During its Gamefest event, which had its second and final day today, Microsoft's Marketplace business manager Rohan Oommen gave a presentation entitled "Xbox Live Marketplace: Future of Digital Distribution." The presentation outlined a number of statistics pointing to the success of Xbox Live Marketplace, including that 75% of Xbox Live users have downloaded content at an average of over 20 items each, making for a total of over 40 million downloads so far. Xbox Live Arcade has been successful as well, with 65% of Live users downloading content with a demo-to-full version conversion rate of 22%. By contrast, conversion rates for PC casual gaming are more in the line of 1%. Interestingly, Microsoft has found that gamers seem to respond fairly well to a variety of Live Arcade price points; games priced at 800 points ($10) and 1200 points ($15) end up making more revenue than those priced at 400 points ($5). As far as extra in-game content, according to Oommen's presentation slides, "Gamers are hungry for Game Add-on content... [it's] not coming fast enough." This segment too appears to be fairly price insensitive, as there is a "core audience for each game that downloads all add-on content for that game."

One new initiative revealed in the presentation is "Consumables." Consumables are repurchasable in-game assets delivered via Xbox Live Marketplace. They may consist, for example, of in-game currency or better equipment for the player's character. The technology behind Consumables will be added to the fall version of the Xbox 360 SDK. According to 1UP, Microsoft also hopes to make this technology directly integrated within gameplay, meaning players would be able to spend real world money on in game items without even leaving the game in question and visiting the Xbox Live Marketplace.

HardOCP claims to have gotten a look at Microsoft's Xbox 360 roadmap, consisting of a few interesting bits of rumor. According to the site, the announced external HD-DVD drive for Xbox 360 will retail for around $200 and, as previously revealed, will not make use of HDMI. Other news outlets have also cited $200 as a likely launch price for the device. This is in line with reports coming from retailers earlier this year, indicating that Microsoft plans to make the combined price of an Xbox 360 and HD-DVD drive no more expensive than that of the higher-end PS3 model.

Despite the earlier lack of comment on the part of Too Human (X360) developer Silicon Knights or publisher Microsoft regarding rumors that the upcoming action game is no longer running on Epic's Unreal Engine 3, Silicon Knights president Denis Dyack has now addressed the matter directly. Dyack denied the allegations in a statement the company has delivered to the press:

"Although we do not usually comment on speculation, rumors of Silicon Knights completely scrapping the Unreal Engine 3 on Too Human and massive delays for the Too Human product release are false. Too Human is progressing very well and we expect that gamers will be extremely excited with Too Human when we next show it."

Too Human is slated for release in the first half of 2007.

Sega today announced that one of its "vintage brands" will be returning, though the company stopped short of revealing just which brand. Planet Moon, the studio behind Infected (PSP) and Armed & Dangerous (Xbox, PC), will be returning to Sony's portable console to handle development on this title. "SEGA's vast library of properties allows for unlimited possibilities in revitalizing fan-favorites on the PSP," said Planet Moon co-founder and CEO Bob Stevenson. "Our passion for Sega's classic brands combined with our extensive background in crafting original games will help us create a compelling new chapter in this fan-favorite franchise." Sega did not give any indication as to the release period for the game.

The publisher has two other recently announced retro revivals in the works as well. Totally Games, best known for the X-Wing and TIE Fighter franchises and more recently Secret Weapons Over Normandy (PS2, Xbox, PC), is working on a new version of an unrevealed Sega IP, and Secret Level (Final Fight: Streetwise) is heading up a new Golden Axe game for Xbox 360 and PS3.

