PSP Video Games News

Sitting on top of a variety of movie and music labels, Sony Corp should be in the strongest position to deliver the all-encompassing media hub that virtually every company in the sector is striving to create.

For decades, Sony has attempted to unify its diverse range of hardware manufacturers and content companies, bringing the material created by the likes of Colombia Pictures and Epic Records to products that it creates.  However a long history of corporate infighting and a lack of insight have thwarted such plans in the past.

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According to a job posting on Gamasutra, EA and Steven Spielberg's collaborative game series, Boom Blox could be set to make the jump from its Wii spawning grounds to the higher tech. surroundings of Sony and Microsoft's current-gen consoles.

"Our last two titles were Wii-based, but our next titles will be for the next generation," reads this job ad for work at Electronic Arts' LA studio (thanks, Superannuation). The ad also specifies that successful applicants will be working on, "The BAFTA-winning Boom Blox team".

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EA has announced that its Need For Speed series has passed through the milestone of 100 million lifetime sales, collating an impressive $2.7 billion (£1.63 billion) in total sales revenues along the way.

The arcade racing game series has been iterated through 15 separate titles across 14 different platforms since its inception in 1994, with gamers logging over 279 billion miles on the various race tracks and roads featured throughout the series' history (how EA figured out that stat is anybody's guess).

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The European PlayStation blog has recently posted a belated interview from Gamescom with Hideo Kojima.  Responding to questions from the community regarding a possible update to the popular mech space-opera series, Zone of Enders, Kojima-san suggested that a sequel is certainly on the cards.

"A lot of the users gives us lots of love calls about Zone of the Enders especially," Kojima-san told the PS blog.  "We actually do love the tile as well at Kojima Productions and we always want to create on the next-gen as well."

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Hideo Kojima is pretty well known for teasing a waiting audience and playing tricks, so the revelation that he has a surprise in store for Peace Walker on the PSP comes as no surprise.

"I'm putting everything I want to do on a portable console into this game," Kojima-san told Famitsu (translated by 1UP). "I haven't announced this yet, but there's another feature in here that will surprise people, to the point where they'll want to go out and buy a PSP right now!"

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Development on Tekken 6 has finished ahead of the game's release on October 30th for the PlayStaiton3 and Xbox 360.

In addition, Namco-Bandai has sent along details of the online modes that feature in the game along with information on the game's exclusive content found in the Home space on PlayStaiton3.

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Could game rentals be on their way to PSN? It would certainly be the next logical step in the digital distribution chain and, if these latest reports are anything to go by, then Sony's PSP may be the first console to harbour the service.

Gamespot has picked up and confirmed a story from a blog called The Retail Gamer, which indicates that Sony has added extra functions to help players group their games in the PSP's XMB interface. The only thing is, these grouping options make no sense given the handheld's current capabilities.

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Despite assurances from Sony that sales of the PSPgo are in line with its expectations, UK retailers have already started to drop their asking price for the handheld while one outlet is reporting slow sales of the console in its first week on the market after it launched on October 1st.

Although Sony has set a £224.99 RRP for the PSPgo, retailers including Amazon, Play, Game, and HMV have already knocked that price down to £199.99. We can confirm via a Google cache that at least one of these retailers was selling the system at £224.99 a week ago.

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EA Sports' FIFA 10 has become the fastest selling FIFA game in UK history and the second biggest game launch ever, with only Rockstar's GTA IV selling more copies during its launch week.

This is according to official Chart Track figures, which place FIFA atop the UK charts following its release on Friday. FIFA 10's sales at launch were 48% higher than its predecessor, while the format spread was 2% higher on the Xbox 360 than they were on PS3 (Xbox 360 - 48%, PS3 - 46%, other formats - 6%).

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EA discovered the perils of releasing unfinished features in a finished game across the launch weekend of FIFA 10.  Attempts to use the Game Face technology or Live Season 2.0 failed abjectly, with servers allegedly struggling to keep up with the sheer demand.

Players struggled to log-in to the website www.easportsfootball.co.uk, and on the rare occasion when the editor was actually available, problems such as editing or saving meant that a lot of disgruntled customers were intensifying the heat in EA's official forums across the weekend.

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Codemasters has announced a UK release date of 20th November for F1 2009 on PSP and Wii ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend (where Jenson Button could seal the deal). The game will release across the rest of Europe on November 19th and the US on November 17th.

That's about it really, apart from this snazzy new trailer for the Wii version showing footage from F1 2009's Suzuka circuit...

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UK Supermarket Tesco is currently offering EA's FIFA 10 at £24.97, which is a markdown of 50% from the game's RRP of £49.99, while other retailers have attempted to follow suit with similar price reductions.

We purchased our copies at the store this morning from a promotional display that was setup front and centre at our local Tesco Direct but, if you can't be bothered to make the journey, then there's always the online option via the TVG Store.

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With Sony's PSPgo launching worldwide today, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has released details of the 13 PSP Minis games that will be launching via the PlayStation Store today for the PSPgo and all previous PSP consoles.

Alien Havoc: Sounds like a platformer with ZX Spectrum homebrew sensibilities from developer Creat Studio. As an alien trying to transport cows onto your spaceship, you must avoid the attentions of farmers trying to stop you.

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Although Sony previously said that it was looking into the feasibility of a service that would allow PSPgo adopters to convert their UMD discs into digital files for use with the UMD-less handheld, the company has now confirmed that it will not be supporting such an initiative for the time being.

"We were evaluating a UMD conversion program, but due to legal and technical reasons we will not be offering the program at this time," a SCEA spokesperson told Kotaku. Put another way, don't hold your breath.

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Major Nelson has just confirmed the arrival of a PES 2010 demo onto Xbox Live. Demos for PS3 and PC are also scheduled for release today as the game prepares for its full retail launch on October 23rd.

According to Nelson's blog, the demo supports multiplayer and allows players to sample PES 2010's new tactical slider settings, which you can have a good look at in the trailer below.

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Although we're undeniably entering the age of digital distribution, hardware manufacturers are still playing a cautious game in order not to upset retail where the vast majority of game sales still occur.  But it seems Sony has been a little too quick to jump on the bandwagon and distance itself from the unmitigated failure that was the UMD with the launch of the UMD-less PSP Go!.

The Dutch retailer Nedgame has confirmed on its website that it will not be stocking the latest iteration of Sony's handheld format, claiming that consumers still want a choice between physical and digital distribution and cite the increased retail price for the unit as key reasons behind its decision.

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Rockstar has announced via Twitter that the PSP version of GTA: Chinatown Wars will be released on October 20th in the US, which suggests that the game will launch in the UK on October 23rd.

Further details from the Twitter announcement also reiterated that the game will be available via PSN as well, although there's no confirmation of whether or not the digital download will be released day-and-date with the UMD version at retail.

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Konami has announced from GamesCom that PES 2010 will be released on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC on October 22nd, which is a mere three weeks after the currently slated release date for FIFA 10.

October 22nd is a Thursday though, so we'd expect that date to be for continental Europe with the UK receiving it one day later on the Friday. PSP and PS2 versions will then arrive shortly after this on November 5th and, true to Konami's promise, the Wii version will launch this side of Christmas on November 19th (both dates are also Thursdays).

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Even though Sony announced price points of $250 and 250 euros for its PSP Go console at E3 earlier this year, it's taken until now for the manufacturer to announce an RRP of £224.99 for the UK market.

Similarly to the PS3 Slim's UK price tag of £249.99, this PSP Go pricing is hardly kind to the British market where the original PSP launched for £179 on September 1st 2005, which will be over four years prior to the PSP Go's scheduled release on October 1st of this year.

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FIFA 10's Producer, David Rutter has just revealed a new mode for FIFA 10 at EA's GamesCom keynote address in Germany. The new Virtual Pro feature will incorporate EA's Photo Game Face technology into FIFA for the first time.

The technology, which allows a user to upload a photo of their face into the game and paste their likeness onto an in-game avatar, has been previously used in EA Sports' Tiger Woods series.

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A European release date of February 9th has just been announced by EA for Dante's Inferno, with a North American launch to follow three days later on February 12th.

This announcement comes via EA's GamesCom keynote, where a couple of new gameplay features were also revealed for the hellish hack 'n slash game.

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Beaterator, a collaborative project by Rockstar and "urban music" uber-producer Timbaland, will be released for the PSP and PSN on October 2nd, Rockstar has just announced.

The music sequencing game, which allows users to put together tunes using loops and beats that are unmistakably Timbaland^TM, was originally released as a flash game on the Rockstar website, but is now being transferred over to PSP and PSN by the clever folks at Rockstar Leeds (of GTA: Chinatown Wars/Liberty City Stories/Vice City Stories fame).

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This year's Football Manager has just got the announcement treatment from SEGA and Sports Interactive, which includes a range of new features as well as a release date of October 30th for both PC/Mac and PSP versions of the title.

Highlighting the new features is a Match Analysis tool, which will allows users to "see where shots, passes, crosses, headers, tackles, fouls and interceptions have been made on the field for all players on the pitch." This information is available both during and after a match, allowing users to analyse the data and either pick apart the opposition or improve their own team's performance.

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Namco Bandai has just announced a UK date for Tekken 6, which will arrive in the territory on October 30th accompanied by Collectors and Arcade Stick special editions of the game.

The Collector's Edition seems to be taking a leaf out of the complimentary art book of Modern Warfare 2, as MCV is reporting that Namco Bandai is pricing it at £69.99 (£10 higher than a typical RRP for a Collectors Edition game in the UK).

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The usual heavyweights of World of Warcraft, Guitar Hero, and Call of Duty fuelled Activision-Blizzard's results beyond expectations for the fiscal second quarter ended June 30th 2009.

For the period, the world's largest third-party publisher posted GAAP net revenues of $1.04 billion and a GAAP operating income of $218 million.  On a non-GAAP basis, the publisher recorded net revenues of $801 million and an operating income of $156 million for the period.

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Although we’re still some time away from day one releases on Games on Demand, Microsoft today released the list of titles that we can expect when the service launches with the Xbox 360 dash update on August 11th.

The full list includes:

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Sony's exclusivity period in Europe for Terminal Reality's Ghostbusters will end on October 23rd of this year when the game will release on the Xbox 360, Wii, DS, and PC according to Namco Bandai Partners' latest release schedule.

Up until May of this year, Namco Bandai Partners (then Atari) was poised to release the game across all of its originally slated formats until Sony swooped in and purchased an exclusivity deal for the title, which then released for PS3 and PS2 in June (a PSP version is still planned for a later date).

