft:

Users may experience difficulties when attempting to use Marketplace and/or making purchases. We are aware of the problem and working to resolve the technical issues. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience.

People have reported issues when trying to redeem their pre-order download codes for Ghostbusters. Entire games, like that Sega Vintage Collection, are completely missing. It’s chaos!

There’s really nothing you can do to fix thing, just sit tight till Microsoft—is it still funny to write “M$” when talking about the company?—works the kinks out.

Side note: I just bought Operation Anchorage because it was one sale (560 Microsoft Points, versus the usual 800). There’s a good chance I’ll play it for, oh, 13 minutes, then never play it again.

Integration with the Xbox LIVE network gives you access to millions of videos, TV shows, and games from Xbox LIVE720p HD video output to your HDTV with optional docking station

There is more too.

This is under the Product Description section.

Zune is a premium partner in the Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace, bringing an exciting catalog of TV and film to the platform. Zune is in the first slot on your Xbox user interface in the Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace.

That’s pretty darn clear language. We could speculate how the service would work with Netflix and other services. About how you could buy and play certain XBL games on the Zune HD. And how Microsoft is finally supporting the Zune like it should have from the start, but we won’t. We’ll wait for Microsoft’s official word on the subject.

Is it to early to proclaim—loudly, as you do—the practice of buying video games at retail dead? Yes, it probably is too early; yet we continue. Microsoft’s announcement today that it will make available, sometime this year, full retail games available for download via Xbox Live, may well be more important than Project Natal, or “Project Christmas” as I like to call it. (All those months spent learning Portuguese have finally paid off!) And while, yes, it make be too early to make any sort of rushed pronouncements, I’d say it’s say to start thinking about the future.

Now, to PC gamers, the ability to download full games via the Internet isn’t exactly shiny and new. Steam’s legitimacy has long been established, and smaller outfits like Good Old Games seem to be gaining traction. And, to be fair, console gamers have been able to buy older gamers, like Genesis-era Sonic, NES/SNES-era Mario and the original Halo, for a while. But the ability to buy something like Halo: ODST on launch day, right from the comfort of your couch, should be celebrated. (Note: I have no idea if Halo: ODST will be available for download. I just needed a new game to illustrate a dumb point.)

It’s a simple as this: would you rather download the game directly to your hard drive, and start playing it immediately, once the release date hits, or would you rather go to a store—wherever that it!—or wait for UPS to show up, care of Amazon.com? Provided you have the hard drive space—come now, Microsoft, you really ought to lower the price of the 360’s hard drive—I’s say the choice is obvious. Send me a PDF of the manual and we’re all set.

(I write this wondering how Sony will handle the PSP Go!. Assuming it is, indeed, UMD-less, will it totally move PSP game buying to the PSN Store, or will you still be able to walk into Wal-Mart and buy a box with a downloadable code inside? After all, not every young teen has access to a credit card; how will these kids buy games, hence?)

And you do wonder how companies like Best Buy and GameStop will react to this. Probably with some quick-fire PR speak: “We think gamers value the experience of going to a store, and speaking to a knowledgeable sales rep about all the latest titles.” Well, I don’t, but I’m not exactly Joe Sixpack when it comes to such things.

I, for one, welcome our download-only overlords.

Photo: Flickr

Microsoft is taking bold, new actions against cheating on Xbox Live. (You can cheat on XBL? Why would you even bother?) So explains one Stephen Toulouse, from Xbox Live Policy and Enforcement, in a recent Major Nelson podcast. It comes down to this: if you’re caught cheating on XBL, Microsoft will reset your Gamerscore and put a permanent marker on your Gamertag that says, “This person is a cheater. Be aware!”

Apparently this is a big deal to people, according to Toulouse. Microsoft needs to protect the “integrity” of Achievement Points and whatnot, so that’s why they’re taking such issues. I guess the XBL “community” wants to know that its MEGA ULTRA COOL GAMERSCORE is 100 percent legitimate.

It really is fascinating how seriously people take Gamescores. If I can get an Achievement in Game I’m Playing without lifting a finger, fine, sure. I’m not about to rent Hanna Montanna so I can artificially increase my Gamerscore by 1,000 points.

In any event, cheaters beware! Cheating may be beneficial in the real world (see: Wall Street, donating to charity just for the tax credits, etc.), but it will not be tolerated on XBL.

