XBL gets TGS'd

Hot on the heels of its pre-Tokyo Game Show press briefing, Microsoft has released the first content related to the event on Xbox Live Marketplace. The release is part of the software giant's "Bringing It Home" promotion, which is intended to update Xbox 360 owners on the latest happenings in Japan.

Under the Bringing It Home subheading, Xbox gamers across the globe can now download a Tokyo Game Show picture pack--which is actually just a quartet of differently colored logos for the event. Two trailers are now available for download, as well--an all-new look at From Software's Tenchu Senran and a previously available preview of Half-Life 2: Episode 2.

While those tidbits will likely only whet the appetites of international gamers, Japanese 360 owners have access to heartier fare. Perhaps hoping to boost the console's profile in Japan, where sales have been poor, Microsoft has released the Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 trailer from the Electronic Entertainment Expo and a preview of Project Sylpheed. Japanese 360 owners can also download a demo for Tenchu Senran, though details on the level were not available as of press time.

Inexplicably, Microsoft's Bringing It Home page also sports two new map packs for the fantasy real-time strategy title The Lord of the Rings, the Battle for Middle-earth II. The first, titled Aragorn's Journey, is being offered for free until September 29. Normally, it would cost 350 Xbox Live Marketplace points (about $4.38), which is the price tag affixed to the other new BFMEII map, Northern Badlands.

Microsoft has also said that a five-minute condensed version of its pre-TGS briefing will be available on Marketplace later today.