Those German insiders were right on the money: the Leipzig Games Convention is moving, and in the process getting a new name: Games Con. From 2009 the show - renamed because it lets them use the popular "GC" acronym even though the Leipzig team refused to relinquish the name "Games Convention" - will be held in the western city of Köln, which will not only increase the number of public visitors but also make it easier for industry types to get to the show. Which is all well and good, but "Leipzig" had a warm ring to it that the cold, teutonic "Köln Games Con" just can't match.
Spielemesse heißt künftig „Games Con" [FAZ.net]

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Yes, it's that time again. Time for another episode of Amazing Erotic Game Displays! Previously, we've covered this NSFW ground before with the likes of The Chikan Express, Married Women Harem and Oppai Baka. Huh. All jubblie-related! This latest one is no different. The in-store display for PC erotic game Oppai Life (Boob Life) actually invites customers to "touch". Heck, there's even a GIANT ARROW to drive the point home. You know, in case someone gets confused and touches the billboard's edges or something. Slightly NSFW gallery below:

Oppai Life [Akiba OS]

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The final build of Street Fighter IV might be due to hit Japanese arcades in July, but that doesn't mean the game's nearly done. It's not even close! Capcom have said despite already existing in a playable state (it's playable at GDC, for example), the arcade version is only "50-60% complete". Sounds crazy, but makes a little more sense when you think about it: we've only seen one stage and ten fighters so far, so there's a lot left before the game's fleshy enough to let you get your grubby mits on it.
Street Fighter IV is "only 50-60% complete" [VG247]

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Word has it that No More Heroes creator Goichi Suda and Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami have joined forces for a yet unannounced project. (Previously, the duo worked together on Killer7.) We've been hearing rumblings about this for a while, as has game magazine GamesTM. The latest issue dishes:

UNTITLED PLATINUM GAMES PROJECT
One of our spies informs us that Grasshopper is currently discussing a new game with the ex-Clover studio.

Perhaps it's this, perhaps not. If true, we approve. We very much approve of this. Carry on!

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So Pandemic are the latest once-promising independent studio to be absorbed into the Electronic Arts hivemind. Cash money influx aside, are they bummed about now being associated with one the industry's less popular institutions? Or worried that their "independent" ideas and concepts will be put to the sword in favour of something like Mercenaries 2009? Nope.

Everyone like me has been waiting for that other shoe to drop and it hasn't, and honestly I'm getting to a point where I don't think it will. You know, like John said, they don't always get things right and it's still going to take time for John [Riccitiello's] vision to fully spread throughout the whole organisation. It's a big company, but they get it, you know? There's been no integration, no assimilations.

That was Pandemic President Josh Resnick. Who's keeping. It. Real.
A Post-Independent Pandemic [Next-Gen]

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Starbreeze, the developers behind Riddick and The Darkness, have announced that they've teamed up with EA to "reinvent one of EA's most acclaimed classic franchises". The project, which at the moment is going under the codename Project RedLime, will be released on 360, PS3 and PC. So...what could it be? EA have a ton of "acclaimed classic franchises", like Skate or Die and the Strike series, and they bought loads more, like Origin's and Bullfrog's back catalogues. Since Starbreeze seem big on FPS games, though, I'm gonna go a little leftfield and suggest (or...madly hope) that it's a new Crusader game. Twelve years is far too long to go without further adventures of gaming's most badarse red mailbox.

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Nope, Sony can't stop risqué UMDs! Nor risqué "games," it seems! Take Soleil, which is truly an 18 and up erotic game. Released yesterday in Japan, Soleil follows three maids, who are also high school students. Fascinating! Originally, the game was released last year on PCs as Sugao no Bishou (Real Smile). Since the game isn't really a PSP game per se, but more of an interactive movie, it's possible to get a PSP release as a UMD video. Sony is strict about game software, but doesn't have much control over UMD movies (hence, UMD porn). For the curious, not-so-graphic-but-still-NSFW screenies after the jump! Proceed with caution.

