During Games Convention today in Leipzig, Microsoft made the surprising announcement that next iterations of both major licensed soccer franchises FIFA 07 from Electronic Arts and Pro Evolution Soccer 6 will be next-generation exclusives on Xbox 360 for the following twelve months. Though this does not bar them from appearing on PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube, it does mean that PlayStation 3 and Wii will have to sit out on licensed soccer for a year.

Microsoft also announcd that three well known board games will be coming to Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360: Carcassarone, Alhambra, and Settlers of Catan.

Though its next-gen console won't be seeing an officially licensed soccer game in the next year thanks to Microsoft's timed exclusivity deal, Nintendo did announce that a new version of its own soccer franchises is coming to the system. During its Games Convnention press conference today, the company announced Mario Strikers Charged. The game features more team creation options than the original title, and also adds online multiplayer functionality.

Also announced during Nintendo's conference was Battalion Wars 2, which Nintendo was sure to note is abbreviated "BWii." The game is a followup to UK-based Kuju's action/strategy hybrid on GameCube published by Nintendo last year. The biggest addition to the game is online multiplayer, which has three main modes: the combat oriented Assault, the tactical Skirmish mode, and a cooperative mode. The game includes new units, races, and environments, and is comprised of over 20 single-player missions and over 15 multiplayer missions.

To kick of its presence at this week's Games Convention in Leipzig, Sony has announced that it will be releasing limited edition pink models of its PlayStation 2 and PSP consoles in Europe later this year. The Pink PlayStation 2 will be released to "selected retailers" on November 8, 2006 and will include an extra pink controller and a pink memory card. "The Pink PlayStation 2 is funky, fresh, and fashionable, and will further broaden the console’s continuing popularity and relevance with a fun new twist," said PS2 European brand manager Dan Hill. The company also announced that Europe will see a price cut for PlayStation 2, which as of this Wednesday will sell for 129.99 Euro and 94.99 GBP in the UK. Memory cards will drop to 19.99 Euro, with no specific UK price point given. - Product shots.

PS2 won't be pretty in pink alone, as Sony also announced the the P!nk PSP Value Pack, which contains a Pink PSP, white headphones with remote control, pouch, wrist strap, and 32MB Memory Stick Duo. The exclamation point in the product's name is thanks to a marketing tie-in with recording artist P!nk, some of whose music videos will be included on a UMD packaged with the Value Pack. "This association is much more than a corporate deal," said Sony BMG Europe VP of brand partnerships Marcel Engh. "It is bringing together two great and unique entertainment brands that complement each other both in style and attitude." The P!nk PSP Value Pack, also exclusive to Europe, will be released October 27 for 229 Euro and 169 GBP in the UK. - Product shot.

According to Chris Morris' latest Game Over column, American Technology Research analyst P.J. McNealy believes that Electronic Arts has transferred its upcoming World War II shooter Medal of Honor: Airborne (PS2, Xbox, PS3, X360, Wii, PC) from EA's own Criterion-developed Renderware engine to Epic's Unreal Engine 3, to which it recently purchased a license. Presumably, this report refers to the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC versions of the game. McNealy also noted that EA is developing a previously unrevealed first person shooter called "Dead Space," though no details were provided. Unsurprisingly, EA has not commented on either rumor.

Racing Gears Advance developer Orbital Media has been sitting on two new portable action titles for quite some time now: Scurge: Hive (NDS, GBA) and Juka and the Monophonic Menace (GBA). Both titles have seen multiple delays, but it looks like they're finally on track for release. Publisher SouthPeak Interactive today announced that it will be publishing both Orbital titles at some point this year. Juka and the Monophonic Menace is a Game Boy Advance exclusive, while Scurge has been developed for both Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance. (Thanks IGN.)

