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1up is reporting that Blue Dragon 360 bundle pre-orders are selling fast in Japan. Maybe, finally, Microsoft has a product that will get the Japanese market on its side. From the article: "According to one retailer, Microsoft is planning to produce 100,000 of the Blue Dragon hardware bundles, and 10% of these will be the limited set with all the cool Blue Dragon merchandise we mentioned. With all the Toriyama fans in Japan, it might not be surprising to hear that these 10,000 limited sets are being snapped up pretty quickly, but hey, we're talking about the Xbox 360 in Japan -- the machine has been struggling to sell more than a thousand units each week recently. At the end of the first day of pre-orders, most retailers are now sold out of the limited set."

Gamasutra reports on the unveiling of the 'GameTap Originals' publishing label, a brand led by the anticipated episodic revival of Sam and Max. The game is now available both via the GameTap service, and at the TellTale site. From the article: "Sam & Max: Episode 1, which launches today exclusively on GameTap, as well as the upcoming Myst Online: Uru Live, are two examples of franchises that GameTap has co-published and helped bring back to life. While nothing specific was announced regarding upcoming franchises set to debut as part of the new GameTap Original label, representatives did note that it will be used to identify soon to be announced episodic games based on renowned TV and film franchises. Finally, supporting its new GameTap Original label, GameTap will be the premiere sponsor of the 9th Annual Independent Games Festival, held in conjunction with the 2007 Game Developers Conference to celebrate the innovation and creativity of independent game developers." Chris Kohler, over at Game|Life, has a short review of the first three hours of content.

Via 1up, an interview with Chris Lewis, head of Xbox Development in Europe. Along with some interesting discussion of X06 and aiming games at European markets, Lewis confirms what most people could reasonably expect: Microsoft is already hard at work on the next Xbox system. From the 1up article: "'You can't sit back on your laurels in this business - the consumer won't let you, the developers certainly won't let us. So that's happening right now,' ... In order to remain competitive, hardware manufacturers have to start thinking about the next cycle the moment work finishes on the current one. Ideas for the following generation were likely generated during the development of Xbox 360, and you can surely bet the same situations cropped up in the R&D rooms of Sony and Nintendo while working on PlayStation 3 and Wii."

1up had a chance to speak with Clover Studios before the word came down of the studio closure and the departure of some key designers. The interview with Clover's president Atsushi Inaba touches on game concepts, the next-gen consoles, and their thoughtful development process. From the article: "When we started development on Okami the Wii didn't exist. We had no idea what the Wii was. If the Wii had existed when we began designing Okami, then we probably would have considered doing something with the controller. It's really hard to say how that would have worked out, as Okami is very finely tuned for the PS2 system. While I agree with you the Wii controller would have been interesting for using the Celestial Brush, for instance, at its heart Okami is an action adventure RPG." Sad to think we'll never see an Okami for the Wii, now.

1up had a chance to speak with Clover Studios before the word came down of the studio closure and the departure of some key designers. The interview with Clover's president Atsushi Inaba touches on game concepts, the next-gen consoles, and their thoughtful development process. From the article: "When we started development on Okami the Wii didn't exist. We had no idea what the Wii was. If the Wii had existed when we began designing Okami, then we probably would have considered doing something with the controller. It's really hard to say how that would have worked out, as Okami is very finely tuned for the PS2 system. While I agree with you the Wii controller would have been interesting for using the Celestial Brush, for instance, at its heart Okami is an action adventure RPG." Sad to think we'll never see an Okami for the Wii, now.

1up has a hilarious article up looking at the state of Wii Preorders across the U.S.. Despite the fact that preorders began (and likely ended) this morning at EBs and Gamestops across the country, the employees of the megalithic game store were less than fully prepared. From the article: "WEST VIRGINIA: GameStop #1330: 'We don't know. I mean, we're gonna be doing reserves. We're just waiting for them to tell us we can.' WISCONSIN: EB Games #4626: 'It looks more like we'll just sell that one. Because there will be 2 to 4 million units available on launch day, and EB/GameStop will be getting 70% of them that first come first serve would be doable. Even a smaller store like ours could be getting upwards of 50 units day one.' WYOMING: EB Games #4294: 'Any day now, man. Any day now.'" Despite my wife's best efforts, I missed out on a preorder by three people in line. Stupid cross-country trips.

