Independent studio Chair Entertainment today announced Undertow, an underwater third person sidescrolling action game headed to Xbox Live Arcade. Using Epic's Unreal Engine 3, the game features both a 15-level single-player and cooperative campaign as well as a multiplayer component supporting up to 16 players. This makes Undertow the second confirmed 16-player game headed to Live Arcade, following the announcement of Gaia Industries' Wing Commander Arena (preview).

"We've really enjoyed designing Undertow for Xbox LIVE Arcade because it's given us the freedom to create a pure gaming experience focused on fun, addictive game play," said creative director Donald Mustard. "Whether a player is looking for hours of intense multiplayer or they have just 10 minutes for the ultimate gaming experience, we're confident Undertow will be as exciting to play as it has been for us to create."

Chair Entertainment was split off of GlyphX, developer of the Majesco-published Advent Rising (Xbox, PC). Chair's primary project is a multi-medium franchise entitled Empire, created by novelist Orson Scott Card. Card was also a writer on Advent Rising.

Undertow is expected to be released for Xbox Live Arcade this summer. A gameplay teaser trailer is available at Chair's official site.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has announced that it plans to cut the price of the PSP in European territories. The system, currently priced at 199.99 Euros (US$272.19) and GBP 149.99 (US$300.47) in the UK, will be adjusted to 169.99 Euros (US$231.36) and GBP 129.99 (US$260.41) in the UK as of May 4. Along with the system price change, five games will be added to the Platinum game line, which will also be repriced to GBP 14.99 (US$30.03): Namco's Ridge Racer 2, Namco's Tekken: Dark Resurrection, Guerrilla Games' Killzone: Liberation, SCE's LocoRoco and Namco's MotoGP.

The European price adjustment follows a similar drop in the United States, which saw the price of the system drop from $199.99 to $169.99.

This week's Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday will see two new games added to the Xbox Live Marketplace rather than the more common single release.

Klei Entertainment's Eets: Chowdown (screenshots), previously released on PC, will make its way to the service this Wednesday. The 2D puzzle game consists of 120 levels and a new action mode called Marsho Madness. It is available for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

Pinball FX from Zen Studios will also sell for 800 Microsoft Points ($10). The traditional pinball game offers two control options, one based on the standard Xbox 360 and one based on hand motions interpreted by the Xbox Live Vision camera.

As usual, this week sees three new games added to the Wii's Virtual Console service. Konami, Sega, and Hudson are contributing one game each from the Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and TurboGrafx-16 libraries, respectively.

Konami's Gradius III (Super Nintendo, 1-2 players) is first up, containing ten levels of sidescrolling, space-shooting action. It is available for 800 Wii Points ($8).

Westone's Wonder Boy in Monster World is the fifth game in the sidescrolling Zelda-esque Wonder Boy series, and follows Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap, whose TurboGrafx-16 version was released on the Virtual Console as Dragon's Curse (review). It has a price tag of 800 Wii Points ($8).

Finally, Hudson offers Battle Lode Runner (TurboGrafx-16, 1-5 players), a multiplayer version of the classic action puzzle franchise Lod Runner available for 600 Wii Points ($6).

Confirming longstanding rumors, the latest edition of the IGN Weekly video show has word from Incognito Entertainment that its upcoming PlayStation 3 flight combat game Warhawk will be a download-only title available through the PlayStation Store. The show features interview segments with various members of the Warhawk team.

Notably, it was also confirmed that the game has also lost its single-player component, which was apparently not up to the same level of quality as its multiplayer. At a certain point in the development cycle, the team chose to dedicate all its efforts to crafting a strong online experience, which will include numerous gametypes including standbys such as deathmatch and capture the flag, and a new territory-based gametype. "Single-player just really wasn't up to par," said Warhawk director Dylan Jobe.

Warhawk will support 32 players online and will include a dedicated server option for those who wish to run their own Warhawk servers. The game's Sixaxis motion-based controls, first showcased during last year's pre-E3 Sony press conference, will be an option for players rather than a requirement.

Incognito developers pointed out that the cancellation of Warhawk's single-player campaign leaves the studio with a large amount of unused content, hinting that expedited additional downloadable content is likely to be in the works. "One interesting and good side effect of making the decision to go multiplayer," said technical art director David Wright, "is we have a pool of assets of other vehicles, of other towns, of other things that we can pull from and actually use to offer--if Sony wants it, if it's successful--expansion packs."

New screenshots are expected to be released next week; prior shots are available here. Warhawk is slated to be released for PlayStation 3 later this year.

