E3 2008 is over. Finished. But Nintendo hasn't forgotten and is sending out thank you notes, thanking folks for attending its presser. The letter reads: "THANK YOU for attending our E3 media briefing. Nintendo aims to bring people engaging experiences...to make them smile...and we hope we provided you at least a little of that during our event". Below that, it's signed by Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, vice president of corporate affairs Denise Kaigler and vice president of sales & marketing Cammie Dunaway. Regardless of what you thought of Nintendo's E3 press conference (eh...), classy of them to send out thank you notes.

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We've already gotten to know new Lara Croft model Alison Carroll very close and too personal, but now we get to learn about her again! The receptionist turned Tomb Raider has these insights to offer about Lara Croft:

It's an amazing opportunity. Lara is strong, athletic, confident and independent so it's a huge responsibility to take on her role... Lara Croft is an iconic gaming character. She just goes from strength to strength... She's got everything that a woman aspires to be like and everything that a man would like to meet.

So there you go. Alison Carroll on her new role as Lara Croft. Just check out how she handles those guns in front of random London shops.

New Lara Croft squares up for fight [BBC]

Back in late July, Square Enix announced it had shipped a million copies of title Dragon Quest V in Japan. Now Square Enix is back with another DQV announcement: The company has sold a million copies of the DS remake, which went on sale July 17th in Japan. Let this be a lesson to everyone! Shipped and sold are not the same.

『ドラクエIV』をしのぐペースで大台を突破 [Famitsu]

Madden 09 is out! And to commemorate the event, Sony Computer Entertainment America are offering a special US$US 199.99 Madden 09 PSP bundle. The 20th Anniversary pack includes a "Metallic Blue" PSP-2000, a copy of the PSP game, NFL: In Just One Play UMD, a Beats PSN voucher and a 1GB Memory Stick PRO Duo. This is the only time that the Metallic Blue PSP-2000 will be offered in North America.

Hit the jump for the full release.

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You've met the new Lara Croft! You've even seen her doing high kicks! Now see what happens when Eidos' PR cameramen, in their search for the ultimate high kick, ask for one high kick too many. Poor Alison Carroll. She signed up for the money and the fame, not the...exposure (oh, and yes, this is probably NSFW).

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Action adventure game meets puzzle title. Today, EA announces new DS title Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure. The game features more than 30 levels that Henry explores as players complete puzzle combos and beat puzzle enemies to get power-ups. The platform and puzzle elements are seperated by the dual screens, and players must choose when to toggle between them. According to Robert Nashak, VP of EA Casual Studios:

We are excited to bring an indie-inspired new intellectual property to the EA Casual Entertainment Label with Henry Hatsworth that fuses together two styles of gameplay utilising the two Nintendo DS screens like never before. The innovative elements of the game have the potential to appeal to both Nintendo enthusiasts and more casual Nintendo DS players.

The game is slated for worldwide release early next year. Hit the jump for the full press release.

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Fans of our British sales charts will have some knowledge of the selling power of the Brain Training games, but really, they've only got part of the picture. They don't know how well it's been selling on the continent, and on the continent, it's been selling like hotcakes hot crepes. According to chart trackers GfK, over the first six months of 2008, the original Brain Training was the top-selling game in Switzerland, Belgium and The Netherlands. Germany's top-selling game over the same period was the sequel, More Brain Training. Spain's #1 was Brain Training, while it's #2 was...More Brain Training. Just so you know, the first Brain Training was released over two years ago, while in Europe, even the sequel's been out for over a year. Egads.

Brain Training dominates 2008 in Europe [GI.biz]

Leipzig's Games Convention will be Gears of War 2-less. While the game got top Microsoft billing at E3, Gears of War 2 won't be at GC. Explains Epic's Mark Rein:

Microsoft doesn't show Gears 2 at Leipzig because they don't sell the game in Germany.

Gears of War 2 won't be sold in Germany due to the country's restrictions on game violence. Bummer.