1up is running a piece looking at the fight between pirates and publishers in the games industry. They use StarForce, and their frustrating copy protection scheme, as a basis for their discussion of both sides of the issue. From the article: "The goal isn't to encourage people to be honest, or to drive innovation in the hacker community, or to be an irritant because you've lost your CD and want to play. The goal of a publisher in picking a copy protection service is to make more money by selling more copies. The logic is that if it's impossible to pirate the game, then people have to buy it if they want it. Why doesn't that work? If your copy protection is StarForce, then it doesn't work because people are boycotting your copy protection. StarForce, which installs a hard-to-remove driver onto your computer, has an unproven but generally accepted track record of causing computers to slow down -- at best. Some reports have complained of permanently damaged physical drives or hard drives."

According to a report discussed on 1up, a new study by the Nielsen folks finds that more than half of the 117 Million U.S. online gamers are women. From the article: "The study's announcement release doesn't break down what games they're playing, though we expect sites like pogo.com, which feature a multitude of Flash-based games are rather high on the list. Even more surprising is how many older gamers are playing. While the teenage market dominates in numbers, the study says more than 15 million gamers, about 8%, are actually at least 45 years old."

Over at Gamasutra, they have details on commentary by Peter Molyneux during the London Games Summit. Speaking in the grandiose, pie-in-the-sky manner he's become known for, Mr. Molyneux described some experimental gameplay ideas they're hoping might someday make it into Fable 2. From the article: "Elements of design that are changing from Fable's development to Fable 2's are what the players can purchase and own (wealth is likely to play a large part in Fable 2's characters); the responsiveness of and fantastical quality of combat (Fable 2 hopes to keep the combat more dramatic than realistic, but more responsive to objects and locations around the player); and the range of experience the player can have (Fable 2 is aiming to allow the main character to become pregnant, give birth, and raise a child)." The leader of Lionhead Studios also spoke on the business side of indie game development, warning developers not to enter the 'spiral of doom': using payment from a contract for a new game to finish development of one already in production. From that article: "Another key point: 'Every game says something about your company', as it was noted: 'You're only as good as your last game' - the industry has a relatively short memory, and signing subsequent titles is vital to indie developers' livelihoods." Update: 10/05 21:43 GMT by Z : Whether or not it contains any of these experimental ideas, at least Microsoft now has its hands on some playable areas of Fable 2.

1up has up a piece looking at the good and bad of gaming boxart. They cover some history of the art form, why things tend to change when they move from East to West, and some notables among the boxes of the past twenty-five-odd years. From the article: "After the American console market crashed in the early '80s, it was up to Japanese companies like Sega and Nintendo to pick up the slack. However, the cover artwork for many Japanese publishers' early games seemed to be lost in translation. The first generation of Nintendo Entertainment System cartridges were little more than enlarged screenshots showing off the main characters in all their pixelated glory. Sega Master System games were even worse: a plain grid on a barren white background, complete with a single, low-quality image." Relatedly, GameDaily is running an article on the history of game marketing, which I thought dovetailed nicely with this somewhat less serious examination of the subject.

Prompted by Senator's Brownback's legislation, an interesting discussion is taking place on the ESRB, and gaming related politics. Next Generation offers up a damning look at the ESRB, wherein author Aaron Ruby says that the organization is 'incapable of effectively communicating with consumers, nor of fending off attacks from the industry's many critics.' At the Sony Online 'Station Blog', SOE's John Smedley retorts, saying that an industry-wide mentality is to blame for the ESRB's precarious position. Meanwhile, EGM's editor Shoe has some choice words on claims the organization shouldn't have to 'play through' every game that comes to market. From this last piece: "Sure, you usually can't see 100% of a game on an average playthrough. But I guarantee if you get three guys to sit down and finish every product, you can learn a lot more about what these games contain than from watching a bunch of highlight reels, which, remember, are edited by companies who have huge stakes in what the ratings turn out to be -- talk about conflict of interest!"