Team17 has long been known to be creating a version of its popular and longrunning Worms franchise of turn-based strategy shooters to Xbox Live Arcade, and today Microsoft revealed the the game finally has a solid date. Known simply as Worms, it will be next week's Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday's release, available on March 7 at 1:00am Pacific time.

Worms features twenty single-player scenarios and multiplayer, both online and same-screen, across three environment types. As in past games in the franchise, Worms features a random terrain generator. Standard Xbox 360 features such as leaderboards, high definition graphics, and Achievements are also present. Screenshots are available here.

Worms will be available for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

Bizarre Creations' obviously-in-development Project Gotham Racing 4 (X360) was inadvertently announced last year when automobile manufacturer Peugeot disclosed that the winner of its Peugeot Design Contest 2007 would have his or her design produced as a concept car and featured as a vehicle in PGR4, slated to release in late 2007 or early 2008.

Peugeot has now announced the results of that contest, which saw 4,029 entries from 113 countries. The winning car, Mihai Panaitescu's Flux, is currently being integrated into the upcoming Xbox 360 game by Bizarre. Renders of the Flux are available here. This month a full scale concept version of the car will go into production for the Frankfurt Auto Show in September.

"We are excited to work with Peugeot in helping to visualize the future of Peugeot vehicle design. The Flux is a perfect fit for PGR4," said Bizarre managing director Martyn Chudley. "We were impressed with the innovative and the extreme car designs submitted. We hope that Mihai Panaitescu will be excited when he sees The Flux faithfully created on the Xbox 360. We look forward to adding a lot of 'Gotham' to its chassis!"

Capcom sent word that the update and patch for Lost Planet (X360), originally announced as being available by March 9, has gone live a week ahead of schedule. All of the updates promised last month are included, with various bug fixes and usability improvements implemented. For the full list of changes, check out Capcom's update notes.

Preceding the theatrical release of the upcoming film The Golden Compass, an adaptation of the first novel in Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials, will be Shiny Entertainment's like-titled video game adaptation, publisher Sega announced today. Players will take the role of heroine Lyra Belacque as well as being able to control her companion bear Iorek Byrnison. Lyra's likeness will be drawn from her film counterpart's actress, Dakota Blue Richards, while Daniel Craig will lend his face to the game's Lord Asriel. There has been no announcement as to whether the film's cast will provide any voice acting. Sega also notes that the game contains new environments not represented in the film; presumably, they are based on locations from Pullman's novel. We've got some screenshots and artwork available for your perusal.

Founded by now independent designer David Perry, Shiny is best known as the creator of franchises such as Earthworm Jim and MDK; more recently, it headed up development on two games based on the Matrix films, Enter the Matrix and The Matrix: Path of Neo. Last year, Shiny was acquired by independent developer conglomerate Foundation 9 from parent company Atari.

Shiny's The Golden Compass is in the works for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP, and PC. Artificial Mind and Movement (A2M) is developing a Nintendo DS version. Sega plans to ship the game this fall, in advance of the film's December 7 theatrical release date.

Publisher THQ today announced the development of MotoGP '07, the next entry in the company's franchise of motorcycle racers. Announced only for Xbox 360, the game corresponds to the 2007 MotoGP season and adds new bikes and tracks. "THQ's MotoGP titles have shipped in excess of 1.5 million units and are critically acclaimed for pushing the limits of realism and console technology," said THQ worldwide marketing senior VP Bob Aniello. "With MotoGP '07, THQ raises the bar yet again for both core gamers and racing enthusiasts."

No developer was announced for the game. Climax Studios, developer of the THQ-published MotoGP '06, was acquired last year by publisher Buena Vista Games.

THQ expects to ship MotoGP '07 for Xbox 360 this fall.

Capcom announced today that it has become the latest publisher to pick up a license to Epic Games' increasingly widely used Unreal Engine 3. No details were released about the identity of the project for which the engine will be used, beyond that it is being developed in North America. The game is almost certainly being created by an external developer, as Capcom's only internal North American development team, Maximo and Final Fight: Streetwise developer Capcom Production Studio 8, was closed last year.

"Capcom is known for the quality and artistry of their games," said Epic VP Mark Rein. "We're glad that Unreal Engine 3 can be a part of their creative process."

