According to the Capcom-Unity blog, Age of Booty is one step closer to being released on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network.

“Microsoft is now taking a look at the XBLA build. Sony will soon have their hands on the PSN version.” Capcom also revealed that a “PC Beta Test will be popping up very soon.”

Developed by Certain Affinity (of Halo series fame) Age of Booty (originally titled Plunder) is a real-time multiplayer strategy game that sees players stepping behind the wheel of a pirate ship, looting and capturing towns and defeating enemies along the way.

Team up with online players or AI controlled pirate ships to become the ruler of the high seas. Up to four players can connect on a single console or up to eight players over Lan or internet. Use booty to upgrade and customize your ship as you take on 25 challenges and seven Pirate Alliances. The game features online leaderboards as well as a map creation system that allows players to create and share maps.

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This week you can look forward to arcade shooter Galaga Legions on Xbox Live Arcade.

Following in the footsteps of Galaga which Namco Bandai released in 1981, Galaga Legions features updated graphics as well as new “table-turning” game dynamics, more enemies and new achievements.

Galaga Legions will be available on XBLA tomorrow for 800 Microsoft Points.

3D Realms has announced that Duke Nukem 3D for Xbox Live Arcade is finished and will be coming soon.

The game passed Microsoft’s final certification last week Friday, meaning “the game is done – it is now in the hands of Microsoft.” Unfortunately 3D Realms does not know when the game will be released or how much it will cost, but promises that there is “plenty of really cool stuff in this new update to a classic title.”

The October issue of the Official Xbox Magazine promises more details with a preview of the game. Until then head over to Achieve360Points.com for a list of unlockable Achievements.

I haven’t often seen information about sales on PSN, XBLA and Wii Ware, so any news about it is good news. According to the developers blog, the game is estimated to have sold around 55000 in its first week. That sounds like an excellent number to me assuming sales are not completely front-loaded, and the post says “the sales didn’t just die after the first few days, as they do with some games”.

You might ask why I care? Well, Braid is awesome, mindbendingly so. It’s also different, being a 2D platformer with some very unique mechanics, and one of the most interesting games on XBLA. So, I’m keen to see it succeed in the hope that more of these indie, experimental games might get produced. The post says, in this developer’s case, that “it looks like I will be able to make the next game, without needing to get a job that would interfere with that.” Great success!

Creator of Braid Jonathan Blow is “less happy” with the 1 200 price tag attached to the XBLA game. He would have been happy with a launch price of 800.

Speaking on the Braid blog, Blow explained how the increased price helped him guard against the “Space Giraffe problem” where Jeff Minter priced his non-mainstream game cheaper but barely made any money.

Blow continued “There is a significant possibility that Braid would have been the next Psychonauts or Beyond Good and Evil (critically acclaimed but nobody played it), even at $10. If that happens at $10 then I am in debt and have to get a job and can’t make games any more. If that happens at $15, maybe I can still make games. That is the difference.”

Even so Blow does not know if he would have been able to convince Microsoft to release the game at 800 Points. “So it seemed my best move was to make the agreement and keep a good relationship with them.”

He ended his discussion with this reply to a gamer concerned about the price. “All I can say is, try the demo all the way through (you can play pieces of 3 different worlds) and if it seems like it’s worth $15 to you, then, cool. If not…well, hopefully Braid will get price-reduced in the future.”

Braid is now available on Xbox Live Arcade for 1 200 Microsoft Points.

A new system update for the Xbox 360 has been released. But before you get too excited let me point out that it does not introduce any new features and it is not the new Xbox experience update, which will only be released this autumn.

According to Major Nelson, this update contains code to “prepare for future growth of the service.”

The new system update is mandatory and you will be prompted to accept it next time you sign in to Xbox Live.

Today’s XBLA offering is Braid, a 2D puzzle-platformer that challenges players to solve puzzles by manipulating the flow of time.

Developed by Number None, Braid sees players journeying to different worlds, solving puzzles to save a princess. The challenge is that time behaves differently in each world, with each puzzle revealing something different about the world. Time behaviours are varied and include rewinding, independent time streams, time that is tied to space, parallel realities and time dilation.

Nonlinear game play means that players can proceed even if a particular puzzle stumps them, simply play on and return later to solve that puzzle. Braid is available today for 1 200 Microsoft Points.

Now is it just me, or is the line from this screenshot familiar from a certain other series?

Microsoft has unveiled the Xbox Live Arcade releases for the month of August as part of its Summer of Arcade.

First up is Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2, which will hit Xbox Live Arcade tomorrow for 800 Microsoft Points. Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 is the latest version of the popular retro shooter and includes six game play modes, new enemies, scoring strategies and 12 diverse achievements.

The mind-bending and artistic puzzle-platformer Braid will arrive on the 6th of August. Developed by Jonathan Blow, Braid enables players to manipulate the flow of time. The remake of the classic NES side-scroller, Bionic Commando: Rearmed will be available on the 13th of August, complete with new graphics as well as co-op and competitive multiplayer modes.

