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Gamespot is running a piece looking at a UK study which may indicate serious addiction problems among a large number of Massively Multiplayer gamers. The study, conducted at Nottingham Trent, showed that almost 12% of a 7,000 person study group showed symptoms of serious addiction, as laid down by the World Health Organization. From the article: "The survey was filled in by a self-selected sample comprising mainly of males with an average age of 21, and was concerned principally with the potential for addiction to online gaming. [Director of the International Gaming Research Unit Mark] Griffiths said, 'I'm sure if we'd done this survey looking at non-online players, looking at gamers that play on stand-alone systems, my guess is that the prevalence of addiction-like symptoms would have been much less prevalent.' According to Griffiths, the problem with online games is there will never be a point where the player has battled the final boss, tied up the story, and can turn the computer off with a feeling of satisfaction."

Now that all three consoles are competing in the online market, regular news about the three systems is beginning to be regularly released, as Virtual Console tries to top Xbox Live which in turn tries to overshadow e-Distribution. Sony's online offering is still being finalized now that the console is on the market, and limits on the system are still being decided upon. 500 MB is apparently going to be the cap for downloadable content via the service (much larger than Live's 50 MB limit). The company has also confirmed they'll be offering new version of retro games, to compete directly with Microsoft's service. Speaking of which, Double Dragon will be joining the other classic games on Xbox Live sometime in the future. This week's update was a patch for Texas Hold Em' , while the week before saw the much-anticipated (and well reviewed) Small Arms released to fans. Related to Microsoft's service, the much rumoured Xbox Live Arcade joystick was formally announced by MadCatz this week. Not to be left out, Nintendo's Virtual Console grew by three titles this week; gamers can now download Super Star Soldier, Golden Axe, and Genesis classic Ecco the Dolphin. Like Microsoft, Nintendo has plans to release new content every week for the forseeable future.

Now that all three consoles are competing in the online market, regular news about the three systems is beginning to be regularly released, as Virtual Console tries to top Xbox Live which in turn tries to overshadow e-Distribution. Sony's online offering is still being finalized now that the console is on the market, and limits on the system are still being decided upon. 500 MB is apparently going to be the cap for downloadable content via the service (much larger than Live's 50 MB limit). The company has also confirmed they'll be offering new version of retro games, to compete directly with Microsoft's service. Speaking of which, Double Dragon will be joining the other classic games on Xbox Live sometime in the future. This week's update was a patch for Texas Hold Em' , while the week before saw the much-anticipated (and well reviewed) Small Arms released to fans. Related to Microsoft's service, the much rumoured Xbox Live Arcade joystick was formally announced by MadCatz this week. Not to be left out, Nintendo's Virtual Console grew by three titles this week; gamers can now download Super Star Soldier, Golden Axe, and Genesis classic Ecco the Dolphin. Like Microsoft, Nintendo has plans to release new content every week for the forseeable future.

Gamespot reports that Gears of War has sold a million units in two weeks. This has made it the fastest-selling 360 game to date, beating out GRAW and CoD2 for the honor. From the article: "Microsoft dropped some other statistics as well, saying 'more than 850,000 unique gamers have engaged in 10 million [Gears of War] gameplay sessions while unlocking an impressive 7 million achievements.' Since the game went on sale November 7, the rate of Xbox Live Gold subscriptions, which are required for online play, has increased more than 50 percent. According to Microsoft, the impressive subscription rate is because more than 85 percent of Gears players play one of the game's various multiplayer modes, which include full campaign co-op." The GamerScore Blog wants you to know that rumours you have heard about Gears for Windows were mistaken. For the time being, anyway.