1up is running a piece looking back at the ten years since the N64's launch. The start of Nintendo's slump, the N64 still managed to come out of the console wars with some great and lasting memories, like GoldenEye, Smash Bros., and Ocarina of Time. From the article: "Nintendo certainly gave players plenty of time to get all 120 stars. By the end of 1996, the N64 still had fewer than a dozen games, and even that anemic library was glutted with mediocrity like Mortal Kombat Trilogy and Cruis'n USA. Sure, there were gems like Mario Kart 64 and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, and there was the stubborn optimism of Nintendo of America President Howard Lincoln (who insisted N64 games sold more than 250,000 per title), but industry commentators were starting to see through the emperor's clothes. Meanwhile, Sony was turning up the heat with massive blockbusters like Final Fantasy VII." The Press the Buttons blog has some additional commentary on Nintendo's first 'meh' console.

1up reports that Elder Scroll IV: Oblivion will be a PlayStation 3 launch title. From the article: "Yes, the rumors are true: Oblivion is heading to PlayStation 3, and an upcoming cover story in Official PlayStation Magazine has the exclusive first look. Here's what we know so far. The game will introduce a new faction to the Oblivion world, one that's available right at the beginning called Knights of the Nine and described by the developers as 'the good Dark Brotherhood.' The goal here is to become the Divine Crusader (think part warrior, part priest), and the quest features new locations, characters, armor and weapons."

Microsoft is pulling out all the stops in its X06 Keynote today in Barcelona. The announcements are flying fast and furious: Ensemble studios is making a Halo RTS, and Peter Jackson is making a new Halo game (unrelated to Halo 3 or the RTS). The HD-DVD will be $200 in the U.S. with a release aimed at November of this year. They've got a good deal of 360 exclusive content including the next Splinter Cell and GTA IV Episodes, and (initially) Bioshock. Bioshock will also be on Windows, of course. Windows is also the platform on which Microsoft is announcing a new Massively Multiplayer game from Cryptic Studios, a new super-hero MMOG based on Marvel Comics' IP: Marvel Universe Online.

Microsoft is pulling out all the stops in its X06 Keynote today in Barcelona. The announcements are flying fast and furious: Ensemble studios is making a Halo RTS, and Peter Jackson is making a new Halo game (unrelated to Halo 3 or the RTS). The HD-DVD will be $200 in the U.S. with a release aimed at November of this year. They've got a good deal of 360 exclusive content including the next Splinter Cell and GTA IV Episodes, and (initially) Bioshock. Bioshock will also be on Windows, of course. Windows is also the platform on which Microsoft is announcing a new Massively Multiplayer game from Cryptic Studios, a new super-hero MMOG based on Marvel Comics' IP: Marvel Universe Online.

Microsoft is pulling out all the stops in its X06 Keynote today in Barcelona. The announcements are flying fast and furious: Ensemble studios is making a Halo RTS, and Peter Jackson is making a new Halo game (unrelated to Halo 3 or the RTS). The HD-DVD will be $200 in the U.S. with a release aimed at November of this year. They've got a good deal of 360 exclusive content including the next Splinter Cell and GTA IV Episodes, and (initially) Bioshock. Bioshock will also be on Windows, of course. Windows is also the platform on which Microsoft is announcing a new Massively Multiplayer game from Cryptic Studios, a new super-hero MMOG based on Marvel Comics' IP: Marvel Universe Online.