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We were certainly surprised by Sony's decision not to put a second analogue stick on the PSP Go. The single analogue 'nipple' on previous PSP iterations has been a bone of contention for Sony fans since the design's inception in 2004/05 as it limits the amount of control players have in third and first-person action games.

So, why didn't Sony incorporate a second stick into the PSP Go? It's something to do with the platform's mid-life cycle and back compatibility according to the latest issue of Game Informer. Sony Worldwide Studios President, Shuhei Yoshida explains:

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This year's PES certainly looks the biz judging by the screens and footage we've seen so far, but Konami isn't limiting itself to aesthetics this year as the publisher has today detailed a range of new features for the game's Master League mode.

It looks like the biggest addition will be a new youth team feature, which allows gamers to develop youngsters by investing in them at a young age and fast-tracking their skills before introducing them into the first team.

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Swedish heavy metal rock outfit Opeth has let slip that THQ's open-world gangsta Saints Row series is on its way to the PSP.

In an update to the band's official website, the band claims:

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In the run-up to E3, the gaming community couldn't get enough of Kojima Productions' 'Next' teaser site. Here at TVG, we spent shamefully long periods of time taking screengrabs of the site's periodic lightning strikes in an attempt to unveil new symbols and characters, not to mention being transfixed by that 'Mask' teaser.

Now, in an interview with Konami, Hideo Kojima has revealed the meanings behind the various symbols in the teaser. Here's what he had to say on the matter:

It turns out that our various hypotheses were close to the mark in some cases and miles off in others. How did you do? Let us know in the comments...

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Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima has shed further details on the series latest outing on the PSP, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, which was announced at this year's E3 event.

Confirming that the concept of Peace Walker began during the development of Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, Kojima-san exclaims that he originally intended for the title to be handled by "the next generation of creators at Kojima Productions", but ultimately decided that it was still a little too early to leave it completely in their hands - he just can't leave MGS alone.

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Following the announcement that Colin McRae DiRT 2 would see a slight delay on PC in order to gain fancy DirectX 11 powered visuals, Codemasters today confirmed that the sequel will be appearing on the Xbox 360, PlayStation3, Wii, DS and PSP on September 11th.

Based around the third-generation of the EGO engine, DiRT 2 promises to "take racing games to a new level".  Featuring over 100 different events set across diverse and demanding real-world locations, from the muddy tracks of the Malaysian rainforest to spectator-packed stadiums of London and Los Angeles, players compete in "contemporary off-road race disciplines" such as Rallycross, Trailblazer, Raid, Landrush, and Rally.

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FIFA 10's Producer, David Rutter isn't one to mix his words and he's also quite the perfectionist. This is one of the major reasons why FIFA 09 (the first FIFA game that Rutter produced) was such a huge improvement over its predecessors.

Like all perfectionists though, Rutter is never happy with his previous achievements and wants to keep making things better. Perhaps this is why he admitted to hating FIFA 09 now that his EA Canada team is improving the formula so much with FIFA 10:

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We suspected that this was the case but never expected an EA Producer to admit that he already knows the major new features for the next three iterations of an EA Sports series. Nonetheless, that's exactly what FIFA 10's Producer, David Rutter has revealed to TVG in a recent interview:

"I know already what the major new features will be for FIFA 11 and 12," explained Rutter at a recent FIFA 10 preview event. However, before you get all hot under the collar and start petitioning EA for all the new features to appear in this year's game, Rutter went on to explain why it's not that simple:

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EA has just announced that this year's FIFA will be reaching European shop shelves on October 2nd when it will release across all formats.

Be sure to check out our freshly posted Q&A with FIFA 10's Producer, David Rutter and a hands on preview that reveals a number of new features including the Create-a-Set-Piece mode.

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Gran Turismo's outing on the PSP has been a mysterious title to unearth.  Originally touted as a port of the PlayStation2 title Gran Turismo 4 under the guise of Gran Turismo Mobile, even now with the alleged US release date of October 1st fast approaching specific details are still a little thin on the ground.  However an interview on the Official US PlayStation Blog with the game's US producers has shed a few details. 

Dashing hopes that car damage will appear in the title, the response claims: "Damage? No. 800+ cars, 35 tracks, on-the-go awesomeness, and a lifetime's worth of racing, yes."

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PES fans with a Wii won't have the traditional months to wait after PES 2010 turns up on the other consoles, with confirmation that the Wii version will follow shortly after during the Autumn.

Boasting the same improvements to the Master League mode as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 versions with closer integration of the UEFA Champions League, PES 2010 also boasts a number of notable gameplay improvements currently being implemented by Akiyoshi 'Greyhound' Chosogabe and his dedicated Wii PES team.

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Rumours that first emerged towards the end of last year regarding Imagination Technologies' involvement with a supposed PSP2 system have surfaced once again, this time in the form of a quad-core graphics processing unit for the alleged handheld (not to be confused with the officially announced PSP Go).

The unconfirmed reports once again surround Imagination Technologies' SGX range of chipsets, which have been used in palmtops and notebooks in the past as well as Apple's iPhone 3GS.

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Colin McRae DiRT 2 will look a little bit better on the PC thanks to the game gaining DirectX 11 support.

The latest version of the API isn't scheduled to arrive until October 2009 alongside Windows 7, making this one of the first games to confirm support.  Key improvements include the addition of Shader Model 5.0, providing enhanced depth of field, ambient occlusion and shadows, while hardware tessellation results in improved water appearance and crown animations.

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EA's decision to introduce critically acclaimed yet commercially weak titles based around new IPs last year is well documented; the simple fact is neither Mirror's Edge or Dead Space sold as well as EA originally expected.

In an interview with Gamasutra, EA's Game Label president Frank Gibeau has revealed the lessons that the world's second largest publisher has learnt from the exercise and pledged support to continue the faith behind quality.

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Move over Lionel Messi, Liverpool's golden boy, Fernando Torres, is set for equal billing on the PES 2010 box art.  But more important then that is the release of new details, as Konami attempts to wrestle back its crown from last year's resurgent FIFA.

Promising enhanced realism that focuses on the "triangulation" of passes and off-the-ball movement, Konami promises an end to "soft goals" with players needing to work the flanks and use the precision play of great players to make the difference.

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It seems the success, or lack thereof, of Rockstar Games' GTA: Chinatown Wars on the Nintendo DS has prompted a rethink, with confirmation that the latest handheld GTA outing will be making an appearance on the PSP later in the year.

Rockstar Games ahs confirmed the PSP version will appear on UMD and as a digital download, boasting enhanced widescreen visuals, improved lighting and animation, along with additional story missions.

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Although they'll admit otherwise, the simple fact is that Sony is struggling to match its dominance with this generation.  Although 2009 is marked as the year that the PS3 would emerge as the superior platform, we've yet to see any tangible proof to such claims.

More troubling for Sony is the fact that its under-performance could begin to affect its relationships with third-party publishers; a concern that the world's biggest publisher today expressed in an interview with The Times.

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Harold Ramis, who co-wrote and starred in the Ghostbusters movies, has been talking about some of the challenges that game writers face when they're trying to pen a funny script.

Ramis explained that because game scripts are so long, the challenge of writing enough comic alternatives to make the dialogue funny is like producing three hit movie scripts.

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If you're a European Xbox 360 owner and a little peeved that there's going to be no Ghostbusters action (for a little while at least), there could be a solution to ensure you're busting ghosts and getting slimed with Venkman, Ray, Egon and Winston.

Destructoid reports that the North American version of Ghostbusters on the Xbox 360 is region-free, meaning that if you're desperate to play the game then you simply need to check out your local game importer or scour the web for a copy.

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EA today outlined the big new features that are set to ensure FIFA 10 continues the improvements laid down by its predecessor.

More sophisticated ball control and enhanced physical interactions between players are top of the list, along with the "first ever-true" 360 degree dribbling system allowing skilled dribblers to face the defender and use highly responsive dribbling to skip past him. 

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As we suspected, Hideo Kojima is probably the most popular guy in town right about now.  Following his appearance at Microsoft's conference last night, Kojima-san turned up at Sony's even to reveal Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker for the PSP.  OK it wasn't the announcement we were expecting, but eh!

Set in 1979 – ten years after the events of Snake Eater – Peace Walker is described as a true sequel to Metal Gear Solid 3, with Kojima-san heading development along with the rest of the team at Kojima Productions.  Once again players take on the role of Big Boss, Peace Walker takes place in Costa Rica with an unknown enemy forming what will become Outer Haven – the original Metal Gear.

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Joining the unveiling of the PSP Go, Sony has lifted the lid on Gran Turismo's eagerly awaited debut on the handheld format.

Featuring over 800 cars and 35 different tracks, Gran Turismo PSP aims to emulate its home console siblings in every department.  PSP owners will be able to trade cars between one another, which is designed to make car collecting an easier and more sociable experience.

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Sony has revealed what is officially the worst kept E3 secret; the PSP Go will be arriving later in the year, removing the UMD drive and focusing on the digital lifestyle.

Aimed to compete with the iPhone/iTouch with a stronger design on the digital lifestyle, the PSP Go will be released alongside the existing models, for those still wishing the UMD drive.

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Sony's Jack Tretton has recently confirmed that the Assassin's Creed will be released during November 2009.  No further details on the title, such as whether it's based on Altair, Ezio, or another member of the assassin's clan have been confirmed.

[update]

We now know the game will be a direct sequel to the original Assassin's Creed and provide the link with this year's sequel.  Players once again take control of Altair, as he attempts to hunt down the ascending members of the Templars as they retreat to the island of Cyprus.

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By way of its E3 announcement of the PSP Go, Sony has revealed that a new Metal Gear Solid game is coming to the PSP as well as a long-rumoured Gran Turismo title for the handheld.

Sony's Director of Hardware Marketing, John Koller said in a leaked Qore interview, "games like Gran Turismo that're being announced at E3," will be available for the PSP Go, before adding that, "there's even a new Metal Gear Solid coming."

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Leaked footage and screens displaying Sony's PSP Go handheld have surfaced, displaying the long expected repositioning of the console that drops an aging UMD format and replaces it with digitally distributed content.

Although info on the game is officially at the "leaked" stage, with a full reveal imminently set for E3, an interview with Sony's Director of Hardware Marketing, John Koller, has pinned down the system's full specs.

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EA and Slightly Mad Studios have today announced the car and tracks lists for Need For Speed Shift, revealing an impressively large line-up of vehicles to please even the most petrol-headed enthusiast, as well as some of the most famous circuits from across the globe.

The BMW M3 GT2 has also been announced as the cover vehicle for NFS: Shift (meaning that it will appear on the box), with EA noting that the one-of-a-kind car is the most powerful ever to feature in a Need For Speed game.

