Yes, better late than never, we know. Still, earlier is better than late.

Also of note this week is the release of the addictive/adorable Critter Crunch, LittleBigPlanet’s digital release on PSP, some other great PSP releases (Disgaea, some Darkstalkers) and some Dragon Age DLC.

PS3 STORE

Special Offers
(from 19th November until the 3rd of December)
Buzz! Brain Bender (PSP) (was – £19.99/€29.99 now – £9.99/€14.99)
EA Replay (PSP) (was – £15.99/€19.99 now – £11.99/€14.99)
Medal of honour Heroes (PSP) (was – £9.99/€14.99 now – £7.99/€9.99)
Medal of honour Heroes 2 (PSP) (was – £14.99/€19.99 now – £11.99/€14.99)
Def Jam Fight for NY: The Takeover (PSP) (was – £15.99/€19.99 now – £11.99/€14.99)

Downloadable Game
Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao (£9.99/€12.99) Rating: PEGI 12+
Gravity Crash Released on Tuesday the 24th of November Rating: PEGI 7+(£6.29/€7.99)

PSone Classic
Metal Gear Solid (£7.99/€9.99) Rating: PEGI 18+

Trial & Unlock Key
Critter Crunch (Trial free, Unlock Key £4.49/€5.49) Rating: PEGI 7+

Demo
Smash Cars Demo Rating: PEGI 3+

Add-On Game Content
Dragon Age:Origins
o Warden’s Keep (£5.49/€6.99)
o The Stone Prisoner (£11.99/€14.99)

LittleBigPlanet
o Assassin’s Creed II Ezio Auditore Costume Released on Tuesday the 24th of November (£1.59/€1.99)
o Thanksgiving Costume (only available for one week) (free)

Pain
o Flavor Flav Pack (£1.19/€1.49)Rating: PEGI 16+

EyePet
o Medieval Styling Pack (£2.39/€2.99)
o Lucky Dip Styling Pack 4 (free)

High Velocity Bowling
o Psychedelic 60’s Ball Pack (£0.79/€0.99)
o Techno Modern Ball Pack (£0.79/€0.99)

Beatles: Rock Band
o A Day in the Life (£0.99/€1.49)
o Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite (£0.99/€1.49)
o Fixing a Hole (£0.99/€1.49)
o Lovely Rita (£0.99/€1.49)
o Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (£0.99/€1.49)
o She’s Leaving Home (£0.99/€1.49)
o When I’m Sixty-Four (£0.99/€1.49)
o Within You Without You (£0.99/€1.49)
o Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Album) (this pack contains the all tracks listed above) (£7.49/€8.99)

Guitar Hero 5
o I Was Made For Loving You by KISS (£1.59/€1.99)
o Lick by KISS (£1.59/€1.99)
o Modern Day Delilah by KISS (£1.59/€1.99)
o KISS Track Pack (£4.39/€5.49)

Videos
Final Fantasy XIII Announcement Trailer
DC Universe Brian Stevens Interview
Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time Space Trailer
Army of Two: 40th Day Sniper Trailer
Dante’s Inferno Greed Dev Trailer

Premium Themes
Wise Father Theme (£1.19/€1.49)
Yuefeng Theme (£1.19/€1.49)
King Zumo Theme (£1.19/€1.49)
Cavalier Warrior Theme (£1.19/€1.49)

PSP STORE

Special Offers
Buzz! Brain Bender (PSP) (was – £19.99/€29.99 now – £9.99/€14.99)
EA Replay (PSP) (was – £15.99/€19.99 now – £11.99/€14.99)
Medal of honour Heroes (PSP) (was – £9.99/€14.99 now – £7.99/€9.99)
Medal of honour Heroes 2 (PSP) (was – £14.99/€19.99 now – £11.99/€14.99)
Def Jam Fight for NY: The Takeover (PSP) (was – £15.99/€19.99 now – £11.99/€14.99)

Downloadable Games
LittleBigPlanet (£21.99/€36.99) Rating: PEGI 7+
Assassin’s Creed Bloodlines (£23.99/€29.99) Rating: PEGI 16+
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier (£21.99/€36.99) Rating: PEGI 12+
The Warriors (£9.99/€12.99) Rating: PEGI 18+
Star Wars Battlefront II (£15.99/€19.99) Rating: PEGI 12+
NBA 2K10 (£15.99/€19.99) Rating: PEGI 3+
Mercury Meltdown (£4.79/€5.99) Rating: PEGI 3+
Megaman Maverick Hunter X (£13.99/€17.99) Rating: PEGI 3+
Capcom Puzzle World (£13.99/€17.99) Rating: PEGI 3+
Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower (£13.99/€17.99) Rating: PEGI 12+
Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness (£11.99/€14.99) Rating: PEGI 12+
Mana Khemia: Student Alliance (£19.99/€24.99) Rating: PEGI 12+
Williams Pinball Classics (£11.99/€14.99) Rating: PEGI 3+

minis
Echoes (£2.49/€2.99) Rating: PEGI 3+
Pinball Dreams (£3.99/€4.99) Rating: PEGI 7+

