Wii | Nintendo narrows Euro launches for Mario and Metroid

Super Mario Galaxy 2 arrives June 11, Metroid: Other M gets a Q3 release window, Sin and Punishment coming a month ahead of the US.

This week, Nintendo held the third and final leg of its global media summit in London, presenting mixed news for Europe's gamers. As in the United States, Super Mario Galaxy took top billing. But Mario fans in the EU have to wait until June 11 to see the game--weeks later than the May 23 US release date.

In Super Mario Galaxy 2, the dragon chases you!

The other big title of the global shows, Metroid: Other M, was not given a date for Europe at the presentation. However, the publisher did say that Samus's Team Ninja-developed adventure, which has been confirmed for a June 27 release in the US, would hit Europe at some point before the end of September. Capcom's Monster Hunter Tri was confirmed for a Europe-wide release on April 23 (three days after its US release) with free online multiplayer.

WarioWare: D.I.Y. is scheduled for EU release on April 30, just over a month after it becomes available in the US. The DSiWare title Photo Dojo was also confirmed for European release at the event, but no release date was given for the territory. The game is due to be released in the US sometime this spring.

In one bright spot for European gamers, Nintendo confirmed that Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies will arrive on the continent a full month before it is due to come out in the US, under the title Sin and Punishment: Star Successor, on May 7. Nintendo also confirmed that it is to publish Dragon Quest IX: Sentinel of the Starry Skies in Europe, as well as the US this summer, but no date was given.

For full coverage and hands-on impressions of all the games shown off at Nintendo's global summit, including Super Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid: Other M, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, and Monster Hunter Tri, head over to the Nintendo World Summit page.

Nintendo Training 1991

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/supermariogalaxy2/news.html?sid=6251943

PC | Mass Effect 2 hovertank DLC deploying late March

Hammerhead vehicle and five new missions coming to BioWare's sci-fi RPG next month; free for Cerberus Network members.

Get the full article at GameSpot

---

"PC | Mass Effect 2 hovertank DLC deploying late March" was posted by Tom Magrino on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:14:29 -0800

Era - The Mass

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/masseffect2workingtitle/news.html?sid=6252514

PlayStation 3 | Big in Japan Feb. 15-21: Resident Evil 5 Gold gets the gold

Alternative Edition of Capcom zombie shooter ousts God Eater from top spot; Heavy Rain debuts in sixth place.

After two weeks on top of the Japanese sales charts, Namco Bandai's PSP game God Eater was dethroned by another game about insatiable hunger. According to Japanese tracking firm Media Create, Capcom's zombie redux Resident Evil 5 Alternative Edition (called Gold Edition in the US) was the best-selling game for the week of February 15-21, selling 143,339 copies in its retail debut.

Sure, Namco Bandai's latest can eat gods, but it can't stop this.

Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition includes all of the downloadable content released for the original survival horror game, as well as compatibility with the PlayStation 3 motion-sensing controller. Unfortunately, it will be some time before gamers know how well that compatibility works, because Sony won't be releasing the peripheral until the fall.

Though the Monster Hunter-like God Eater relinquished the top spot, it didn't fall very far. The multiplayer action game sold 64,192 copies for the week, more than enough to hold off a trio of sales-chart-loitering titles for Nintendo's systems: New Super Mario Bros. Wii (44,415 sold), Dragon Quest VI for the DS (41,412 sold), and Tomodachi Collection (31,299 sold).

Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition wasn't the only game new to the top 10 for the week. Quantic Dream's PlayStation 3-exclusive noir-tinged thriller Heavy Rain was the sixth-best-seller of the week, selling 26,775 copies. Konami's Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's World Championship 2010 Reverse of Arcadia for the DS also made its first appearance on the charts, selling 24,132 copies for the week.

Sony was the big winner on the hardware charts, with the PSP outselling every other system for the seventh straight week and the PS3 leapfrogging the Wii and DSi LL (called the DSi XL in the West) to land in second. The chart position for Sony's portable has benefitted not just from a lineup of best-selling new releases like God Eater and Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, but also from Nintendo's segmentation of the DS lineup of systems. Combining sales of the DSi LL, the DSi, and the DS Lite, Nintendo's portables outsell even the PSP by more than 12,000 units.

JAPAN GAME SALES WEEK OF FEBRUARY 15-21, 2010
Software:
Rank / Title / Publisher / Platform / Unit sales
1) Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition / Capcom / PS3 / 143,339
2) God Eater / Bandai Namco / PSP / 64,192
3) New Super Mario Bros. Wii / Nintendo / Wii / 44,415
4) Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Reverie / Square Enix / DS / 41,412
5) Tomodachi Collection / Nintendo / DS / 31,299
6) Heavy Rain / Sony / PS3 / 26,775
7) Wii Fit Plus / Nintendo / Wii / 25,631
8) Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's World Championship 2010 Reverse of Arcadia / Konami / DS / 24,132
9) Star Ocean: The Last Hope: International / Square Enix / PS3 / 15,097
10) Wii Sports Resort / Nintendo / Wii / 11,303

Hardware:
PSP - 32,796
PS3 - 32,130
Wii - 31,652
DSi LL - 24,388
DSi - 15,380
DS Lite - 5,053
Xbox 360 - 2,453
PS2 - 1,883
PSP Go - 1,371

How big?

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/residentevil5goldedition/news.html?sid=6252521

PlayStation 3 | God of War III golden

Kratos' fate is sealed as Sony Santa Monica's latest PlayStation 3-exclusive finishes development in time for March 16 release date.

It has been three years since Kratos last waged war with the gods on consoles, and the ghost of Sparta is finally ready to defy (and potentially decapitate) deities once more. Sony has confirmed that God of War III has gone gold and will be in stores in time for its announced March 16 release date.

Peekaboo!

The game will be available in both a $59.99 standard edition and a $99.99 God of War III Ultimate Edition. In addition to the game and decorative Pandora's box packaging, players of the Ultimate Edition will receive an art book as well as access to downloadable content and in-game bonuses. Gamers will also get a feature-length retrospective on the franchise, the trilogy soundtrack, and a selection of heavy metal tracks inspired by God of War.

Those unsure about a purchase can also check out the E3 2009 demo for the game, which is now available to download for all PlayStation Network users. The demo has previously been made available to gamers who purchased a Blu-ray copy of the sci-fi hit District 9, or last year's God of War Collection for PS3.

God of War III marks the conclusion of Kratos' current story arc to bring about the fall of Olympus. As in previous installments, the visceral gameplay sees Kratos dismembering, decapitating, eviscerating, mutilating, and otherwise doing grievous bodily harm to a variety of mythological beasts. For this installment, gameplay will emphasize fighting on monolithic Titans and mounting enemies, as well as gaining new weapons and additional attacks.