Newly formed Toronto-based publisher Throwback Entertainment today announced that it has acquired the rights to a number of titles formerly owned by Acclaim, after the publisher's assets were put up for auction. Throwback's stated plans for the games, most of which hail from the PS2/Xbox/GameCube era but some of which date back to Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast, are to extend their franchises to the next generation of consoles. "We are very pleased to have been afforded the opportunity to take these titles through the next generation, and onwards," said Throwback in a statement. The company's website highlights the following acquired titles:

Z-Axis' Aggressive Inline (PS2, Xbox, GCN, GBA), Probe Entertainment's Extreme-G (N64) and Extreme-G 2 (N64, PC), Acclaim Studios Cheltenham's XGIII Extreme G Racing (PS2, GCN) and XGRA: Extreme-G Racing Association (PS2, Xbox, GCN), Bizarre Creations' Fur Fighters (DC, PC) and Fur Fighters: Viggo's Revenge (PS2), Acclaim Studios Manchester's Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance (PS2, Xbox, PC), Iguana Entertainment's Iggy's Reckin' Balls (N64), Acclaim Studios Salt Lake City's Legends of Wrestling (PS2, Xbox, GCN) and Legends of Wrestling II (PS2, Xbox, GCN) and Showdown: Legends of Wrestling (PS2, Xbox), Acclaim Studios Cheltenham's Summer Heat Beach Volleyball (PS2), Climax's SX Superstar (Xbox, GCN), and Acclaim Studios Austin's Vexx (PS2, Xbox, GCN).

Buried deeper in the company's site is a full list of acquired titles, which numbers a staggering 106. It includes such games as Re-Volt (PS1, N64, DC, PC), Alien Trilogy (SAT, PC), Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future (PS2), the Sega Saturn version of Myst, the PlayStation version of Riven: The Sequel to Myst, Wizards & Warriors (NES), Wizards & Warriors III (NES), and the SNES version of Populous. In most of these cases, it is likely that Throwback holds the publishing rights only, and would not be able to develop further franchise as is the plan with the aforementioned highlighted games. Re-Volt is one exception, it being an Acclaim-developed game.

In the Too Human (X360) blog maintained by developer Silicon Knights, studio director Denis Dyack indicated that the company still plans to make a sequel to its 2002 GameCube title Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem. "Although this may not be obvious to those outside of Silicon Knights, anyone inside the guild understands that there is really no other answer," wrote Dyack, referring to Eternal Darkness sequels. "When creating an original game we start by conceptualizing an entire universe."

Presumably, further games would be developed for a Nintendo system, be it Wii or a successor, as Nintendo owns the rights to the Eternal Darkness property. However, it will likely be some time before that occurs; Silicon Knights is currently working on its long in development Too Human trilogy, the first game of which is slated to ship later this year.

Llamasoft founder Jeff Minter, creator of many games but perhaps most notably Tempest 2000 (JAG, SAT, PC), has some less than flattering things to say about Sony in his latest column from UK publication Edge, calling the company "incredibly arrogant." He wrote, "They seem absolutely certain that even when they say it's going to be considerably more expensive than existing consoles, nevertheless us eager customers will rush out in droves to buy it because it's, hey, a new PlayStation." Minter may be referring in part to recent comments made by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe CEO David Reeves, who stated, "The first five million are going to buy [PlayStation 3], whatever it is, even [if] it didn't have games."

Last week, speaking to financial news outlet Bloomberg, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot also expressed concern about PlayStation 3's price tag. Though Guillemot expects the machine to sell out its initial launch quantities in 2006, he believes it may need a price drop to compete with Microsoft's already entrenched and lower priced Xbox 360. "The true question is 2007," he said. "In the battle with Microsoft, the company will be obliged to lower prices to get their machines installed."

In a rather unusual promotion, at least when it comes to video game peripherals, Plantronics is now pledging one dollar in Hurricane Katrina relief donations for each GameCom Halo 2 Edition Xbox headset sold through the company's web site. Even better, it's now going for $14.95 or $19.95, depending on whether you need the Communicator widget, a far cry from the original $49.95 and $59.95 asking prices--plus, it works with Xbox 360.

Sony this week announced that Sony Computer Entertainment America president and CEO Kaz Hirai and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president and CEO David Reeves have been made executive vice presidents of Sony Computer Entertainment. In addition to their regional duties, the pair will now have more clout within the corporate structure of SCE.