KDR_11k writes "1up reports on a Famitsu article discussing the future of microtransactions for PS3. According to the article, Gran Tourismo HD will require all cars to be bought via microtransactions. More specifically, the 'classic' package will come with no cars or tracks and the 'premium' package will include 30 cars and a measly 2 tracks to race on. Additional cars cost between 50 and 100 yen ($0.43-$0.85) and tracks go for 200-500 yen ($1.71-$4.26) a piece. No pricing was given for the game itself." From the article: "Now, is it possible that the game will be a full-priced title with a built-in download system that allows users to download cars and tracks equal to the number of the game's retail price? We hope the model ends up similar to this. However, right now, details are extremely sparse, and Sony has to have an answer to these questions -- most of the people who can answer are over in Tokyo, we'll update if we hear back. Welcome to next-gen."

Gamespot has a rundown on Sony's demo of the PS3 dashboard, looking at the media use options (including music and photos), and the game download elements. From the article: "Harrison selected a slideshow option that arranged his photos as if they were set down on a flat white surface. As he cycled through them, dates were displayed in a handwritten font. Harrison stated that this was an example of one of many slideshow functions that will let people display their photographs in unique ways. The ornate interactivity comes courtesy of the PS3's RSX processor, which allows photos to be moved around like 3D objects." To see it firsthand, 1up has video of the interface demo.

Microsoft's Tokyo Game Show press conference had quite a few choice revelations, above and beyond 1080p for the 360. Several 360 titles are now platinum with games like Kameo, Project Gotham Racing, and Perfect Dark Zero becoming available for about $30 in October. For those with Xbox Live, the first bring it home content is now available from TGS. Demos are expected later this week, but so far all we have to show for the event are some picture packs. The hopeful Xbox presentation, located as it is in Tokyo, has prompted some consideration of the 360's future in Japan. Despite the upbeat tone, the general consensus seems to be Microsoft has already lost the Japanese market, before the other systems are even on the market.

1up reports that fan outcry to Nintendo may result in Sam and Max on the Wii. From the article: "Telltale contacted 1UP last Friday, letting us know gamers can stop pestering the company, as Telltale received a call from Nintendo earlier that afternoon. 'They took notice! We got a phone call from Nintendo this afternoon. We'll take it from here - please don't email them anymore!,' said Telltale's Web Coordinator Emily Morganti to 1UP, who also wrote the original blog asking gamers to begin virtually rioting."

The news came in late from Japan, with details on the North American launch. This morning, Nintendo's New York press conference expanded our understanding of what's going to be happening on November 19th. 1up has coverage of the event, as well as Japan's virtual console pricing, the opening lineup details for Japan, and news that the ex-FFXII director is excited about the Wii. Hopefully this will mean innovative support of the platform by Square/Enix. Over at Gamespot, they have their own conference coverage, as well as a rundown on the system's media functionality and first-hand comments from the engineers that built it. Finally, for a bit of analysis, Next Generation explores what the return of the pack-in (the inclusion of Wii Sports with the console) means for the industry at large.

The news came in late from Japan, with details on the North American launch. This morning, Nintendo's New York press conference expanded our understanding of what's going to be happening on November 19th. 1up has coverage of the event, as well as Japan's virtual console pricing, the opening lineup details for Japan, and news that the ex-FFXII director is excited about the Wii. Hopefully this will mean innovative support of the platform by Square/Enix. Over at Gamespot, they have their own conference coverage, as well as a rundown on the system's media functionality and first-hand comments from the engineers that built it. Finally, for a bit of analysis, Next Generation explores what the return of the pack-in (the inclusion of Wii Sports with the console) means for the industry at large.

The news came in late from Japan, with details on the North American launch. This morning, Nintendo's New York press conference expanded our understanding of what's going to be happening on November 19th. 1up has coverage of the event, as well as Japan's virtual console pricing, the opening lineup details for Japan, and news that the ex-FFXII director is excited about the Wii. Hopefully this will mean innovative support of the platform by Square/Enix. Over at Gamespot, they have their own conference coverage, as well as a rundown on the system's media functionality and first-hand comments from the engineers that built it. Finally, for a bit of analysis, Next Generation explores what the return of the pack-in (the inclusion of Wii Sports with the console) means for the industry at large.