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Embattled publisher Atari signalled a statement of intent last year with the appointment of Phil Harrison, formerly President of SCE Worldwide Studios.

However it appears that the recent announcement that Atari Europe will fall under the Namco-Bandai family has ruffled a few feathers, with confirmation that Harrison will no longer serve as President of the publisher.  Instead Harrison's new role is the slightly less significant position of non-executive director of the group.  Atari adds that he will continue to assist, support and guide the company's strategy.

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The first game announcement from E3 has dropped a fortnight before the expo is due to begin, as an Entertainment Software Association (ESA) promotional list for the event has unveiled The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest.

Warner Bros. Interactive is heading-up the project in what will be the publisher's first Lord of the Rings title since the game rights were dropped by EA. And what are they doing with the license? Making a LOTR game for kids, it would seem:

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LucasArts' Star Wars Battlefront series will get its first outing on Nintendo's DS if recent postings by the American game ratings board, the ESRB, are anything to go by.

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron is listed for both Nintendo's DS and Sony's PSP in the game ratings, which have surfaced prior to any official announcement from LucasArts.

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MTV Games and EA today revealed the full tracklist for Rock Band's PSP debut.  Covering bands from the 60s through to the 00s, Rock Band Unplugged includes a number of tracks exclusive to the PSP outing - for a timed period at least.

And if 41 tracks isn't enough for you, we also have details on the first tracks that will be made available as DLC following the game's release on June 12th.

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THQ has officially unveiled its next instalment in the MX vs. ATV series, MX vs. ATV Reflex, which will come to Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, and DS this year during the run-up to Christmas.

New features for the series include some impressive looking surface deformation technology, a dual thumbstick system for weight distribution and steering controls, as well as a renewed focus on making the series more accessible for the average gamer while retaining its hardcore audience.

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A drop in sales along with the appreciation of the yen has resulted in Sony Corp posting a smaller than expected loss for the financial year ended March 31st 2009, but it still represents the company's first annual loss in 14 years.

Sales for electronics giant slumped by 12.9% during the fiscal year to 7.73 trillion yen (£53.50 billion).  The company posted an operating loss for the period of 227.80 billion yen (£1.58 billion) leading to a net loss of 98.90 billion yen (£684.55 million).

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Atari's global operations will soon be narrowed down to the US only as Namco Bandai is reportedly set to acquire Atari Europe from parent company Infogrames next month.

Having already acquired a 34 percent stake in Atari Europe last year, Namco Bandai is now expected to purchase the remaining 66% of the company next month (reports MCV), when it will be swallowed up by the newly formed Distribution Partners (a.k.a. Namco Bandai Partners).

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Having been toppled from the s with the release of the outstandingly brilliant FIFA 09, it appears that Seabass and his team at Konami are taking things slightly more serious this season if the first screen from PES 2010 is anything to go by.

Showcasing Lionel Messi, it certainly seems as though the graphics engine has been given a complete overhaul to bring it closer to FIFA's level of visual prowess.  The game now supports dynamic lighting effects, along with player expressions, individual skin textures and different fabric weaves for the various shirts featured in the game.

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Ghostbusters has now gone through three separate publishers in its bid to reach the market following a deal between Sony and Atari that will bring the title to PS2 and PS3 initially, with a PSP version to follow.

This is according to gi.biz, which reports that Terminal Reality's game will now come to Sony's PS2 and PS3 exclusively on June 19th alongside the Blu-ray launch of the original films, while a PSP version of Ghostbusters is now planned for release several months later.

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If you're one of the few people not inspired by the change in the forthcoming Need for Speed: Shift, then news of two new DLC packages for Need for Speed: Undercover is likely to be

The first package, Challenge Series, is available for free and introduces 60 new challenges across two new game modes:  Highway Wars promises to blend Highway Battles and Sprint Racing, with players racing through congested highways against three AI opponents to become first across the line.  Highway Checkpoint is a race against time to make the next checkpoint before the timer runs out.

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Despite fourth quarter sales of 2008-09 dipping to 206 million euros (£184.54 million) from 217 million euros (£194.39 million) for the same period last year, Ubisoft managed to post full year sales of 1.06 billion euros (£949.56 million), representing an increase of 14% year-on-year.

A strong showing of Wii titles during Q4 ensured sales were inline with previous predictions for the French publisher, with sales of Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X also passing the million milestone during the period.

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Namco Bandai has announced that its premier fighting game franchises, Tekken and Soul Calibur, will both appear on Sony's PSP later this year with Tekken 6 in the autumn and Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny in the summer.

The PSP will now join the Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms that Tekken 6 has previously been slated for release on, with an IGN report specifying that this PSP version will feature ad hoc multiplayer for one-on-one fights and infrastructure support for players who want to upload ghosts online.

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The heavily rumoured new PSP is on track for an unveiling at E3, according to reports from 1UP quoting inside sources working close to the project.

Although 1UP reports that the PSP-4000, dubbed the PSP Go!, will feature a sliding mechanism and remove the much-maligned UMD drive, it appears that the model will be a revision of the existing hardware and not necessarily the sequel that was previously rumoured.

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Since Codemasters picked up the F1 rights we've had very little to go on.  However a report in motoring publication, AutoSport, has unleashed further details, confirming the fact that two games are actually in the pipeline.

Due for release later in the year, F1 2009 is currently in development for Wii and PSP.  This title will be followed next year with a version appearing on Xbox 360, PlayStation3, and PC.

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Following a record breaking year in both revenue and profit, UK retailer GAME has released details on the lifetime sales of the major formats in the country

It makes for a largely unsurprising read, with Wii leading the charge at 4.9 million units to-date since its launch back in December 2006.  Despite making an appearance beforehand, the Xbox 360 is in second spot with 3.2 million units, while the PlayStation3 has sold 1.9 million since March 2007.

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Comments: (343)

Handheld formats appear to be having a tough time in the fight against piracy.  The notorious R4 cartridge has long kept some DS gamers entertained with hours of pirated software, however it seems the PSP also has its problems despite Sony's regular firmware updates and hardware revisions.

Speaking to Gamasutra, SCEA's Peter Dille reveals that the third-party publishers were on the verge of pulling support for the beleaguered format completely and suggests that piracy is a considerable problem for developers and publishers.

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Avid Twitterer (is that the right colloquial phrase for one who Tweets?) Stephen Fry has revealed via the networking site that he's currently doing voice-over work for the sequel of a video game, strongly suspected to be a LittleBigPlanet title.

"Morning all. In studio today voicing 2nd edition of a video game. Will check when I'm there if I'm allowed to say what it is...," Fry said via Twitter.

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The Game Team Producer on Need For Speed: Shift, Jesse Abney, has detailed some of the car customisation elements in the game such as nitro boasts, as well as confirming the inclusion of drift events.

Despite a change in direction for the series in this year's game, with Shift putting the emphasis on realism and closed circuit racing, Abney has confirmed that some stalwart Need For Speed features will return in this year's game.

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Comments: (87)

Satoru Iwata and the naysayers of doom and gloom appeared to be right, as the release of March's NPD figures revealed a 17% drop in Wii sales for the month compared to last year.

Sales of Wii dropped to 601,000 units, representing the first decline in 14 months since supply issues hampered sales back in January 2008.  As a result of the drop, Nintendo's share price dropped by 6.6% to close at 26,180 yen, representing the biggest decline since February 2nd.

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Comments: (343)

Ken Kuturagi, Phil Harrison, Chris Deering... the original founding members behind PlayStation took another surprise departure today with confirmation that David Reeves SCEE President, CEO, Co-COO and Deputy President of SCEI will be standing down from his position.

Having joined SCEE back in 1995, Reeves is widely considered as establishing the PlayStation brand across Europe and establishing the region significance alongside North America and Japan.

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Comments: (757)

Nintendo today confirmed that the Wii MotionPlus peripheral will be available across the UK from June 12th... however the debut title Wii Sports Resort won't hit these shores until July 24th.

When plugged into a Wii Remote the MotionPlus peripheral provides a greater sense of motion sensing capabilities with compatible titles, of which only Wii Sports Resort, Virtua Tennis 2009, Grand Slam Tennis, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 have been announced so far. 

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Comments: (343)

The first Rock Band game for Sony's PSP, Rock Band Unplugged, will release in North America and Europe from June 9th and will retail in the UK at £24.99, EA and MTV Games have announced this afternoon.

The game, which is being developed by Harmonix in partnership with Backbone Entertainment, will feature the first in-game store for downloadable content on Sony's PSP, which will be powered by the PlayStation Network and is also accessible via PC.

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Japanese publisher Konami has officially announced PES 2010, which will be released on PS3, Xbox 360, PC, PSP, and PS2 this coming autumn and is set to improve on a number of the features in last year's title.

By making some new additions to PES Productions' backroom staff in Tokyo, Konami is now able to promise a greater commitment to providing downloadable content for PES 2010, a strategy that has been introduced this year with team license and transfer updates for PES 2009.

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Following recent sightings, Konami today officially lifted the wraps on Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, confirming a PS2 version in the process alongside the reported Wii and PSP titles.

A "re-imagining" of the original shares the twisting plot of the PSone title, .  Familiar characters will offer different responses and can be found in different locations, along with new clues and paths to be found through the adventure as Harry Mason attempts to find his missing daughter.

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It all seemed so plausible: a PSP version gets added to an ESRB rating for Atari's upcoming Ghostbusters: The Video Game, thereby handing the publisher a clean sweeping all platform title for one of its biggest releases of the year.

Not so fast, though, as the PSP listing has since been pulled from the ESRB's website and Atari has now told Eurogamer that any claims of a PSP version being in the works are just "not true".

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A string of new titles from THQ and rough release dates were recently spotted from a sheet during an investor's presentation, courtesy of Gamespot.

New titles slated to arrive during the current fiscal year (01/04/09 - 31/03/10) that we didn't know about are an untitled Marvel Superhero Squad title (with a follow up in the following fiscal year, and the year after that), a new Drawn to Life title along with SpongeBob's Tenth - presumably to celebrate his tenth anniversary.

Confirmed for fiscal year 2011 (01/04/10 - 31/03/11) are Saints Row 3, an untitled action title from Relic Entertainment, and a racing title, alongside the customary WWE, UFC, Drawn To Life and SpongeBob titles.  WWE Online could end up being focussed on the Asian markets like Company of Heroes Online.

During fiscal 2012 (01/04/11 - 31/03/12) we'll see the follow-up to the as-of-yet unreleased Red Faction: Guerrilla with the release of Red Faction 4, along with a Darksiders sequel and the long rumoured Warhammer 40k MMO.

