CVG say they've got first dibs on what the PS3's next firmware update will bring. After the excitement of trophies and in-game XMB, what treats could Sony have in store for us next? How about...Ctrl+PrtScn. Yes, the ability to capture screengrabs . Exciting, no? Shame this wasn't around before the in-game XMB, it would have made spotting those blurry, fake mock-ups that much easier.

First PS3 firmware 2.5 details [CVG]

Let's review: Back in February, Gearbox Software honcho Randy Pitchford put up a job listing for senior artist, adding: "I've started a new project. It's big. It's, like, look-at-our-line-up-and-imagine-something-even-bigger kind of big. I'm Directing it myself. I can't mention it publicly yet. When you find out what this is, you'll likely agree that I can't oversell this one". Before that, Gearbox posted a Master Chief statue wrapped in tissue paper for Halloween — probably unrelated at the time, but still. According to a rumour in October issue of the Official Xbox Magazine, Gearbox is developing Halo 4 as a launch title for the next Xbox. With Bungie moving out of the picture, that certainly seems possible at least. And besides, it would give Pitchford another costume to work on Freak Your Employees Out Day. Man, that's always a great day.

Official XBOX Magazine [Official Site via Joystiq via Edge]

Hirokazu Yasuhara has been lucky enough to work in both the Japanese game industry and the Western game industry. In Japan, he was the third member of the first Team Sonic and fleshed out the level design for the early Sonic titles. In the West, he clocked time at Naughty Dog, working on the Jak series. Now, he's currently senior design director at Namco Bandai Games America. In an interview with game site Gamasutra, Yasuhara talks his level design philosophy (fascinating stuff) and offers insights like:

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Seems like that Xbox 360 price-cut isn't America-only. While we've seen scans of the rumoured cheaper across-the-board cuts from Radio Shack and Kmart. Now you can apparently add Japanese retailer Bic Camera to the list. Apparently, because we don't have actual images.

But it seems the retailer accidentally leaked info about the sales drop on its website at around 3:30pm Japan time today and then took it down (it currently says "Sold Out" for the Xbox 360) — but not before multiple 2ch people saw the price drop and discussed it in a couple threads. Here's the leak they reported:

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Ah, exclusivity in the current hardware generation. Let's discuss it again, shall we? Speaking at last week's Leipzig Games Convention, SCEE boss David Reeves said he believes that the days of a platform holder negotiating exclusives with a publisher are long gone.

We have to accept more and more that platform holders themselves cannot have exclusives unless they're given millions and millions of dollars not to develop a particular game for one particular platform.

But for developers, and you could take someone like Quantic Dream for example - a great game, it takes a lot of time to develop, they need a little bit of funding, external development. In exchange, it's exclusive - that works. So exclusivity possibly with developers is more likely that exclusivity with publishers.

In other words, don't expect something like Metal Gear Solid 4 to happen ever again. Ever.

Sony: Publisher exclusivity probably "a thing of the past" [GI.biz]

American McGee gained fame for his off-beat titles like American McGee's Alice — that, and for his first name. Dude's been around in the industry, first cutting his teeth over at id Software on games like DOOM. What does he think the next big thing is going to be? Says McGee:

I think we'll continue to see updated interface devices at the forefront of the mini-revolutions in the years to come. Ultimately, I think this is all heading to one uber-revolution in the shape of seamless computer-human interfaces, ala The Matrix. It'll be great to get away from the dated keyboard/mouse, monitor, speakers way of interfacing with our content. As soon as someone starts offering trial "implant" testing — I'll be first in line. I just hope I don't crash my brain, it would take a lifetime to reinstall everything.

Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe honcho David Reeves is not an easy man to impress. So even when Microsoft lands Final Fantasy XIII on the Xbox 360, Reeves just turns up his nose, flashes a "W" and goes "whatevers". Just listen to the man talk FFXIII:

I think that just as we got a massive blip up [in hardware sales] with GTA IV — which was not exclusive — we'll get exactly the same blip up with Final Fantasy... I know it [FFXIII] will look great on PS3 and — it's up to Microsoft to clarify this — it's still exclusive in Japan.