The news came in late from Japan, with details on the North American launch. This morning, Nintendo's New York press conference expanded our understanding of what's going to be happening on November 19th. 1up has coverage of the event, as well as Japan's virtual console pricing, the opening lineup details for Japan, and news that the ex-FFXII director is excited about the Wii. Hopefully this will mean innovative support of the platform by Square/Enix. Over at Gamespot, they have their own conference coverage, as well as a rundown on the system's media functionality and first-hand comments from the engineers that built it. Finally, for a bit of analysis, Next Generation explores what the return of the pack-in (the inclusion of Wii Sports with the console) means for the industry at large.

1up is reporting on Sony's 'answer' to Microsoft's Xbox Live system: XFire. The PC-based game networking service is already extremely popular among FPS and MMOG players. Financial reports indicate the service will now be extended to the PlayStation 3 as well. From the article: "By incorporating an existing service into their own PlayStation Network Platform (PNP), Sony hopes to circumvent existing problems in the console space that Microsoft has had to sort out and in using Xfire -- a company with an established messaging, matchmaking and gaming client -- Sony hopes to narrow the four-year gap in online gaming services that Microsoft currently enjoys (Xfire has been around since 2002)."

1up is reporting that Capcom has put the kibosh on a patch for Dead Rising, frustrating fans who have complained about the games's almost unreadable text on Standard Definition screens. From the article: "So, the question is, will there ever be a patch? Unfortunately, that's a no. 'Due to the amount of text and the size of the patch necessary to change the text, a patch isn't possible for this issue,' said the company. 'We had asked the team if it was even possible but ... due to the scope of what a patch would need to cover, it wasn't possible.' As it stands, no patch is coming for Dead Rising players -- but maybe they'll change their mind if you yell loud enough."

1up had the chance to sit down with Valve to talk about Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Portal, and Team Fortress 2. They've come away with some great information, with probably the most exciting information focused around Portal. In a writeup of the visit, Matt Leone reveals that Portal is actually a part of the Half-Life 2 world. The protagonist is a new character, and eventually the fascinating puzzle/fps title will hook back into the Half-Life story at large. From the article: "'The origins of this character will be clear... eventually,' says Swift. Given that Portal has now been in development for just over a year, we wouldn't be surprised to see a few retroactive references pop up in Episode 1 as well, but for specifics we'll have to wait to hear more from the creepy narrator that taunts you while you play (yep, the same one from the first trailer)." For video and all the details, check out yesterday's episode of the 1up show.

1up had the chance to sit down with Valve to talk about Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Portal, and Team Fortress 2. They've come away with some great information, with probably the most exciting information focused around Portal. In a writeup of the visit, Matt Leone reveals that Portal is actually a part of the Half-Life 2 world. The protagonist is a new character, and eventually the fascinating puzzle/fps title will hook back into the Half-Life story at large. From the article: "'The origins of this character will be clear... eventually,' says Swift. Given that Portal has now been in development for just over a year, we wouldn't be surprised to see a few retroactive references pop up in Episode 1 as well, but for specifics we'll have to wait to hear more from the creepy narrator that taunts you while you play (yep, the same one from the first trailer)." For video and all the details, check out yesterday's episode of the 1up show.

Gamasutra has Nintendo's 're-confirmation' that they're going to try to ship 6 Million units by the end of March 2007. If you're looking forward to Nintendo's new-gen console, their upcoming media event on September 14th may have just what you're looking for. The article also has a few details on upcoming accessories. From the article: "Although the price and release date of the Wii console and controller is not likely to be revealed until worldwide press events on September 14th and 15th, the Gamestop website lists a number of peripherals for release on November 1st. Included on the site is a Wii 'Controller Glove' for $9.99, a 'HD Premium Component Cable' for $59.99 and a 'S-Video Premium AV Cable' for $39.99." Relatedly, 1up has the news that Castlevania's creator is warming to the Wii. This will result in Belmont-related adventures for the Wii, one would hope.

