Microsoft's has unveiled a ton of new stuff making its way for the Xbox Live Arcade for this year over at the E3. Among other things, there's the upcoming arrival of Portal on XBLA and sequels for XBLA's Geometry Wars and Uno. Details are available in the full article.

Addicted to Microsoft's excellent Xbox Live service? Then you might want to pay attention, as this particular update comes right from Major Nelson. Yes, it's time once more to see what games are being played the most over at Xbox Live. Check out the entire list in the full article and see if your favorite game made it in its respective bracket, as well as how good Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) did.

Xbox Live Activity has been in a kind of rut lately, with the top spots dominated by the same games for weeks now. Xbox Live Arcade is another matter though since new games come in more frequently. Case in point: Lost Cities, which debuted last Wednesday, enters the charts on top of the top Arcade titles. Find out what other games are in the charts by following the "read more" link below.

The biggest first-person shooters of 2007 on the Microsoft Xbox 360, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Halo 3, are still neck to neck as the latest Xbox Live activity chart would tell us. Many players who grabbed a copy of the recently released Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 and Army of Two are also apparently trying their game out online. On the other hand, Brain Challenge is on top of the Xbox Live Arcade scene. Hit that jump to learn more.

Although Xbox Live's top 5 games remains stolidly unmoved for more than a month now, we may have a new contender that could shake things up a bit. Army of Two, which recently topped the UK charts in its first week out, enters the Xbox Live charts at 6th place. Check out the rest of the list in the full article.

The last time around, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Rez HD, and Halo 2 ruled the Xbox Live charts.

Curious as to which titles took the top spots on the charts during the week of February 11? Major Nelson has the info for us in the full article, right after the jump.

Major Nelson has come out with the Xbox Live activity update for the week of January 28. Activision's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (also available on Playstation 3 and PC) takes the lead as Bungie's Halo 3 drops to number two. On the arcade side, Rez HD has taken the lead followed by Chessmaster Live with former number one Metal Slug 3 holding strong at 3. If you want to see the full charts, head on over to the full article.

Major Nelson has posted the Xbox Live Activity for the week of January 21. This week has Halo 3 climbing back up to the top spot, knocking Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare down by a slot. On the  Xbox Live Arcade, Metal Slug 3 is once again in first place spot  while Halo 2 is still at the top of the original Xbox Live titles.

Head on over to the full article for the complete list.

It looks like Microsoft is working on a new angle to draw in its market. Previously known to target the hardcore gamers, such as "the stereotypical young male dressed in black and living in the basement of his parents' home," the company is now looking into a more wholesome aspect by targeting casual gamers outside the usual teen and adult technophile range.

Jeff Bell, a Microsoft corporate vice president, talks about the new ad campaigns for the company which will be more family-oriented, especially with the recent release of the Xbox 360 Arcade console. Analysts from Microsoft realize that the light, family-friendly attitude reflects where the video gaming industry is going nowadays.

Check out the full article right after the jump!

 

Good things come to those who wait. Bad things land on the laps of those who just can't. This sad but mournfully true adage was once again proven by two Xbox 360 owners who were just a bit too eager to play Halo 3 Epsilon. And play they did, but not after logging onto Live first - which meant that practically everyone who knew of their gamertags could plainly see that they were enjoying the highly-anticipated sequel even before the retail version hit storeshelves.

And for it, they were banned from Xbox Live. Up to the year 9999. Certainly a long time for both players to sit and think about the consequences of their actions.

So, what really happened? As it turns out, both players had been messing around with illegal copies of Halo 3 Epsilon a day or so before they were hit with a rather large banhammer. The first player, dak Is back, was merely letting his console update Uno when all of a sudden, he was disconnected from Live. A couple of reconnection attempts later, he got the message saying that he was, indeed, banned from Live. The other player, Scar, also received a similar fate while trying to recover a profile.

While it seems that Microsoft and Bungie is being a bit heavy-handed on the punishments, violating the Terms of Usage is also quite the infraction. So remember, dear readers, if in doubt, remember the banhammer. Patience is a virtue for a reason.