UK-based budget publisher Data Design today announced approximately eight billion (read: 13) of its properties to European Wii gamers in 2007. Among the games expected in the second quarter of th eyear is the action game Ninjabread Man, featuring a ninja in gingerbread man form, previously released on PlayStation 2 in 2005 for the European market. The other titles planned to ship in the second quarter, most of which are fairly self-explanatory, are as follows:

- Billy the Wizard
- Myth Makers Super Kart GP
- Anubis II
- Monster Trux Extreme: Offroad Edition
- Elviz: Rock N Roll Adventures

Expected later this year are the following games:

- Hamster Heroes
- Trixie in Toyland
- Action Girlz Racing
- Mini Desktop Racing
- Myth Makers - Orbs of Doom
- London Taxi Rushour
- Earache Extreme Metal Racing

"We have been developers for the past 24 years and we have seen many new consoles but the Nintendo Wii controller is exciting," said Data Design Interactive's Steward Green MD. "Rather than just offering faster graphics and more memory this is the first real innovation in hardware, and because of the ease of use and dynamic control we can see both new games and new players being brought into the games market."

No plans for North American distribution have been announced.

Today, developer Bethesda Softworks confirmed yesterday's reports that the acclaimed The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, released earlier this year for PC and Xbox 360, will also be heading to PlayStation 3. Furthermore, the company announced that the game will be a launch title for PlayStation 3 when the machine goes on sale this November in North America, and next March in Europe.

Bethesda also confirmed The Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion, a separate PSP game set for release next spring in North America and Europe. "The Elder Scrolls Travels" is the branding Bethesda has previously used for its Elder Scrolls games on mobile devices and N-Gage.

Disney subsidiary Buena Vista Games, which is recently been gaining more and more visibility in the video game publishing world, today announced its intention to buy the Climax Racing studio from UK developer Climax Group. Climax is the developer of the THQ-owned MotoGP franchise and the Sony-owned ATV Offroad Fury franchise. BVG also owns the recently formed Propaganda Games, working on Turok (working title) (PS3, X360), as well as veteran developer Avalanche Software, responsible for the Tak series. It is inclear how the upcoming Climax Racing acquisition will affect the future of the MotoGP and ATV Offroad Fury franchises.

"The acquisition of Climax Racing aligns perfectly with our strategic and geographic goals by allowing us to both reach into new genres and new markets for creative talent," said BVG senior VP and GM Graham Hopper. "Adding Climax Racing to our creative family will provide an additional catalyst for our continued growth in the video games market." Terms of the deal, which is expected to close next month, were not disclosed.

When Midway first announced that it would be bringing Blitz: The League, its non-NFL successor to NFL Blitz, to Wii, the game was an expected launch title for the console. However, ever since that announcement, very little has been heard about the title, prompting some to speculate that it had been cancelled. However, speaking to IGN, the company confirmed that the game is still in the works but, as was becoming more and more obvious, will not be a Wii launch title. No new release period was given.

Today, Microsoft released a playable demo of the Xbox 360 version of Yuke's' WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007 on Xbox Live Marketplace. The free download comes in at a staggering 1.06GB. Marketplace has also been updated with trailers for Neversoft's Tony Hawk's Project 8, Midway & Tigon's The Wheelman, Kaos Studios' Frontlines: Fuel of War, and Pivotal Games' Crossfire.

Electronic Arts today confirmed expectations that EA Tiburon and EA Canada's Madden NFL 07 and EA Black Box's Need for Speed Carbon will be launching alongside Nintendo's Wii console when launches on November 19, 2006. "Both Madden NFL 07 and Need For Speed Carbon were able to really bring out the innovation in the new FreeMotion Controller on the Wii and will attract a whole new sector of gamers," said EA Canada senior VP and GM John Schappert. "We are honored to be a part of the launch of this new exciting platform and are inspired by the new creative ideas it will let us explore."

X06 coverage is up from GameSpot, IGN, Game Informer, 1UP,

Electronic Arts today announced that developer Criterion is currently working on the fifth entry in its well regarded Burnout series of racing games. Entitled simply Burnout 5, the game is headed for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Burnout 5 diverges significantly from past series entries by featuring a seamless open world environment called Paradise City. "Gone is the need to jump in and out of menus to aimlessly search for fun," notes EA's press release. As players gain more notoriety in the world, they will face up against the city's other legendary racers. "Burnout 5 is a complete reinvention of the series, built from the ground up for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360," said Criterion designer Alex Ward. "To create truly next-generation gameplay, we needed to create a truly next-generation game, from top to bottom." In a feature that is somewhat reminiscent of Stefan Eriksson's car crash that spawned months of bizarre and convoluted Gizmondo-related news, today's announcement claims that players will be able to actually "rip their cars in half."

