Mega-publisher Electronic Arts is about to buy game-oriented social networking site Rupture for $30 million, according to an unconfirmed TechCrunch report.

Citing "sources with knowledge of the deal," the site claims EA is primarily interested in the technology behind the startup. Creator Shawn Fanning, who founded Napster, and partner Jon Baudanza are said to become EA employees under the agreement.

While EA has yet to comment on the rumors, the company has made several efforts towards building and strengthening online game-related communities, such the ability to upload and share in-game videos from EA Black Box's Skate (PS3, X360) via the title's website.

Though Microsoft's Spring Showcase event doesn't take place until tomorrow, more supposed details have emerged to accompany the already-leaked media and rumors of a motion-sensitive Xbox 360 controller.

Tomorrow's announcements apparently include a sequel to the Xbox 360 movie-trivia title Scene It?, a game called Ninja Blade, and something known only as Lips. That is, according to listings that supposedly popped up on a Microsoft's press site and were captured by NeoGAF.

Apart from the product names, no other details are available. Some believe that Lips could be a voice-controlled game or a voice-related accessory, though it is all just idle speculation at this point.

The listings also suggest that the Viva Pinata sequel that unofficially debuted this morning will be known as Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise.

Check back with Shacknews tomorrow morning for the full scoop on Microsoft's Spring Showcase and its many titles, including Banjo Kazooie (X360).

Microsoft's rumored Wii Remote-esque Xbox 360 controller could be unveiled Tuesday morning, according to the lastest round of rumors. Reportedly code-named Newton, the motion-sensitive device is said to have four face buttons, an analog stick, a speaker and a microphone.

Keeping in line with previous murmurs that Microsoft subsidiary Rare was playing a key part in the device's development, Kotaku claims that the device and its integration into Rare's Xbox 360 platformer Banjo Kazooie could be demonstrated at an event next Tuesday.

Further evidence that Microsoft will make some type announcement comes from the unusual timing of the event's press embargo, as Microsoft will be allowing coverage before any media is allowed to enter the showcase.

Check back next week for more information, as Shacknews will be attending the Microsoft Spring Showcase and will provide full details on Banjo Kazooie and any other titles shown or announced at the event.

Crackdown (X360) developer Realtime Worlds bought back the rights to its upcoming crime MMO All Points Bulletin (PC, X360) in hopes of selling it to Rockstar for use as a Grand Theft Auto MMO, according to a rumor reported by Eurogamer.

While such a rumor would typically seem ludicrous, Grand Theft Auto creator David Jones founded Realtime Worlds and is a major influence on the development of APB. The story cites a "credible industry source" as the origin of the claim, but provides no additional details as to his or her credentials.

Rockstar founder Sam Houser recently noted that a massively multiplayer Grand Theft Auto was "very, very doable" and "very, very compelling." Last week's release of Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3, X360) marked the first time the series has featured online multiplayer on consoles.

When reached for comment, a Realtime representative said they had not heard the claim before, but that the company rebought the rights to "give themselves some options" and "look for another partner."

Console maker Sony is rumored to be abandoning the license for Formula 1-branded racing video games, with increased license costs blamed as the culprit.

Citing "industry sources," TG Daily claims that there is apparently a wide gap between what Formula 1 wants for the license and what Sony is actually willing to pay.

Sony's hold on the F1 license has long kept the sport from appearing on any non-PlayStation platforms. With Sony supposedly out of the picture, an F1 game could find its way to multiple platforms.

The report named EA, Ubisoft, and Codemasters as possible licensees, though it could go to any of the countless other publishers in the industry. EA and Codemasters are both established developers in the racing genre, while Ubisoft has yet to produce a major racing title.

A report in the latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine furthers the long-running rumor that BioShock creator and 2K Boston studio head Ken Levine is working on a new entry in the long-dormant extraterrestrial tactical series X-COM, though it offers no new details.

The rumor has been circulating ever since a document attributing an X-COM title to then-Irrational Games, now-2K Boston and 2K Australia was found last year. The current projects of the studios behind BioShock (PC, X360) are unknown, though Levine is known to be participating in the production of BioShock 2 at the recently-founded 2K Marin office.

Further anecdotal evidence of a new X-COM game emerges from Levine's undying love of the X-COM franchise, which he has referred to as "sort of like my first love," as well as studio owner Take-Two Interactive's 2005 purchase of the X-COM property.