Never mind that Reeves works in Europe, it's what's happening in Japan that counts. That's the stronghold! David Reeves is here to defend it, dammit.
Reeves shrugs off FFXIII on 360 saying, "It's still exclusive in Japan" [VG247]

Not the whole city, mind you. Doubt it'd clear customs. No, just the games convention, which after a reasonably successful 2008 showing in Germany want to continue recent expansion plans (there's an Asian Games Convention run by the same team) with a North American event. GC CEO Wolfgang Marzin:

The concept is flexible and the network of the global games industry permits us to be active at different locations. After the Southeast Asian Games Convention, we are now focusing on the North American market.

North America? We can only hope he means a 2009 Mexican Games Convention, because really, we could do with the extra sunshine.

Games Convention fixes sights on North America [VG247]

Ryan Payton (hats, in tow) has left Kojima Productions. The Assistant Producer spearheaded a more Western approach to controls for Metal Gear Solid 4, making the game far more approachable and much tighter than the previous installment. He also helped warm the MGS4 team up to more Western developed games like Gears of War as well. Why did he leave and what's next? His answers after the jump.

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There are a ton of former Warhammer Online developers who haven't made it into the game's final credits. And they are not happy. And understandably so! That's months, sometimes years of work, going totally unrecognised. Well, the IGDA (International Game Developers Association) are on the case, calling the snub "disrespectful" and using it as the latest example as to why the industry should adopt their idea for a set of universal crediting guidelines.

IGDA's MacLean: Missing Warhammer Credits 'Disrespectful' [Gamasutra]

Not all Pokémon are created equally. Some are very powerful. Some look badass. Some are adorable. And some simple suck. Game site 1up has put together a list of the five worst Pocket Monsters. Here's a quick rundown:

5. Unown - The "Gimmick" Pokémon



4. Beautifly - The "Generic Copy" Pokémon



3. Luvdisc - The "Filler Underclass" Pokémon



2. Probopass - The "Clever Design Gone Terribly Wrong" Pokémon



1. Mr. Mime - The "What Were They Thinking?" Pokémon

Click the link below for a full rundown on why these Pocket Monsters were selected. Surely with all those Pokémon that have been spawned, there must be more crap ones.
Top 5 Lamest Pokemon [1up]

Last year's E for All show kinda sucked. Then again, at least last year's E for All had some exhibitors. This year's show is looking like a complete dud, as with only six weeks to go before the thing kicks off the number of confirmed, big-name publishers stands at...two. EA and Microsoft. With Eidos still thinking about it. Those publishers not going include *deep breath* Activision, Capcom, Sony, 2K, Ubisoft, Midway, Atari, Sega, LucasArts, Sony Online, Square Enix, Codemasters and Gamecock. Just to name a "few". Maybe next year they can do the smart thing, call it a day and just roll it into E3, let the public in ala TGS and GC.

Most major game publishers bypassing 2008 E For All Expo [Big Download Blog]

In an interview with the Arizona Daily Star's movie critic Phil Villarreal, actor Don Cheadle talks about his upcoming portrayal of jazz musician Miles Davis in Miles. Cheadle says he's learning to play the trumpet for the flick. But wait, don't stop reading, there is a game connection. While we were told that Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle learned how to play Shadow of the Colossus for Hollywood film Reign Over Me. According to Daily Star's movie critic:

...Cheadle laughed and said he doesn't play video games. He and Sandler didn't rehearse their gaming scenes and other than taking the home briefly to let his kids play it, Cheadle didn't touch the controller.

"I brought it home to my daughter and she tried to play it. She could never get past the first Colossus. I tried to help her, but she was better than me".

Perhaps this is a case of a Hollywood actor wanting to sound cool to movie press about gaming geek out, or perhaps he didn't play the game at all. Thing is, those scenes where he and Sandler are playing, actually do look like they're playing — and gaming isn't something that you can easily fake. Maybe they can, maybe that's why they're actors!

