Starting off the new year of Xbox Live’s Deal of the Week is A Kingdom for Keflings, which Gold members will be able to pick up for 50% off its original 800 point ($10) price tag – that puts it down to 400 points ($5) for those afraid of math. The game includes up to four player co-op, which makes the price a pretty nice one if you can find a few like-minded individuals to give the game a shot... more.

Last week, the Left 4 Dead 2 demo was released for those who pre-ordered the game, but that exclusivity was short lived, as the demo has now gone live for all Gold level members via the Xbox Live Marketplace. It’s been widely touted that Left 4 Dead 2 is basically the original, only better, so hurry up and hit your 360 to find out what that "only better" actually equates to.... more.

Last month, we reported on Microsoft’s planning of an Xbox Live Rewards Program. Those plans have come to fruition, as, according to Kotaku, Microsoft has started sending out invites to the previous members who were surveyed on their opinions. The (as of now) six-month program will reward both Silver and Gold level subscribers with Microsoft Points, should they fulfill certain requirements, t... more.

Starting today, a demo for Band Hero is now available to download via the Xbox Live Marketplace. The demo contains three songs: Finger Eleven’s “Paralyzer”, Katrina & The Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine" and Taylor Swift’s “Picture to Burn”. Aside from the (apparently) more light-hearted (read: safe) track listing, Band Hero looks to be a standard clone of Guitar Hero 5, allo... more.

A host of Mass Effect content has hit the Xbox Live Marketplace, bringing four themes and a plethora of Avatar items to choose from. Themes: Ilos Theme – 240 Microsoft Points ($3) Noveria Theme – 240 Microsoft Points Feros Theme – 240  Microsoft Points Virmire Theme – 240 Microsoft Points Avatar Items: Garrus Eye Piece – 80 Microsoft Points ($1) Mako Shirt – 80 M... more.

In a press release, Microsoft has released the list of the final two Games on Demand for the rest of August. The final two games are Burnout Revenge and Need For Speed: ProStreet. They will be available on Tuesday, August 25th; pricing is unknown. To me, it seems a little strange to release two racing games on the same day especially because they're both from EA.... more.

Today at Gamescom, it was revealed that the downloadable-only Battlefield 1943 has broken the 1 Million downloads milestone. A pretty big jump considering a month ago they were hovering right in the 600,000 range. The popularity of this game is pretty astounding to be honest. But given some of the critical praise its been getting, the popularity is well deserved. [Via: MCV]... more.

Just now looking at the USA Xbox Live Marketplace, it appears that some Games On Demand are Live. Contradicting with the original list of games, there is also Bioshock and Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) available for purchase. Here is a list of what is available with the price: Bioshock - $29.99 Sonic the Hedgehog - $19.99 Assassin's Creed - $29.99 Call of Duty 2 - $29.99 Lego Star W... more.

While the retail game industry has been marred in a steep decline over the past few months, downloadable game services like Steam, Direct2Drive and Xbox Live Marketplace have been seeing a huge boon. Valve, which owns Steam, reported that its year-over-year sales have shot up 97 percent, while IGN's Direct2Drive platform has saw a 56 percent increase year-over-year. "By offering AAA titl... more.

Looks like Madballs in Babo Invasion publisher Playbrains may have changed their mind as they announced today that Babo Invasion will be 800 MSP when it launches tomorrow via their blog: "Good news for budget-conscious gamers and those with stereotypical Scottish ancestry: we’re not going to be 1200 points after all. We just got off the phone with Microsoft Game Studios and they have consu... more.