Microsoft revealed last May that it would begin “de-listing” poor performing titles like Toyota’s Yaris on its Xbox Live service, presumably in an attempt to alleviate developer complaints that quality efforts on the service were not standing out due to an influx of subpar titles. However, with the introduction of the New Xbox Experience on the immediate horizon, it seems that Microsoft has thrown out the idea of de-listing certain titles, mainly due to the new and improved interface brought by NXE. Says company vice president John Schappert:

We have no immediate plans to act on de-listing.

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Microsoft’s community manager Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb has cleared up concerns surrounding the space requirements for the New Xbox Experience dashboard update, which is due out worldwide on November 19. According to the Major, for those without a hard drive, the NXE update will require a 256MB memory card with at least 128MB of free space.

The new Xbox experience will require 128MB of free space. A hard drive is recommended for the optimal experience, to take advantage of some new features, and to be able to enjoy the great movies, TV shows and games available on Xbox LIVE. While we expect the majority of consumers to download the New Xbox Experience without a problem, a small percentage of Xbox 360 owners do not have enough memory to accommodate the update. To help ensure all Xbox LIVE members are able to download the New Xbox Experience and enjoy its new features, Microsoft will be offering storage solutions to the Xbox LIVE community. We are not sharing details of this offering yet. Be sure to check xbox.com for more details in the coming weeks.

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Microsoft today announced that the highly-anticipated sequel to Xbox 360 title Gears of War has officially gone gold and is being sent off to manufacturing in preparation for its November 7 worldwide release date. Yes, you’ll be slaughtering hordes of Locust in just under a month.

“After two years of pouring our heart and passion into ‘Gears of War 2,’ the team is immensely happy with what we’ve created,” said Epic Games Design Director Cliff Bleszinski. “This is Epic’s best work yet, and we can’t wait to see the response from fans and newcomers to the series alike.”

Gears 2 will debut in two flavors, a standard and collector’s edition, each priced at $59.99 and $69.99 respectively.

Valve is launching a massive advertisement campaign valued at $10 million for its upcoming co-op focused first-person shooter Left 4 Dead later this November, according to an Edge report. Beginning November 9 through the 28th, a series of commercials that mix “humor and horror” will be shown on popular television networks such as ABC, ESPN, Fox, MTV, Comedy Central, USA, and Spike TV.

Additionally, Left 4 Dead billboards will be placed across a number of populated U.S. cities, including New York, Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

According to Valve co-founder Gabe Newell, retail pre-orders are up a whopping 60 percent from Orange Box. Pre-orders on Steam will open up later next week, with the full game launching on Xbox 360 and PC November 17.

Left 4 Dead’s $10M Ad Campaign [Edge]

Our good friends over at Ubisoft sent over a Prince of Persia swag pack earlier this week, containing a limited edition print from the 32-page Prince of Persia comic book signed by Gabe and Tycho of Penny Arcade, along with a commemorative t-shirt featuring the prince drawn in a minimalistic pixel art style.

Ubi plans to begin publishing the Prince of Persia comic on its official website through October 15 to December 2, coinciding with the launch of the new Prince of Persia for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. During that timeframe, a coloring contest inviting fans to design the last page of Penny Arcade’s comic will kick off. Be sure to keep your eyes locked on the PoP website for further details.

The folks over at Microsoft have released a selection of screenshots from Tozai’s upcoming Live Arcade title R-Type Dimensions and it’s looking hot. See for yourself after the jump.

For the uninitiated, Dimensions is a full-on remake of coin-op classics R-Type and R-Type II, featuring two-player co-op multiplayer locally or over Live. Players can switch between 3D and old-school 2D visuals on-the-fly.

R-Type Dimensions is slotted for a Spring 2009 release.

R-Type Dimensions Screenshots

Konami announced a new installment in its vampire-laden Castlevania series at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, according to an ITmedia report.

Aside from the fact that it is coming to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, little is known about the title thus far, as only a brief cinematic trailer was shown during Konami’s TGS conference. A snapshot of the trailer in question, which is shown above, depicts a man dressed in dark clothing standing behind the moon with a glowing red sword in hand.

悪魔城ドラキュラ」がなんとハリウッドで実写映画化！ さらにPS3、Xbox 360でも制作決定 [ITmedia]

Square Enix has sent word that its forthcoming Xbox 360 RPG Star Ocean: The Last Hope will hit North America on March 3, 2009, two weeks after the previously announced Japanese release date of February 19.

A prequel to the original Star Ocean, The Last Hope takes place in the year S.D. 10 following the devastating aftermath of World War III. The trademark real-time battle system we’ve all grown to love makes a welcome return in this installment, complete with a newly added Rush gauge, which when filled allows players to attack foes in a preemptive fashion or unleash a special ability.

A selection of new screens can be found past the break!

Star Ocean: The Last Hope Screenshots

Former S.T.A.R.S. agent Albert Wesker makes his startling return in this brand-new Resident Evil 5 trailer Capcom sent over today, to celebrate the opening of 2008’s Tokyo Game Show.

Resident Evil is slated for a March 13, 2009 debut on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. That day can’t come soon enough!

Microsoft’s New Xbox Experience, the fully revamped dashboard featuring avatars, along with all new themes and an intuitive interface, will launch worldwide on November 19, as previously rumored. Xbox Live boss John Shappert announced the launch date to over 5,000 folks in attendance at this year’s Tokyo Game Show.

Additionally, Bungie’s new game — Halo 3: Recon — was unveiled during Shappert’s speech. Slated for a fall 2009 release, Recon is a prequel that extends the Halo 3 universe with hours of new campaign excursions and multiplayer gameplay. With a greater emphasis being placed on stealth-based gameplay this time around, players assume the role of a UNSC recon soldier and experience the tension-filled events leading up to Master Chief’s return to New Mombasa.