According to game site SDTEKKEN, Tekken 6 Bloodline Rebellion is apparently incoming. The game will officially be announced later next month in Tokyo, is an upgraded version of Tekken 6 and is slated for a December release in Japan. That's all that's known about the updated Tekken 6 at the moment. Stay tuned.

TEKKEN 6 BLOODLINE REBELLION Revealed! [SD Tekken] [Pic]

Like the look of that shiny new PS2, Britain? Bet you do. Better keep on looking, too, because you cannot touch. The 9000 series consoles that are already out in Japan - and the US as well - won't be coming to the UK. Some other European territories, yes, but Britain, no dice. No reason was given for the move, so feel free to come up with your own.

No super-slim PS2 for the UK News [Eurogamer]

European video game content rater PEGI has just, well, rated what looks like a new Indiana Jones game for the DS and PSP. With the questionable title Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings (woah!), the title is 16 and up, and Activision is publishing. We don't have any other information about it other than that, but game site Siliconera wonders if this Staff of Kings game is that other "next-gen" Indiana Jones title that was shown a few years back — and then disappeared into the ether.

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings [PEGI via Siliconera]

Face it, asking for fighting games with online to have zero to no lag is a tall order. Replicating that versus arcade experience is hard. Heck, when Virtua Fighter launched on the PS3 back in early 2007, it didn't have online. (Well, neither did the PS3, really.) Even Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono even admits that lag will be problematic for the home versions. Up front and honest, he tells the Official Xbox 360 Magazine:

Obviously lag will be a huge problem for online play. We're working on it. Compared to other games such as Virtua Fighter and Soul Calibur, they've got replay functions and so forth. It's quite difficult for 3D Street Fighter at the moment.

In order to prevent the lag we're thinking about trying to balance it up at user interface level and input timing by using joystick or something like that. We still haven't got a complete plan as yet. We're still working on it. That's all we can say at the moment.

Here's hoping they figure something out.

Street Fighter IV interview [OXM via Joystiq]

In case you didn't know (and why didn't you), the PlayStation Network is free. The console may cost money, but the online service doesn't. Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida explains to game site Games Industry Sony's view on free stuff:

We like to provide as many services as possible for free — we already provide our network access for gameplay for free — and the interesting thing about the network side and the Internet business is that there's a variety of revenue sources. Not necessarily getting people to pay, but with advertising and so on.

Those are things we're looking at, and learning how we can provide a service without people having to pay — but we still get our operation running with funding from somewhere so that we can maintain the level of quality we want.

While there's no such thing as the proverbial free lunch, it's nice to see Sony try.

Yoshida's Island - Part One [Games Industry]

SCEE have announced two new PS3 bundles for Europe, to mark the launch of the new 80GB console. The first, to be released on September 10, will include the 80GB unit, two DualShock 3 pads and a copy of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. A decent bundle, that, because consoles with two included controllers are a rare and precious thing these days. But the second bundle? Won't exactly have you begging "oh man, when does [your relevant market] get this?". Due for release on October 29, it'll include an 80GB PS3, one DualShock and...and...

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And another episode of Japanese-Devs-Being-Down-On-Themselves, Resident Evil 5 composer Kota Suzuki think American game music has surpassed Japanese game music — especially regarding post-production elements like recording and mixing:

I get the impression that production at western, particularly American developers is ahead of those in Japan. But, I think that more and more in Japan, the process of making video game music is becoming specialised.

...More and more Japanese production companies are working together with foreign companies, and sound production quality in Japan is approaching that of the west.

Stuff like this doesn't just make Japanese development, it makes game development better. Interesting side note: Capcom recorded the RE5 parts of the soundtrack at Newman Scoring Stage at 20th Century Fox with a hundred plus Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra. This was the first time Capcom has ever recorded a live orchestra for a Resident Evil game.