Ubisoft today announced that it will be publishing a sequel to its portable racing series Asphalt: Urban GT. Developers Virtuos and Game Source are currently working on Asphalt: Urban GT 2 for both Nintendo DS and PSP. The game will include six game modes with 30 tracks and 36 licensed vehicles, as well as the ability for the player to tune his or her cars.

Virtuos and Game Source's Asphalt: Urban GT 2 is set to ship in November 2006 for Nintendo DS and March 2007 for PSP.

Ubisoft has announced that it will be releasing a patch for its shooter Far Cry Instincts Predator (X360) via Xbox Live, fixing various issues and improving a few technical aspects of the game. Changes include tweaks to the controls to increase responsiveness, various graphical and network-related bugs, and support for as many save games as will fit on the user's storage device. Check out the full summary of changes here. The patch should be made available within the next few days.

After having released the free F.E.A.R. Combat for PC, Vivendi also announced today that Monolith's full F.E.A.R. game will be coming to PlayStation 3. In May, the publisher announced that the well received shooter is also heading to Xbox 360. As with that version of the game, the PS3 port is being developed by Day 1 Studios. Vivendi sent along some screenshots of the PS3 build.

According to today's announcement, the game will ship in November of this year, though the press release stopped short of claiming that the game would launch alongside PlayStation 3 on November 17.

Ubisoft today announced that it has entered a long term licensing agreement with Star Wars video game licensor LucasArts. Though the full details of the deal were not disclosed, Ubisoft did reveal the first game under the agreement. Star Wars: Lethal Alliance is being developed by Ubisoft Casablanca for Nintendo DS and Ubisoft Montreal for PSP. Set between the events of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and the original Star Wars film, players take the roles of both the acrobatic Twi'lek Rianna Saren and the defense-oriented security droid Zeeo. Saren and Zeeo, in the service of the Rebel Alliance, must discover the Death Star and inform the Alliance. Presumably, they will not die to bring them that information.

Chief creative officer Serge Hascoet stated that the games will "take full advantage of the unique capabilities of both the PSP system and the DS," though the announcement did not elaborate on how they would do so. - Screenshots (PSP).

Ubisoft Casablanca and Montreal's Star Wars: Lethal Alliance is set to launch in December 2006 for Nintendo DS and PSP.

Veteran UK developer System 3 has announced that it has acquired the rights to the Epyx brand and game library, which consists of Commodore 64 classics such as Impossible Mission and California games. With its new acquisitions, System 3 will be developing visually revamped (but mechanically unchanged) versions of several Epyx titles, bringing them to Nintendo DS, PSP, and Wii. The currently announced lineup is as follows:

- California Games (NDS, PSP), May 2007
- California Games (Wii), June 2007
- Gottlieb Pinball Classics (Wii), November 2007
- Impossible Mission (NDS, PSP), January 2007
- Impossible Mission (Wii), February 2007
- Last Ninja trilogy compilation (NDS, PSP), April 2007
- Leaderboard (Wii), November 2006
- Super Fruitfall (Wii, NDS, PSP), Q4 2006

Several of the games will be published by Play It!; others do not yet have a publisher announced.

Namco Bandai Games today announced that NanaOn-Sha is developing a sequel to its shopkeeping sim Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop (NDS). Unsurprisingly titled Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 2, the game will allow players to run a dozen different types of businesses, including bowling alleys, sushi bars, flower shops, and concert halls. The game will support local wireless for item trading and two-person multiplayer, and will also allow players to exchange screenshots. Amusingly, the DS microphone can be used to sing along at in-game concerts. - Screenshots.

NanaOn-Sha's Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 2 is set to release for Nintendo DS in winter 2006.

Today, Sega released the fact sheet for its recently announced Sega Genesis Collection, and included in the feature list was a full confirmation of all 28 games. They are as follows:

- Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
- Altered Beast
- Bonanza Bros.
- Columns
- Comix Zone
- Decap Attack starring Chuck D. Head
- Ecco the Dolphin
- Ecco II: The Tides of Time
- Ecco Jr.
- Kid Chameleon
- Flicky
- Gain Ground
- Golden Axe I
- Golden Axe II
- Golden Axe III
- Phantasy Star II
- Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom
- Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millenium
- Ristar
- Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
- Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- Super Thunder Blade
- Sword of Vermilion
- Vectorman
- Vectorman 2
- Virtua Fighter 2

Sega Genesis Collection is slated to ship for PlayStation 2 and PSP this holiday season.