Rein confirms Gears 2 as Leipzig no-show [VG247]

Loads of you may hate EA now, but hey, once was a time when EA were fairly awesome. When they weren't called EA, or EA Games, or EA Sports, they were called Electronic Arts, and they had that cool 80's logo and put out Desert Strike and Road Rash and Skate or Die. You remember those times too? Time to wax nostalgic, as you get a shaky-cam tour of the "wall of fame" at EA HQ, showing practically every game they've ever put out, from the good times and the bad.

The EA Wall of Games [Aeropause, via Go Nintendo]

Word has it that PSP add-on camera peripheral Chotto Shot runs hot. Quite hot, it seems. Apparently, a PSP Fanboy reader tried to purchase the peripheral, but got the following warning from the retailer:

Due to a safety issue and high defect rate, we are issuing a product recall to anyone who has purchased a PSP Chotto Shot Camera after July 1st, 2008. Even though these units have been tested, we have been getting reports that some of these units have been running extremely hot, and have emitted a burning smell from the unit. An already dangerous and unfortunate situation, this could lead to the even more serious event of a fire starting from the unit.

The retailer added that the manufacturer is aware of the problem. A quick online search shows that the Japan-only Chotto Shot seems to be out of stock at places like Play-Asia, so maybe they're waiting for the newer, don't-smell-like-burning units.

PSP camera, Chotto Shot, may be a safety hazard [PSP Fanboy via Dtoid]

Bionic Commando Rearmed is $US 5 more expensive on PC than it is on console! Oh, the outrage! The injustice of it all! The...oh, Capcom's Ben Judd has an explanation (or, at least, a better one than this). Which is:

I can give you a song and dance about PC digital content being more expensive as a general rule... but nobody wants to hear that crap. I can say this: for the PC version we are planning on uploading some additional PC-only challenge rooms via a free patch so you will get more bang for your buck.

There you have it. More buck, yes, but also more bang.

BC Weekly Field Report: #10 [Capcom]

Thrilling non-scientific poll time! Online research site Oricon polled 1000 men and women about their favourite video game character. The results?

10. Squall Final Fantasy VIII
10. Yuna Final Fantasy X
10. Professor Layton Professor Layton series
8. Toad Mario Kart
8. Doraemon Doraemon series
7. Chocobo Final Fantasy series

Huh. I'd think of Doraemon as being more an anime character than a video game character, but whatever. There are Doraemon video games. (Trains, too, it seems.) Hit the jump for the rest!

4. Slime Dragon Quest series
4. Solid Snake MGS series
4. Pikachu Pokémon
3. Yoshi Mario series
2. Cloud Final Fantasy VII
1. Mario Mario series

The top three breakdown for men and women is rather interesting. For men, it was 1). Mario 2). Cloud and 3). Solid Snake. For women, it was 1). Mario, 2). Yoshi and 3). Cloud. Everyone loves Mario and Cloud!

好きなテレビゲームのキャラクター、1位は"マリオ" [Oricon Life via Alafista] [Pic]

We were told those overpriced, overblown replica Lancer rifles from the Gears of War universe didn't work! Well. We were lied to. Sort of. Because while they don't actually shoot real bullets, and don't actually feature working chainsaws with which to grind your enemies into chorizo fodder, they do do...something. And that something is simulate a working chainsaw, as the gun rumbles and makes a chainsaw noise. Does this justify the extortionate price tag? No. Does it explain why Dude Huge looks so damn excited every time he's snapped holding one? Probably!

Gears gun replica selling "like hot cakes" [Eurogamer]

Japanese Olympic swimmer Kosuke Kitajima took gold for the men's 100m breaststroke. He certainly trained very hard to reach the tip-top condition he's in. Sure, he practiced hard, ate right and all that other stuff. But what else helped him achieve Olympic gold? Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, says Kitajima! No, really. The swimmer explains:

See, Mario does the breaststroke. And thus, it's perfect mental training for envisioning the actual Olympic hall.

Watch as Japanese game sales will spike and wanna-be swimmers include Mario and Sonic in their training regimen...