Interview with Resident Evil 5 [Music 4 Games via Develop]

Erotic game and upcoming Xbox 360 title TimeLeap is at the centre of an atomic-bomb-landmark-panty-flashing-dancing-controversy. For one reason or another, two female students from Nagasaki University uploaded a video of themselves dancing to a tune from erotic game TimeLeap in front of the Atomic Dome in Hiroshima. In the clip, the girls briefly flash their underpants.

In Japan, the reaction to the clip has been outrage from some: "You're the shame of Japan!" Obviously dancing to an eroge song in front of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, a site were people lost their lives does seem tacky. Others in Japan are blasé about the whole brouhaha, commenting: "Why'd they pick the dome anyway?" The girls since have apologised. Hit the jump for the clip.

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Capcom, you dirty teases! First you tell us you're "investigating" the possiblity of bringing zany-awesome fighter Tatsunoko vs Capcom to the US. Then you go so far as holding location tests! Our hopes were soaring! And now, you bastards, you go and pour cold water all over them, hinting in an official blog post "don't expect this title to show up in the US arcades". We feel used, Capcom. But we're not angry. Just disappointed.

Tatsunoko vs Capcom: it teases you with Mega Man Legends [Capcom]

The new Lara's certainly generated a lot of attention of late. So is it surprising to see people taking pervy, creepy photos of her through their hotel room's spyhole? Nope. Not in the least. And why would it be? Sure, the act captured - of her entering her hotel room - is totally innocent, but who knows what she got up to when that door closed? You don't.

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PS3 title Afrika is launching this week in Japan. And to help promote the game, the Excel Hotel Tokyu in Haneda is running a special Afrika themed campaign priced at ¥19,000 (for one person) or ¥15,000 (for two — each must pay) a night. Participating rooms will be outfitted with a projector screen and hi-def projector that displays images from the game. What's more, guests will get a "Savannah plate" picnic meal for another ¥4,000 that includes a hamburger, grilled seafood and a salad — or as PS3 Fanboy notes, "a special exotic meal".

【期間限定！！】2008年9月1日(月)〜2008年9月30日(火) [Haneda-E via PS3 Fanboy]

Roll up your sleeves, Lucasarts fans. Classic Adventure Gaming have one hell of an interview up with Bill Tiller, a former artist at Lucasarts who worked with the company between 1993 and 2001. Specifically, it's about Tiller's involvement on the little-known Full Throttle: Payback, the cancelled sequel to Tim Schafer's badarse 1995 adventure game. Basically, if you've ever wanted to hear somebody personally relate the period when Lucasarts decided to eat their own adventure gaming babies, you'll want to read this. It's got plot outlines for the game, the reason it would have been better than the other Full Throttle sequel, Hell on Wheels, as well as a ton of concept art. All of it good reading.

The rise and fall of Full Throttle: a conversation with Bill Tiller [Adventure Classic Gaming, via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

Right before you go to sleep, ever wonder what it's like to work for Too Human creator Denis Dyack? Neither do we. But let's say, hypothetically, that you did wonder that. Read what some Too Human employees say about Dyack:

Carman Dix, Art director of Too Human:
Underneath, Denis is still that boy that genuinely loves video games with a passion.

Henry Sterchi, Director of design of Too Human:
Denis is sincerely passionate about the quality of everything Silicon Knights does, and with that passion comes some of his outspokenness and desire to interact with the community.

Steve Henifin, Audio director of Too Human:
One of the things I like about Denis is that he is a tenacious person and he takes risks. I respect him for that, because I'm the same way.

That's nice and all... What do you really think?

'Too Human' Developers Share Impressions Of Denis Dyack [Multiplayer] [Pic]

This! All of this stuff. Most of it playable, some of it playable only by Sony types. Point is, it's all of Sony's stuff, and if you're heading on up to PAX, you may as well know what you're getting yourself in for. The biggest draw will probably be playable Resistance 2 multiplayer, though MotorStorm 2 and SOCOM Confrontation should also be a hit with the kids. Click through for the full lineup.

