Gears of War 2 banned in Japan? No way. Despite rumblings of being “indefinitely” not available Microsoft wouldn’t miss out on selling Gears of War 2 in Japan. As a niche title for a small console base Gears of War didn’t do bad in Japan. In the future Microsoft of Japan will release a [...]

Bollywood, not Hollywood, recently launched a movie where the lead character is an Xbox 360 game developer. Bachna Ae Haseeno’s protagonist is responsible for key Xbox 360 exclusives, namely Halo 3 and Gears of War. But this isn’t a documentary about coding inside of a cubicle. Regardless of Raj Sharma’s occupation Bachna Ae Haseeno’s is [...]

Microsoft had a Comic-Con booth with Galaga Legions on display and a handful of limited edition Xbox 360s to giveaway. Nobody got to take home the Dark Knight themed Xbox 360 consoles, though. These were in a glass case for eyes only. Lucky winners who stopped by and scanned their badges received Xbox 360s [...]

Just got in to the Microsoft keynote and I walked in the same tim as Reggie Fils-Aime. Nothing to report yet other than the photo. Check back for updates in a few minutes.
 

This morning 1,000,000,000 (one billion) Xbox Live achievements have been unlocked. Over $250 millions spent on online [...]

 
While many publishers shy from releasing CERO Z games, Microsoft embraced the AO equivalent as part of their strategy to breakthrough to Japan. And it’s starting to work. This photo is from Bic Camera in Shinjuku where a number of CERO Z games are sold out. I guess it makes sense that the Godfather is [...]

Microsoft is sticking with their strategy of pulling in adult gamers in Japan. Their next set of platinum collection budget releases has a double pack containing Gears of War and Dead Rising. Both of which are rated CERO Z (equivalent to AO) games. Other budget releases include Blue Dragon and Earth Defense Force X for [...]

If you have been holding out on spending Microsoft Points to get the Gears of War Hidden Fronts map it’s going to be free starting Monday, September 3 @ 2:00AM PDT. The Hidden Fronts map pack includes:
 
Bullet Marsh In this Kryll-infested swamp, an old generator still powers the area lights. A few stray bullets could [...]

On May 3, Microsoft is releasing another multiplayer map pack for Gears of Wars. The Hidden Fronts multiplayer map pack costs 800 Microsoft Points ($10) or about $2.50 per map, if you want to get the extra maps only. On Sept 3, 2007 Microsoft will release the bonus maps to everyone for free. [...]

Following the announcement about the new Annex multiplayer mode coming in the Gears of War patch later today (4:00PM PDT) are some screenshots and a video of how Annex works.

 
A new multiplayer mode called Annex is coming to Gears of War in the April 9 update where players have to take control of territory to win the match.
 
In Annex, gamers seize victory by keeping control over key map locations, or objectives, long enough to collect a winning number of points. Every map contains two [...]