Sony's having a rough week. After shootings on launch day and a harsh review from the New York Times, Bloomberg is now calling Sony out as having completely missed its shipping targets. The analyst company says there may have been as few as 50% of aimed-for units available, and that the company may only get about 200,000 units to stores by the end of the year (something Sony flatly denies). PS3 fans now also have to deal with the fact that Koei is cross-platforming two previously exclusive titles. Fatal Inertia and Bladestorm are now in development for the 360 as well, marking the latest in a string of titles that have slipped away from Sony. There is some consolation for the company to take away from this week, though. They did better than Microsoft last week in Japan, with around 81,000 PS3s, 19,000 PSPs, and 16,000 PS2s sold to a mere 4,000 Xbox 360s and ... 4 Xboxes.

Sony's having a rough week. After shootings on launch day and a harsh review from the New York Times, Bloomberg is now calling Sony out as having completely missed its shipping targets. The analyst company says there may have been as few as 50% of aimed-for units available, and that the company may only get about 200,000 units to stores by the end of the year (something Sony flatly denies). PS3 fans now also have to deal with the fact that Koei is cross-platforming two previously exclusive titles. Fatal Inertia and Bladestorm are now in development for the 360 as well, marking the latest in a string of titles that have slipped away from Sony. There is some consolation for the company to take away from this week, though. They did better than Microsoft last week in Japan, with around 81,000 PS3s, 19,000 PSPs, and 16,000 PS2s sold to a mere 4,000 Xbox 360s and ... 4 Xboxes.

GameSpot reports that GameStop will be resupplied with Wii and PS3 units within the next few weeks. They have some details on how the two console did in comparison (more games bought with the Wii than the PS3), and point out the best sellers for both systems. From the article: "The executives also recapped the launch performances of the two systems. For the PS3, Sony's Resistance: Fall of Man and Electronic Arts' Madden NFL 07 were the biggest sellers, while Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Ubisoft's Red Steel stood out from the pack of Wii launch titles ... While GameStop and its EB Games brand collectively account for about 25 percent of the US gaming market, the company believes it didn't receive that much of either system's day-one shipments. Executives said that they've never been satisfied with their launch day allocation of any new machine, but added their main concern now is the flow of follow-up shipments — which both Sony and Nintendo have promised will come at a steady pace."

Epic's Gears of War has finally ousted Halo 2 as the most-played game on the Xbox Live service. It's not too surprising, given the game's popularity. Epic was apparently expecting that; GameDaily spoke with Microsoft Corporate VP of Global Marketing Jeff Bell, who as much as says that Gears is the first chapter in a trilogy. From the article: "Gamers today demand an excellent story in their games; they need to know what's at stake, and why they should care. Excitement tops the list of desired emotions, but they want to be scared, too. They want the rush that comes from being scared by an enemy or trapped in a dark room and escaping with their lives. The goal of this ad is to establish Marcus Fenix as the hero of the Gears of War trilogy. The intention is to create emotional connection with him that is lacking in typical third-person action title marketing, by communicating a sense of desperation, loneliness, overwhelming odds, and the ultimate futility of the situation he faces."

porcupine8 writes "Like the Playstation 3, the Nintendo Wii sold out on launch day this weekend. Unlike the PS3, the launch was a peaceful affair with no reports yet of console-related violence in the US. This may be partially due to the fact that Nintendo promises to have a total of four million units in stores by Christmas, with the bulk of those going to North America. Midnight launch parties on both the east and west coasts ushered the new console in with a bang." Please, if you've managed to snag a Wii yourself, share your opinions below! Update: 11/20 17:25 GMT by Z : A few quick impressions from 24 hours of owning a Wii, and some links on the subject if you Read More. All I have to say so far is pretty positive. I snagged Rayman Raving Rabbids, Zelda, and (on a lark) Red Steel. I haven't had the heart to play Red Steel yet, but Rayman is a great, quirky mini-game game. I think this format is going to be pretty common for the Wii, and I'm actually looking forward to it. Zelda is ... Zelda. I really, really like it, but if you're getting tired of the same old thing you're going to be disappointed. My big complaint is the glacially slow internet connection. I have never owned a Genesis, and so wanted to snag Sonic for some cheap laughs. Purchasing Wii points took about half an hour, and I never actually managed to download the game (despite having paid for it). I'm hoping that today, with less hammering on the servers, I'll have more luck. Expect a more complete review next week. In the mean time, Chris Kohler at Game|Life has had a Wii since last week, and has some considered opinions on its launch issues, and a bit more specifically on virtual console problems.