EA plans to ship Criterion Games' Burnout 5 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2007.

Raven Software's upcoming action RPG superhero mashup Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (PS2, Xbox, GCN, PS3, X360, Wii, NDS, PSP, GBA, PC) will be scored by its own alliance of composers. Activision announced today that Chance Thomas (Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire, Unreal II: The Awakening), Cris Velasco (Jaws: Unleashed, Terminator 3: The Redemption, God of War), and Mark Griskey (Gladius, Star Wars: Racer Revenge, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith) will be handling composition duties for the game, which will feature over 50 minutes of original music.

Activision plans to ship Raven Software's Marvel Ultimate Alliance to all platforms later this year.

IGN relays information from a Tecmo financial report indicating that the veteran publisher has signed on to release content for Nintendo's Virtual Console service for Wii. Long time gamers no doubt remember the company's classic NES titles such as Tecmo Bowl and other sports games, as well as the Ninja Gaiden series, both of which are likely candidates for Virtual Console inclusion. Apparently, the company's support for the service is "aggressive." No specific titles or release dates were divulged.

Bethesda sends word that its next piece of downloadable content for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion will be available for the Xbox 360 version of the game via Xbox Live this Thursday, August 31, the same day the content for the PC version will be available. The Spell Tomes pack, which adds several new spells to the game, is the cheapest Oblivion download yet, at 80 Microsoft Points ($1).

Atlus announced today that its dark Sony-developed survival horror title Rule of Rose (PS2) has received its very own official site. Rule of Rose is set for release in North America on September 12, 2006.

Capcom has announced that its zombie killing title Dead Rising (X360) has seen brisk sales in its first two weeks at retail, with the publisher already having shipped over 500,000 units in North America. The game, which has also seen strong reviews, is set for release on September 8 in Europe and on September 28 in Japan.

Over at FileShack we've got a video diary on Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Vegas (PS3, X360).

As you may have noticed in tonight's Evening Reading, Wired has a lengthy feature up asking whether the PS3 can save Sony. It frames the upcoming PS3 in the context of Sony's recent PR and financial troubles, looking back on the company's history leading up to its present situation, and comparing it to its competitors in Microsoft and Nintendo.

CNET News.com has an interview with Sony Computer Entertainment America president Kaz Hirai, speaking on PlayStation 3 and revealing nothing particularly new.

Microsoft's Peter Moore recently commented on the state of Xbox 360's backwards compatibility with Xbox titles. He said that Microsoft "under promised and over delivered" on its backwards compatibility plans, and "people aren't as worried about a game being backwards compatible." After taking flak for what may have been perceived as a cavalier attitude towards the feature, Moore has attempted to set the record straight in an interview with Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb in Hryb's latest podcast.

Moore states that his comments were misconstrued through editing, and his full comments were not reproduced in the published interview. "What my words were, 'Nobody is concerned about backwards compat,' were misinterpreted as 'Nobody cares about backwards compat.' ...We're going to continue to get closer to our stated target of every Xbox game being back compat to the Xbox 360, and I'm hopeful we get there." He contends that the issue is not that people do not want backwards compatibility, it is that people are no longer concerned about the issue, since the breadth of game compatibility so far exceeds Microsoft's original stated promises.

Perhaps taking an opportunity for a slight jab at competitor Sony, which will likely be using a hardware solution for its PlayStation 3 backwards compatibility, Hryb noted that a software approach allows for constant updates and improvements. "That's the power of software," he said. "You can continue to update, it's not like you're throwing some old hardware into a new case."

In regards to next week's promised backwards compatibility update, Moore stated that it will add about twenty games to the system's existing list of compatible Xbox titles. Two of these will be Vicarious Visions' Xbox port of id Software's Doom 3 (also PC), and TT Games' (formerly Traveller's Tales) Xbox version of LEGO Star Wars (also PS2, GCN, GBA, PC).

Award winning independent studio Introversion, developer of Uplink (PC) and Darwinia (PC), may release its games on either Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 at some point in the future, according to Eurogamer. When asked about bringing its games to consoles, Introversion's Vicky Arundel replied, "I'm afraid I can't really give you any concrete details at the moment - suffice it is to say that we are currently discussing a number of deal negotiations with Sony and Microsoft." Presumably, the games would be delivered via Xbox Live Arcade or Sony's upcoming online service. It is unclear whether the games being considered are existing or upcoming titles.

