As of lately one thing that has been pushing down the number of new friends I make on Xbox Live is the current 100-friends limit that has been pushed by Microsoft since the release of Xbox Live. But, it looks like Microsoft may have plans to increase the limit of friends you can have on Xbox Live.

When speaking to Joystiq at CES, Xbox director Aaron Greenberg told them that, “I can’t commit to when that will happen, but that is something we want to do. It’s definitely something we’re looking at expanding and, as this social network grows, we’ve absolutely heard the pleas for that. It’s on the list.”

Then he went onto say that how they had thousands of potential friends turn away daily on Xbox Live. And, as he said, it’s on the list so lets see what future plans they have for Xbox Live.

What comes to mind when you think Music based video games? Is it Rock Band or is it Guitar Hero? Or is it Singstar? Well, probably one of the most over looked downfalls in this gaming generation has to be the fixation on the casual gaming market, and sadly this game doesn’t divert from that manner. But, none the less, Lips is a party game that has one of the greatest bonding powers of getting friends and family to play with on another. However, one can only wonder if Lips is going to be just another video game face plant or an instant sensation?

After previous failed attempts by Microsoft at trying to recreate the fun derived from group gaming, with such examples as Scene It! and You’re In the Movies, Lips is another offspring of the guys over at iNiS in Japan, which is known for games like Elite Beat Agents – another party-driven game – and many others. Opinion-wise, I really do not think that it was a great idea to name the game Lips, which brings up the games first downfall. We really don’t think we need to go into detail about that.

However, with the game having a somewhat bad name, it does differ from its predecessors. The game has a start up track of about 40 songs, all of which are master tracks including music videos and select previews. They also have different videos other than the original video made for the song that the gamer can pick from. The game has a multiplayer feature that pits you against another player, or against the computer. As for mics, Lips has two beautifully designed wireless microphones that light up as you sing.

When singing, the upcoming lyrics will be highlighted in gray, and the current lyrics will be highlighted in white. However, in two player mode, where player one is on the top and player two is on the bottom, you sometimes fix your eyes on the gray lyrics if you are player two and end up singing the wrong words, which becomes a problem. Also, when singing in the right pitch and balance, the word bars will be colored in the the color of your mic (ex. player one red, player two blue).

Luckyly, the guys over at iNiS knew that you may not be able to hit all the notes so, unlike other music games, you are unable to fail any songs, which is both its strength and weakness. It’s just like the problem that many people had with Elika from Prince of Persia in his newest adventure. It really takes away from the challenge, I mean would you really want to play a game that does nothing to challenge the gamer? I think not.

If you add all those things together it really does make for a weak single-player experience, but this game is really strong when you play it was a buddy. Which brings me to the co-op and mutliplayer part of the game. When in this mode, you can take on a song with a friend (ex. Umbrella by Rihanna). This song has a better co-op standard then other songs in the game, for example Another One Bits The Dust by Queen. But, lucky the mutliplayer works great for this game.

Closing Statements:

I really had alot of fun playing this game. It is really strong in most aspects of it and will surely keep you playing for hours on hand. The interface is remarkably easy to use, the initial track list is solid, and the microphones are outstanding. But, there is one problem, it does not push itself as being a game that a hardcore gamer would want to pick up and play. The game also has the ability for you to transfer music from your iPod, but what really makes me mad is that you can’t upload music from an iPhone or iTouch. That is one reason we couldn’t put that in our review. Also the quality of the videos are mostly in SD, which doesn’t fit this game at all.

Score: B-

Microsoft has shipped 22.5m Xbox 360s through September 2008 and should pass the totals of the original Xbox, which shipped 24.7m worldwide, next quarter. This was revealed in Microsoft’s updated system results earlier today for the Xbox 360, the company is reporting that they shipped 2.2m consoles from July 1 to Sept 30 bringing the total number to 22.5m shipped since launch.