porcupine8 writes "Like the Playstation 3, the Nintendo Wii sold out on launch day this weekend. Unlike the PS3, the launch was a peaceful affair with no reports yet of console-related violence in the US. This may be partially due to the fact that Nintendo promises to have a total of four million units in stores by Christmas, with the bulk of those going to North America. Midnight launch parties on both the east and west coasts ushered the new console in with a bang." Please, if you've managed to snag a Wii yourself, share your opinions below! Update: 11/20 17:25 GMT by Z : A few quick impressions from 24 hours of owning a Wii, and some links on the subject if you Read More. All I have to say so far is pretty positive. I snagged Rayman Raving Rabbids, Zelda, and (on a lark) Red Steel. I haven't had the heart to play Red Steel yet, but Rayman is a great, quirky mini-game game. I think this format is going to be pretty common for the Wii, and I'm actually looking forward to it. Zelda is ... Zelda. I really, really like it, but if you're getting tired of the same old thing you're going to be disappointed. My big complaint is the glacially slow internet connection. I have never owned a Genesis, and so wanted to snag Sonic for some cheap laughs. Purchasing Wii points took about half an hour, and I never actually managed to download the game (despite having paid for it). I'm hoping that today, with less hammering on the servers, I'll have more luck. Expect a more complete review next week. In the mean time, Chris Kohler at Game|Life has had a Wii since last week, and has some considered opinions on its launch issues, and a bit more specifically on virtual console problems.

porcupine8 writes "Like the Playstation 3, the Nintendo Wii sold out on launch day this weekend. Unlike the PS3, the launch was a peaceful affair with no reports yet of console-related violence in the US. This may be partially due to the fact that Nintendo promises to have a total of four million units in stores by Christmas, with the bulk of those going to North America. Midnight launch parties on both the east and west coasts ushered the new console in with a bang." Please, if you've managed to snag a Wii yourself, share your opinions below! Update: 11/20 17:25 GMT by Z : A few quick impressions from 24 hours of owning a Wii, and some links on the subject if you Read More. All I have to say so far is pretty positive. I snagged Rayman Raving Rabbids, Zelda, and (on a lark) Red Steel. I haven't had the heart to play Red Steel yet, but Rayman is a great, quirky mini-game game. I think this format is going to be pretty common for the Wii, and I'm actually looking forward to it. Zelda is ... Zelda. I really, really like it, but if you're getting tired of the same old thing you're going to be disappointed. My big complaint is the glacially slow internet connection. I have never owned a Genesis, and so wanted to snag Sonic for some cheap laughs. Purchasing Wii points took about half an hour, and I never actually managed to download the game (despite having paid for it). I'm hoping that today, with less hammering on the servers, I'll have more luck. Expect a more complete review next week. In the mean time, Chris Kohler at Game|Life has had a Wii since last week, and has some considered opinions on its launch issues, and a bit more specifically on virtual console problems.

porcupine8 writes "Like the Playstation 3, the Nintendo Wii sold out on launch day this weekend. Unlike the PS3, the launch was a peaceful affair with no reports yet of console-related violence in the US. This may be partially due to the fact that Nintendo promises to have a total of four million units in stores by Christmas, with the bulk of those going to North America. Midnight launch parties on both the east and west coasts ushered the new console in with a bang." Please, if you've managed to snag a Wii yourself, share your opinions below! Update: 11/20 17:25 GMT by Z : A few quick impressions from 24 hours of owning a Wii, and some links on the subject if you Read More. All I have to say so far is pretty positive. I snagged Rayman Raving Rabbids, Zelda, and (on a lark) Red Steel. I haven't had the heart to play Red Steel yet, but Rayman is a great, quirky mini-game game. I think this format is going to be pretty common for the Wii, and I'm actually looking forward to it. Zelda is ... Zelda. I really, really like it, but if you're getting tired of the same old thing you're going to be disappointed. My big complaint is the glacially slow internet connection. I have never owned a Genesis, and so wanted to snag Sonic for some cheap laughs. Purchasing Wii points took about half an hour, and I never actually managed to download the game (despite having paid for it). I'm hoping that today, with less hammering on the servers, I'll have more luck. Expect a more complete review next week. In the mean time, Chris Kohler at Game|Life has had a Wii since last week, and has some considered opinions on its launch issues, and a bit more specifically on virtual console problems.