Nintendo today opened a wholly owned Nintendo subsidiary in Seoul. The facility, operating on an initial investment of 25B won ($26M), will aid Nintendo's prescence in South Korea by way of game localization and sales support. While gaming is an enormous phenomenon in South Korea, it is almost exclusively PC-centric. Only recently has interest in consoles began to grow, as console publishers ëstablish themselves more strongly. Sony Computer Entertainment maintains offices in the country, and last month Activision opened a South Korean branch.

Nintendo has launched the official site for its upcoming DS RPG based on The Legend of Zelda's Tingle; the title may approximate to Fresh Tingle's Rose Colored Rupee Land. The site is some kind of Flash-based graphic adventure. Somebody who reads Japanese, please explain what is going on.

IGN has an overview of upcoming RPGs for the Xbox 360, from both Japanese and Western developers.

1UP today wrapped up its week of coverage on Treyarch's Call of Duty 3 (PS3, X360, Wii), made up of interviews, features, and videos.

Several months ago, Square Enix executives made some ambiguous comments suggesting that main numbered entries in flagship series such as Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest might become multiplatform in the upcoming console generation. At least in the case of Final Fantasy, this possibility has been all but denied at this point. Both Final Fantasy XIII and one of its sister projects Final Fantasy Versus XIII are being developed solely for PlayStation 3. In a recent interview with Japanese publication Gaimaga translated by IGN, FFXIII director Motomu Toriyama and Final Fantasy Versus XIII producer Shinji Hashimoto explained the reasoning for the continued Sony exclusivity: one DVD, forms of which are being used in both Xbox 360 and Wii, are insufficient for the "type of visual expression" being produced in the game. In all likelihood, this has to do with the large amount of CGI movies that have been a part of Final Fantasy games ever since Final Fantasy VII (PS1), which take up even greater amounts of space in high definition. PlayStation 3 will be using the higher capacity Blu-ray Disc format for all of its games. Presumably, Square Enix considers single-disc convenience a crucial factor this time around; several previous series entries have shipped on multiple discs.

In regards to the current status of the game, Toriyama stated that the engine is in a running state on PS3 hardware, and the scenario design for the game is about 80% complete. "Now is the time for the true start of FFXIII," he said.

In interviews with Eurogamer TV (part one, part two) this week, Xbox Europe head Chris Lewis and Xbox UK head Neil Thompson expressed strong words about Sony's Blu-ray strategy, and haziness regarding the details of PlayStation 3's online service. "I find it concerning for consumers that they're being forced into a purchase [of a Blu-ray drive]," said Thompson. "I don't think they need to make that decision for another two, three years maybe. Sony now have a very interesting business model I think they're going to find challenging." He pointed to Microsoft's strategy of an upcoming optional HD-DVD drive as more desirable, in that it offers consumers a choice of whether to invest in a high definition movie format. "If gamers over time choose to go to HD-DVD we're going to give them the choice to do that, but we're not going to force them to buy that day one,” he said.

Lewis noted that the inclusion of Blu-ray in the machine contributed to its high price point, and stated that Microsoft feels no pressure to lower the price of its Xbox 360 in the near future, given that it is already priced competitively with Sony's machine. "We're confident that we are at the right price at the right time and will remain so," he said, "and nothing I've heard [from Sony] does anything other than frankly reinforce that view."

In regards to Sony's online plans, the Microsoft executives were "flattered" by Sony's promises, which share many similarities to the successful Xbox Live service, but Lewis believes that Sony has not followed up with sufficient solid details on the service's workings or payment options. "It's good to see them catching up in that regard," he said. "I think the service is still hazy in my view in terms of how it's really going to work for the consumer--how the pricing's going to work still to me seems very unclear." (For reference, Sony has announced that its online gaming service will be offered free of charge, with purchasable content similar to that available via Xbox Live Marketplace.) Lewis also pointed to Xbox Live's strong integration with the Xbox and Xbox 360 as a crucial part of the system's success.