Here lies the Fallout 3: Broken Steel trailer. The expansion comes out tomorrow on Xbox Live and Games For Windows Live. It’ll cost 800 Microsoft points. It raises the level cap from 20 to 30, and it somehow fiddles with the game’s ending. That is all.

It’s time to get excited, friends. Not only will Capcom release Marvel vs. Capcom 2 on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network this summer, but it will release demo this Thursday. That means you only have to wait two days till you’re unleashing 100+ hit combos and trash talking like you never thought you could.

Right, so Capcom made the big announcement yesterday. The port is based on the Dreamcast code, in itself an excellent port (as I recall—it’s been a while.) And while it won’t be the same crazy kind of ex-omega-awesome HD port that Super Street Fighter II Turbo: HD Remix was, Capcom is still improving the visuals to a degree.

There will, of course, be online play.

Here’s a fun video!

Heads up, 360 gamers. You can now find Rockstar’s Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne on Xbox Live. Each game costs 1,200 Microsoft points, or $15 in non-spacebucks.

There seems to be a bit of a discussion at Major Nelson’s Tree House, or whatever he calls his Internet Web site, about whether it’s wiser to buy the Xbox 360-ified Max Payne games at $15 a pop, or buy the actual, boxed copies from eBay for less. That way, you have the game, manual, and the sense of physical ownership that some people cling to.

Of course, not everyone still has a working Xbox1 (I do, but I’m silly), and playing the game on Xbox1 won’t net you any Achievements. Decisions!

I enjoyed Max Payne when it first came out. I never played Max Payne 2, so maybe I’ll give it a go this time around? We’ll see. I’m busy doing stupid quests in Fallout 3, and Banjo-Tooie comes out on Wednesday. I also just bought Fallout and Fallout 2 from Good Old Games. So clearly I’m very busy, and making the most of my college degree.

Photo: Flickr

Major Nelson tells us that Lode Runner for the XBox 360 will set you back 1200 Microsoft points, but the commenters claim it’s only 800. Either way, this is a gem that every self-respecting gamer will want to have in their library.

Six years ago, news of a new Xecutuer BIOS would have had me counting down the hours till school let out, at which point I’d go home and flash my X2 Pro with Team Xecuter’s latest handiwork. (That particular Xbox has since been moved around so much in various moves that the X2 Pro has been disconnected, thus ending the fun.) But now, the iXtreme hacked firmware for the Xbox 360? I couldn’t even tell you where to get it (still #xbins?), nor what to do with it. But! I can read a carefully put together list, and hence know what’s new with the latest firmware, version 1.6. Big news: greater precautions taken to prevent your banning from Xbox Live.

What you no-good kids can expect:

• To avoid any risk of banishments, the games sector will not be modified launched with iXtreme 1.6

• The security to be disabled temporarily. Called “One-Shot-Boot-Mode”, it will allow you to temporarily disable the launching of non-stealth games. This option should be reactivated every time I start new game

• Activation of the “One-Shot-Boot-Mode” will be provided via a activate.iso in the iXtreme package

• The original games can be dumped directly Dumping 0800 without having a drive with Kreon firwmare

And other stuff. It sure seemed a lot easier in my day with the X2. You flash your chip, FTP into your Xbox, then transfer over the ISO using extract-iso. (If I recall correctly, I typed “./extract-xiso -f 192.168.1.30 -d /E/Games/ [game.iso].” Something like that.)

The dumb things you do when you have an incredible amount of free time on your hands and a shiny, new (at the time) broadband connection.

Photo: Flickr

You can now buy digital downloadable Xbox 360 goodies from Amazon. That is, you can head over to amazon.com and buy a, say, Duke Nukem 3D download code, then download the game from your Xbox 360 using said code. Yes, sorta like using xbox.com, but now it’s Amazon, so there.

Being that it’s Amazon, you can tap into any of those gift-giving features the site trumpets. “Happy birthday, dude. Here’s 4,000 Microsoft points.” That type of thing.

Presumably Microsoft thinks this will bring the concept of buying download codes, for later redemption, more into the mainstream. People are used to buying stuff from Amazon; going to xbox.com to buy a download code? I bet you use Lynx, too.

Speaking of Xbox Live, it’s April—where the hell is Banjo-Tooie?