Former Volition staffers Sandeep Shekar, Jiovanie Velazquez and Christopher Stockman have left the Saints Row (X360) developer to found the just-announced Blazing Lizard studio, which will focus on downloadable console offerings.

Shekar, who acted as Volition's studio artist manager, serves as company president. Stockman and Velazquez, both of whom led the Saints Row design team, respectively occupy the roles of studio director and creative director. All three lead the core development team.

Based in Savoy, Illinois, Blazing Lizard is currently working on an original IP it claims will "take the fledgling console downloadable genre by storm." The developer plans to formally unveil its first title August 13.

In an interview with a local New Zealand paper, Sony Computer Entertainment representative Warwick Light revealed plans of a new PlayStation 3 product which will soon allow users to record and watch TV programs.

"We're also hoping next year--about the same time that Freeview launches its terrestrial broadcasting service--to release a digital tuner for the PS3, turning it into a programmable TV recorder," he said to The Press.

When contacted today, Sony senior hardware manager Patrick Seybold told Shacknews: "We have no announcement regarding DVR capabilities for PS3 in North America at this time."

Freeview is a non-profit digital television provider, and is planned to launch in New Zealand next March. It is unknown whether the PlayStation 3... Read more

Confirming earlier rumors, Sony Computer Entertainment America has announced that acclaimed God of War and Twisted Metal creator David Jaffe has founded a new Utah-based game development studio with Incognito Entertainment founder and now-former president Scott Campbell.

The new studio, which goes by the moniker Eat, Sleep, Play, has signed a multi-year deal with Sony to create games exclusively for PlayStation platforms. The first announced game is Twisted Metal: Head On for PlayStation 2--presumably at its core a port of the 2005 PSP title--which will contain new material in the form of previously-unreleased Twisted Metal Black levels and a series documentary about which Jaffe recently blogged.

Further unspecified games from Eat, Sleep, Play will follow in 2008. According to the wording of today's press release, the company seems to be an independent studio despite its PlayStation exclusivity... Read more

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. parent company Sony Corp. announced its first quarter fiscal year 2007 results today, detailing less-than-expected sales of PlayStation 3 consoles at 710,000 units sold worldwide. The disclosure of actual unit sales to retailers and other outlets rather than production shipments marks a policy change for SCEI.

Despite this change, Sony CFO Nobuyuki Oneda said in an analyst conference call that the company's previous estimates of production shipments for PlayStation hardware remain as sales estimates for the fiscal year. The company now predicts it will sell, rather than ship, 11 million PlayStation 3 consoles, 10 million PlayStation 2 consoles, 9 million PSP units, and 250 million software titles worldwide by the end of March 2008.

The low number of PS3 sales for the quarter have increased Sony's inventory of the console to around 2.3 million, up from 1.9 million at the end of... Read more

In the first news coming out of this year's San Diego Comic-Con, Microsoft today announced it would lower the price of its Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on player from $199 to $179 starting next Wednesday.

The company also noted that it will throw in five free HD DVD titles as an extra incentive, although the selection of titles amounts to a meager 15 offerings. Anyone buying the player between August 1 and September 30 will be eligible for the movies.

HD DVD proponent Toshiba already offers the five-movie deal on its line of stand-alone players. Competitor Sony also doles out a similar coupon with the purchase of qualifying Blu-ray players, including the PlayStation 3, allowing you to choose five free Blu-ray discs from a pool of 21 films.

Sony today announced a deal with online games publisher and developer NCsoft during its E3 press conference that will have NCsoft delivering a number of online games to Sony's PlayStation Network, for both the PS3 and PSP platforms.

Specific titles were not announced, and the scope of the deal was limited to "several games." NCsoft officials did note that existing properties will be ported to the systems, in addition to original IP developed specifically for the platforms.

"[The PS3] a truly versatile online platform that gives NCsoft the potential to create massively multiplayer environments," said NCsoft Europe CEO Geoff Heath. "Together with the Internet-enabled PSP, we're confident that SCEI and NCsoft can develop unique and compelling online experiences that will be found on no other platform."

Console fans looking to play the next entry in Epic Games' multiplayer shooter series will need to wait until 2008, unless they own a PlayStation 3.

