Electronic Arts has announced the latest in its long running series of World War II-themed first person shooters, Medal of Honor Vanguard for PlayStation 2 and Wii. Today's press release was fairly light on gameplay details, beyond stating that the Wii version of the game will "take full advantage of Wii's one-of-a-kind controllers." It appears that the game should be fairly standard Medal of Honor fare in most respects. Senior producer Matt Sentell commented, "Medal of Honor Vanguard features a strong storyline told in classic MOH fashion." The game puts players into the role of paratrooper Corporal Frank Keegan of the 82nd Airborne Division, who must fight battles throughout Europe behind enemy lines.

Medal of Honor Vanguard is being developed by EA LA. Electronic Arts plans to ship the game for PlayStation 2 and Wii in March 2007.

California-based developer inXile entertainment today announced that it has acquired the enormously popular online Flash game Line Rider, created by Bostjan Cadez. Additionally, inXile and Cadez now plan to bring the game, described by its creator as a "toy," to Nintendo DS and Wii. No concrete details were released as to the specific content of the upcoming console games, but today's announcement indicated that they will feature new features not present in the Flash game.

"I have been around the interactive entertainment industry long enough to have seen similar phenomenon like Tetris and Bejeweled become massive international hits, and Line Rider has all the elements to do the same. Line Rider is like a fully animated Etch-A-Sketch and will be perfect for the Nintendo DS and Wii," said inXile CEO Brian Fargo, known for founding publisher Interplay Entertainment.

inXile plans to ship Line Rider for Nintendo DS and Wii in spring 2007.

Nintendo today announced that a beta version of Opera Software's web browser for Wii will be available this Friday, December 22. It appears that the software will be fully featured, including Flash support, despite its beta disclaimer. After its release, the browser will be offered in the Wii Shop Channel for free until March 2007, at which point the final version will be released. That software will be free as well through June 2007. From July on, it will run 500 Wii Points ($5); users who have already downloaded the browser at that time will not need to purchase it.

In celebration of the upcoming launch, Opera Software sent over this announcement comic featuring a ninja and a kitty.

Following yesterday's report that the Wii Forecast Channel had gone live in Europe and Australia, Wii owners today discovered that it has gone live in North America as well. To enable the Forecast Channel, update the system's software from its options menu.

Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays program continues this week with the release of Carmageddon developer Stainless Games' new combat driving game Novadrome. Novadrome has the player manning heavily armed buggies to combat alien robots invading Earth. Some 20 vehicles are fifteen arenas are included in the game, which features Career and Arcade single-player modes as well as an eight-player multiplayer mode. This marks the second Xbox Live Arcade release following this year's Crystal Quest, and the company has several additional projects in the works for Microsoft's game download service.

Stainless Games' Novadrome will be available this Wednesday, December 20 at 1:00am PST for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

Despite being announced last month for an early 2007 release, it seems Virtual Toys' Nintendo DS tennis game Rafa Nadal Tennis will be managing to reach retail shelves in 2006. Publisher Codemasters today announced that the game is slated for release on December 27, 2006.

Update: 1UP has updated its original story with statements from Sony Online Entertainment's Chris Kramer. Kramer clarifies the situation, stating that the Xfire deal in fact applies only to SOE's launch title Untold Legends Dark Kingdom, and not to the PlayStation Network Platform as a whole. "This proposed deal is completely separate and independent from the PlayStation Network Platform, and is something that SOE was examining specifically for Dark Kingdom," said Kramer. "More information on Xfire and Dark Kingdom will be coming soon." IGN has a similar statement from Xfire CEO Mike Cassidy, who said, "We do have future announcements. For now I can only tell you Xfire is not part of PS3's PNP."

Original story: In a Viacom conference call transcript released on August 9th, the media conglomerate revealed a particularly interesting detail about Sony's upcoming free online service for PlayStation 3, about which very little has been said. Viacom-owned Xfire, which offers a multifeatured set of communication and browsing service for online games, will be producing a version of its software for PS3. The relevant statement from Viacom's report is as follows:

Importantly, Xfire just signed a deal with Sony to create a version of their platform for the new PS3, which will now enable Xfire to extend its reach further into the huge console gaming market.

Sony has stated on numerous occasions that basic online functions such as online multiplayer, matchmaking, and messaging will be free to PS3 owners. It is likely that functions such as these will be handled by the system's Xfire implementation. Xfire on PC also includes functions such as in-game voice chat, which is almost certainly to be a basic PS3 function, and gamer profiles, which Sony is no doubt planning to include on PS3 given their success on Xbox Live.

One other possibility is that Sony may opt to include an option for Xfire's game server browing in addition to automatic matchmaking. Whereas Microsoft has strived to differentiate its Xbox console family from PCs by streamlining processes as much as possible and disallowing the use of a mouse and keyboard interface in gameplay, Sony seems to be going the opposite direction, allowing mouse and keyboard and pushing the console as a computer. This may suggest that the company would want to further entice PC gamers by including a PC-like server browser, though that is purely speculative.

1UP, which first noticed Viacom's statement, also speculates that Sony may be hoping to allow cross-platform play between PS3 and PC gamers. This is something Microsoft is also planning on leveraging as part of its upcoming Live Anywhere initiatives.

Sony had not responded to inquiries on the matter at time of writing.

With seven actively supported home and portable consoles competing for consumers' dollars this holiday season, manufacturers will be looking for ways to make their systems attractive buys. Sony is making an early move in its direction with its PSP Entertainment Pack, which the company announced today. The bundle contains a black PSP system, Climax's ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails, Lords of Dogtown on UMD, and a 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo. It will be available for a suggested retail price of $249.99 when it goes on sale tomorrow. Sony notes that the individual components contained in the Entertainment Pack would retail for over $300 if purchased separately.

