Great news for Quake III fans (and perhaps keyboard and mouse fans). Coming out out of QuakeCon, iD made the announcement that Quake III Arena is headed to XBOX Live Arcade. Quake III Arena is considered one of the greatest first person shooters of all time. It’s very fun. It’s very competitive. It will be a huge hit on XBOX Live – at least, I hope it is. For (an assumed) $10, this is going to be a heck of a game. However, I have a feeling that FPS fans are going to be busy with another game.

In other news, Epic announced that the PS3 version of Unreal Tournament 3 will support keyboard and mice as NATIVE input devices. Excellent! However, Microsoft does not currently allow keyboard and mice to be used as NATIVE input devices. Shucks! Imagine if other XBOX games supported keyboards and mice. HALO 2 or 3. Command and Conquer. HALO Wars. Surely console RTS fans would welcome kb/m. FPS fans would as well. PC gamers would be more open to the platform.

Is SONY going to capture some of the PC gaming audience with this move? Will Microsoft simply not make a move and stand firm on their policy of “no keyboards and mice” on their consoles?

I for one want to see new XBOX 360 titles supporting keyboards and mice. Surely it wouldn’t require much investment from the development house to get this up and running – especially considering the additional sales that such a setup would generate (not to mentioned the ridiculously over-priced keyboard and mice accessories that could be sold).

The PC versus controller debate just got a little more interesting.

currently playing: Shadowrun
on the back burner: Catan, Guitar Hero II, HALO 2 (PC)
Shadowrun rocks!

Some of us senior citizens are having a blast now that Marathon: Durandal is out for Xbox Live Arcade. I’ll post later in greater length about how this adaptation is simultaneously absolutely faithful to the original while still timely and fun, and how its design teaches lessons still relevant a decade after its release.

However, many Halo fans have never played Marathon. Many may not have heard of it until now. Some, as ridiculous as this sounds, were not even born when it was released. Is Marathon still for them?

It sure is. But before playing, it’s best just to do some fair warnings about some quirks in Marathon’s design that might frustrate a player whose only exposure to Bungie so far is the Halo series.

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Thanks Joystiq

In a conference call where Activision re-tooted their own horn about how much money they made so far this year, they also let it slip that Metallica would be in Guitar Hero III. The song will be One, a master track off of Metallica’s …And Justive for All album. This may sound like old news, but you’re probably getting confused with Rock Band also having Metallica. Yes, it is going to be hard to keep track of what games have which songs in this holiday rhythm showdown.

During the conference call Activision also said that Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the ’80s was the best-selling game on its first day in Activision history. They also said they are significantly increasing guitar production to meet the expected demand of Guitar Hero III this holiday season.