Introversion is currently working on Defcon (PC), a title focusing on thermonuclear war.

Square Enix has officially announced the name of its upcoming Dragon Quest Monsters title for Nintendo DS via a teaser site. Entitled Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, the game also appears to feature some kind of online play via Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection service. According to translated details from GameSpot, the game will be directed by Dragon Quest creator Yuji Hori. Veteran series character designer Akira Toriyama will handle character design, and Dragon Quest composer Koichi Sugiyama will handle the score.

Pandemic Studios is currently running a Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (PS3) contest, the winner of which will have his or her tattoo featured on the character Mattias in the upcoming action title. For the rules and submission form, check out the official site.

Konami today announced its cover athlete for the upcoming Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 (PS2, X360, NDS, PSP, PC). Twenty-four year old Adriano Leite Ribeiro will be taking the honors when the game ships early next year. Ribeiro is currently signed to Inter Milano through 2010, and also plays for the Brazilian national team.

GameSpot has a video interview on Kuju Entertainment's Sensible Soccer 2006 (PS2, Xbox, PC).

As promised previously, a significant Xbox 360 dashboard update is indeed on the way. Specific details regarding the changes came out today, including the much desired active download feature. While there is not yet a specific release date for the patch, it is expected in the coming weeks.

- Active download will allow users to download files in the background while performing other tasks on the console. Up to six files can be queued up at one time. When using the online component of a game, the current download will be paused for the duration of play. Upon completion of a download, users can immediately play or activate the file without having to navigate back to it.
- Another frequently requested feature is the upcoming option to boot up directly to the Dashboard, rather than straight to the game inserted into the system's DVD-ROM drive.
- Xbox Live Marketplace will be receiving a badly needed organizational revamp. Demos will be searchable by genre. Media files will be appropriately sorted by type, rather than having, for example, movie and game trailers lumped together.
- By default, when DVD playback is resumed after being stopped, it will resume from the last watched scene.
- Gamers who have left their machines idle will be labeled as such on friends lists.
- The update will be a patch to the system's firmware, meaning no hard drive or memory card is required.

In the latest issue of Japanese magazine Famitsu, PlayStation head Ken Kutaragi firmly defended PlayStation 3's recently announced price point, first pointing out that PlayStation and PlayStation 2 sold extremely well at launch despite higher price points than their competitors. "If you consider the PlayStation 3 a toy, then yes, it is an expensive toy. However, it is more than a toy," he said. "It is a PlayStation 3. And it is the only PlayStation 3. I hope that those who understand this will gladly purchase it." Kutaragi has frequently spoken on the multifaceted functions of PlayStation family devices, most famously claiming in an interview with Impress PC Watch, "The PlayStation 3 is not a game machine. We've never once called it a game machine."

In other PS3 news, trade publication MCV spoke with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe boss David Reeves, who confirmed that Sony's European division "hope[s] we will be day and date with the US [launch] and I hope that we'll get the same quantities as US as well." He also stated his belief that the first machines being manufactured are slated for Europe. However, he did admit that, at first, PS3 may be present in "small seed quantities" throughout European territories, due to the difficulties of a worldwide launch. Like Kutaragi, Reeves made a point to defend PS3's price tag, comparing it to expensive early Blu-ray players. He also pointed out that it is in fact a games machine. "599 Euro for a Blu-ray player--which is what a PS3 is--and a games machines with lots of good titles coming out as well is actually a steal," he said. He claimed the 499 Euro machine is "even better value," though SCE UK's Ray Maguire recently stated that the less expensive model may not be headed to the UK at all.

Nintendo's UK always-vocal boss David Yarnton was confident in the choice of the "Wii" name for Nintendo's upcoming console, in an E3 interview with Eurogamer. Perhaps displaying a bit too much optimism, Yarnton claimed that criticism of the name has completely evaporated, following the company's strong E3 showing. "That's dead and gone," he declared confidently. "If you look at Nintendo, which has been around for over 100 years, there's always been very much a philosophical approach to what we do, very much a holistic approach to gaming, and we're looking to be all-encompassing for everyone," stated Yarnton, referring to the intended inclusive meaning of "Wii," which is of course a homonym of "we," as well as of something else.

PSP fans hoping to get in touch with their old school puzzle adventure side will be pleased to hear that Midway has announced that it will be bringing a remake of Cyan's seminal Myst to the portable system. The game is coming courtesy of Sega, which will be publishing the remake in Japan. Midway is handling European distribution. There are still no currently announced plans to bring Myst on PSP to North America, but Midway has not ruled out the possibility.