porcupine8 writes "Like the Playstation 3, the Nintendo Wii sold out on launch day this weekend. Unlike the PS3, the launch was a peaceful affair with no reports yet of console-related violence in the US. This may be partially due to the fact that Nintendo promises to have a total of four million units in stores by Christmas, with the bulk of those going to North America. Midnight launch parties on both the east and west coasts ushered the new console in with a bang." Please, if you've managed to snag a Wii yourself, share your opinions below! Update: 11/20 17:25 GMT by Z : A few quick impressions from 24 hours of owning a Wii, and some links on the subject if you Read More. All I have to say so far is pretty positive. I snagged Rayman Raving Rabbids, Zelda, and (on a lark) Red Steel. I haven't had the heart to play Red Steel yet, but Rayman is a great, quirky mini-game game. I think this format is going to be pretty common for the Wii, and I'm actually looking forward to it. Zelda is ... Zelda. I really, really like it, but if you're getting tired of the same old thing you're going to be disappointed. My big complaint is the glacially slow internet connection. I have never owned a Genesis, and so wanted to snag Sonic for some cheap laughs. Purchasing Wii points took about half an hour, and I never actually managed to download the game (despite having paid for it). I'm hoping that today, with less hammering on the servers, I'll have more luck. Expect a more complete review next week. In the mean time, Chris Kohler at Game|Life has had a Wii since last week, and has some considered opinions on its launch issues, and a bit more specifically on virtual console problems.

Sony's next-gen console has officially launched in the states, complete with an NYC launch party, and a giant line in San Francisco. While many gamers went home happy, the night was not without incident. There was also some ugliness, with individuals being hired to stand in line, as was done in Japan earlier this week. Overall, though, the news is positive for the hundreds of gamers who waited through the night for their new console. "As midnight approached, the first person in line, New York native Angel Paredes, was escorted into the SonyStyle Store where he was handed the first North American PS3 by Hirai and Stringer. The console's box also included a personal autographed message from Hirai. Paredes, his voice hoarse from interviews and arms tired from repeatedly hoisting the console, was a good sport, standing still for the multitude of photographers and offering a few words for anyone who asked. The first three gamers in line were comped their PS3s. Once the media buzz died down, the rest of the attendees were ushered in to get what they had been waiting for all week. Though the consoles' next destinations were unknown — many are expected to be posted on eBay for a quick profit — the next destinations of the new PS3 owners was clear — go home and get some rest. " Any readers spend the night in lines, and want to share about it? Did you eBay the thing, or are you just taking a break from Resistance? Let us know how things went, and what the system is like.

Sony's next-gen console has officially launched in the states, complete with an NYC launch party, and a giant line in San Francisco. While many gamers went home happy, the night was not without incident. There was also some ugliness, with individuals being hired to stand in line, as was done in Japan earlier this week. Overall, though, the news is positive for the hundreds of gamers who waited through the night for their new console. "As midnight approached, the first person in line, New York native Angel Paredes, was escorted into the SonyStyle Store where he was handed the first North American PS3 by Hirai and Stringer. The console's box also included a personal autographed message from Hirai. Paredes, his voice hoarse from interviews and arms tired from repeatedly hoisting the console, was a good sport, standing still for the multitude of photographers and offering a few words for anyone who asked. The first three gamers in line were comped their PS3s. Once the media buzz died down, the rest of the attendees were ushered in to get what they had been waiting for all week. Though the consoles' next destinations were unknown — many are expected to be posted on eBay for a quick profit — the next destinations of the new PS3 owners was clear — go home and get some rest. " Any readers spend the night in lines, and want to share about it? Did you eBay the thing, or are you just taking a break from Resistance? Let us know how things went, and what the system is like.