For more on God of War III, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

An Atheist Meets God

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/godofwariii/news.html?sid=6252530

PlayStation 3 | God of War III, Darksiders demos drop on PSN

PlayStation Store Update: Sony, THQ samplers lead week that also revels in Greed Corp; Game Arts' Grandia becomes PS Classic.

Get the full article at GameSpot

---

"PlayStation 3 | God of War III, Darksiders demos drop on PSN" was posted by Staff on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:25:57 -0800

An Atheist Meets God

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/godofwariii/news.html?sid=6252534

Xbox 360 | Battlefield: Bad Company 2 bombarded with free DLC

New-game purchasers of EA and DICE's modern-day military shooter granted two bonus day-one multiplayer maps, second freebie pack due later in March.

Get the full article at GameSpot

---

"Xbox 360 | Battlefield: Bad Company 2 bombarded with free DLC" was posted by Tom Magrino on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:04:39 -0800

Jordin Sparks - Battlefield

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/battlefieldbadcompany2/news.html?sid=6252472

Wii | Jonathan Smith Talks Wizards and Hogwarts

Q&A: The head of production at TT Games tells us all about working on Lego Harry Potter, flying broomsticks, and joining the Warner Bros. group.

After releasing a string of successful Lego-themed games, including Lego Star Wars, Lego Indiana Jones, Lego Batman, and Lego Rock Band, the development team at Traveller's Tales has set its sights on the world of Harry Potter. Following the success of its block-based forbears, the upcoming Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 will focus on the boy wizard's formative years at Hogwarts. It will also feature plenty of wand-waving, spellcasting, puzzle-solving and broom-flying. We recently caught up with Jonathan Smith of TT Games to find out more about the game.

GameSpot UK: Why did TT Games decide to do Lego Harry Potter: Years 1 - 4?

Jonathan Smith: Lego Harry Potter is the most natural fit together. The world of Lego--of surprise and humour--with the world of Harry Potter--full of magic and these amazing characters and great drama--has bonded in the game incredibly naturally and it has been great fun. We started working with Warner Bros. originally on Lego Batman, and they were such fantastic creative partners that they did make it very easy for us to take the steps toward Lego Harry Potter.

SIGN THE PETITION: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/endthenwordnow

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/wii/adventure/legoharrypotteryears14/news.html?sid=6252443

Xbox 360 | Itagaki and Tecmo settle lawsuit

Former Team Ninja developer and previous employer reach an agreement in 2008 dispute over unpaid Dead or Alive 4 bonuses.

Team Ninja head Tomonobu Itagaki and Tecmo technically parted ways in 2008, but the two have been tussling in court ever since. When he split from Tecmo, Itagaki claimed the publisher owed him about $1.4 million in unpaid bonuses for development of Dead or Alive 4 on the Xbox 360 and filed suit to get it. At the time, Tecmo said it would "let the court decide" on the bonuses.

Tomonobu Itagaki and Tecmo have resolved their legal differences.

The courts won't get the chance to decide after all, as Tecmo and Itagaki have reached a settlement agreement. The news was originally reported by 1Up and later confirmed by Tecmo representatives for GameSpot. In a statement provided to 1Up, Itagaki mentioned the dispute involved compensation for dismissal, while in 2008 he said he had resigned from the company. Details of the settlement were not disclosed.

The settlement marks an end to a partnership that saw the publisher and Itagaki produce a number of hits, including the 3D revamps of the Ninja Gaiden series and the Dead or Alive fighting franchise. Since leaving the company, Itagaki has established a new studio tentatively referred to as Tokyo Vikings. Meanwhile, Tecmo and Team Ninja have pushed on with the series he developed, releasing Ninja Gaiden Sigma II for the PlayStation 3 and preparing Dead or Alive: Paradise for the PSP. Perhaps most notably, Team Ninja is also developing Metroid: Other M for Nintendo.

While the Tecmo-Itagaki pairing produced some blockbuster successes, it was not without friction. In 2006, a former coworker of Itagaki's filed suit against the developer, claiming he sexually harassed her on multiple occasions. She also accused Tecmo of mishandling the situation when she complained about Itagaki's behavior, telling her to handle it herself.

Itagaki Interview NG2 confirmed :-)

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/deadoralive4/news.html?sid=6252501

PC | EA Salt Lake City shop bulks up

Veterans from The Sims studio setting up a new development team at publisher's Utah shop to work on "groundbreaking new project."

While the industry has been hit by a wealth of layoffs and studio closures in recent months, at least one shop is going in the opposite direction. Electronic Arts has announced that it is adding a new development team to its Salt Lake City studio, headed by "key leaders" pulled from the publisher's Sims studio at Redwood Shores.

Contemporary? Check. Mature? Well, they are old…

The new team will be put to work on a "groundbreaking new project," though an EA representative would not confirm for GameSpot whether it had any ties to the Sims franchise beyond the team leadership. The new team will join EA's existing Salt Lake City operation, which currently houses the developers of Hasbro-branded titles like Littlest Pet Shop and Nerf games. To make room, EA is moving the entire studio into larger facilities in downtown Salt Lake City.

The development team will eventually ramp up hiring but first must fill some key roles. Currently, EA's official job site is listing seven open positions at its Salt Lake City location, including creative director, art director, technical director, and senior online engineer.

The creative director listing indicates that the game will be a new intellectual property and asks for experience with single-player and multiplayer online games. Meanwhile, the art director should have experience with "a mature, contemporary art style," and EA wants a senior online engineer with experience working with the online functions of the Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 TV Commercial

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/thesims3/news.html?sid=6252509

PC | Blizzard, NCsoft vets form En Masse

Korean MMORPG creator Bluehole Studio staffs Western publishing, localization arm with Warcraft, Aion alum; fantasy-themed Tera to debut at GDC next month.

The Asian gaming market is flush with home-grown massively multiplayer online role-playing games, and a portion of those will soon be making their way to the West. This week, Korean MMORPG company Bluehole Studio announced the formation of En Masse Entertainment, a new subsidiary focused on bringing "global" online games to Western audiences.

Scantily clad, pointy-eared females are a common theme among Korean MMORPGs.

En Masse is led by a number of veterans of the Western MMORPG scene. The publishing arm is headed up by Dr. Jae-Heon Yang, who previously served as chief technical officer at NCsoft. Patrick Wyatt, whose extensive credits at Blizzard Entertainment include work on the Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo franchises, serves as En Masse's chief operating officer. EA, Microsoft, and NCsoft vet Chris Lee fills the role of vice president of publishing. Aion producer Brian Knox will reprise that role at En Masse.

