A very well-hidden timer on the Sony Computer Entertainment America-owned God of War site IslandofRhodes.org is counting down to something, that is, if you can find it. After clicking the hidden Greek symbols to spell out main character Kratos' name on a certain section of the website, visitors find themselves watching a video, then faced with a sliding block puzzle. Once the puzzle is solved, the next page reveals how to run SCE Santa Monica's God of War II (PS2) in a special high resolution mode--detailed below--and also links to a timer that currently has eleven days left on it. Above the timer, the leftmost section of the God of War logo and the beginnings of a subtitle are visible, igniting speculation that this will lead to the long-awaited unveiling of either Ready at Dawn's God of War PSP or the PlayStation 3 entry God of War II director Cory Barlog hypothetically spoke of at the God of War II launch event.

As for running God of War II at a higher resolution, players can activate this mode by holding down L1, L2, L3 (clicking down the left analog stick), Square and Circle as the game boots, before the white "SCEA Presents" text appears. The "SCEA Presents" text will then have a purple hue if performed correctly. Players wanting the game to output in 480p will still need to activate that setting in the game's option menu.

"Now this in NOT 720P," SCE Santa Monica's director of technology Tim Moss wrote. "Its actually 480P with FULL SIZE buffers, in other words 640*448 resolution. It was tough to get working...it almost didn't make it in and that is why we hid it rather than make it standard. The extra resolution makes the game run a little bit slower, but it's also prettier...it's not going to be for everyone, but it sure does look nice and it made the God of War Art team very happy."

Nintendo and Opera Software have released a new version of the Wii's web browser, referred to as the Internet Channel. Relative to the trial version that was released earlier this year, the latest version features several improvments, including faster start-up time, clearer text, a search button, and the ability to hide the tool bar. Available from the Wii Ware section of the Wii Shop Channel, the revised Internet Channel requires installation of the latest Wii system update, which arrived alongside the browser.

The Internet Channel is a free download for Wii users through the end of June 2007, after which it will sell for 500 Wii Points ($5). Those who download the browser before July will not need to purchase it at that time.

Electronic Arts revealed two new features of EA Tiburon's upcoming Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08, which is slated to hit PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP and PC. The first, tentatively titled GamerNet, allows users to record replays of their shots and putts, which can then be posted online to foster competition. The other, currently referred to as Photo Game Face, lets players upload photos for use in character customization. Details on what versions of the game will offer this functionality were unavailable.

Going by the release of past Tiger Woods games, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 should be expected in late September or early October of this year.

Exemplifying some of the most clever in-game advertising in recent memory, Atari is providing the "Free Lexus Collection Volume 2" for Eden Games' Test Drive Unlimited through the Xbox Live Marketplace. The pack adds two new cars to the game, the Lexus GS 450h hybrid and LS 460 sedan. Another pack, containing the SC 430 hard-top convertible and 2008 LS 600h hybrid sedan, is forthcoming.

A free demo of Artifical Studios' top-down action game Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia is now available for Xbox Live Gold subscribers on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Powered by Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 and published by SouthPeak Interactive, Monster Madness is set to release May 15, 2007 for Xbox 360 and PC. Screenshots can be found here.

During a speech given last night during Sony's San Francisco launch event for SCE Santa Monica's God of War II (PS2), game director Cory Barlog let slip that rumble functionality will indeed be added to PlayStation 3 and its Sixaxis controller. Initially, the developer mentioned rumble in passing as a feature that would be implemented in a hypothetical God of War III for PS3. "Rumble coming back to PS3, eh?!" cried Barlog after the slip, inciting the crowd of journalists and developers to cheer.

The semi-announcement comes as little surprise in the wake of the announcement that Sony and force feedback developer Immersion have settled their legal feud, with Sony planning to license Immersion technology for unspecified platforms.

In regards to a still unannounced PS3 version of God of War, Barlog implied that such a game would be presented in 1080p resolution and would be the conclusion of the God of War trilogy. "If we were to do a God of War III on Wii--I mean PS3," said Barlog, "then it would finish this massive story. We've always imagined God of War as a trilogy, but the PSP game very much ties into it."

