Now that its on XBOX Live means that the BBC is the only UK content provider to make its programmes available for free to all Xbox 360 users in the UK. Users will be able to catch up on all the BBC programmes they know and love in a familiar, easy to use BBC iPlayer experience.

Xbox 360 users with Kinect will benefit from enhanced functionality. For the first time it is possible for BBC iPlayer users to discover and play programmes using hand gestures and voice recognition.

The launch on Xbox LIVE today isn’t the end for BBC iPlayer as it is planned to launch on Sky later this year. When it does it will bring the service to millions of new users via the TV and builds on a substantial history of industry partnerships.

To date the BBC iPlayer is on over 450 platforms and devices including Virgin Media, BT Vision, FreeSat, Freeview, Sony PlayStation, Nintendo Wii, and hundreds of mobile phones, tablets, and internet-connected TVs.

Daniel Danker, BBC General Manager, Programmes & On-Demand, said:

“Xbox is hugely successful in the UK.  Given the BBC’s goal to reach its entire audience, I’m particularly excited that the BBC will be bringing iPlayer to all Xbox users at no extra cost as part of Xbox LIVE’s free membership.”

“As we continue our work to make BBC iPlayer as simple as possible, we’re also excited to experiment with natural user interfaces made possible with Kinect, including voice and gesture control.  We believe it’s early days for these experiences, but see a great future working with partners such as Microsoft on innovations like these.”

Stephen McGill, Director of Xbox and Entertainment for Microsoft, said:

“We are delighted that BBC iPlayer is now available on Xbox LIVE. Xbox 360 was the best-selling console in the UK and globally last year, while Xbox LIVE is one of the UK’s leading comprehensive VOD entertainment services on TVs. The addition of BBC iPlayer takes the service to the next level. We offer a formidable line-up of the best TV and entertainment – both live and on-demand – from providers such as Sky, Channel 4, Channel 5, Netflix, LOVEFiLM, Blinkbox, MSN, YouTube and many others”.

“The way people interact with entertainment content is changing. Xbox LIVE is the only service in the world where you can search, discover and control TV, movies, video and music using voice and gesture via the power and magic of Kinect.”

The BBC has seen 433 million requests on TV* devices in 2011.  This means one in four iPlayer requests are on the TV*.  At this rate, the BBC projects that by 2015, over 50% of requests will be via TV* devices.

*TV devices include Virgin Media plus other services capable of delivering BBC iPlayer direct to TVs, including IPTV platforms such as BT Vision, connected “Smart TVs” and connected set-top boxes, such as Freeview HD, Freesat HD, games consoles and some Blu-Ray players.

For more information on BBC iPlayer on Xbox LIVE, Head of BBC iPlayer Dave Price, has blogged about the service on BBC Internet blog from March 20th:http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/

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Mimicking the Explore experience that will be in the final product, as players post race times and trick scores in the demo, ghosts of those runs will be uploaded to the SSX server. These ghosts are exact replicas of a player’s run, from the line that they took, to the tricks that they performed. Players will then be able to challenge their friends’ ghosts or let their own ghosts chalk up wins and losses, while they’re away from their console.

“When crafting the online experience for this new SSX, we wanted to design something that took into account people’s busy schedules and addressed the issue of not always having friends to play online with you at the same time”

“The Explore game mode, which allows you to challenge your friends’ times and scores on your own schedule, is one part of that online design. The other half of our online design, Global Events, is built around the idea of constant ongoing live tournaments against real people in real-time, with the added flexibility of letting you drop in and out at your convenience. We think that when any gamer gets their hands on SSX they are going to have a lot of fun with our modern take on this classic franchise.”

-Todd Batty, Creative Director, SSX.

A modern day reinvention of one of the most critically acclaimed arcade franchises of all-time, SSX will allow players to experience the franchise’s signature fun and adrenaline-packed gameplay across iconic regions all over the world. Using NASA topographical satellite data, SSX has a massive world for players to explore. Throughout nine expansive regions, SSX packs reality-defying gameplay into every run letting players Race, Trick, and Survive as they descend huge open mountains. In addition, Explore, Global Events and RiderNet – the SSX recommendation engine – headline an online feature set that will redefine social competition for gamers, making it fun and easy to compete with friends with no lobbies or wait times.

