Starting today, the new maps from the Modern Warfare 2 Resurgence Package have been intergrated into all of the playlists, which means that two more playlists have popped up. Hardcore Moshpit is made up of every hardcore mode – deathmatch, demolition, capture the flag, headquarters pro, search and destroy, and sabotage.

The other playlist is actually a returning favorite: the capture the flag playlist. So go ahead and capture the fun.

The playlists should be available right now on Xbox Live. PlayStation and Steam users should see the playlists in a week or so.

Xbox 360 owners have been patiently waiting their turn to go online in the Medal of Honor beta. After weeks of delays, it appears EA and DICE’s multiplayer shooter is now available on Xbox Live. If you’ve managed to snag an elusive code, you’ll be able to redeem it here to exchange it for an Xbox Live voucher.

The beta is expected to end on July 31st, giving Xbox owners at least ten days to get an early peek at the FPS. If you haven’t managed to procure a code, stay tuned to our Twitter account. We’ll be giving away a few codes later in the day.

Those wanting to get in on Spec Ops: The Line early, 2K is now taking signups through a beta site, but the test will run for the Xbox 360 only.

And, it should be noted, signing up does not guarantee you a spot in the multiplayer beta, whenever that rolls out. It’s very mucha closed beta, which means you’ll need both a Gold account on Xbox Live and to sign an a non-disclosure agreement that vows you won’t take screengrabs or video from the demo.

Interested? Head on over.

Hulu has responded with a lovely mail regarding use of the service on PlayStation Plus.

Turns out, you will not be required to be a PS+ member to subscribe to the service, just during the evaluation period.

Here’s the mail in full:

With the launch of Hulu Plus there have been many rumors started and we are trying our best to remedy the situation. Specifically to your question, the Playstation Plus service is only a requirement during the preview period.

Once the preview period ends you should be able to download the Hulu Plus app but that will still require the Hulu Plus subscription.

Right now we are limiting the number of users but Hulu Plus will be launching to the public very soon so stay tuned!

Good news, then.

Announced last week for XBL and PSN,  rumor had it the $9.99 per month service would only be included with PS+, leading folks to conclude it a double fee per month, like Xbox Live.

Glad that’s cleared up then.

Still no date, but Sony told us last week it would be announced soon.

Xbox 360 users get the service in “early 2011″.

Given the wealth of characters and background in the Transformers universe, we knew it was only a matter of time before downloadable content for Transformers: War for Cybertron was announced despite High Moon keeping mum.  That inevitable announcement has been spoiled a little though by an accidental listing on Xbox LIVE Marketplace that reveals the upcoming DLC characters and maps.

The listing has since been taken down from LIVE Marketplace but, as expected, the exclusive pre-order characters of Shockwave, Demolisher, and Jazz are all included in the DLC.  This will likely make some of the people that purchased these characters on eBay for up to a $100 feel a bit foolish.  These three characters will also be joined by the Autobot flyer Scattershot and the Decepticon tank Onslaught.  All five characters will be available in multiplayer and Escalation.

Speaking of Escalation, it will also get two much needed maps as well.  As we noted in our review of War for Cybertron, the game came with only two Escalation maps which was a disappointment.  The new maps features “Forsaken” for fighting off Decepticons and “District” for defending against Autobots.

But wait, there’s more.  The multiplayer modes will also get two new maps, “Havoc” and “Fortress”.  No details on what these maps will entail.

So four new maps, three pre-order characters unlocked for all, and two new characters overall.  No word on release date or price but map packs typically run up to $10.  What do you think of this DLC offering for Transformers: War for Cybertron?  Let us know in the comments below.

Hulu Plus has been confirmed for PS3 and Xbox 360 via Hulu’s official site. Looks as though Sony got its claws in first.

The service will run you $10 per month, and is already available for iPhone and iPad, with PS3 getting it in July.

Internet-enabled televisions and Blu-ray will get the service in the fall, and it’s coming to Xbox 360 in early 2011.

Microsoft said the reason for the 360 delay was due to a “customized experience” being created for the service via Xbox Live.