No further details regarding PS3 rumble functionality or God of War on PSP or PS3 were revealed.

One of many persistent game industry rumors has centered around a redesigned PSP. The latest fuel on that particular fire came from Sony Computer Entertainment UK managing director Ray Maguire, who apparently indicated that Sony has a hardware update in the works. As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, Maguire called the existing portable system the "first iteration" of the line, and noted that a "smaller, lighter" system is forthcoming. Maguire noted that the screen size itself would not change.

Nearly a year ago, Shacknews received word from a reliable source that Sony was developing a new PSP, though a broad timeframe was given for the project.

When Nintendo announced its Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service for Nintendo DS, multiplayer services provider GameSpy was revealed as one of the company's technology development partners. Today, Nintendo and the IGN-owned GameSpy announced that the two companies will again work together to take Wii online. GameSpy appears to be involved in an even greater capacity than Wii than it was with DS; the company will be creating middleware tech for developers that will offer features including friend rosters, game matchmaking, and player rankings. Last month, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime stated that developers have begun to receive online development kits for Wii.

The first online-enabled game for Wii, Genius Sonority's Pokemon Battle Revolution, is set to launch in North America on June 25. Presumably, it will use the same DS-like friend code system the game used when it was released in Japan last year.

"Nintendo has been an invaluable partner and we look forward to expanding our relationship with them in the future," said IGN senior VP of consumer products and technology Jaime Berger. "Our goal is to extend our ground-breaking work on the Nintendo DS to provide Wii users with the social, community and multiplayer tools that we believe will expand the online gaming experience to the mass market."

There were no details as to how or if the Wii online service will differ from its Nintendo DS counterpart.

Following the success of several GameCube games based on the popular anime Naruto, D3Publisher of America today announced its plan to bring Naruto: Clash of Ninja MVZ to North American Wii owners. Clash of Ninja MVZ is produced by frequent Naruto franchise developer Eighting. The game will be based on a Naruto game developed by Eighting for Wii and released only in Japan last month, but D3 promises that MVZ will contain "content created exclusively for the North American market." Clash of Ninja MVZ will use the Wii remote's unique functionality for both core mechanics and a suite of mini-games. D3 promises Naruto characters not yet seen in the Clash of Ninja franchise.

"NARUTO proved to be a significant brand on the Nintendo GameCube in 2006," said D3PA VP of licensing and business development Careen Yapp. "NARUTO: Clash of Ninja MVZ will take advantage of this exciting new entertainment platform and will reach out to a whole new audience for NARUTO."

D3PA plans to ship Eighting's Naruto: Clash of Ninja MVZ this fall.

Left Field Productions' Dave Mirra BMX Challenge, originally released on PSP last year, is set to make its way to Wii, publisher Crave Entertainment announced today. The BMX game is said to have numerous control options using the Wii's unique controller, and will feature 12 tracks and 13 bikes.

"Dave Mirra BMX Challenge will be the first BMX game for Wii," said Crave Studios senior VP Jim Flaharty. "The immersive Wii controls combined with the thrill of BMX racing will make Dave Mirra BMX Challenge a real treat for action sports fans."

Crave expects to ship the Wii version of Dave Mirra BMX Challenge this June.

Publisher SouthPeak Interactive sent word that Artificial Studios' arcade-style action game Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia, headed to PC and Xbox 360, is set to release on May 15, 2007. The Smash TV-inspired game is powered by Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3, and offers both cooperative and versus multiplayer modes, supporting four players locally and 16 online. A plethora of screenshots is available here.

Sega today sent over an update on Sega Racing Studio's upcoming rally racer, Sega Rally Revo. The game is now expected to ship for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC this fall. Along with that news came several screenshots of the PS3 version of the game.

As we reported earlier today, Bethesda today unveiled its full expansion pack for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Known as The Elder Scrolls IV: The Shivering Isles, the pack will be released for Xbox 360 as well as PC this spring. Interestingly, the Xbox 360 version of the expansion will be an Xbox Live Marketplace download rather than a standalone disc, meaning Xbox Live access is required. Shacknews contacted Bethesda for more details, and was assured that a free Xbox Live Silver account will work just fine. A hard drive will also of course be required to store the expansion itself.