People Can Fly's Painkiller: Hell Wars, an Xbox adaptation of the original PC shooter Painkiller, has seen several delays, pushing it back from its original release date of fall 2005. Today, publisher DreamCatcher Interactive announced that development time on the game has been extended to ensure that all of the features from the PC game are present. "DreamCatcher is committed to making Painkiller: Hell Wars a must-have title for the Xbox, and quite possibly the last great shooter on the Xbox platform," said global product marketing manager Byron Gaum. No new release date was given for the title, though the announcement claims it is "soon to be available."

Sony has released a minor software update for its PSP console, bringing the system from version 2.70 to version 2.71. There are two announced changes: adding support to save game demos to a Memory Stick, and correcting an error with the system's LocationFree Player. Currently, a demo of SCEJ's LocoRoco is available.

1UP speaks with developers from Square Enix about Final Fantasy XII (PS2).

Silicon Knights' Denis Dyack has a few things to say in defense of Too Human's (X360) showing at this year's E3.

For some time now, there have been persistent rumors that a Shadowrun first person shooter is in the works for Xbox 360. Those rumors came to a head today, as the internets noticed that the official website of FASA Studio (which developed the Shadowrun game on Genesis) is fronted by a splash screen containing four silhouettes that suspiciously resemble those of Shadowrun characters. This connection was reinforced when it was also noticed that shadowrun.com redirects to the same image. Not much more needs to be said here, really. A Shadowrun FPS has already been all but confirmed in recent months, so don't be surprised to see this RPG adaptation show up during Microsoft's pre-E3 press conference next week.

Though the existence of a fourth game in designer Michel Ancel's Rayman series has been out in the open for some time now, few details have been available. Today, Ubisoft officially announced Rayman Raving Rabbids, which the publisher promises to be the series' "funniest and zaniest adventure ever." Raving Rabbids is set to ship this holiday season for current and next-generation consoles, but oddly enough the only platform specifically mentioned by name is Nintendo's upcoming Wii. Ancel's latest effort will be a launch title for the system, making it Ubisoft's second confirmed Wii launch game after the platform-exclusive Red Steel. Rayman Raving Rabbids pits the titular (and limbless) hero Rayman up against the evil and insane rabbit-esque rabbids. At Rayman's disposal are a variety of creatures he can tame and control, as well as different costumes he can use to infiltrate the rabbid ranks.

(Earlier today, Ubisoft released a Rayman Raving Rabbids screenshot that can, indeed, be described only as "zany." That image, however, was prematurely distributed and has been recalled. They did, however, also send, uh, this.)

Rayman Raving Rabbids is in development by Ubisoft Montpellier. It will ship alongside Wii later this year, as well as for other systems this holiday season.

Sega's daily game announcements continue, with the latest reveal being Sonic Rivals, being developed by Death Jr. creator Backbone Entertainment for PSP. Featuring 3D environments and characters with 2D gameplay. Sonic Rivals puts classic Sonic platforming in a competitive setting. Playing as one of four characters, the player must reach the finish line before a computer-controlled character or a friend via local wireless. "In this heated rivalry, gamers are tested to prove not only who's the fastest but who has the best head-to-head gameplay strategy," said Sega's Scott A. Steinberg.

Backbone Entertainment's Sonic Rivals ships this Fall.

Crash Bandicoot will be coming to the DS platform for the first time with Crash Boom Bang!, developed by Dimps--largely known for its anime licensed games--and published by Crash owner Vivendi. Crash Boom Bang! collects 40 different mini-games that can be played via local wireless multiplayer, as well as the ability for players to bet on game outcomes and trade collectible items.

Dimps' Crash Boom Bang! ships this October. - Screenshot.