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Taiwanese electronics company ENG Electronic has released a new video game platform called "Winner". The console uses motion controllers and a dual nunchuk-style controller as well. Wait a sec... This isn't new! We've seen rip-off Wiis before. But get this:

According to arcade industry newsletter The Stinger Report, there are actually arcade versions of the Winner Wii clone planned. At Taiwanese game show Game Time International 2008, the coin-op incarnation, called Action Fun, was unveiled by company Song Yung, which is owned by ENG Electronic. The cabinet was packed with the Winner console running Wii Sports-like mini-games and using Wii-like controllers. No word whether this is intended for release outside Taiwan.

Hit the jump for a pic of Action Fun II as well as videos of the mini-games!

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These are courtesy of the kids over at Pixelation's forums. Last year, they ran a little contest. See who could come up with the best mock-ups for a remake - or demake - of a game crammed onto the original Game Boy. While some are unrecognisable, and a few are only "OK, I guess", the rest are "totally awesome, I guess". Especially the BioShock one. The rest of them to can be found at Pixelation's site.

Mockup Frenzy #3: Game Boy De-Makes! [Pixelation, via Boing-Boing]

Giving his first interview since his, uh, departure from Tecmo, former Team Ninja boss Tomonobu Itagaki has told 1UP's James Mielke a bunch of stuff. Some of it interesting, some of it confusing, some of it batshit insane. You should really go read the whole piece, but if you're after a highlights package, this quote probably takes the cake:

One more thing I would add is that I don't think that developing for the PS3 is hard at all. It was much harder developing for the Famicom. It's true. I mean, give someone who's developing for the PS3 a Famicom and see if they can make a game for it. They won't be able to. Yeah, that'll prove it. We'll bet a drink on it.

You know shit is serious when Itagaki starts betting drinks.

Wanted Dead or Alive: Tomonobu Itagaki's first interview since going underground [1UP]

Q Entertainment brings word that Metoes Wars is coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade this fall. The game will feature over 20 different planets — each having its own alien race, Meteos blocks and unique gravity as well as visual and audio style. There will be various single player modes (Mission Mode, Attack Mode, Vs. Mode), and there'll be LIVE multiplayer, too. What else, the game has four "Planet Impact" special attacks: Armageddon, Gambit, Sentinel and Tempest. And there's even accessories you can collect for your alien. And who doesn't like an alien with accessories? Game is priced at 800 MSP and out this October.

Looks like THQ have plans to wage an endless war on humanity's wallets. Not only are they (well, they and Relic) serving up Dawn of War II and a "ready when it's done" 40K MMO, but job listings appearing on THQ Australia's website reveal the company also have plans for a 40K "action game" for the 360 and PS3. The company site doesn't out-and-out name the project, saying "We are currently looking for people to work on a next-gen brutal, intimate melee combat game using a world-class brand", but a listing on a local recruitment page gives the game away, using 40K as its main selling-point. Games based on 40K that aren't Space Hulk or Dawn of War have generally sucked, but who knows, a "brutal, intimate" combat game on a PS3/360 might yet be able to take the Dawn of War intro and make a game out of it.

THQ Studio Australia needs developers for Warhammer 40,000 project [Tsumea]
THQ Australia Careers [THQ, both via IGN]

That's right, the Xbox 360 is going coin-op. Arcade industry newsletter The Stinger Report (via trade site Highwaygames) brings word of the Arcade Station T2. Arcade Station T2 is in the vein of Nintendo's PlayerChoice 10 arcade machine from 1986, by bringing the home experience to coin-op. It's outfitted in a traditional upright cabinet design, but features two Xbox 360 controllers and memory card slots. While it supports "system link gaming", it hasn't been revealed that whether that refers to LIVE support or not. While the list of games is still being finalised, it could include Halo 3, FIFA 08, Assassins Creed and Devil May Cry 4. It won't feature the traditional Pay-to-Play model, but the Play-for-Time one, which the Stinger Report calls "VenderTainment". The cabinet is apparently fully licensed by Xbox and has been developed by American home arcade manufacturer Quasimoto Interactive. It's currently being tested in Asia and the UK and should be released in the upcoming months. Another pic after the jump.