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Rumours of a Silent Hill remake appear to have been spot on, with confirmation coming in the latest issue of Nintendo Power - well the Wii version at least, it's not like they're going to talk about the previously sighted PSP version.

Described as a "re-imagining" of the original, Nintendo Power suggests that although you'll still play as the original protagonist, Harry Mason, things will be significantly different to the 1999 Psone original.

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While Daxter may have appeared in his very own PSP spin-off a few years back, Sony has now announced that the first title to feature both the furry Ottsel and his partner Jak together on PSP will be Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier.

The game is heading to both Sony's handheld and the PS2, with SCEE pinning an autumn 2009 release window on the title at this stage.

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A listing on the ESRB website, the ratings board for games in the US, has added the PSP to its list of platforms for the upcoming Ghostbusters: The Video Game title from publisher Atari.

The PSP title is listed with the PlayStation 2 and Wii games, so we assume it must be the version under development at Red Fly Studio. Different versions of the game are also being developed by Zen Studios for DS, and Terminal Reality for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

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By way of an announcement for an animated movie tie-in of its Dante's Inferno game, EA has revealed that it expects the title to ship during 2010 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The game, which is based on Dante Alighieri's 14th century poem The Divine Comedy, will see players travelling through the nine circles of hell as Dante in search of his beloved Beatrice.

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Arguably the most impressive looking driving game for 2009 has been given what seems to be a rock-solid release date of September 18th 2009, when it will launch on the PS3, Xbox 360, PC, and PSP.

Alongside the announcement, EA also detailed a few features from the game such as one of the tracks (Brands Hatch), a few of the cars that will be in the final game (Pagani Zonda, Lotus Elise, and Porsche 911 GT2), as well as an exposition of the game's visual effects such as "perception based G-forces".

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Comments: (87)

It'll be no huge surprise to most gamers that Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 10 has been confirmed by EA, with the game preparing for its 12th round of golf since its inception in 1998.

As with last year, Tiger Woods 10 will be released on the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, and PSP. Once again, the DS and PC have not been included in the list, so we can only assume that EA has withdrawn the series from those two platforms.

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Having posted a teaser website last week, EA has officially announced that Rios and Salem are set to return in a sequel to last year's Army of Two. Avoiding the pitfalls of titling the game Army Of Two 2, the publisher has instead opted for Army of Two: The 40th Day.

Due for release this coming winter on the Xbox 360 and PS3, this sequel also marks a new outing for the series on Sony's PSP. Exactly how the game's co-op game mechanic will play-out on the handheld is unclear at this point, although we're hoping for plenty of ad-hoc integration.

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A recent listing on the BBFC website has added to the rumours that a Silent Hill remake is heading to Wii and PSP.

The listing of the game's cut-scenes references characters from the PSone original, including Harry, Alessa, Lisa and Cybil, leading us to believe this is a remake of the iconic 1999 survival/horror.

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We've known that a sequel to EA Montreal's buddy action blockbuster, Army of Two, has been on the cards for a little time.  So the appearance of a teaser site has fuelled recent rumours that the announcement will shortly be forthcoming.

There's few details to be garnished at this stage, although internet reports allude to an announcement next week.

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Sony UK has announced two milestones for its PS3 and PSP consoles, with the home console having sold 2 million units so far and the handheld pulling in 3 million unit sales in the region.

Ray Maguire, the Managing Director of Sony in the UK, spoke to MCV about the figures and was optimistic about the longevity of the PS3 going forward:

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Comments: (757)

The tiring debate surrounding a possible successor to the PSP, whether it's PSP2 or PSP-4000, took a further twist overnight as Sony's head of marketing went on the defence and Acclaim's David Perry continued his campaign to out the PSP2.

Speaking to the MTV Multiplayer blog, Sony's John Koller expressed his concerns over the sheer lack of PSP titles last year, but maintained that the hardware giant has spent the last 18 months actively touting the handheld's strengths to third-party publishers.

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Following a string of PSP new game announcements last week it appears that Sony's handheld resurgence is set to continue, with Joystiq suggesting a return for Kratos in a sequel to Chains of Olympus.

Citing inside sources, Joystiq maintains that Ready At Dawn is once again working on the sequel, which could possibly arrive in time alongside God of War III on the PS3 in 2010.

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You wait months and months for PSP news and then all of a sudden it seems barely a day goes by without one. 

If you missed out on Konami's big PSP titles then this is surely an offer not to be sniffed at, with confirmation of the release of two Konami 'double packs' for just £19.99.

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Comments: (13)

EA Sports has today confirmed two titles compatible with Nintendo's upcoming Wii MotionPlus dongle, which allows for 1:1 motion control.

The first, Tiger Woods PGA World Tour 10, is perhaps no surprise.  Featuring some of the world's greatest golfers and courses, World Tour 10's MotionPlus functionality will now mean that players won't be able to blame the restrictions of the Wii-remote.

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In a little over two years since its launch on November 11th 2006, Sony Computer Entertainment today announced that registered PlayStation Network accounts have surpassed 20 million.

The milestone has risen sharply in the years since its launch, which stood at 5 million users after the first 14 months and 10 million users in 20 months.  Today's figure exceeds Microsoft's recent total of 17 million Xbox Live accounts as of January 2009.

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Comments: (757)

Following on from confirmation that LittleBigPlanet and MotorStorm are to make appearances on the PSP in 2009, is news that MTV Games' Rock Band will also jump onto the Sony handheld in the form of 'Rock Band Unplugged'.

Although things are a little sketchy at the moment, several details about the title have been released from a number of online sources including Primotech.  Sounding suspiciously like cult PlayStation 2 rhythm title Amplitude (which was developed by MTV Games subsidiary Harmonix), Rock Band Unplugged's tracks will be broken up into musical phrases played via the PSP's face buttons.  Players can jump from instrument to instrument with the shoulder buttons, though they run the risk of leaping too early and losing their multiplier bonus in the process.

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Long rumoured, PSP versions of LittleBigPlanet and MotorStorm have today been confirmed by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

Causing ecological damage will be MotorStorm: Arctic Edge, taking the arcade racer to an all new latitude in 2009.  In development at BigBig Studios, the handheld outshoot of MotorStorm's Evolution Studios, Arctic Edge will include six classes of vehicles, new vehicles (the snowcat and snow machine), together with a single-player campaign and online multiplayer for up to eight players over Ad Hoc and Infrastructure modes.  The game will also get a home console release on PlayStation 2.

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News from Codemasters' Gamers Day event in San Francisco has percolated through to TVG, revealing launch windows for FUEL, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, Colin McRae: DiRT 2, Jumpgate Evolution, and the publisher's second wave of Overlord games.

On the driving game side of things, FUEL and DiRT 2 are scheduled for releases in May and September respectively, with both games being pinned down for release on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC (as well as handheld outings for DiRT 2 on PSP and Nintendo DS).

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The legal wrangling between Epic Games and Silicon Knights may have disappeared under the radar in recent months, but it seems that a fresh studio vs. studio battle is brewing ever stronger. A day after SimBin Studios confirmed it was looking into the possibility of legal action against Slightly Mad Studios, for alleged 'certain statements made by Slightly Mad Studios that we [SimBin] find to be incorrect, misleading and has a negative impact on our reputation,' the London-based outfit has responded with a statement of its own.

Released to US industry site Gamasutra, the statement was made by Slightly Mad Studios' chief Ian Bell, one of the founders of SimBin before later setting up Blimey! Games, which went into administration back in January.

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The Swedish studio behind Atari's upcoming RACE Pro on Xbox 360, SimBin Studios, has today released a statement revealing that it's currently considering legal action against UK outfit, Slightly Mad Studios.

Slightly Mad has recently been revealed as the outfit currently working on Need for Speed: Shift for Electronic Arts, and is made up of “the core development team on the critically acclaimed and multiple award-winning GTR - FIA GT Racing Game, it’s successor GTR2, and the classic sports car racing game, GT Legends,” according to its website.

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Comments: (87)

Sony Computer Entertainment today announced that sell-in rates for the PSP have passed the 50 million mark worldwide. 

Yet another term to muddy the waters, 'sell-in' refers to units that have been passed onto retailers, but doesn't necessarily indicate the total number of units sold.

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Comments: (30)

Go, Joe! Not only is the veteran of many American toy wars set to sidle up to the silver screen later this year, but he'll also have his very own movie tie-in game published by EA to boot.

The game is due for release this summer alongside the movie, which comes to theatres on August 7th 2009, and EA plans to publish the game across all major home consoles and handheld systems.

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Electronic Arts has today confirmed that a new mode for FIFA 09, 'FIFA 09 Ultimate Team', will be available to download from Xbox Live and PlayStation Network from March 19th.

Sounding like a crazy cross between Fantasy Football and Magic: The Gathering, FIFA 09 Ultimate Team will give players the opportunity to collect virtual playing cards, create the ultimate starting line up of footballers, add tactics and managerial prowess, and them test them out against the dream teams of other players online.

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Comments: (126)

With the release of its latest financial reports for the nine-month period ended December 31st 2008, SEGA-Sammy became the latest Japanese publisher to suffer from the global credit crunch and the impact of the strong Yen.

Despite posting a 15.4% decrease in net sales to 309.02 billion yen (£2.29 billion) from 342.09 billion yen (£2.54 billion) in the previous year and a resulting operating loss of 2.76 billion yen (£20.47 million), SEGA-Sammy managed to reduce its overall net loss to 10.84 billion yen (£80.39 million) from 15.77 billion yen (£116.95 million) in the nine-month period from the previous year.

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The appearance of a Transformers video game return to coincide with this year's Hollywood sequel was probably one of the least surprising entries from a marketing research leak last year: good sales of the original? Check; this summer's movie blockbuster? Check; generic, low-risk game design? ... Check.

So confirmation from Activision of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is hardly going to astonish, neither is the fact it's coming out on virtually every format imaginable.

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Capcom counted the cost of not waging into the Christmas chaos with net sales down to 47.22 billion yen (£360.37 million) for the nine-month period ended December 31st 2008, a reduction of 8.6% compared to the same period in the previous year.  Operating income fell by 57.2% to 2.61 billion yen (£19.92 million) largely as a result of the strong yen, while net income plunged by 95% year-on-year to 179 million yen (£1.37 million).

Beyond the issues surrounding the exchange rate and the lack of high profile releases, Capcom attributed the drop to "slacking performance" of its arcade operations and contents expansion business, but remained optimistic that Resident Evil 5, Street Fighter IV, and Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop will ensure Capcom meets the full year expectations that were posted in May 2008.  As a result Capcom's forecast for the full year ending March 31st 2009 remains at net sales of 95.30 billion yen (£727.30 million), an operating income of 14.60 billion yen (£112.32 million) and net income of 8.6 billion yen (£65.63 million).