In addition to its Rayman announcement, Ubisoft also sent along its official E3 game lineup, consisting of ten titles, including one not yet officially announced. They are as follows:

- Assassin's Creed (PS3)
- Brothers in Arms Hell's Highway (PS3, X360, PC)
- Dark Messiah of Might & Magic (PC)
- Enchanted Arms (X360)
- "Game to be Unveiled," an as yet unannounced game from Timesplitters developer Free Radical
- Open Season (PS2, Xbox, GCN, X360, DS, PSP, GBA, PC)
- Rayman Raving Rabbids (Wii, "current and next-generation consoles")
- Red Steel (Wii)
- Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent (PS2, Xbox, GCN, X360, PS3, PC)
- Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (PS2, Xbox, PS3, X360, PC)

Midway is the latest publisher to reveal its E3 lineup, and it consists of fourteen games. They are:

- John Woo Presents Stranglehold (PS3, X360, PC)
- Unreal Tournament 2007 (PS3, PC)
- Blitz: The League (X360, Wii, PSP)
- Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (PS2, Xbox)
- Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run (PS2, Xbox)
- The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (PC)
- Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War (PC)
- Happy Feet (PS2, GCN, Wii, GBA, DS, PC)
- The Ant Bully (PS2, GCN, GBA, PC)
- The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy (PS2, GCN, GBA)
- MLB SlugFest 2006 (PS2, Xbox)
- RUSH (PSP)
- Mortal Kombat: Unchained (PSP)
- NBA Ballers: Rebound (PSP)

With Sony, then Microsoft having launched their official E3 coverage sites, Nintendo has followed suit. The site promises live coverage of Nintendo's Wii unveiling press conference as well as show floor coverage.

In case you still aren't convinced it's real, AGFRAG studio head Joseph Hatcher takes some time to speak about the upcoming Bob Ross video game for Wii.

Hudson Entertainment has part two of an internal interview with company president John Greiner, discussing Hudson's past and future, as well as its role in opening up Nintendo platforms to third parties.

GameSpot chats with Sega's Takashi Iizuka about the upcoming Sonic Rivals (PSP).

IGN chats with Midway's Kraig Kujawa about the Wii version of Blitz: The League (also X360, PSP), internally referred to as "Blitz: The Wiigue."

Microsoft announced its earning today for the latest financial quarter, with its Home and Entertainment Division (which contains the company's Xbox operations) posting a loss of $141M, up from a $131M loss last year. The increased loss can be attributed to slowing Xbox sales, which dropped $132M in revenue from last year in part due to the upcoming Xbox 360 devaluing the current-gen Xbox. Microsoft expects losses to continue to increase into the next quarter as the company spends more on the Xbox 360 launch and associated marketing and events.

Notably, Microsoft indicated that analysts have actually been "expecting more of a launch spike than we were" in regards to initial Xbox 360 shipments, which is somewhat surprising because analysts have already been forecasting lower-than-planned ship numbers. The statement does not bode well for gamers who want a 360 but haven't already pre-ordered one (nor does it bode well for gamers who pre-ordered their consoles late in the game).

Everybody's favorite industry muckraker The Inquirer has posted a claim that all of the Xbox 360 launch titles are single-threaded, using only one of the six available threads present in the machine's three double-threaded processing cores. This wouldn't be all that surprising, given that multithreaded programming is something that is entirely new to the game development world and many developers have outright stated that it will take some time to wrap their heads around the concept and develop a strong competency with it. That said, The Inquirer has not always been known for its rock-solid research, and this news should still be treated as rumor.

As such, GameSpot has featured the story in its latest edition of Rumor Control, and it looks like Microsoft has not confirmed or denied the allegation.

UPDATE: I have received confirmation from a designer at Infinity Ward, assuring me that the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty 2 (X360, PC) is in fact running on at least two threads. While he could not elaborate into specific technical details, he is definitely aware that the game's AI is being run on a separate thread than the rest of the code.

A developer at Pseudo has also written, confirming that Full Auto (X360) in fact uses all six threads across all three cores. So there you go!