“We are taking the time to ensure that the Hulu Plus experience for Xbox 360 is the best on TV,” said Major Nelson in a statement, “and like our other entertainment experiences, it will not be a port, but rather a custom experience that leverages the Xbox Live community features”.

An official response from Microsoft added that Hulu Plus works with Kinect for a controller-free experience, and it will incorporate Xbox Live Parties so you can watch shows with friends “no matter where they are”, with more details to be announced at a later time.

Hulu Plus will be available for US Xbox Live Gold Members only.

Meanwhile, Sony has confirmed to VG247 that Hulu Plus will be coming soon to PS3, and that more specific information would be announced “shortly”.

Hulu was rumored for Xbox 360 earlier in the month, while word that the service was to be added to PS3 hit last week.

The official site has a guided tour here. While you are at it, you can request an invitation for a service preview.

Full current seasons available through Hulu Plus include:

• 24
• 30 Rock
• American Dad!
• Bones
• Brothers & Sisters
• Castle
• Cougar Town
• Dancing With The Stars
• Desperate Housewives
• Dollhouse
• Family Guy
• Find My Family
• FlashForward
• Friday Night Lights
• Glee
• Happy Town
• House
• Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution
• Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
• Lie To Me
• Losing It With Jillian
• Lost
• Mercy
• Minute to Win It
• Modern Family
• Parenthood
• Parks and Recreation
• Private Practice
• Saturday Night Live
• Shark Tank
• Supernanny
• The Biggest Loser
• The Cleveland Show
• The Good Guys
• The Office
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
• The Wanda Sykes Show
• Trauma

Full season runs available include:

• 30 Rock
• 8 Simple Rules
• Ally McBeal
• American Dad!
• Angel
• Arrested Development
• The Biggest Loser
• Brothers & Sisters
• Buffy The Vampire Slayer
• Dancing With The Stars
• Desperate Housewives
• Eli Stone
• Grey’s Anatomy
• Heroes
• Law and Order SVU
• Legend of the Seeker
• Life
• Lipstick Jungle
• Miami Vice
• My Name is Earl
• Parks and Recreation
• Prison Break
• Roswell
• Quantum Leap
• Reaper
• Samantha Who?
• Saturday Night Live
• Supernanny
• The Office
• The Pretender
• The X-Files
• Ugly Betty
• What About Brian

Update:

Sony has been coy on whether Hulu Plus would be available only to PlayStation Plus subscribers. There may be a reason for that. A $170 reason.

The guys at Technologizer have found that in the source code for Hulu Plus’ “devices” page, you can find the following point:

“The instructions below will help you install Hulu Plus on your PS3. Note: you must be a subscriber of the Playstation Plus Network.”

It’s not displayed on the actual page, but as you can see below, it’s definitely in the code (or at least was at time of publishing).

While this isn’t official confirmation from either Sony or Hulu, it doesn’t look like a typo or slip of the tongue, either. Assuming this is true, if Hulu on your TV was a driving force behind you subscribing to PlayStation Plus, it would cost you $170 a year for the privilege ($50 for PS+, $10 a month for twelve months of Hulu Plus).

That’s crazy. If you were signing up to PlayStation Plus anyways, knock yourself out, but this is hardly an enticing way to “build value”.

Course, this craziness isn’t specific to Sony’s console. It’s bound to be repeated all over again next year when the service becomes available on the Xbox 360, as it will definitely require an Xbox Live Gold subscription.

As part of his introductory post on the official Battlefield blog, the franchise’s new community manager, “Bazajaytee,” announced that the delayed Onslaught mode DLC for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will arrive in the Xbox Live Marketplace tomorrow, June 24, for 800 Microsoft points ($10).

Don Mattrick’s just announced that Activision and Microsoft has entered into a deal which sees all DLC from Call of Duty: Black Ops coming to Xbox Live first before anyone else in a three-year deal.

So, this means, that like the Modern Warfare 2 DLC Xbox 360 users will get it first.

For three years. Probably by a month if the current schedule is maintained.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is due for release in November this year on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

Rockstar has announced an exact date for it’s Outlaws to the End Co-Op Mission Pack for Red Dead Redemption.