Next up is Galaga Legions on the 20th of August. This remake of the classic arcade shooter features updated graphics and table-turning game dynamics. Last but not least Castle Crashers will arrive on the 27th of August. Featuring hand drawn characters and different weapons, players must defend their kingdom and save the princess in The Behemoth’s arcade adventure.

Enter the Summer of Arcade Sweepstakes by logging in and playing the trial or full version of the Summer Arcade game of the week. You stand a chance to win the grand prize, 100 000 Microsoft Points, an Xbox 360 Elite Console as well as Xbox Live 12 month Gold subscription card. Also up for grabs are two second prize packages consisting of 10 000 Microsoft Points and Xbox Live 12 month Gold subscription card and five weekly prizes of 4 000 Microsoft Points.

Please note that this competition is only open to residents of Canada, France, Germany, UK and US. Head over to the official website for more details.

Bionic Commando Rearmed will be available to download in North America in mid-August.

This is the latest word from Capcom, who confirmed that Bionic Commando Rearmed will hit Xbox Live Arcade on the 13th of August for 800 Microsoft Points and the PlayStation Network on the 14th of August for $10.

For now the release dates are for North America “for sure,” so it looks like Capcom is not yet certain whether the game will be released across PAL land on the same dates.

Bionic Commando Rearmed is GRIN’s remake of the 1988 NES original. The game will retain its 2D side scrolling gaming but will feature reworked graphics and introduce co-op and competitive multiplayer modes.

According to Capcom’s Kramez it is “one of the best digital games you will ever play” and “you’re more than going to get your money’s worth out of this particular title.” There you have it, straight from the horses mouth.

Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 kicks off the Summer of Arcade this week. The latest version of this popular retro shooter will be available tomorrow for 800 Microsoft Points.

Developed by Bizarre Creations, the game includes new features such as new enemies and music, scoring strategies as well as 12 diverse Achievements. Collect Geoms to increase your multiplier and unlock six game play modes including Deadline, Evolved, King, Pacifism, Waves and Sequence.

Up to four players can join in multiplayer action, boost your stats or handicap your opponent by using power-ups in versus mode or team up in co-op mode.

Settle down, Capcom is working on a patch for the Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix beta.

According to the Capcom blog, the patch will have “several fixes for the open beta” and will “vastly improve” the overall experience in the beta. More details were promised shortly.

Players who downloaded the XBLA title Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 could also download the Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix beta. However, soon after the beta went live freezing problems were reported and Capcom announced that it would not be issuing a patch for the beta.

Microsoft is offering us a double whammy for Xbox Live Arcade tomorrow.

First up is Capcom’s 1942: Joint Strike, a top-down vertical shooter inspired by the popular 80’s arcade series but featuring updated 3D HD graphics. Take to the skies, facing enemies and avoiding missiles as you fight enemy bosses in dogfights with new weapons and power-ups.

Developed by Backbone Entertainment, who recently brought us Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3, 1942: Joint Strike allows two players to team up and perform the new Joint Strike attacks (which combine both aircraft’s power) either locally or online. The game will be available for 800 Microsoft Points.

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Harmonix and MTV Games have announced more exclusive tracks for Rock Band, coming to the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live this week, from Nine Inch Nails and Shinedown.

Nine Inch Nails tracks to be added are “Burn” from the Natural Born Killers soundtrack, “Capital G” from Year Zero, and “Last” from EP Broken. Tracks from Shinedown will be available in the form of “Devour” from The Sound of Madness as well as the never released “Junkies For Fame.”

Each track will be available for $1.99 or 160 Microsoft Points while the Nine Inch Nails three-pack will be available for $5.49 or 440 Microsoft Points.

Returning to its old-school roots on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and Nintendo WiiWare, Mega Man 9’s direction is that of its 8-bit predecessors, combined with classic Mega Man game play and bosses inspired by the earlier games in the series.

In an era where robots co-exist and aid mankind, Dr Wily plots to use his robot army to take over the world, turning the peaceful robots into fighting machines. Dr Light, however, decides to protect the world from Dr Wily by building a new robot, ‘Rock’ - the Mega Man legend begins!

Players take on over 50 enemies across 12 levels, with an online leaderboard to track worldwide progress. Series fans will be pleased to know that Keiji Inafune, the original Mega Man creator, is back to design characters for the game.

Microsoft are making good on their promise to allow XNA game developers to be able to put their games up on Xbox Live.

Developers using XNA Game Studio will be able to submit their game to the Creator’s Club, where members will view, rate and classify the games that appear to determine whether or not they should go on Xbox Live.

The aim of this initiative is to drive the growth of the industry through independently developed games, allowing the community to decide on which games they want to see in the Marketplace.

You will need an XNA Creators Club membership to develop games for Xbox Live as well as to view and review community games for the Xbox Live Marketplace - $49.00 will get you a four month membership, while $99.00 will get a 12 month membership.