Braid creator Jonathan Blow is a reluctant gaming celebrity. He's outspoken. He's direct, whether in praise or criticism. He thinks "Space Giraffe is an excellent game ... certainly the best action game on XBLA." It would be easy to shrug him off as an artiste--but in truth, he's more like a Zen master.

To get worldly concerns out of the way, Blow is working on the PC version of his downloadable minimalist Xbox 360 platformer and all but shot down portable versions when speaking to Joystiq. "The game would have to be completely re-created from the ground up [for the Nintendo DS]," he explained, adding, "I won't do that ... and I don't know anyone I would trust to do a high-quality job on that." A PSP version, despite the handheld's functional digital-download marketplace, would face similar problems.

With those issues aside, Blow was able to focus on some deeper issues... Read more

Following the release of Jonathan Blow's independently developed, time-warping puzzle platformer Braid, the developer has revealed that the Xbox Live Arcade certification requirements may have encumbered the title in its crucial polish phases.

"They removed some of the requirements for XBLA games, but there are still a lot of requirements," Blow told Gamasutra. "And I believe that, at least for a single-player game like my game, the vast majority of these requirements are unnecessary."

Blow continued, "I put in a tremendous amount of work meeting all these requirements, when I could have put that work into the actual game, and made it even a little more polished, little bit better."

The developer further noted that while the Xbox Live Arcade certification process is meant to ensure a standard of quality for games appearing on the platform, he believes that the amount of time and energy spent on passing certification has... Read more

Though publisher Microsoft had previously denied a $15 price for Braid, the company confirmed today that Jonathon Blow and Number None's time-shifting puzzler will indeed cost 1200 Microsoft Points ($15) when it is released as a downloadable Xbox 360 title through the Xbox Live Marketplace this Wednesday.

In last week's statement, Microsoft also denied that The Behemoth's downloadable four-player beat'em up Castle Crashers would sell for 1800 Microsoft Points ($22.50) when it arrives on August 27.

Since then, The Behemoth has issued its own response, claiming that the companies "are still working together to figure out a reasonable price point. (not 1800 points)" but that "ultimately, pricing is at the discretion of the distributor (Microsoft)."

Update: Microsoft has informed Shacknews that the reported $22.50 price point for Castle Crashers and $15 Braid price, believed to stem from a now-removed Microsoft Japan listing, are incorrect for both domestic and international markets.

The company further noted that it will officially announce price points for those titles on the Monday preceding Braid and Castle Crashers' respective release dates, or August 4 and 25.

Original Story: Following Microsoft's detailing of August's Xbox Live Arcade releases, Microsoft Japan has revealed price points for most of the downloadable Xbox 360 games, while Capcom has separately confirmed the pricing for... Read more

Several anticipated Xbox Live Arcade titles will be hitting the Xbox 360's downloadable gaming service this coming August, Microsoft announced today. Left, The Behemoth's Castle Crashers. Right, GRIN's Bionic Commando: Rearmed.

Following the release of Bizarre Creations' multi-directional shooter Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 this Wednesday, the month of August will see the debut of:

• Braid (Jonathon Blow), August 6
• Bionic Commando: Rearmed (GRIN), August 13
• Galaga Legions (Namco Bandai), August 20
• Castle Crashers (The Behemoth), August 27

While Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 and Bionic Commando: Rearmed were both previously announced to carry the price of 800 Microsoft Points ($10), no price points for the other titles have been revealed.

Bizarre Creations' multi-directional shooter sequel Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 is now slated to hit Xbox 360 next Wednesday, July 30, the studio has announced.

Revealed last week, the downloadable Xbox Live Arcade exclusive was initially scheduled to debut on August 6, and will carry the price of 800 Microsoft Points ($10). For more on the game, check out our hands-on preview from the E3 show floor.

While Microsoft has yet to detail specific dates for upcoming Xbox Live Arcade releases, the company has informed Shacknews that Castle Crashers, Bionic Commando Rearmed, Galaga Legions and Jonathon Blow's time-shifting platformer Braid are all slated to arrive by September 21.