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So those PSN pre-paid cards aren't hitting GameStop until 2009? Screw GameStop. Sony have announced that, in addition to the stores currently stocking the cards (Pamida, Meijer and Speedway), come September three more chains will be selling them. Those three are Blockbuster, 7-Eleven and Riteaid. Which is all well and good, but I'm getting the feeling there are people outside the US - like me, for example - more interested in these cards than Americans. Mostly because it'll make buying stuff like Rock Band DLC that much easier.

Gamespot reports that Red Mile Entertainment has handed the monochrome goose to another developer. The publisher wasn't willing to say which studio had taken up the reins, just that the Melbourne-based Transmission Games (formerly IR Gurus) was no longer at the helm. From the GS story:

Responding to requests for comment, a Red Mile representative said that Sin City has been passed off to an as-yet-unannounced development house, a change that occurred "quite a long time ago". Commenting on the switch, the Red Mile representative said, "Transmission is focusing on Heroes Over Europe, which is quite an important title for us".

Red Mile contracts new Sin City dev [Gamespot, via Tsumea]

Sony have announced that Home, the Playstation 3's long-awaited online fashion show and wandering-around simulator, will be coming to Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan in "Fall 2008". Doesn't sound like idle speculation, either, as that's coming straight from a Sony press release. To help ensure everything's ready to go ahead of the launch, there'll be a closed beta held in September for residents of the region. If that's you, keep an eye on this site, details on how to get in will be going up on August 29.

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Those questions for the Classification Board? They came back. Alive. The replies read a lot like paragraphs from an official board report, but it's not like I was expecting riveting prose.

This doesn't mean the answers are no good. Not at all. Yes, a few of them are extended "no comments", but for the most part, they shine a moderately-sized shard of light on our classification system - where the power lies, who makes the decisions and why certain decisions were made.

Here are a few highlights:

Who should I be contacting to push the need for an R18+ rating for games?

Currently, the Censorship Minister is the Attorney-General for each State or Territory and the Australian Censorship Minister is the Minister for Home Affairs.

Customs may detain or seize any items that are suspected of contravening the Regulations. The maximum penalty for this type of offence is a fine of up to $110,000.

An incentive may be the ability to progress faster through the game. A reward may be a gain in points or access to a wider choice of weapons.

An application for the classification of a computer game must include a copy of the game ... For computer games likely to be classified G to M, industry can access a scheme that permits trained assessors to provide a recommendation for the likely classification of a computer game ... Board members do not usually play a game to in order to make a classification.

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Earlier we posted that Gearbox Software (Brothers In Arms, Borderlands) was rumored to be working on Halo 4. With Bungie out of the picture, Gearbox does seem like a logical fit — the developer did do the PC version of Halo: Combat Evolved.

What's more, Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford stated in February: "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". But that doesn't necessarily mean Gearbox is doing Halo 4. The "big" project Pitchford is talking about could be something else entirely. And Halo 4 hasn't even been announced. (Though, Microsoft would be silly not to do it.)

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Frankenreview: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
Because it just isn't golf without Tiger Woods.

Spore Penis Monsters Impress Will Wright
If he's impressed by those, well, he'll love me! Just kidding. Seriously. I'm joking. Really.

Next Far Cry Could Be In Africa (Again)
I think islands are overdone in games. Give me the expanses of Africa any day.

Do you really need to have the gurgling murloc sound as your telephone ringtone? Do you not hear the World of Warcraft opening theme enough on your PC? Perhaps you can't figure out how to create your own mobile phone wallpapers and would rather spend a couple bucks on letting the extremely nosy know that you're into Diablo or StarCraft? Well you're in luck, as Blizzard has just opened up a ringtone and wallpaper store at Mobile.Blizzard.Com. In partnership with Echovox, Inc., the store carries a wide selection of wallpapers from Blizzard's three biggest money makers, along with choice sounds from World of Warcraft that could very well lead to an awkward conversation with a total stranger that reinforces the fact that with 20 million servers and two factions, chance of you knowing them are slim to none.