"While the PSP system has out-sold all other next-generation gaming handhelds in the period since its launch," said SCEA senior marketing VP Peter Dille, "we expect this new offering to drive additional consumer interest and sales, particularly as the holiday shopping season approaches." - Product shot.

Among other iPod-related announcements today, Apple announced that its flagship line of MP3 players will be gaining increased gaming capabilities. Standard iPods--the big ones--will be able to play a variety of casual games, many of which are also available on PC gaming portals as well as Xbox Live Arcade. The initial lineup consists of nine titles, each of which will sell via iTunes for $4.99:

- Bejeweled
- Cubis 2
- Mahjong
- Mini Golf
- Pac-Man
- Tetris
- Texas Hold 'Em
- Vortex
- Zuma

Codemasters today announced that Pompom Software is producing a PSP version of its popular PC web-based Bliss Island. Controlling protagonist Hoshi the Zwooph among others, players participate in a number of mini-games that will see them "juggle, race, defend, and direct" various characters and objects. Bliss Island for PSP will contain over 80 different challenges, and will support local wireless multiplayer. The game is set to ship this winter. - Screenshots, artwork.

A 60 minute trial of the PC version of the game is playable at Funsta.com.

Following last month's Games Convention in Leipzig, a panel of judges representing the event has announced the games comprising the "Best of GC 2006." This year's awards chose one game each from the PlayStation home consoles, Xbox home consoles, Nintendo DS, PSP, and PC. The winners are as follows:

- PlayStation: Relentless' Buzz! Junior Jungle Party (PS2)
- Xbox: Capcom's Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (X360)
- Nintendo DS: Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
- PSP: Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 6
- PC: Maxis' Spore

Capcom today sent out a press release commenting on its win for its sci-fi action title Lost Planet. "With more than 180,000 people in attendance, the Leipzig Games Convention provided a great opportunity for gamers to experience Lost Planet’s gripping single player campaign and multiplayer modes," said Capcom marketing VP Charles Bellfield. "We are extremely pleased to have won the Best Xbox 360 Game award as it is a testament to its unrivalled gameplay experience."

Activision today announced that Infinity Ward's Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty 2, which was the best selling Xbox 360 launch title and continues to be its highest selling game, has become the first Xbox 360 game to reach one million sales at United States retail. "We are proud that Call of Duty 2 is the first title to sell over one million units on the Xbox 360 in the U.S." said Activision executive VP Robin Kaminsky. "Activision has made a strong commitment to develop leading franchises for the next-generation consoles and we look forward to continuing that successful strategy with our titles launching on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and the Wii this fall."

IGN has an absolutely massive interview on EA Canada's Wii version of EA Tiburon's Madden NFL 07. Producer Jason Armenise speaks about the game's control scheme as well as numerous other features unique to the Wii version.

We've got an interview with Activision producer Matthew Paul, speaking about Raven Software's Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (PS2, Xbox, GCN, PS3, X360, Wii, NDS, PSP, GBA, PC).

This week, Microsoft made headlines when it declared that it had secured a year of next generation exclusivity for major upcoming soccer titles FIFA 07 from Electronic Arts and Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 6 from Konami. "I'm really pleased to be able to announce today that Pro Evolution Soccer 6 will be an Xbox 360 next-generation exclusive for the next twelve month," said Xbox Europe head Chris Lewis during its Games Convention press conference. "I'm also really happy to be able to announce that FIFA 07 will also be a next-gen exclusive on Xbox 360 for the next twelve months. So, whether you prefer FIFA 07 or Pro Evolution Soccer 6, as a football fan you need look no further than Xbox 360 because you won't be able to get them on any other next generation platform. Xbox 360 owns football." Microsoft later issued a press release confirming the news.

However, speaking to 1UP today, Konami's Winning Eleven creator and producer Shingo "Seabass" Takatsuka stated that Konami has no such agreement with Microsoft, and that apparently Microsoft's announcement has "caused some issues" with Konami, which has for many years enjoyed a strong relationship with Sony. "The presentation was misleading," he said, referring to Microsoft's press conference. "We never said exclusive for one year on the next-gen platforms. We said this year. We were agreed that it was this year." Apparently, the reason Konami will not be launching the PS3 version of Pro Evolution Soccer 6 alongside its Xbox 360 version is simply that the game is not far enough along. Though it will definitely not ship in calendar year 2006, it may be released next spring.

1UP goes on to claim that, according to unspecified sources, EA's FIFA 07 may also not be next-gen exclusive to Xbox 360 for Microsoft's promised twelve months.

Buried at the end of a hands on preview of Toys for Bob's Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam (Wii) (which we also previewed), IGN has a rather discouraging rumor regarding third party support for Nintendo's upcoming online service for Wii. "IGN has separately learned from multiple development sources that Nintendo will not release Wii Wi-Fi Connection libraries until early 2007," reads the preview, "which means that no third party launch title will have an online mode." This runs contrary to previous indications that Ubisoft's Red Steel would have an online multiplayer mode, but to date it is true that no third party publisher has explicitly detailed online plans for Wii launch games.

If this rumor is true, it may be that Nintendo's online multiplayer solution for Wii is not yet developed enough for widespread distribution to third parties, which may bode ill for the initial state of the service. Nintendo had not responded to Shacknews' inquiries as of press time.

Back in June, word leaked out of a retail collection of Xbox Live Arcade games for Xbox 360, dubbed Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged Volume 1. Today, Microsoft has officially announced that collection. It will consist of six currently available Xbox Live Arcade games:

- Bizarre Creations' Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
- Reflexive Entertainment's Wik: Fable of Souls
- NinjaBee's Outpost Kaloki X
- PopCap's Bejeweled 2 Deluxe
- Silver Creek's Hardwood Backgammon
- TikGame's Texas Hold 'em

It will also come with a free one-month trial to Xbox Live Gold, as well as demos of Carbonated Games' UNO, GarageGames' Marble Blast Ultra, and Sprout Games' Feeding Frenzy. The package will be available worldwide on September 5, 2006, with retail price in the US of $39.99.