Sega today announced its lineup for Leipzig's upcoming Games Convention, running from August 23, 2006 to August 27, 2006. The list consists of games spanning nearly every current- and next-gen platform. Oddly, though there was no explanation offered in the press release, it seems that the upcoming Sonic Wild Fire for Wii has received a name change to the rather uninspiring Sonic and the Secret Rings. (Personally, I seem to remember those rings being pretty out in the open in most of the Sonic games I've played.) The complete lineup is as follows:

- The Creative Assembly's Medieval II: Total War (PC)
- Sonic Team's Sonic The Hedgehog (PS3, X360)
- Sonic Team's Sonic and the Secret Rings (Wii)
- Amusement Vision's Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz (Wii)
- Sega AM3's Virtua Tennis 3 (Xbox 360, PS3)
- Sega Driving Studio's Sega Rally (PS3, X360, PC)
- Amusement Vision's Yakuza (PS2)
- Sonic Team and Total Entertainment's Phantasy Star Universe (PS2, X360, PC)
- Pseudo Interactive's Full Auto 2: Battlelines (PS3)
- Backbone's Charlotte's Web (NDS, GBA, PC)
- Backbone's Sonic Rivals (PSP)

According to SCEA's official site, Game Republic's upcoming historical giant crab battle simulator set in ancient Japan, announced simply as Genji 2, has been renamed Genji: Days of the Blade. The game is currently set to launch alongside PlayStation 3 on November 17, 2006.

Shacker -mu- sends word about his website The Rabbit Snare, on which he posts personally translated interviews with gaming industry notables from Japan. So far, he's translated pieces on Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, Katamari Damacy designer Keita Takahashi, Okami director Hideki Kamiya and producer Atsushi Inaba, and Ico and Shadow of the Colossus director Fumito Ueda and producer Kenji Kaida, as well as other assorted tidbits.

IGN has an interview with Red Steel (Wii) artistic director Stephane Bachelet, speaking on the visual style and atmosphere of the upcoming shooter.

Namco Bandai has revealed a new video game based on the Gundam property: Mobile Suit Gundam (working title), coming to PlayStation 3. The game will include a number of unspecified Mobile Suits from the popular anime franchise. Set towards the end of the One Year War, Mobile Suit Gundam will allow players to command a Mobile Suit battalion aligned with the Federation or the Zeon Mobile Suit Assault Force. By increasing their rank, players will be able to acquire new types of Mobile Suits and command more experienced pilots. Mobile Suits will have specific destructible parts, and battles will be affected by various strategic factors, such as the destruction of specific enemy buildings as well as the decision of whether to use short range or long range combat depending on the situation.

This isn't Namco Bandai's only upcoming Gundam-based next-gen title, with Dimps' Mobile Ops: The One Year War coming later this year to Xbox 360.

Mobile Suit Gundam, developed by BEC, is set to ship for PlayStation 3 this year.

Developer Day 1 and publisher LucasArts have announced that the two companies plan to collaborate on a new intellectual property for next generation platforms. No details about the first game to be part of this franchise were given, other than that it will feature "interactivity that is only possible with next-generation platforms." Today's announcement made multiple references to Day 1's proprietary game technology. Speaking on the partnership between the two companies, LucasArts' vice president of product development Peter Hirschmann said, "The phenominal technology created by Day 1 affects gameplay in extremely innovative ways--and it perfectly complements the engaging story and intriguing characters you'd expect of a LucasArts title." On the reasoning for signing with LucasArts as a publisher, Day 1 president Denny Thorley said, "It's a privilege to work with the creative minds beyind some of the most successful franchises in entertainment history."