北島「Ｗｉｉ」で「金」予行演習 [Yomiuri Sports Thanks, Tak!] [Pic]

Bungie got two things they're good at. One is making games. Two is yanking chains. Latest example? This Halo teaser, masquerading as an acceptance speech for the Edge award Bungie picked up the other day. Watch Kotaku alumni Luke Smith dress up in blue Spartan armour and do some talking, then wonder aloud to your internet friends on what it could all mean. Current favourites amidst the speculative classes are that a Halo "world builder" is on its way, but don't let that sway you if your theory is something grander.

[thanks everyone who sent this in!]

"Bullshots" are nothing new for gamers. Penny Arcade coined the term a few years to describe game screenshots that looked too good to be true — and are. Photoshopping and CG graphics are nothing new to the game world — hence gamers general suspicion about pretty and shiny things — but are finding use larger than game PR. Issues like governmental state PR.

Take the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. Those 29 giant firework footprints that made their way to the Bird's Nest National Stadium from Tiananmen Square were actually computer graphics. Apparently, the Beijing Organising Committee was worried it wouldn't be possible to capture the fireworks over Beijing. According to The Oregonian reporter Jon Canzano:

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As it stands, nobody has commented officially on the specifics of the next Batman game. Hell, nobody has officially acknowledged that the game even exists. That doesn't mean we can't hear about it unofficially, however. So, courtesy of someone who's already played the game, let's look over the first details on what you can expect from it, and how it's shaping up.

Firstly, our source confirms Pandemic as the developers behind the title, though we pretty much knew that already. Secondly, a good portion of the game is set in a GTA-style rendition of Gotham City, which plays a lot like Spiderman 2 as Batman zips around (he even gets a grappling hook for swingy-swingy when not using the Batmobile) attending to crimes. And thirdly? As was first raised last week, it's not in the best shape, perhaps explaining why the project has been kept in the *ahem* dark for so long.

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While certain games are a licence for their publishers to, yes, print money - Halo, Mario and Final Fantasy come to mind - most aren't. Most are lucky to capture your attention for a week or two before falling under the crushing tank treads of progress, as you lot clamour for the next thing, the next thing, the next thing. Indeed, so many games fall into that latter category that Chris Deering - who was once boss of SCEE, but is now just some guy - says 7 out of 10 games lose money. Which in reality explains why so many developers and publishers go bust, but in my most socialist of fantasies, would be the catalyst for gaming industry revenue sharing, where Nintendo and Activision would be forced to share their profits with Atari and Midway. You know, just to keep things even. And interesting.
Gaming audience will hit 2.5bn by 2011, says Deering [Develop]

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Back in early August at a Microsoft game exhibition in Taipei, Microsoft Taiwan's Grace Chou apparently confirmed that an Asian Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII was getting released in Taiwan. According to Taiwanese site GNN Gamer, the Microsoft exec stated it hadn't been decided which localised version (Japanese or English) would be launched for the Asian territories. This Asian version (which would conceivably be released in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore) made Japanese Xbox 360 owners excited as it possibly meant they might be able to import FFXIII and play it on Japanese Xbox 360s.

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When the whole Virtual Console thing was first announced, there was one game above all others I wanted to play again. Ducks Ahoy. Telling myself "come on, that's never going to happen", I settled on a backup choice. Bionic Commando. Looks like that's never going to happen, either, as Capcom's Ben Judd has told 1UP that Nintendo totally cock-blocked moves for the game to be released on the VC:

We couldn't get it approved for the Virtual Console...I can't say why. I can just say that we tried to get it to work.

Say what you will about "new" Nintendo, there's one area they're just like the "old" Nintendo: they still can't stand those damn Nazis.

Capcom's Ben Judd Interview [1UP]

Matt Booty, interim CEO and president of Midway, emailed employees of the company today, explaining the reasoning behind the shuttering of its Austin-based studio and the decision to nix the unannounced Career Criminal. The game, described by Booty as a "a large, ambitious, open-world project" was dropped — and most of the team laid off — because the "resource needs, feature set, schedule and financial profile for the Career Criminal project were not converging towards a reasonable chance of success".