Joystiq reports that Sony is still promising 1 Million PS3 units in North America for this year. This, despite much lower estimates as released yesterday. From the article: "basically, these numbers don't mean anything. Despite what appears to be gross incompetence to much of the gaming press and the hardcore industry watchers (that's you guys), the mainstream gamer is blissfully unaware of reductions in shipping estimates. To him, it will appear that the PS3 is the hottest thing this holiday -- just like the Xbox 360 appeared to be last year and the PlayStation 2 back in '00 -- and may have no problem waiting for the demand and/or price to go down. People are still buying PS2s today, remember? Just a reality check before the hype consumes us all." For more on this, 1up has analyst reaction to the release news, and comments from GTA creator Dave Jones on his reaction to the news.

1up has a feature up looking at videogamers that have become pioneers. They profile several folks who have made an impact on gaming as a hobby, and the view of gaming in the world at large. The piece includes people like Patrick Wildenborg (the Hot Coffee whistleblower), Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess Cliffe (makers of Counter-Strike), Gabe and Tycho of Penny Arcade, and (most infamously) Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. From a more upbeat part of the piece, on Counter-Strike: "[CS] is one of the most ubiquitous and popular games ever made, period -- Valve's Steam distribution service calculates that nearly 120 million man hours are lost to various versions of Counter-Strike monthly. Such a statistic is even more mind-boggling considering the humble roots of the game -- both Cliffe and Gooseman were college students at the time of the project's inception. They had some amateur experience in the disciplines they brought to the mod; Cliffe had previously mastered several gaming websites, and Gooseman had done programming and modeling work on other fairly popular mods like Navy SEALs and Action Quake 2."

1up reports on rumours of trouble at 3D Realms, the long-term developers of the Duke Nukem Forever project. The duke project is apparently in jeopardy, according to the buzz, as several key developers have left the company for greener pastures. 3D Realms webmaster Joe Siegler has responded to these rumours, saying on the message boards "It's internal business - all employee departures and comings have always been that way. This is nothing new. People have left before, IT IS THE NATURE OF THIS BUSINESS. It's the way it goes ... There's honestly nothing to be concerned about. People leave. People come. There's staff on the project you don't know about."

Above and beyond the announcement of their videogame last Friday, PAX apparently passed pleasantly for the PA fans who made it to Bellvue, WA this past weekend. Various news organs have a look at what transpired. eToyChest has a journal of each day, with firsthand accounts and lots of pictures. Gamasutra covers the Penny Arcade Scholarship announced at the event; $10k towards an education to get yourself into the games industry. Kotaku was there to liveblog the keynote, while Joystiq covers the making a comic panel. For wrap-up, we have an IGN report, and the ever exhaustive 1up minisite for everything you'd want to know.

The Wired Game|Life Column points out that something momentous happened yesterday: The Wizard was released on DVD. From the post: "And I do not understand how any sane person couldn't be happy about this. Generally recognized even by the small children who saw it in 1989 as being a ninety-minute ad for Nintendo, The Wizard is quite frankly a masterpiece of our time. It starred Super Mario Bros. 3." From 1up's post on the release: "Appropriate celebrations include sending Wizard cards (depicting Fred Savage in all his pre-teen glory, natch), the decorating of the Wizard tree (ornaments should resemble characters from Super Mario 3), and wearing the Wizard celebratory garments (also known as the Nintendo Power Glove). I'm sure the lack of Blu-Ray release was simply an oversight, and not a monstrous snub by the higher-ups at Sony."

The Leipzig Game Convention continues in Germany. Folks looking forward to the Wii should be happy to hear Nintendo has announced some new games. They announced the new titles at their press conference, an event which both Kotaku and 1up were on-hand for. Sony hasn't had a lot to say in the last few days. As promised, there are no playable PS3 games available; just the same, gamers can look forward to 27 playable PS3 titles at the Tokyo Game Show. Microsoft, meanwhile, spent time at the convention talking about Xbox Live, and showing off their new peripherals. 1up up was there for the Microsoft press conference as well.