It will land on June 22 for both Xbox Live and PSN and is free for both platforms.

Included are six new co-op missions, new co-op challenges, bonus multiplayer XP rewards, and opportunities to unlock additional Achievements and Trophies.

Up to four players can team up together online for some shootin’ time.

Awesome.

Tech site Gear Live is rumouring that web TV service Hulu is going to be announced as a 360 addition at E3.

Gear Live’s claiming Hulu has been spotted in internal Xbox 360 dashboard builds, and that Microsoft will introduce the popular TV tool as part of their Xbox LIVE experience in LA later this month.

All unconfirmed. Microsoft’s E3 press conference is scheduled for the morning of June 14.

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to play Modern Warfare 2 with a true Rock God, you’ll only have to wait until June 8 to find out. Ozzy Osbourne and his son Jack will visit Xbox Live and get down and dirty in MW 2.

If you’re a Gold Member, sign onto Live on Tuesday, June 8, between 4:00 PM and 8:00 PM ET and meet Oz 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Look for Gamertag: Ozzy GwF

In the video below, Ozzy promises to “disintegrate each last one of you,” but I have my doubts that he’ll even be able to find the trigger… he’s no spring chicken, after all. Jack, on the other hand, might pose a problem.

Capcom has announced that Lost Planet 2’s getting two more maps next week.

Map Pack 2 contains the Dockyard Battle and Frozen Wasteland maps.

The Dockyard Battle map has 16-player multiplayer matches from Episode 4, and Frozen Wasteland contains one of Lost Planet: Extreme Condition’s “most popular maps”.

It will run you $4.99/400 MSP, and is hitting PSN on June 1 and Xbox Live June 2.

Check out the screens of it below.

Ubisoft’s detailed how the multiplayer beta of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier will work when it goes live in summer.

As already pointed out previously, it’ll be a straight download from Xbox Live via your copy of Splinter Cell: Conviction. Once downloaded from the news feed of Conviction, the beta will be playable from the Games Library section of My Xbox on your 360.

The interesting part is that you can download the beta with no codes required, which basically means you can nick a lend of your friend’s copy of Conviction and download it. Easy.

“In order to get your hands on the Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier Beta once it becomes available, you must be connected to Xbox LIVE so that you can download the beta from Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

Once the beta is available, you’ll be able to download it through the news feed on the main menu of Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction, free of charge and with no codes required.

The Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier Beta will be available for only a limited time. Once that period expires, the Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier Beta link on the Main Menu in Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction will no longer be available.

The beta will be accessable via the Xbox 360 Dashboard, into the “Games Library” section.”

The leaflet also shows a BBFC 18 rating for the game, which would be a first for the series, and hinting at a more mature Ghost Recon title then before.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is released this fall for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, with the multiplayer beta exclusive to 360 and Xbox Live users.

Shots of the leaflet that comes with Conviction are below.

Microsoft has confirmed that its new pricing structure for MS Points is for the US only at this time.

According to a MS spokesperson speaking with IncGamers, there’s nothing to announce at this time regarding and extension of the pricing outside the US.

“We are offering Microsoft Points in increments of 400 on Xbox LIVE in the US only, and we have nothing further to announce at this time,” Inc was told.

“We’re always listening to the Xbox LIVE community for feedback and looking at ways to evolve Xbox LIVE.”

Last week, several outlets were reporting on the quiet change, where MS Point increments were being sold in 400 increments numbers instead of 500.

Surely, it will it extend elsewhere once it proves to be a success in the US. It only makes sense.

Today’s your last full day to get in some Halo 2 multiplayer action: Live for the original Xbox shuts down tomorrow.

As announced back in January, Live for Xbox 1 is about to be totally shutdown, including Live support and full online multiplayer for titles like Bungie’s blockbuster, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat and more.

On the upside, Microsoft’s said that because of the service’s closure it can raise the amount of friends you can have on your 360 Live friends list.

So get those matches of Halo 2 Slayer in now before it’s too late.

Ubisoft creative director Maxime Beland has said that the gameplay in Splinter Cell: Conviction will be a bit harder than what is portrayed in the demo.