Apart from the supposed existence of a new X-COM, the OXM article did not unveil any new specifics or details, according to the Kotaku report.

In case you were still on the fence about buying Grand Theft Auto IV because you thought one city just wasn't enough fun to explore, you may just have to reconsider.

A recent CVG print article taking a look at GTA IV has some exciting news regarding Rockstar's plans for future downloadable content. Here is the quote via Gamervision:

"Of course to call games as vastly ambitious as Vice City or San Andreas mere 'expansion packs' seems childish, but nevertheless, the downloadable content coming for the Xbox 360 version of [GTA IV] has repositioned those games in just this way.

"[GTA IV's expansions] are to GTA IV what Vice City or San Andreas were GTA III. Yes, Rockstar is clearly hinting at new downloadable cities; and the chances of them being London, Vice City or SA again are slim to none. So that's new as in brand new. GTA IV's Liberty City is the beginning. Think about that and be excited."

Considering that Grand Theft Auto IV is already expected to bust through $400 million in sales before a single expansion is released, publisher Take-Two can surely see the profit train on the horizon.

The president of Japanese magazine publisher Enterbrain has recanted comments that a new model of the Nintendo DS handheld would appear at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, MCV reports.

Speculation of a DS hardware revision ramped up last week when Enterbrain president Hirokazu Hamamura had reportedly claimed that a new DS model would be unveiled at this year's E3.

Enterbrain has since issued a statement offering that Hamamura never made such comments in the first place. The publisher blamed a misinterpretation of Hamamura's comments for sparking the rumor.

Recent comments from Hirokazu Hamamura, president of Japanese magazine publisher Enterbrain, have ignited a wave of speculation that Nintendo may announce a new version of its wildly popular Nintendo DS handheld at this year's E3 Media Summit.

The offerings of Enterbrain include the gaming publication Famitsu, which is typically among the first to report on new games and details.

According to Bloomberg Japan, Hamamura noted his belief that Nintendo could unveil a new DS at E3 this year, which runs from July 15-17.

It was unclear if he was referring to a simple redesign or an actual new dual-screened platform. Given that the system regularly tops sales charts in North America and Japan, a revised version of the existing hardware would be the most logical assumption.

When asked for comment, a Nintendo representative apparently told Bloomberg that the company could make no comment at the time.

A Wii-like remote is indeed in development for the Xbox 360, according to 8Bit JoyStick, which cites internal sources at Microsoft.

The remote is said to be in development under the code name "Newton," and could be ready for market as early as the end of this year. The report claims that while the hardware is still in the prototype phase, software developer kits and prototype remote units have been distributed.

The report cites rumors that Microsoft had licensed motion-sensing patents from Gyration, which aided in the development of the Wii remote, as further evidence of Newton's development.

Speculation of an Xbox remote was kick-started by a report from MTV News which claimed that Microsoft had been working on the device since last summer, citing an unnamed developer.

Though rumors have been circulating around the internet at a blistering pace, 8Bit Joystick had previously broken the news of Bungie's split with Microsoft, lending a fair amount of credence to the site's "internal sources."

According to MTV News, Microsoft has been working on a Wii Remote-like motion sensitive controller for its Xbox 360 console since last summer, citing an unnamed developer who had been briefed on the controller.

The source provided MTV News with a decidedly lo-fi sketch of the controller (pictured left), and claims that the controller isn't very different in functionality from Nintendo's Wii remote. It incorporates four face buttons, an analog stick, a speaker and a microphone. The source added that there are plans for the controller to interact with the Xbox Live Vision Camera.

The controller is supposedly part of a much more ambitious plan than a simple response to Nintendo's waggle-centric casual lineup.

"They want the usual assortment of Halo, Gears, Forza, whatever, just in waggle form," the source told MTV News. "[Microsoft] marketing just want it so they can match the Wii point for point. The biggest parts of their marketing materials outline ... Read more

Microsoft has denied rumors that Taiwan-based hardware manufacturer Lite-On is supplying a Blu-ray drive for use in a future Xbox 360 hardware revision, TechRadar reports.

The rumors were initially sparked by reports from DigiTimes, which, citing industry sources, claimed that Lite-On was supplying Microsoft with Blu-ray drives for the Xbox 360. Microsoft quickly responded to the speculation, issuing a statement that denied the claims.