En Masse's first project will be Bluehole's Tera, a fantasy-themed MMORPG that emphasizes real-time, dynamic combat. While details on the game remain largely under wraps, players will be able to choose from six different races, who must "work together for the common good." En Masse also said that individual player actions will have an impact on the "balance of power" in the game.

Tera is scheduled to launch for the PC in Korea this year, with the Western rollout to follow. En Masse intends to debut the project at the 2010 Game Developers Conference, which takes place in San Francisco from March 9 to 13.

Blizzard of 77 Slideshow

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/teratheexiledrealmofarborea/news.html?sid=6252463

PlayStation 3 | Battlefield: Bad Company 2 bombarded with free DLC

New-game purchasers of EA and DICE's modern-day military shooter granted two bonus day-one multiplayer maps, second freebie pack due later in March.

Get the full article at GameSpot

---

"PlayStation 3 | Battlefield: Bad Company 2 bombarded with free DLC" was posted by Tom Magrino on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:04:39 -0800

Jordin Sparks - Battlefield

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/battlefieldbadcompany2/news.html?sid=6252472

PlayStation 3 | Alpha Protocol tiptoes to stores June 1

Sega nails down North American release date for Obsidian Entertainment's spy-themed RPG; European launch set for May 28.

Any good spy knows the value of counterintelligence operations, as evidenced by the Obsidian Entertainment-developed espionage-themed role-playing game Alpha Protocol and its numerous ersatz release windows. Originally announced by Sega in early 2008, the game's release date has been pushed back more than a year from its original first quarter of 2009 window.

The first technique a spy needs to master is the junk punch.

That string of counterintelligence either ceased entirely or extended once again today, as Sega has set a specific release date for Obsidian's latest. Alpha Protocol is set to launch for the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 in North America on June 1, preceded by a European debut May 28.

Alpha Protocol is the first original game from Obsidian Entertainment. To date, the studio's body of work has consisted of follow-ups to other company's blockbusters. Neverwinter Nights 2 and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II were sequels to BioWare games, while the upcoming Fallout: New Vegas builds on Bethesda Softworks' successful franchise. Obsidian had been working on a new Aliens role-playing game for Sega, but that title was shelved last year.

With a story not unlike Robert Ludlum's popular Jason Bourne novels, Alpha Protocol follows Michael Thorton, a secret agent who has turned rogue after being disavowed by his government. The game accommodates a branching storyline, and players can assume a variety of undercover personas, ranging from a suave James Bond-style spy to one like the maniacal Jack Bauer of 24 fame.

For more on Alpha Protocol, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

Vangelis - Alpha

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/rpg/alphaprotocol/news.html?sid=6251945

Arcade Games | SNK warms up King of Fighters XIII

Arcade follow-up confirmed for last year's three-on-three fighting franchise revamp; release date, home versions not yet announced.

Last year, SNK Playmore reinvented its flagship franchise with King of Fighters XII for the arcades, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Although the game delivered the first graphical overhaul to the series in more than a decade, it was not warmly received by critics, who took issue with a small roster lacking fan favorites and a paucity of play modes.

Maybe this time, they'll include a boss.

The publisher will soon have a chance to address those critiques, as today it announced that it is working on The King of Fighters XIII for an arcade release. Unfortunately, SNK didn't reveal any details on the game other than its genre (2D fighting, naturally) and that it would run on the Taito Type X2 arcade board, just like its immediate predecessor.

King of Fighters XIII's release date in arcades hasn't yet been determined, but SNK fans no doubt hope for a shorter wait than they endured for the 12th game in the series. King of Fighters XI arrived in arcades in 2005, with SNK revealing the full revamp plans for King of Fighters XII the following year.

King of Fighters XII didn't arrive for another three years, partly due to a time-consuming development process that saw developers render each character in 3D, take a picture of that model, then use it as a guide for the 2D pixel art. In 2008, King of Fighters XII producer Masaaki Kukino told attendees at the Japanese Amusement Machine Show that each character took more than four times as much work to animate as those in previous installments.

sNk best headshot for ever www.FilmeDeTop.Com cpl wcg pgl esl

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/arcade/action/thekingoffightersxiii/news.html?sid=6251968

Wii | Nintendo marketing exec talks hardcore gaming

Video Q&A: Cammie Dunaway says Monster Hunter Tri will "show that action-oriented games can do well on the Wii"; console's successor won't be coming "anytime soon."

Nintendo's Q1 Media Summit yesterday was all about the games, specifically those coming out for the Wii and DS during the first part of 2010. The event held particular import for the hardcore gaming set, with the publisher attaching release dates to the heavily anticipated Super Mario Galaxy 2 (May 23) and Metroid: Other M (June 27), as well as Capcom's Monster Hunter Tri (April 20).

Dunaway believes Monster Hunter Tri has potential.

Following Nintendo's opening remarks, GameSpot sat down with Nintendo of America executive vice president of sales and marketing Cammie Dunaway to discuss the core-gaming aspect of the publisher's release game plan. And according to Dunaway, Capcom's Monster Hunter Tri is a game that will "show that action-oriented games can do well on the Wii platform."

Dunaway didn't seem to be particularly concerned about a recent study that found there has been a 12 percent decline in developers making games for the Wii. Notably, the phenomenon isn't limited to small productions houses, with Ubisoft deemphasizing its heretofore strong Wii and DS support in favor of refocusing resources on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

"There continue to be a number of great games coming out from third parties for the Wii," she said. "In fact, between now and July, there are going to be 50 Wii games launched from third parties; there are going to be 40 games launched for DS...I think that when third parties bring together the right combination of innovative experiences and they continue to put the right level of marketing support behind them, then they can have great success."

"I think they're always juggling resources and juggling their choices, but when you look at the huge installed base of the Wii, which is now over 27 million in the US, 67 million worldwide, and the installed base on the DS, which is 39 million here in the US and 125 million worldwide, you just can't ignore those installed bases," she continued. "And I think that smart developers and smart publishers will continue to put a focus on developing for our platforms."

With both the Wii and DS seeing year-over-year sales declines during the first nine months of the publisher's current fiscal year, Dunaway also addressed ongoing speculation of a hardware update for its top-selling console. According to Dunaway, gamers shouldn't hold their breath for an announcement of the Wii's successor.

"I don't think it'll be anytime soon," she said. "Because even though our installed base is, at this point, 5 million households larger than the PS2 installed base was at the same point in its life cycle, it still has a lot of room to grow. If you think PS2, there's been about 50 million sold, Wii close to 28 million sold, so that says to me that there's still a big audience out there that we can access with the Wii."

For more from Nintendo, check out GameSpot's full coverage of yesterday's media summit in San Francisco.