As for PlayStation 3, which will be seeing a release of Oblivion this March, Bethesda also confirmed to us that the expansion is in the works for that system as well. The company does not have a specific release date projection, but it plans to release The Shivering Isles for PlayStation 3 some time this year. It seems likely that, given PS3's existing content download service, it will be delivered in a similar way to the Xbox 360 version.

Few details beyond a steady stream of artwork and screenshots have been released regarding Artificial Studios' cooperative Xbox 360 and PC action game Monster Madness since it was first announced in June 2005. Last year, SouthPeak Interactive announced that it would be publishing the title, and that it would be released at some point this spring, and today SouthPeak sent word that the game has received a solid launch date: April 3, 2007.

Playable cooperatively with up to four players locally or online, Monster Madness is a Gauntlet-like top-down action game featuring upgradable weapons, vehicles, and the ability to transform into monsters and gain additional abilities. It also features a 16-player competitive mode, with a variety of game types. To check out screenshots, visit our extensive Monster Madness gallery.

Last year, Take-Two Interactive without advance notice shut down Rockstar Games developer Rockstar Vienna, the studio responsible for the Xbox ports of various Rockstar games. Founded in 1993 as neo Software Produktions, it was acquired by Take-Two in 2001 and renamed Rockstar Vienna in 2003.

This week, two original founders of neo Software--Hannes Seifert and Niki Laber--along with fellow industry veteran Jurgen Goeldner announced the founding of new development studio Games That Matter. Few details are currently available beyond that the company claims to have "a visionary game production business model," but a press conference is scheduled for January 25, 2007, at which point the company's upcoming plans are expected to be revealed.

Microsoft sent word today that next week's Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday release will be a trio of content downloads for Q Entertainment's music-based puzzler Lumines Live!. Two of the offerings will be components that add or extend modes included in the main menu of the original game. The VS CPU Pack will add a CPU-challenging mode to the game, and includes one new main skin as well as a bonus skin, along with character designs that change with each progressive stage. From Wedneday, January 24 to Wednesday, February 21, the pack will be sold for 100 Microsoft Points ($1.25), and after February 21 it will be sold for 300 Microsoft Points ($3.75).

The Puzzle/Mission Pack extends the basic game's Puzzle and Mission modes, adding 90 puzzles and 40 mission. Puzzles have the player creating an illustrated shape within a single pass, while missions require the player to clear the screen within a limited number of passes. This pack will use the same pricing strategy as that of the VS CPU pack, selling for 100 Microsoft Points ($1.25) until February 21, then 300 Microsoft Points ($3.75) from then onward.

Finally, for a limited time, an HD video skin of Heavenly Star will be made available for free to Xbox Live Gold subscribers. It will consist of a standard playable game stage set over an animated sketch-like Genki Rockets music video--somewhat reminiscent of Aha's classic Take On Me video--produced by Q Entertainment founder and Lumines designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi. Heavenly Star will be downloadable from January 24 to February 21, after which point it will be taken off Xbox Live Marketplace.

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.

Microsoft today announced that the much anticipated Xbox 360 spring dashboard update will go live tomorrow. The update will consist of over 125 features or improvements.

Some of the most requested features include:

- Background file downloading, with up to six pieces of content queued
- Reorganized Marketplace menus
- Improvements to DVD playback and control
- Custom soundtracks that are not interrupted by loading screens or other transitions

Furthermore, there are general improvements, such as "better support for Xbox 360 game disc recognition," which will presumably help reduce the number of "Disc Read Error" messages users have received while attempting to play standard Xbox 360 game discs.

This update is also expected to add support for the Xbox Live Vision camera, though the peripheral itself is not slated for release until this fall.