Released last month on Xbox Live, Beland said that the two scenes in the demo are not indicative of the final product.

“The final game is going to be a little bit harder and realistic,” Beland told GameTrailers. “We did some tweaking between when we released the demo and when we’ll release the game. What I know is we built the demo kind of fast. If you love the demo, I know you’re going to love the game.

“The bathroom interrogation in the demo is really in the beginning of the [full] game and [the demo also features] a map that is a lot later in the game. We wanted the demo to give a taste of the game when you had more gadgets so we took a slice of the game that was later on [in the story].

“In the final game, you’re going to get to see more of the progression of Sam in the story, you’re going to get to live that. In the demo, it was a bit more compressed. The story wasn’t as strong in the demo; it was more of a compilation of great moments.”

Beland also said in the same chat that it was a bit “nerve-wracking” releasing the demo.

Splinter Cell: Conviction’s out April 13 and 16 in the US and Europe, respectively.

Major Nelson’s confirmed the system update for Xbox 360 which adds USB flash support for the console is now live.

The next time you boot up your 360 and sign into Live, you will be forced to update console.

“Sometime over the next few hours when you sign in to Xbox LIVE you’ll receive a prompt to accept this mandatory update. If you are signed into LIVE already, you may be signed out and asked to accept the update and you’ll be back online in a few moments,” said Nelson.

To help support the move, Microsoft has teamed up with SanDisk to make official 8Gb and 16Gb memory sticks for 360, although it has been discovered recently they will cost between $40 and $70.

So you’re upset that you have to pay $15 for five maps, two of which are old, and that the Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package launched broken. You know what’d cheer you up? Free night vision goggles for your avatar!

What? Does this not appease you? Perhaps you didn’t understand what I was trying to communicate. Let me clarify. To celebrate the release of the Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package on Xbox Live, Infinity Ward, Activision, and Microsoft are offering you free avatar night vision goggles. Simply download them from the Avatar Marketplace between now and 12AM Sunday night (Pacific), and you will not have to pay any Microsoft points for them whatsoever.

But wait? You already bought those goggles? Worry not! Microsoft will automatically credit back the purchase cost to your account by May 1.

Everything is okay now, right?

Did you buy an Xbox Live Point Card? Did you spend 1200 of the 1600 points on Modern Warfare 2′s “Stimulus Package” and did’nt know what you were going to use the extra 400 points for?

Well now you know! The Xbox Live Arcade Inventory Blowout Sale has games 50% off.

Microsoft is having a sale today through April 7, and it includes 10 XBLA games for up to 53 percent off the original price.

The sale prices are available to both Xbox LIVE Gold and Silver members in MS Points format below:

Games that were 800 MS Points that are now 400 MS Points:

• South Park
• Defense Grid
• Rocket Riot:
• Mad Tracks
• Lumines Live
• Age of Booty
• Schizoid
• Wallace & Gromit Episode 1

Other sales:

• Super Street Fighter II HD Remix: was 1200, now it’s 560
• Track & Field: was 400, now it’s 240

GameCrush lets you get flirty and dirty with gamer girls.

On GameCrush, guys are Players and girls are PlayDates. Players pay to play and PlayDates get paid to play. Guys can browse PlayDate profiles (there are currently around 1,200), view photos, and even chat with girls for free. Publicityhazard’s turn ons include vibrating controllers, for instance, and is turned off by three red lights. Once you find a gal you fancy you send her a game invite and if she accepts you get six to ten minutes of one-on-one gaming time. PlayDates have the ability to block any guy they want for any reason. When the service launches tomorrow it will only support the Xbox 360 and a few casual games hosted on the GameCrush website, but there are plans to add PlayStation 3, Wii, and World of Warcraft support as soon as possible.