For Microsoft, Q1, Q5, and Q9 are the quarters ending December. Given that Q1 was the supply constrained launch in 2005, and that the original Xbox only shipped 24.7m units worldwide, the Xbox 360 should top its predecessor next quarter.

[Microsoft Details July to Sept Results, Xbox 360 to Top Xbox Next Quarter via VGCharts]

Polygamia have gotten their hands on the English version of Fable II and they were nice enough to provide us with a short ten min video of the first ten minutes of “thy” Fable II. The video really doesn’t go into much detail about the games story, but it is just enough to fuel a bit of your hunger. The game will be releasing exclusively on the Xbox 360 on October 21, 2008 in NA, we will be reviewing the game very soon.

Today, at TGS according to Dark Zero, Konami revealed another earth-shattering announcement from TGS. According to them, Konami revealed their plans to make a new Castlevania on nex-gen systems, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Regretfully, next to nothing is known about the game as of yet, other than the fact that it does exists. The game was announced to the Japanese press by the name Demon Castle Dracula, which is the Japanese name for the series. Anyway, ITmedia has updated with this rather blury image, which tell us next to nothing about the game.

Saints Row 2 is yet to hit the streets and yet two of the games developers are talking about a third installment into the series. Designer Scott Phillips and Lead Producer Greg Donovan had a nice chat with Strategy Informer about Saints Row 2 and in there little chat Strategy Informer decided to ask about the possibility of there being a Saint’s Row 3, and Scott Philips told them that they will wait until players put their comments out for SR2 and collect that stuff and start working on it then, hopefully.

“We’ve got tons and tons of ideas coming out of SR 2. I mean, coming out of any game you know things you want to make better and in addition to that, we’ll wait until players put their comments out and collect that stuff and start working on it then, I guess. Hopefully.”

Breaking: Saints Row 3 Confirmed

Gears of War design director Cliff Bleszinski has talked against developers handing over their IP to be developed by other studios, saying the Call of Duty-style approach to games means quality is ‘lost in translation’. Just like that movie I saw sometime back. When speaking at an press event for the launch of Gears of War 2 he was asked about his views on franchises that have the popularity of Gears but which have multiple designers. But Bleszinski did say that he wasn’t interested in letting another developer have a crack at designing a Gears episode – and other franchises which try that approach tend to become soulless when a property changes hands.

He goes on to tell the guys at DevelopMag that: “We’ve got a lot of ideas about where the franchise will go. But sometimes I feel a franchise loses something when it’s shifted off to another shop. You get the primary studio that really understands about the franchise, and sometimes the other studio that takes it over can do well, but there’s something lost in translation, like the game’s soul has gone.”

Today, we got some information on the games D-pad control system, which is much like the system that was used in Gears of War. This system will be fully optional and it uses the left stick and right stick much like in any normal TPS, Third person shooter. This system allows you to strafe left or right, and manipulate the camera and here’s how it will work. LT will ready the weapon for shooting and RT will fire your weapon. While in D-pad mode you cannot move or you can barely move. We also can confirm to you that some old BOW’s from the pre-RE4 era will make and return in this game.

We all know why Gears of War 2 wouldn’t be coming to the PC, not that any of us really care right now, but do you want would make Gears of War 2 more fun? What if you had the chance had the chance to show some Freshmen to the game how to live it up like Seniors to the game. We know that you have been barraged by the Gears of War 2 news today, but this rumor was just to good to past up.

According to a post on the Evil Avatar forums, Gridlock, Subway, Canals, Mansion, and Tyro Station will be available to download off Xbox Live Market Place the day that the is release. But, here’s where they get you. It will only be available for people who purchase a new copy of the game.

Well, it looks like PC gaming is killing it’s self with piracy according to a recent interview with Cliff Bleszinski because of the PC’s piracy problems they aren’t bring Gears of War 2 onto the PC.