Demo
MotorStorm: Arctic Edge Demo (free) Rating: PEGI 12+
PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe Demo (free) Rating: PEGI 3+

Add-On Game Content
Rock Band Unplugged
o California Über Alles by Dead Kennedys (£0.99/€1.49)
o You’re No Rock and Roll Fun by Sleater-Kinney (£0.99/€1.49)

Neil Thompson, the UK chief, told GamesIndustry.biz that “We’re still very much in the baking on Natal and there’s a lot of things to get decided on it.” That goes for word that the unit would be either £50 (about $90) or even as low as £30 (about $54), with as many as 14 titles available at launch and five million units shipped. In the face of such specifics, which were said to come from Microsoft visits with developers, Thompson basically offered a general, “nuh-uh.”

“No. They weren’t accurate, they were rumours,” Thompson said of MCV’s report. “I’ve got nothing more to say about it. We’re still very much in the baking on Natal and there’s a lot of things to get decided on it.”

GamesIndustry.biz says it will later have further in-depth interviews with both Thompson and Microsoft Europe boss Chris Lewis, but it doesn’t sound like either are going much further on this subject.

Microsoft Dismisses Natal Launch Rumours [GamesIndustry.biz via GamersReports]

While earlier developments had led to a degree of pessimism on the part of European fans (well deserved considering Square Enix’s previous localisation efforts), this morning it was revealed that the game will be out in Europe on the same day it’s out in North America.

March 9.

Which, when you think about the way the world spins, means Europe gets a Final Fantasy game before the US. Crazy.

Kotaku AU Note: We’ll confirm this date with Square Enix’s Australian distributor as soon as possible.

“I know lately we’ve had a bit of a lull in the updates,” SCEE’s Mike Kebby writes on the European PlayStation blog, “and whilst they may not have been massive, we have been adding steadily to the store (for you PSP users especially), but next week, there should be a nice stream of content released, and I’m hopeful that some of you will be pleased once you see what’s coming.”

“There will always be dips in the release schedule, that’s just the way it goes at times, but we always come out the other side smiling don’t we?” he continues. “Seriously though, we’ll be doing our best to make sure these lulls become less and less frequent, because we do want our community to be happy smiley folk after all”.

Amazing what a little explanation can do for bad news, no? Unless you were really looking forward to Braid. In which case, I can’t help you.

PS3 STORE

Add-On Game Content
Fallout 3
o Broken Steel
o Operation Anchorage
o The Pitt
o Point Lookout
o Mothership Zeta

Burnout Paradise – Big Surf Bundle
Buzz! – Euro Sports Quiz
Pain
o Fat Princess Pack
o Speed Oocher Pack

EyePet – Lucky Dip Styling Pack 4
Rag Doll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastic -
o Mistress of Mime
o Shaolin Scarecrow

Guitar Hero 5
o Fly Away by Lenny Kravitz
o Lady by Lenny Kravitz
o Let Love Rule by Lenny Kravitz
o Lenny Kravitz Track Pack

Rock Band
o A Day Like This – SpongeBob SquarePants
o Club Foot by Kasabian
o Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground by White Stripes
o Employee of the Month – SpongeBob SquarePants
o Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine by White Stripes
o Icky Thump by White Stripes
o Ridin’ the Hook – SpongeBob SquarePants
o Smash It Up (Part II) by The Damned
o White Stripes Pack 01

Videos
Avatar Dev Diary 2
Dante’s Inferno Anger Dev Diary
Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time Launch Trailer
Just Cause 2 Island of Panua Mini Doc 2

Premium Themes
Wise Father Theme
Yuefeng Theme
King Zumo Theme
Cavalier Warrior Theme

PSP STORE

Downloadable Games
Street Fighter Alpha Max 3
Major League Baseball 2K9
Mana Khemia: Student Alliance

minis
Circles Circles Circles
D-Cube Planet
Bubble Trubble

Demo
Jax and Daxter: The Lost Frontier Demo

Add-On Game Content
Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce – Additional Quests 7
Rock Band Unplugged
o Excuse Me Mr. by No Doubt
o I’m Shipping Up To Boston by Dropkick Murphys

[via PlayStation Blog]

Seems Sega know that the upcoming Aliens vs Predator is so violent, and packed with so much gore, that they’re not even going to bother submitting it to the USK, Germany’s classification board.

Rationale being that the USK, with a reputation for being sticklers for the ol’ killerspiel, would only force sweeping changes to the game, changes Sega didn’t want to part with, so they’re instead just going to save some cash and not bother localising or distributing the game in Germany at all.

Aliens vs. Predator: Too gory for Germany? [PC Games Hardware]

But not much more, really. Sega Europe has announced the Special Edition of Bayonetta for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and it’s exactly the sort of thing you’d expect from a Special Edition. Inside a special slipcase purchasers will find an art book, a soundtrack CD containing all of six music tracks, and a copy of the game itself. Considering the actual soundtrack for the game contains 150 songs spread out over 5 discs, this really isn’t all that much.