Nintendo Unveils New Mario, Metroid Games

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/wii/rpg/monsterhunter3/news.html?sid=6252440

Xbox 360 | Dishwasher working a second shift on XBL

Ska Studios reveals Vampire Smile, the sequel to last year's 2D side-scrolling action game Dishwasher: Dead Samurai.

Get the full article at GameSpot

---

"Xbox 360 | Dishwasher working a second shift on XBL" was posted by Brendan Sinclair on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:04:42 -0800

Basic Home Maintenance : How to Load & Run a Dishwasher

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/thedishwasherdeadsamurai/news.html?sid=6252442

Wii | Sega bundling violent three-pack

House of the Dead: Overkill, MadWorld, and The Conduit bundled into one package for Australia and New Zealand.

Get the full article at GameSpot

---

"Wii | Sega bundling violent three-pack" was posted by James Kozanecki on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:39:47 -0800

Sega 32X - Angry Video Game Nerd AVGN

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/madworld/news.html?sid=6251800

PlayStation 2 | Pitchford opens up on Gearbox, Borderlands a '3-million-unit game'

DICE 2010: Studio president talks success of "looter shooter," outlines the philosophy and profit-sharing that helped his company sell 25 million games worth $500 million.

LAS VEGAS--As the last day of the DICE Summit kicked off, the vast majority of attendees were still recovering from the previous evening's 13th Interactive Achievement Awards. However, at the tender hour of 10 a.m. (by Vegas standards), Red Rock Casino's Summerlin Ballroom was again near capacity for a presentation from Randy Pitchford, president of Borderlands developer Gearbox Software.

Gearbox president Randy Pitchford.

To kick things off, Pitchford gave a little personal background, discussing his stints as a Universal Studios tour guide and a professional magician while studying law in Los Angeles. Now in suburban Dallas, Pitchford dropped out of law school and relocated to pursue a job making video games. To prove his gamer cred, he showed off his Xbox Live gamerscore, which is nearly 89,000 points.

Pitchford's first gig was at 3D Realms, where he worked on the original Duke Nukem. He left in 1997, though, so his involvement in Duke Nukem Forever was "limited," and he quickly skirted the subject. He then founded Gearbox with five other colleagues and still has the first dollar the company ever made framed on his office wall. The dollar bill would become a motif in this presentation, which emphasized the challenges of balancing artistic ambition and economic realities.

FROM HALF-LIFE TO BORDERLANDS
Gearbox's first dollar came from a Sierra Entertainment check for the expansion pack Half-Life: Opposing Force, which became the nascent studio's first hit in 1999. Pitchford said that even though he often worked 18-hour days and slept under his desk, it was one of the happiest times of his career, because he was actually building games. He said that he personally created about two-thirds of the game's levels himself.

Opposing Force was a hit for Gearbox and won an Interactive Achievement Award. By the time the game shipped, the company's payroll had grown to 13, and they enjoyed further success with the expansion packs Half-Life: Blue Shift and Half-Life: Decay. (The studio also contributed to the development of PC shooter phenomenon Counter-Strike.)

Opposing Force was critically hailed upon its release in 1999.

With money in the bank, Pitchford took Valve Software head Gabe Newell's advice and branched out to console development. "He told me there might be something in this PlayStation 2 thing that was coming out," joked Pitchford, as Gearbox would port the original Half-Life to the console in 2001. The developer went on to work on a series of games with major publishers--the PC edition of Tony Hawk: Pro Skater 3 with Activision (2001), James Bond 007: Nightfire with Electronic Arts (2002), and the PC port of Halo: Combat Evolved with Microsoft (2003).

Having enjoyed success working on existing intellectual properties, the company decided to make an original IP, the World War II shooter Brothers in Arms. Pitchford is very proud of the series, which has been published by Ubisoft. Although 2005's Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 and Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood were successes, the long-delayed third installment, 2008's Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, was considered commercially disappointing.

However, the second time was the charm for Gearbox's original IP efforts, thanks to last fall's Borderlands. Pitchford took a moment to call out Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter (who was not present) for predicting that the action role-playing "looter shooter" would be effectively dead on arrival. The game had a tough launch slot last October, coming in between two top first-person shooters: Halo 3: ODST in September and Modern Warfare 2 in November. Pachter also believed that Dragon Age: Origins--which shipped just two weeks after Borderlands--would suck away RPG fans' dollars.

"You know, Michael, I knew you were wrong. Because I like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup--it's got chocolate and peanut butter," he joked, referring to Borderlands blending of role-playing and first-person shooter elements. (In press materials, Gearbox refers to the game as a "role-playing shooter.")

Borderlands went from being marked for death by analysts to a "3-million-unit game."

When the NPD Group's 2009 US sales numbers were in, Borderlands was the top new IP in the US. "We're now looking at a 3-million-unit game," declared Pitchford. It was unclear if he meant lifetime sales to date of the game--which had sold at least 2 million units worldwide as of December--or potential lifetime sales of the game. Gearbox reps had not responded to requests for clarification as of press time.

Gearbox has also enjoyed success with the game's two expansions, the critically acclaimed Zombie Island of Dr. Ned and the coolly received Mad Moxxi's Riot. However, Pitchford promised the next expansion, the upcoming Borderlands: The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, would be bigger than the two previous expansions combined. He also said that, in a move of Spinal Tap-ian logic, the expansion will raise the level cap by 11 instead of the 10-level bump common to role-playing game expansions. ( GameSpot previewed the Secret Armory of General Knoxx this week.)

GEARBOX'S PHILOSOPHY
With Borderlands' success, Gearbox has now sold 25 million games that have grossed $500 million since its founding. With its expanded bank account, Gearbox has itself expanded. The company has gone from occupying half a floor in a Plano, Texas, office tower to three full floors, including the penthouse.

As for its future plans, the company is working on two games, code-named "Cedar" and "Oak." The two projects were on an internal schedule slide that Pitchford presented, and he was somewhat alarmed that they could be clearly read on the large screen. "Good thing we code-name all our projects after trees," he said, laughing nervously.

Pitchford then went on to explain Gearbox's corporate philosophy. First and foremost, the company is about entertaining people--both a general audience and themselves. "I want to make sure that everything we do at our studio are things we want to do," he explained.

As a studio, Gearbox has three goals:
1. Be creative: "Be inventors and solve problems," as Pitchford put it.
2. Happiness: A harmonious workplace is key, so Gearbox applies the "3D policy" when hiring--"No drama, no dicks, no douche bags."
3. Make money: Game development is a business, so profit is key. Pitchford said the biggest challenge is that often creativity and happiness cost money. So it's important to always think about money, since that can help with the other two goals.