Namco Bandai today announced the official subtitle for its upcoming PlayStation 3 game based on the Gundam mecha franchise, which the company revealed earlier this month. Now known as Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire, the game is in development by Bandai Entertainment Company. - Screenshots.

BEC's Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire is set to ship for PlayStation 3 later this year.

Vivendi today announced a the official release date for Radical Entertainment's Scarface: The World is Yours. The game will ship for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC on October 8, 2006. PS2 owners will have the choice of standard packaging or a special Collector's Edition of the game, which includes a DVD with a "Making of the Game" documentary, interviews, a map of the game world, concept art, and a walkthrough with commentary, packaged in a metal case. The standard PS2 and Xbox versions of the game will retail for $49.99, PC for $39.99, and Collector's Edition for $59.99. - Interview, screenshots.

LucasArts has announced that the official website for Traveller's Tales LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (PS2, Xbox, GCN, X360, NDS, PSP, GBA, PC) has gone live, featuring character and enemy profiles, wallpapers, screensavers, and other game-related content.

Electronic Arts today announced the official website for developer Criterion Games, the studio behind Black (PS2, Xbox) and the Burnout franchise. The site includes interviews with development personnel as well as a Mailbag feature allowing gamers to ask questions of Criterion staff members.

Leipzig Games Convention coverage continues from sites such as GameSpot, IGN, 1UP, Pro-G, and HEXUS.

Some gamers have been hoping for, or in other cases assuming the existence of, an upcoming Xbox 360 price drop later this year, presumably to combat PS3's launch this holiday season. According to the Microsoft marketing employee-run Gamerscore Blog, however, those gamers will have to keep on hoping, because no such price drop is planned this fall. The news should come as little surprise, given the existing $200 average gap between the various models of Xbox 360 and PS3, as well as remarks by Microsoft's Peter Moore last month that Xbox 360 got its price cut when Sony announced its system's price point at E3.

Fans of Nippon Ichi's well received RPG Disgaea: Hour of Darkness (PS2) looking forward to the upcoming Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories (PS2) may have another title to anticipate soon. Speaking to RPGLAND, Nippon Ichi producer Souhei Niikawa addressed questions as to whether positive sales of Disgaea 2 would prompt the company to keep the series going. "Sales number always helps for sequels," he said, "but we have no intent on ending this series just yet, so you can count on part 3."

No potential platforms were cited, though a recent interview with Nippon Ichi marketing coordinator Jack Niida suggests that the company has at least one new game in the works for PS2 and PS3, and is considering various other platforms for development.

A retail box shot has surfaced, depicting what seems to be a physical collection of Xbox 360 Live Arcade games. Entitled Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged Volume 1, it provides "all the fun of Arcade without using Xbox Live or an online connection"--though it still includes a month of Xbox Live Gold, just in case.

As far as what games are included, Bizarre Creations' Geometry Wars gets top billing, but screenshots of several other games are shown as well: Reflexive Entertainment's Wik: The Fable of Souls, PopCap's Bejeweled 2 Deluxe, NinjaBee's Outpost Kaloki X, Silver Creek's Hardwood Backgammon, and TikGames' upcoming Texas Hold'em Poker.

According to a GameStop product page, the package will sell for $39.99 and will be released October 2 of this year, though that information is unconfirmed.

According to a blog entry from Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, Xbox Live will be taken down for maintenance tomorrow between the hours of 2:00 am and 6:00 am Pacific time (-8 GMT). "My Xbox" services on Xbox.com will also be unavailable. Apparently, the service interruption is for routine server upkeep; no new functionality or content will be added.

Following Square Enix's acquisition of fellow developer/publisher Taito last year, the parent company has announced upcoming management changes to its new subsidiary. According to a GameSpot translation of a report from Impress Watch, Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada will be assuming the role of Taito CEO while also retaining his existing title. Current Taito CEO Yasuo Nishigaki will become Taito's chairman of the board of the directors.

According to THQ's official site for Volition's Saint's Row (X360), a playable demo for the GTA-esque action title will be released later this year. It will be included in the August issue of Official Xbox Magazine and will also be downloadable via Xbox Live on August 1, four weeks before the full game's release on August 29.

In a fuller translation of yesterday's Impress Watch interview with Sony Computer Entertainment head Ken Kutaragi, additional comments going beyond the PS3's planned die shrink were revealed. Kutaragi spoke on his desire to see the Cell processor, which currently powers PS3, used in a variety of other products. While Cell processors for PS3 contain eight cores, seven of which are active, Kutaragi noted that fewer cores could be used in other applications, which he believes are far reaching. "We have to computerize home electronics," he said. "Currently this is not the case. This is the real problem." As an example, he pointed to televisions. "As a terminal, consider the flatscreen televisions in ordinary households. If you turn all these televisions into computers, the potential broadens greatly," said Kutaragi, adding, "One wrong move, and Intel and [Steve] Jobs will walk off with everything."

Back on the subject of video games, Kutaragi pointed to Sony's success in gaming. "We're kind of the stepson of the industry... But that's why people find us so interesting," he said. "The world would be a cold place indeed without the PlayStation." Fittingly, Kutaragi also spoke on the considerable cooling demands of the system, noting that power consumption is one factor that will have to be improved before PS3 can be "cheap and small." According to Kutaragi, the console will use standard cooling methods rather than proprietary ones. Still, it is a costly solution. "We're spending a lot on heat and electromagnetic interference [management]. The power supply could almost be sold separately," he said.