Sony's next-gen console has officially launched in the states, complete with an NYC launch party, and a giant line in San Francisco. While many gamers went home happy, the night was not without incident. There was also some ugliness, with individuals being hired to stand in line, as was done in Japan earlier this week. Overall, though, the news is positive for the hundreds of gamers who waited through the night for their new console. "As midnight approached, the first person in line, New York native Angel Paredes, was escorted into the SonyStyle Store where he was handed the first North American PS3 by Hirai and Stringer. The console's box also included a personal autographed message from Hirai. Paredes, his voice hoarse from interviews and arms tired from repeatedly hoisting the console, was a good sport, standing still for the multitude of photographers and offering a few words for anyone who asked. The first three gamers in line were comped their PS3s. Once the media buzz died down, the rest of the attendees were ushered in to get what they had been waiting for all week. Though the consoles' next destinations were unknown — many are expected to be posted on eBay for a quick profit — the next destinations of the new PS3 owners was clear — go home and get some rest. " Any readers spend the night in lines, and want to share about it? Did you eBay the thing, or are you just taking a break from Resistance? Let us know how things went, and what the system is like.

Gamespot is reporting that Activision faces delisting from NASDAQ due to non-compliance. They failed to report their quarterly earnings on time, a situation the company says they will correct as soon as 'practicable.' Meanwhile, Vivendi earnings are up 190% No, that's not a typo. Two guesses as to why. From the article: "Unsurprisingly, Vivendi Games attributed the profit spike largely due to what it describes as 'the higher margin of the World of Warcraft business.' It also cited other factors, including the start-up investments for the Sierra Online and Vivendi Games Mobile divisions and strong sales of Scarface: The World Is Yours in October." Translation: "We have a money hat machine! Yay!"

Gamespot is reporting that Activision faces delisting from NASDAQ due to non-compliance. They failed to report their quarterly earnings on time, a situation the company says they will correct as soon as 'practicable.' Meanwhile, Vivendi earnings are up 190% No, that's not a typo. Two guesses as to why. From the article: "Unsurprisingly, Vivendi Games attributed the profit spike largely due to what it describes as 'the higher margin of the World of Warcraft business.' It also cited other factors, including the start-up investments for the Sierra Online and Vivendi Games Mobile divisions and strong sales of Scarface: The World Is Yours in October." Translation: "We have a money hat machine! Yay!"

There are many people in lines out there already, waiting for their chance tomorrow at Sony's PlayStation 3. Probably the biggest line is at the Metreon, where almost 1,000 people are lined up outside of the official Sony store. Destructoid is carrying stats from eBay's pre-sales numbers. (The average sales price of a PS3 was $1,532.76. 2,165 Wiis have been sold since October 20th.) 1up's intrepid reporters have thoughtfully outlined the dangers of Wiimote use. Somewhat relatedly, Miyamoto reveals in a BusinessWeek article that he wanted the Wii to be even cheaper. From that article: "Originally, I wanted a machine that would cost $100. My idea was to spend nothing on the console technology so all the money could be spent on improving the interface and software. If we hadn't used NAND flash memory [to store data such as games and photos] and other pricey parts, we might have succeeded."