Q-Games' upcoming Star Fox title for DS, announced just recently at E3, has been officially named and dated by Nintendo. The space shooter will be called Star Fox Command and is slated to ship August 28, 2006.

Music4Games has an interview with Jesper Kyd, who most recently finished up the score for Io's Hitman: Blood Money.

IGN has a chat with game designer Evan Wells about Naughty Dog's as yet untitled PS3 game.

Videos showing features from the upcoming Xbox 360 Dashboard update are available at 1UP and GameSpot.

FiringSquad reflects on some of the games that weren't at E3.

Ritual Entertainment's Tom Mustaine has been quite public with his desire to distribute the recently inaugurated FPS series SiN Episodes distributed to Xbox 360 over Xbox Live. Back in January, he revealed that Ritual was actively looking into that possibility. Now, in an...interestingly conducted interview with Ain't It Cool News, Mustaine spoke on the 360 version in a more confident manner. "We haven’t finalized those plans yet so I haven’t really announced it yet," he said. "But we will be doing it." Again, he mentions the Xbox Live Marketplace, which suggests that the company may work out an agreement with Microsoft to bypass the current 50MB restriction to games bought through the service.

Mustaine also mentions a PS3 version of the game, though that seems like more of an eventual hope than a current active plan.

Musician Kenji Eno is one of gaming's cult figures, having designed the "interactive cinema" titles D (SAT, PS1, 3D0, PC), Enemy Zero (SAT, PC), and D2 (DC). His former studio Warp once employed acclaimed designer Fumito Ueda, of Ico (PS2) and Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) fame. Having been away from the gaming world for years, it seems that Eno is about to make his return. Speaking to Gamasutra, the designer revealed that he has founded a new development studio called From Yellow To Orange (fyto) and is currently working on a new game. Though he did not reveal the game's platform, he did say "It will be for a console with a new control device" and wave his hands in the air, suggesting Wii or, a bit less likely, PlayStation 3.

The fyto website contains nothing beyond an appropriate yellow to orange gradient and the assurance that "fyto will be on your side."

Microsoft has announced plans to launch Xbox 360 in India, targeting consumers benefiting from a current economic upswing and increased spending in the country. "It is estimated there are 1.6 million gamers in India who spend at least 2 hours playing everyday," said Mohit Anand of Microsoft's entertainment division in India. Microsoft corporate VP of global retail sales Mitch Koch noted that Xbox 360 would be available in India "before our competition has launched in any other market."

The system will be available before the holiday of Diwali, which occurs on October 21, for a retail price of 19,900 rupees ($439). That price includes a bundled game. The price point is somewhat surprising, given Microsoft exec Peter Moore's defense of the $299 core system as, among other things, a viable product for emerging markets.

Advanced Media Network has a video interview with several developers on Retro Studios' Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii).

GTA creator David Jones speaks a bit on his studio Realtime Worlds' upcoming game Crackdown (X360).

Two developers from Grasshopper Manufacture, Goichi Suda and Takeshi Ogura, chat about the studio's upcoming projects including Contact (NDS) and Heroes (Wii).

IGN speaks with Opera's Scott Hedrick about the upcoming Wii Opera browser. Notably, Hedrick reveals that, unlike the upcoming DS version of Opera, the Wii version will not be sold as a separate item, making it more likely that it will be downloadable or included out of the box.

Mercenaries (PS2, Xbox) developer Pandemic Studios has recently been dropping a series of hints on its website related to its mysterious Project Q. The concensus among the internets was that the images and captions were clues suggesting a sequel to Mercenaries. Those suspicious were confirmed when Pandemic officially announced Mercenaries 2: World in Flames. "While we're building on the core mercenary experience we created for the original," said Pandemic CEO Andrew Goldman, "we've taken full advantage of next-gen technology to offer a more richly detailed, reactive, living world than gamers have ever seen before." Specific platforms were not revaled, but considering the original game shipped for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, successors PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 are a fair bet. LucasArts published the first game, but was conspicuously absent from the press release, suggesting a new publisher may have been found.

No real information about the game was disclosed, with Pandemic preferring to keep the game under wraps until it is presented during E3. Check back next week for more.

When Nintendo released its updated DS Lite handheld in Japan, the system saw demand that was even higher than anticipated, which most likely resulted in Nintendo's reluctance to nail down any non-Japanese release dates by which time the supply chain would be sufficient. Today, the company finally revealed when DS Lite will be coming to North America: June 11. The system will be priced at $129.99, the current going rate for the original Nintendo DS, and will be available only in the iPod-esque Polar White color at first. Nintendo Australia also announced that the system will be available in Australia a bit early, arriving June 1 for AUS$199.95. Nintendo Europe has not yet announced a release date for European territories.