During Sony's E3 press event this morning, the company announced that both Epic's Unreal Tournament 3 (PC, PS3, X360) and Free Radical Design's shooter Haze will be console exclusives on the PlayStation 3 this year. The two titles will be debuting on the system this November. The exclusivity does not apply to the PC, as Unreal Tournament 3 will be released concurrently on the PS3 and PC.

In regards to the deal, Epic's Mark Rein was adamant that no back-alley deals were stuck with Sony to secure the release of Unreal Tournament 3 the PS3 ahead of the Xbox 360 version.

"There's nothing sinister about it. It's just the PS3 and PC version of the games are compatible, because Sony has an open-source platform," Rein said, according to Gamespot.

SCEA also announced a deal with both Midway and Epic to optimize the Unreal Engine 3 for use on the PlayStation 3. The agreement will affect all games in development that use the engine.

Sony today announced a new PSP model during its E3 press conference in Santa Monica. The revision will add a longer-lasting battery, reduce the profile of the handheld, and enable video output to televisions.

The version boasts a 33% lighter frame, as well as a 19% slimmer profile. While video output was stated as being compatible with Sony Bravia televisions, it is unknown at this time whether other televisions will be supported.

The system--which comes colored in either piano black or ice silver--will be offered in the PSP Entertainment Pack, which includes an ice silver PSP, Ready At Dawn's action-platformer Daxter, a 1GB memory stick, a collection of UMDs, and Family Guy Frickin' Sweet collection. The package will hit stores in September for a retail price of $199.99.

Also revealed was a white, Star Wars-themed PSP in promotion of Rebellion's PSP-exclusive Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron. The Darth Vader-branded handhelds will be sold in a package for $199.99.

Microsoft today announced a new partnership with Walt Disney Company to bring its broad catalog of movie properties to Xbox Live Marketplace. Animated films such as Tarzan, The Emperor's New Groove, Hercules will make an appearance, as well as live action titles like Armageddon and The Brothers Grimm.

Past and future films from studios Walt Disney, Touchstone, Paramount, and Miramax are included in the deal. The movies will be available in both SD and HD formats, according to a trailer shown at Microsoft's E3 press event. The standard HD price of 360 ($4.50) Microsoft Points for older titles and 480 points ($6) for new releases will apply.

Microsoft also revealed that the Video Marketplace will be launched in Europe and Canada this fall.

While Sony hopes that a price cut will spur sales of its PlayStation 3 console, Konami CEO Kazumi Kitaue is far from optimistic. The executive in charge of the popular Metal Gear Solid series cited poor sales due to high prices, hinting that it may mean a multi-platform release for Solid Snake's next appearance.

"I wonder if Sony can win back user support by the price cut of just $100," Kitaue said this week to Reuters. "I don't expect a substantial impact... With $500, you can buy a personal computer."

Sony plans to cut the price of its 60GB PlayStation 3 model to... Read more

A Uruguayan man owes Nintendo $2.5 million after losing a civil suit brought on by the game giant, Nintendo announced Thursday. The Uruguayan Civil Court ruling resulted from a 2001 raid in Montevideo by the National Board of Intelligence, seizing approximately 30,000 counterfeit Nintendo products valued at more than $1 million.

The amount of property made the raid the largest video game-related seizure in Uruguayan history, according to Nintendo. Even so, the man received an executive pardon for the criminal charges brought against him, at which time Nintendo pursued civil action.

"This action exemplifies Nintendo's commitment to combat the international problem of product piracy," said Jodi Daugherty, a director of anti-piracy at Nintendo of America. "These types of illegal operations... Read more

Xbox 360 owners fearing the "Red Ring of Death" can rest easier. Microsoft announced an extension to the Xbox 360 warranty today protecting owners from general hardware failure for three years from purchase date.

The extension applies to any Xbox 360 owners whose consoles flash the all-too-familiar three red lights when attempting to boot up. The error has plagued many disgruntled Xbox 360 owners since the system's launch.

"Over the past couple of months, the number of repairs to Xbox 360 consoles has been unacceptable to us," said Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, in a conference call regarding the expanded warranty.