Day 1 was responsible for the MechAssault series on Xbox, and is currently handling the Xbox 360 port of Monolith Productions' PC action title F.E.A.R. The LucasArts-published game announced today may be a PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 action title uncovered earlier this year via job listings on its official site as well as other employment sites.

Electronic Arts today announced a new edition of its NBA Street franchise, in development for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game, as of now referred to only as NBA Street without any number or subtitle, is being developed by EA Canada and is slated to ship in spring 2007. "Since its unveiling in 2001, NBA STREET has always raised the bar with innovative gameplay and fresh visuals," said executive producer Wil Mozell. "The power of the Next Generation hardware gives us the horsepower to break new ground for consumers, making it the perfect stage for the next iteration of NBA STREET." As in the prior series entries, the upcoming game features 3-on-3 games. It will include well known courts as well as some based on the hometowns of various NBA players.

Appropriately named fansite Gearheads of War has an interview with Cliff Bleszinski on Epic's upcoming Gears of War (X360).

IGN Wii posted a number of Nintendo-related rumors today, apparently obtained directly from reliable sources in publishing and development. Soon after the news post went up, it was taken down and replaced by a statement indicating that IGN's sources do not wish to go to jail. A potential interpretation of this language is that the reported information fell under the domain of non-disclosure agreements and therefore holds some weight. Later, the post was replaced, with a few changes.

First up is the issue of the release date for the upcoming Wii. Apparently, Nintendo is telling launch title developers to have their games ready by mid-October or so for a launch on November 2; others believe the date may be November 12. Sources indicate that the machine will retail for $229 in the United States, though the contents of the package were not disclosed. It will be available in black and white, according to these sources.

In Nintendo's latest financial reports, the company stated that it plans to sell 6 million units of the console within the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007. Now, IGN's sources claim that the company has ramped up its expectations. The original IGN story claimed that the new figure is 5.5 million units by the end of the calendar year; the revised post replaces the quantity with "more than five million units."

Apparently, the console's region encoding will come via firmware rather than hardware; IGN speculates that this would result in an easier modification for gamers looking to play imported games.

One rumor, which IGN removed entirely for the reposted story, stated IBM may be working on a smaller version of the Wii's Broadway CPU for use in a portable console which would play GameCube discs. This has been rumored to be the approach taken with Nintendo's next Game Boy console, though past instances of this rumor did not come by way of apparently credible sources.

According to translated reports from Japanese news outlet Nikkei Business Online, RPG-oriented publisher and developer Square Enix may be moving into the hardware market, though just what kind of hardware is unknown. Company president Yoichi Wada spoke on the challenges of the changing video game market, and why Square Enix's traditional model is becoming outdated. "An exceptional creator can pull off rehashing the same material," he said. "This is what we've been doing for a long time, and in the process reached a profit rate of over 30 percent. However, this is what Square Enix did when the model was unchanging. Now things are different."

He then went on to the importance of creating games that differ from tradition, offering the Nintendo DS lineup as a prime example. In terms of creating an environment for new ideas through hardware, he pointed to Nintendo with its DS and Apple with its iPod. "The strategy behind Nintendo and the iPod, to create a new environment based on hardware, is completely valid," he said. "But, this is impossible if you don't have experience making hardware. ...This is one of the reasons Square Enix will collaborate with Taito, a company that produces physical hardware." Square Enix completed its acquisition of publisher Taito in September of last year. As far as the eventual hardware fruits of the companies' labor, Wada offered no hints other than it being "some 'thing'" and "not the sort of thing you expect from Square Enix."

The product may potentially be related to the mobile phone market. Square Enix has invested significant resources into mobile development recently, and has announced plans to move into content delivery platforms for mobile phones.