In the e-mail forwarded to Kotaku this afternoon, Booty emphasises that Midway's Austin studio will soldier on, albeit with a much, much leaner staff, and continue to work on "other projects in development at the studio" as well as house its Central Outsourcing Group.

The full communication from Booty to employees can be found after the jump.

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Thanks, Rye!

Brace for PR spin motion sickness! If you care to remember, Nintendo found themselves caught ankle-deep in a public relations tarpit last week, when they made some claims about third-party sales without the proof to back it up. A few days later they did provide the proof - in the form of some NPD sales data - but now that they have, Microsoft have called baloney. Rubbish. It's Super Soakers at ten paces. MS PR man David Dennis says "No matter how you slice it, the Wii third party game story is not a pretty one", and points to his own NPD sales, which show that 67,929,999 third-party games have been sold on the 360, compared to the Wii's 33,394,311. But Dennis, those are lifetime sales! The Nintendo graph clearly showed only the first 19 months of each console's lifespan! Excuse us while we have a quick lie down, this PR spin is making us dizzy.

Microsoft: "The Wii third party game story is not a pretty one" [GI.biz]

So The Street Fighter HD beta didn't hit the PSN. Cry me a river, PS3 owners. It's not like you're not being adequately compensated, what with Capcom just announcing that Street Fighter Alpha/Zero is to be released as part of this Thursday's PlayStation Network update. Sure, it won't boast meticulously redrawn sprites or fan-created soundtracks, but you know what? It'll be out, and you'll be able to buy it, which is more than we can say for the never-going-to-actually-be-released SFIIHD.

STREET FIGHTER - SURPRISE! [Capcom]

Why plaster your bedroom walls with posters of Jessica Alba or Morgan Freeman when you could have the Master Chief or Altair staring at you instead? If the idea of this makes you shudder in delight, you might want to check out Blue Dog, a new Oz online shop that sells gaming T-shirts and posters, among other knick-knacks. For $10-$20, you can pick up shots from Street Fighter, Super Mario Galaxy and Gears of War. The store also accepts custom T-shirt prints, if you're into that sort of thing.

Product Matches: Video Games [Blue Dog, thanks Troy]

Apparently the Team Fortress 2 class updates aren't coming hard and fast enough for some players — and our tipsters who inhabit portions of the internet we'd rather deny exist. Regardless of Valve's speediness in updating the weapons load-outs of characters like the Scout, we're not so sure this whole "whacking enemies with a giant black dildo" thing is going to catch on. Of course, in the event of a dildo, we'll deny ownership of TF2.

The so called "Thor Bat" (?) can be seen in NSFW action in the clip after the jump.

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Come on. Admit it. You love it to death, sure, but Street Fighter is absolutely ridiculous. Electrified Brazilian jungle mutants? Elastic-limbed Indian yoga masters who can breathe fire? It's comic book stuff. And as rubbish as the 90's live-action movie was, at least it knew that much. But the new Street Fighter movie? The one being written by Justin Marks? Don't expect ridiculosity. Expect serious business. Because Marks takes his Street Fighter very, very seriously.

I grew up with the 'Street Fighter' games. I don't see them as cheesy or funny, but as serious characters that deserve to be explored in their own right.

Which explains, we guess, why the movie's based on the exploits of Chun Li and not the exploits of a large Russian man who wrestles bears in his underwear.

Justin Marks - Bringing Bionic Commando to Comics [Newsarama, via MTV]

When Madden 09 coverboy Brett Favre announced his retirement from retirement and was traded to the Jets in early August, EA was left in a pickle! See, because Madden 09 had Favre in a Packers uniform. But, as we posted earlier, football fans who desire 100 percent accuracy in their Madden box art will be able to download a Favre-in-Jets-uniform cover. See that right up there? That is your Jets Favre cover!

Thanks Rye for the tip!