"Lite-On is not manufacturing Blu-ray drives for Xbox 360," a company spokesperson said. "As we have stated, games are what are driving consumers to purchase game consoles and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster game available.

"For our customers who want a premium movie experience we offer the largest library of on-demand HD content available and the ability to play back DVDs in high definition," the representative added.

The software giant has repeatedly dismissed rumors of Blu-ray functionality following the HD DVD format's defeat, with heavyweight HD DVD supporters pulling out and Microsoft itself axing the HD DVD player add-on for its Xbox 360.

MCV is reporting that an unspecified source has confirmed a price cut for Microsoft's Xbox 360 hardware in the UK later this month.

MCV's source could only specify the cut for the Arcade version of the hardware, which will reduce the hardware's current cost of £199 to around £170, to make the system more competitive with—and possibly cheaper than—Nintendo's Wii console.

By way of corroboration, TechRadar reported a similar story, claiming that numerous retailers have indicated a price cut of 50 euros off every hardware version of the Xbox 360 across Europe. Sources say that the cut is scheduled for enactment on March 14.

The rumors follow an Xbox 360 price cut in Canada late last month, which saw prices for the Premium and Elite editions of the console CAD$50 cheaper, and the Arcade version reduced by CAD$20.

French video game developer Ubisoft may be the next target of an acquisition offer from mega-publisher Electronic Arts, according to details uncovered by GameCyte.

Earlier this week, Electronic Arts publicly revealed its intent to purchase Grand Theft Auto property holder Take-Two Interactive and launched EATake2.com, a website detailing that effort. Take-Two has since rejected EA's offer of $2 billion, prompting speculation of a hostile takeover.

The very same day that EA registered EATake2.com, EAUbisoft.com was registered as well. Though both registrations do not specifically mention EA, the WhoIs information for each site is identical, suggesting EA is also behind the Ubisoft domain.

An EA buyout of Ubisoft has been rumored ever since EA purchased a 20% stake in Ubisoft back in 2004. Both Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillmeot and EA COO William Gordon have chimed in on the matter in recent times, but EA has yet to take any further action. Meanwhile, Ubisoft has diluted EA's American holdings in the company down to 15.4%.

The strong perfomance of Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed last quarter was believed to have reduced the chances of an acquisition. At the time, the company was valued at $4.3 billion, and it expected to sell more than 5 million copies of Assassin's Creed by March.

It is widely speculated that EA's renewed vigor towards acquisitions is a result of the unexpected merger between Activision and Vivendi Games, which replaced EA as the world's biggest third-party publisher.

Following rumors that Microsoft has slashed independent XBLA royalty rates across the board, GameSetWatch is reporting that Microsoft recently implemented a sliding scale which generally reduces royalty rates for independent XBLA developers.

"If you had a 70% deal... for a game, then you'll get your 70% for the life of the product," said XBLA developer Paul Johnson. "There is now a sliding scale in place for royalty payouts that is sure enough less than 70% at its best, but I've always thought that 70% to be unsustainably high from the get go, not that I was going to complain about it."

Rumors began circulating last week that Microsoft had cut royalty rates for independent developers—that is, developers who submit their Xbox Live Arcade titles directly to Microsoft—from 70% to 35%. GSW's Simon Carless explained that the significant drop in dollars accounts for localization services, normally handled by a publisher.

"If you're an indie and you have to go through a third-party, you will be getting a percentage of a percentage, because Microsoft takes a cut, and then your publisher, and then you," Carless wrote. "But you don't have to worry about testing, localization, getting ratings, and so on."

Royalty rates for independent developers working with third-party publishers are significantly higher at around 70%.

Commenting on recent speculation that Microsoft may buy Unreal Tournament and Gears of War developer Epic Games for $1 billion this summer, Epic Games VP Mark Rein quipped that such an acquisition would be much more costly.

A recent editorial in GamePro suggested that Epic would be purchased by Microsoft for $1 billion by the summer. In a response emailed to Develop, Rein did not comment directly on the rumors of an acquisition but noted that his company was much more valuable than the suggested amount.