*Internet connection and Origin account required. Must be 13+ to create an account.
**February 28th in North America and March 15, 2012 in Japan.

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Chad Koehler, vice president of Zivix LLC says:

“JAM Live Music Arcade builds upon years of our music experience and some of the successes we had with previous iterations of the JAM franchise, but takes it to an entirely new level allowing creative freedom and a closer connection to the music,”

“The world loves music, and this product provides immediate accessibility in a totally new way. If you’re looking to jam out, turn the living room in to a live show and experiment with a near-infinite bank of sounds, effects and rhythms, then this is the experience for you. If you’re interested in a more traditional follow-the-leader type of play, then we’ve included the Arcade Mode just for that purpose. With the great songs and artists we have and the wide variety refreshingly creative different play modes, JAM Live Music Arcade is the breath of fresh air the music gaming genre needs.”

JAM Live Music Arcade is a completely new approach to the music genre with a real-time live music sandbox that allows the player to immediately build and customize their very own tunes. Starting with any one of the 30+ licensed songs featured in the game (including hits from Modest Mouse, Fallout Boy, Fatboy Slim, Rise Against, Atmosphere and more), players jam with and remix all aspects of the song – guitar, bass, drums, synth and vocals – to experiment with the song and re-create it to their own personality. All of this is done with any one of the compatible guitar gaming peripherals – the entire band is in your hands! Accessible and easy to get started, yet deep and almost endless to master, everyone can touch real music across a broad range of sonic tastes. JAM Live Music Arcade offers an immersive level of musical interaction that’s inspiring, powerful and contagious.

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Features of JAM Live Music Arcade include:

• Allows the player to experience music in a different and creative way by controlling and remixing all aspects of the song – it’s an entire band in your hands!
• Players have complete creative control over the music and are rewarded for their sense of timing by getting into the flow of the music and beat
• Featuring 32 tracks from major artists to top-touring indie bands designed specifically for the JAM platform, JAM Live Music Arcadeoffers a wide variety of musical stylings
• Compatible with any of the millions of gaming guitar peripherals on the market today
• JAM’s Arcade Mode not only engages a new type of follow the leader pathway and gameplay style, but also incorporates more controller actions from an up-strum to the whammy bar, creating even more of a challenge
• Dynamic visuals respond to your every move, ensuring your visual jam is just as unique as your musical one
• User created content: Create a mix, replay or challenge it in Arcade Mode

Pricing information, the official XBLA and PSN launch dates, complete set list and more for JAM Live Music Arcade will be revealed in the coming weeks.

For more information about the game, please visit www.jamlivemusicarcade.com. Also, be sure to visit https://www.facebook.com/JamLiveMusicArcade and ‘Like’ the page for a chance to win lots of great prizes, and check out the trailer HERE or watch it live HERE. For more information about Zivix LLC, please visit www.zivix.net. For more information about Reverb Publishing and its initiatives, please visitwww.reverbpublishing.com.

Just to recap what Syndicate is about here is some info then the screenshots below.

In 2069 the world is divided into regions controlled by three mega-corporations known as Syndicates. Starting the end of Januarywith the release of the four-player Syndicate™ co-op demo*, gamers have the power to create their own Syndicate to take down the competition. Some takeovers will be more hostile than others. The co-op missions tell the story of a new Syndicate on the rise, Wulf Western. As agents of Wulf Western, gamers must dominate their rivals – Cayman Global, Aspari and Eurocorp – by acquiring their technology and headhunting their senior executives. Just like in the single player campaign, at the frontline of this war are the Agents, the Syndicates’ bio-engineered and chip-augmented enforcers. Through the DART6 bio-chip technology implanted in their heads, they can breach anything in the wired world – enemies, weapons, even the environment – making them the most efficient and deadly technological weapons in the world.

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Gotham City Impostors is a download only title that will be available in the Xbox LIVE, PlayStation Network and Windows PC.  Fans of the game can go to www.GothamCityImpostors.com for the latest updates and news.

