King of Fighters '98, the arcade and Neo Geo brawler with a cult following, is coming to the Xbox 360 via the online Xbox Live Arcade service.

The game was recently re-released in Japan as King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match on the PlayStation 2, and that version will be the one headed to XBLA, according to SiliconEra. The newest version of the game sports extra characters and balance changes for competitive players.

The SNK Playmore-developed remake does not have a release date, but it will appear at the Tokyo Game Show in October.

Death Tank, once a mini-game in Lobotomy Software's PowerSlave for the Sega Saturn, is coming to Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade, as was hinted by Germany's software ratings board.

Now developed by Snowblind Studios, the game is a two-dimensional multiplayer shooter a la Worms, but made real-time instead of turn-based. Lobotomy staffer Ezra Dreisbach, who is credited with the development of Death Tank, now works at Snowblind.

The digitally-downloadable revival will support four players on the same console and up to eight players online. A release date and price have not yet been announced, but the game's first screenshots were released by the studio today.

The Xbox 360's online store, Xbox Live Arcade, is set to get a whopping three new releases this Wednesday thanks to Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball, Shred Nebula, and Gin Rummy.

Blazing Lizard's Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball promises all of the things on the label: pirates, ninjas, and dodgeball action. The game also features two other teams from the Land of Awesome Stuff, robots and zombies. Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball launches at a price of 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

Shred Nebula, the freshman release from CrunchTime Games, is an omni-directional shooter boasting influence from Virgin Interactive Entertainment's 90s PC shooter SubSpace. Unlike Bizarre Creations' recently released XBLA shooter Geometry Wars 2, Shred Nebula features 8-player online multiplayer with both deathmatch and co-op modes. Like Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball, it releases for 800 Points ($10).

Studio Ch'in brings popular card game Gin Rummy online this week, bringing with it 6 gameplay modes and customizable rules. The Xbox Live Vision-supported game will appear at a price of 400 Points ($5).

Q Entertainment, the studio behind the addictive puzzlers Lumines and Every Extend Extra, has announced that it will bring its rocket-launching stacking puzzle game Meteos to the Xbox 360 as a downloadable Xbox Live Arcade release.

Originally a Nintendo DS game, Meteos has players grouping together stones of the same color on the bottom of the screen and launching those groups off into space.

The Xbox Live Arcade version, now called Meteos Wars, adds head-to-head multiplayer and characters that can be decorated as the player unlocks achievements, according to 1UP.

Meteos Wars does not have an announced price or release date, but it will launch on Xbox Live Arcade Japan in October.

As previously announced by publisher Microsoft, Namco Bandai's Galaga Legions arrives on the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade platform this Wednesday.

Created by the team responsible for Pac-Man Championship Edition (360), Galaga Legions features a variety of new game dynamics, bright visuals and vast fleets of enemies striking in massive waves.

Galaga Legions will be priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10) on the Xbox Live Marketplace when it debuts this Wednesday.

A listing on the German software ratings board USK's website reveals that a game called Death Tank is coming to the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade platform, prompting speculation that it may be a downloadable edition of Lobotomy Software's fan-favorite 2D multiplayer shooter.

Reminiscent of Team17's Worms series and the freeware PC classic Scorched Earth, the game expanded on the turn-based 2D warfare by bringing real-time gameplay into the mix. Positioned atop a randomized landscape, up to seven players could unleash heavy ordinance to destroy opponents and whittle down the surrounding terrain.

Death Tank originally appeared as a hidden game in Lobotomy Software's PowerSlave, released for the Sega Saturn in 1996. A second version, Death Tank Zwei... Read more

Independent developer CrunchTime Games has announced that its omni-directional shooter Shred Nebula is scheduled to debut on Xbox Live Arcade on Wednesday, September 3, reports GameSpot.

Serving as CrunchTime Games' inaugural release, Shred Nebula promises a variety of weapons and spacecraft, as well as single-player and multiplayer modes. The game is said to draw heavily from Virgin Interactive Entertainment's free-to-play pseudo-MMO shooter SubSpace (PC), released in 1997.

Priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10), Shred Nebula will hit the Xbox Live Marketplace alongside alongside Blazing Lizard's Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball on the same day.

Following the release of Jonathan Blow's independently developed, time-warping puzzle platformer Braid, the developer has revealed that the Xbox Live Arcade certification requirements may have encumbered the title in its crucial polish phases.

