After releasing a slew of classic Arcade titles, Namco looks like having a new aproach to the XBLA service.

In what can be the best game announcement for XBLA since Rez HD and Ikaruga, Namco revealed that Soul Calibur (!!!!) and a new twin-stick shooter called Infinitum will be coming to XBLA this Summer.

Soul Calibur is a series of weapon based fighters that started on the Dreamcast (actually the series started with Soul Edge on the PS1), being considered one of the best fighters ever made (and the highest rated console fighter ever). July 29th is the expected release date of the new title of the series, Soul Calibur IV, so I think it's safe to say that Soul Calibur XBLA will arrive around that time. The XBLA version will feature HD graphics but unfortunately no online play (maybe no online play is better than awful online play) Btw, Soul Calibur will be XBLA exclusive, maybe because PSN already has Tekken.

The other Namco title, Infinitum is a twin-stick shooter in the vein of Geometry Wars and the upcoming Schizoid, in Infinitum your ship will grow as you kill enemies "revealing even more massive and powerful enemies that were previously too large to see".

 

In honor of one half of our arcade addition this week (and a very slow news day) I bring you an extraordinarily useful site for all those Hexic addicts out there.  Hexic.info has tons of information for the OCD bunch looking to take their scores from great to ludicrous (like oldtaco's 736,94,164,030 in marathon.  Wait.  How much?). 

They haven't added any Hexic 2-specific stuff (yet) but the basic game is still the same and this page is a great place to start.  And you just know there will be more videos like these (34 Black Pearls at once?!?) once they move their collective intelligence over to the minutae of Hexic 2.

[via Hexic.info]

If you hate those smarmy sites, people like to call "blogs" (yuck) and avoid them under all circumstances (I know I do) then you will be pleased to learn the following: you can finally get your Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix news straight from the corporate marketing team at Capcom.

That's right, the official site is now open for business and sports a synopsis, screens, videos, and wallpaper downloads.  Of course, the site also seems to take issue with scrolling down (huh?) but we won't let that sully our love for SPFIITHDR.  Oh no.  We will lap up any and all scraps of info on this puzzlicious game we can get our hands on.  Mmm...puzzlicious.

On Saturday I posted a link to Gamerscoreblog with a call out to the community for their feedback on all things XBLA.  Well, the community has spoken (to the tune of over 2000 comments and counting) and now we have direct evidence that we are being heard.

David Edery, the new Worldwide Games Portfolio Planner for XBLA, has posted (on his blog) a summary of topics that have been highlighted by the community.  It's a great sign that he is truly interested in what we have to say and where we want the service to go.  Check it out to see if your ideas made the list.

Highlights for me personally: Changing the DRM scheme on XBLA games (after four 360s I hate the current scheme) and price cuts over time (a la Platinum hits).  What's most important to you?

And if you have yet to comment on the thread, get to it.  I did not see Lode Runner on that list yet, so we've got work to do!

For those of you who haven't yet picked up Uno, head over to this post on XBLAddict and post the new years resolution that you made for yourself, that you know you won't keep.

Also note that were currently working on a trivia challenge with some unique prizes behind the scenes here at XBLArcade. 

Maxwell over at XBLAFTW.com sent me a link to their site a little while ago and I'll be honest I forgot to post the info here.  I really like the site and hope it continues bringing the information that they do.  I'll also admit, I'm kind of surprised that they are still around as a lot of the info they have is obtained from the NDA'ed PartnerNet.  All that aside, they have the Achievement list for the following games up on their site:

• Novadrome
• Settlers of Catan 
• Carcassonne

Hopefully Maxwell will forgive my over site and continue sending in heads up for his great posts.  For those of you who don't know, anyone can send in tips to xblarcade@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

The guys over at XBLAddict.com have put up their 5th podcast up on the site. This one covers:

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This week we had Mike Kelehan (of retro arcade fame) as our awesome guest! We have a good time with alliwantforxmasisapsp.com as well as tons of other stuff.

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For those of you who don't know, this podcast is released every Wednesday and while the first one or two was a little on the "interesting" side, it has certainly become a great podcast and is only getting better. Now if they would only add an iTunes link (Hint, Hint).

You can check out the podcast here.

ILoveXBLA noticed recently that the XBLA wiki page has been updated to include yet another upcoming title; Eternity's Child. While all that's known about this title so far is that it's based off the works of Luke Bernard, and that it's scheduled for release in Spring 2007, the artwork on the official page is certainly intriguing.

For those of you who speak french there's an interview with Luke Bernard here. For those who don't, there is always babelfish.

We'll post more as soon as the info becomes available.

ILoveXBLA has heard word that the SNK pamphlets that are being handed out at TGS have some fantastic news on them. In addition to the recently announced Fatal Fury Special, it seems that XBLA will be graced with Metal Slug. While no release date has been announced, this will certainly have many people checking off an entry on their wish list.