The Xbox 360 Weekend Warrior: new games, delays, and price cuts

Welcome back to another edition of Xbox 360 Weekend Warrior, where we recap the latest news and events in the Xbox 360 world. Last week was pretty epic, since it was the inaugural post of Xbox 360 Weekend Warrior and all, but this week offers some goodies as well. Learn about some new games, content delays, and price cuts after the jump!

There was a lot of interesting news this week, with a good number of it relating to three main ranges of thought: new games, delays, and price cuts. We’ll talk about the stuff that doesn’t fit into any of those categories first, and then we’ll start talking about the new games, delays, and price cuts as expected.

Let’s move on, shall we?

Let’s get down to (gaming) business

The world of business analysis is a crazy place. You get screen time on news blogs by making predictions and analyses, and even if you’re completely wrong, the validity of the statements sometimes makes the predictions and analyses come true at a later date.

That being said, the main man in the world of gaming business analysis is Michael Pachter. Regarding the rumors of a third-party 360, Pachter recently quipped that doing so would too expensive and somewhat risky.

In general gaming business, we have a report from DFC Intelligence that should make Xbox 360 owners (and general Microsoft fans) quite happy. According to their report, the Xbox 360 is the leading platform in some of the top markets, most notably the US and UK regions.

Lastly, we have a bit of information that serves some nice “wishful thinking” energy into the cosmos. The rumor? A 3D dashboard interface in the Spring update!

Link: Pachter: third-party Xbox 360s “too expensive”and not likely
Link: Analyst: Wii not a fad, PS3 software will equal Wii’s, 360 leads in US and UK
Link: Rumor: Xbox 360 to get new Dashboard interface in Spring Update

New Game news for your everyday needs

Moving on to the subject of new games, there’s a lot of stuff to cover as new games and related announcements came out in full force this week.

First off, we were treated to an new old game on XBLA: SoulCalibur. Folks will fondly remember SoulCalibur for the sheer awesome behind wielding a samurai sword (or controlling a woman with massive assets).

Link: Coming on XBLA Wednesday: SoulCalibur, new questions for Wits and Wagers

Next up, we have Viva PiÃ±ata: Trouble in Paradise. It’s been slated for a September 5 release, so fans of procreating piÃ±atas can rejoice!

Link: Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise dated

SouthPeak Games also announced a new game recently, called Raven Squad: Operation Hidden Dagger. The game promises to blend RTS and FPS aspects to make a satisfying whole, so you can color us impressed by the announcement.

Link: SouthPeak Games announces Raven Squad: Operation Hidden Dagger for 360, PC

Lastly, the big news in new games this week happens to be Rock Band 2. Tons of new details were revealed, including compatibility with songs from the previous game, a tracklist with over 80 songs, and timed exclusivity for the Xbox 360. Righteous!

Link: Harmonix lead designer reveals Rock Band 2 details
Link: Harmonix reveals Rock Band 2 details, release date; Online Store surpasses 15 Million paid downloads
Link: Rock Band 2 timed 360 exclusive, over 80 tracks, playlist announcement at E3

Dial D for Delay

Delays. We hate them, but live with them anyway. They’re usually done to help ensure the success or overall stability of a product, but even if we can accept that, a game or update not sticking to its guns can sometimes be a pain.

This week’s delays include the Cagney Update for Burnout Paradise as well as the projected release dates for Midnight Club: Los Angeles and This is Vegas.

Link: Xbox 360 Cagney update delayed, PS3 version still on track
Link: Midnight Club: Los Angeles delayed, Midnight Club: LA Remix for PSPs announced
Link: Party suspended: This is Vegas delayed to ’09

Ah yes, the price cut. We can’t forget that!

What was really big for most of the week were scattered reports of an Xbox 360 price cut. K-Mart got the ball rolling with an advertisement for a cheaper 360 bundle. This was followed by a major retailer saying that the 360 would get a price cut before E3.

Strangely enough, this was then compounded by a rumor stating that Microsoft would announce a price cut at E3 itself and introduce a new SKU into the fray. We also picked up a picture of an upcoming Best Buy ad that announces a US$ 50 cut on the 20GB Pro model.

Link: Kmart releases ad for marked down Xbox 360 Premium bundle
Link: Rumor: Major retailer says Microsoft to slash prices of 360 before E3
Link: Rumor: Microsoft to announce 20GB Xbox 360 price drop at E3, new SKU to follow
Link: Upcoming Best Buy ad shows Xbox 360 price drop

In related news, Australia has already gone ahead and dropped the prices of all the various 360 models. What’s even cooler is, due to the price drop, the 20GB 360 model is now CHEAPER than the Wii.

Link: Microsoft cuts Xbox 360 console prices in Australia, 360 now cheaper than Wii

QuickJumpy Goodness: an interesting question

That about does it for the Weekend Warrior segment this week. To close though, we’d like to point you to a cross-posted article written by Isaac C. about whether or not we should have another console in the market.

The article basically reports on some analysts and a gaming company executive discussing their views on the matter, saying that there’s still room for another console on the market (or rather, the game industry needs a new console, according to John Stevenson).

Isaac disagrees, seeing as the three big consoles out now are still early in their life cycle, and poses an interesting question to all of us. Does the software sell the hardware, or is it the other way around?

No definite answers for that one this time around, but some interesting points to ponder at the very least. Take care of yourselves, and check back next week for another Weekend Warrior installment.

Link: Should we be looking for another console in the market?

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