Reader Aeon sent this in to help you pass away those weekend hours, and we thank him for it. Arts and crafts are one thing, but to sit down and create a crossword? One based on Half-Life? It tips the awesome scales at, well, awesome. It's short, but sweet, and Aeon says if it wets your whistle there'll be a bigger one to come. Oh, before attempting it, note that questions 8 & 11 require you, reader, having seen this and this.

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It's totally done. Like done done. Dubbed Arcade Mania, the book's about Japanese arcades. Here's the info: Organised as a guided tour of a typical Japanese game centre, Arcade Mania is divided into nine chapters, each of which deals with a different kind of game, starting with the UFO catchers and print club machines at the entrance and continuing through rhythm games, fighting games, shooting games, retro games, gambling games, card-based games, and only-in-Japan games.

Arcade Mania isn't a history book, but packs lots of history in it — from Post War era mechanical games to the late 70s Space Invaders craze to the modern day. Tons of players, developers and random schoolgirls were interviewed while writing the book. And tons and tons of hands-on "research" was done at Japanese arcades throughout the country. We were able to get Crecente and arcade guru Kevin Williams to pen bang up forwards, which was very cool.

Why a book about Japanese arcades? Why now? Well, there's never been a book quite like this in English on Japanese arcades. And with Street Fighter IV out in game centres here and The King of Fighters XII coming out, it seemed pertinent! If I was going to ever write a book on Japanese arcades, now was the time.

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That's a question Edge are asking today, and it follows on from a string of questions people have been asking for at least 10-15 years. What was once a company renowned for their PC adventure games, and later as the publisher of stuff like Half-Life and SWAT, are now facing oblivion, with Activision displaying zero interest in maintaining the brand following their merger with Vivendi. Me, I say put it to rest, and it's a sentiment shared by company founder Ken Williams:

I really don't know what Sierra even is these days...I suppose I should be disappointed anytime I hear that Sierra is being shut down, but it really doesn't bother me. The company was horribly mismanaged for a long time, and it depresses me more every time I hear about a dumb decision being made than it does when I hear that someone did the right thing, even when it includes killing off a brand or reducing staff size.

Oh Sierra. Don't worry. It'll all be over soon. And when it is, we'll remember you for Quest for Glory, not Magna Cum Laude.

Why Sierra Must Die [Edge]

EA Looking To Market Crysis Ready PCs
Comment by: Black-Dog-Howls
Nominated by: Blake Ruff

Also, that picture makes me chuckle.

"Hello. I'm a Mac".
"-and I'm a PC".
"Say P-"
"Fuck you Mac, I can run Crysis".

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Curious as to just who the hell Lionel Messi is, America? He's the long-haired, Argentinian midget that stars in this debut trailer for Konami's Pro Evo 2009. While my patience with the Pro Evo series is wearing thin - with both current-gen releases doing nothing to improve on the PS2/Xbox years - I'll at least give them credit for this trailer. While it's had a few (dozen) more rendering passes than the actual game will boast, as you can see by the stilted player animations, that's at least in-engine footage.

Gamerchip is reporting that Fallout 3 has been edited and is on-track for a local release. Excellent. Awesome. Fantastic. Well, it would be all three of these if I was to believe the story.

The piece mentions that the game is due out later this year, with all drug references removed. Apparently this info came from "EB and Game representatives". That's great, EB Games and GAME can say whatever they want, but until I hear word from the OFLC, Red Ant or Bethesda, Fallout 3 is still refused classification.

There's also mention that the two retailers are taking preorders, yet, as far as I can tell, the title remains in exile from EB's Oz site. Even if they are, why wouldn't they? That's what retailers do - they take your money. If they have to refund it later, they'll cross that bridge when the come to it.

Saying the game is "confirmed" is wishy-washy anyway. It's unlikely Bethesda won't create an edited version of Fallout 3 for our market, and perhaps others like Germany. It's not a matter of if, but when, and the degree of content that's altered. Only when I have this information in hand will I be confident enough to throw around words like "it's confirmed" and "import it anyway".