Currently the service mainly services Europe, South America, and a few bits of Asia, so those of us in the U.S. will have to make due with obsessively humming the theme song to WoW until allowances are made.

Blizzard Mobile Store [Official Site via WorldofWar.net]

They say that the Devil has all the best tunes — 'they' are noticeably quieter on the subject of who has the most original video games, however. (Hint: it appears to be the devil again)

The description for Guitar Praise: Solid Rock seems a little familiar - Two guitars can be connected at the same time, so two guitarists can play together - either on the same track or one on lead, the other on bass. Players press the fret buttons and strum on the strum bar in time to the colour-coded notes as they scroll onscreen.

I'm sure I have heard that somewhere before — almost as though someone has been coveting his neighbour's gameplay.

Anyhoo, GP:SR lets you strum along to the very best in Christian Music - bands like Thousand Foot Krutch, Relient K, the faintly sinister-sounding Whitecross and many more who I am sure actually do exist, but have yet to make it to the secular radio stations here in the UK.

Guitar Praise is out for the PC and Mac in September, lifestyle sold separately.

Guitar Praise: Guitar Hero for Christians [via Boing Boing Gadgets]

Upon looking at this new Infinite Undiscovery trailer for the first time I was pretty sure I was seeing some of that great CGI I've come to expect from a Square Enix game. However, I quickly realised that this was in fact gameplay and and to be honest, it looks pretty darn good. The game will be hitting Xbox 360 soon.
『インフィニット アンディスカバリー』最新PVを独占配信【動画配信】 [Famitsu]

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Ever wondered what your holiday snaps would look like if Hitler decided to hang them on the walls of a secret Nazi base?

No? Oh, well you are going to find out anyway.

Thanks to a talented Javascript hacker who wanted to learn how the Flickr API worked, you can now view your Flickr photo albums through the eyes of B.J. Blazkowicz from the original Wolfenstein 3D.

Just enter your Flickr username and let the app scurry off and search through your photos. It wiill then map them on to the walls of a 3D maze that has been made to look a dead ringer for Castle Wolfenstein. Its a great idea, although it can have trouble with very high resolution pics.

Now, somebody do a Facebook/Thrill Kill mashup..

[WolfenFlickr]

Today signals the launch of the first installment of Sony Online Entertainment's brand new online Star Wars trading card game, Champions of the Force. The game depicts the epic battle between the forces of good and evil using a set of over 250 virtually collectible cards. Play alone in solo-play mode or challenge your friends and enemies online in between bouts of whatever it is you SWG players actually do online.

Right now the SOE store has a deal where you can get the original game, The Rage of the Wookies and Jump to Lightspeed expansions and a starter deck for the card game for $US 14.99, with all paying subscribers receiving five free booster packs each month to help bolster their decks. Starters are available for individual purchase for $US 9.99, with boosters running $US 2.99 or $US 99.99 for a virtual box of 36 boosters. Honestly I am a bit hazy on how the whole thing works, so why not head over to the trading card game page and figure things out for yourself? May the force be with you and all that.

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Looks like Rush fans are going to have to wait a bit longer for the release of one of the greatest albums of all time to be released on EA's Rock Band. Citing technical difficulties, the Harmonix folks have decided to shuffle things around until they can get whatever issues they're running into squared away.

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen technical difficulties, we won't be able to release Rush's "Moving Pictures" this week. We'll be working on it as hard as we can, but it looks like it could be a couple of weeks to fix. In the meantime we will be moving around our schedule so we still have DLC coming out each week

I'm guessing they're trying to determine some way to keep people from trying to sing as high as Geddy Lee, which can lead to strangulation by your own vocal chords. Bring it down an octave folks, don't be a hero.

