This news broke last week, so I’m a little late. But it’s important news, so I’ll post it anyway.

The Content License Transfer Tool (aka DRM Tool) is now available for use. This tool will allow you to consolidate licenses to a single console. What exactly does this mean? Well, a lot of sites reporting on this don’t seem to have a full understanding of what this is and exactly how it works. Even the official FAQ doesn’t make everything entirely clear, so I’ll do my best to what this is and why we have it. Hit the jump for the best explanation I can come up with.

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I just beat Roogoo and thought I would write up a short review about it. Roogoo is a puzzle game that’s different than most puzzle games I’ve played. It’s interesting that a concept so simple hasn’t been brought to life before now. That may be a good thing, however, because who knows if anyone else could have delivered the way Spidermonk have with Roogoo.

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So I wish now that I had blogged about this sooner, but I’ll just post it in retrospect. Fortunately, Gmail logs my chats, so I kind of have proof that I totally called this.

Exactly one week ago I was chatting with Tha R1gga about DRM, mostly with relation to the Xbox 360. He, for the most part, is against DRM, but I was able to get him to admit that without it, nobody would be buying XBLA games or DLC. They’d simply find a way to copy it and make it available on the internets. Anyway, here is an excerpt from that chat session:

me: i just think there has to be a happy medium
i think MS is getting there
i think eventually they’ll let you update your own license on xbox.com
you just plug in your serial number and take care if it yourself

Now, here is a quote from an interview with Marc Whitten, general manager of Xbox Live that was posted five days ago:

Yes, this new tool will officially launch next month on Xbox.com and will allow you to be able to consolidate these licenses onto one box so you can access things like Xbox LIVE Arcade games and TV show you have downloaded even if you are not online. Because this involved allowing users to re-download licenses for content that belongs to our partners it has taken some time to work out the agreements with them to allow this, but we have heard the concerns from folks about DRM and are happy to announce that everything is nearly in place to roll this out in June.

I could be the next Michael Pachter.

Any way, I think with this upcoming tool, Microsoft is being pretty fair with their DRM. You can use your Premium DLC on any 360 as long as you’re signed into Xbox Live with the Gamertag you purchased the content with. And now you will be able to move your licenses to another 360. What are your thoughts on this issue? Sound off in the comments.

I’ve been really excited about this game for a long time. The art style is great as are the hand drawn graphics. Four player co-op is going to be a blast. I simply cannot wait for this game.

Link: Castle Crashers GDC 2008: Cartoon Carnage Walkthrough [Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

This week’s XBLA release is Triggerheart Exelica, which is apparently a remake of a classic Japanese arcade game. Never heard of it myself, but I’m sure someone out there has been waiting for this game. From the media release:

“Triggerheart Exelica” on Xbox LIVE Arcade is an upgraded version of the original Japanese arcade game and allows players to take down or trap and toss enemies by controlling humanoid weapons systems known as Triggerhearts. Players will enjoy the smallest and newest model of Triggerhearts, which feature the perfect blend of artificial intelligence and an imposing arsenal. They are the ultimate weapon against the mysterious enemy ships of the Ver’mith! “Triggerheart Exelica” also features five stages of enhanced graphics, BGM sound tracks, three difficulty levels and a “Variable Boss Attack System,” which adjusts the difficulty level to match player’s skills.

Link: Triggerheart Exelica Coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade This Wednesday

In their GDC keynote earlier today, Microsoft announced that users will soon have the ability to play, rate and share community-created games over Xbox LIVE. Along with the announcement came the news that seven original XNA 2.0 games will be immediately available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. Hit the link for the full press release.

Update: Major Nelson has just announced the availability of the XNA Creators Club Game Launcher from Xbox LIVE Marketplace. The app will allow you to download an launch games from the XNA Creators Club.

Link: Xbox 360 Becomes First Video Game Console Ever to Invite the World to Create Original Games and Share Online With Millions