Double Fine's award-winning Psychonauts, created by Full Throttle (PC) and Grim Fandango (PC) designer Tim Schafer, was released last year on Xbox, PlayStation 2, and PC. However, the game started development as a Microsoft first party Xbox exclusive before being dropped and then later picked up and released by Majesco. Now, Schafer is calling on his former publisher to add the game to Xbox 360's backwards compatibility list, after yesterday's update did not contain the game.

"You know, if it would help, we'd be willing to fly all our engineers up to Seattle, and they'd do all the programming!" wrote Schafer on his company's Double Fine Action News. "Or, they could just tell you exactly how our engine works, and we could probably get it running on the 360 in just a few hours!" Microsoft maintains an internal team which creates backwards compatibility code, and the company's stated policy is to work independently of the developers of the Xbox games in question.

Schafer also made a request to gamers:

"I want you to get up. I want you to walk over to your window right now. I want you to open your window up, and then I want you to stick your head out, and then I want you to take in a nice breath of fresh air, and then I want you to close that window and walk back to your computer and click on this link and send Microsoft a heartfelt message. Something to the effect of, 'I am a 9-year-old boy in the hospital, dying of consumption, and my last wish is to play Psychonauts on my XBOX 360!' (Please, try to make up your own disease.)"

Sponsored by Best Buy and facilitated by the Global Gaming League, Activision will be holding an online Call of Duty 2 tournament through Xbox 360's Xbox Live. Infinity Ward's World War II shooter sequel is currently the most played Xbox 360 online multiplayer title, and was the system's best selling game at launch. Up to 512 teams of four each will be accepted; players can register as a team or individually to be placed in a team later. Entrants must own a copy of Call of Duty 2, be at least 18 years of age, and be Xbox Live Gold subscribers.

To sign up, head over to the tournament's official site. Registration ends June 16. The single-elimination tournament will run from June 21 to June 23.

Atari has announced that applications are being accepted for a closed public beta test on the PlayStation 2 version of Eden Games' Test Drive Unlimited (PS2, X360, PSP, PC). Gamers accepted to the beta program will be required to sign non-disclosure agreements. To participate, a PlayStation 2 with a network adapter, or a Slim PS2 with included network adapter, is required.

To apply for the beta test, head over to Atari's official site. For impressions on the Xbox 360 version of the game, check out Shacknews' preview.

Following DS Lite's official release in North America this Sunday, Nintendo has released early sales figures for the hardware. In its first two days in retail, the console sold over 136,500 units, which Nintendo claims is on track with the launch numbers for the original Nintendo DS, and a 12% increase over early sales for 2003's redesigned Game Boy Advance SP.

On the software front, flagship title New Super Mario Bros. doubled in sales over the previous week, and Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day tripled in sales over the previous week. Specific sales figures for the games were not given, though they were the #1 and #3 best selling console games in the month of May.

Game Informer has a video interview with publisher RedOctane's John Tam, speaking on Harmonix's upcoming Guitar Hero II (PS2).

GameSpot takes a look at Xbox 360's Backwards Compatibility.

Nintendo still seems to really get a kick out of jumping out of nowhere and announcing crazy stuff at keynotes and random press conferences. Anyway, in that vein, the company has just wrapped up a press conference at which several upcoming DS games and peripherals were detailed. The Advanced Media Network has coverage of the event. A more complete writeup will go up in LNC tomorrow, but in short:

- A DS web browser from Opera is in the works
- A digital TV tuner for DS; since this operates on an upcoming mobile TV broadcast service in Japan, it is unknown whether a similar product will come out elsewhere
- Winning Eleven 9 for DS will use Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection
- Children of Mana and Xenosaga I+II movies were shown
- New Super Mario Bros. will launch in Japan in May

Developer Monolith had a good year in 2005, with the release of two well-received horror-tinged first person titles: F.E.A.R. for PC and Condemned for Xbox 360. Condemned publisher Sega recently confirmed that game's upcoming translation to PCs. Now, a rumor in the latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly suggests that F.E.A.R. might be making a leap in the opposite direction, getting an Xbox 360 port some time within this year.

The rumor seems largely speculative, and publisher Vivendi isn't talking, but it seems like a good fit. F.E.A.R. was a hit with both critics and gamers, and Monolith has experience shipping games on both platforms. In more general terms, the Xbox and now the Xbox 360 seem to be the console of choice for traditionally PC-focused developers. So while it's certainly not official, don't be surprised if it happens.

Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GCN), in true Zelda tradition, was delayed last year from its holiday season release period to some time in the second quarter of 2006. Yesterday, gaming blog Kotaku reported that Best Buy had switched its release date for the game to November 2006. This fit in nicely with recent comments by Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime suggesting that the game might hypothetically benefit from taking advantage of the Revolution's unique controller when played with that system's GameCube backwards compatibility.

I contacted representatives from EB Games and GameStop, both of whom stated that their release dates remain at the previously estimated June 1; they have not received any memos suggesting otherwise. I was unable to speak to an official representative of Best Buy, but information obtained from the company's retail employees and website was changed to reflect an April 1 release date. For Nintendo's part, the official answer was, "We've been monitoring all the rumors and unfortunately cannot confirm anything except it will be out this year."

Of course, with that rumor came the resurgence of rumors that the game has been switched to a Revolution title. While it's certainly possible that Nintendo is integrating Revolution functionality in the game and may try to position it in such a way that it helps drive Revolution sales, a number of Nintendo executives both from Japan and the United States have stated that the game will in fact ship on GameCube. When that happens is anybody's guess.