Bach also said Microsoft has "already made improvements to the Xbox 360 console that will reduce these issues going forward." This may refer to reports of Xbox 360s being outfitted with extra heat sinks... Read more

With in-game advertising blowing up like a limp balloon, the race to make the format more attractive to potential advertisers is on. Now television's old friend Nielsen is hoping to provide a friendly face in the emerging market.

Sony Computer Entertainment America and media ratings firm The Nielsen Company today announced their plan to create a measurement system for in-game advertising on Sony systems. Under the arrangement, user traffic data from Sony PlayStation 3 consoles--including the PlayStation Network and its upcoming virtual world Home--will be analyzed and benchmarked by Nielsen, with the goal of calculating the reach, frequency, and effectiveness of game network advertising. The data will then be combined with... Read more

Original downloadable games are headed to Nintendo's Wii, courtesy of the company's newly announced WiiWare service. With titles distributed exclusively online through the online Wii Shop Channel, today's announcement claims WiiWare will provide a means "for smaller, more creative games to make their way to the public at lower prices" when the service launches in early 2008.

Due to the ease and cheap cost of online distribution relative to the expensive hassles of dealing with physical media, WiiWare opens the door for smaller independent studios to more easily see their titles made available on Wii.

"Independent developers armed with small budgets and big ... Read more

Independent developer Insomniac Games has been named as the eighth best small company to work for in America by the Society for Human Resource Management and The Great Place to Work Institute, the firm that compiles Fortune magazine's yearly "100 Best Companies to Work For" list, which includes only companies with 1,000 or more employees. The studio credited with the creation of the Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet & Clank, and Resistance properties, Insomniac's ranking on the small business list, represents the company's third consecutive year in the top ten.

"Last year was among the most challenging in Insomniac's history as we prepared to release Resistance: Fall of Man worldwide with the launch of PlayStation 3,” said Insomniac founder and CEO Ted Price. "Yet ... Read more

Nintendo today announced that it has struck a deal with actress Nicole Kidman (BMX Bandits, Batman Forever) to promote the upcoming sequel to its Brain Training series of games in Europe. Kidman will appear in print and television commercials advertising More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain?, known in North America as Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day.

"I love the concept that Nintendo is reaching out to new audiences with their self improvement products like Brain Training," said the actress, who will be shown in a "home setting" while playing the mentally challenging... Read more

A new lawsuit from Microsoft claims Immersion violated a previous agreement with the company when it dropped pending litigation against Sony and entered into a business relationship with the PlayStation 3 manufacturer earlier this year.

First reported by the CNET Tech news blog, Microsoft's legal action stems from a 2003 settlement with Immersion. In 2002, Immersion pressed charges against Microsoft and Sony, alleging patent infringement over the inclusion of rumble in the controllers of each company's respective video game console. Microsoft struck a deal with Immersion in 2003, which mainly consisted of a payment totaling $26 million.

According to court documents uncovered by Seattle ... Read more

A new interview with Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer (pictured left) has the executive acknowledging the importance of a price drop for the PlayStation 3, revealing that current PS3 games only use 20% of the system's bandwidth, and praising competitor Nintendo's strategy with the Wii.

"I think that the public would like the cost [of the PlayStation 3] to be lower, there's no question about that," Stringer admitted to The Financial Times, noting Sony is researching cost-cutting measures for the $599 system.

"PlayStation 3 is following a particular trend of 1 and 2, and if you ... Read more

Fan reports across the internet are claiming that Microsoft is now adding a second heatsink to recently repaired Xbox 360 units.

Xbox-Scene's Xantium has collected a wealth of visual evidence, which appears to show a new heatsink placed just above the 360's DVD drive. The system's Xenos GPU is located underneath the drive. The secondary heatsink is apparently connected to the GPU array with a long heatpipe.

Overheating has been the primary suspect in the case... Read more

Microsoft and Games for Change have announced a competition that will promote social awareness with gaming. The Xbox 360 Games for Change Challenge will see college students from over 100 countries creating games based on global warming, with cash prizes serving as further motivation for the socially conscious.

Entrants must use the Microsoft XNA Game Studio Express software to be considered. Game Studio Express launched late last year and allows users to compile and share Windows games. A subscription fee of $49 for four months is required to enable Xbox 360 compiling. Microsoft has not yet elaborated on the criteria by which the games will be judged.

Along with the prize money, winners will be flown to Microsoft and ... Read more