If you’re a fan of the Banjo Kazooie series (or if you just like good games in general) you’ll be ecstatic to know that Rare has a great deal for you- if you preorder Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, you’ll also get a download code for the Xbox Live Arcade port Banjo Kazooie. Can I get a ‘fuck yeah’?

You’ll also be pleased to know that Rare isn’t going with the standard $60 price tag for current gen games, and that the game will be released stateside on November 14th for $40 bucks. Rare has also attached this price to Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, which will be released in North America September 3nd, and Europe September 5th.

After the jump, I’ve attached new images from Nuts & Bolts’s Jiggoseum, in which players can take part in Olympic-esque events. Make sure to make your way out to your local game store to preorder Nuts & Bolts before the codes run out! Go go go! Read more…

About two weeks ago, there was a rumor that surfaced via Famitsu that Braid was going to be 1200 points ($15), and Castle Crashers would be 1800 points ($22.50). Microsoft, not wanting to upset the core crowd (for once) quietly put this rumor to rest, saying that the games would not be at the rumored prices. Of course, when Braid was released, people got pissed off, since Microsoft had lied to everyone. In turn, this led everyone to believe that Castle Crashers would indeed be 1800 points, which, for some reason, was just unacceptable.

Today, Dan Paladin confirmed on the Castle Crashers devblog that the game wouldn’t be as expensive as everyone thought and that it would debut on Xbox Live Arcade August 27th, for 1200 points. But of course, this is the internet, and there will always be something to bitch about.

Hit the jump to read why I think everyone who is against this price should just calm down.
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After the abomination that was Double D dodgeball, I can’t imagine anyone getting too excited over this; but for lovers of pirates and ninjas, they’ll be dodging balls on XBLA this coming September 3rd. Read more after the break. Read more…

Who says gamers are cheap and/or tasteless? Despite sizable Internet uproar over its 1,200 Microsoft point asking price, the artsy puzzle-platformer Braid has managed to win the credit card digits of over 27,000 downloaders, earning it a gross of $405,000, according to a recent glance at the game’s leaderboards. That makes it the 2nd best selling XBLA game in its first three days, no small feat for a game like this, especially considering the paltry fate of similar indie-grown titles like N+.

Strong word of mouth, an awesome demo and some extremely positive reviews (the game has a 92.4% on GameRankings) most likely drove the game’s sales. And it’s not hard to imagine that the publicity from the pricing controversy eventually ended up doing more good than bad, as it visibly increased the game’s profile. I’m sure plenty of people went from “WTF is Braid?” to “what the hell could be worth 1200 points” after which they tried the demo, loved it, and bought the game.

Creator and lead designer Jonathan Blow had previously defended the game’s price as a necessity:

“There is a significant possibility that Braid would have been the next Psychonauts or Beyond Good and Evil (critically acclaimed but nobody played it), even at $10. If that happens at $10 then I am in debt and have to get a job and can’t make games any more. If that happens at $15, maybe I can still make games.”

Guess you can make games, and buy a new car, eh Jonathan?

MTV Multiplayer blog has been handed the exclusive announcement of Fatal Inertia EX. It’ll be made available during late May on PSN, for the low, low price of $29.99 and will support DualShock 3 rumble and Sixaxis tilt control. It will not be seeing a retail release. Read more…

Some time ago a stylish little browser-based game appeared that mixed fiendishly addictive gameplay with a striking artistic style. That game was N, from developers Metanet Software. Now on XBLA, branded as N+, Xbox 360 owners can experience the game with some valuable additions. Read more…

As you may have noticed, Day Three exploits are going up a little later than usual. Unfortunately, we had a run-in with the Blaznatz chewing up our bandwidth, so we were unable to get a good connection. Damn him and his chainsaw bayonet…

We’ve decided to combine our day three info with day four, which would officially make this Ripten’s GDC 08 Coverage: Day Seven. Read on for all the goodness. Read more…

I know that’s a vague article title, but I just can’t give the surprise away. You have to see this ad for yourself. You may think you know it, but you have no idea. Read more…

00 who?

MI6.co.uk, a James Bond fan site, reports that Rareware is supposedly trying to remake Goldeneye 007 for the Nintendo Wii virtual console and Xbox Live Arcade, but with all of the James Bond elements removed, as to avoid any legal issues between Nintendo and Microsoft. Read more…

Xbox Evolved claims that in talks with very reliable sources evidence has presented itself in the form of, well, we don’t know what form of evidence they saw. They just won’t show us, but what they did is tell us all about is what may be headed to our XBLA. Banjo, Ms. Dark, or dare we say, Bond? Read more…

It’s a cheeky sports game based on an Internet meme, but it’s no Chuck Norris’ Punch-Out or Admiral Ackbar’s “It’s a Lap!” kart racer. Instead, we tossed around a red rubber ball for a bit with Pirates vs. Ninja Dodgeball — an attractive but simplistic party game for Xbox Live Arcade. Read more…