U360 is at it again with another serving of an Xbox 360 Launch Team Showcase!  Ever wondered who was responsible for what you see on the US side of things on Xbox.com?

I present to you da man, da legendary lizard eater…

I would wager that the community is unaware of yet another cool gamer working on the Launch Team.  So can you give us a little 411 on the gamer behind Chupathingy.

I’d say I’m what you’d call an Arcader. I like the games that give me pretty much instant gratification (e.g. I like PGR 3 versus Forza). Any game that gives me that kind of fix, I go after.

Beyond that, I wouldn’t say I’ve developed a persona beyond that, so saying I’m a cool gamer might be a stretch.

What do you do as it pertains to the Xbox 360 and how does it relate to the gamer?

I work on Xbox.com and manage the production of all the US content, although to be honest, my team (Paul and Jeremy) does all the work. I just make sure I get the credit.

Beyond that, our larger team develops content and ideas for new content and we work on trying to get those ideas out to the website.

You have a lot of welcome messages posted on the xbox.com message boards.  Were you on welcome duty then?

Pretty much. Paul, Jeremy (XboxLackeys) and myself are the people responsible for building new forums, and that welcome message is standard operating procedure. I never know if those do any good. I mean, it’s the same message every time. Do people go there and remind themselves of the terms of use?

Ofcourse they remind themselves of it! lol Funny question time.  TriXie has a photo going around of you on her blog.  Give us the details of your work area…it doesn’t seem like you’re a cubicle guy like most.

Well, I just got moved to the biggest office in the building, but there are three of us, so the square footage per person is pretty bad. Most people in this building have two desks, but I’ve been relegated to just the one and I try to jam as much stuff as I can onto it. It’s usually a complete mess.

How crazy were the days leading up to the launch of the Xbox 360 for you and the team?

For me, it was pretty darn crazy, although comparatively, not as bad as for some of the people on my team. I pulled two all nighters in consecutive weeks as we got content prepared. On the one hand, you’re hating life because you’re so tired, but on the flip side, you feel pretty darn cool because you are working on a product that you really love and people are relying on you to get it done.

As we got closer to launch, the intensity got to a level that’s hard to describe. Since my team was responsible for the stuff that the end user actually saw, we were going pretty much non-stop for a month. We’re talking 10 to 12-hour days for a team of 10 or so. I look back on that time with a lot of happiness.

If you could make an Achievement for getting through the launch, what would it be called and how many points for it?

Ha. Well, the point total would have to be relative based on the larger team. I’d say my personal achievement was for about 500 points (some of the devs and testers would get 1000, of course). I’d call it Jellyfish Master.

Jellyfish Master.  Nice!  When I first saw your Gamertag, I immediately thought about the old Mexican urban legend stories of el Chupacabra.  Tell me there’s a relation?

It’s actually sort of related. When I first got Xbox Live, Red Vs. Blue had just started and I watched its second episode probably 10 times a day because it was hysterical.

Here’s the quote from the end of it:

Sarge: So unless anyone has any other mythical creatures to suggest as a name for the vehicle, we’re going to stick with … the Warthog. How about it Griff?
Griff: [sigh] No sir. No more suggestions.
Sarge: Are you sure? How about Bigfoot?
Griff: That’s okay.
Sarge: Unicorn?
Griff: No, really. I’m cool.
Sarge: Sasquatch?
Simmons: Leprechaun?
Griff: [to Simmons] Hey, he doesn’t need any help, man.
Sarge: Phoenix?
Griff: [Sigh]
Sarge: Hey Simmons, what’s the name of that Mexican lizard … eats all the goats?
Simmons: Uh, that would be the Chupacabra, sir.
Sarge: Hey Griff … Chupathingy … how about that? I like it. Got a ring to it.

And there you have it.

Sweet…I knew it.  What title is currently taking up too much of your gaming time?

Oh man, I just got the twelfth achievement on Zuma, I’m sad to say. I’d say that that game took up WAY too much time for what it was worth. I played PDZ for a long time and was sorely disappointed when I saw the Gamer Score for finishing single-player on Dark. Now I’m on to PGR 3 and trying to get through, don’t laugh, Madden 06 before the next version comes out.

I won’t laugh…just chuckle a bit.  Are you gaming on one of those nice 42” inch plasma TVs that I heard the Launch Team got or does your setup consist of something different?

If there were 42″ plasmas somewhere, I must have been sick or asleep that day.  I was playing on a crappy 19-inch TV with MONO sound. That was AWESOME. I played Condemned and I sometimes couldn’t hear the characters because I’d turn my head to the wrong side. I laughed hard when I realized that. Now I have a 42″ LCD projection and it is really, really nice. I feel like a whole new man.

Ok I lied.  There were no plasmas.  Is your 360 vertical or horizontal?

Vertical, for space reasons only.

Which title is making you clear your calendar to be off the day it releases?

Tough one. Well, besides Halo 3, I’d say Crackdown. That game looks sick, and it’s just the kind of game that I love.

There are a lot of cool new toys headed to the Xbox 360 soon.  Which of the new peripherals are you the most excited about?

I love that Wireless Racing Wheel, but that’ll require developing a whole new skill set for PGR 3 which I don’t know if I can handle, so I’ll have to say the HD-DVD, just because it’ll help me justify buying the big TV.

Achievements or Gamerscore?  What do you play for?

Achievements, but that’s just because there is no way I can get anywhere close to any kind of leader. I don’t believe in getting achievements outside of your normal run of play, though. I went back through Condemned to get some of the more obscure achievements, but that game was really fun, so it was worth it. Some of the other ones, like playing 30 seasons in Madden, are really hard to get just for fun, I think, so I probably won’t get that.

We always play this next game on Showcases.  One game.  One shot.  You against TriXie.  Who wins and what are you playing?

It doesn’t really matter the game. TriXie doesn’t stand a chance. To her credit, though, she’s read more books than I EVER will, and that’s probably something to be more proud of.

Hey I bet she’d hold her own on Zuma.  Any last words from Chupa to the people reading?

I hope people like what they see on Xbox.com and if you don’t, send me a note and I’ll see what we can do. Other than that, keep it clean out there, people.  Thanks Deacon! You rock.

The thanks go to you my friend for joining in on the Showcase.  Best of luck the rest of the way with the Xbox 360!