Remember how Xbox Live was going to merge with PC gaming? Well, it's happening May 8 with the launch of Halo 2 on Windows Vista and will be known by the awkward but carefully branded monicker Games for Windows Live. If you have or sign up for a free Silver membership, you'll get to use your Xbox 360 gamertag on the PC (or vice versa) for your online gaming identity, basic multiplayer in PC games, unified friends list, text and voice chat and single-player achievements with gamerscore. If you pay for a Gold membership, on top of the Xbox Live benefits you'll also get PC matchmaking with friends, TrueSkill matchmaking, multiplayer achievements and online gaming between PC and Xbox 360 players for games that support it. In related news, there's a rumor that Halo 3 for the 360 will ship in September - but Microsoft is only confirming a fall release.
If you live in the here and now, there's some new Marketplace content for the Xbox 360:
If you live in the here and now, there's some new Marketplace content for the Xbox 360:
- Demos for Viva Pinata and Star Trek: Legacy (free)
- The classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game ($5)
- NCAA March Madness 07 content update including the 2007 NCAA Tournament bracket with seedings, updated team ratings and Final Four court artwork ($3.13)
- Theme and picture pack for upcoming The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles expansion pack ($1.88 and $1, respectively)
- Videos for The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles, Earth Defense Force 2017, Madden Bowl and Forza Motorsport Showdown (free)
- A St. Patrick's Day picture pack ($1)
- Theme and picture pack for The Reaping and theme for Eragon (free)