According to Pitchford, this studio's core mission is grappling with what he calls the "artist's dilemma." He says that as artists, the creative minds at Gearbox can visualize perfection very clearly, but nothing they--or any human--will ever do can be perfect.

He asked the audience, "So the question is, when do you stop [going for perfection]? How imperfect is 'good enough?'" He held up the example of the Mona Lisa, which is considered one of the greatest artworks of Western civilization. "It isn't perfect."

As a former programmer, Pitchford uses math to look at the world, and believes "Perfection is an asymptote." An asymptote is a line that forms a curve that approaches but never touches zero, instead going on infinitely.

After showing the asymptote curve in abstract, he shows the asymptote curve as Gearbox sees it: a curve between game quality vs. money. The curve won't ever touch perfection, but it will continue to cost the developer money as long as they can work on it.

"So where is the sweet spot? When do we stop [working on a game]? That's the dilemma we all face," explained Pitchford. He then went on to show how time skews the graph and accelerates costs. This problem brings up an obvious--and infamous--example.

"Now, this is where I could talk about Duke Nukem [Forever], but I'm not going to," Pitchford said. "I owe George Broussard…my career, so I am not going to say anything bad. I just want to make that clear to all the journalists out there."

SHARING THE LOOT
How does Gearbox determine where the "sweet spot" is? Pitchford says an aggressive profit-sharing scheme instills a sense of ownership in all Gearbox's employees. Through a combination of profit sharing, milestone incentive payments, stock options, and discretionary merit pay, Gearbox returns 40 percent of its profit to its employees, retaining the rest for its future development.

When asked by a former colleague why he gives away 40 percent of his profit, Pitchford said, "It's simple. I'm greedy, and having this system makes everyone work harder and allows other people to want to make good decisions…It makes every single person in the organization want to create a great product with maximum profit…and allows them to be team players. It allows us to say 'Oh yeah, this is the sweet spot,' and stop."

Inside Gaming Plus: DICE Randy Pitchford Interview (Gearbox Software: Borderlands) New DLC Announced

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/halflife/news.html?sid=6251584

Wii | DSi XL supersizes NA March 28

Nintendo's third revision of best-selling handheld heads stateside next month for $189.99.

Nintendo's DSi XL has been lighting up Japanese retail sales since its November 2009 debut, having sold 700,000 units last year. Last night, the publisher signaled that Western release dates were en route for its supersized version of the DSi, announcing that the system would arrive in Australia on March 15. As part of Nintendo's Q1 Media Summit today, the publisher provided another Western release date, saying the DSi XL would hit North America on March 28 for $189.99.

The DSi XL will cost $190.

The handheld is the fourth version of DS hardware in as many years, following the original DS, the DS Lite, and the DSi. Through the end of 2009, the DS has combined to sell 125.13 million units. Of those, 29.2 million were sold in Japan, 44.99 million in the Americas, and 50.23 million in Europe and other territories.

The DSi XL sports 4.2 inch dual screens, up from the DSi's 3.25 inch screens. Nintendo claims that the XL's battery life clocks in at four to five hours on maximum brightness and 13 to 17 hours on lowest brightness, on par with the DS Lite.

Nintendo's latest hardware update to the best-selling DS will also come preinstalled with several games and applications. The publisher did not explicitly lay out which software would be packed in with the system when it launches next month, however. Notably, DSiWare games are not transferable to another handheld, meaning they would have to be repurchased on the new DSi XL.

Nintendo DSi Hands-On

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/news/6251803.html

Wii | Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands swirling May 18

Ubisoft's acrobatic heir given firm date on Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, Wii, DS; Nintendo console installment includes 1992 SNES edition.

Nintendo certainly didn't waste time with its Q1 Media Summit opening remarks this morning, packing the 90-minute session with release dates for first-party games, such as Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M. The publisher also touched upon third-party wares, announcing that Ubisoft's Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands will arrive for the Wii on May 18.

The Prince returns to rock the cradle of civilization.

Ubisoft has subsequently confirmed for GameSpot that the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PSP, DSi, and DS installments of The Forgotten Sands will also arrive on May 18. The publisher did not indicate when the PC edition of the game would be available and had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.

Announced in November, The Forgotten Sands marks a return to the Sands of Time trilogy that began with the successful 2003 relaunch of the Prince of Persia series. As has been previously announced, the Wii and DS editions of the game will be distinct from their Xbox 360, PS3, and PSP counterparts, bearing gameplay developed specifically for the two platforms.

Ubisoft has been relatively quiet on the two Nintendo versions, though the House of Mario did say today that the Wii edition of Forgotten Sands will support cooperative gameplay. The Wii version will also feature a remake of the SNES edition of Prince of Persia, originally released in 1992.

Detailed last week in GameSpot's first look, The Forgotten Sands on Microsoft and Sony's platforms tracks The Prince's exploits during the seven-year timeline gap between 2003's The Sands of Time and 2004's Warrior Within. Notably, the game returns to The Sands of Time trilogy's more representational aesthetic, rather than the illustrative art style seen in 2008's well-received Prince of Persia.

The game will be released the same month as the big-budget film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. The reportedly $200 million adaptation premieres May 28 in the US and is being produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean) and directed by Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Donnie Brasco). Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, the film was cowritten by Jordan Mechner, who created the first Prince of Persia game in 1989.

Michael Jackson,James Brown,and Prince on stage (1983 )

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/princeofpersiatheforgottensandswii/news.html?sid=6251819

DS | Dragon Quest IX hits US this summer

Nintendo of America set to publish Square Enix's blockbuster Japanese DS role-playing game in the Americas with Sentinels of the Starry Skies subtitle.

When Dragon Quest IX debuted in Japan, the DS-exclusive role-playing game sold a whopping 2.3 million copies in its first week. That blockbuster success essentially guaranteed that the game would find its way to North America, but it didn't answer the questions of when or from whom.

The fearsome foursome sports some stylish headgear.

Both of those questions were answered today as part of Nintendo's San Francisco media summit. During the event, Nintendo of America confirmed that it would be handling publishing duties for Dragon Quest IX, giving it the subtitle Sentinels of the Starry Skies. While the company nailed down release dates for much of its first-half lineup at the event, it gave only a "summer" launch window for Dragon Quest IX.

Dragon Quest IX is the first installment in the long-running series to debut on the DS. Developer Level 5 is taking advantage of the system's touch screen in ways that couldn't be done on previous systems, such as using the stylus to quickly and easily outfit character equipment by dragging options around the screen. Level 5 will get another chance to adapt its franchise to new controls, because Square Enix said the 10th installment in the series will debut on the Wii, though no release window has been revealed yet.