Fallout 3 Confirmed For Australian Release [Gamerchip, thanks Nick]

Bizarre may never work on another Project Gotham Racing game again, what with their defection to Activision, but they're no fools. They knew what made the series tick, and made steps to protect that investment. So while Microsoft own the name Project Gotham Racing, they don't own the series' trademark Kudos system. Bizarre's Sarah Chudley explains:

Gotham's owned by Microsoft. They will be doing with Gotham whatever they want...We still own the Kudos element. We have a joint patent with Microsoft, so that's something we could use in the future if we wanted to.

So smile, PGR fans! Bizarre can still make PGR, they just can't call it PGR anymore. Savvy!

Bizarre Creations boss: "Do we do Gotham 5?" [VG247]

Square Enix announced at its Private Party in Shinjuku today that both Final Fantasy Agito XIII and The 3rd Birthday will be released on the PSP. The two were previously announced for release only on mobile phones. Square Enix did not provide a date for Final Fantasy Agito XIII, but pegged the not-quite-a-sequel to Parasite Eve II for a 2009 release. The 3rd Birthday is said to follow the adventures of series protagonist Aya Brea but play differently from previous Parasite Eve titles.

Final Fantasy Agito XIII PSP Release Decided [Famitsu]

Square Enix announced at the DKΣ3713 event in Japan today that the Blu-ray re-release of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children would come with a playable demo version of Final Fantasy XIII for the PlayStation 3, according to reports from Famitsu. The disc will also ship with new videos of Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete will ship in Japan at some point in March 2009.

Advent Children Complete Gets FF XIII Trail [Famitsu]

Courtesy of 2K, here's a look at the final, official box art for the PS3 version of BioShock. It's not a major change, since it's still a dark, underwater shot of a Big Daddy, but the addition of a Little Sister should help the version stand apart from its 360/PC brothers. And yes, we know, the Home logo's not on the front anymore. Don't read too much into it. Full-size version's after the jump.

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For the Metal Gear Solid fan who wants to wake up in style, Konami has created the "GA-KO Alarm Clock", a full-service recreation of the egg timer made famous in Metal Gear Solid 4. We suppose it could still be used to time your egg frying, but it looks like it feels more appropriate on a nightstand, with its adorable little face and sassy pose.

It's limited to 2000 pieces — and importer NCSX says the GA-KO is currently sold out — but after peeping the extensive gallery at the retailer, which shows off the Metal Gear-esque packaging, you might want to check back. They say they're getting more stock next week. Definitely do want.

GA-KO Alarm Clock [NCSX]

I had a chance to chat with Todd Hollenshead, CEO of id Software, earlier today about a bunch of different things, from QuakeCon to the future of PC gaming to id's love/hate relationship with the Playstation 3.

Here's the run-down:
Also check out our E3 Interview with John Carmack
Next Doom May Not Be a True Sequel
Rage and id's Love/Hate Relationship with the PS3
id Would Like Another Doom Movie
id Considering Wolfenstein RPG, Doom 2 RPG for iPhone
Hollenshead: E3 Was Pretty Much a Disappointment to Everyone
Does PC Gaming Need a Saviour?

This year, the year of the 30th anniversary of the release of the original Space Invaders, you can get Taito's iconic aliens on anything and everything — luggage, bath towels, fitted caps, pillows, tumblers, headphones, whatever! No product is too cheap or too expensive to have some invaders impressed upon it!

Thankfully, for the more boutique focused Japanese consumer, Taito has teamed up with the many designers who set up shop in the Laforet Museum, a multi-tiered shopping centre in Harajuku that caters to the discriminating shopper. They're selling Space Invaders branded tees, parkas, underwear, dresses, ties bejeweled frilly things, all at outrageous prices, all in sizes that don't fit you.

