Tag Archives: Major Nelson

Gavin Mannion

Redbox Instant is coming to the Xbox 360

February 6, 2013 at 11:45 am | 10 Comments

Those of you who have been following us on twitter over the last few weeks must have noticed the sudden increase in tweets related to Netflix. This is due to all of us setting up Unotelly accounts and streaming everything from Breaking Bad to Strippers vs Werewolves while testing the service.


Gavin Mannion

Is the countdown to the new Xbox being announced?

January 3, 2013 at 9:30 am | 65 Comments

Major Nelson (Lawrence Hryb) is the Director of Programming for Xbox Live or in other words the guy who tries to make everyone love Xbox has posted up a countdown timer that is set to end on the day that E3 2013 opens.


Geoffrey Tim

What’s the most played game on Xbox Live?

October 25, 2012 at 2:30 pm | 18 Comments

Every week, Xbox Live’s Major Nelson posts up a list of the most popular games on Xbox Live for that week. For the last few years, you could put money on the fact that the latest Call of Duty would be at number one. It’s not anymore.


Gavin Mannion

Kinect gets a 27% price drop but not for you

August 23, 2012 at 9:00 am | 7 Comments

Major Nelson, the community leader over at Xbox, has announced that starting pretty much immediately the Kinect will receive a 27% price drop in North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific.


Darryn Bonthuys

The new white Xbox looks completely unnecessary and drop dead gorgeous

February 29, 2012 at 11:30 am | 23 Comments

Let me have a look at my console collection so far. Matte black PS3. Check. Glossy black 3DS? Check. Sleek Black Xbox slim? Check. Various other consoles from previous generations that all sport a black coat of paint? Check.

It’s kind of boring having such a uniform selection of gaming devices to play around on, which is why my eyes light up like a cat chasing a ball whenever a newer, shinier console with a brighter finish arrives.

Which is just what the Xbox 360 has done. It’s completely superfluous, unnecessary and Sweet Christmas! I do want this so bad!


Geoffrey Tim

These are Xbox Live’s most popular games for 2011

January 10, 2012 at 3:30 pm | 3 Comments

Microsoft’s Major Nelson’s gone and released their list of the most popular games , as recorded by Xbox Live for 2011. Here’s something that shouldn’t comes a surprise to anybody; The most played game in 2011 was a Call of Duty game. A little surprising is that the the second game is also Call of Duty, this time Modern Warfare 3, which has managed the spot even though it was only available for the last two months of the year. The third game on the list? Would you believe it, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Halo Reach and Battlefield 3 round out the top five, proving that gamers still really dig their shooters. Call of Duty takes another two spots in 2011’s most played games, with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and World at War at 14 and 20 respectively. Give it a few years, and it’s possible there’ll be nothing but Call of Duty clogging up the internet. Maybe Kojima was on to something when he said there’s no demand for much else right now?

Rest of the list after the jump!


Geoffrey Tim

Black Ops Finally dethroned from Xbox Live activity chart

November 17, 2011 at 2:00 pm | 21 Comments

It’s finally happened. After a full year of reigning supreme as the most played game on Xbox Live, Black Ops has finally been kicked off the top spot. No prizes for guessing that the game that’s usurped it is Modern Warfare 3. Yup. Call of Duty beat Call of Duty beat Call of Duty. Thankfully Call of Duty doesn’t hold the all three top spots - because another modern combat shooter’s managed to wriggle in to third spot - yup, Battlefield’s getting some decent online time in 3rd spot, putting the two year old Modern Warfare 2 in number 4.

That’s really got to be disheartening for the team at Epic, whose current Flagship Gears of War 3 has only managed to sit pretty at 5.

Top twenty Xbox Live titles after the jump


Geoffrey Tim

There’s an Xbox System Update coming today

July 19, 2011 at 9:00 am | 10 Comments

When you turn on your Xbox 360 today after a long, hard day at the office, your online decimation of noobs might be briefly interrupted by a prompt asking you to update your console.

Exciting stuff, new updates. So what fantastic new features does this one bring?


Nick de Bruyne

New Xbox LIVE Features: Cloud Storage Finally And What Are Beacons?

June 14, 2011 at 10:15 am | 21 Comments

You may have caught some information during the Microsoft E3 2011 Press Conference that mentioned new features coming to the Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE soon, but following the briefing, they fleshed out the details as well as announced a couple of really great new ones.

I especially love the idea of the beacons. Hit the jump to see what nifty new features are headed your way.


Nick de Bruyne

Major Nelson Video Shows Off Forza 4 Head Tracking

June 1, 2011 at 3:00 pm | 13 Comments

If you want a sneak peak into one of the new features that Microsoft will be showing off at E3 this week, then take a look at this.

This new Major's Minute video shows off the new head tracking feature in Forza Motorsport 4 and also (apparently unintentionally) teases us on some amazing new announcement that can't be spoken about right now.

Hit the jump to see it in action.


Geoffrey Tim

[Updated] Xbox 360 update is breaking consoles

May 19, 2011 at 9:30 am | 13 Comments

Woops! Its seems that flashy new disc-storage capacity increasing update destined for Xbox 360’s might be causing a little bit of trouble. The update, which readies the console to use an extra 1GB of DVD storage space has reportedly been causing some test users to receive dis-read errors, preventing them playing retail games on their machines.

Microsoft is aware of the problem, claiming that it only affects a “small percentage” of users.


Peter Carmody

April Xbox live Marketplace specials

April 13, 2011 at 3:00 pm | 10 Comments

For those of you who have been waiting in anticipation for the Gears of War 3 Beta, the wait is almost over. If you purchased the Bulletstorm Epic edition, you will have access to the Gears 3 Beta as of Monday the 18th, while those amongst you who are Epic edition-less will have to wait until Monday the 25th before indulging in the “fun, fun, fun, fun”-Rebecca Black.The Beta is scheduled to conclude on Sunday, May the 15th giving the standard Beta availability a good 20 day run, with Bulletstrom Epic edition owners having an additional week of “locust crushing glory”.

Geoffrey Tim

Xbox 360 disc format getting updated; are multi-disc games a thing of the past?

March 30, 2011 at 9:00 am | 9 Comments

It’s nearing time for an Xbox 360 dashboard update, and with that, there’s a new preview program – essentially a beta where users can sign up to test the system update before it goes live to the masses. There’s something different about this update though, because this time it’s only available to US citizens. Why?

Gavin Mannion

Major Nelson sinks Kevin Butler’s Battleship

February 11, 2011 at 10:45 am | 4 Comments

It’s pretty much unanimous that since Kevin Butler arrived on the scene he has dominated the community manager/spokesperson scene with his awesome adverts and stinging rebuttals. So when Kevin made his first major misstep by re-tweeting the secret PS3 key you couldn’t blame Xbox 360’s Major Nelson for taking the cheap shot and responding.

Geoffrey Tim

These were the top Xbox Live Games of 2010

February 4, 2011 at 2:30 pm | 3 Comments

Xbox’s Major Nelson has released lists of the most popular games on Xbox Live – boxed retail, XBLA and Indie titles. Their place in the charts is calculated using some sort of odd numerical alchemy based on their first week of availability, so it doesn’t take slow burning hits in to account. It also only considers games released in 2010, which is why games like Modern Warfare and Gears of War are missing.

The results, as far as retail games go, are hardly surprising. Annual shooter Call of Duty takes top spot, followed by console exclusive Halo Reach. Hit the jump to see what else people were playing on Xbox Live in 2010.

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