GameSpot reports that Wikipedia has closed the next-gen console entries because of nigh-onto constant defacement from angry fanbois. From the article: "Last week the complete Nintendo company page was replaced with the phrase "Nintendo Sucks!!!!!!!!!" briefly before the Web site reloaded the original entry. Previous vandalism efforts include someone doodling on a Hitler moustache and horns on the photograph for the entry for Bill Gates, and the sentence "Microsoft is Zomg T3h Suck0r!!!!!!" briefly replacing the computer software company's page. All of the next-generation consoles make it into the company's top 40 list of most revised pages, with the Nintendo Wii at number 10 (12,780 revisions), the PS3 at number 21 (9,894 revisions), and the Xbox 360 at 25 (9,481 revisions.) Interestingly, the Wii seems to attract more conflicts of opinion on the site than the subjects of Scientology (8,475 revisions), God (7,537 revisions), and even Britney Spears (9,886 revisions.)"

GameSpot reports that GameStop will have too few units for preorders on launch day. Employees are being "asked" to wait until the second shipment of consoles to purchase units, to ensure customers can receive what they paid (and waited in the cold) for. From the article: "For launch day, preorders will be filled in the order they were received, and those who had a preorder but are denied a system on day one will receive something for their troubles. GameStop will give those unfortunate customers (as well as unfortunate employees) a free used game or DVD valued at $19.99 or less when they eventually wind up purchasing the system. Those who reserved a system won't need to wait long to find out if they can expect a system on launch day. Starting tomorrow, customers who preordered a PS3 will be contacted personally by phone and updated on the status of their reservation, the rep said."

The anticipation surrounding Final Fantasy XII has resulted in Square/Enix's largest U.S. rollout for a title. Gamespot reports that 1.5 Million units were shipped to the country to meet demand. From the article: "Even if every last one of those copies has been sold, Square Enix still has a ways to go before the game duplicates the success it experienced overseas earlier this year. Final Fantasy XII has already racked up more than 2.4 million sales in Japan since its release there in March of this year." The game is pushing graphical as well as business envelopes; Kikizo has a feature talking with some of the game developers about the game's use of PS2 architecture. Essentially, the team says, FFXII is the best a game will ever look on the PlayStation 2.

GameSpot is reporting that GameStop will be offering a mind-boggling $700 Wii bundle online, as of tomorrow. Considering the retail price of the Wii is $250, there had better be some solid gold Wiimotes in there to go with your little white box. From the article: "Given the GameStop Wii bundle's steep price, one would wonder what assortment of add-ons and games are worth around an extra $449. Apparently, the customer-service reps at GameStop are also wondering. 'We don't know what the bundle contains,' a rep told GameSpot. 'We also don't know when they go on sale. We won't know until Thursday.'"

All this week, and last week, Nintendo has been inviting game journalists up to their manse to have some extensive hands-on time with Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. At 1up Jeremy Parish has an extensive look at the game, with screenshots, impressions of the Wii control scheme, and a detailed look at the title's first few hours. From the article: "The bulk of swordplay, however, is controlled by moving the entire Wii Remote. Contrary to common opinion, this doesn't entail making massive swiping motions. Although it's certainly possible to wield the remote like an actual sword, a simple flick of the wrist will cause Link to attack. How you move the controller also has no bearing on the kind of strike you make. By default, Link sweeps horizontally; for a vertical slice, you must first lock on to a target. And a swing executed while pressing forward on the analog stick results in a stabbing thrust." Other features on the game include pieces from GameDaily, Kotaku, Gamespot, IGN, Gamasutra, and Game|Life. If you've been wondering about whether or not the controller is going to be tiring, then Chris Kohler's assurances for the worried gamer will be especially appreciated..

GameSpot is reporting on the announcement from IDG that they'll be putting on a new L.A.-area games expo, with the ESA's blessing. With that nod of the head, the "GamePro Expo" becomes the 'official successor' to the glitz and glamor of E3. From the article: "According to Michael Krouse, vice president of convention sales for the LA Convention and Visitors Bureau, IDG is estimating that the event will draw 30,000 attendees, and that long term, those numbers could grow. 'I am absolutely convinced this show will be as big as [the old] E3,' Krouse told GameSpot. The new show will be endorsed by the ESA — 'a very important element to the partnership,' says the memo, which goes on to say the event will take place at E3's former digs, the Los Angeles Convention Center, on October 18, 19, and 20, 2007." Given that GDC, Gen Con, and the rest have already planned for larger spaces IDG is going to have a fight on its hands next year. Should be interesting.