Taito X Laforet Harajuku "Space Invaders 30th Anniversary" Collaboration [Game Watch]

Since playing through Metal Gear Solid IV, I've gone through a dozen eggs a week. I never used to eat this many eggs, but there I am, nearly every morning, cracking open fresh ones into a hot frying pan, pausing to watch the egg white turn from translucent to opaque, humming a little song to myself. Hell, I never really ate eggs sunny side up before the damn game came out. I was a scramblin' man. Quick, easy, no fuss. What has this stupid game done to me?

Is this an isolated case, or have you folks ever found yourself eating, drinking, or doing things a certain way after seeing it in a game? I'm not talking purchasing large baskets of Axe deodourant due to an in-game ad here - we've all done that. I'm talking more subtle things here. Going on a fresh fruit kick after a Pac-Man marathon, or getting really into curry after watching the marathon curry cutscene in Xenosaga II? How much power do video games have over our daily habits? If only we had a comments section in which to discuss such things.

You wouldn't be surprised to learn that "an all-new Call of Duty" title will be released in 2009, would you? Good, because that's exactly what's going to happen, according to Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who talked up the next Call of Duty in a post earnings release con call.

Kotick said that the publisher will "leapfrog" studios, which we'll assume to mean that, since Treyarch is hard at work on Call of Duty: World At War, that Call of Duty 4 developer Infinity Ward will be taking the reins on this one.

The Infinity Ward team has one unspecified project in the works for Activision, whom it just re-signed with, rumoured to possibly have a sci-fi bent to it. Space marines? It's just crazy enough to work.

If you haven't already gotten your hands on the Red Faction: Guerrilla Multiplayer Beta which hit Xbox Live today, we have some videos so you can drool over its sheer awesomeness. The game really brings back memories of late nights with Perfect Dark: Zero. Jetpacks? Grenades? Explosions? Count us in! More videos after the jump.

Updated: The multiplayer beta keys will be handed out by IGN.com starting today and continuing on Monday and Wednesday.

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Oh don't worry, West Coast. It still sounds like you're going to get your own Pacific Standard Time flavoured PAX in 2010. But East Coasters are getting their own version of the event, according to Jerry "Tycho" Holkins, who broke the news of the Penny Arcade Expo's expansion earlier today.

It doesn't sound like the PA team is planning on limiting it to just two shows, either, with Holkins writing that "Frankly, it should be global", teasing that "an East Coast show is only the beginning".

The anti-E3 enters its fifth year when it throws down at the Washington State Convention & Trade Centre on August 29-31. We'll be there. Will you?

PAX East Coast: 2010 [Penny Arcade]

Gamers eagerly awaiting the chance to chop off a werewolf's head in the middle of an annihilated New York City will be getting their chance next month, as Gamecock Media Group announces a September 30th release date for Spark Unlimited's fantasy horror shooter. Along with the release date comes news of the pre-order bonus, an attractive Legendary art book, complete with a DVD filled with trailers, behind the scenes looks, and general eye candy.

Even more exciting that the art book, Spark Unlimited is also releasing a 96 page graphic novel detailing Deckard's fight against the Black Order, written by none other than Legendary comic book writer Mark Waid. See what I did there? It's a double meaning. Accentuated with a capital letter. Is the weekend here yet? Look for the graphic novel to hit around the same time as the game. Look for the box art after the jump!

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A year and a half ago, the PSP wasn't exactly wowing consumers or third-party publishers. Even John Koller, director of hardware marketing at Sony, might agree, telling MTV Multiplayer that, at the time, PSP gamers "were mostly ports" of their console siblings, resulting in minimal wows.

That's going to change, Koller says, as "we're going to see a lot of very large franchise games come from third-parties" starting at the end of this year and into 2009. Consumers are"going to be a bit of a surprise, they're going to be like 'Wow, that's coming to PSP?'" according to John.

The PSP is certainly in a good position in Japan, regularly outselling all other hardware platforms for the better part of this year. We'll have to see if the wows translate to sales over the next 18 months.