The Leipzig Game Convention continues in Germany. Folks looking forward to the Wii should be happy to hear Nintendo has announced some new games. They announced the new titles at their press conference, an event which both Kotaku and 1up were on-hand for. Sony hasn't had a lot to say in the last few days. As promised, there are no playable PS3 games available; just the same, gamers can look forward to 27 playable PS3 titles at the Tokyo Game Show. Microsoft, meanwhile, spent time at the convention talking about Xbox Live, and showing off their new peripherals. 1up up was there for the Microsoft press conference as well.

1up reports on comments from Bungie, who has come out to say that their next title Halo 3 will 'feel' like the first Halo: Combat Evolved. From the article: "'I have been playing through Campaign mode purely for kicks. Exploring, in fact,' [Frank O'Connor] says. 'There's lots of the feel of the original Halo, where you'll find yourself in a huge (dangerous) and intrinsically fascinating environment and just want to go tool around and check things out.' At the same time, O'Connor is quick to dismiss that Bungie's developing a sandbox, Grand Theft Auto-inspired shooter."

An anonymous reader writes "Speaking at the Games Convention Developer Conference in Leipzig, Peter Molyneux gave attendees a sense of what he believes the future of combat in games will be like, some of which he is trying to get his team to include in Fable 2. He also showed videos of some prototypes based on his concepts. Later in his presentation, he responded to a user's question about Nintendo's Wii, saying that he's not sold on motion-sensing controllers."

An anonymous reader writes "Speaking at the Games Convention Developer Conference in Leipzig, Peter Molyneux gave attendees a sense of what he believes the future of combat in games will be like, some of which he is trying to get his team to include in Fable 2. He also showed videos of some prototypes based on his concepts. Later in his presentation, he responded to a user's question about Nintendo's Wii, saying that he's not sold on motion-sensing controllers."

1up spent all last week looking at the upcoming PS2 title Okami. A truly original story, the game tells the tale of a Japanese wolf god. A distinctive art style and inventive 'drawing' gameplay has made it a highly anticipated release for this fall. Some of the features include a hands-on with the English version, a look at what went into the localization to make the game understandable for Americans, and a great look at the art and music in the game.

1up spent all last week looking at the upcoming PS2 title Okami. A truly original story, the game tells the tale of a Japanese wolf god. A distinctive art style and inventive 'drawing' gameplay has made it a highly anticipated release for this fall. Some of the features include a hands-on with the English version, a look at what went into the localization to make the game understandable for Americans, and a great look at the art and music in the game.

1up spent all last week looking at the upcoming PS2 title Okami. A truly original story, the game tells the tale of a Japanese wolf god. A distinctive art style and inventive 'drawing' gameplay has made it a highly anticipated release for this fall. Some of the features include a hands-on with the English version, a look at what went into the localization to make the game understandable for Americans, and a great look at the art and music in the game.

1up spent all last week looking at the upcoming PS2 title Okami. A truly original story, the game tells the tale of a Japanese wolf god. A distinctive art style and inventive 'drawing' gameplay has made it a highly anticipated release for this fall. Some of the features include a hands-on with the English version, a look at what went into the localization to make the game understandable for Americans, and a great look at the art and music in the game.

1up is reporting that the Wii version of Nintendo's Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will require the use of the Wiimote. The GameCube controller for the Wii will not be usable for the Wii version of the game, despite the fact that the game will also be coming out on the Cube. This has provoked discussion that the Wii version of the game may include extra content or gameplay elements, which will make it unplayable with the GameCube controller. From the article: "Many had hoped Nintendo would allow for dual Wii and GameCube support ala a number of upcoming Wii releases, but Nintendo appears confident enough in its design that hardened fans will have to pick up the GameCube release if they're that hardcore. You still have time to decide which one sways you, as both versions will be launched simultaneously during Wii's launch date this fall."