If you're on pins and needles looking forward to November 17th, you'll be very interested to know that Kotaku has a list of Best Buy stories opening at Midnight on PS3 launch day. The list of 18 stores allowed to open at the very start of the day comes from what is apparently an internal memo. The other stores are slated to open at 8am, assuming there are no restrictions on the time they can open (if they're in a mall, for example). As a refresher for launch day fans, make sure and check out the list of launch window titles, and the accessories price list.

Gamespot has up an article looking at the possibility, suggested by composer Marc Canham, that videogames may be 'the next MTV'. That is to say, with the popularity of modern videogames bands may be able to make or break their careers based on their contribution to a gaming title. From the article: "The industry needs to be more adventurous when it makes up soundtracks for its games, Canham believes, attesting that this is something he personally tries hard to do. He said: 'Games are quite guilty of placing obvious choices in their licensing. It's such a shame you don't seem to have the support to make brave decisions. Game producers seem to think a game doesn't have a soundtrack unless they have bands like The Killers in it... Or, bizarrely, Limp Bizkit.'"

GamesDaily has up an opinion piece, talking about why author James Brightman sees Sony walking away with the next-gen crown, again. From the article: "Sony is well aware of the power of its brand and it will do everything it can to leverage the PlayStation name. Providing backwards compatibility with both the PS1 and PS2, as well as offering full PS1 titles for download through the PS3, can only help to reinforce that brand and remind gamers of the PlayStation games they hold so dear. Selling over 100 million units, twice, has its advantages. In fact, there are a number of people who have probably owned nothing but PlayStation consoles, and those consumers are likely to stick with a brand they know and trust. Before they've even learned anything about Sony's new console, many consumers have already made up their minds that they want the next PlayStation no matter what. A strong brand should not be underestimated." Relatedly, the company released a few more details on its online plan via its Japanese office. That article touches on AV chat, a puzzle games service, and downloadable games.

Gamespot reports that yet another publisher has joined the ever-growing stable of Steam fans. 2K games is working to bring some of their games to the service, with Civilization III and IV coming to Steam this week, and other titles to follow. From the article: "Also included will be the high-seas adventure Sid Meier's Pirates! and the alternate-history real-time strategy game Shattered Union ... According to a statement released today by Valve, Steam currently has some 10 million customers for both its 'core' products--which include advanced shooters such as Half-Life 2--and casual games, such as PopCap Games' Bejeweled and Zuma. "

The next-gen beauty Assassin's Creed has been bumped out further into 2007, reports Gamespot. Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway is receiving similar treatment. Ubisoft is filling the hole in their lineup with Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, which is some consolation. From the article: "GRAW 2 isn't the only thing Ubi is prepping for gamers' springtime. Also coming by the end of March 2007 will be seven more Wii games from the publisher, including 'one nonannounced new brand.' With the seven previously announced Wii launch games from the company, Ubisoft expects to have 14 Wii titles in stores before April 2007."

Gamespot has up the record of a liveblog from yesterday's Sony Game day event. They dish a medium-sized helping of dirt, with information like controller price ($50), first-party title price ($60), what is actually in the box, launch window titles, and a bit on what the online experience will offer. From the article: "2:04 p.m.: Hirai says the final boxed product is rolling off the assembly lines as we speak. Then he shows the retail packaging. He says they will have 22 launch-window titles, including games like FEAR, Call of Duty 3, Full Auto 2, Genji: Days of the Blade, NBA Live 07, NBA 2K7, NHL 2K7, Rainbow Six Vegas, Tony Hawk's Project 8, Untold Legends, and Riiidge Racer 7. (Yes, he said 'Riiidge.')" Meanwhile, 1up has some details on the PS3's pre-order status in Japan ... if you're curious. As well you might be, because importing a PS3 is illegal, doncha know.