Sony Plans PSP Comeback In America, Recovering From System's Low Point [MTV Multiplayer]

Create, Enjoy, Destroy. That's the new tag line for EA's next SimCity installment exclusively for the Wii and DS.I can't wait to fly through my metropolis creations while battling prehistoric creatures and sipping on a slurpee from 7-Eleven. I will say this though, there's something about the first kid playing the game that really creeps me out.

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Despite the doom and gloom that seems to follow the future of PC gaming around there have always been a group of stalwart supports. Developers and companies whose best works appeared first on PC and later, if ever, on consoles. But these days those few shouts in the dark seem to be dwindling. The latest to make the jump? id Software.

But id CEO Todd Hollenshead, doesn't totally agree that they have switched sides, or that there even need to be sides for PC gaming to survive.

"That whole PC first thing, you have to go back in id history to see why id initially developed for the PC", he said.

It used to be, he said, that developers had to change so many things, jump through so many hoops, to get their games on consoles that it just wasn't worth it for some.

"Wolfenstein 3D, there was a Nintendo version of that, that was like a black day in id history, how they made us change it to run on the Nintendo platform", he said. Platform owners "wouldn't let you publish games on the console. We didn't want to have our content governed by a third-party".

"But that dynamic isn't really like there anymore. There are lots of games that have content, whether it's language or other forms of adult content, that is pushing the bounds of content on all platforms".

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The Mike Newell-directed, Jake Gyllenhaal-starring Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time movie won't make it to theatres next year as planned. According to a report from Coming Soon, Disney has delayed the Hollywood adaption of the Ubisoft game to May 28, 2010. Coming Soon pegs its release between the planned bowing of the next Shrek picture and Marvel's Thor movie. Heartbreaking news to the both of you who were planning on taking off that Friday.

The new Prince of Persia game? Seems to be coming along nicely, according to what we weren't allowed to touch at Comic-Con. We did, however, press the Start button on the PlayStation 3 controller before it was snatched out of our hands. That bit worked perfectly.

Prince of Persia Pushed Back a Year [Coming Soon]

While I was skeptical at first, I turned out to be a huge fan of the first Skate. There was something about that introduction sequence and the fact that the game had a video editor that made it stand out from its rival Tony Hawk franchise. Even in this trailer you can see they are sticking with their amateur skateboarding video roots.

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"E3 this year, in my opinion, it was pretty much disappointing to everybody" id CEO Todd Hollenshead told me early today during an interview. "The press were disappointed, the people I talked to in the industry are disappointed, almost everyone agree that that was the wrong way to do it".

It's too early to tell if the shrinking E3 has helped bolster id's own id-centric annual show QuakeCon. Usually id Software waits until the Saturday of the show to get official attendance numbers.

But Hollenshead is already sure that QuakeCon is the right way to host a gaming conference.

"I think we struck a balance of being vendor supported and still being in touch with the gamers", he said. "We had over 6,000 hours of volunteer time, that's like the polar opposite of E3,. which is all about business".

In fact id Software only officially showed up at E3 as a single announcement during the Electronic Arts press conference. They were there to tell the world that EA would be publishing their upcoming id Tech 5 game, Rage.

And even that had to be modified to fit in with what E3 and its attendees expect from the show.

"We were told you can't show this stuff because of these five reasons", Hollenshead said. "Last night (during QuakeCon) we had the bigger, better, more hardcore, not suitable for investor conference (announcement) for Rage and Doom".

[Pic]

John Carmack is bummed. The iPhone App Store is live and there's not a single id game on it.

"John is pretty disappointed we didn't have the manpower and resources to have a game for the launch of the" app store, id CEO Todd Hollenshead said.

Hollenshead said that Carmack and other id folks had been playing around with the iPhone SDK for awhile, but that the developer's small in-house mobile team just didn't have the time to put together a game.

"It appears that at this point that given the size of our team, we can only work on one mobile game at a time. We are probably partner up and the first (iPhone game) will be one where we work with a publishing partner".