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DS title Oshiri Kajiri Mushi ("Butt Biting Bug") looks like nothing more than your standard rhythm game dressed up with your not-so-standard butt biting bug. "Oshiri Kajiri Mushi" was originally a silly child's song that appeared on NHK, but later became a top ten hit in Japan. Note: Butt biting bugs aren't supposed to bite people's arses until they turn eight years old. Uh-huh.

If you've stomached the game trailer, hit the jump for the original song.

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Speaking with Eurogamer, Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux has chimed in on the increasingly-important issue of HDD usage for 360 games.

Given the choice, I'd obviously choose a hard drive every day of the week...But the balance to that is you're supporting a system which is an awful lot cheaper.

What I'm trying to address with Fable 2 is say 'Look, anybody can play this game.' That's what I really want. So supporting the cheaper price is really important.

Is it? Some 360 games are really starting to suffer from not being able to use the HDD, with Mass Effect (load times and texture pop-in) and more recently Lost Odyssey (I'm on my ninth lock-up from my poor little disc drive shitting itself) two examples of games that could have been a lot better were Microsoft to allow developers to make HDD usage mandatory. Besides, how many Arcade owners are going to be buying games like Lost Odyssey and Fable 2, anyways? Enough to warrant a lesser experience for the rest of us?
More from Molyneux [Eurogamer]

Bionic Commando Rearmed on PC will have high-res textures. Bionic Commando Rearmed on PS3 will have high-res textures. Bionic Commando Rearmed on Xbox Live Arcade? Not-so-high-res textures. BC producer Ben Judd has said that, thanks to Xbox Live Arcade's file-size restrictons, which limit games offered on the service to 150MB, the XBLA version's textures won't be of the same quality as those found on the PS3 and PC. Won't make a lick of difference to the gameplay, of course, but if you own a 360 and a PS3/PC, this has probably made the decision on which platform to get it on that little easier.
Xbox Live Arcade Size Limits Limiting Capcom Games? [1UP]

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Don't trash those Xbox 360 HD DVD players just yet! You can use them for other things. Site TeamXbox has a lighthearted look at ways to get the most out of your obsolete peripheral. They include: paper weight, cup holder, chair leg balancer, door stop, mouse pad, Xbox 360 Power Supply platform, straight edge ruler and book end. This list makes us feel way better and happy that all Microsoft's effort was not in vain. Click through the gallery below to see the HD DVD player in action.

Ways to Extend Xbox 360 HD DVD Player's Life [TeamXbox via Hatimaki]

Ars Technica's Microsoft mole, who's been largely on-point in previous rumours, has another bad case of the whispers, telling the site that the 360's HD-DVD player is - for some reason - in line for a rather hefty price-cut. He reckons that the add-on movie player will be slashed to $US 50. Cheap, sure, but while $US 50 wasted is less than $US 130 wasted...it's still money wasted. Only thing I'm wondering about is the fact it was meant to start today: any of you lot able to verify this?
Mole report: Xbox 360 HD DVD drive for $US 49.99 [Opposable Thumbs]

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That's right, it's let's-make-art-by-pretending-to-be-dead time! Boing Boing tv checks out artist Brody Condon's work "Performance Modification" at the Machine Project in LA. As we previously posted, his piece has ten performers in armor performing slo-mo movements based on computer game death animations. Love the chain metal! Death Knights in Slow Motion [Boing Boing TV]

Phil Harrison? Not happy. Back when he was boss at SCE Europe, he oversaw the transformation of the PS2 from a gamer's console into a mainstream entertainment device, thanks to SCEE titles like SingStar and Buzz! Because of those titles (and the millions of PS2s they helped sell), the inroads made by the Wii don't seem as revolutionary in Europe and Australia as they do elsewhere, because we've seen girls and families gaming together on a PS2 for years. So why, he wonders, didn't Sony Japan do the same thing?

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We've got a buncha new fighters coming out: SNK's The King of Fighters XII, Capcom's Street Fighter IV and Namco's Soul Calibur. We are totally! Whot does SNK think its biggest competitor is? Says Masaaki Kukino, King of Fighters XII producer:

Street Fighter IV... I saw it at the AOU 2008 show... I was impressed. It's very similar to King of Fighters in that we're trying to do something new with the franchise.