Canadian retailer Future Shop has posted a new Xbox 360 bundle deal, which includes the premium version of the console along with three months of Xbox Live Gold membership, a card worth 1250 Marketplace points, and a copy of Bizarre Creations' Project Gotham Racing 3. It all goes for CA$499.99 (US$443.84), the same price a premium unit already runs in Canada sans extras. Microsoft has now confirmed that this will be a standard bundle in Canada, starting this week. No similar plans have been announced for any other territories.

Following last week's confusion about Prince of Persia on Wii, resulting from an inconsistency between French- and English-language Ubisoft press releases, IGN has confirmed that Jordan Mechner's classic platforming icon will indeed be heading to Nintendo's upcoming console. Ubisoft gave no further details as to the content of the game, though many believe it is a compilation of the three games in the Sands of Time trilogy, updated to take advantage of the Wii's unique controller.

According to IGN, which seems to be overflowing with Wii rumors, a new iteration of Next Level's recent soccer game Super Mario Strikers (GCN) may well be headed to Nintendo's new system. IGN's sources suspect that the game will be showcased at Leipzig's upcoming Games Convention, where Nintendo is rumored to be presenting up to five new games in their "Wii prove our promise" press conference.

A post on the official Ubisoft forums by an Ubisoft community manager has revealed the new release date for the recently delayed Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent (PS2, Xbox, GCN, PS3, X360, PC). The game will now ship by October 19.

The Ubisoft employee also confirmed that there will be an Xbox 360 multiplayer demo released via Xbox Live, though no availability date was announced. The PC version of the game will also be receiving a single- and multiplayer demo.

Marek Bronstring at Adventure Gamers considers the potential for the adventure game genre on Wii.

Game Informer speaks to Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon about the recently announced Wii version of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Wii, also PS2, Xbox).

Microsoft today announced the final release date for Epic's upcoming Xbox 360 shooter Gears of War. Referred to in marketing materials as Emergence Day, November 12, 2006 will be when the game is officially available in stores, though comments made today by Epic employees suggest that retailers will be able to sell the title as soon as it is delivered to their stores. Somewhat oddly for a game release, the date falls on a Sunday. The game will hit the United Kingdom on November 17, the same day Sony plans to launch PlayStation 3 in North America and Europe.

Gears of War will ship in two versions, a standard edition for $59.99 and a limited edition collector's edition for $69.99. The higher price tag on the limited edition pays for metal packaging as well as an official book of artwork entitled "Destroyed Beauty" and a DVD with documentary footage. The pricing scheme breaks the Xbox 360's tradition for Microsoft-published software, which has previously launched at a $49.99 price point for standard editions.

Speaking on the possibility of a pre-release demo, Epic vice president Mark Rein soundly refuted any such speculation, noting that the time it takes to create a demo would needlessly delay the game. "Given a choice of the game this year or a demo this year and the game next year I'm sure every one of you would rather have the game this year because you're already planning to buy it," he said frankly, adding that the company has not decided whether to create a demo post-release. However, it seems like Epic's priority is on creating extra downloadable content for the game, which has already proven to be hugely popular with Xbox Live gamers. "I know we have some very cool plans (not 100% solid so too early to give any specifics) for additional downloadable so that might take a higher priority than creating a demo," he said.

Following comments made this week by Ubisoft's Laurent Detoc that Ubisoft has seven titles in development for Nintendo's upcoming Wii console, the publisher has issued a press release providing a somewhat surprising clarification to that remark. It seems that the company in fact plans to release seven titles at the system's launch alone, which solidifies the company's existing image as the strongest third party supporter of the console. Today's announcement claimed that there are "many more titlets currently in development" in addition to those planned for launch. The titles are:

