Bad News: Major Nelson announced this morning that subscription costs for Xbox Live for One, Three, and Twelve month terms are going up. Major Nelson, for the uninformed, is the alias of Larry Hyrb, Xbox Live Director of Programming. You can read the details of the pricing here. Basically a one year subscription was $50, will now be $60.

The $50 annual cost has been in effect since 2002 when the service launched

Here is the good news: Price change doesn’t go effective until November 1, 2010. You have plenty of time to renew or go buy a subscription card at the current rate. As a matter of fact, as of the time of this writing, a one year card is a little less than $40 on Amazon. Heck, if you’re already an active subscriber, Microsoft themselves will renew you for $39.99 via a Price Lock Loyalty program.

Before we all go nuts, some things to keep in perspective: The price increase is $0.83 a month, which is far less than inflation. This price change comes into effect 5 years after this generation’s game systems jumped from $50 to $60 priced new games. Nintendo and Sony may offer free alternatives with online play, but it would be hard to argue that Microsoft hasn’t set the standard and has a far more robust service.

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Since the alphabet is the building block of our language, the Powet Alphabet is the building block of what makes us geeks.

Now I love the mainstream as much as anyone. Like most other gamers worth their salt, I get a rise out of blowing someone away in Halo, running a touchdown in Madden, and carjacking and gunning my way to 6 stars while playing Grand Theft Auto. The current state of video gaming is great, and with new advances in gameplay and graphical technology, it’s only going to get better. However, if you look closely, there is a movement going on beneath the surface. Not only is the mainstream taking strides forward, but so is the independent scene. In the past few years alone, many independently developed releases have become just as critically acclaimed as the biggest mainstream releases, and with indie titles being released on outlets such as Steam and Xbox Live, there is greater incentive than ever. Far from being simple mods, independently developed games often feature innovative gameplay mechanics and presentation. Lets look at some aspects of the independent scene, and hopefully some of you more creative poweteers will get some inspiration.
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The internets are abuzz this morning with some color photos surfacing of the Masterpiece Rodimus Prime figure that we’ve heard about before and seen an unpainted prototype of at a recent convention in China. YFrog user GENograw posted images to his account showing not only Rodimus Prime (Rodimus Convoy), but also that he has the ability to become Hot Rod (Hot Rodimus) in both robot and vehicle mode. As we heard knew before, the trailer section will become the battle station as it did in Generation One. Better photos are now sure to follow.

 

AMC has released the teaser they showed to ComiCon in HD. Frank Darabont’s adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s comic will premiere appropriately on Halloween, October 31, 2010.

Halo 3 had a pretty great ad campaign, including a short film by District 9 director Neil Blomkamp showing the “Landfall” of Master Chief after the events of Halo 2. Halo 3 ODST followed suit last fall. Then this spring there was a Halo Reach beta test commerical. Yes, an ad for the beta.

But this one takes the cake. Not as deep on story, but its full of action. Its not hard to imagine a Halo movie now after all this.

You can see more abstract shorts on Remember Reach.

Preordr HALO REACH on Amazon to get a $20 store credit on your next game!

Plastic Man is a figure based on on the DC Universe character. He was available at San Diego ComiCon and then only in limited numbers on MattyCollector.com.

While his limited availability makes him hard to come by, the completely unique mold and originality of the features makes him a highly collectible figure. If you can find him, he’s worth any reasonable price.

War For Cybertron Optimus Prime is a hotly anticipated figure. A classic character from a great new video game?

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Ok, so this didn’t turn out as good as we hoped. They can’t all be great can they?
Just so you don’t feel ripped off, here is a REAL video about a REALLY GOOD toy: DCUC Plastic Man!