Apparently, after discovering that quite a few unauthorized purchases had been made through XBL using PayPal, the user contacted Microsoft Customer Service. After being assured her account was deactivated while an investigation was conducted, she went about her business. However this was not the case. 72 hours later, her account was not blocked by Microsoft, and more money had been stolen from her account through PayPal. You can read her entire story through the link here.

What she describes is just another occurrence in what has become a growing concern since October, when Ars Technica first reported that hackers had gained access to XBL profiles and purchased points as well as FIFA 11 and FIFA 12.

Despite the obvious evidence of unauthorized access, Microsoft denied that XBL had been compromised despite a “limited” number of outside account access.

However, a couple of months later, late December to be exact, Shacknews’ Xav de Matos discovered that his account had been hacked into as well, and was told by a Microsoft executive he had become a victim of a “phishing scam”.

Both Microsoft and EA told de Matos that each company was currently “working on the situation.” Meanwhile, more XBL users have contacted de Matos, stating they were currently experiencing issues with their accounts as well – some through Windows Live even, and the purchase was the Collector’s Edition of Rift.

All of this is nothing new, though, as account hacks have been reported as far back as November 2010 when The Sun (thanks, MCV) ran a feature focusing on the hack. Microsoft again quickly dismissed the issue, claiming it was a phishing scam affecting user accounts.

It is still unclear how the XBL accounts are being accessed, so until the situation is remedied, it would probably be in users’ best interest to purchase point card from retailers to buy XBL content instead of using PayPal or a credit card.

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• blinkbox (UK): blinkbox gives access to a wide range of movies online. With more than 10,000 movies titles movie fans can watch their favorite films immediately with no additional subscription required.
  
• iHeartRadio (U.S.): Listen to more than 800 of the nation’s most popular live broadcast radio stations from 150 U.S. cities or create your own Custom Stations with the New iHeartRadio.
• MSN Video (Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Mexico, US and UK): MSN brings you the latest breaking news, sports, celebrity gossip and more from around the globe.
  
• MSNBC.com (U.S.): MSNBC.com bring you the best of NBC News, MSNBC, Fox Sports, Access Hollywood, original programming and more, on-demand and up-to-date 24/7/365.
  
• MUZU.TV (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and UK): MUZU.TV the music video site, offers nearly 80,000 music videos at your command. Brand new releases from the world’s biggest artists, great music videos from every decade, up and coming bands and the latest music news and interviews.
  
• Rogers On Demand (Canada): Rogers On Demand provides select TV shows and movies to everyone for FREE. Rogers customers can also catch up on their favorite premium programming anytime, from anywhere in Canada.
  
• SBS ON DEMAND (Australia): SBS ON DEMAND is a catch up TV service that lets you watch full episodes, of your favorite SBS television programs.
  
• TMZ (Canada, U.S.): Your all-access pass to the latest TMZ entertainment stories and breaking news videos everyone is talking about!
  
• RTVE (Spain): Complete episodes from series, news programs, documentaries and the best Spanish audiovisual content from RTVE.
  
• Verizon FiOS TV (U.S.): Get Verizon FiOS TV with 26 live channels like MTV, Spike, Food Network, Comedy Central, HBO, CNN and Nickelodeon – with more to come. Plus with Kinect, change channels with your voice.
• YouTube (Available in 24 countries globally**): From your favorite web original video to gaming tips, a universe of compelling content is available through YouTube on Xbox LIVE.
  

*Xbox LIVE Gold membership and/or additional subscriptions/fees may be required. Kinect functionality available with select Xbox LIVE content and varies by feature and country. For additional details and availability, see http://www.xbox.com/live.
** YouTube available in the following countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany , Hong Kong, Ireland, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Singapore, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, South Africa. Source: MajorNelson.com

“With $775 million of sales of  Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in its first five days,  Call of Duty has become the first entertainment property in history to set five-day launch records for three consecutive years across all forms of entertainment,” said Robert Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard.  ”Life-to-date retail sales for the  Call of Duty franchise have exceeded $6 billion worldwide, which makes  Call of Duty one of the most valuable entertainment properties in the world.  We expect continued sales momentum, as reviews and audience enthusiasm suggest that this is the best  Call of Duty game that we have ever made.  Online play for  Modern Warfare 3 is at record levels and we continue to see high online play for both  Call of Duty: Black Ops  and  Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which ranked as the #2 and #4 top-played Xbox LIVE games for the week of November 7, according to Major Nelson.”