You must be 18 or over to create a GameCrush account — it’s being touted as the first social site for adult gamers. It’s not an explicitly explicit service, but PlayDates set their gaming mood to either “flirty” or “dirty.” What the two of you chat about is entirely up to you. Signing up is free, but you must purchase credits in order to get your game on. For $8.25 you get 500 credits, which is enough for one game (400 credits) and a 100 credit tip at the end. An Xbox Live game will last 10 minutes, while a casual Flash game will get you six minutes of face time with your PlayDate. That’s literal face time, because you can video chat with your lady while playing a casual Flash game. Again, what goes on in that video chat is up to you and your PlayDate. GameCrush says it modeled its pricing structure after the cost of buying a girl a drink at a bar. In a bar, you’re basically buying the opportunity to chat a girl up. GameCrush is hoping players will look at their service the same way.

Playing a GameCrush casual game couldn’t be easier: once she accepts your invite the game begins right in your browser and the video chat window opens. But when playing an Xbox 360 game you’ll need to find her gamertag on Xbox Live (PlayDates are encouraged to set up a unique gamertag just for use with GameCrush) and send her another invite. Likely because your attention won’t be on your computer monitor, there is no video chat during an Xbox game. The service isn’t integrated within Xbox Live — you browse profiles, chat with girls, and set up games all from within the GameCrush website. Then you have to set up your Xbox Live game yourself.

After a session you can rate your PlayDate on her hotness, gaming skill, and flirtiness. The highest-rated girls will receive preferred placement on the site. GameCrush is assembling a team of its most highly regarded PlayDates called JaneCrush, which should be similar to Ubisoft’s Fragdolls. Members of JaneCrush will generate content for the site like blogs and editorials. GameCrush wants to turn its most popular girls into gaming stars.

PlayDates aren’t on the GameCrush staff; they are like independent contractors. Any girl can sign up, so you’re going to find a wide variety of gaming and flirting skills. These are (mostly) regular girls and they don’t receive any sort of training on how to act or what to say. During an early demo of the service I played a couple casual games with PlayDate Ambibambi23. She was a nice girl (and totally kicked my ass in both pool and Battleship, btw) but her boyfriend was hanging out behind her and she made mention of him a couple times. Her game mood is set to “flirty,” but there was zero flirting going on. I can imagine some guys might be disappointed if they paid to play with a girl, only to hear her go on and on about her boyfriend — and even have to see the guy during a video chat. I gave Ambibambi23 high marks for her gaming skill but dinged her for her lack of flirtiness.

Because it’s free for girls to sign up and there is no vetting process, the service is bound to get some shady ladies. But, from what we can tell, most of the girls on the service genuinely like to play games and are simply interested in getting paid for it.

The four 360 games available at the moment are Modern Warfare 2, Gears of War 2, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Halo 3. As for the casual lineup, right now you can play no-frills versions of stuff like checkers, pool, and Battleship. GameCrush says its casual offerings should improve soon.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about GameCrush is that no one else thought of it sooner. I have no doubt there are many gamers out there who would be willing to pay a little cash to play and flirt with hot girls, the only question is whether or not GameCrush is offering the right features for the right price. You can check out the site (www.GameCrush.com) for yourself and start browsing profiles tomorrow night — or sign up to be a PlayDate, if you’re a gamer girl.

Casual games are played right within the GameCrush site and let you video chat with your PlayDate.

A couple from Dublin, Ireland had to call the cops last week when their Xbox 360 console was spammed with images of child pornography.

With their real names withheld due to the nature of the case, “Amy” said her boyfriend had been playing a game when a message from another user popped up. Upon opening it, he was confronted with “images of boys naked from the waist down”.

The pair contacted both Microsoft and the Garda, Ireland’s fantastically-named police force. Microsoft, who self-moderate the Xbox Live service, instructed them to immediately delete the message, while the Garda have “confiscated” the console.

Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling has tweeted that the first Double XP Weekend for Modern Warfare 2 will happen April 2-5 on Xbox Live.

Here’s the tweet:

Mark the calendars now! April 2nd – 5th marks the first Double XP weekend on #MW2 for #xboxlive worldwide. New Maps + Double XP = No sleep

This will also be the first full weekend you will be able to play the new maps which are included with the Stimulus Pack on March 30.

Thirty days later, PS3 users will get the DLC.