Though it answers several important questions, Nintendo's press release raises a few as well. It was not stated whether the original Nintendo DS will see a price drop once its sleeker and brighter sibling hits shelves, for example. Also, though the system will be available for a base price of $129.99, the release states that it will be priced "as low as" the quoted figure, implying there may be other options such as a version with a packed in game. The obvious choice there would be New Super Mario Bros. (DS), which will be released on May 15.

If you're considering picking up a DS Lite and are curious how it stacks up to the original Nintendo DS, check out our extensive hands on preview.

In the past week, we've seen quite a few rumors confirmed as fact. That happened yet again today as Vivendi confirmed that Monolith's acclaimed PC shooter F.E.A.R. will be heading to Xbox 360. Last month, Monolith's Xbox 360 launch title Condemned: Criminal Origins took the opposite route, heading over to the PC platform. Day 1 Studios, responsible for the two MechAssault games on Xbox, will be handling the port to 360.

F.E.A.R. for Xbox 360 is set to ship this fall. The game will be shown at E3. - Screenshot.

THQ announced today that it will be publishing a video game based on the HBO mob-centric television series The Sopranos. The player is cast as the illegimate son of Sal "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero, attempting to rise within the ranks of the mob and prove complete loyalty to boss Tony Soprano. Neither a developer nor a final name was revealed for the game, which is in development for PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360. "Teaming up with one of the best in the business, we're excited to enter this new entertainment medium with our most successful and widely recognized original series, The Sopranos," said HBO's Carmi Zlotnik. "It's clear that fans want more of The Sopranos, and creating a game that puts the player in their world is a great way to satisfy them."

THQ's The Sopranos game is planned for release this holiday season.

Sony Computer Entertainment America today revealed its E3 lineup for PlayStation 2 and PSP. Not surprisingly, the publisher is keeping quiet on the PS3 front until next week's pre-E3 press conference. Today's list consists of thirteen games across the two platforms.

- ATV Offroad Fury Pro (PSP)
- ATV Offroad Fury 4 (PS2)
- Gangs of London (PSP)
- God of War II (PS2)
- Killzone: Liberation (PSP)
- Lemmings (PSP)
- LocoRoco (PSP)
- NBA '07 (PS2, PSP)
- Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (PSP)
- Rogue Galaxy (PS2)
- SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 2 (PSP)
- SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Combined Assault (PS2)
- World Tour Soccer '06 (PSP)

THQ announced its full lineup for this year's E3, consisting of nineteen games across all current- and next-gen home consoles as well as portable consoles and PC. The console lineup is as follows:

- Saints Row (X360)
- Frontlines: Fuel of War (PS3, X360, PC)
- WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2007 (PS2, PS3, X360, PSP)
- The Sopranos (PS2, X360)
- MotoGP '06 (Xbox 360)
- GTR (Xbox 360)
- Cars (PS2, Xbox, GCN, X360, Wii, DS, PSP, GBA, PC)
- Destroy All Humans 2 (PS2, Xbox)
- SongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab (PS2, GCN, Wii, DS, GBA, PC)
- Monster House (PS2, GCN, DS, GBA)
- Bratz: Forever Diamondz (PS2, GCN, DS, GBA, PC)
- Barnyard (PS2, GCN, GBA, PC)
- Avatar: The Last Airbender (PS2, Xbox, GCN, Wii, DS, PSP, GBA, PC)
- Juiced: Eliminator (PSP)
- Alex Rider: Stormbreaker (DS, GBA)

Activision announced its fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal year outcomes this week, and like so many other gaming firms in recent months, the situation could be better. In the fourth quarter, the company saw a net loss of $9.2M on revenue of $188.1 versus a profit of $3.6M on $203.9M in the same period last year, for a decrease in profits of $12.8M year over year. Still, for the full fiscal year, Activision saw increased revenue over the previous year, rising from $1.41B to $1.47B. However, overall profits shrunk substantially from $138M to $42M. The company pinned the declines on the oft-noted current console transition, which has been taking its toll industry-wide. Activision expects revenues to fall in 2007, but to rebound significantly heading into fiscal 2008.