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Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has today confirmed three new PSP colours for the territory, due to launch this month and March.

Two of the colours, exotically described by SCEE as 'Mystic Silver' and 'Pearl White', will launch in the UK before the end of February, with the third colour (Radiant Red) set to arrive in March.  Mystic Silver had been planned to form part of the PSP-3000's launch last October, but it seems that only 'Piano Black' made it to stores.

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Californian publisher THQ has today confirmed losses of over $191 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2009, which ended on December 31st 2008, despite the launch of several 'high-quality' titles like Saints Row 2 and WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2009.

News of the net losses comes as THQ revealed that net sales also dropped during the three-month period, from $509 million in the third quarter of FY 2008, to $357 million.

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It's another week atop the UK Charts for Wii Fit, which has now notched up three weeks on the trot at No.1 and eight total weeks atop the charts since it was released last spring.

Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty: World at War is refusing to let go of No.2, hanging on for the fifth week running despite an 11% drop in sales over the last week. Having spent 12 weeks on the charts in total, the game has never dropped below No.2, enjoying six of these weeks at No.1.

The only new entry into the top 10 this week is Need For Speed: Undercover, which re-entered at No.10 and pushed another EA title, The Lord of the Rings: Conquest, into No.11 from No.5 last week.

The remaining seven games in the top 10 were also there last week, although all but one of them have swapped positions. FIFA 09 moves up one place to No.3, Professor Layton jumps from No.10 to No.4, while Skate 2 drops two places to No.5.

The bottom half of the top ten is then made up of Mario Kart Wii at No.6 (up two places), Wii Play at No.7 (down one), My Fitness Coach at No.8 (also down one), and then Tomb Raider: Underworld holding its No.9 position from last week.

Those are the figures for Chart Track's all formats chart, which calculates the total sales for a game across all the platforms it was released on. The individual formats chart, which calculates sales for the individual SKUs of each game, reveals that Microsoft's Xbox 360 is the best represented console on the chart this week with 13 games in the top 40:

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After years of failing to deliver on its glory days, Electronic Arts has today confirmed that the Need for Speed franchise is undergoing a dramatic overhaul in 2009, with three titles arriving before the end of the year.

The revelation, which comes off the back of further staff cuts from the publishing giant, will see Need for Speed become a sim on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, a casual racer on Wii and Nintendo DS, and a PC online racer.

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Sony Corporation has today published its financial performance during the third quarter of the current fiscal year, which ran from October 1st to December 31st 2008.

Announcing an operating loss of 18 billion Yen (£140 million), down from an operating income of over 230 billion Yen (£1.79 billion) year-on-year, the Corporation blamed several key factors, including an appreciation of the Yen, the current global financial crisis, and intensified price competition.

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Comments: (757)

Never underestimate the selling power of fitness products during the bloated month of January, as Wii Fit has proved for Nintendo by staying atop the UK charts for the second week running with a 21% rise in sales.

Even though Wii Fit has visited the top spot seven times since it was released last April, this is the first time that the balance board aided phenomenon has managed to hold on to No.1 for more than a single week.

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Ubisoft has confirmed a raft of titles for the 2009/10 fiscal year, which runs from this April to the end of March 2010, including follow-ups to Ghost Recon, Assassin's Creed, and the long-awaited return of Splinter Cell.  News of the games came off the back of the publisher's latest financial results, which saw sales slightly higher than past forecasts of 500 million Euros.

Several of the publisher's big name titles in the fiscal third quarter (Oct-Dec 2008) enjoyed a strong showing at retail, including sales of 2.9 million units of Far Cry 2, 2.3 million units for Shaun White Snowboarding, and 1.5 million units for Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party.  The Prince of Persia reboot sold 2.2 million units globally, representing a slower up take than Ubisoft had anticipated.

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As widely reported last week, Sony today revised its results forecast for the year ended March 31st 2009, confirming the company's first operating loss in 14 years.

The expected 260 billion yen (£2.10 billion) loss for the year is considerably larger than the 98.28 billion yen (£792.09 million) deficit predicted by financial analysts and the media last week.  The loss is attributed to sliding demand for Sony projects and a stronger yen, which has affected Japan's export industry - and we can't imagine consumer electronics proving too popular amongst Japan's ageing population.

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Nintendo's Wii Fit has returned to the No.1 spot for the fifth time since it was released in April 2008, uprooting last week's top scorer (FIFA 09) on the UK all formats chart and holding off the threat of Call of Duty: World at War, which stands fast at No.2.

An 18% rise in sales is responsible for Wii Fit's triumphant rise from No.4 last week and it'll be interesting to see whether the title can stay at No.1 next week. Even though it's held the top spot five times previously, Wii Fit has never managed to hold on to the position for more than a week.

With only 2,500 unit sales separating the top three games in this week's chart, staying at No.1 next week will be no mean feat for Nintendo's balance board aided exercise game. As well as CoD's seemingly unrelenting chart run to contend with, Wii Fit will also have to fend off the highest new entry this week with EA's Lord of the Rings: Conquest at No.3.

FIFA 09 has done a direct swap with Wii Fit, moving from No.1 to No.4 this week, while Wii Play is a non-mover at No.5. The rest of the top 10 retains some of the same faces as last week, while two re-entries to the sharp end of the chart have also appeared, according to Chart Track's week 3 figures for 2009.

Take 2's Carnival: Funfair Games comes in at No.9 (from No.11 last week), while Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training refuses to exit the top 40 gracefully having been on the market for a year and a half, jumping from No.13 to No.10 over the last week.

Need For Speed: Undercover, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, and Guitar Hero: World Tour all hold on to top 10 spots at No.6, No.7, and No.8 respectively. While Mario & Sonic is a non-mover, NFSU and GHWT both drop places.

A pair of shooters return to the top 40 this week, with Halo 3 (No.29) and Resistance 2 (No.39) both posting new entries on the chart. The biggest chart jump in the top 40 goes to Rockstar's GTA IV. Thanks to a price promotion, the title enjoyed a 26% rise in sales and moved from No.33 to No.18.

Despite the PC release of Mirror's Edge this week, this couldn't stop EA's faltering parkour runabout dropping four places from No.23 to No.27 due to a 38% drop in sales.

According to Chart Track's top 40 by individual formats, the Xbox 360 has once again achieved the highest number of games on the chart, while the PC still trails with one game and the PSP fails to chart a single title on the top 40.

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FIFA 09 has beaten out Activision's Call of Duty: World At War once again this week, making it the only game in Chart Track's all formats UK chart to sit on the No.1 spot so far this year.

However, the gap in sales between CoD and FIFA 09 went from small to minute over the last week, shrinking from 5,000 to just 400 units.

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Comments: (126)

It's been a long two years since we first laid eyes on the tech demo that was Indiana Jones at E3'06.  Since then we've heard virtually nothing on the title as LucasArts concentrated on mastering the power of NatrualMotion's Euphoria and Pixelux' Digital Molecular Matter in Star Wars: Force Unleashed

Depending on which side of the US reports you wish to sit, Indiana Jones has either been quietly cancelled according to IGN, or, alternatively, Joystiq reports a LucasArts representative stating:

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Having opened its doors at the end of last year, Home now has 3.4 million registered users according to Sony, with $1 million (£650,000) being spent on virtual goods by users of the service so far.

The electronics giant revealed this first raft of Home stats at its keynote address to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, while re-iterating news from last year of 17 million unique users now populating its PlayStation Network, making for a 20% attach rate for Home at this point.

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Comments: (757)

On top of beating out Call of Duty: World at War for the Christmas No.1 spot and returning to the top of the UK charts for the first week of 2009, EA's FIFA 09 has sold over 2 million units so far in the UK alone, making it the fastest selling FIFA game in the series' history.

"The studio created a game that appeals to everyone. We've listened to our consumers and delivered the game they wanted with rich gameplay and innovation," EA's Marketing Manager in the UK, Dan Holman, told MCV before adding: "We have now sold in excess of 2 million in the UK making it the fastest selling FIFA title to date."

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Comments: (126)

Following the launch of the Escalation Pack last December, Ubisoft has today confirmed the release of the 'Faction Elite Pack' for Tom Clancy's EndWar.

The DLC, which costs 300 Microsoft Points or 3.99 Euros from the PlayStation Network, features new battalions and unit upgrades including the JSF 15th Special Operations, Ceramic Armour, and Caseless Ammo.

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It may have been inadvertent, but Sony Pictures has today revealed that Atari's recently acquired ex-Sierra title, Ghostbusters: The Video Game, will launch simultaneously with the 1984 movie's release on Blu-Ray.

Featuring a new storyline written by creators Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, the video game had originally been pencilled in for a late 2008 launch, but was dropped following the merger between Activision and Vivendi Games.

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After pinching the Christmas No.1 spot from right under the nose of Call of Duty: World at War last year, FIFA 09 has retaken the top spot on Chart Track's UK charts for the first week of 2009.

EA's footie juggernaut dropped back to the No.2 spot behind CoD last week after spending the Christmas week at No.1, but now sits atop the chart for the first week of 2009 despite a 41% drop in sales. 

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Comments: (126)

Activision's Call of Duty: World at War has once again shown why it's the 3-1 favourite to retain the Christmas number 1 spot on Chart Track's UK all format sales chart, with this week's chart bringing the shooter in at the top of the pile for the fifth week running.

While the Christmas number 1 will be crowned with next week's chart results, CoD: World at War's refusal to budge from the top spot for the last five weeks would make it the longest running, uninterrupted, chart topping run-in for Christmas number 1 in Chart Track history, if it were to retain the spot next week.

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Although we already knew that a Dante's Inferno game was in the works, EA has now sent out official word on the project being developed at its Redwood Shores studio.

Billed as a third-person action adventure, Dante's Inferno will draw its inspirations from the 14th century poetic masterpiece by Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy.

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Ubisoft has today announced the first downloadable content for Tom Clancy's EndWar, alongside a second title update which will add four versus four multiplayer gameplay.

Called the 'Escalation Pack', the content includes four new missions set in all-new locations across the game world, together with new unit upgrades, and ten new achievements/trophies.  The new missions are the Siege of the Kursk Firebase (Ukraine), the Assault on Devon beach (England), the Raid on Rota naval base (Spain) and the Conquest of Dorsey Knob (USA, West Virginia).

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Comments: (42)

Raven Software is fast becoming Activision's “Marvel Universe” studio, with news that the outfit is currently working on an adaptation of the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie, which is due to arrive in spring 2009.

The studio, which thankfully hasn't fully cut its illustrious to the first-person shooter genre by also working on the upcoming Wolfenstein, has become increasingly tied to the Marvel characters in recent years, having produced both X-Men: Legends titles, as well as X-Men: Ultimate Alliance.