Last September, Kuju Entertainment creative director Tancred Dyke-Wells strongly hinted in an interview that the company's Nintendo-published title Battalion Wars (GCN) might very well receive a multiplayer-enabled sequel on Nintendo's upcoming Revolution. Today, Idle Thumbs reported news from "a reliable source" that Kuju is indeed working on a title for Revolution. I'd be rather surprised if it turns out to be anything but Battalion Wars, quite frankly.

Update: As one might expect, Nintendo has given a neutral response to this rumor: "At this time I have no confirmation of Kuju working on a Revolution sequel to Battalion Wars. This is not to say they are or they aren't, we just cannot confirm or announce either at this time."

Hideo Kojima's slightly lesser known game franchise, the Boktai series of games for Game Boy Advance, will be making the transition over to DS according to translated reports of Japanese publication Koro Koro Comic. The two GBA titles, which shipped in 2003 and 2004 to positive critical response, were notorious for their gameplay-affecting built-in solar sensors. Perhaps due to this rather inconvenient feature, the next entry in the Boktai line will eschew using natural light in favor of a graphical sun displayed on the top screen of the DS. Much like in Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS), the sun will operate based on the machine's internal clock. It will also be affected by random elements such as cloud formations and rain.

You may remember Datel announcing its 4GB hard drive for Sony's PSP. After the device's launch, it seems Datel wasted no time in getting caught up to the other new handheld. The company has just revealed a 4GB hard drive for Nintendo DS. It seems essentially the same as its PSP counterpart (except for form factor obviously), but also includes media player software since the DS doesn't have that capability built in. Like the PSP hard drive, it's a bit pricey. Import site Lik Sang has the device currently on preorder for $179.00, a price promised to have been confirmed by Datel.

Xbox 360 owners have some more Xbox Live Marketplace content available this week. The main entry is a demo for Ubisoft's Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie, weighing in at 575MB. Since its release, many gamers have reported a variety of bugs that were not present in the Xbox 360 in-store kiosk demo of the game. These complaints were relayed to the Marketplace team by Xbox Live's Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb, though it is not yet known what action will be taken.

The other Live updates add extra content related to existing titles. Stainless Games' recently released revamp of the classic shooter Crystal Quest has a variety of visual and auditory modifications available for 100 points ($1.25) each. EA Chicago's upcoming Fight Night Round 3, PopCap's Bejeweled 2 Deluxe, and Microsoft's Hexic HD each now have several themes and pictures available for purchase at varying prices.

1UP puts the Xbox 360's parental control features through their paces.

This Composing With Electroplankton guide makes me want to bust out my copy of the game again.

After constantly giving the vague release date of "2006" for its upcoming Revolution console, Nintendo has finally given a slightly more defined release target: "by Thanksgiving" in the US. "We have no plans to miss out on the year-end sales battle," said company president Satoru Iwata, speaking to Japanese publication Sankei Shinbun. "As for North America, we need to release it by Thanksgiving, or otherwise we won't receive support from the retail industry. So the Revolution will be released prior to that period." Iwata also noted that it would be impossible to sell the Revolution for a price of upwards of 50,000 yen (~$433). In case that upper limit sounds a bit worrying, Nintendo marketing man Reggie Fils-Aime once again confirmed today that the system will sell for less than $300.

In their respective interviews, both Iwata and Fils-Aime confirmed that Revolution would be present in playable form at E3. Fils-Aime said that the company will be showing "a lot of titles" at the expo, including the games from the system's launch lineup.

For many Xbox 360 owners, the best thing about their expensive next-gen console, whether they admit it or not, is Xbox Live Arcade. It sure is for me. And I don't mean that as a veiled slam to the rest of the console, it's just that Live Arcade does exactly what it needs to do: present a bunch of really fun games for only a few dollars each. After spending those hundreds of dollars, your wallet thanks you when only having to shell out $5 or $10 for untold hours of gameplay.

It seems that there are many, many gamers who agree. Live Arcade group manager Greg Canessa said to MTV News that Bizarre Creations' "'Geometry Wars' has been our 'Halo.'" While that's perhaps a bit exaggerated, the game has done incredibly well, racking up 200,000 downloads and 45,000 purchases Not bad considering that at its roots, the game stems from decades-old gameplay principles.

IGN has the top 10 selling Live Arcade games, and of course Geometry Wars tops the list. It's followed by Gauntlet, Smash TV, Bejeweled II, Zuma, Bankshot Billiards, Outpost Kaloki, Mutant Storm Reloaded, Joust, and Wik: Fable of Souls, demonstrating a healthy blend of arcade classics and current casual and independent games.

Many sites today reported on what was apparently an official Sony announcement of first party launch titles for PS3, including The Eye of Judgment, Genji 2, Angel Rings, Monster Carnival, a Hot Shots Golf game, and, most notably, a new Gran Turismo game. However, more competent translations of the page later determined that these are by no means launch titles; each has a shipping date of "undecided," and furthermore these games have already all been announced, meaning that there really isn't any new information of any kind on the page at all. It'll be some time before we get a solid lineup, given the console has still yet to be fully unveiled.

The official Game Developers Conference website has been updated to include two sessions held by Nintendo speakers. The first, a lecture given by Animal Crossing series director Katsuya Eguchi, will focus on transforming a console franchise to fit a portable platform, while touching on the DS' particular input methods and the online component of Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS).

Much more relevant to gamers in general, however, will be Takao Ohara's talk on Nitnendo's Wi-Fi Connection online service for the DS. He will discuss the successes and failures of the project, and most importantly he will discuss what can be done with the company's implementation of the service on Revolution, and how the lessons learned from the DS implementation will affect it.

There is not yet any indication that any Nintendo executives will present a keynote address at this year's event. At GDC 2005, company president Satoru Iwata delivered a keynote entitled "Heart of a Gamer," in which he discusses his and Nintendo's philosophies with respect to gaming, and also shed some light on the company's then-even-more-mysterious Revolution.