“The person who is savvy enough to want to have a good PC to upgrade their video card, is a person who is savvy enough to know [BitTorrent] to know all the elements so they can pirate software,” says Bleszinski. “Therefore, high-end videogames are suffering very much on the PC.”

There have been many key announcements for Call of Duty: World at War, but what you may not have known is that mostly all the key announcements have been targeted to the PC and Xbox 360. Here’s what dawns the questions, “where’s the PlayStation 3 Call of Duty: World at War love?”. Yesterday, PlayStation Universe revealed that Treyarch and Activision where not planning to release any Beta for the PlayStation version of the game. But, this may not effect some of us because we can’t basically see Beta’s for the PlayStation 3 falling from the sky.

There are many key fans for this franchise on the PlayStation 3, but just because theres alot of upcoming Beta’s for the PlayStation 3 there’s still alot of fans that would love to get their hands on this game that own a PlayStation 3. Also what’s up with the Limited Edition versions for the game this maybe one of the coldest things that Activision has done this year. If you didn’t know the Call of Duty franchise started on the PC and was then push onto consoles. Maybe because the game did sell better on the Xbox 360 then the PlayStation 3 they are trying to push this game more to 360 owners, but as a fan of the PlayStation 3 I will just like to see a little more love for the PlayStation 3 from this game.

In a recent Interview with Xbox’s vice president Don Mattrick spoke about their current place in the console market, In second place that they will do everything in there power to maintain that powerful spot. Mattrick also touched on the issue saying, that while they cannot see beating there arch rival Nintendo because of that great hold on the market they are confident that second place race is over and that Sony falls into a third spot.

“I’m not at a point where I can say we’re going to beat Nintendo,” he said, before predicting, “We will sell more consoles this generation than Sony.”

Early this year at E3, Mattrick said that he wanted to beat Sony, but this time it is stressed more.To this date Microsoft has sold an estimated 20 million console since  its introduction on November 2005.

[Microsoft concedes victory to Nintendo, will fight Sony for second]

Confirmed last month in an issue of Famistu, Capcom has now confirmed in update on the official Japanese website for their upcoming video game, Street Fighter IV, that the game will be receiving two new protagonists. You can bit to see new video game of the game soon showing one or not if both of them in action soon. We also have gained some more information on another upcoming character, we learned that Cammy should joining the cast after being chosen by the community to be part of the remaining characters.

Just like Banjo Kazooie, Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise will also be getting a demo. According to a developer from Rare, we can expect a trail demo for their upcoming game, Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise. The demo will allow to play the first twenty-five minutes of the entire game, which is more then enough time for you to get the feel of the game.

Black Box studio has revealed some new details for their upcoming game, Need for Speed: Undercover, the details are as stated from the press release: Need for Speed: Undercover has players racing through speedways, dodging cops and chasing rivals as they go deep undercover to take down an International crime syndicate. The new game heralds the return of high-intensity police chases and introduces the all-new ‘Heroic Driving Engine’ — a unique technology that generates incredible high-performance moves at 180 miles per hour during breathtaking highway battles.

“Need for Speed Undercover puts you at the center of a big-budget Hollywood movie with all of the drama, action and dazzling chase scenes, right on your gaming console. The unique Heroic Driving Engine will give you ultimate control over the hottest cars and push you to use every ounce of skill to outrun the law and take down criminal adversaries,”-Executive Producer Bill Harrison

The achivement list for the upcoming Duke Nukem 3D port was released today via the achievement guru, Achieve360Points. At first glance this is sign that the game has undergo certification and should be released very soon. Here’s what 3D Realms George Broussard had to say when speaking to ShackNews, “We officially passed final certification on our first try Friday, August 15th,”. While no price has been mention, ShackNews goes on to say that most games of this upcoming fall will fall behind the 800 and 1200 Microsoft point mark with a retail value between $10-15.