- Red Steel (exclusive, already announced): Yakuza-themed gun- and swordplay action title from Ubisoft Paris
- Far Cry: This iteration of Far Cry will feature "a fresh storyline, new maps, characters and equipment," as well as being tailored to the Wii remote, according to an IGN interview
- GT Pro Series: A newly announced racing franchise unique to Wii, featuring 80 licensed cars, tuning options, and drift physics. Apparently, this game will be packaged with some kind of custom peripheral.
- Rayman Raving Rabbids (multiplatform, already announced): Ubisoft Montpellier's latest Rayman title is heading to all current- and next-gen consoles, though designer Michel Ancel seems to consider Wii the game's primary platform
- Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII: Wii version of Ubisoft Romania's WWII flight combat sim
- Monster 4x4 World Circuit: Wii version of Ubisoft's monster truck franchise
- Open Season (multiplatform): Wii version of Ubisoft's animated film adaptation

The French version of today's press release also stated that a Wii version of Prince of Persia will be released in March 2007, though the English-language release did not include that information. Prior rumors alleged that Ubisoft was preparing a compilation of the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time trilogy for Wii; this may be referring to that project.

Today's announcement brings the number of expected Wii launch titles near 30.

Last night, Blizzard sent out a press release indicating that various "key members" of the Blizzard Console team, formerly known as Swingin' Ape, have been relocated to various other Blizzard projects on the PC. The only currently announced new project in the works for the company is the upcoming The Burning Crusade expansion for World of Warcraft, but this week a Blizzard job posting surfaced, suggesting that the company has a new realtime strategy game in the works.

About a year ago, Blizzard's regular newsletter asked readers whether they would be interested in a Nintendo DS version of StarCraft, or a Nintendo DS or PSP version of Diablo. The company has not made any reference to these proposals since then.

One perennial rumor, that Blizzard is preparing a console version of World of Warcraft, is dealt yet another blow by today's announcement, having already been repeatedly denied by Blizzard representatives.

According to the latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Konami's classic PlayStation title Castlevania: Symphony of the Night will be ported to Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360. The game, commonly abbreviated SOTN, is revered among the Castlevania franchise for being the entry that inaugurated the series' Metroid-like nonlinear level design, which it has retained ever since.

The news may suggest that Microsoft has relaxed its 50MB size restriction on Xbox Live Arcade games. Requests sent to Konami and Microsoft regarding this possibility as well as the accuracy of the initial report had not been returned as of press time.

An update from Midway today revealed that the company's upcoming action title John Woo Presents Stranglehold (PS3, X360, PC) will be missing its 2006 release date and instead coming out some time in the first quarter of 2007. This update contradicts earlier reports from IGN that the game would be launching alongside Sony's upcoming PlayStation 3. No further details regarding the reason for the delay were revealed.

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Atari CEO Bruno Bonnell confirmed that Atari will not be publishing any titlets for PlayStation 3 in 2006, though 2007 will see some Atari output on Sony's upcoming machine. Oddly enough, Bonnell stated that the reason for the delayed showing has to do with a lack of information. "It's just that we're lacking information about the PS3 at this stage, because we have basically a rough release date and a high retail price point," he explained. "As far as the Wii and the Xbox 360 go, we'll be there for this season."

Cubed3 speaks with Hirohide Sugiura of Monolith Soft about the company's Baten Kaitos series of RPGs and about developing for Wii.

Silicon Knights' Ken McCulloch has updated the IGN-hosted blog on the company's upcoming Too Human (X360).

Following Electronic Arts' financial announcement today (see below), the company held a media and analyst conference call, during which executives elaborated on plans for current and upcoming consoles.

In regards to Sony's PlayStation 3, the company expects to have four or five titles available within the console's launch period, which EA defines as lasting from the date of the machine's retail availability until the end of the calendar year. Among these titles will be EA Tiburon's Madden NFL 07, EA Black Box's Need for Speed Carbon (preview, interview), and EA Redwood Shores' Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07. The other one or two titles were not named.

