Official Xbox Magazine going to Xbox Live

I must be psychic or something, or at least, know a good idea when I come up with it. According to Kotaku (by way of the Xbox.com forums), the Official Xbox Magazine (OXM) is going to be made available through Xbox Live.

Of course, I was just lamenting what a great distribution medium Xbox Live would be for the mag after playing Eternal Sonata, and less than a week later, there you go.

Kotaku seems to think that this somehow equates to charging for demos, since it'll cost $2.50 to get the mag this way. They wouldn't be charging any more for demos than they are now, they'll actually be charging less than you'd pay buying at the newsstand. How do I figure? It cost me $6.00 to get the Eternal Sonata demo ... yes, like many others, I paid for the demo, not the magazine. If there is a demo exclusive to the magazine, this is a far more economical and convenient way to get it.

That said, what publisher in their right mind would bother with an exclusive demo now, unless there's some payoff from OXM?

Etnernal Sonata, and Xbox Live

When I first heard of the story behind the forthcoming Xbox 360 RPG Eternal Sonata, I figured it was going to be one of those strange, childish RPGs that would hold absolutely no interest from me. As it is, while I enjoy some of the RPG heavy hitters like a Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy, they just take up too much time for me these days.

A little while ago, I downloaded a video of Eternal Sonata through Xbox Live, and I was blown away by the graphic fidelity and art style. The game looks like an anime comic brought to life, but it's even more detailed than that. I really can't explain it except to say that it seems like they got the cel-shaded style and lighting exactly right. Still, the story seemed a bit silly ... an imaginary world dreamt of by Frederick Chopin while he lay sick on on the verge of death. Silly, and a bit dreary. And yet, the world he dreams of is vibrant and full of life.

When I heard that there was a demo in the new issue of the Official Xbox Magazine, I grabbed it (while out getting the final installment in the Harry Potter series). Before delving into The Deathly Hallows, I fired up the 360 and popped in the demo disc, and was absolutely blown away. Eternal Sonota is an incredibly accessible RPG, adds a few new gameplay twists (different special attacks depending on whether you're in the light or the dark), and some absolutely beautiful music. In fact, I think the music (which had to be good, if the game is about Chopin) is what really puts the game over the top.

Hard to say until a final copy is in my hands in September, but I think it's going to be easy to give the game a Buy It review. Until then, go grab the magazine and play it!

On a side note, Microsoft is really onto something with Xbox Live. Being able to download demos, trailers, movies and other content helps open gamers' horizons to new experiences. For example, I really disliked the Blue Dragon demo for some reason (probably the aforementioned dislike of overly childish RPGs), but quite unexpectedly played the demo of EA's The BIGS repeatedly.

I'd really like to see OXM delivered electronically through Xbox Live, but I don't know that the publishing industry is ready to make a jump like that. Given that the content in OXM was dreadfully old by the time I read it, electronic delivery seems like it would make a lot more sense in terms of timeliness and convenience.

More News from X06

Peter Jackson is working on a new Halo title with Bungie. It's not Halo 3 since Bungie has said that the series is ending at 3. Speaking of Halo titles ...

Halo Wars, a brand-new real-time strategy game set in the Halo universe, made by the current kings of RTS titles ... Ensemble Studios. Suddenly, Microsoft putting the smackdown on fan-made RTS "Halogen" makes more sense.

This isn't all that's keeping Jackson busy, though ... Jackson and Microsoft are teaming up to create Wingnut Interactive, a new game studio. Wingnut will be producing another Jackson-helmed game under this new partnership, exclusive to Xbox 360.

Still need more Peter Jackson news? How about this? Included with the HD-DVD drive for Xbox 360 will be the Universal Media Remote and a copy of Jackson's King Kong on HD-DVD. All for $199.

Grand Theft Auto 4 may not be exclusive to Xbox 360, but the two downloadable episodes will be, and they'll be out just "months" (way to be vague) after the release of GTA4.

GTA4 isn't an exclusive, but the next Splinter Cell will be. Also exclusive is Bioshock, Microsoft having deftly ripped the game away from the PS3. If you're not familiar with Bioshock, just know that it's the spiritual successor to the acclaimed "System Shock".

Project Gotham Racing 4 was announced, the worst kept secret ever.

Oh, and when exactly is DOOM coming to Xbox Live Arcade? How about just a few minutes ago?

What Would You Do If You Were Sony?

Jesus ... I'm not sure if Sony could be acting more like the fucking Keystone Cops if they tried. So what would you do if you were Sony, in the middle of what could only be classified as a PR disaster?

Apparently, Kazunori Yamauchi would feel free to make sure that the biggest game on tap for the PS3 launch ends up being the giant fucking albatross around the company's neck. In an interview with Famitsu, he revealed that the standard version of Gran Turismo 5 would ... get this ... come with no cars or tracks. You'll have to buy them all. For completists, apparently the pricetag to do this rings in at very close to $1000. The premium version of the game will have 30 cars and only two courses. All of this is far less than Gran Turismo 4 shipped with for a far inferior system.

Of course, if Microsoft were Sony, they would make sure that a Sony BMG music artist would be helping promote the biggest console launch around, in a delightful bit of synergy. Sony must have gotten wind of this and stole the whole idea, because how else could you explain Jessica Simpson and Epic/Sony BMG music running a contest where you can win an Xbox 360?

I keep wondering if things could get worse. I should probably stop doing that.