An early listing of the Modern Warfare 2 “Stimulus Package” on the Xbox Live Marketplace web site reveals it is comprised of five maps, two of them old favorites from the first Modern Warfare.

The Stimulus Package isn’t due out until March 30 on the Xbox 360 (dates for the PC and PS3 versions are still TBA). Here’s the description from its Xbox Live listing, which was live as of 3 p.m. U.S. Mountain Time.

The best-selling Xbox 360 game of all-time just got bigger, with more epic multiplayer content, first on Xbox LIVE! The Stimulus Package delivers 5 additional action-packed multiplayer maps featuring a variety of locations: “Bailout,” a multi-level apartment complex; “Storm,” an open industrial park littered with heavy machinery; “Salvage,” a snowy junkyard fortified by stacked debris and crushed cars. Two legendary fan-favorites from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare return, including “Crash,” [pictured above] a war-torn urban environment; and “Overgrown,” which features a massive dry creek bed. There are no refunds for this item. For more information, see www.xbox.com/live/accounts.

It’ll weigh in at 328 MB. No word on pricing yet, and you can’t queue it up for download, either. It asks you for a redeem code.

***Update***

Modern Warfare 2′s map pack is one of the most over-priced pieces of downloadable content we’ve ever seen.

Popping onto Xbox Live spokesman Larry Hryb’s podcast to promote Modern Warfare 2′s upcoming “Stimulus Package” map pack (which is launching first on Microsoft’s console), Infinity Ward’s Robert bowling revealed that the five maps – two of which are old maps being re-released for this game – will cost 1200 Microsoft Points.

Or, $15.

For five multiplayer maps.

Fifteen. Dollars. Or, if you’re so inclined, £10, €14, or AUD$19.

Capcom Europe has announced that Dead Rising 2, the highly anticipated sequel to the multi-million selling Dead Rising, will be released in Europe on September 3^rd 2010, in North America on August 31st and Japan on September 2nd for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Furthermore Capcom has also revealed that Xbox 360 gamers will be able to get an exclusive taste of Dead Rising 2’s signature gameplay with the release of its downloadable prologue, Dead Rising 2: CASE ZERO.

Available as downloadable content (DLC) only on Xbox LIVE shortly before release of the full game, Dead Rising 2: CASE ZERO, will introduce main protagonist and former motocross champion Chuck Greene and provide a link between the original game and the events that await players in the gambling paradise of Fortune City.

The Dead Rising series is renowned for letting players pick up and use everyday items to fend off hordes of the undead, but Dead Rising 2 adds a new twist with combination weapons. Take two objects, add a roll of tape plus the inventiveness and skilled hands of Chuck Greene and hey presto, an innocent water gun and a can of gasoline become a deadly flamethrower, while a garden rake and car battery combine to create an electrified zombie prod.

Creating and using combination weapons will not just result in novel ways to tackle Dead Rising 2’s shuffling cast of thousands as the more combo weapons a player uses, the more Prestige Points (PPs) they will rack up. Earn enough PPs and Chuck levels up, which in turn delivers its own benefits.

Dead Rising 2: CASE ZERO requires players to have an Xbox LIVE membership to download. Further details including release date and pricing will be announced soon.

Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling has tweeted that the Care Package fix is now available on Xbox Live.

Here’s the tweet:

Modern Warfare 2 players on Xbox 360 just received an update today.

Sent to Microsoft for certification last week, the patch fixes the Care Package exploit, normalizes the package, fixes emergency airdrop grenade and sentry sprint speeds and loads more.

Good to know it’s finally available for folks.

Modern Warfare 2 will get its first bit of DLC this spring on the console before anything else.

Major Nelson’s announced that Xbox Live services for the original Xbox will shut down as of April 15.

 It’s also been confirmed that Live servers for any Xbox titles released via the Xbox Originals service for 360 are to also be closed.

The first step in the shutdown will see auto-renewals turned off for anyone using Live on an original Xbox.

“We did not make this decision lightly, but after careful consideration and review we realize that this decision will allow us unprecedented flexibility for future features,” said Nelson.

Goodbye Halo 2 multiplayer. We barely knew ya.