Oh well. Maybe the game is just so over-the-top and wild that a truly compelling Special Edition would have been too much?

Kotaku AU Note: The Aussie edition is even better. Take a look.

Bayonetta Special Edition revealed [Sega Europe]

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe have confirmed that the European PlayStation Network Video Delivery Service will commence on November 18, which is next Wednesday.

To begin with, it’ll be available only for customers in the UK, Germany, France and Spain, with the service slated to roll out into other territories throughout 2010.

Some of the movies available on day 1 include: Angels and Demons; Bruno; The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe; Crank 2; The Dark Knight; Dead Space: Downfall; Gran Torino; Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; National Treasure; Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; Public Enemies; Star Trek; Terminator Salvation; Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen; Valkyrie; and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Not interested in the lineup? Remember: a crummy lineup is better than no lineup at all.

Says the publication:

Our reviews are tough, but fair. We will not give up our independent scores for the sake of a timely review. This holds true for “Assassin’s Creed 2″. The publisher asked us to guarantee the score ’sehr gut’ [very good], otherwise we would not receive a review copy, thus we will publish our review in next month’s issue. We’d be more than glad to give the game a ’sehr gut’, but only if it deserves it.

I’ve sent an email over to Ubisoft’s PR to give them the courtesy of a response. Any that comes will be printed here.

But despite the fact this behaviour has strong precedent, keep in mind this boils down to he-said Ubi-said. And it boggles the mind, from what we’ve all seen so far, that Assassin’s Creed II would need such strong-arming to get a good score. But who knows. There is a ton of money riding on a game’s Metascore, providing motive enough.

Ubisoft Demanding High Scores for Early Assassins Creed 2 Reviews? [wearetheinternetz, thanks Lorand K.]

While genuinely new content is thin on the ground, there are plenty of sales to make up for it, like substantial savings on Siren: Blood Curse and a range of PSP and PS1 games.

The new stuff that did make the update this week includes a demo for NBA2K10 and DLC for LittleBigPlanet and Brutal Legend.

PS3 STORE

Special Offers

* Siren Blood Curse (Was – £19.99/€29.99 Now – £14.99/€19.99)
* Siren Blood Curse Chapter One: The Siren’s Call (Was – £6.99/€9.99 Now – £4.79/€5.99)
* Siren Blood Curse Chapter Two: No Refuge (Was – £6.99/€9.99 Now – £4.79/€5.99)
* Siren Blood Curse Chapter Three: Nest of Devils (Was – £6.99/€9.99 Now – £4.79/€5.99)
* Siren Blood Curse Chapter Four: The End is the Beginning (Was – £6.99/€9.99 Now – £4.79/€5.99)
* 3 on 3 NHL Arcade
* Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars
* Echochrome Micro
* Syphon Filter: Combat Ops
* Command & Conquer
* Command & Conquer: Red Alert
* Command & Conquer: Red Alert Retaliation

PSone Classic
Party Time with Winnie the Pooh

Demos
NBA 2K10 Demo

Add-On Game Content
Brütal Legend – Hextadon Map Pack
LittleBigPlanet
o Anniversary Cake Costume
o Spacesuit Costume

EyePet
o Hospital Styling Pack
o Lucky Dip Styling Pack 3

Rock Band
o Best of You by Foo Fighters
o The Pretender by Foo Fighters
o Wheels by Foo Fighters
o Word Forward by Foo Fighters
o Foo Fighters Pack 03
o About a Girl by Nirvana
o Blew by Nirvana
o School by Nirvana
o Nirvana Pack 02
o Fake Friends by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

Videos
Assassin’s Creed 2 Lineage Trailer
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Battlefield Moments Episode 1
DC Universe Austin Studio Tour Video
DC Universe Jens Anderson Video
Front Mission Evolved Trailer
Star Ocean: The Last Hope Trailer
Nier Trailer

PSP STORE

Special Offers
Echochrome Micro
Syphon Filter: Combat Ops
Command & Conquer
Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Command & Conquer: Red Alert Retaliation

Downloadable Games
Ghostbusters
Dragoneer’s Aria
Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron

minis
Spot the Differences!

PSone Classic
Party Time with Winnie the Pooh

Add-On Game Content
Rock Band Unplugged
o Toxicity by System of a Down
o Waking The Demon by Bullet For My Valentine

Videos
Metal Gear Solid Peacewalker Trailer
Thexder Neo Trailer

“It’s been a long road,” Pete Edwards said, according to Edge Online. “We’ve proved there is a market out there and we’ve got a lot of people that spend a lot of time in [Home]. It’s not a priority right now but there is a business model there.”

Edge Online noted that Edwards himself said European users spent an average of 56 minutes in Home per session. So it’s not like Sony’s shelving or shutting down Home; he’s just saying that investing further in its business model is not part of the strategy right now. Still, publicly deprioritizing PlayStation Home speaks loudly enough about how Sony feels about this project a year later.

PlayStation Home Not A Business Priority [Edge Online via Game Stooge]