The first downloadable add-on for Rare's construction-centric Xbox 360 platformer Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts will arrive on April 7, publisher Microsoft announced today.

Dubbed "L.O.G.'s Lost Challenges," the 400 Microsoft Point ($5) download will include 12 new challenges, 7 new multiplayer modes, and new achievements. The pack also includes some connectivity with the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade release of Banjo Tooie, enabling players of both Tooie and Bolts to unlock seven more vehicle blueprints.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

Rare has belatedly fulfilled its earlier promise to bring bigger text to Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, following complaints that the text was too small for SDTV users to read.

Players will be automatically prompted to download the update upon booting the action-adventure vehicle-building Xbox 360 game while connected to Xbox Live. After the update is applied, the ability to enlarge the text size is available within the options menu.

Though developer Rare originally said the small text problem was "too expensive" to fix, the studio quickly reversed its position after widespread outcry, claiming on November 8 that a fix would be available "within the next 30 days."

Flip-flopping from its previous stance, Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (360) developer Rare has now pledged to fix the game's small text, which is unreadable on a standard-definition TV set and only legible on a high-definition display.

"We would like to assure you that contrary to earlier reports, we are aware of the issue and currently working on a title update to be released within the next 30 days that will fix it for those with Standard Definition TVs," reads an update from Rare community manager George Kelion on the game's official Banjo Blog.

A few days ago, the company claimed the issue was "too expensive [to fix] in terms of time, resources and money," with Kelion begging "please don't kill me....when all's said and done, we're only human."

Though the vehicle-customizing action-adventure game doesn't head off to stores until tomorrow, November 11, the unclear teeny-tiny text was noticed by SDTV-using gamers following the downloadable demo that hit in late October.

Addressing complaints that text in the Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts demo was too small for SDTV owners to decipher, developer Rare has admitted that the problem is "simply something that's too expensive in terms of time, resources and money to alter."

"Please don't kill me," begged Rare community manager George Kelion in a NeoGAF post, noticed by CVG. "This *doesn't* mean we don't care about or respect the community. This *does* mean that, when all's said and done, we're only human."

Capcom's 2006 zombie-killing Xbox 360 action game Dead Rising suffered from a similar issue. Like Rare, Capcom was unable release a fix, and instead resolved to keep the problem in mind as it created future games.

An Xbox 360 exclusive, Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts will bring its unique mix of vehicle customization and platforming elements to the system on November 11.

Along with today's Xbox Live Arcade offerings, the Xbox 360's online Marketplace has been updated with a free downloadable demo for Rare's Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.

Weighing in at about 1.08 GB, the demo offers a sample of the game's platforming and vehicle-building elements. The bird-bear duo's third major adventure hits retailers on November 11, with those that pre-order netting a free copy of the Nintendo 64 original.

Showering us with an abundance of color, publisher Microsoft sends forth a new trailer and screenshots from Rare's vehicle-building/platforming hybrid Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, due on Xbox 360 come November 11.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

As developer Rare and publisher Microsoft prepare to unleash Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts on November 11, the two have provided a new trailer for the Xbox 360 platformer.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

Publisher Microsoft sent over some new screenshots of Rare's upcoming Xbox 360 platformer Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.

Focusing on both traditional platforming and a variety of vehicle-based challenges, complete with vehicle customization, Nuts & Bolts arrives on November 14.

Rare's long-awaited Xbox 360 revival of its bear-bird platforming duo Banjo Kazooie will hit North American retailers on November 14, publisher Microsoft revealed today. Dubbed Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, the new title sports a suggested retail price of $39.99 and marks the first main entry since Banjo Tooie (N64) in 2000.

A free download code for the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade release of the original Banjo Kazooie will be provided to those that pre-order Nuts & Bolts from unspecified "participating retailers," allowing pre-order customers to access the title two weeks before the general public.

Furthermore, players of Nuts & Bolts will be able to unlock "extra content and features" in the XBLA release through the game's "Stop N' Swop" feature.

An exact release date for the downloadable Xbox 360 version of the original Banjo Kazooie was not provided, though Microsoft noted that the public debut will not be "until a couple weeks after" Nuts & Bolts arrives.

In accordance with today's outpouring of announcements, demonstrations and big reveals at Microsoft's E3 press conference, the company has released several new screenshots of the titles included in today's presentation.

Gears of War 2

New Xbox 360 3D Dashboard

Fable 2

More new images from titles including Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2, Lips, and several others are viewable below... Read more

Here's a new trailer for Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, offering cinematic and gameplay footage from Rare's Xbox 360 platformer. The game is due out this November.

Hardware developer Motus Games today unveiled Darwin (pictured left), a motion-controlled Xbox 360 controller, on its official website.

Capable of breaking down into two parts, the controller makes use of a number of sensors to detect motion and relative movement without the use of an infrared receiver as utilized by the Wii Remote. According to Motus, the Darwin is presently being distributed to developers and publishers, and could be ready for market in less than a year.

The company's website includes several videos showing the controller in use with a handful of games, including Traveller's Tales' Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy.

The developer also commented on speculation as to whether the Darwin is the realization of the oft-rumored Xbox 360 motion controller believed to be developed by Microsoft.

"We're leaving it to the console-makers and publishers to announce whatever they want to announce," Motus chairman Satayan Mahajan told Kotaku. "There's a lot... Read more