"They removed some of the requirements for XBLA games, but there are still a lot of requirements," Blow told Gamasutra. "And I believe that, at least for a single-player game like my game, the vast majority of these requirements are unnecessary."

Blow continued, "I put in a tremendous amount of work meeting all these requirements, when I could have put that work into the actual game, and made it even a little more polished, little bit better."

The developer further noted that while the Xbox Live Arcade certification process is meant to ensure a standard of quality for games appearing on the platform, he believes that the amount of time and energy spent on passing certification has... Read more

Blazing Lizard will unleash buccaneers and silent assassins upon Xbox Live Arcade with Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball on September 3, publisher Gamecock announced today. In celebration of the date, new screenshots were also provided.

In addition to the aforementioned pirates and ninjas, the downloadable title also offers zombies and robots for a total of four playable teams. Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball features a traditional dodgeball mode as well as an enhanced gametype, which allows the use of special moves unique to each team.

No price point has yet been announced for the title.

Though publisher Microsoft had previously denied a $15 price for Braid, the company confirmed today that Jonathon Blow and Number None's time-shifting puzzler will indeed cost 1200 Microsoft Points ($15) when it is released as a downloadable Xbox 360 title through the Xbox Live Marketplace this Wednesday.

In last week's statement, Microsoft also denied that The Behemoth's downloadable four-player beat'em up Castle Crashers would sell for 1800 Microsoft Points ($22.50) when it arrives on August 27.

Since then, The Behemoth has issued its own response, claiming that the companies "are still working together to figure out a reasonable price point. (not 1800 points)" but that "ultimately, pricing is at the discretion of the distributor (Microsoft)."

Update: Microsoft has informed Shacknews that the reported $22.50 price point for Castle Crashers and $15 Braid price, believed to stem from a now-removed Microsoft Japan listing, are incorrect for both domestic and international markets.

The company further noted that it will officially announce price points for those titles on the Monday preceding Braid and Castle Crashers' respective release dates, or August 4 and 25.

Original Story: Following Microsoft's detailing of August's Xbox Live Arcade releases, Microsoft Japan has revealed price points for most of the downloadable Xbox 360 games, while Capcom has separately confirmed the pricing for... Read more

With Valve's wit-driven action-puzzler Portal hitting Xbox Live Arcade this fall, marketing VP Doug Lombardi has expressed interest in releasing more of the studio's catalog, which includes shooters Half-Life and Counter-Strike, as Xbox 360 downloads.

"We'll certainly consider [bringing old games like Counter-Strike to XBLA]," Lombardi told OXM UK. "If you look at what we've done on Steam, we try to make all our games available and we're always reviewing the prices to keep them current. We'd love to do that, but this is our first step at doing that beyond the PC."

When asked about a possible console release of the Team Fortress 2 add-ons that PC gamers have been receiving for free, such as new maps and weapons, Lombardi stated that the company was still discussing the specifics of pricing.

"We're accumulating a lot of TF2 content for PC and at some point there'll be a sweet amount of stuff that's ready to go and large enough that if people have to pay for it [on consoles], they'll be happy," he noted. Earlier in the year, Lombardi told Shacknews that the content was likely to hit Xbox 360, but wasn't sure if it would arrive on PS3.

Several anticipated Xbox Live Arcade titles will be hitting the Xbox 360's downloadable gaming service this coming August, Microsoft announced today. Left, The Behemoth's Castle Crashers. Right, GRIN's Bionic Commando: Rearmed.

Following the release of Bizarre Creations' multi-directional shooter Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 this Wednesday, the month of August will see the debut of:

• Braid (Jonathon Blow), August 6
• Bionic Commando: Rearmed (GRIN), August 13
• Galaga Legions (Namco Bandai), August 20
• Castle Crashers (The Behemoth), August 27

While Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 and Bionic Commando: Rearmed were both previously announced to carry the price of 800 Microsoft Points ($10), no price points for the other titles have been revealed.

D3Publisher has announced that the previously announced expansion for the Xbox Live Arcade edition of Infinite Interactive's puzzle-RPG hybrid Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords will hit this Wednesday, July 23.

Entitled Revenge of the Plague Lord, the expansion includes four new Hero professions—Bard, Rogue, Ranger, and Warlock—alongside 25 new quests. New monsters and bosses, 50 new spells and 40 new items are also arriving as part of the expansion.