Right on. Anyone who likes fighters should be very, very happy right now. Tickled pink, even!
KoFXII Interview [1UP]

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Rockstar have released two new trailers for their upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV. One introduces us to Phil Bell, who's seen ten too many Scorcese flicks and is all the more awesome for it. The other, after the jump, is for the game's take on the Toyota Prius, the far more appropriately-labelled Karin Dilettante.

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Super Smash Bros. Brawl creator Masahiro Sakurai had the best intentions, really. Like, when he started making SSBB, he thought it would be great if the online battles between friends had voice chat and possibly even keyboard chat. Hey, that sounds pretty great! What the hell happened?

But there are all sorts of rules and regulations regarding communication on the Wii platform and so it was apparent to me that it just wouldn't come together, we weren't going to be able to do it, so we decided to cancel that feature. I'm very sorry about that. But if you're really desperate for it, you could set up Skype by your game station and go at it with a friend if you like.

Eh? No, thanks. We'll stick to talking loudly at the television. Sure, Nintendo has said in the past that it hopes to make online pleasant for those not used to it — meaning, they didn't want people to get their feelings hurt. Fair, enough! But, why no online SSBB ranking? "It can also be kind of trying and painful for some people who want to be at the top and think that they're really good at Smash and they look at their online ranking and they're the one-hundred-thousandth best Smash Bros. player", Sakurai says. Wow, just wow. After you've figured that one out, hit the jump for Sakurai's say on future franchise installments:

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Speaking to Bloomberg, NoA talisman Reggie Fils-Aime reckons that the 360's lead over the Wii in North America will disappear this year. And not just "this year", but by June. Which is not too far away! He reckons the launch of Super Smash Bros will be a big factor in this, and while I can't see the logic in that - surely the people who freaked out over every pointless Dojo update already have a Wii - the overall prediction seems watertight to anyone who's been looking at sales charts for the past 12 months.
Nintendo Advance [Bloomberg]

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Skip 2/3 of this G4 interview if you feel like it, just don't skip all the way to the end. Because just before the end you'll hear Kim Swift, Portal's lead designer, say that Valve's Doug Lombardi has just announced Portal 2. Well, we haven't heard squat from Doug, but hey, your word's just as good!

With the recent university shooting in the States, mainstream media once again has something to throw in the face of gaming, specifically the link between violent behaviour and electronic entertainment. Does it matter if the analyses are tainted with half-truths? Nope!

With all this controversy humming in the air, Atomic decided to have a word with Dr Guy Porter, a real-live professional in the matters of research, science and game violence.

From the article:

Large and well-designed studies have shown that childhood exposure to TV / film violence predicts subsequent aggressive behaviour in adulthood ... These studies are widely regarded as the most convincing form of evidence for establishing a link between media violence and aggression. However, such studies do not yet exist for video games.

The interview goes on to cover Jack Thompson and game addiction. While recently we've heard much on the former, the latter seems to have dropped down a few rungs on the ladder of important issues.

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Sony Computer Entertainment's worldwide studios boss Phil Harrison countered the success of Nintendo's latest console at GDC today, according to a Gamasutra report, saying that the Wii's "addressable market is only 40% of the installed base". He's talking about the prospects of third party developers, who, despite having a massive Wii customer base to sell to, have to compete with Nintendo's own software, effectively limiting the market by more than half.

That's gotta be one of the best back-handed compliments ever, I'd think, and maybe not entirely accurate. Sure, Nintendo dominates software charts with first party product, but games like Capcom's Resident Evil efforts, Mario & Sonic at the Olympics and Guitar Hero III have done pretty well for themselves on the Wii.

Sony's Harrison: You Can't Get Wii's Whole Audience [Gamasutra]

Yyyyeah. Outside of the PixelJunk Monsters demo, PlayStation 3 owners may have some difficulty mustering up too much excitement about this week's PlayStation Store additions. There's only one other playable, an original PlayStation title, but maybe you'll find this week's light dusting of gameplay trailers enough to keep you busy between F5ing the site. There is that Bionic Commando: Rearmed trailer available, the kind of thing you may want to watch and rewatch and rewatch. And rewatch.

Continue for the full list of new goodies coming your way courtesy of the PlayStation Network.