Geez, we don't hear anything about Revolution for ages, then occasionally we get these news days when there's nothing but Nintendo news and speculation. Minoru Nakai, producer on the upcoming Resident Evil: Deadly Silence (DS), spoke about the possibility of the Resident Evil franchise on Revolution. Capcom has still given no indication that Resident Evil 5 (PS3, X360) will ship for Nintendo's upcoming machine, and Nakai indicates that the Revolution's unique controller demands a type of gameplay more tuned to it. Certainly, the deliberately and successfully restrictive controls of Resident Evil 4 (PS2, GCN) would seem a bit at odds with the deliberately freeform nature of the Revolution controller. Nakai wants to first make a non-Resident Evil game for Revolution before bringing that franchise to the console.

Following up on yesterday's news that EA's The Godfather (PS2, Xbox, X360, PSP, PC) would be hitting stores in March on PS2, Xbox, and PC, IGN has confirmed that the little-mentioned Xbox 360 and PSP versions are still in fact in development. They will hopefully be launching some time in the late summer, according to an EA representative, but a more specific date was not given.

Gamasutra's audience speculates on what company might be able to bring a third successful handheld gaming console to market.

GameSpot has a designer diary for SCEA's Pursuit Force (PSP).

1UP lets you know what you can do with your 360 power brick. Don't feel like you need to click on that or anything, I'm just sayin'.

Speaking to Reuters today, Microsoft co-founder and chairman Bill Gates confirmed that regardless of whether the Xbox 360 achieves the number one market share position in the video game world, a title currently held by Sony, Microsoft is in the gaming business for the long term, noting that "we learned a lot in the first round." Indeed, toppling Sony from its peak is a formidable goal, given that the company currently holds a massive 70% of the console market.

"In terms of how we've balanced technology in the machine, we feel certain we've done a better job than Sony," Gates said. "You won't really know that until a year from now, when people are talking about how the games on our machines compare to the games on Sony's machines." It's probably worth noting that a year from now, Xbox 360 developers will have had a year's worth more time acclimating themselves with the development environment of the 360 than PS3 developers will have had with their machine--assuming, of course, the PS3 ships during 2006 and not 2007 as some have speculated.

In its bid to break into the gaming world, Microsoft's home and entertainment division has famously spent almost $5 billion on the Xbox, and though revenues are growing the group is still posting losses. Of course, Microsoft can afford to be less thrifty than its major competitors--most divisions of Sony (with one notable exception being its PlayStation family) are losing money, and Nintendo is purely a gaming company, without other divisions to fall back on. However, Gates said that, "It's not about spending at this point," rather it is about the games. After his notorious May declaration that PS3's launch would be combatted with the anticipated but unconfirmed Halo 3, however, he now declines to name a specific killer app.

Microsoft's official Xbox 360 launch party, Zero Hour, is currently in full swing in Palmdale, California. The event houses a few thousand gamers who are getting the chance to try out the Xbox 360 launch titles as well as a few anticipated upcoming games. GameSpot is reporting from the event, mainly describing the entrance procedure and look of the event. Gamers received free Xbox 360 memory cards, and some received free Xbox Live Gold subscription cards. Most notably, they will also get the chance to purchase an Xbox 360 a little early, when the Best Buy representatives in attendance put the consoles on sale at 9:00 PM PST.

Next Generation is also present at the event, giving a look at gamers' reactions to actual games. Interestingly, Next Generation found reactions to launch titles such as Perfect Dark Zero (X360), Project Gotham Racing (X360), and Kameo: Elements of Power (X360) to be on the whole less than jubilant. It was the upcoming titles that seemed to impress showgoers the most. Epic's Gears of War (X360), which has become Microsoft's next-gen flagship and designer CliffyB its next-gen poster boy, drew the biggest crowd. Q Entertainment's Dynasty Warriors-esque Ninety Nine Nights (X360) also received quite positive feedback from those who tried it out. Next Generation also notes that Final Fantasy XI (PS2, X360, PC) drew a bit of a crowd, possibly due to the novelty of Square Enix's MMO appearing on the 360.

"Xbox Vice President and Chief XNA Architect J Allard is so stoked about the launch of Xbox 360, we can't get him to put down the controller!" Well, he might put it down long enough to go biking in an extreme fashion, as evidenced by the photograph on the page from which that quote is sourced. But not tomorrow! Tomorrow, Xbox Vice President and Chief XNA Architect J Allard will be playing Bizarre's Project Gotham Racing 3 (X360) and Rare's Perfect Dark Zero (X360) all day long, and if you happen to be placed into a random game with HiroProtagonist, that means you're playing with XVP&CXAJA himself! Should this occur and your trembling fingers become fit enough to type, send an email to xlmail@microsoft.com with the subject "GWF J Allard" and proudly proclaim that you played with the one and only Architect, upon which I have it on good authority that you will win "some very exclusive schwag."

Gamasutra reports that Rockstar Games will be opening up a new game development studio in London, where the company already maintains offices. The new dev house will almost assuredly be called Rockstar London, in the tradition of Rockstar San Diego (Midnight Club), Rockstar Toronto (The Warriors), Rockstar Vancouver (Bully), Rockstar Vienna (Rockstar's Xbox ports), Rockstar Leeds (GTA: Liberty City Stories), and of course Rockstar North (GTA proper). No details on any current projects for the new studio have been released.