Despite the change in platform and controls, Dragon Quest veterans could still feel right at home with Dragon Quest IX. The RPG will once again put gamers in control of a quartet of adventurers from series character designer Akira Toriyama, and a variety of teardrop-shaped slimes should once again provide token opposition to each player's efforts.

Dragon Age: Origins E3 2009 Trailer [HQ]

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/ds/rpg/dragonquestix/news.html?sid=6251831

DS | Infinite Space opens up March 16

Sega and PlatinumGames' customization heavy sci-fi RPG heads stateside next month.

With the Nintendo Q1 Media Summit going down in San Francisco today, release dates for games coming to the publisher's platforms have been in no short supply. Sega also contributed to the festivities today, announcing that PlatinumGames' Infinite Space will launch for the DS on March 16.

Space is infinite; this cockpit is not.

Infinite Space can be counted among the quartet of games announced as part of Sega's publishing arrangement with PlatinumGames, the others being Bayonetta, Madworld, and the recently titled Vanquish. Initially operating under the moniker Infinite Line, the sci-fi role-playing game was codeveloped by Japan-based Nude Maker and directed by that studio's president, Hifumi Kouno.

As for game specifics, Infinite Line sees players embarking upon a journey as captain of a spaceship. With over 200 ship designs and a wide variety of ship parts to choose from, players will need to apply some thought, both when building their vehicle and when choosing the appropriate crew to man it.

Infinite Space has already seen a measure of success in Japan, selling nearly 40,000 units during its opening week last June. For more on the game, check out GameSpot's interview with Nude Maker's Kouno and the former Clover Studio CEO and producer at Platinum Games, Atsushi Inaba.

Eminem - Infinite

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/ds/rpg/infiniteline/news.html?sid=6251844

Wii | Zoe Mode, Big Head Games Grease up

505 Games enlists developers of Singstar, Elefunk for Wii and DS adaptations of Paramount Pictures' blockbuster '70s musical about the '50s.

Paramount Pictures' nostalgia-inducing musical Grease and games go together like ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong, or so 505 Games would have you believe. The publisher today announced the developers for its upcoming Wii and DS adaptations of the hit 1978 John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John film, saying Zoe Mode will handle the console version with Big Head Games taking the portable duties.

Grease is the word. Zoe Mode is the developer.

Zoe Mode is best known for its work on Sony's successful Singstar series. However, the studio has also produced a number of other notable games, including Konami's Rock Revolution and Sega's Crush. Big Head Games has a shorter development history than Zoe Mode, specializing primarily in iPhone and other mobile games. However, the studio (formed by ex-8bit Games directors) does list the PlayStation 3 puzzle Elefunk among its accomplishments and is working on PSP Mini adaptations of its iPhone titles The Terminator and Retro - Cave Shooter.

In the Grease games, players will sing and dance with Danny Zuko, Sandy Olsson, and the rest of the T-Birds and Pink Ladies. According to Paramount, the game will "take full advantage of Nintendo Wii's motion-sensing controls and microphone and the DS's touch screen."

Zoe - Nada

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/wii/sim/grease/news.html?sid=6251863

PC | Pitchford opens up on Gearbox, Borderlands a '3-million-unit game'

DICE 2010: Studio president talks success of "looter shooter," outlines the philosophy and profit-sharing that helped his company sell 25 million games worth $500 million.

LAS VEGAS--As the last day of the DICE Summit kicked off, the vast majority of attendees were still recovering from the previous evening's 13th Interactive Achievement Awards. However, at the tender hour of 10 a.m. (by Vegas standards), Red Rock Casino's Summerlin Ballroom was again near capacity for a presentation from Randy Pitchford, president of Borderlands developer Gearbox Software.

Gearbox president Randy Pitchford.

To kick things off, Pitchford gave a little personal background, discussing his stints as a Universal Studios tour guide and a professional magician while studying law in Los Angeles. Now in suburban Dallas, Pitchford dropped out of law school and relocated to pursue a job making video games. To prove his gamer cred, he showed off his Xbox Live gamerscore, which is nearly 89,000 points.

Pitchford's first gig was at 3D Realms, where he worked on the original Duke Nukem. He left in 1997, though, so his involvement in Duke Nukem Forever was "limited," and he quickly skirted the subject. He then founded Gearbox with five other colleagues and still has the first dollar the company ever made framed on his office wall. The dollar bill would become a motif in this presentation, which emphasized the challenges of balancing artistic ambition and economic realities.

FROM HALF-LIFE TO BORDERLANDS
Gearbox's first dollar came from a Sierra Entertainment check for the expansion pack Half-Life: Opposing Force, which became the nascent studio's first hit in 1999. Pitchford said that even though he often worked 18-hour days and slept under his desk, it was one of the happiest times of his career, because he was actually building games. He said that he personally created about two-thirds of the game's levels himself.

Opposing Force was a hit for Gearbox and won an Interactive Achievement Award. By the time the game shipped, the company's payroll had grown to 13, and they enjoyed further success with the expansion packs Half-Life: Blue Shift and Half-Life: Decay. (The studio also contributed to the development of PC shooter phenomenon Counter-Strike.)

Opposing Force was critically hailed upon its release in 1999.

With money in the bank, Pitchford took Valve Software head Gabe Newell's advice and branched out to console development. "He told me there might be something in this PlayStation 2 thing that was coming out," joked Pitchford, as Gearbox would port the original Half-Life to the console in 2001. The developer went on to work on a series of games with major publishers--the PC edition of Tony Hawk: Pro Skater 3 with Activision (2001), James Bond 007: Nightfire with Electronic Arts (2002), and the PC port of Halo: Combat Evolved with Microsoft (2003).

Having enjoyed success working on existing intellectual properties, the company decided to make an original IP, the World War II shooter Brothers in Arms. Pitchford is very proud of the series, which has been published by Ubisoft. Although 2005's Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 and Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood were successes, the long-delayed third installment, 2008's Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, was considered commercially disappointing.

However, the second time was the charm for Gearbox's original IP efforts, thanks to last fall's Borderlands. Pitchford took a moment to call out Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter (who was not present) for predicting that the action role-playing "looter shooter" would be effectively dead on arrival. The game had a tough launch slot last October, coming in between two top first-person shooters: Halo 3: ODST in September and Modern Warfare 2 in November. Pachter also believed that Dragon Age: Origins--which shipped just two weeks after Borderlands--would suck away RPG fans' dollars.

"You know, Michael, I knew you were wrong. Because I like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup--it's got chocolate and peanut butter," he joked, referring to Borderlands blending of role-playing and first-person shooter elements. (In press materials, Gearbox refers to the game as a "role-playing shooter.")

Borderlands went from being marked for death by analysts to a "3-million-unit game."