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As part of a measure to address the current financial slump, Sony has announced plans to cut 8,000 jobs from its electronic division, representing 5% of the workforce.

Sony aims to cut costs by 100bn yen by the end of the next financial year, which along with the job cuts will also be assisted by shutting down 10% of its 57 manufacturing sites and cutting investment in its electronic operations by 30%.

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Comments: (757)

The favourite for the Christmas number 1 spot this year, Activision's Call of Duty: World Art War, has fanned its own flames once again by sitting atop the UK Charts (according to Chart Track's all format figures) for the fourth week running.

Despite suffering a 15% sales drop this week on top of a 30% drop the previous week, it seems CoD 5 is still way ahead of the competition. The Second World War shooter has now sold 1 million units in half the time it took CoD 4 to reach the same milestone in the UK.

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Leading US executives recently shared their thoughts on the current global financial crisis at the Reuters Media Summit, including opinions from the video games industry.

Signalling his displeasure at the term "financial crisis" hitting headlines on a daily basis, Strauss Zelnick, chairman of Take Two Interactive, offered a perplexing emergency room analogy of the current situation:

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Sony and the Imagination Technologies Group may be working together on a second generation PSP or "PSP2", according to some fairly unsubstantiated rumour that's been floating around the net today.

Of course, Sony has been quick to dismiss the rumour as just that: "rumour and speculation". Given the source of the news (an article that uses phrases such as "word on the street"), we can hardly blame the electronics giant for such a defence.

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Fans of Gran Turismo waiting for the fabled PSP version to emerge have had a long, tough period to endure, however it finally seems as though some details have become apparent... just don't expect too much.

Speaking to IGN, Polyphony's Kazunori Yamauchi provided an update on Gran Turismo 5 for the PS3:

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Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has slapped a "no comment on rumour and speculation" surrounding a reported leak of a recent internal briefing.

Reports from an alleged "well placed" source indicated that SCEE President David Reeves took to the stage to suggest that the PS3 will be more "more competitive" in terms of pricing from March 2009 onwards.  Reeves also reportedly promised technical innovations for both the PS3 and PSP; however details on these were not forthcoming.

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UK developer/publisher Codemasters has today confirmed the development of Colin McRae: DiRT 2 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Nintendo DS, Wii, and PSP.  Due to arrive in 2009, DiRT 2 is the first instalment in the decade-long franchise since the death of McRae back in September 2007.

Announcing the sequel, Gavin Raeburn, senior executive producer at Codemasters Studios, said: "Colin McRae was all about the speed, the excitement and the entertainment of rally driving. Even when we first worked with him over ten years ago, he captured a freedom and a spirit that enthralled rally fans...Later his showmanship shone through in events such as the X-games, the Dakar Rally and the Race of Champions. He could do things with a car that no one else would and that's where we're taking the series with new events at the extreme edge of rally and autosport. It will be a great tribute to an incredible champion."

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This week's Chart Track data is in, revealing surprises that make this season's Premiership look predictable. Most notably, on its way to the number one spot on the UK charts, Treyarch's Call of Duty: World at War has doubled the week one sales figures of CoD4 on next-gen consoles and PC.

A larger installed base of Xbox 360 and PS3 owners could go some way to explaining this, although it'll be interesting to see whether World at War has the staying power in the charts that CoD4 did. Infinity Ward's title returned to the number one spot during the Christmas week last year, while World at War is currently the favourite for Christmas No.1 this year.

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Following today's release of Football Manager 2009 it seems that SEGA and SI have endured a few teething problems, with registration issues circulating around the title.

SEGA has quickly responded with the foll9owing statement, which should hopefully ease some of the frustration felt by FM addicts waiting to check out the 3D match engine:

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Following Activision Blizzard's decision that Ghostbusters: The Videogame didn't have enough sequel possibility and couldn't be squeezed for every last penny, Atari today confirmed that it has picked up the title from development limbo.

Working closely with Sony Pictures and Terminal Reality, the all-new storyline penned by original Ghostbusters writers Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd, takes place two years after Ghostbusters 2.  Re-uniting the cast of the original, the game features the voice talent of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson along with their likenesses.

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Speaking in a post earnings report conference call, Activision Blizzard's CEO Bobby Kotick has defended the company's decision to sell off Vivendi projects such as Ghostbusters, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, and The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena following last year's Activision and Vivendi merger.

"There were a lot of different projects and businesses that we identified as not likely to achieve the profit margin potential that we look for," Kotick said while fielding a question on the matter.

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Ubisoft has today released a demo for Tom Clancy's EndWar onto the PS3's PlayStation Network, just over a fortnight after a demo landed onto the Xbox 360 Marketplace.  A taster of what gamers can expect when the full game arrives at retail on Friday (North American gamers can get involved from today), EndWar is the fourth franchise from the Clancy umbrella after Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six, and Ghost Recon.

Featuring a control system largely reliant on voice control and production headed by former Total War supremo Michael de Plater, EndWar is a new take on crafting RTS titles on the consoles, and sees the US, Europe, and Russia battle it out across forty locations around the three continents.

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Fancy a journey into the nine circles of hell? If EA have got anything to do with it, you'll be able to make that epic voyage from the comfort of your very own home and at the foot of your shiny games console.

According to a Variety report, Universal Studios has agreed on a deal with EA that gives the company film rights to an as yet unannounced Dante's Inferno game under production at EA.

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Atari has announced that it has picked up the publishing and distribution rights for The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, which is set for release during the spring of 2009 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Initially billed as a remake of the cult classic film tie-in game, Escape from Butcher Bay, Assault on Dark Athena is now set to offer a new chapter to the Riddick saga as well as online multiplayer and remade content from the 2004 Xbox and PC game.

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Following on from a similar deal between Citroen and Gran Turismo, Electronic Arts has today confirmed that the new Nissan 370Z will be making an appearance in Need for Speed Undercover.

Due to arrive across North America on November18th, the latest Need for Speed will feature the new model the day before the 370Z makes its unveiling at the Los Angeles Auto Show.  The European release of Undercover is due on November 21st.

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SEGA and Sports Interactive have announced that Football Manager 2009 has now gone gold, while the developer/publisher team has also revealed system requirements and demo details for this year's version of gaming's premier football management sim.

So, without further ado, here are the requirements that will determine whether you can run the all-new 3D match engine, or if you'll miss out on promotion and be left with the usual 2D engine: 

PC:

• OS: Windows XP or Vista
• Processor: XP: 1.4GHz or Faster / Vista: 2.0GHz or Faster
• Supported Processors: Intel Pentium 4, Intel Core, AMD Athlon
• Memory: XP: 512MB RAM / Vista: 1.0GB RAM
• Hard Drive Space: 2GB
• DVD-Drive: 4x Speed
• Video Card: 128MB *Supported Chipsets (see below)
• Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible
• Directx: Version 9.0c (included)
• LAN: TCP/IP compliant
• Input: Keyboard, Mouse

 
*Supported Chipsets - Nvidia FX 5900 Ultra or greater; ATI Radeon 9800 or greater; Intel 82915G/82910GL or greater.

Earlier cards may only display 2D Match Viewer Mode and are not supported. Laptop versions of these chipsets may work but are not supported.

MAC:

• Intel Processor, OS X 10.5.5, NVIDIA GeForce 7300 / ATI X1600 Radeon, 1GB System RAM.

Details for this year's demos were also announced, with Sports Interactive issuing the usual 'strawberry' and 'vanilla' options.

The 'strawberry' demo includes player pictures and team badges, as well as the ability to play in multiple leagues and countries from outside the UK. All the usual language translations are also on offer in this version, which will be available for download from November 2nd on Steam and via the SI website.

As the name suggests, 'vanilla' is a plain demo without any trimmings for a speedier download. Also available on November 2nd, this version will be distributed from the News of the World website and contains only English and Scottish leagues with no player pictures or club badges.

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Ubisoft has announced that EndWar, one of the most highly anticipated RTS games this year, is coming to the handhelds alongside its release on the Xbox 360 and PS3 this November 7th.

This news comes less than three weeks before the title is due to be launched, although the PSP and DS versions will not feature the same real-time strategy and voice command system that the next-gen versions do. Instead, developer Funatics Software has built strategy gameplay that is both turn-based and has simultaneous move and attack phases.

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Days ahead of launching in North America, EA Sports has confirmed that FIFA 09 has become the fastest selling instalment in the football franchise ever.

Since it launched across Europe last week, over 1.2 million copies of the game have been sold, becoming number one in several charts, including the UK, Ireland, and Denmark.

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Reports from the Tokyo Game Show are suggesting that the first game to use Sony's patented PSP Plus technology (that allows gamers to link a DualShock 3 or SIXAXIS controller to their PSP) will be Resistance: Retribution.

Gamers will have to have a copy of Resistance 2 in their PS3 to switch on the feature (reports Kotaku), but once it's initiated players will be able to enjoy rumble support and an extra analogue stick with the game's assisted aiming turned off.

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It appears that Sony is setting themselves up to conquer the Tokyo Game Show, with details from Famitsu suggesting that a wealth of new titles will be announced at the show.

Famitsu suggests that 40 titles will be on display for both the PlayStation3 and PSP across the show, with 9 unannounced titles on the PS3 and 3 unannounced PSP titles coming from SCEJ.

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Scheduled to arrive on an array of platforms in just a few weeks, Konami has today confirmed that a one-year sponsorship deal has been reached with Setanta Sports for the UK edition of Pro Evolution Soccer 2009.

Featured in game on stadium boards, together with the UK official PES Rankings website for the game, the deal comes just weeks after it was confirmed PES 2009 includes the official license to the UEFA Champions League.

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Konami has today revealed the line up of licensed clubs featured in the upcoming Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, which is heading to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation in just a few weeks time.

We already know that Manchester United and Liverpool are there, but the publisher has announced the likes of FC Porto, Inter Milan (but seemingly not AC Milan), Zenit St. Petersburg, and Barcelona. In addition, the Dutch Eredivisie and the French Ligue 1 will be featured in their entirety.

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LucasArts has today confirmed global first week sales for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, with the latest title from the 'House that George Built' topping 1.5 million copies - a record for any Star Wars game, and a record for LucasArts as a company.

The game, which sheds light on Darth Vader's secret apprentice between the events of Episode III and Episode IV, had proved something of a challenge for LucasArts. The internal studio had to deal with the technological challenge of getting three third-party middleware products, Digital Molecular Matter, Euphoria, and Havok Physics, to work together and deliver what their 'next-gen' vision for the famed brand.