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Speaking of Red Ant, the distributor has just penned a deal to handle Zenimax Europe's workload here in Australia. According to the release, Red Ant will start off with Star Trek: Conquest, due March 20 on the Wii and Playstation 2, and AMF Bowling: Pinbusters for the Wii on March 27.

It's safe to assume Zenimax's European operation is eager to filthy up its publishing mitts, considering the business was announced only three days ago.

I've been told there's a press release after the jump, but it'd be best if you checked for me.

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Japanese clothing label A Bathing Ape (aka Bape) is the latest to lend its signature brand to the Nintendo DS, with new white and gold portables hitting in April. Nintendo's Mario and Bape's Baby Milo will adorn the packaging and the top half of the DS, the latter of which mimics the familiar Louis Vuitton pattern that has adorned overpriced baggage for decades.

Like many things Bape, we suspect that these DS Lites will be in short supply and go for a mint when they're out of stock.

Bape x Nintendo DS Lite [High Snobiety]

Yay! We're going to the park everybody! We're going to hang out with Nathan, and play on the swings, and shoot at big ugly cyborg looking guys til the sun sets and we all go home to dream about going to the park again! Ahem, sorry. These are newly released Bionic Commando screenshots from Capcom, showing Nathan maneuvering about the park level of the game. I just see the word park and get all excited.

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I was lucky enough to get a chance to sit down with Lego's Mark Hanson to talk a bit about their upcoming MMO project, LEGO Universe. What we've seen and heard about it so far has been a bit limited so I was looking forward to hearing about what could be one of the most interesting and fun MMOs to come along in quite a while.

The Lego world is all about creativity and building and Lego Universe will be no different. Players will start the game by customizing their mini-figs. According to Hanson, each figure will be endlessly customisable so that you can create a character that looks just like you (or not) to inhabit your little section of bricks. Each world of the universe will have a different theme that corresponds to the different sets of Legos. For example, you will be able to visit the Pirate Planet or perhaps jet over to the Medieval Castle Planet. Lego will provide the basis for each world and then the rest is all up the the users. You can own property and build up whatever creations your mind can come up with using your stock of bricks. Bricks can be earned by a combination of randomly finding them, completing missions and even battling. The more you play, the more bricks you can earn. While there will be no actual PVP battles, players will be able to create creatures/machines and use them to battle other players creations in their quest for more bricks. And of course, in the Lego Universe no one ever bleeds or dies, they just break apart.

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Today Bungie released the first screens of the first map in the upcoming Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack, due out this Spring. A general purpose map, Ghost Town is the ruins of a 24th century water processing plant built in a shallow ravine, and from the looks of these screens it is definitely my sort of map - plenty of places to hide while your teammates take care of business. Hit up Bungie for a tiny interview up with artists Vic DeLeon and Cameron Pinard and designer Lars Bakken about the inspirations behind this intriguing new map.

Ghost Town Revealed [Bungie.net]

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Last night Valve held their GDC party at the lovely and white Temple Nightclub in beautiful downtown San Francisco, and a group from Harmonix were on the scene to catch a special performance by Jonathan Coulton, who you may remember as the writer behind the Portal ending song, "Still Alive". Towards the end of his set, Coulton and the Harmonix boys pulled out a surprise.

That is when we jumped on-stage and pulled out our Rock Band equipment piece by piece...When they got to the song list they scrolled through an almost infinite amount of DLC until eventually they stopped on one- "Still Alive" by GLaDOS

Remember the future Rock Band DLC found in file story from last Wednesday? Might wanna start paying it a bit more attention, cause this is one long shot that came true. Hell yes!

Valve Party at GDC + Special Preview of an Upcoming DLC Song [HMXSean's Rockband.com Blog - Thanks BatDan!]

Last summer, the gang at Insomniac Games pulled back the curtain on PlayStation 3 R&D, attempting to the light the way of the dark and dangerous development path. It was a classy move, aimed at helping other, less fortunate developers. Today, they've one-upped themselves, announcing the Insomniac Games Nocturnal Initiative. No, it's not an exciting PlayStation Network title or the beginnings of a new franchise. This is the Game Developers Conference, after all, and the announcement is aimed squarely at software developers.

