July '12 News Roundup

As we ski jump off the end of the Kinect Sports: Season Two add-on schedule, much of our attention turns to new projects and the radio silence that inevitably accompanies their early development. Fortunately this doesn't mean there's nothing to see in the world of Sports, as Season Two has been included in the range of games compatible with the Kinect PlayFit dashboard released this month on Xbox 360, backstage celebrity promotion went on at the 2012 ESPYs and prize opportunities will be running all the way through to October in the MLS sweepstakes and fan photo contest.

The other Rare news of July manifested in a suitably angular Minecraft appearance, courtesy of the first Skin Pack DLC for the Xbox LIVE Arcade version of the game. The first sighting of a Banjo skin early in the month was followed by the surprise unveiling of five further skins from the bear's fan favourite Banjo-Kazooie series. Sweet like honey.

So what next? A new wave of Kinect Sports promotions? More familiar Rare faces popping up in unusual settings? Find out the answers to these and other questions as we steel ourselves against the British interpretation of summer and march on into August.

News
• Minecraft Invaded by Team Banjo – bears, mole, shaman, witch and... Klungo

Blog Posts
• Minecraft Skin Pack 1 Reaction Rundown – love the skin you're in
• Mini-Scribes: July 27, 2012 – late-breaking roughly monthly letter-raking
• June Social Judgement – Twitter/Facebook round-up, no actual judgement

The World Wide Web
• [PlayXBLA] Moar Minecraft Themed Skins Revealed!
• [MS News Center] Burn Calories on Kinect, Track Them With Kinect PlayFit
• [IGN] Top 50 Video Game Makers – Rare
• [YouTube] Kinect Sports: Season Two at the Xbox LIVE Suite at 2012 ESPYs
• [Digital Spy] Olympics special: Vote for the greatest ever sports franchise
• [MLS Xbox] Home Invasion Sweepstakes/Fan of the Month Photo Contest