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With most of Sony's established franchises having already made the jump from the PlayStation to its portable younger brother (e.g. Killzone, Ratchet and Clank, and Resistance coming next year), it only makes sense that MotorStorm will also make the jump at some point.

According to a slightly sparse directory on retailer GAME's website, such a project may already be underway. The directory lists MotorStorm for PSP as TBC, although the short product description has been ripped from a press release of last year's PS3 game.

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Pro Evolution Soccer will be the new home for Champions League football with confirmation that PES 2009 will be the first title in the series to feature Europe's premiere competition.

In a swoop of Robinho proportions, Konami have grabbed the license from under EA's nose following last year's reasonable adaptation. The agreement grants Konami a four-year deal, allowing Seabass' team to use all elements and attributes to create an exclusive Champions League mode within the game.

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Rumblings emanating from the GameStop Expo. In Las Vegas are suggesting that LucasArts' next-gen Indiana Jones game (originally shown at an E3 2006 tech demo with very few details surfacing since) will be revealed next week and is set for a 2009 release.

This news comes from 1up, with further details alleging that the Xbox 360 and PS3 game will use Star Wars: The Force Unleashed's game engine.

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A day after Electronic Arts confirmed that the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince had been delayed to summer 2009 (thanks to the decision by Warner Bros. to push the movie into next year), an SEC filing has emerged showing how much the move has cost the publisher in the current financial year.

Originally scheduled to arrive on all platforms in November, the delayed start to the boy wizard's sixth year at Hogwarts is costing EA a little bit more than the average public school fees...to the tune of $120 million.

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This is for all you PSP-owning Yu-Gi-Oh fans - the card-battle franchise is making another return in November, in the form of 'Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force 3'.

Heading to Sony's handheld once more thanks to Konami, Tag Force 3 features 3,500 cards to collect based on the brand's latest set of battle-card, together with a simplified interface. Improvements have also been made to the game's AI, which Konami states will "...adapt to the way the game flows".

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After much speculation, Electronic Arts has today confirmed that the videogame adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been pushed back to summer 2009, to coincide with the recently delayed movie.

Originally planned for a late 2008 release, Warner Bros. decided to delay the release of the sixth instalment to ensure a summer blockbuster from the Hollywood studio.

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SEGA and Sports Interactive have announced that there will be a 3D match engine in Football Manager 2009. The title is due out on PC/Mac and PSP this November 14th in what will be the biggest expansion in the series' history.

As if that wasn't enough, the handheld version of FM on PSP will inherit a 2D match engine similar to the one enjoyed by the PC game over the last few years. These were the highlights from Sports Interactive's grand reveal of this year's game in London last night.

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Somewhat out of the blue, Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings has turned up as a 16+ rated game on PEGI's site. The game will be published by Activision in Europe (which usually handles LucasArts' games in the territory) for DS and PSP, although neither outlet has released any information on the title to date.

The gaming press at large is currently speculating that Staff of Kings could be linked to an Indiana Jones game that was originally revealed at E3 2006 as a tech demo of Pixelux's Digital Molecule Matter and NaturalMotion's Euphoria technology.

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Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has today revealed that a new version of the PSP will be heading to gamers from October for 199 Euros.

The announcement was made during SCEE's conference at the Leipzig Game Convention, and confirmed recent online speculation. The new model, which matches the same trim design of the current Slim & Lite, includes a built-in microphone (perfect for those Skype calls) and an improved screen that allows for better performance in natural light conditions.

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As the football season begins in earnest, Konami has today revealed two new modes (for the Western market at least) for Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, which is due to arrive this autumn for most platforms...and 2009 on Wii.

Alongside the usual barrage of promises that physics and animations, have all been improved - the LED billboards immediately spring to mind - the publisher has also lifted the lid on 'Become a Legend', a new mode for PES gamers in the West.

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They may be still working on the Cold War instalment in their Codename Panzers franchise, but that hasn't stopped Hungarian outfit Stormregion from developing a secondary project for the PSP.

A turn-based strategy title called Mytran Wars, the handheld sci-fi game sees players fight over the natural resources of a distant planet in a series battles against defending extraterrestrials.

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Following a poor performance last fiscal year, SEGA-Sammy today reported a net loss of ¥10.53 billion (£49.84 million) for fiscal Q1 period ended June 30th 2008. During the three-month period SEGA-Sammy recorded net sales of ¥74.60 billion (£353.08 million) compared with ¥95.42 billion (£451.62 million) in the same period last year, leading to an operating loss of ¥10.29 billion (£48.70 million) in contrast to an operating loss of ¥2.43 billion (£11.50 million) in the same period last year.

SEGA-Sammy attributed the poor performance to continued uncertainty surrounding the Japanese economy, blaming the food and fuel crisis for causing global instability. The number of pachinko parlours and players continues to drop, which is a key element to SEGA-Sammy business strategy, as a result of the new legislation forcing models to meet new standards. The sector recorded ¥12.29 billion (£58.17 million) in net sales, resulting in an operating loss of ¥4.35 billion (£20.59 million).

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Without a Final Fantasy VII update in sight, attendees at Square-Enix' DKΣ3713 event had little beyond updated trailers, piles of memorabilia, and the promise of a Final Fantasy XIII demo on the blu-ray release of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children to stir any genuine excitement.

Nevertheless, confirmation that the previously mobile phone exclusives, Final Fantasy XIII: Agito and The 3rd Birthday (Parasite Eve 3), would be appearing on the PSP also took place.

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Previously announced for practically every format, Konami has today confirmed that Wii owners will have to wait until next year before they get their hands on Pro Evolution Soccer 2009.

Other gamers, namely those on the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PC, and PSP, will only have to wait until this autumn.

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MCV today brings word that FIFA 09 will launch shortly after the customary late September timeframe, on October 3rd 2008.

Boasting over 250 improvements from last year's version, including a 20-player online mode, improved shooting, ball physics, and AI, FIFA 09 has already begun to mount a strong challenge ahead of the new season kick off against Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 09.

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Following in the aftermath of the Vivendi Games merger, Activision today announced plans to absorb a number of Vivendi's brands into its own catalogue and take a close look at the publisher's internal studios.

Brands now falling underneath the Activision banner include videogame stalwarts Crash Bandicoot and Spyro, Radical Entertainment's Prototype, Ice Age and an unannounced original IP.

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Daniel Craig's second outing as James Bond at the silver screen will be joined simultaneously with its videogame adaptation, as Activision has today confirmed an end of October launch for the publisher's debut 007 title.

The Quantum of Solace videogame, which takes in the events of the new Bond adventure together with predecessor Casino Royale, is set to hit the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PS2, Wii, Nintendo DS, and PC on October 31st (the same day as the movie), according to UK trade mag, MCV.

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Sony has unveiled the first outing of Resistance on the PSP. Resistance: Retribution will swap the home console series' FPS perspective with a third person action adventure style and will be released during the spring of 2009.

Insomniac (which is responsible for the PS3 games) will not be developing this spin-off as development responsibilities have been handed to SCEA Bend Studio. The studio's previous work on the Syphon Filter series puts it in a prime position to craft a third person shooter for the PSP, with Dark Mirror and Logan's Shadow being two of the best examples of their genre on Sony's handheld.

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Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Sky today announced the launch of Go!View, the first video-on-demand service for the handheld format.

Available as of today in the UK and Republic of Ireland, Go!View brings a host of video content spanning TV shows, movies, and sports, through agreements with broadcasters including Disney-ABC-ESPN Television, BBC Worldwide, Sony Pictures Television International, NBC Universal International Television Distribution, National Geographic and Sky Sports.

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During the late 1980's and early 1990's one company ruled supreme in the PC gaming stakes, the Dallas based Apogee Software.

Widely responsible for establishing the shareware model, the mighty Duke Nukem, and offshoot label 3D Realms (which quickly became its official face), Apogee today sent word of its own resurrection with the revival of several brands and all-new licenses.

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European gamers may only have managed to lead the tribe of Patapon a few months ago, but it looks like more button-tapping shenanigans will be heading to the PSP in the not-too-distant-future.

In an interview with Weekly Famitsu magazine, translated by US-based 1UP, Patapon designer Hiroyuki Kotani has confirmed that a sequel is already in the works, with a Japanese release date sometime this winter. Not only adding new features like a 'Hero' Patapon, which will play a central role in strengthening the tribal army, Patapon 2 is also set to include co-operative multiplayer gameplay for up to four players.

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Previously expected in September, Take Two Interactive has today confirmed a revised release date for Rockstar Games' Midnight Club: Los Angeles of October 7th and 10th in North America and Europe respectively.

The fourth instalment in the street racing franchise is currently in development at Rockstar's San Diego studio, with the PSP version (Midnight Club: LA Remix) being tinkered with at Rockstar London. The fact that the handheld version is being handled in the capital leaves questions over what Rockstar's traditional potable powerhouse in Leeds is working on.

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With recent reports alleging that Microsoft is looking to introduce a motion-sensitive Minority Report eqsue interface to the Xbox 360, TVG today fortuitously stumbled across some interesting information on the company reported to be helping with the task.

Kotaku reports that Microsoft are allegedly working in conjunction with a design agency named Schematic to bring a fancy Sci-Fi update to the Xbox 360 dash.

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It's release this year was never in doubt, but Electronic Arts has today revealed details on FIFA 09, the upcoming instalment in the annual football franchise due for launch later in the autumn.

In development at EA's Vancouver studio, FIFA 09's multi-platform launch will see features tailored to the strengths of each platform, together with the promise of greater gameplay realism.

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Japanese publisher Konami has just confirmed the next instalment in the much loved Pro Evolution Soccer series. PES 2009 will be released this autumn on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, PS2, and PSP.

The announcement blurb included the usual list of promises such as improved graphics, enhanced controls, new moves, and "key online elements". If the screens accompanying the press release are anything to go by, then PES 2009 certainly looks set to deliver on the visual improvements at the very least.

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Sony Computer Entertainment UK's Product Manager, Claire Backhouse, has confirmed that a sequel to LocoRoco is on the way for the PSP. LocoRoco 2 is scheduled for release on Sony's handheld later this year.

Backhouse revealed the sequel in an interview with MCV, although an exact shipping date wasn't mentioned.

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Continuing the waves of information that have sprung forth from the Intellisponse leak, further details on additional Activision titles have come to light.

Revealing that Tony Hawk's reinvention on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 will take shape in the form of Tony Hawk's Huck Jam or Tony Hawk's Adrenaline and utilise a motion-sensing board to create a genre defining update.

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Refusing to let sleeping dogs lie, SNK Playmore and Ignition Entertainment today announced the release of SNK Arcade Classics Vol.1 for Wii, PS2, and PSP.