Infinium Labs, home of the ever elusive yet doggedly persistent Phantom console, has announced that recent CEO appointee Kevin Bachus has left Infinium to pursue other directions. Bachus is mainly known in the gaming world for being on Microsoft's original Xbox team, helping to bring the machine to market. It was somewhat of a surprise when he signed on with Infinium, a company coming rather frequently under fire for possibly not even existing. Bachus joined in December 2003 as president and COO, and was named CEO this past August. Replacing Bachus is, fittingly enough, a former executive from Microsoft's biggest competitor in the gaming world. Greg Koler, a founding exec of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and until now head of Infinium's European division, will inherit Bachus' recently vacated position.

The oft-delayed Phantom Gaming Services is currently slated to launch in mid-2006, which if true may ensure it faces some stiff competition from Sony and Nintendo, both of whom plan to launch their next generation consoles in mid to late 2006.

Following a bidding war last week, Dimension Films has obtained the distribution license for the Dead or Alive film adaptation. The movie, being directed by noted action choreographer Corey Yuen, is currently in post-production and slated to hit North American theatres in Fall 2006. Yuen has worked on many Hong Kong action pictures as an actor, choreographer, and director, and is best known to Western audiences for his contributions to The Transporter and its sequel, X-Men, Romeo Must Die, and Lethal Weapon 4. The film features Devon Aoki (Sin City), Derek Boyer in his first role that's not Himself in TV special World's Strongest Man, Sara Carter (Final Destination 2), Jaime Pressly (The Karate Dog), Collin Chou (The Matrix Reloaded/Revolutions), Robin Shou (Mortal Kombat), Steve Howey (Reba), Kane Kosugi (Street Fighter Alpha), and others.

GameSpot spends some time with Microsoft's Peter Moore regarding the Xbox 360 launch.

Update: 1UP is currently reporting that this story is "inaccurate;" though details as to how inaccurate have not yet been stated.

Speaking to Reuters, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada stated yesterday that his company is considering taking its bestselling Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior franchises to Xbox 360 as well as the obvious PlayStation 3. "We plan on solidifying our plans by E3 to offer both on the PS3 and Xbox 360, or place both on just one," Wada said, indicating that either both go, or neither go. Square Enix has released current-gen spinoff titles of both series on Nintendo systems, with Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles on GameCube and the Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest games on GBA and Nintendo DS, but to pursue a dual-platform strategy for the main entries in the series would be a major announcement and certainly wouldn't be great news for Sony in the upcoming generation, at least in North America and Europe where the Xbox 360 poses more of a threat than it does in the company's native Japan.

Following up on its full game launch list released yesterday, Microsoft has now released a list of Xbox Live Marketplace content available for the launch of the Xbox 360. Some content is free, and the rest is purchased with Microsoft Points, which are themselves bought at a rate of $19.99 for a 1600 point card; the exchange works out to about $.0125 cents a point. Each launch title will have a free downloadable trailer and some, such as FIFA Soccer 06, King Kong, and Quake 4, will have a free demo available as well. Though the Xbox 360 comes with a few different gamer pictures (avatars) from which to choose, the Marketplace offers gamer pictures themed around specific games; these go for 20 points each ($.25). Gamer pictures for Madden and FIFA are about three times the price of other pictures, presumably due to licensing fees to the players or their respective leagues. Themes, which affect the look of the machine's overall interface, will sell for 150 points ($1.88).

Far more interesting is the information about the available Xbox Live Arcade games, which are of course playable over Xbox Live. These include classics like Gauntlet, Smash TV, and Joust for 400 points ($5), as well as newer games such as Bejeweled 2, Zuma, and Wik: Fable of Souls for 800 points ($10).

Storing Xbox Live Arcade content will be most convenient with the system's optional hard drive, but it can also be downloaded to memory cards.

If you've been keeping up with the next-gen rumor mill lately, you might be aware that The Internet has stumbled upon a five-year-old Sony patent which details a technology by which a game disc would register itself to be played only on one specific console. The implications of this are that PS3 games would not be rentable (at least not without special discs from Sony) nor would players be able to swap or lend games.

Today, a representative from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe confirmed that the technology would not in fact be used in the PS3. "I would like to clarify that this is false speculation and that PlayStation 3 software will not be copy protected to a single machine but will be playable on any PlayStation 3 console," stated the rep. So there you go. Invasive rootkits notwithstanding, you'll still be able to rent PS3 games.

European online retailers have been claiming recently that Sony has been deliberately undermining their sales by giving deep discounts to physical stores. The company, along with fellow electronics firms Panasonic, Sharp, Phillips, and Hitachi, is currently under investigation by the UK's Office of Fair Trade regarding a "complaint," though the OFT refused to elaborate. When questioned regarding the matter, a Sony representative essentially confirmed the accusation, stating: "Sony has a discount scheme that provides discounts for resellers that invest in building the Sony brand and marketing Sony products in a way that provides the consumer with confidence in the Sony products' quality, features and support." Read into that as you will.

Sony maintains that "This type of incentive for services provided by resellers is lawful under EU and UK law," but an EU Commission spokesperson disagrees, saying "Such schemes are illegal or should be."

Volvo--yes, the auto manufacturer--is developing (or, more likely, paying Climax to develop) a Volvo-theme racing game for Xbox. In stark contrast to certain modern racers, the game encourages safe driving, avoiding other vehicles, and also features various training exercises. The game essentially serves as a marketing vehicle (get it?!) for Volvo, and according to Eurogamer's news report on the subject, Microsoft plans to release more such "advergames" on both iterations of its Xbox console line.

As it is selling its Xbox 360 titles for the now standard next-gen MSRP of $59.99, EA has announced that a couple of its current-gen games are dropping a bit. Criterion's Burnout Revenge (PS2, Xbox) and EA Sports' NASCAR 06: Total Team Control (PS2, Xbox) will each receive a new $39.99 price tag, down from $49.99. It is expected that the current-gen versions of EA Tiburon's Madden 06 (PS2, Xbox, GCN) will also drop soon.