What Don Cheadle told me [AZNightBuzz.com]

No weekly PC sales charts this week. No, we got monthly sales charts. Specifically, for the month of July, a period dominated by AAA PC exclusive Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice, which lived up to its pre-release hype by taking out the top spot. It's followed by...yeah, pretty much everything Maxis and Blizzard have ever put out between them (though Civ IV at #12 should warm a cockle or two amongst you).

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The Leipzig Games Convention is over, and PAX is just around the corner. What's left? The Tokyo Games Show (and its STUPID slogan)! For those curious as to whom will be appearing, the complete list is after the jump. Read it if you like. If not, don't.

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Developer Cryptic has answers. In the first round of Star Trek Online developer Q&As, lead designer Al "Captain Geko" Rivera, executive producer Craig "Zinc" Zinkievich, and their nicknames answer probing questions. For example: How much of the game will stick to the canon? Captain Geko answers:

Every series and movie is considered canon, and we are staying very true to this in our development. Star Trek is rich with lore and history, and there is a great deal of material to build upon as we move into the 25th century with Star Trek Online. We are working with CBS to ensure that everything we create is true to Trek and makes sense. We know that fans want to play Star Trek Online because they want to explore the Star Trek universe, and we are striving to deliver as authentic an experience as possible. Our team has seen all the shows and movies and we're watching them again every single day. We are also studying other soft canon resources such as novels and comics. From those, we are looking for inspiration and references to further enhance our game. Where it makes sense, we will include some soft canon elements in Star Trek Online as well.

Too Human was first announced as a PS1 game back in 1999, but does that really mean it's been ten years in development? Nope, no, no way, no dice says Silicon Knights boss Dennis Dyack, who says development on the title only begun in earnest once they'd finished with their Metal Gear Solid port for the GameCube. So not ten years in development, then, but four. Course, that gives them even less of an excuse for some of the game's more outdated elements, but hey, if Dennis wanted that cleared up, he's cleared it up!

X3F Presents: Silicon Knights studio tour [X3F]

Some Rock Band 2 songs will be easy. Some will be tough. Some will be freakin' impossible. So let's find out which is which, eh? Harmonix have released a comprehensive list ranking each song from easiest to hardest across five categories: vocals, guitars, bass, drums and an overall band ranking. The hardest guitar song? Judas Priest's "Painkiller". Hardest drums song? Dream Theater's "Panic Attack"? Best song I never realised was even in the game? Mastodon's "Colony of Birchmen". Nobody tells me anything anymore.

Rock Band 2: Rated [IGN]

Otherwise known in real life as Milo Ventimiglia and Masi Oka, the pair will be at the Galeries Victoria JB Hi-Fi in Sydney on September 2, from 1:15PM to 2:45PM.

If your love of Heroes demands you to not only pick up the Season 2 DVD pack minus the DVDs, but get the cover signed by the aforementioned personalities, Sept 2 will be like a second Christmas. Personally, I found the second season all over the place (writer's strike probably didn't help). David Anders does a wicked UK accent though.

Press release with extensive details, after the jump.

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Is a KOTOR MMO coming? All signs point to "yes", but then, all signs are worth bupkis without official confirmation. Which this is not. What this is is an agreement between you and Amazon that, should BioWare be making a KOTOR MMO and it turn out to be real, and later goes on sale, that you'll be one of the first people to be notified of its availability. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic MMO [Amazon]

Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet has scored itself a comfortable G rating from the Classification Board. The advisory notes that the "gaming experience may change online". Given the level of customisation in the PS3 title, you'd hope it would!

In a related note, Call of Duty: World at War bagged an MA15+ on the 22nd, with the advisories of strong violence, language and "may change online". Also note the "Activision Blizzard" moniker is out in force.