During an analyst conference call, Activision also indicated that it plans to have three launch titles each for PlayStation 3 and Wii this year. A company representative noted that these games will ship during "launch periods" rather than necessarily launch day. Furthermore, it was confirmed that Activision will be lending greater support to Wii than was granted to GameCube. One of Activision's launch period titles for Wii is almost certainly Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam, a yet-to-be-formally-announced Tony Hawk skateboarding spinoff heading to Wii and DS courtesy of Star Control and Star Control II developer Toys for Bob.

Lucasfilm today announced that the original Star Wars trilogy (you know, Han shoots first etc.) will be coming to DVD for a limited time on September 12. At the same time, LucasArts announced that Traveller's Tales' LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy will be hitting shelves the same day. It was also revealed for the first time that the game is in development for Xbox 360. That means it's headed to a total of eight platforms, the others being PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Nintendo DS, PSP, Game Boy Advance, and PC. LEGO Star Wars II is a followup to last year's surprisingly successful LEGO Star Wars, which featured a LEGO brick video game rendition of the Star Wars prequel films. For details on the DVDs and game, check the full press release. - Trailer.

Next Generation catches up with Microsoft's Peter Moore during the runup to E3. Moore touches on the competition, Xbox 360 in Japan, and why the term "online gaming" is a term that is "off-putting" and "quite frankly seems kind of geeky." Please, implores Moore, call it connected gaming.

Game Informer interviews a EA's Jason Armenise and Chuck Blevins about the company's version of Madden for Wii.

A giant list of upcoming products to be featured at E3 2006 was sent out to media today by way of the expo's PR team. It consists of small blurbs about games and peripherals, both announced and unannounced, that will be shown publically for the first time at the upcoming event. Here are some of the previously unannounced ones:

- Hudson is currently working on a flight sim for Nintendo Revolution, currently referred to only by the ambiguous moniker "Flight Game." Flight Game will allow "total plane control as players pilot their planes through various acrobatic flight maneuvers ranging from sky artistry to bomb drops." It sounds somewhat similar to the Revolution flight sim tech demo that was presented to press at last year's Tokyo Game Show. Given Hudson's frequent collaborations with Nintendo, this may be a more full-bodied extension of that design.

- In other Hudson news, the company will be bringing its long dormant Dungeon Explorer franchise to Xbox 360 and PSP. Dungeon Explorer originally premiered on the TurboGrafx console, a joint venture between NEC and Hudson, and this new version will be a "revamped and re-envisioned game that captures all the action RPG glory of the original." The Xbox 360 version will feature randomly generated maps, a "new dark fantasy setting," customizable characters, and Xbox Live Support. The only detail about the PSP version of the game is that it will support multiplayer.

- A DreamCatcher Interactive blurb revealed that the PC and Xbox title Painkiller will be coming to PS2 and PSP. There were no details about new content coming to the game, but it did confirm that the game takes place "in a totally gothic setting," man.

Expo floor plans for the upcoming Electronic Gaming Expo 2006 have been revealed and geographically, the situation is largely identical to recent years. As usual Sony and Nintendo square off in the West Hall, positioned adjacently with the two biggest booths of E3. This year, the companies will of course be showing off their upcoming new consoles, PS3 and Revolution. Also as usual, Microsoft will be residing in the South Hall, where its booth is the largest in the room. Most large third party publishers, such as EA, Activision, Ubisoft, Square Enix, Sega, and so on, are also located in the South Hall.

Following recent reports of a delay, Rockstar Games today announced the official release date and price point for the upcoming PS2 version of Rockstar Leeds' Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, which debuted on PSP late last year. The game will hit shelves June 6, 2006 with a budget price of $19.99. It will follow in Europe three days later for 29.99 Euro (GBP 19.99 in the UK). Today's press release did not contain any further specific information on the game's content.

Keeping with general expectation, the latest industry sales data from tracking firm NPD shows that combined hardware and software sales dropped 16% this past March year over year. While software saw an 8% drop, hardware was down a significant 31%. The decline is the latest in a consistent trend over the last year showing similar lower sales. As usual, much of the blame is placed on consumer reluctance to buy current gen games and hardware in the face up further next generation console releases later this year. The situation is compounded by supply shortages of Xbox 360, though Microsoft has recently pledged that production of the machine is increasing.

Major publisher Square Enix has revised its earnings forecasts for fiscal year that ended March 31, 2006, lowering profit expectations a huge 43% from $149M (17.5 billion yen) to $85M (10 billion yen). Kingdom Hearts II (PS2) and Final Fantasy XII (PS2), the latest entries i