Alan Wake’s first add-on episode, The Signal, was released on the Xbox Live Marketplace today – hurrah! If you bought the game “new” you should have received a token, allowing free access to the game’s first episode of downloadable content – double hurrah!

The problem with this was loads of people (including myself), scratched away the strip and redeemed their free code right away after opening the game at launch – something the token never warned against might I add.

Well those unlucky few that redeemed too early were suffered to wait today until Microsoft sent out the new codes. Some received their replacement code straight away while others, like me, still haven’t received anything.

For those of you still waiting, make sure your email address is tied to your Xbox Live account and keep checking back for updates. Oh and don’t forget to check out The Signal’s official trailer after the break, we should be in for a treat judging by the look of it – I wouldn’t know though.

Update: New day. No code. Microsoft have really dropped the ball on this one. People are fuming over being forced to wait for these codes, some people have even finished it and are waiting on the game’s second DLC, The Writer.

Here’s something I found over on the Alan Wake Forums that’s worth a try, I didn’t work when for me but I hear its working for some.

On your Xbox 360, press the Guide/Home Button
Go along to Settings and down to Account Management
Then click on Download History
Find “Alan Wake Downloadable Content” in your history and download again

Let us know if you manage to get it working.

One of the more quieter announcements this afternoon was that Limbo, a game I’ve had my eye on for a while now, would be here just in time for this year’s annual Xbox Live Summer of Arcade.

In Limbo the player assumes the role of a young boy, uncertain of his sister’s fate he enters “Limbo” and sets off on a journey of unproportional magnitude through a hauntingly beautiful world. Check out the game’s trailer after the break.

Limbo will be available via Xbox Live Arcade this July launching alongside Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, Hydro Thunder Hurricane, Lara Croft and the Guardian of the Light and Monday Night Combat as part of Xbox Live’s Summer of Arcade.

One of the most impressive announcements from today’s Microsoft briefing was the inclusion of ESPN programming to Xbox Live. Joining Facebook, Twitter, Last.FM, and Netflix, ESPN will be offering up to 3500 live events including NBA, MLB, Soccer, and college football and basketball. Using the newly announced Kinect, users will be able to take part in polls, trivia, and instantaneously switch between games. The service will be available to all Xbox Live Gold members free of charge, as long as they also subscribe to Internet service through a cable company that provides ESPN3.

Whether you like it or not, USA Today has confirmed the inevitable re-branding of Project Natal. You can now start referring to the motion sensing device by it’s official name, “Kinect.”

The article, which is slated to hit shelves tomorrow, also included a few examples of some upcoming Kinect titles:

• Dance Central – a game being released by MTV Games that, you guessed it, dance
• Kinectimals –a virtual animal simulator featuring over 20 different pets to raise
• Joyride – controller-free racing
• Kinect Sports – think Wii Sports, only Kinect
• Kinect Adventure – river rafting and obstacle courses similar to this

In addition to the above, Kinect will include games from LucasArts and Disney. A price point and launch date were not detailed in the USA Today piece. Now go try to use “Kinect” in a sentence without feeling an awkward longing for the familiar.

Update: USA Today seems to have had a hiccup and since removed the revealing article.

The eagerly awaited Split/Second demo was made available on Xbox Live this morning, not too shabby for a Monday, ay?

A timed exclusive for the 360, PlayStation 3 owners will have to wait until May 11 to get their hands on Disney Interactive’s intense arcade racer. For those without a time machine or a Gold Subscription we’ve compiled this montage just for you – enjoy!

At midnight tonight gamers who are still clinging to their original Xbox titles will lose Live service. Though Microsoft gave the official warning months ago, it’s still sad to see the first successful online service for consoles slip into the history books. So bid adieu to the framework that helped set up the Live service you enjoy today and dust off those classic Xbox games because this is the grand finale.

Robert Bowling (aka @fourtwozero) made a cameo on this evening’s episode of Family Guy while Peter wound up fellow teammates with his n00bish behavior – “Is this a crouch button?” On a side note, did anyone manage to catch Quagmire’s Gamertag? Video after the break!

The Blur Multiplayer Demo, previously an early exclusive to beta players, is now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace for the rest of us mere mortals. For those that missed out on the beta the first time around, you no longer have an excuse. What are you waiting for?

Those eager to drop £10($15) on Modern Warfare 2’s first set of downloadable content were reporting issues with loading maps and downloading the new DLC early this morning. Though there were a few hiccups with the new DLC, Major Nelson has confirmed the Stimulus Package is now available for download and working normally. The map pack includes three new multiplayer maps and two reworked maps veterans of the first Modern Warfare will recognize all for the controversial price of 1200 MS Points.

Enjoy it, that is if you can justify that price point.

Early this morning a Taiwanese site leaked a trailer for the upcoming Halo: Reach beta. While we can’t yet confirm the videos authenticity, it certainly looks real. And by real we mean really promising! Check out the full trailer after the break!

The new trailer (posted below) shows off some of the new features gamer’s can expect from Halo: Reach when it drops on May 3rd. Some specific additions contained in the trailer include jetpacks, assassinations and the new Invasion and Head Hunter multiplayer modes.

Let’s be honest, do you need any other reason to check out the video? It’s Halo, it’s new, and if the footage below is any indicator, those fortunate enough to have beta invites are in for a treat.

Update: It’s official! Bungie has released the trailer on their homepage.