Already the team is working on both Wolfenstein RPG and Doom 2 RPG for mobile phones, both of which id Software would like to bring to the iPhone, Hollenshead said.

"We have ambitions to have both on the iPhone", he said, "but it's too early to say if that's going to happen at this point".

As much as id seems to like the idea of iPhone gaming, they're taking a caution approach, but not for the reasons you'd think.

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Things I learned as a novice Ghostbuster:

Proton packs don't need reloading, but they do need venting or they'll overheat. Hmm, wonder if those clouds of steam could have something to do with the blood in my urine?

The PKE Meter is great at tracking down errant ghosts and seeing in low light situations but don't get caught holding one, other wise empty handed, when a ghost comes at you.

Slapping a ghost around a room, while fun and even necessary before trapping, really cuts into profits after you pay for the damages.

Sure Ghostbusting is fun, but tragically, watching someone Ghostbust can lead to nightmares, especially if you're seven and about to go to bed.

You can't start fires or blow stuff up with your unlicenced nuclear accelerator, but you can cross streams. Turns out that doesn't do anything really.

SPOILERS AHEAD

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Last night was our monthly Geek Night in LA, held at Crosswayboy's pad, giving us a double-double of video game indulgence. I believe the line up consisted of Geometry Wars 2, PixelJunk Eden, Wario Land: Shake It!, and Soulcalibur IV, which obviously equals good times. A bit unimpressed by the new Wario Land, partly because of the smooth jazzy soundtrack, and extremely annoyed by the addition of Yoda to SCIV's roster.

This weekend, however, I'll be throwing down with some more PixelJunk Eden, more Soulcalibur IV and maybe even a little bit of Braid on my own time. It's time to take a break before we gear up for the Leipzig Games Convention. Anyway, whatchu playin' this weekend?

While it is still extremely strange to see a trailer for a Sonic the Hedgehog game with the words, "From the creators of Mass Effect and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic" in it, I can't help but have extremely high hopes for BioWare's upcoming Sonic RPG, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Between the action in this trailer and Crecente's hands-on back in May, I've seen and heard nothing but good things about the game. Perhaps Sega has finally found the key to making a good Sonic game - letting someone else do it.

id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead would like to do another Doom movie, perhaps one based on the still in production, and yet-to-be-named, new Doom game.

"Personally I'd like to do another Doom movie, I thought working with it was a blast", he said. "There are some lessons we learned. The best way to do things better is to get the experience".

Hollenshead said that Universal still has the rights for the Doom movie and sequels, so the ball is really in their court on whether another is made.

"We'll see what happens when we get further along in development of the (new Doom) game and there's more buzz and we share more about what the game will be about.

"As the buzz meter starts to go up that may kind of kick start the guys over at Universal".

I can't write about any version of SoulCalibur without saying how amazing the Dreamcast version of the first installment was, so we'll get that out of the way up front. The original SoulCalibur for the Dreamcast is the game that got me hooked on 3D fighters, and no other game before or since quite compares to the thrill of the first time I spun up the disc in my imported Sega console. Nevertheless, Namco Bandai continues to try, and now the fourth installment (fifth counting Soul Edge) is upon us, marking the series' first appearance on current generation hardware. SoulCalibur IV brings us new fighters, new modes, a robust character creator, and the addition of online play - a franchise first. On top of all that, they've added a healthy dose of midi-chlorians to the mix in the form of cameos from Yoda, Darth Vader, and the Secret Apprentice from The Force Unleashed. Do all of these new additions lift the franchise to new heights, or throw it off balance so it falls right out of the ring?

Love it or hate it, here's your SoulCalibur IV review.

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The idea of going to E3 for me was nothing less than a dream come true, seriously. About a week before we embarked to Los Angeles Crecente sent a letter of how the housing situation as going to work, along with a few friendly reminders.

