Cozy up to the virtual Xbox 360 fireplace

First!

Though it is a neat Idea 400 points ?!?

This crap is why I dont like the whole "Communtiy" games. Spending 400pts on this crap on feeds MS and cheap-o devs to making quick cheap games

cocaine is a powerful drug!!!!

doesn't even look realistic.. or sound it for that matter..

What is the point of this.. you'd have to turn the screensaver off.. but then, there's too many games on the 360.. for this to be of use unless it's to keep your screen 'warm' to jump straight into gaming once the presents are out the way xmas day..

I cant believe they are charging for this stuff.

400 MS Points? Really? That's just ridiculous.

If it was free I would say that it was kind of neat and a nice gesture. Charging for this though is just absurd.

maybe it could run the system extra hard to produce actual heat for 400 points.

I wouldn't get it for free..

It'd be nice if the light from the fire interacted with the bricks in some way... and if the fire looked like actual fire. Perhaps some interaction for 400 pts? The way it is now, it utterly sucks.

If they offered an HD version of video footage of an actual fireplace with no expiration for 200 points I'd probably get it.

i think they're trying to make us feel more at Home on our console . . .

;>

I guess 400 points is the going rate for people too stupid to just loop an HD video clip on their Xbox.

HAHAH!! You poor people! I have the real thing!

Sorry I thought I had to throw that out there.

I guess this should work fine, seeing as the 360 will warm you up.

You get to demo it, it's obvious what it is. Community games means anything in the world can go up there and it's kind of buyer beware.

Hopefully no one out there would actually blow $5 on it, but if they do they know what they're getting.

neat idea, but i don't get why whoever developed it stuck a $5 price tag on it. Maybe if it was $1 (80 points?), I might buy it. But yeah, something like that should really be free.

So what's different about the demo? Could I just run that instead?

It sounds like they threw bubble wrap in a REAL fire...

This is a neat idea for a night of "romance" with your significant other. I'd imagine it produces some nice lighting and sounds and with the lights off it might be kind of cool. But for 400 points, forget it.

...that is the stupidest thing on xbox.why did they make it 400 pts?

unless it is cursed and they want to be sure that nobody will buy it...?

Could be worse, someone made an iPhone app that costs $999.99.

My plasma TV will love it.
And as a bonus I'll still get to enjoy it while playing games and watching movies!

/burn-in joke

....but, is there achievements?

I went ahead and bought it. Pretty cool. Freaked the dog out a bit. Can't say I'll regret the purchase any more than my Call of Duty 2 DLC. Oh yeah, and this was 5 bucks less.

I bought this. Worth every penny. Wouldve paid 1200 points for it - its that good.

Much better than horse armour.

My grandpa paid 99 cents for a fireplace DVD. And it's more realistic than this.

If they dropped this to 200 points, then MAYBE I'll consider it.

GoTY? yes!!!

This just in! Not included in the item descrip. it runs on 1.21 GIGAWATTS !!!!

There's a cheat code you can enter which changes the animation so that instead of wood burning, it's a pile of money.

Is it Avatar compatible?

400Ms points WTF!!!!!!
400Ms points WTF!!!!!!400Ms points WTF!!!!!!400Ms points WTF!!!!!!400Ms points WTF!!!!!!400Ms points WTF!!!!!!400Ms points WTF!!!!!!400Ms points WTF!!!!!!400Ms points WTF!!!!!!400Ms points WTF!!!!!!400Ms points WTF!!!!!!400Ms points WTF!!!!!!400Ms points WTF!!!!!!

At least make the shit look real... thats the crappiest fire i've ever seen.

the absurdity of charging $5 for this shouldn't surprise anyone.

let's try and remember that M$, still to this day, continues to charge us for wallpapers and thumbnails, which are all but worthless now thanks to the new-look dashboard. on top of all that they also expect us to pay $3 for those "premium" themes.

it's text book 'nickel & diming' at it's finest.

Are there achievements??

Sean D. said...

It'd be nice if the light from the fire interacted with the bricks in some way... and if the fire looked like actual fire. Perhaps some interaction for 400 pts? The way it is now, it utterly sucks.

Don't Worry, I just heard they will be selling an add on pac for only 200 pts! It should gvie that "Real" feeling

400?!
Pass...

I would only pay for this if it had a glowing Ruby behind it and cost $1000. The nice thing is that if you turn the Xbox around it actually will make you feel warm like a real fireplace.

That being said, I just got a PS3 for me and the wife, and I only wish I got it before my X360. Since I've experienced the greatness that is the Xbox 360 (including 1 RROD), the PS3 just feels half-baked. Where's my WMA-DRM support? Why do I have to reset it each time I move it to a new TV? Why are the R2L2 buttons so freaking hard to push? Other than Blu-Ray, everything the PS3 can do the X360 does better bar-none.

If I could place my avatar in the fire and watch him burn then it would be worth five bucks.
Or maybe a virtual Santa. Yeah, I'd like to watch Santa roast in the fire.

(Cross-posted)

OK, this kind of bothers me.

I spent 11 months creating the XNA Community Game Snake360. It has 300 levels that can be played in single-player or co-op modes, ranging from really easy to really, really challenging. It also has survival mode, two battle modes for up to 4 players, Internet Ranking, special modes for kids... easily 10+ hours of gameplay. The graphics aren't that great and I'll admit that, but the soundtrack is excellent and the gameplay is top-notch. Anyone who enjoys arcade-style games should love it. The multiplayer is great at parties, to boot.

Snake360 costs 400 points. The same as this... fireplace.

I am running contests RIGHT NOW with $450 in MS Points and LIVE Gold subscriptions as prizes, including a "race" contest to clear 90% of the single-player game. The contests have been open for two weeks now and nobody has completed the 90% race yet. I have done this in 5-6 hours, so I know it's possible.

I have submitted news about the contest to several major gaming sites and blogs--including this one--SEVERAL TIMES. None of them will run the story or even contact me to ask about it. Last I checked, gamers like contests and prizes...and yet nobody on the editorial board of those sites feels this is newsworthy.

Now, on the front page of this very blog, there is a story about a fireplace "game." I feel like promoting my contest is impossible, and yet... this.

(If any of you, for some reason, feel like learning more about Snake360 or the contests, you can visit www.snake360.com.)