LITTLE BIG PLANET Game (Playstation 3) [Classification Board, thanks Simon]

That other Halo movie, the one that was going to be directed by Neill Blomkamp, that one's on indefinite hold. So, fat chance on seeing that at your local cineplex anytime soon. But that other Halo movie, the one written by Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl writer Stuart Beattie, that one still has a chance in hell. See, Halo fan Beattie has written a "spec" script based on Eric Nylund's book, Halo: The Fall of Reach. Beattie wrote the script between film projects on the hopes that someone somewhere will bring it to the silver screen. So far, it's apparently still only a spec. Hit the jump for some movie concept art for the film version of Halo: The Fall of Reach.

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So GTA IV's DLC will be out in the "Fall"? Awfully vague, Microsoft. There's three months in the Fall. We like things a little firmer. Like this claim by RPG-TV - based off an Xbox press event held in London - that GTA IV's DLC will be out in November. And when it is out in November, it'll add "roughly 15 hours of additional play time". If true, 15 hours is a looooong time. Too long for it to just be new missions on the same islands.

Preview of New XBox Experience [RPG-TV]

In January, EA shitcanned that Marvel fighting game they had in development at EA Chicago. Shame for Marvel fans, but que sera, sera and all that. Anyway, here's what it looked like! Pretty rough code, we know, but you can still get a good idea of the kind of scale they were going for: large, destructible environments, big enough to cram plenty of civilians and destructible stuff into. It's a great idea, and one another developer should notice, steal then put into a game that doesn't get, uh, cancelled.

Unreleased 'Marvel' Title [SuperiorVersion]

We have been posting quite a few videos on Mercenaries 2, but this one is without a doubt my favourite. Can anyone say airstrikes? Well, this video has tons of em' and the best part is the song they blow up to! Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture! The game comes out next week.

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What didn't come from GC 2008:
More Final Fantasy XI Changes To Balance Out Player Levels
Because people don't like playing games that are impossible to beat.

Quest For Glory II Is Back, Yo
The best adventure game ever makes a comeback. A sexy comeback.

Rumour: $US 199 Xbox Bundle With Motion Controller
Forget about combatting the PS3, Microsoft has its sights set on the Wii.

AMD Works With EA, SEGA and NHN Games For Hot DirectX 10.1 Action
Yes, because DirectX 10 did so much for gaming.

A GC 2008 news explosion:
Sacred 2 Impressions Shatter The Language Barrier
Leipzig Games Convention Dated For 2009... And That's Final!
And Then They Started Breakdancing...
Don't Worry, Red Alert Fans, Jenny McCarthy Is Apparently A 'Badass' Tanya
Will Diablo III Be Playable At BlizzCon?
The Chronicles Of Spellborn: A Different Kind Of MMORPG
Rayman Raving Rabbids Arse Party Impressions
Diggin' Lode Runner XBLA At Games Convention
StarCraft II: Hands-On With The Zerg
Wipeout HD One-Year Anniversary Impressions
Star Wars: Clone Wars - Saber Rattling
Behold, Leipzig's Best In Show
Leipzig GC Sets New Attendance Record

iPhone gamers who were looking forward to some old school block arranging, you have a tiny window in which to buy a copy of Tris. The popular Tetris clone will removed from the Apple App Store on Wednesday August 27th.

Noah Witherspoon, who developed the game, received notice from Apple that they had been contacted by The Tetris Company, threatening legal action. Although Noah feels that he could probably win any legal case by changing the name of the app, he does not have the resources to see such a case through.

The trouble is, I'm a college student, and not an affluent one, and I simply do not have the time, energy, or resources to fight this battle right now. There's a point at which I am willing to give up and be practical, to let the world have its way with that ever-mistreated little ideal of "principle".

The game will remain on the App Store servers — it will just not be listed — and Noah says he will be working to see if he can resolve the dispute and re-release the game under a different title.

Over, for now [Two Finger Play viaTouch Arcade]

The main problem with seeing a game on the show floor at a consumer-friendly gaming convention in Germany, is that everyone speaks German. It makes sense, considering 99% of the people coming through to play their games are German, but boy does being in that 1% other bracket suck. Case in point, Ascaron's Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. I've been dying to get my hands on the isometric action RPG for more than a year now, and when I finally have it cornered it turns out to be the German language version. Rather than let the fact that I couldn't read any of the text get me down, I decided to pretend that I could instead. With a cheery grunt-nagen I got my 10 minutes of Sacred 2 on.