Next Generation takes a look at each of the Xbox 360 launch titles with an analytical eye, predicting how each will perform at retail.

GameSpot has an interview with Tim Tschirner, producer on EA Canada's NBA Live 06 (PS2, Xbox, GCN, X360, PSP, PC), and an interview with Danny Isaac, producer on EA Sports' FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup (PS2, Xbox, GCN, X360, DS, PSP, GBA, PC).

Game Informer spends 24 Hours with the Xbox 360.

You may have heard about the challenge issued by fanatical anti-game activisist Jack Thompson, who dared the games industry to create a game in which a raging vigilante goes on a killing spree, murdering the employees and management of the only slightly fictitious game publisher "Take This." Were a game company to develop, publish, and distribute such a game, Thompson claimed he would donate $10,000 to the favorite charity of the real company Take Two's real CEO Paul Eibeler. Well, when the Penny Arcade guys found out about this, PA's Mike Krahulik (Gabe) felt he should let Thompson know that the comic's Child's Play charity has already donated over $500,000 to benefit hospitalized children around the country. Thompson responded in turn: he called Krahulik on the phone and "screamed at me for a couple minutes."

Well, the situation reached new levels of hilarity today, as Dr. David Walsh of America's National Institute on Media and the Family has told Thompson to leave his organization alone and stop trying to claim false associations. In an open letter to the the games industry and to politicians, Walsh revealed that despite Thompson constantly claiming to be cooperating with the institute, the institute has no relationship with Thompson, and in fact is offended by his publically outrageous and offensive techniques. In addressing Thompson, Walsh's letter states:

"Over the past few months, I and members of my board have a growing concern that your use of our name, without our permission, has had a negative influence as we try to educate the public on this important issue. Your commentary has included extreme hyperbole and your tactics have included personally attacking individuals for whom I have a great deal of respect... Some of the people that you have publicly criticised are not only people of integrity, but are people who have worked to improve the lives of children."

Walsh continues to say that he and his organization do not "condone these tactics," and he demands that Thompson "cease using the institute's or my name in any way that would give the impression that we support your efforts." He even wants his organization's link off of Thompson's site.

Thompson just responded, with an accusatory and conspiratorial link that is tenuous at best and laughable otherwise:

"Dr. Walsh's efforts are funded by Target and by a foundation run by Best Buy lawyer and Best Buy Director Elliot Kaplan. This was revealed in a recent article about Dr. Walsh in the Pioneer Press... I am suing Target and Best Buy over [Rockstar's] Bully game, which both Target and Best Buy are pre-selling. You connect the dots."

Very incisive. Thompson goes on to accuse Walsh's open letter is an attempt to "protect his relationship with portions of the video game industry and its reckless retail network." After years of criticizing an entire industry for supposedly being overly violent, unreasonable, and petty, it's nice to see Thompson taking some of what he so routinely dishes out.

Microsoft announced today plans to more fully integrate Xbox 360 with Windows. The company's update, which will only be available for Windows XP Media Center Edition users, will give the console such features as the ability to stream media files from the PC, including HD content. The Windows software, helpfully titled Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, will allow management of up to 200 movies, have new DVD burning functionality, and add support for external HDTV tuners. Media Center Edition users who wish to download the update may do so for free from Microsoft's Windows Update site.

Microsoft plans to ship Xbox 360 consoles compatible with the technology "later in the year," though it was not specified whether that implies that the first batch of machines will support it out of the box.

It looks like Neversoft's upcoming western GUN (PS2, Xbox, GCN, X360) has jumped on board the alternate reality game (ARG) craze, a tactic that is becoming more and more popular lately in the marketing of upcoming games and game industry announcements. Gamasutra reports that the recently-launched Last Call Poker may very well have been created for the purpose of promoting GUN. Last Call Poker, while at first glance appearing to be a fairly straightforward gambling site, is upon closer inspection riddled with hidden clues and puzzles suggesting that it is the launching point of an ARG. Of course, some clues are a little more obvious. The front page contains an inconspicious anonymous plea for players to help save his niece from being murdered. In addition, watching the static (at first) header on the page eventually reveals the flashed text, "If you're reading this, I'm already dead." So, probably not just a poker site then.

Microsoft has already announced that Alexey Pajitnov's puzzle game Hexic will ship on the Xbox 360 hard drive, and that GarageGames' Marble Blast Ultra will be available over the Xbox Live Arcade service for 360, but today they revealed a full list of the first wave of games that will be available the Live Arcade service. The list contains 21 games to be released in the "launch window" of the upcoming console, which is considered to be from the release date until the "holiday season." It lists several card games and puzzle games, including popular titles such as Popcap's Bejeweled 2, as well as classics like Midway's Joust and SmashTV. Each game will have a free downloadable demo available. Microsoft expects about 35 more games to launch by next summer.

Those of you who own an Xbox copy of The Behemoth's gloriously frenetic old-school throwback shooter Alien Hominid (PS2, Xbox, GCN) will have a few downloads available for the game through Xbox Live. The level packs are additions to the PDA-style minigames, rather than the main component proper, but extra content is extra content. The two new games are called "Chicken Pack" and "Ultra Hyper Load", each with 25 levels. Zoo Digital, the game's publisher in Europe, claims more content will be available early next year.

There's just one catch: the Xbox version of the game didn't make it to North America, which got the PS2 and GameCube verions, so this announcement should only affect our European friends.

Microsoft has Designer Diary #1 for Bizarre Creations' Project Gotham Racing 3 (X360).

Gamasutra has a video lecture from Game Developers Conference, entitled "Recreating the LAN Party Online: The Networking and Social Infrastructure of Halo 2." Bungie's Chris Butcher shares his experience. (free reg. required)