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• Mojang published official sales numbers for Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition as part of Gamasutra’s monthy Xbox Live Arcade sales analysis, which derives numbers from the game’s leaderboards. It currently sits at 4.47 million copies sold in just a bit over a reported time of seven months. For those who like breakdowns that’s roughly 640,000 sales per month, although in reality sales were much higher earlier on and have dropped somewhat of late.
• PlayXBLA announced the details for Minecraft‘s seventh title update. On the table are the majority of updates from the Java 1.0.1 version, minus The End. Breeding, brewing and baby animals are just a few things included in the update. 4J Studios stated via their Twitter account that The End still needs work, and that it will be part of title update 8. For a full list, hit the jump.
• Daniel Kaplan of Mojang tweeted that over 1 billion worlds have been started in Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition.

Sources: Gamasutra, PlayXBLA

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Citing “various reasons,” publisher Bandai Namco announced today that it has chosen to end development on Aero-Cross. It was just over two years ago when the publisher announced …
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Opening night for Suda 51’s newest bloody adventure Black Knight Sword is next week, December 12 on Xbox Live Arcade. This theatrical hack-and-slasher comes from Grasshopper Manufacture and Digital Reality, the same star-crossed teams from Japan and Hungary that brought us Sine Mora earlier this year. We saw the game earlier this year at PAX East, where we noticed a striking similarity to a certain other over-dramatized villain. The reverent nods continue in the press release they sent earlier today:

Bring out yer dead! Bring our yer dead! And, no, it won’t cost ninepence because The Black Knight from Black Knight Sword is here to rid the world of treacherous evil for the thrill of killing. The wicked, bad, naughty, villainous, duplicitous, and super evil Dark Princess must pay the penalty! So never fear, The Black Knight will make his grand debut in Black Knight Sword on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft Wednesday, December 12. Even without arms or legs, The Black Knight will partake in an adventure through a strange spin on a classic fairytale to defeat the wicked creatures of the night.
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Mobile app stores are heavily populated with shameless Super Mario Bros. clones, but the latest entry in the series of the original imitator is now officially headed …
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It’s December 2012, which means we’re rapidly approaching the end of the Mayan calendar and the possible end of the world. While others …
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Developer Might and Delight has announced that it plans to make its puzzle-platformer, Pid, more accessible by adding an Easy Mode to the game’s existing Normal and Hard …
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The recent appearance of Mensa Academy (purportedly American Mensa Academy in North America) on the Xbox Live Marketplace seems to indicate the title is finally ready to put your mind to the test …
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This week’s Deal of the Week gave Xbox Live Gold Members the chance to pick up Deadliest Warrior and Deadliest Warrior Legends at 50% off:

• Deadliest Warrior  – 400 …
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The transforming d-pad conversions are available exclusively at QuickdrawMods.com, and are available in three variants. Consumers can receive a full replacement shell with transforming d-pad for USD $26.99, get just the top and transforming d-pad for $19.99, or send in their controller for modification for $18.98. Conversions were provided for review purposes.

It’s no secret that amidst the great elements that together make the Xbox 360 controller there’s one gaping flaw. It’s a flaw that all the comfortable fit, intuitive layout and visual appeal can’t fix: the horrid d-pad. It’s utterly evil that such a thing of beauty can be brought down by such a completely flimsy design flaw. It’s rigid, it’s unresponsive, and it feels like there’s a gap the size of the grand canyon between the plastic and the circuit board.

Microsoft sought to clean that blemish on an otherwise perfect reputation during the holiday 2010 season with the transforming d-pad controller. It promised more precise controls by allowing players to have the standard 8-way “flat” design they were used to, or to raise the d-pad up into a 4-way “plus” position for tighter digital control. It worked. It’s not a perfect fix, but it addresses some of the precision issues players have with the controller. The problem is that there isn’t a lot of choice when it comes to these new controllers. It’s silver or a special edition Halo 4, Modern Warfare 3, Gears of War 3, or Fable 3 controller.

I bought one of the silver transforming d-pad shells on eBay. It was a pull from a working controller, but was apparently never actually in use. I quickly got to work installing it on one of my controllers, which aside from needing to purchase an inexpensive special screwdriver, was incredibly easy. I kept my original black Start and Back buttons, colored A, B, X, and Y buttons, and intalled black thumbsticks to finish it off. After just one night I was hooked. This new d-pad felt amazing. I wanted all my controllers to have it.

So I set to work hunting down YouTube do-it-yourself videos as I do when nearly anything in my house breaks or I want to customize something. I quickly realized that I’d much rather see if there was a professional alternative. I didn’t want to hack up my shell and have nothing to show for it but pieces in the end. I found only one company who provides a professional system for modifying the shells, QuickdrawMods. I contacted them and soon an agreement was made in which I would send my white, black, and red tops (above) in for modification.

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