When the demo kicks off, you get to choose between five different characters, the Seraphim, Shadow Warrior, High Elf, Dryad, and Temple Guardian. While three of them are relatively attractive women, I instead went with the Temple Guardian, since he looked a bit like an undead robot Anubis, Egyptian god of the living impaired.

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Time for a new NHL 09 video! Whether it's NHL 09 or NHL 2K9 we hockey fans just can't get enough. In this new video we get a look at the new "Be A Pro Mode" and the 4 different player types that you can be in the game.

Did you think a 13 hour layover in Frankfurt followed by a 10 hour flight to Atlanta, 45 minutes in customs, and then an hour train ride home would keep me from posting this week's Wii downloadable update? Maybe if this had been one of those normal, crappy updates, but this week sees the release of Ys! Ys Book I & II for the TurboGrafx 16 CD-ROM to be exact, the redone version of the originals upgraded with excellent voice acting, a stunning orchestral soundtrack, and all-new special effects, all for a paltry 800 Wii points! As if that weren't enough, we also finally get Samurai Showdown 2 for the NEOGEO (900 points), officially making this one of the best weeks on the Virtual Console in ages.

There's also Helix from Ghostfire Games on the WiiWare side of things, a rhythm game that uses motion sensing to determine how well you move to the music of 26 different songs. While I've not heard much about the title, it isn't from Gameloft, so it at least has that going for it.

There you have it! Passing out in 3...2...1... *thud*

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All the rules dictate that I should start this post with something like "Love is in the air at Outspark!", but to be honest I have no idea if love is involved. To me, the idea of getting married in a game is a man-sized portion of daytime talkshow weird with a side order of emotional issues.

Regardless, Korean import specialists Outspark have decided to 'celebrate' (i.e. promote) the fact that players of the MMO Fiesta can now get hitched in-game by giving away that all-purpose wedding gift, the toaster.

For the next few weeks, all couples who choose to celebrate their love in Fiesta will be eligible for a draw that could see them taking home a shiny, real-life bread charring unit.

Couples who tie the knot in Fiesta also get a 'Power of love' spell, a wedding pet, the ability to summon their spouse from anywhere in the game and the satisfaction of knowing that they have left normal life far behind and are now sailing uncharted waters of human experience.

Toasters are good! [Fiesta.Outspark.com]

Like a corporate ninja, Electronic Arts has hurled a flash bomb and vanished into the shadows with Take-Two Interactive bundled under its cloak.

Umm. Do Ninjas wear cloaks? Perhaps the metaphor breaks down a bit at that point.

No matter - the point is that EA has entered into a confidentiality agreement with Take-Two and both parties are now obliged to keep their lips tightly zipped with regard to the companies ongoing discussions.

Following the FTC's announcement last week that they would not oppose any merger, EA decided not to renew the formal bid and has been having some cosy chats with its new friends at Take-Two.

Cosy chats that from now on we will not be party to. Bah.

EA: We Might Be Talking To Take-Two, We Might Not. But We're Not Talking About It Publicly Anymore [Sillicon Alley Insider]

With another successful Games Convention under its belt, the folks from the Leipziger Messe, where the con throws down each year, have dated next year's show. Games Convention 2009 returns to Leipzig from August 19 to 23. Wolfgang Marzin, CEO at the Leipziger Messe GmbH, has said that "The industry and visitors are giving us their clear support to continue with the fair in Leipzig", dropping positive support data for the show to stay right where it is.

According to a new release from the Games Convention hosts, the vast majority of those surveyed at the show think the show should stay in Leipzig. A competing show, known as Games Con, is planned to hit Cologne (Köln) around the same time, making for a very confusing split.

Regardless of who's doing what and where, we'll be there... somewhere next Summer covering the sausage beat (and maybe playing a game or two).