The expansion will be available for 700 Microsoft Points ($8.75) when it debuts on the Xbox Live Marketplace this Wednesday.

Microsoft has announced that Backbone Entertainment's 1942: Joint Strike (PS3, 360) and Little Boy Games' Go! Go! Break Steady (360) comprise this week's Xbox Live Arcade offerings and will be downloadable on Xbox 360 this Wednesday.

A revival of the classic top-down shooter franchise, 1942: Joint Strike is said to borrow various elements of its predecessors while bringing updated 3D HD graphics, new weapons and online cooperative play to the series.

Go! Go! Break Steady combines rhythmic beat-matching with puzzle gameplay paired with a unique visual style, and features local and Xbox Live cooperative and versus play in over 20 different songs.

Both titles will be priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10) when they hit the Xbox Live Marketplace this Wednesday, July 23.

If you missed it among the chaos of last week's E3 Media and Business Summit, Yuke's deceptively-named Double D Dodgeball was quietly released during the conference. The game is available now for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

Microsoft has announced Coffeetime Crosswords as this week's sole addition to the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade downloadable gaming platform.

Developed by Penny Press, Coffeetime Crosswords offers more than 150 puzzles for all skill levels. In addition to solo play, the game supports also supports two player cooperative play via Xbox Live, and is priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

Infinite Interactive's Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords will see a price reduction this Wednesday from 1200 Microsoft Points ($15) to a new permanent price point of 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

Finally, a new puzzle pack for Merscom's Buku Sudoku is also planned for this week's XBLA roundup. The pack includes 1200 new puzzles for the Sudoku title, and is available free of charge.

As per Microsoft's usual schedule, the new additions will be available on the Xbox Live Marketplace this Wednesday, July 16.

Capcom and Inti Create's downloadable revival of Mega Man will, as previously rumored, arrive on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in addition to the Wii, IGN has confirmed.

Featuring a pixel-based art style and optional protection against one-hit kills, Mega Man 9 marks the first downloadable game to be announced for the online stores--PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Marketplace, Wii Shop Channel--of all three systems.

North American release details are not yet available, though the title is slated to hit Japan's WiiWare store in September for 1000 Wii Points ($10).

In addition, Capcom revealed that the NES classics Mega Man 1 and 2 will soon be released in the Wii's online Virtual Console storefront. Once again, no pricing or release details were specified, though the games are expected to carry the store's usual 500 Wii Point ($5) price for NES games.

Update: More shots have popped up on Plaza.Fi, JeuxVideo Kotaku and V2.fi.

Given the flood of screenshots from various outlets and languages, it is likely that the port has appeared on PartnerNet, a closed Xbox Live network only accessible through development kits and debug units.

PartnerNet availability would also suggest that the price point of 1337 Microsoft Points ($16.71), as specified in one of the shots, is placeholder.

Shacker ease one reports that the 83 MB Xbox Live Arcade port of Duke Nukem 3D is indeed downloadable through the closed PartnerNet network, though the current build only "displays a rotating poly and that is it."

Original Story: Two alleged screenshots showcasing the downloadable Xbox Live Arcade port of Duke Nukem 3D in the Xbox 360 dashboard have appeared courtesy Joystiq and tipper SV.

The enhanced XBLA release will arrive this year with co-op and online multiplayer in tow, according to a Dallas Business Journal report that contained... Read more

Torpex Games' cooperative shooter Schizoid and Housemarque's Golf: Tee It Up! are coming to the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade downloadable gaming platform this week, Microsoft announced today. Described by Torpex as "the most co-op game ever," Schizoid features two-player online and offline cooperative play. Designated as either blue or red, participants can absorb bullets and destroy otherwise invulnerable enemies of the same hue... Read more

Lionhead Studios' downloadable compilation of gambling mini-games from its upcoming RPG Fable II (360) will arrive in August, publisher Microsoft has announced.

Allowing users to transfer earned money into the retail edition of Fable II, the release sports three mini-games: "a combination of Craps and Roulette" known as Keystone, the luck-based Fortune's Tower, and the slot machine-esque Spinnerbox.

"It's not going to throw the balance of [Fable 2] unduly, because you can't buy magic, for example, with money," designer Peter Molyneux told Shacknews earlier this year. "You can't buy the skill levels on melee combat and on range combat with... Read more