Okay, not really. This looks like your run-of-the-mill pricing error, rather than an attempt by Ubisoft to suck our wallets dry. It makes me wonder though... ten years ago I would have laughed at the idea of $100+ games. I hate to think they could hit the $150 or even $200 mark a decade from now. Of course, I'm excluding titles such as Rock Band and Wii Fit that come with peripherals that beef up the cost.

If you'd like to see this craziness for yourself, reader Dranser spotted it at the Broadway EB Games in Sydney.

Warhawk updates are coming in a little over a fortnight, you know that. What you may not be aware of are the extent of what Warhawk version 1.5 will bring with it. Thankfully, we have officially sanctioned PR outlets and video game producers to do the heavy lifting on the promotion side, with the PlayStation.blog rounding up all the changes.

In short, you're getting new insignias, new paint jobs, custom soundtracks, Trophies, tutorials and very painful looking "Ceremonial Blades" in the next free Warhawk update. What you're not getting are those jetpacks. For that, you'll have to wait for the rumoured booster pack, beans from which may possibly be spilled at the Leipzig Games Convention (or so hints Warhawk producer Dylan Jobe).

Warhawk v1.5 Update "Free Never Gets Old!" [PlayStation.blog]

Fallout 3 edited and set for a local release. It was only a matter of time. But what exactly can we expect from this altered version? Hopefully we'll have an answer for you soon. For the time being, all I have is comment from an OFLC spokesperson.

As expected, the main changes were to the portrayal of drug use in the game. According to the OFLC, the incentives and rewards for their use have been "removed". I don't want to cause alarm, but this doesn't sound like a simple cosmetic change (such as a rename of morphine). I mean, the "reward" for using morphine is the ability to ignore the detrimental effects of pain on the player. I can't see why you'd use morphine if this was taken away.

Anyway, I'm just speculating now. I should have the board report later this afternoon, so be sure to watch this space for more details.

[Pic]

Despite the budget busting price of 1200 Microsoft Points, Braid seems to be selling at a "surprisingly good" rate, according to the game's official blog. As of today, sales estimate are just shy of 30,000 copies sold to Xbox Live Arcade's more affluent user, a figure the Braid blog writes "seems to be in the right neighbourhood".

Does that mean that the segment of the population who has parked their Learjets long enough to complete the download have made the game a profit? Not quite.

Jonathan Blow, the game's creator, says Braid needs to reach sales of exactly "a lot more than it has gotten so far" to be in the red. Let's hope the rest of the Xbox Live community, the type who don't sport platinum cards and massive trust funds, will be able to dig deep and snatch up what Blow says is "the highest-rated XBLA game ever". See? He says it right down there.

Braid is the highest-rated XBLA game ever. (Also, sales data). [Braid Blog]

Fallout 3 Cleared For Australian Release
Edited, classified and coming to a store near you.

Diablo III to be Gender Neutral
Mmm... female barbarians...

Midway Confirms Lay-Offs, Cancellation of Austin Project
I'm surprised Midway's lasted this long without cutbacks.

Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People: Homestar Ruiner Review
Are you attractive or cool enough for Strong Bad? Find out here.

Halo 3 Beats Out GTA IV, Portal, Wii Fit For Edge Innovation Award
Halo 3 and innovation? Surely that's an oxymoron?

Braben: Elite 4 Coming To Consoles
I'll believe it when I see it, Braben.

Hmm. You know how Google has the motto "Don't be evil"? Well, do you think that motto extends to working with insane supercomputers? If, say, Google were to collaborate with a crazed AI bent on hurling human test subjects into the jaws of Aperture Science?

Google has announced details of its annual sponsored Code Jam programming contest. In Round Two, programmers are given a 2D grid representation of a Portal level. The portal guns 'work', albeit in 2D.

The coder's task is "Given the maze, your initial position, and the cake's position, you want to find the minimum number of moves needed to reach the cake if it is possible".

Yeah, right. You won't get us that easily, Google. We know the cake is a lie.