IGN has translated reports from Japanese publication Ultra One claiming that Sony will be using a hardware solution for backwards compatibility in its upcoming PlayStation 3, at least initially. Apparently, a complete software solution is not yet ready, but would be implemented later on to lower the costs that come along with including actual PS2 hardware inside each PS3. Similarly, PlayStation 2 currently uses a hardware solution for its backwards compatibility with PlayStation games. The inclusion of such hardware in PS3 may be a contributor to the unit's price and hefty size.

Interestingly, Sony announced during GDC that PS3 would have the ability to run PS1 and PS2 games in high definition. However, such enhancements would now seem unlikely if Sony has decided on a hardware solution, since original PS1 and PS2 hardware would lack the necessary horsepower to perform such upscaling. The upside, of course, is that compatibility would be flawless, since games would be running on the hardware for which they were designed. Microsoft was forced to use a software solution for its Xbox to Xbox 360 compatibility, which has required the company to write emulation code for each game individually. In its Wii console, Nintendo is expected to be using a hardware solution for GameCube compatibility, given the similar architecture between GameCube and Wii, and software emulation for the legacy systems it will support.

Ultra One's article also notes that PS3 will include built in flash memory as well as the hard drive, so that system updates and options will be saved regardless of whether the original hard drive is being used. Users will be able to replace the included hard drive with any standard third party drive.

During Sony's pre-E3 conference, the company announced that while the less expensive PS3 would go for a suggested retail price of 59.800 yen ($532), the higher-end model would have an open pricing scheme. Such schemes are common in Japan, allowing retailers to decide on a price set by market demand. Ultra One published speculation of the price point retailers would choose, expecting the unit to go for 73,000 ($650).

Dean Takahashi of the San Jose Mercury News has published an interview with Sony Computer Entertainment America boss Kaz Hirai, in which Hirai discusses the reaction to Sony's E3 press conference ("It was a positive reaction"), the PS3's price point, Blu-ray vs. DVD, and online gaming.

Hirai had much to say on the advantages of Blu-ray over the DVD format being used by Microsoft in Xbox 360. "If you look at the lack of Blu-ray on Microsoft, what do you do if the game requires 40 to 50 gigabytes? Put it on three disks?" he asked. "Let's look under the hood and see total value we are delivering to consumers." For comparison, the DVD9 standard used by Xbox 360 games holds about 8.5GB of data, while Blu-ray discs hold about 50GB. Some developers have called into question whether the capacity of DVD9 will remain sufficient for large games throughout the console generation.

When Takahashi brought up Hirai's infamous remark that "the next generation doesn't start until we start it," Hirai responded frankly. "It's been that way for three console generations," he said. "With our original PlayStation, we ushered in the era of the CD-ROM and 3-D. With the PlayStation 2, we correctly said that the next-generation starts with PS 2, not Dreamcast. With the PlayStation 3, we are keeping to our belief that we have the true next-generation console. It's all about the games."

In regards to online gaming, Hirai said, "Thank you, Microsoft, for helping us in taking consumers online." He noted that Sony plans to make sure "online is an integral part of the experience."

When asked about Microsoft's Live Anywhere initiative, which plans to bring together users' PCs, Xbox 360s, and mobile devices, Hirai pointed out the unique position Sony has to integrate PS3 and PSP. "Cell phones are not primarily designed for entertainment. We can make the PSP and the PS3 work together," he said. During the company's E3 presentation, SCEE's Phil Harrison demonstrated a feature allowing the PSP's screen to serve as a rear view mirror for a PS3 Formula 1 game.

Edinburgh-based developer DC Studios has ceased all trading and operation, making its 29 staff redundant, according to a report from Scotland's Sunday Herald. Most recently, DC Studios developed State of Emergency 2 (PS2), whose extremely low sales were cited as the primary reason for the studio's current financial troubles. DC Studios acquired the State of Emergency license from VIS Entertainment, which developed the original State of Emergency (PS2, Xbox, PC) for publication by Rockstar Games. State of Emergency 2 was published by SouthPeak Interactive.

DC's 55-employee Montreal studio remains unaffected by this turn of events.

In the latest Weekly Update over at the official Bungie site, web guy Frank O'Connor revealed that the company is working on a documentary describing the making of the Halo 3 (X360) E3 trailer. O'Connor stated that the documentary will have "some never before seen scenes (think angles, really)," but did not go into greater detail.

