A couple weeks ago there were some major rumblings that Microsoft’s "Summer of Gaming" was about to punish our wallets in ways as yet unforeseen. With Geometry Wars 2, Braid, Bionic Commando: Rearmed and Castle Crashers all landing on the system in August, credit card bills were all set to go through the roof.

Things got even hairier though, as rumors began spilling out that Microsoft would be charging more for these hotly-anticipated titles than they would for normal games, thereby punishing all of us who dared get excited over a game. Early word was that Braid would be released for $15, and Castle Crashers would cost a hefty $25, making it the most expensive game on Xbox Live. While Microsoft denied the rumors, the controversy flared back up once Braid was indeed released at the $15 price point, and the rumors began to fly once more.

Thankfully, Microsoft has now spoken up and put our fears to rest, as Dan Paladin has confirmed that Castle Crashers will check in at the now familiar 1200 MS points, as opposed to more ridiculous sums. In fact, it’s starting to look like 1200 is becoming the new 800, meaning that consumers should brace for higher prices on nearly all forthcoming Xbox Live games. I don’t mind paying a little extra for quality downloadable titles, but if junk like Wits and Wagers is now going to be the same price as Castle Crashers, consider my hackles raised. In the meantime though, I plan to happily pay the asking price for Castle Crashers and then set forth wildly beating both friend and foe alike as I try and save the fair princess.