The official Xbox.com Bliss Island page has been published, leaving me completely confused on just what the title is about. The PC version of Bliss Island doesn't contain nearly the same amount of content we will see on XBLA. The PC version contains two modes; where as, XBLA contains 25 different modes and 2 player multiplayer. A better example of what we may be getting can be found in the PSP title (Metacritic 48%), which seems to only have been released in Europe. Visuals are self expalanatory if you check out the embedded video for the PSP trailer. The original title was developed by Pom Pom (Mutant Storm Series), so I'll reserve judgement until the demo on this one. Have any of you European readers had a chance to play the PSP version of this title? [Via Xblah]

Once again games are leaking out courtesy of ESRB ratings. This time the plinko-style puzzle game Peggle (Pop Cap) and Bliss Island (Codemasters) are showing up on the ratings site. Both titles are already available on the PC and are both highly addictive (trust me). This is definately great news as if it wasn't for Bookworm Adventures, Peggle by far is the best title in Pop Caps amazing, casual arsenal. Just ignore the unicorns and trust us you'll love the title. Since the story broke, Xbox 360 Fanboy has confirmed Peggle's release for XBLA. The title will be released in Q2 of 2008.

In addition to these two titles, Ultra Bust-A-Move was found on the list; however, this is probably just a sign of an Xbox Originals release of this title. As all of the current Xbox Originals games are also listed for Xbox 360 on the ESRB.

Uh oh... the internet has exploded as Sensible Soccer has been pulled from marketplace due to a bug that will automagically sign the user out of Live when they boot up the game. No word on when it will return, but hopefully it won't be long as I am dying to play this title. According to GameIndustry.biz, this issue was introduced due to the wrong version of the title being uploaded to Xbox Live Marketplace.

Also of note is that the game will feature advertising powered by Massive Incorporated. Now why would a retro title that costs $10 possibly need more revenue? Especially from a company that has announced that it's had it's best financial results ever. Oh well, hopefully we won't be seeing any CompUSA ads.

Do you feel that the introduction of advertisements in Sensible Soccer is something that will upset the average XBLA player?

It's a holiday miracle! Sensible World of Soccer (previously announced for August) will finally arrive on XBLA this Wednesday, December 19th. We told you it would, but confirmation was necessary on this one after previous hopes were dashed. Is your enthusiasm dampened by the news that this classic will cost you 800MSP?

Also on tap this week is Tempest. This version of the Atari arcade classic will be the first "true" arcade port of the game (exciting those full of nostalgic quarter sucking memories) along with the typical "enhanced" mode. Retro standard pricing here with Tempest costing 400MSP.

Neither game will be available in Korea and Tempest has bowed out of a Japanese showing, but otherwise it's a worldwide celebration. Who's buying?

Press release where it belongs (aka after the break).

[via Gamerscoreblog]

Did you ever think you would live to see this day? According to Codemasters, Sensible World of Soccer has been slated for a December 19th release date on Xbox Live Arcade. If you recall the title was supposed to launch August 19th but was scrapped to rewrite the online code. Prior to that release date even it was a Q1 2007 title. Everyone cross your fingers that this is in fact the final release date for this title. If you have not checked it out yet, the achievements were revealed a few months ago. [Via The Xbox Domain]

Good news for Sensible World of Soccer fans. I know you may have been waiting almost a year to get your grubby hands on this title, but apparently the delay has been for good reason. According to an interview by Eurogamer, Codemaster's Jim Brown states that the reason for the delay has been due to their dissatisfaction with the online code. The rewrite of the online code is done and going through their in-house testing phase; hopefully, all will go well and the title will be sent to Microsoft for certification, which is about 2 weeks if all goes well. It shouldn't be long now until release as Jim Brown states that Codemaster's "focus is on releasing the 360 title pre-Christmas".

Interesting enough the title also mentions that the game is currently an Xbox 360 exclusive; however, may eventually come out on other platforms. That makes two games in one day.

A bunch of tidbits have trickled their way to us here at XBLArcade over the course of the weekend (and this morning) so here's a quick and dirty rundown of the latest word in XBLA.

And remember, we here at XBLArcade love tips! Even if it does take us a little while to get around to them. Here we go down the rabbit hole.

Last week, a couple people (myself included) got a sneak-peek (accidentally) at the achievements for Sensible World of Soccer. They seemed well balanced and all had unique and appropriate pictures (something I think developers rarely spend enough time on designing) so I was glad to get a peek.

However, not everyone can troll their RSS feeds as fast as I can. Luckily, no need to fret if you missed that accidental slip as Xbox360Achievements.org has you covered (as usual). The full list and all the pictures are up now for your perusal (no scores listed yet).

And maybe, just maybe, the release of the achievements is a sign of an imminent soccer themed Wednesday?

[via x360a.org]

Codemasters recently held a Sensible World of Soccer community day where they invited members of the community to come and play this classic remake for the arcade. Fans who were lucky enough to participate at the event were given very nice gifts (TVs, 360s and games), but the real gifts for us are their write ups on the Codemaster forums. Don't worry, the best was save for last as a release date of August 29th and price of 800MSP was given. As things go with XBLA don't hold them to it.

[Via Xboxic]

Kristan Reed, of Eurogamer, strapped his digital cleats on and got a peek at Codemasters' upcoming Sensible World of Soccer. In a world of cynical graphics whores and Roster Update '08s around the corner, could SWOS finally demonstrate that nostalgia and good gameplay actually have a place next to one another? Kristan believes.

[quote]Sensible World of Soccer remains untainted by the passage of time. A true classic that remains as beautifully playable today as it did over a decade ago.[/quote]

Kristan also got a chance to sit down with the game's "original design guru Jon Hare" to reassure fans that "Kebab Shop" and "Essex Girls" will be returning along with everything else.

[via Eurogamer, thanks zeewolf]

More quotage after the break.