THQ released its latest financial reports today, with a loss for the second quarter of $1.4M. The number is a great improvement over last year's second quarter loss of $6.4M, and was lower than analysts expected.

The company also made a few announcements regarding the next console generation. For one thing, Volition's GTA-esque Saint's Row (X360), once speculated for the Xbox 360's launch window, has been delayed. The title will not ship until the first quarter of THQ's 2007 fiscal year, which begins next April.

THQ also has 13 games in the works for the three next-gen consoles, and claims that four will be released in its current fiscal year--which, of course, means before next April. Considering the publisher stated that it expects both PS3 and Revolution to ship in the second half of 2006, one would assume that all four of those titles are set for Xbox 360.

In regards to all three consoles, THQ is currently planning on devoting approximately 40% of its development budget to Xbox 360, 40% to PS3, and 20% to Revolution. The company is currently increasing its Revolution development, and explained that its lower Revolution budget is due to the console still being largely unrevealed. In regards to Nintendo as a company, THQ president Brian Farrell told IGNCube last month that "Nintendo is waking up," and that "We're seeing more from Nintendo now [for Revolution] than we have on any other Nintendo platform," though at the time he declined to elaborate due to nondisclosure agreements.

Owners of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (PSP) who wish to take advantage of the game's custom soundtrack support will need to download a special tool to convert music files into a format accepted by the game. The utility is conveniently mirrored on FileShack right here.

In the readme, Rockstar notes, "RCT is designed not to work with personally created CDs or CDs containing music encoded via MP3, WMA or other compression techniques. By using RCT, you acknowledge and agree that all conversions created through RCT are solely for your private use to enhance your enjoyment of the gameplay of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and may not be reproduced or distributed to others."

GameSpot chats with Silicon Knights president Denis Dyack regarding the studio's long in the works title Too Human (X360).

The Entertainment Software Association holds yearly benefits to improve the quality of life for children in America, aiming to create positive social impact by being a large contributor to such organizations as the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Starlight Children's Foundation, and more. Right now, the ESA is holding a rather large eBay auction to raise money, and the items up for bidding range from the extremely rare (a Star Wars lightsaber signed by George Lucas) to the oddly mundane (an HP Photosmart printer).

Other items up for grabs include two tickets to E3 along with a pass to Nintendo's private E3 party, two tickets to E3 along with a pass to Sony's private E3 party, an Xbox 360 signed by Bill Gates, and a six-foot-tall statue of Halo's Master Chief.

Most of the auctions end in the next few days, so if you have cash to burn for a charitable cause, get on it!

For those who wonder why console manufacturers always take so long to launch their machines in certain territories, Microsoft's Peter Moore has this to say: "There's a reason no-one has done this before and we are figuring that out. If we knew what we were getting into, we might not have done it."

A BBC report indicates Microsoft is getting rather worried about its ability to keep its upcoming Xbox 360 console stocked worldwide in a far shorter timeframe than has ever been attempted before with a major console. Moore seems determined to see the problem through, but don't ask him how he's going to do that; he doesn't know. "We're going to ship all around the world; how we're going to do that, I don't know," said Moore. "We're going to rent every 747 we can find."

The article also brings up the issue of launch titles, a topic Microsoft seems to want to avoid answering conclusively until the last possible moment. In regards to Microsoft-published anticipated titles such as Rare's Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo: Elements of Power as well as Bizarre's Project Gotham Racing 3, Microsoft Chief XNA Architect J Allard said, "These games are not far from being done, and if they're three weeks after the launch or they're on launch day I don't think it makes a significant difference." Moore echoed those sentiments: "Games will arrive with a thousand bugs and get into the certification process. They make it or they don't. It's no big deal if a game takes another week. The consumer will get a strong line-up."