In the meantime, savor the irony of the "Rush Delay".

Rush Delay Info [Rock Band Forums - Thanks BatDanNG!]

Larian Studios is hard at work on Divinity 2: Ego Draconis or "I of the Dragon" in Latin. The game looks like it is shaping up well to be honest, though maybe I could have done without the voice over in the trailer. The game will be hitting PC sometime next year.

Divinity 2: Ergo Draconis Screens

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The latest installment in the LEGO Thing franchise — LEGO Batman — could be heading to the iPhone, reports Pocket Gamer.

There have been earlier Java midlet versions of LEGO games - notably Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, but it would be nice to think that theiPhone would get a proper conversion..

The possibilities for manipulating LEGO bricks using multi-touch gestures could make for an interesting twist on the LEGO gameplay. Even if it is just a port of the DS version, though, it should be worth checking out providing the thorny issue of lack of D-Pad is resolved.

Pocketgamer don't mention a source for the news — hence the rumour tag — but as soon as we get more details, you shall be the first to know.

LEGO Batman goes crimefighting onto iPhone [PocketGamer]

Zubo is the latest comedy/action adventure/ rythm game coming from UK EA's Bright Light studio. While this might be a kids game, it sure does look pretty for the DS. Crecente got a chance to play it hands on a while back and said while it was for kids, it had enough style to be a possible hit for the handheld. In this new trailer we see some of the horror themed levels. The game will be headed to your Nintendo DS later this year.

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The Economist is running a feature on how the corporate world is starting to use gaming to increase productivity.

According to David Edery and Ethan Mollick, authors of "Changing the Game", the same qualities that make people excel at games can be useful in the world of work as well. Rather worryingly, they highlight MMO grinding as a prime example — which to me seems like backwards logic, as grinding is more about applying 'work' to 'games' than the other way around.

The community building aspects of gaming are also held up to scrutiny — these do seem broadly applicable to the 'real' world, and in some ways are not unlike the kind of team building exercises that hapless employees are regularly sent on. Fording a river with a pontoon made from office supplies being a bit less fun than a joining raiding party in Azeroth, mind you.

Turning work tasks into a game can be a useful tool, it seems. It emerges that Microsoft quadrupled internal bug reporting for Windows Vista by awarding points and prizes for participation. Having loads of bugs may have helped, of course.

Playing for profit [The Economist via Slashdot]

Proceeds from the Level Up Charity Games competition at the upcoming Austin Game Developers Conference next month will go toward the ESA Foundation, the Entertainment Software Association announced today.

"The ESA Foundation is committed to helping improve the lives of young people," said Jenny Lai, Vice President of the ESA Foundation. "The proceeds of this event will allow us to give back even more and enable students from across the country to pursue studies in computer and video game development and design."

The competition will pit gamers in a collection of single-elimination events featuring Rock Band 2, Madden 08, I-Play Bowling and Super Smash Bros. The event's $US 20 entry fee will go toward the ESA Foundation Scholarship Program.

The program assists women and minority students continuing their education in video game development, including those studying graphic design, computer science, animation, programming, digital entertainment or software engineering. The Foundation's scholarships are awarded annually to full-time students at accredited four-year colleges and universities.

The competition will run from 6 to 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 17 in the ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel Austin.

Prizes for the event include cash, video games, t-shirts, caps, gaming accessories, video game collectibles and 3D art which will be awarded to the first and second place winners for each game title, plus two grand prize winners for overall score, excellence and sportsmanship.

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Even though 64% of those who bought Wii Fit have it collecting dust in their closet, the new controls of Skate It using the Wii balance board look, well, promising. In the latest trailer we get another quick look at the Wii version of the game. I'm personally going to take my balance board in my yard and start practicing for this.The neighbours will love it. The game will be hitting the Wii and Nintendo DS this upcoming holiday season.

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