When the NPD Group's 2009 US sales numbers were in, Borderlands was the top new IP in the US. "We're now looking at a 3-million-unit game," declared Pitchford. It was unclear if he meant lifetime sales to date of the game--which had sold at least 2 million units worldwide as of December--or potential lifetime sales of the game. Gearbox reps had not responded to requests for clarification as of press time.

Gearbox has also enjoyed success with the game's two expansions, the critically acclaimed Zombie Island of Dr. Ned and the coolly received Mad Moxxi's Riot. However, Pitchford promised the next expansion, the upcoming Borderlands: The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, would be bigger than the two previous expansions combined. He also said that, in a move of Spinal Tap-ian logic, the expansion will raise the level cap by 11 instead of the 10-level bump common to role-playing game expansions. ( GameSpot previewed the Secret Armory of General Knoxx this week.)

GEARBOX'S PHILOSOPHY
With Borderlands' success, Gearbox has now sold 25 million games that have grossed $500 million since its founding. With its expanded bank account, Gearbox has itself expanded. The company has gone from occupying half a floor in a Plano, Texas, office tower to three full floors, including the penthouse.

As for its future plans, the company is working on two games, code-named "Cedar" and "Oak." The two projects were on an internal schedule slide that Pitchford presented, and he was somewhat alarmed that they could be clearly read on the large screen. "Good thing we code-name all our projects after trees," he said, laughing nervously.

Pitchford then went on to explain Gearbox's corporate philosophy. First and foremost, the company is about entertaining people--both a general audience and themselves. "I want to make sure that everything we do at our studio are things we want to do," he explained.

As a studio, Gearbox has three goals:
1. Be creative: "Be inventors and solve problems," as Pitchford put it.
2. Happiness: A harmonious workplace is key, so Gearbox applies the "3D policy" when hiring--"No drama, no dicks, no douche bags."
3. Make money: Game development is a business, so profit is key. Pitchford said the biggest challenge is that often creativity and happiness cost money. So it's important to always think about money, since that can help with the other two goals.

According to Pitchford, this studio's core mission is grappling with what he calls the "artist's dilemma." He says that as artists, the creative minds at Gearbox can visualize perfection very clearly, but nothing they--or any human--will ever do can be perfect.

He asked the audience, "So the question is, when do you stop [going for perfection]? How imperfect is 'good enough?'" He held up the example of the Mona Lisa, which is considered one of the greatest artworks of Western civilization. "It isn't perfect."

As a former programmer, Pitchford uses math to look at the world, and believes "Perfection is an asymptote." An asymptote is a line that forms a curve that approaches but never touches zero, instead going on infinitely.

After showing the asymptote curve in abstract, he shows the asymptote curve as Gearbox sees it: a curve between game quality vs. money. The curve won't ever touch perfection, but it will continue to cost the developer money as long as they can work on it.

"So where is the sweet spot? When do we stop [working on a game]? That's the dilemma we all face," explained Pitchford. He then went on to show how time skews the graph and accelerates costs. This problem brings up an obvious--and infamous--example.

"Now, this is where I could talk about Duke Nukem [Forever], but I'm not going to," Pitchford said. "I owe George Broussard…my career, so I am not going to say anything bad. I just want to make that clear to all the journalists out there."

SHARING THE LOOT
How does Gearbox determine where the "sweet spot" is? Pitchford says an aggressive profit-sharing scheme instills a sense of ownership in all Gearbox's employees. Through a combination of profit sharing, milestone incentive payments, stock options, and discretionary merit pay, Gearbox returns 40 percent of its profit to its employees, retaining the rest for its future development.

When asked by a former colleague why he gives away 40 percent of his profit, Pitchford said, "It's simple. I'm greedy, and having this system makes everyone work harder and allows other people to want to make good decisions…It makes every single person in the organization want to create a great product with maximum profit…and allows them to be team players. It allows us to say 'Oh yeah, this is the sweet spot,' and stop."

Inside Gaming Plus: DICE Randy Pitchford Interview (Gearbox Software: Borderlands) New DLC Announced

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/halflifeopposingforce/news.html?sid=6251584

PlayStation 3 | Warner Bros. acquires majority stake in Rocksteady

Media conglomerate buys into Batman: Arkham Asylum developer to further expand its gaming holdings; studio to be charged with other WB IP.

Today, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Rocksteady Studios, the London-based developer of last year's critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham Asylum. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The game, which was published by Eidos (now part of Square Enix), has sold more than 2.63 million copies since its August 2009 debut.

Batman: Arkham Asylum was a commercial and critical hit for Rocksteady and WBIE.

The move follows a string of games-based acquisitions for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Most recently, it purchased beleaguered publisher Midway in a $49 million deal. WBIE also purchased Traveller's Tales, developer of the Lego Star Wars series, after receiving a $500 million investment from Abu Dhabi Media Company in 2007. In early 2009, the publisher also picked up Death Tank developer Snowblind Studios, which underwent a round of layoffs in January and is currently working with the Lord of the Rings license.

"We have been looking to increase our development capacity, and as a high quality games development Studio, Rocksteady definitely fits that strategy," said Josh Berger, WBIE UK's president and managing director. "With the ground-breaking release of Batman: Arkham Asylum, Rocksteady has really helped reinvigorate the Batman franchise, which is a significant focus for Warner Bros. in gaming."

Berger also indicated that Rocksteady won't be pigeonholed into the Batman universe, saying that the development studio is also at work on other Warner Bros.-owned franchises. "Rocksteady is working on the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum, and we hope to have them work on other Warner Bros. intellectual properties too," he said.

Warner Bros., which owns the DC Comics brand, will be publishing the upcoming sequel to Arkham Asylum, as well as focusing on developing the Mortal Kombat, The Lord of the Rings, and Lego franchises.

LIGHTS - Audio Quest Issue 10.mp4

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/batmanarkhamasylum/news.html?sid=6251719

Xbox 360 | DSi XL supersizes NA March 28

Nintendo's third revision of best-selling handheld heads stateside next month for $189.99.

Nintendo's DSi XL has been lighting up Japanese retail sales since its November 2009 debut, having sold 700,000 units last year. Last night, the publisher signaled that Western release dates were en route for its supersized version of the DSi, announcing that the system would arrive in Australia on March 15. As part of Nintendo's Q1 Media Summit today, the publisher provided another Western release date, saying the DSi XL would hit North America on March 28 for $189.99.

The DSi XL will cost $190.

The handheld is the fourth version of DS hardware in as many years, following the original DS, the DS Lite, and the DSi. Through the end of 2009, the DS has combined to sell 125.13 million units. Of those, 29.2 million were sold in Japan, 44.99 million in the Americas, and 50.23 million in Europe and other territories.