In an interview with Eurogamer, Randy Pitchford, President of Gearbox Software, gave the latest details on the upcoming Brothers in Arms game, Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway. The most stocking news was about a demo that will be appearing shortly. Unfortunately, the likeliness of PC gamers getting the chance to download this demo is a bit smaller than for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 owners. Here’s what he had to say:

Randy Pitchford: “We are 100 per cent certain there will be a demo for 360, 99 per cent certain there will be a demo for PS3 and about 50 per cent certain there will be a demo for PC…”

You knew it was going to come sometime, so why should are you so shocked? Just kidding. Today, Activision and Microsoft announced the highly anticipated Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 for Xbox Live Arcade. But, still I find my self thinking more about the upcoming update for the 360 dashboard. Anyway, the game is being developed by the industry veterans at Bizarre Creations and it will be the the sequel to the smash hit, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved.

If you loved the high action Ace Combat series then, this Nintendo Sky Flyer is just what you have been looking for.With alot riding in the terms of gameplay and this game show pushing that it can bump big heads with the Sony PS3 and Microsoft Xbox 360. Today we where able to get our hands on this game from a member of NeoGAF in the form of some very unbelievable pictures.

Innocent Aces, and it’s story follows the encounter between the protagonist, a member of a skilled flying unit belonging to a war contractor called Rostok Office, and an enigmatic young pretender, a lady called Orishina Maumi.

Players can use the Nunchuck’s analog stick to direct Sky Crawlers’ airborne vehicles, while the Wii Remote controls the power of the throttle.

While Japan will see this title this summer with a movie of the same name, the U.S. may see this game later this year.

[NeoGAF]

When showing the financial results for the second quarter, Take Two Interactive announced that it’s hit game Grand Theft Auto IV has sold over 8.5 Million copes, with about 11 million distributed worldwide. Grand Theft Auto IV came out at the end of this pass May on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Congrats to the guys at Take Two Interactive and RockStar Games.

EA has told IGN that the Veteran Map Pack for the PlayStation 3 version of Army of Two has been delayed in North America and the Xbox 360 owners and European PlayStation 3 owners will still be able to download the pack today, May 29th.

North America
PlayStation 3 – Delayed
Xbox 360 – On Time

Europe
PlayStation 3 – On Time
Xbox 360 – Delayed

[Army of Two Map Pack Delayed via IGN]

New scans found on the web reveals the new characters for Gears of War 2, the scans come from a Japanese magazine.

Gears of War takes place on Sera, a planet inhabited by humans, who have warred over a phosphorescent, low-viscosity fluid known as "Imulsion" highly valued as a source of energy. Over several decades, the Pendulum Wars took place between various human countries, and ended with the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) taking control of the planet.

[Text Source Wiki]

Today, Ubisoft released as a part of Ubidays a new trailer for there upcoming Prince of Persia game, the trailers provide a glimpse of the game wich would be coming onto the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC this holiday season.

Activision reveals new screenshot for Guitar Hero IV under development of the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii. Of course of many new innovations will be part of Guitar Hero IV like a complete set of accessories including a guitar, Drumset, microphone and battery. This makes it possible to compose your own Battle Of The Bands where two groups of four players to clash on line. The game will be releasing this year on Microsoft Xbox 360, Sonys PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii.

You have been waiting for along time and it’s finally here, the first and hopefully not the last time we will see gameplay for Gears Of War 2. If you ask me the gameplay is nothing short of amazing and it’s not something you will want to miss. Gears of War 2 takes place 6 months after the Lightmass Bomb at the end of the first game. Gears 2 is a third-person shooter video game exclusively for Microsoft’s Xbox 360.

According to an employee at UPS, 3 of the workers were fired for stealing copys of Grand Theft Auto IV from there shipment boxes.

"I spoke to an employee of UPS over the weekend, and he told me that a surprising amount of workers were getting busted stealing the game from the shipment boxes. In one 24-hour period, three workers were fired, and more interviews were scheduled for today that would likely end in termination."

[Grand Theft UPS: copies of GTA stolen via Arstechnica]