Google Uses Portal for Programming Competition [The Escapist]

Former Sony Computer Entertainment Europe bossman Chris Deering is back from the future. The ex-SCEE and current Edinburgh Interactive Festival chairman has declared the winner of the current hardware wars, bravely going on record at the the Edinburgh Interactive Festival to pick both Sony and Nintendo as co-winners of the bloody battle.

Predicting a worldwide install base of a half billion hardware units by 2011 and using the combined powers of math, analysis and good ol' fashion "can do" attitude, Deering puts the Wii in first place on the current gen console side, at 80 million strong. Just behind that by 10 million? The PlayStation 3. With all hardware accounted for from the two camps — Wii, DS, PS3, PS2, PSP — they'll both tie for first

Yes, poor Microsoft will be twiddling it's thumbs in third, if Deering's predictions — really a mutation of Screen Digest and IDG's predictions — pan out. The Redmond giant will sell just half of what Nintendo's Wii will, with the Xbox 360 already half-way to its expected total tally of 40 million.

Sony and Nintendo will tie in hardware race, says former SCEE boss [GamesIndustry.biz]

Gossip blog Just Jared has snaps of our first look at Jake Gyllenhaal filling the shoes of Dartan, better known as the Prince of Persia in the upcoming film adaptation. Looks like Jake's tapping into his inner steroid-abusing homeless man for the role, a tasty melange of ripped and filthy. The Prince of Persia: Sands of Time movie won't be starring Reese Witherspoon, as far as we know, but should you have a hunger for more Jake-style man meat, just try to block her out in the other shirtless spy pics.

Oh, and thanks to all the tipsters who sent this one in. You guys really have your fingers on the pulse of breaking topless Jake Gyllenhaal news.

Jake Gyllenhaal is the Shirtless Prince of Persia [Just Jared via Latino Review]

We were, at first, blown away by this digit-ised spin on Metal Gear Solid 4. "Amazing production values!" we thought. "His nails are even filthier than those of SCEE boss David Reeves!" we noticed. What turns out to be an ad for Metal Gear AC!D Mobile is also the best sight gag we've seen in a long time, proving that thumb wars have changed.

Your horrible puns are more than welcome in the comments.

Don't you just love the name Mount and Blade? It's just so functional - as though Ernest Hemingway was moonlighting as a game titler.

It's just you, your horse and some mounted medieval combat. They may as well call it Stabby Stabby Horse Riding.

The game offers PC owners some first or third-person single player fighting with an RPG bent as the player guides their horsey around a sandbox environment, cutting a swathe and trading in what is reckoned to be a complex economic system. A bit like GTA with horses, I suppose.

If this tickles your fancy and you can't wait until mid September for the full release, you can sign up for the game's open beta via Gamespot.

Mount & Blade Exclusive Beta [Gamespot UK]

Fable II fans can start earning big virtual bucks this week... from the comfort of their own homes! Fable II's Pub Games lead the charge of new Xbox Live Arcade games this week, as the 800 Microsoft Points priced gambler arrives in advance of the full game. The casino-style title that lets you carry over your virtual winnings to the Fable II retail release features three playables in Fortune's Tower, Keystone and Spinnerbox.

Also hitting at the wee hours of August 13 is the NES remake, Bionic Commando: Rearmed. Similarly priced at 800 MSP, the game features four-man multiplayer, an M rating and zero exploding Hitler brains.

Diablo II was a fun play, but you sometimes got the feeling that you were being pushed into gender roles. I mean, if a young woman wants to dual-wield a sword and a battleaxe in a fur bikini then, by the gods she should be able to become a barbarian.

Likewise, if a chap wants to master the power of sorcery then that chap shouldn't feel as though wearing a revealing dress is his only option.

Good news, then, that Blizzard has decided to move the Diablo franchise into the 21st century and make any Diablo III character class playable by either sex. Granted, it just means doubling the number of character models but it is stiill a nice gesture towards sort-of-realism.

For my money, though, it doesn't go far enough. Where are all the transgendered Necromancers? Don't oppress us, Blizzard!

Designer: 'Diablo III' Gender Choice A 'Big Debate' [MTV Multiplayer]