The DSi XL sports 4.2 inch dual screens, up from the DSi's 3.25 inch screens. Nintendo claims that the XL's battery life clocks in at four to five hours on maximum brightness and 13 to 17 hours on lowest brightness, on par with the DS Lite.

Nintendo's latest hardware update to the best-selling DS will also come preinstalled with several games and applications. The publisher did not explicitly lay out which software would be packed in with the system when it launches next month, however. Notably, DSiWare games are not transferable to another handheld, meaning they would have to be repurchased on the new DSi XL.

Nintendo DSi Hands-On

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/news/6251803.html

Xbox 360 | Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands swirling May 18

Ubisoft's acrobatic heir given firm date on Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, Wii, DS; Nintendo console installment includes 1992 SNES edition.

Nintendo certainly didn't waste time with its Q1 Media Summit opening remarks this morning, packing the 90-minute session with release dates for first-party games, such as Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M. The publisher also touched upon third-party wares, announcing that Ubisoft's Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands will arrive for the Wii on May 18.

The Prince returns to rock the cradle of civilization.

Ubisoft has subsequently confirmed for GameSpot that the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PSP, DSi, and DS installments of The Forgotten Sands will also arrive on May 18. The publisher did not indicate when the PC edition of the game would be available and had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.

Announced in November, The Forgotten Sands marks a return to the Sands of Time trilogy that began with the successful 2003 relaunch of the Prince of Persia series. As has been previously announced, the Wii and DS editions of the game will be distinct from their Xbox 360, PS3, and PSP counterparts, bearing gameplay developed specifically for the two platforms.

Ubisoft has been relatively quiet on the two Nintendo versions, though the House of Mario did say today that the Wii edition of Forgotten Sands will support cooperative gameplay. The Wii version will also feature a remake of the SNES edition of Prince of Persia, originally released in 1992.

Detailed last week in GameSpot's first look, The Forgotten Sands on Microsoft and Sony's platforms tracks The Prince's exploits during the seven-year timeline gap between 2003's The Sands of Time and 2004's Warrior Within. Notably, the game returns to The Sands of Time trilogy's more representational aesthetic, rather than the illustrative art style seen in 2008's well-received Prince of Persia.

The game will be released the same month as the big-budget film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. The reportedly $200 million adaptation premieres May 28 in the US and is being produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean) and directed by Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Donnie Brasco). Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, the film was cowritten by Jordan Mechner, who created the first Prince of Persia game in 1989.

Michael Jackson,James Brown,and Prince on stage (1983 )

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/princeofpersiatheforgottensands/news.html?sid=6251819

Xbox 360 | Split/Second rolls out May 18

Disney Interactive Studios' over-the-top action racer tuning up for a few more months; European debut set for May 21.

Disney is scaling back its investment on "highest end" console games, but the publisher's not done with that market quite yet. Today the publisher announced that it will launch Black Rock Studio's Split/Second on May 18 in the US, with a European launch following May 21.

And "boom" goes the dynamite.

Described as "racing through an adventure game" by one of the developers, Split/Second is set in a fictional TV racing show where safety concerns get a well-deserved DNF. By skillfully employing driving techniques like drifting and drafting, players will fill up a power meter. Once full, the meter allows players to trigger all manner of explosive catastrophe on and around the track, from bursting water pipes in opponents' paths to dropping cargo liners across the track and forcing players to take a detour or shortcut.

Black Rock Studio is best known as the developer behind all-terrain vehicle racer Pure. While Split/Second will be just the second game to bear the studio's name, it developed its racing game acumen as Climax Racing, developer of 2002's MotoGP for Xbox and Sony's ATV Offroad Fury series. The studio was acquired by Buena Vista Games (now Disney Interactive Studios) in 2006.

Split/Second will be released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. For more on the game, check out GameSpot's latest preview.

Split/Second E3 trailer

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/driving/untitledblackrockprojectworkingtitle/news.html?sid=6251818

Xbox 360 | Microsoft dates, prices Block Party promotion

Toy Soldiers leads Xbox Live Arcade cavalcade on March 2, with Scrap Metal, Perfect Dark, Game Room hub following; Fret Nice, Greed Corp, Lazy Raiders online tomorrow.

Get the full article at GameSpot

---

"Xbox 360 | Microsoft dates, prices Block Party promotion" was posted by Tom Magrino on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:21:34 -0800

Microsoft Surface - The Possibilities

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/puzzle/fretnice/news.html?sid=6251756

PC | Team 17 prepping new 2D Worms

Studio head confirms belligerent annelids will return "soon" in a PC title available through Steam, but offers few details.

Get the full article at GameSpot

---

"PC | Team 17 prepping new 2D Worms" was posted by Tom Magrino on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:23:15 -0800

The A-Team Debut Movie Trailer [HD]

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/wormsreloaded/news.html?sid=6251763

Wii | DSi XL dated for Australia

Plus-sized DSi confirmed for April 15 release down under; black Wii and Monster Hunter Tri bundle announced.

While gamers in Europe and the US have long known that the DSi XL was set to arrive on their shores sometime in Q1 2010, Australian gamers have been kept in the dark about when they could expect Nintendo's new larger-sized handheld. Nintendo has now amended that situation, announcing today that the XL would be on sale in Australia on April 15 this year, with pricing yet to be confirmed.

The DSi XL goes on sale in Australia on April 15--but not the white version.

The new handheld has been on sale in Japan since November last year for 20,000 yen ($221). And while Japanese consumers had their pick of three colours for the XL, Aussies will only have two: burgundy and bronze. The handheld has experienced considerable success in its home country, selling more than 100,000 units in its first two days of sale.

The DSi XL is the fourth version of the handheld released so far, and sports 4.2 inch dual screens (compared to the DSi's 3.25 inch screens). The XL apparently can squeeze out 17 hours of game play on the lowest brightness, and comes pre-installed with several games and applications, including Clubhouse Games: Express Card Classic, A Little Bit of… Dr Kawashima's Brain Training: Arts Edition, Photo Clock, and Flipnote Studio.

Nintendo also confirmed today that the black version of the Wii will hit Australian shores on March 11. The black Wii will be bundled with a black Wii Remote and Nunchuck, and will sell for the same price as the white version (A$399.95). Black is not the only new colour for the Wii's accessories, however, with pink and blue Wii Remotes available from February 25.

And finally on the hardware front, Nintendo has also confirmed a new bundle to coincide with the release of Capcom's Monster Hunter Tri. The bundle will contain a copy of the game along with the Wii Classic Controller Pro for A$99.95. The Classic Controller Pro--which features a number of ergonomic changes over its original iteration--will not be sold separately in Australia.

Nintendo DSi Hands-On

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/wii/rpg/monsterhunter3/news.html?sid=6251796