"I have not seen the actual GamePro article but if they're going to make predictions about us selling Epic we would prefer if they started at $2 billion because we don't want anyone thinking that we're cheap," joked Rein. A smiley affixed on the end of the statement was omitted in several reportings of the quote, leading ... Read more

Speculation is flying over a possible announcement of Netflix on the Xbox 360 at this week's GDC, MSNBC reports.

Suspicions of a partnership arose last week when a survey, distributed by Netflix, asked clients if they would make use of streaming movies and television shows on their Xbox 360s if such a service was provided. Microsoft's history of making big announcements at the Game Developers Conference—like the Xbox and the Xbox 360—leads some to believe that the partnership will be officially announced this week.

The most compelling evidence for such a team-up is that it makes good sense for both parties involved; Netflix wants to be in every internet-capable device imaginable, and Microsoft wants the Xbox 360 to be the one-stop media machine in every household.

"A partnership with Netflix gives Microsoft a partner that already streams movies to over 7 million subscribers through their PCs, and encourages these subscribers to sign up for the Xbox Live service in order to stream movies to their TVs," says Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter. Meanwhile, Netflix would have direct access to over 10 million Xbox Live subscribers—many potential new customers.

Microsoft would not comment on the rumor, telling MSNBC to simply "stay tuned". If the rumors turn out to be true, an announcement will likely come later this week, in the latter half of GDC.

Update: A representative of Microsoft told Shacknews that, "It is premature to speculate about Blu-ray but we do know from market data that HD movie playback is not a primary purchase driver for consumers buying video game consoles."

The representative added, "It continues to be games that drive purchase and that has consistently been a strong point for the Xbox 360 platform."

Original story: The ever-speculated Xbox 360 Blu-ray movie player add-on could arrive by May, according to rumors reported by Smarthouse. The site, which cites insiders at Microsoft, claims that the device's availability depends on "internal marketing and sales approvals," but that it may retail within three months.

Microsoft has long stated that it would consider an Xbox 360 Blu-ray add-on if consumers chose Blu-ray over HD DVD. "It should be consumer choice; and if [Blu-ray is] the way they vote, that's something we'll have to consider," Xbox group marketing manager Albert Penello said earlier this year.

Microsoft just lowered the price of the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on, a move many saw as a last-ditch effort, and rumors are now circulating that primary HD DVD backer Toshiba may axe the format as soon as this week.

The site further reports that Microsoft is working on a Xbox 360 model with Blu-ray compatibility built-in, a claim that sounds eerily similar to Smarthouse's previous rumor of an HD DVD-equipped Xbox 360. The site also indicates that the company will continue focusing on downloadable and streaming high-definition movies, a claim director Michael Bay will no doubt take as proof of his claims that Microsoft is intentionally sabotaging both Blu-ray and HD DVD.

Addressing recent reports, casual developer PopCap has denied that a Nintendo DS version of Peggle is currently in development, though it hopes to eventually bring the beloved ball-shooter to more platforms.

"We have ambitious plans for many of our titles including Peggle, and are eager to bring its peg-popping pleasures to as many appropriate platforms and devices as possible," said PopCap video game platform VP Greg Canessa. "But Nintendo has not approved this product, we have not signed a developer to port Peggle to DS, and we have not green lighted this project."

Earlier this year, PopCap confirmed than an Xbox Live Arcade edition of Peggle was tentatively slated to arrive in Q2 2008. A sequel, dubbed Peggle Nights, is also known to be in the works.

Previously released on PC, Mac, and the iPod, the Pachinko-like offerings of Peggle have won over many a cold-hearted gamer despite its use of unicorns... Read more

Publisher Take-Two Interactive Software may be the target of a $1.5 billion buyout offer from entertainment conglomerate Viacom, according to "industry rumors" reported by MCV.

If true, the move would mark the latest in the recent rash of video game buyouts and mergers, the most notable of which was Activision Blizzard, the unexpected $18.9 billion combination of major publisher Activision with Blizzard Entertainment owner Vivendi Games.

The Take-Two umbrella encompasses multiple successful franchises and their respective developers, including the crime-life simulator Grand Theft Auto, underwater story-driven shooter BioShock, turn-based city builder Sid Meier's Civilization, along with the Midnight Club and Carnival Games properties.

The company also publishes titles based on the Go, Diego, Go! and Dora the Explorer brands, which are owned by Viacom subsidiary Nickelodeon. The varied... Read more