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I totally didn't see this one coming. At all. By the looks of things, Intel has just swept in and plucked the company from the realms of independent development.

From the site:

Today we have some major news to announce. Intel has acquired Offset Software. Yes, you read it correctly! Project Offset is going strong and we are excited about things to come. Stay tuned.

Offset Software has been quietly working away on its unnamed, yet visually scrumptious fantasy multiplayer title for a few years now. The team isn't that large, so progress has been (understandably) slow. With Intel in the mix, I'm sure Offset will get all the resources it needs.

The main dude in charge of art, Rod Green, is originally from Australia. He was unbelievably helpful when I was putting together an article on the developer's tech back on Atomic. In fact, Rod is probably the most accommodating developer I've worked with in my career.

I've pinged Rod an email, hopefully he'll be able to share a few details about the acquisition.

Project Offset [Official site, via Blue's News]

For those who hadn't heard, the Wiimote is SO holiday season '06 and '07. Here's a clip from the guys who want to make your next Wiimote...or PS4mote...or Xbox 720mote. A system that allows for 6 degrees of movement (X, Y, Z, Yaw, Pitch and Roll), this InterSense technology may be spec'd identically to the Wiimote, but it works a lot better (as tested with lightsabre battle).

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On the precipice of delving into the world of massively multiplayer online games, a genre that tends to chew up mediocre and even good games and spit them out, BioWare founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk say they're not worried, but they also have a healthy respect for the challenges they face.

"It's definitely challenging," said Muzyka. "We waited years to do this. One of our first ideas, 15 years ago, was actually an MMO but we wanted to wait until we were ready as a studio. These are big projects with big potential."

"As a type of game, (MMOs) are almost at the pinnacle of maxing the difficulty levels for development," Zeschuk added. "You have thousands of people trying to break it and mess stuff up. It's very hard technically, it's not for the faint of heart."

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Havok Goes Free In May
Looks like Havok was keeping a close eye on NVIDIA and AGEIA after all. It's nice to be right.

Sega Drops Details On Aliens: Colonial Marines
A new Aliens game! Definitely about time. Gearbox deserves a face hug, that's for sure. Or maybe just a regular hug.

Starbreeze Teams With EA To Reinvent Something
System Shock 3? As much as I'd be happy about the news, that fact that Irrational/2K Aus-Bos wouldn't be involved doesn't get my hopes up.

Kill Uwe Boll in Postal 3
Really, who wouldn't? Heck, if he can mutilate cinema, we should be able to reciprocate - on him.

Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in. On Tuesday the Florida Supreme Court hit good old Jackie T with a show cause order, basically requiring that he explain why he has been abusing the legal system. Here's the text, passed on to Game Politics by JT himself:

02/19/2008 ORDER-SHOW CAUSE TO: JOHN BRUCE THOMPSON It appears to the Court that you have abused the legal system by submitting numerous frivolous and inappropriate filings in this Court.

Therefore, it is ordered that you shall show cause on or before March 5, 2008, why this Court should not find that you have abused the legal system process and impose upon you a sanction for abusing the legal system, including, but not limited to directing the Clerk of this Court to reject for filing any future pleadings, petitions, motions, letters, documents, or other filings submitted to this Court by you unless signed by a member of The Florida Bar other than yourself.

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Another week, another billion yen for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The Wii fighter doesn't look like it will be knocked off the top spot of Media Create's Japanese software sales charts any time soon, at least not while folks are snapping up Brawl and Wii Fit so fast.

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Mark Wilson and I hit up the PlayStation "Block Party" last night to enjoy an evening packed with drinks, developers and white dudes getting down to the hip-hop stylings of Guru and Q-Tip. We came hoping that Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios boss Phil Harrison would join the Rock Force Crew in a b-boy throwdown after dropping details on Home and LittleBigPlanet, but nothing of the sort happened. While the aroma of the room was definitely appropriate, one thing that stood out as an odd fit was the barber shop on the second floor of The Mezzanine. There were plenty on hand that thought it was a fine idea, though, with a grotesque mountain of hair amassing by evening's end. I'll spare you the photo of that one.

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