Real Time Worlds, the studio founded by Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto creator David Jones, announced today an agreement with Epic to license the Unreal Engine 3 for use in any of the studio's games. The first title to take advantage of the deal is the upcoming MMO All Points Bulletin (APC) (X360, PC). Real Time Worlds is also working on Crackdown for Xbox 360, but it was not specified whether it will make use of Unreal technology. The game sports a very stylized visual aesthetic, in large part due to its atypical color palette.

Webzen, the Korean firm publishing APB, has also obtained several licenses of the engine.

Nintendo just announced two upcoming hardware bundles, one for its DS console and one for the GameCube.

I've seen quite a few people ask about this in chatty, so here's your answer: Two weeks after Mario Kart DS hits stores, Nintendo will launch a Red Hot Nintendo DS bundle. Like the recently-announced Nintendogs bundle, it goes for $149.99 (the price of a standalone DS before its recent price cut), comes in a limited edition color scheme, and includes a full game. In this case, the game is of course Mario Kart DS and the limited edition color is a deep red. The deal also comes with a checkered-flag wrist strap as well as various decals. Mario Kart DS ships November 14, and the bundle will follow on November 28.

Nintendo also announced another GameCube promotion, following the recent Super Smash Bros. bundle. November 7 will see the release of a bundle containing a GameCube, Mario Party 7, a GameCube microphone, and two controllers--all for $99.99. Separately, the items would retail for about $175, with the upcoming Mario Party 7 priced at $49.99.

Konami has announced a deal with major U.S. gym club chain 24 Hour Fitness to include DDR machines in 24 Hour Fitness locations. The machines will be featured in grand openings of the chain, as well as in 24 Hour's Kids Club section. 30-day trial passes to 24 Hour Fitness will be included in copies of Dance Dance Revolution EXTREME 2 (PS2) and Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 3 (Xbox).

IGN asks a few questions of Silicon Knights president Denis Dyack regarding the studio's upcoming Too Human (X360).

1UP has a developer interview with The Creative Assembly's Clive Gratton regarding Spartan: Total Warrior (PS2, Xbox, GCN).

Iain Simons at Gamasutra has a feature up on the processes followed by Xbox 360 design director Jonathan Hayes.

Your first order of business is to read this if you haven't yet. Many sites have updated with their large overviews of the console. Here they are: Game Informer, TeamXbox, GameSpot, and IGN. Quite a bit of reading, so enjoy! Also, this video surfaced today with overly-excited Xbox 360 engineers discussing the hardware. Trust me, this six minute clip is twenty times more informative than the MTV show.

It's a possibility according to Sony's chief financial officer Takao Yuhara. Speaking to a Japanese news service, he said, "For the year end sales season, simultaneously building up both the PlayStation Portable system in America and Europe as well as the next generation PlayStation is one option that we have." A plausible scenario or some early smoke-blowing prior to the announcement of the Xbox 360?

Capcom revealed their newest game, Devil Kings, for the PS2. You will control different heroes from warring nations, each of which has special and unique abilities, with the goal to eventually unify the country. Experience points play a big role as each character is upgradable. More will be seen at E3. Screenshots inside the link.

The first screenshot of Q Entertainment's Xbox 360 has been discovered. Information is very scarce, but it'll be called Ninety-Nine Nights and judging from the screenshot, looks like large armies will play a significant role. Hopefully more will be revealed soon.

A boatload of screenshots for Dead or Alive 4 have surfaced and it has been supposedly confirmed that it will be an Xbox 360 game. The game shows plenty of returning characters and some new ones, but Tecmo has said these are unofficial shots. An official announcement at E3 is expected.

Microsoft released today new premium downloadable content for MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf. For $4.99, Xbox Live subscribers can purchase six new maps (each supporting up to 12 players) and the new Goblin armored vehicle.

Square Enix revealed that their animated film project, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, will receive a simultaneous release in both the US and Japan on September 14th of this year. As for the US launch, it appears it will only be available on DVD. Hopefully E3 will provide clarity.

IGN has a video interview with Silicon Knight's president, Denis Dyack, even discussing their split with Nintendo.