IGN has a video analysis of the Halo 3 trailer and the evolution of the series.

Eurogamer has an interview with Sony's Tsutomo Kuono, speaking about the upcoming wacky 2D platformer Loco Roco (PSP).

Following confirmation that Europe would be receiving only about 300,000 Xbox 360 consoles for the region's launch, Microsoft's Peter Moore has cautioned that many European gamers may have a tough time getting their hands on the next-gen machine this holiday season. "[The Xbox 360] has 1700 parts, we have to make them, pack them, and ship them," Moore explained. "I'm not sure I can guarantee that everyone will get an Xbox 360 by Christmas." The news doesn't come as too much surprise, given that North America is Microsoft's primary market yet the machine is notoriously difficult to find in stores, with units still selling on Ebay for twice their suggested value or more.

Sony Computer Entertainment announced today that the manufacturer has shipped 100 million units of its market share leading PS2 console as of yesterday. It becomes the fastest console to reach that shipment mark, doing so five years and nine months after its Japanese launch. This beats the previous record, held by Sony's own PlayStation; that machine took nine years and six months to reach the same numbers.

That sum breaks down to 40.65 million units in North America, 37.13 million in PAL territories (including Europe), and 22.22 million units in Asia. The system has seen 6,200 game releases and 1.869 billion PS2 games have been shipped (note that number shipped is different from actual sell-through to consumers). Though concrete numbers are not available, most analysts estimate that Microsoft's Xbox has shipped about 22 million units in its lifetime, and Nintendo's GameCube about 19 million. The only current machine to even remotely approach the PS2's shipment numbers is Nintendo's Game Boy Advance with about 70 million.

Microsoft is launching a new Xbox 360 advertising campaign in Japan, one that might seem a bit odd considering many Japanese gamers were rather vocal about the inconveniently large size of the original Xbox in smaller Japanese homes. The manufacturer has constructed large Xbox 360 monuments in several Japanese cities. The constructions are twelve feet tall and equipped with 65" screens hooked up to (smaller) Xbox 360 demo units. The consoles are loaded with demos of the six Japanese launch titles: Perfect Dark Zero, Every Party, FIFA 06, Wrestly Kingdom, and Tetris: the Grandmaster Ace. The Xbox 360 launches in Japan on December 10, and the monuments will stand until approximately a week later.

Q Entertainment's fantasy action title Ninety-Nine Nights (X360), certainly the least bizarre thing in recent memory to come from Space Channel 5 (PS2, DC), Rez (PS2, DC) and Lumines (PSP) designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi, is a little delayed. A GameSpot-translated interview from Famitsu Xbox 360 indicates that the game will be missing its January release date and instead will be shipping in Japan some time in Spring 2006. A North American release date has yet to be announced. Mizuguchi noted that the delay is necessary to maintain the quality of the title, which is currently about 80% complete.

In the less-confirmed department, following reports that Team NINJA's Dead or Alive 4 (X360) will be missing its already-delayed Japanese release date, it seems that the same may hold true for North America. Originally set for the 360's launch, the game was postponed until December 1, then to December 7. At this point, it could end up getting pushed to December 14. Apparently, a Tecmo representative speaking to GameSpot claimed that official word from the company is coming this week.

After various swapping of hands with regards to the developer and publisher rights of State of Emergency 2, it seems that it's finally getting settled. The game will be developed by DC Studios, almost exclusively known for portable games in the past, and published by SouthPeak Interactive. Unlike its predecessor, which was released on PS2 and Xbox, this game will come out for PS2 and PSP. Unsurprisingly, the game is missing its 2005 deadline. It will ship for PS2 next February, with the PSP version to follow sometime in third quarter of 2006.

1UP interviews developer Harmonix's Daniel Sussman and publisher RedOctane's John Tam about the critically acclaimed Guitar Hero (PS2).

GameSpot has a Q&A with Criterion's Matt Webster about the Xbox 360 version of Burnout Revenge (X360, also PS2, Xbox).