Final report: Games Industry Staying in Leipzig for 2009 [Leipziger Messe]

I can't recall the exact moment I finally decided to stop trying to make sense of everything that was going on at the Games Convention in Leipzig, but if I had to guess I would say it was somewhere between discovering the cosplayer hive and when these guys started breakdancing.

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With an established MMO full of powered-up highlevel characters, it must be tricky to attract new players. Word of mouth is usually a great way to bring in new blood, but it's no fun joining your mates if they are all demi-gods and you are just a lowly serf who can barely lift a sword.

With that in mind (and perhaps with one eye on the 18 Hour Boss Battle debacle) Square Enix has revealed plans to make Final Fantasy XI a bit more fun for newer players and to rebalance the game so a to allow experienced characters to stand side-by-side with newbies without it being completely embarrassing.

The "Level Sync" system is a way of powering down high level characters so that they can form parties with new players and everyone can play on a field that might be completely level but which is only a bit bumpy.

New Level Sync Feature to Change the Way You Party![PlayOnline - Thanks to Cayce White for the tip]

The announcement of Jenny McCarthy as Tanya in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 may have drawn a "uergh" or two from fans of the series. "She's no fucking Kari Wührer", some said, which... well, we're not sure if that's a compliment or an insult. But the guys at EA sure like Jenny.

Chris Corey, executive producer for Red Alert 3, says that McCarthy is a "badarse" Tanya, that's she's more than capable to tackle the role of the special ops commando. After co-piloting a two-player coop demo of the PC version of the real-time strategy game, Corey tried to allay fan fears that the former Playboy Playmate wasn't ready to fill the tank top. Corey sounded pretty enthused to have her on board.

Hey, if they're happy, I'm happy.

While waiting for my turn to click-click through an all too brief taste of StarCraft II, I asked Blizzard reps the inevitable "Since Diablo III isn't here, I assume will it be playable at BlizzCon?" After all, when the sequel to StarCraft was announced, it was publicly playable just four months later at BlizzCon 2007. Surely, we'll be getting our hands on the Barbarian and Witch Doctor in October... right?

We got one of those non-answers that was very telling. "We haven't announced anything about what will be playable at Blizzcon", a Blizzard rep told us. Inconclusive, yes, but delivered with one of those smiles that one frustratingly can't print.

It sure sounds like Blizzard is working to bring a playable copy of Diablo III to BlizzCon this year, but we realise that things can change at the last minute. However, if you're going to the 'Con in Anaheim this year, don't be surprised if you're knee deep in hellspawn and rainbows all weekend.

Microsoft have finalised the list of demos they will be bringing along to PAX next weekend.

Those champing at the bit for more glimpses of Gears of War 2 will not be disappointed — there will even be a couple of Gears signing sessions, should you have any merchandise you need to boost on eBay.

Other demos we would class as 'eagerly awaited' are Halo Wars and Project Origin, but MS will be showing off their new Games Creation and 'Mashups' tool PopFly as well as more info on the New Xbox Experience.

It is those 'TBA' demos on the Saturday & Sunday afternoons, that have us intrigued, though. What could it be? Is it a new game? Could it be the long awaited Next-Gen updates of Minesweeper and Freecell? Have they finally gone mental and are bringing out a portable Xbox?

Exciting!

Full schedule after the jump..

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With the game being in development for so very long, I wasn't sure what to expect when the nice gentlemen from Spellborn NV sat me down to give me a first hand look at their MMORPG The Chronicles of Spellborn. The game was being shown in publisher Frogster's booth, the very same booth where I got my first look at Runes of Magic. In stark contrast to that game, which endeavours to combine elements of many successful RPGs into one game, The Chronicles of Spellborn team's goal is to create an MMORPG like nothing we've ever seen before.

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Let the joy be unconfined — Sam & Max: Season One will be (probably) heading to the Wii on November 4th.

The tried & trusted investigative journalism technique of 'lets look on the GameStop website and see when they will start selling