EA seems confident in the long term prospects of PlayStation 3, even if it takes developers some time to get accustomed to the machine. "This Christmas, it's going to be difficult to harness the full power of the PS3 on first generation software versus what will be second generation 360 games, so they're going to be more alike than different, is our opinion at this time," said an executive. "As those machines develop over time, there's a lot of horsepower inside the PS3 that we'll be able to unlock over years two, three, and four that we're very excited about." Speaking in terms of development progress on PS3 versus Xbox 360, an exec added, "We're slightly ahead of where we were on 360 at this time last year."

During a recent shareholder's meeting, an EA executive did express concern regarding consumer receptiveness to the PS3's high price tag. "[The price] is a business challenge that Sony has, and as a consequence there's an opportunity for Microsoft and Nintendo to pick up market share in this next cycle," he said.

Speaking of Nintendo, EA seems to be one of the companies taken by surprise by Wii's strong showing during E3, as well as the success of the Nintendo DS. "In terms of relative investment on the Wii and the DS, we are moving resources against those platforms to increase SKU count," said an exec. "We're definitely going after those platforms." In the company's recent shareholder meeting, EA responded to a question about the company's largely male late-20s audience, saying, "We're looking hard about broadening the demographic with both Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS."

However, given the long turnaround times associated with development, Wii will see significantly fewer launch titles than PS3. The company expects to ship only EA Canada's Madden NFL 07 (preview) and Need for Speed Carbon during the machine's launch period, with a total of five titles within the company's fiscal year. An exec stated that EA's Wii games may be priced at $49.99, though this price point was not set in stone. This is $10 less than the company's Xbox 360 and expected PS3 software price point. Nintendo has claimed that its own Wii games will not be priced above $49.99.

There was less to say about Xbox 360, but EA did state that it is currently the market leader on the platform.

EA spokespeople also touched on the ESA's recent announcements regarding the revised E3. "We fully support the decision that was made by the ESA board," said the company, adding that it will save millions of dollars for the company.

Midway confirmed today that its Chicago studio's upcoming Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (interview), previously announced for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, is now heading to Nintendo's upcoming Wii console as well. The game will contain over 60 characters from throughout the long running fighting franchise, and will allow players to create their own custom fatalities. Midway did not reveal how the unique Wii controller would be used in the game.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon is expected this October for PS2 and Xbox, and in early 2007 for Wii.

The Honolulu Star Bulletin reported today that Konami's Honolulu-based development studio, Konami Computer Entertainment Hawaii, has been closed for unspecified reasons. The studio developed such titles as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Melee (PS2, Xbox, GCN), Frogger: Helmet Chaos (NDS, PSP), and Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 2 (Xbox). Konami stated that the closure would affect 40 employees, though an executive from a local economic development organization stated that the studio at this point is now comprised of only about a dozen staffers.

A free playable demo of Volition's upcoming open-world gang warfare game Saint's Row (X360) is now available via Xbox Live, consisting of a look at the game's single-player component and character customization feature. THQ will release the game on August 29, 2006.

Sega this week announced that its upcoming mobster epic Yakuza has gone gold. The game will be shipping September 2, 2006 for PlayStation 2. - Screenshots.

Electronic Arts today announced its financial results for the fiscal 2007 first quarter. The company saw a 13% increase in quarterly revenue year over year, up to $413M, but posted a net loss of $81M, a 39% increase year over year. Both figures were substantially better than analysts expectations. The company estimates it will break even in the second quarter.

Following the announcement, EA stock gained 3% to $48.33 in after hours trading.

IGN has a video interview on Monolith's Xbox 360 version of F.E.A.R. (X360).

According to translated reports, Japanese publication Ge-Maga, apparently the country's oldest video game magazine, recently published survey results and comments from Japanese game developers regarding the upcoming PlayStation 3. Though not overwhelmingly negative, the findings definitely skewed in the skeptical direction.

PS3's price was the hardest to swallow for the developers, with 90.29% feeling the machine is too expensive and 9.71% feeling it is priced appropriately. "It's more expensive than my rent," pointed out one developer. On the two-tiered model strategy, 56.31% disagreed with the move while 39.32% agreed it makes sense. "There are fears that confusion will develop amongst users and retailers," said a respondant.