Due for release during the autumn on PS2 and PSP with the Wii version following later, the packed compilation includes 16 SNK titles, many of which serve as the introductions to several of SNK's once mighty brands. Presumably Vol.2, 3 and so forth will cash in on the sequel heavy series.

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Square-Enix today confirmed that it will be hosting an invitation-only event on August 2nd and 3rd, in which it will unveil the latest footage from Final Fantasy XIII and Kingdom Hearts titles.

Details on Final Fantasy XIII have been a little thin on the ground in recent months, so we suspect FF fans will be keeping a close eye later in the year. All three titles that make up the Fabula Nova Crystallis collection are believed to be making an appearance (FF XIII, Versus XIII, Agito XIII).

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To celebrate the 21st anniversary of the classic side-scrolling shooter R-Type, Rising Star Games has today confirmed a late September launch for the newest instalment, R-Type: Tactics.

Despite a heritage of fast-flowing, 'hard as hell' gameplay, it does seem that the franchise is going to be taking a rather dramatic tangent, with Rising Star describing various features like battling 'gigantic enemies which occupy multiple hexagonal grids', and the player's ability to 'capture enemy units and integrate them into your own fleet.'

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Just a day after Russian publisher 1C revealed multi-platform plans for an update to PC flight sim IL-2 Sturmovik, Indie Britsoft outfit 505 Games has been revealed as the distributor for the title in the UK.

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey has made an unlikely early appearance on the Xbox 360's developer test-bed PartnerNet, with 505's name emblazoned underneath. The game, which is said to include scalable difficulties from arcade to full-on simulator, will be undergoing a visual face-lift along with damage modelling. Versions have also been announced for PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, and PSP.

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Having focused on the Central and Eastern European PC market in recent years, Russian publisher, 1C has today confirmed its expansion onto the console platforms, with titles for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 already underway.

Heading to both PC and Xbox 360, Captain Blood is set to take players back to the seven seas of the buccaneer age, in an adventure based on the tales by British-Italian author, Rafael Sabatini. The second title is an adaptation of the World War II flight sim, IL-2 Sturmovik, which saw a PC release back in 2001. This new title, heading to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, and PSP, will include a raft of visual updates, including plane models and damage modelling, as players take to the skies and take part in the likes of the Battle of Britain.

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LucasArts employees have been spilling the beans on unannounced LucasArts projects following a cull of around 100 staff at the company this week. At the top of the list of juicy revelations is that the unannounced LucasArts/BioWare project is KOTOR3, and it's the long rumoured MMO!

Kotaku reports that some of these 100 LucasArts have been sacked immediately after many years of service and that the sackings are spread across the company, from Testers to Head Producers.

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Details from Famitsu regarding the latest edition of Winning Eleven (J League Winning Eleven Club Championship 2008) seem to suggest that it will incorporate a mode similar to FIFA's 'Be A Pro'. Fans of EA's footie title will know that the mode revolves around taking control of a single player and places more emphasis on position and movement to generally good effect.

Entitled 'Fantasista' (although that could be the result of our Jinglish), the mode suggests a similar low-level camera perspective and on-screen arrows to suggest where the player should position themselves - sounds suspiciously similar. Early information suggests that you'll be able to create the player, presumably developing his career until he becomes a superstar earning billions of yen and the adulation of the watching crowds.

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During the last fiscal year (ending March 31st 2008), Sony has increased its operating income by 491.9% over the earnings for the previous 2006/07 fiscal year. The operating increase year-on-year was from 71.8 to 374.5 billion Yen (£352 million to £1.837 billion).

Sony reported that an increase in sales, as well as the Yen's depreciation against the Euro, were the main causes of growth. Although the company's game segment did end the year at a loss of 124.5 billion Yen (£610.3 million), this did nevertheless mark an increase in operating income of 107.8 billion Yen (£528.5 million) over the previous year.

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TVG has teamed up with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe to giveaway 2000 UMD demo copies of the utterly innovative and genuinely brilliant echochrome.

Offering a puzzle experience that draws influence from the works of M.C Escher, echochrome (like all the best puzzlers) looks simple to solve but is a lot trickier then it initially seems. Controlling the canvas you must guide a mannequin to the exit by carefully controlling the perspective, tilting and turning the level to create a continual pathway for the mannequin to walk safely to the exit.

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Activision's earnings conference call following its record breaking 20008 fiscal reports provided a host of details and information on the publisher's forthcoming titles for the current year and beyond.

Continuing to champion the success of Guitar Hero and Call of Duty, both franchises that have passed the $1 billion mark, Activision expectedly confirmed that new titles are expected in the current year for both franchises.

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At PlayStation Day in London, Sony announced that the PlayStation 3 has sold more units in total across Europe than Microsoft's Xbox 360. The system has been consistently outselling the Xbox 360 since October 2007 in the territory, and has notched up 5 million unit sales throughout Europe altogether.

In addition to the 5 million total sales of PS3s, it was also unveiled that Sony has sold 12 million PSP's in Europe to date, as well as 48 million PS2s in the region.

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Vivendi Games label, Sierra Entertainment has today confirmed new adventures for Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon, which are due to arrive on the consoles in the Autumn.

The final part of the rebooted Legend of Spyro series, Dawn of the Dragon is due to arrive on a multitude of consoles this Autumn. Once again featuring the voice talent of Elijah 'Mr Frodo' Wood and Gary 'token British baddie' Oldman, Dawn of the Dragon sees the purple dragon team up with former adversary, Cynder in a bid to stop the Dark Master (voiced by Mark 'I'm a Jedi, like my father' Hamill). The third part in the darker series sees a number of new additions to the gameplay, including Spyro's ability to fly at any point in the adventure, and drop in/drop out co-operative play.

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In a very unsurprising move, EA has today confirmed the development of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, which is scheduled to arrive on a multitude of platforms in time for the movie to burst into the cinemas this Autumn.

Perhaps more of an eyebrow raiser is that 'Harry Potter 6' will be published under EA's Casual label, the first time that the boy wizard's adventures have been released away from the more core 'EA Games' label. Development is being handled by EA's UK-based Bright Light Studio.

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Rockstar has announced that Midnight Club: Los Angeles will be released on September 12th in Europe for Xbox 360 and PS3. A PSP version, Midnight Club: LA Remix, has also been announced for a simultaneous release alongside the home console titles.

Midnight Club: LA was originally scheduled for release in the first half of 2008, although we suspect that GTA IV's delay had the knock-on effect of pushing this fourth iteration of the Midnight Club series into the busy autumn window.

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Marvel's wall-crawling, web-swinging superhero, Spider-Man is set to make his one millionth appearance* on the current crop of consoles in 2008, in Spider-Man: Web of Shadows.

The game, which is currently in development at TreyArch and Shaba Games, is destined to hit every platform on the market, including the PC and handhelds. News of the upcoming title was made by Activision to entertainment site, IGN.

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The PlayStation 3 has sold 2 million units in Japan and, meanwhile, Sony's PSP sits atop the Japanese console charts for the week ending April 6th - it's been a bumper week for the Japanese electronics giant.

This is according to figures from Japanese market research firm Media Create (via gi.biz). However, it's taken the PS3 a year and a half to reach this milestone, a point illustrated by the console's weak 11,303 unit sales last week (only 900 more than the PS2).

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Speaking to CVG, Polyphony Digital's Kazunori Yamauchi has revealed that car damage will be just one of the new features heading to GT5: Prologue later in the year.

The suggestion of vehicle damage appearing in GT5 had gone slightly quiet in recent months, suggesting that perhaps it would be shelved once again until the next title in the series. Today's comments however suggest that we'll be seeing it sooner then we expected, by the Autumn in fact. Further functionality offered by the update will also see the introduction of stronger community features to enhance the online aspects of the game.

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LucasArts today announced that the European launch of the highly anticipated Star Wars: the Force Unleashed will take place on September 19th 2008.

Casting players as Darth Vader's secret apprentice and promising to unveil new revelations about the Star Wars universe, The Force Unleashed takes place between the popular gap between the trilogies as players attempt Lord Vader's attempts to wipe out the last remaining Jedi.

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At its Gamers Day event held in San Francisco, THQ has outlined its fiscal 2009 line-up, including a mixture of original concepts and the latest titles in established franchises and series.

The event includes Volition's Saints Row 2 and Red Faction: Guerrilla, the return of WWE: Smackdown vs RAW 2009 and Relic Entertainment's Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II. Alongside such established titles are a range of original titles including Blue Tongue Entertainment's anticipated de Blob, Darksiders: Wrath of War from Vigil Game, Rainbow Studios' Deadly Creatures, and a couple of others that we can't talk about just of yet.

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Ubisoft has announced that it has acquired the Tom Clancy brand from the novelist for an undisclosed amount. The move marks the strengthening of a decade-long collaboration between the publisher and the 'Hunt for Red October' writer, and allows Ubisoft to use the Clancy brand in future videogames and 'related products' such as movies and books.

The publisher is currently working on two new brands in the Tom Clancy umbrella franchises, EndWar and Air Combat, joining Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six, and Ghost Recon. Although a definitive price for the acquisition has been held back, Ubisoft has revealed a 20 million Euro drop in expected net cash by the end of the fiscal year - though this could quite easily be a way of reflecting lower than expected results.

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Square-Enix has announced that a special edition version of Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII will be available in Europe. The publishers will be shipping these versions with an artwork book to accompany the game, as well as a snug slipcase for your PSP.

The special edition versions will be available as a pre-order item from selected online retailers, so be sure to get in there while Square-Enix still has enough copies to satisfy its heaving mass of hardcore fans.

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Warriors Orochi, the game that bought together KOEI's dynastic Samurai and Dynasty Warriors series, will come to PC and PSP this March 28th. The game was released on Xbox 360 and PS2 last September.

The Samurai and Dynasty Warriors games have been very successful in Japan over the years, although the craze is yet to catch on in the West. As a peculiar mix of Hack 'n Slash gameplay with RTS elements, Warriors Orochi sits atop six previous Dynasty Warriors games and two Samurai Warriors titles (both series have various spin-off versions as well).

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To celebrate the God of War's PSP debut with the looming release of God of War: Chains of Olympus, TVG has teamed up with Sony Computer Entertainment to offer you the chance to sample the action ahead of the European release.

What does it take to stand a chance of sampling the PSP's finest title to date? Absolutely nothing, all we need is an address to send the UMD.

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At a recent Spore event, TVG has learned that console versions of Will Wright's latest opus could be released after the PC game.

While PC and DS versions of the game were on show at the event, Thomas Vu (Spore's Producer) revealed that further console versions could come out further down the line, after the PC game is released.

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