So of course I took a look at my roommate situation and saw that Michael Fahey and I were going to be bunk mates for the next few days. No more than a minute later I get this hysterical laugh from Owen on instant message. "Adam, good luck trying to sleep BWA HA HA HA" he says. I was dumbfounded. There was no way I could have possibly been prepared for what was in store.

My E3 dreams were shattered when it came time to go to sleep. The great thing about being the Kotaku video intern (at the time) was that I got to capture all of the wonderful Hallmark moments. Video, after the jump.

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Ars Technica's Microsoft mole is at it again, forecasting a follow up Xbox 360 price drop that will effect all hardware next month. Their mole previously leaked word of the price cut on the 20GB system leading up to Microsoft's E3 announcement on the subject. Here are the prices, so you don't have to go over to AT and read their painful attempt at...you know, I'm not even sure what they were trying to attempt there with the whole Dark Knight theme. Just painful.

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When Illinois isn't busy hating on Final Fantasy XI, they're busy getting ready for Lollapalooza 2008, taking place this weekend in Chicago's Grant Park. Sony's PlayStation 3 is going to have a pretty big presence at the show, with two tents set up to showcase what the console has to offer. One tent will feature Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet, where fans will be able to hang out with Brazilian Girls and get their tiny sackboy game on.

Also featured at the festival is The PlayStation "Take the Stage" Tent, which will give visitors an opportunity to strut their stuff in Rock Band and SingStar, with CSS, Jamie Lidell, Kid Sister, Krista and Tiny Master of Today stopping by off an on to challenge players with the highest scores. I can barely contain my own excitement, so I'll just leave it at that.

Last night John Carmack took to the stage at QuakeCon and inadvertently ignited a fanboy flamewar.

id's upcoming open-world shooter Rage, he told the assembled gamers, will look worse on the Xbox 360 because of storage issues.

I asked id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead about that this morning, now that the comment has had time to sink into gaming forums worldwide.

"That's a pretty gross over simplification", he said. And it was. In fact Carmack's and Hollenshead's views on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 as platforms are fairly complex. While Carmack has long said he thinks that the architecture of the Xbox 360 is better, it sounds like he and others at id Software feel that the PS3 has done a much better job of future proofing.

This issue with Rage? It's just the tip of the iceberg unless something is done.

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Cancelling your subscription to Final Fantasy XI isn't easy. Illinois resident Alex Edwards found this out after playing the game for a few months. He couldn't cancel online, and no phone number was readily apparent. Eventually his parents got the number off their credit card statement and managed to cancel the account after being on hold for 45 minutes, but this wasn't good enough for Alex or his parents, one of which - Frank Edwards - is an alderman in Springfield, Illinois and a good friend of his local State Rep. To make a long story short, Illinois just passed a law that makes Final Fantasy XI illegal.

Well not FFXI specifically, but the amendment to the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act passed this week makes it an unlawful business practice to run an internet gaming service without some way of cancelling the service online, without requiring customers to call a phone number or mail a letter. Hit the jump for the full synopsis of the law.

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Blizzard's plan to introduce achievements in the World of Warcraft Wrath of the Lich King expansion is only the tip of the iceberg. The company plans on expanding the system to include upcoming games like Diablo III and StarCraft II, creating a Blizzard Level system tied to a single, universal Blizzard account. WoW designer Jeff Kaplan explains.

"Your 'WoW' score would be just one factor that will go into your Blizzard Level. And rather than call it a 'score,' we just wanted it to be like you're leveling up on Blizzard games... You'll have this Blizzard identity, and you'll be able to see things like 'Oh, this guy was great at Diablo III, but he never played Starcraft and he was mediocre in WoW. That sort of thing."

It's an interesting system from a community standpoint, but simply brilliant from a sales point-of-view. We already know the gamer score thing helps move crappy 360 games. A WoW gamer who isn't a big RTS fan might have skipped out on StarCraft II, but if it were tied into an overall Blizzard level system? Fantastic.

Blizzard Plans To Track Gamer Achievements Across 'WoW,' 'Starcraft' And 'Diablo' [MTV Multiplayer]