It doesn't seem that the currently announced game lineup has won everybody over just yet either. 55.82% believe that the machine's known lineup isn't enough to sell PS3, while 39.32% disagree. However, the opinions on PS3 of nearly half of the respondants--48.54%--were unaffected by E3; 32.52% were less confident in PS3 after E3, and only 3.39% were more confident after the show. Sony has stated it plans to have six million PS3 units on the market by next March. 62.13% of survey respondants do not believe Sony will sell that quantity in that time frame; 35.43% believe the company will.

Ge-Maga also spoke directly with Kojima Productions' Hideo Kojima and Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura. Kojima, long a supporter of Sony platforms, remains more confident in PS3 than many of his colleagues, though he does share a few criticisms. "No one will say that the price is cheap," he admitted. "However, the PS3 is 'the future.'" Nomura agreed, pointing out that the machine will likely hit its stride in a few years. "Thinking two to three years from now, the PS3 will be the most appropriate," he said. "We feel that when the games that we're making are released, the PS3 will be strong in the market." Some have expressed concern that development costs for PS3 will be difficult to manage. Kojima sees this as a necessary burden. "Making games for the PS3 will of course cost money, but if you put a stop to that, what will happen to the games industry?" he asked. "Is it okay if everyone just makes variety-style games? It will become like television is now."

Kojima's Metal Gear Solid series is notorious for its clever and appropriate usage of controller rumble functionality, so the designer has been understandably disappointed in the feature's absense from PS3, calling the move "unfortunate." Nomura speculated that it may be added to later revisions of PS3; Kojima proposed that if indeed Sony's reasons for ditching rumble are due to interference with PS3's motion sensing, the company should include an option to switch between the two functions.

In regards to Nintendo's upcoming Wii, Kojima has put heavy praise on its unique control scheme, and has stated that he is working on a game for the system. However, it is clear that the PlayStation brand remains his first choice. "The Wii is interesting, but in terms of functions, it's a machine with past concepts," he said. He'd like to see a console combining the features of the two machines: "The best thing would be a PS3 with controls like the Wii."

A demo of the Xbox 360 version of Human Head and 3D Realms' Prey (X360, PC) has finally arrived on Xbox Live, a full week after its PC counterpart hit FileShack. It's a big one too, clocking in at 1.17GB--considerably more than twice the size of the PC version. The demo contains the same content as the PC demo, featuring five single-player levels and two multiplayer levels.

Prey ships for Xbox 360 and PC on July 10, 2006. - Screenshots.

Reuters reports that Sony has been ordered to pay 27.9B yen ($243M) in taxes incurred between March 2000 and March 2005. Apparently, the company engaged in undervalued trasnactions between its gaming, CD, and movie branches located in Japan and those located in the United States. This resulted in the company taking in 74.4B yen ($650M) in income which was not reported to Japanese tax authorities.

Sony and gaming subsidiary Sony Computer Entertainment claim the order was "unsatisfactory" and plan to appeal the demands.

EA today announced the cover athlete for the upcoming NASCAR 07 (PS2, Xbox) and NASCAR (PSP): NEXTEL Cup Series driver Elliot Sadler, who happened to win the EA SPORTS Drivers Gaming Competition last year.

NASCAR 07 and NASCAR will ship September 6, 2006. - Box shots (PS2, Xbox, PSP).

Ubisoft sends over a short Q&A regarding the animation techniques used in Rainbow Six Vegas

IGN has launched a developer blog for Ubisoft Paris' Red Steel (Wii). The first team member to post an update is Red Steel producer Marie-Sol Beaudry.

IGN has a Q&A with Incognito's Brian Upton about the studio's upcoming Warhawk (PS3).

IGN has some translated details on the PS3 version of SEGA-AM2's Virtua Fighter 5 (PS3, also arcade).