“As I have said all year, we have been singluarly focused on making a spectacular game for our fans, and nothing else. Our incredible teams at Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games have done just that,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO, Activision Publishing.  ”Call of Duty:  Modern Warfare 3 continues to thrill core gaming enthusiasts as well as draw new people into the medium, which is not an easy balancing act. But it takes more than a great game. I would also like to thank our incredible team for the pulling off the launch of the year, as well as our retail partners around the world. But most of all, I want to thank our fans. They are our toughest critics, and our biggest supporters, and none of this would be possible without them.”

In addition to beating all previous first-and five-day theatrical box office, book and video game sell-through records,  Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3  set two new records on Xbox LIVE.

According to Microsoft:

• More than 7.0 million multiplayer hours were logged playing  Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 by the end of launch day, November 8, a 19% increase over last year’s 5.9 million multiplayer hours logged playing  Call of Duty: Black Ops last year’s launch day.
• More than 3.3 million unique gamers played  Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in one day on November 8  up from 2.6 million unique gamers for  Call of Duty:  Black Ops.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 set a new record for concurrent players on Xbox LIVE with 3.3 million simultaneous users on November 8.

“The  Call of Duty franchise returned to Xbox 360 this year with another record-breaking launch.  More than 7 million multiplayer hours were played on  Modern Warfare 3 on day-one of launch on Xbox 360,” said Don Mattrick, president of the interactive entertainment business at Microsoft.  “And with the exclusive first access to new multiplayer content, we’re proud Xbox 360 is home to the largest and most engaged  Call of Duty community.”

The game also set a new franchise mark for the number of simultaneous online gamers playing  Call of Duty  on PlayStation®  Network on its first day, and was the best-selling video game launch of all time in North America on Amazon.com and at Best Buy, GameStop, Target and Walmart.

“In just over a week,  Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has been hugely successful on PlayStation 3, and continues to drive millions of gamers globally to PlayStation Network with its unprecedented and engaging online multiplayer experience,” said Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA).  “The  Call of Duty  franchise is one of the biggest entertainment brands on the planet, delivering gameplay experiences like no other which is why we’re also excited to bring the  Call of Duty franchise to our highly-anticipated next generation portable, PlayStation Vita, where we expect fans will continue their dedication to the most amazing  Call of Duty experiences whether in the home or on the go.”

BurgerTime World Tour stars renowned burger chef Peter Pepper as he travels the globe challenging chefs from the world capitals of cuisine. True to his retro roots, Peter Pepper will be tasked with building enormous burgers while running away from wacky food-gone-wild enemies such as Frank Furter the Sausage, Sonny the Egg, and new enemies such as Habba De Niro, the Habanero Pepper. Peter Pepper will need to overcome new obstacles such as giant chasms, wall spikes and hungry bosses to strategically find the fastest way to put together each burger.  And with 50 sizzling levels, BurgerTime has never been meatier.

Now with split-screen and online multiplayer over Xbox® LIVE, BurgerTime World Tour is the first game in franchise history to finally combine massive burger-making and friendly competition. The retro revamp also features various playable chefs and the ability to play as your Xbox® LIVE Avatar.  Fresh additions to the gameplay menu include new customizable multiplayer modes, Burger Battle and Rocket Race. The all-new rocket pack power-up will easily scale level environments, allowing up to four players to get their puzzle-platforming fix. More new twists include the ability to throw both enemies and players.  Surely a food fight will ensue as players rush to assemble burgers with various ingredients for bonus points.

The release of BurgerTime World Tour marks 29 years since the original BurgerTime arcade game was released in 1982. A beloved classic that quickly earned the label as one of the best arcade games of all time, BurgerTime became popular within the competitive gaming community. BurgerTime World Tour adds a ranked online leaderboard for players who enjoy competing to become the world’s greatest BurgerTime chef.

BurgerTime World Tour is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB and is now available for worldwide download on Xbox® LIVE Arcade, at the low price of 800 Microsoft Points. A trial version of the game is also available for free download on Xbox® LIVE Arcade.

For more information on BurgerTime World Tour, please visit www.burgertimeworldtour.com