1up reports that Sony has no intention of dropping the PSP's price this holiday season. The idea of a price drop, put forth by CNN's Game Over column, has been flatly denied by the company. 1up writer Susan Arendt thinks they may be just a little bit false here: "I'm going to be the 'glass half-full' person and suggest that by saying the company 'currently' has no plans to cut the price 'at this time,' the Sony rep wasn't just being repetitive and redundant, but rather suffering from a Hamlet-esque condition of protesting too much, indicating that Sony does, in fact have a big fat price drop planned, especially considering their history of holiday price cuts."

1up was there to cover Microsoft's annual Gamefest event, and came away with some interesting information. Across all of its gaming platforms (Xbox Live, Games for Windows, MSN Games, etc.), the company claims 100 Million gamers per month. Xbox Live, in particular, received attention at the event. The company talking about more demos, downloads, and microtransactions being the hallmarks for the future of the service. From that article: "While Microsoft wants demos and add-ons to be a critical part of the plans for games, they also iterated the importance of other parts of the Marketplace. The personalization options offered by the Gamer Pictures and Themes is something Microsoft will continue to encourage developers to create. However, the notion that these 360-pieces of flair would regularly appear free on the Marketplace should be squashed, for now. Microsoft indicated that they have very strict limitations on free content and that they intend on keeping the gamer pictures and themes pretty consistently priced."

1up was there to cover Microsoft's annual Gamefest event, and came away with some interesting information. Across all of its gaming platforms (Xbox Live, Games for Windows, MSN Games, etc.), the company claims 100 Million gamers per month. Xbox Live, in particular, received attention at the event. The company talking about more demos, downloads, and microtransactions being the hallmarks for the future of the service. From that article: "While Microsoft wants demos and add-ons to be a critical part of the plans for games, they also iterated the importance of other parts of the Marketplace. The personalization options offered by the Gamer Pictures and Themes is something Microsoft will continue to encourage developers to create. However, the notion that these 360-pieces of flair would regularly appear free on the Marketplace should be squashed, for now. Microsoft indicated that they have very strict limitations on free content and that they intend on keeping the gamer pictures and themes pretty consistently priced."

An anonymous reader writes "Sega has announced what may be the coolest retro collection yet in a compilation of 30 Sega Genesis games for the PSP and PS2. 1up has a great breakdown of the games in the collection, which features everything from the Phantasy Star games to the Golden Axe games, to the Shinobis, to the Vectormans. Pretty cool stuff." From the article: "Sega's doing its part to give these games context with numerous unlockable interviews with the original developers and a museum with trivia on the disc. According to Sega, the games will be reproduced with 'the utmost accuracy to the originals as possible' by developer Backbone Entertainment. And as a special cool bonus, the PSP version will allow -- for the first time ever -- wireless multiplayer for several of the games. "

1up is reporting that Silicon Knights, makers of Eternal Darkness and the upcoming Too Human, may have decided to drop the Unreal 3 Engine from Too Human. The company is reportedly having big problems getting Epic's powerful product to work well with their title on the 360. The plan is now that they will be crafting their own rendering systems for use with the game.

1up is carrying an interview from the latest CGW, talking with David Speyrer (Half-Life 2: Episode Two Project lead) about what we can expect in the next episodic content release. Typically, Valve is not exactly forthcoming with information on the title, which is expected around Christmas. Just the same, Speyrer has some interesting things to say about Valve's design process. From the article: "It's cool to realize that so many of the elements that we take for granted today, like the gravity gun or our companion A.I., were risky R&D projects during the development of Half-Life 2 or Episode One. Continuing at that rate as we release more episodes is pretty exciting for us as designers, and for our customers. We'll bring many elements from Episode One forward into Episode Two, but we expect to use dynamic scripted sequences extensively. They allow close interaction between NPCs during combat--such as Alyx wrestling with zombies in Episode One--and because they happen spontaneously, every player will see different interactions at different moments in the game."