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."

Following up the banning of Bully by British retailers, UK BM Tony Blair faced criticism from Parliment members over the Rockstar title. During the daily 'Question Time' the PM faces, Leicester East's Keith Vaz called for a meeting on the game, and investigation of the title. From the article: "'I know that the Minister for Creative Industries and also the Minister responsible for the industry are very happy to meet with him and stakeholders to discuss it. It's obviously an important issue. I know there's a lot of concern about it. It is, I think, right to say that the video games industry, or certainly a very substantial section of it, have made significant strides and advances over the last few years, but he's quite right, it's important that's maintained,' Blair said."

Gamespot is reporting that Nielsen is now going to be tracking game play statistics. The same 10,000 sample households that dictate what succeeds and fails in the television world will also have their game playing habits recorded by the company. From the article: "The rating system will monitor the goings-on of game consoles, including next-generation models such as Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii. Data will include which games are played most frequently, along with corresponding information about the demographics of the players. The video-game rating system is also intended to offer insight into what television and Internet trends the players follow. Called GamePlay Metrics, it will be the first project to come out of Nielsen's new Wireless and Interactive Services Division, which itself launched today."

While it's not something we normally link to, some anticipated product-related news is making the rounds today. As 360 owners are likely already aware, Lumines Live! is available on the Xbox Live Marketplace. It's not entirely all it's cracked up to be, though, with some of the content yet to be rolled out and requiring a separate purchase. Neverwinter Nights 2 has gone gold, happily, with an October 31st release date placing it on the same day as Final Fantasy XII and making me very sad. Finally, November 21st will see the release of Knights of the Nine, new content for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The content will come with the PS3 version of the game, will be released to the 360 and PC via normal channels, and will also appear in stores via a box loaded will all additional Oblivion content to date.

Despite the high hopes of Xbox 360 fans Gamespot pegs it as unlikely that Lumines Live will drop this week, or that there will be a Gears of War Demo on the Xbox Live service. In news that does seem to be legit, though, you can see screenshots of the first downloadable games for the PS3 service over at Game|Life. Titles include the previously mentioned fl0w, Lemmings 2, Blast Factor, and Go Sudoku. Commentary on the games available at GameSetWatch.

Despite the high hopes of Xbox 360 fans Gamespot pegs it as unlikely that Lumines Live will drop this week, or that there will be a Gears of War Demo on the Xbox Live service. In news that does seem to be legit, though, you can see screenshots of the first downloadable games for the PS3 service over at Game|Life. Titles include the previously mentioned fl0w, Lemmings 2, Blast Factor, and Go Sudoku. Commentary on the games available at GameSetWatch.

Gamespot reports on the expected arrival of Double Fine's Psychonauts on Steam, and the unexpected announcement that Activision is now offering games on the service. Titles from the company include Call of Duty, Call of Duty 2, and Gun, which was developed by Neversoft. From that article: "Whenever Valve does open the digital spigot on the four Activision games, they will join an increasing number of third-party titles available on Steam. This week, Majesco's critical hit Psychonauts was made available on the service, and Ubisoft's Dark Messiah of Might & Magic will launch on the service later this month."

Gamespot reports on the expected arrival of Double Fine's Psychonauts on Steam, and the unexpected announcement that Activision is now offering games on the service. Titles from the company include Call of Duty, Call of Duty 2, and Gun, which was developed by Neversoft. From that article: "Whenever Valve does open the digital spigot on the four Activision games, they will join an increasing number of third-party titles available on Steam. This week, Majesco's critical hit Psychonauts was made available on the service, and Ubisoft's Dark Messiah of Might & Magic will launch on the service later this month."

Clover Studios, makers of such titles as Okami, God Hand, and Viewtiful Joe, has been closed by Capcom Japan for financial reasons. Gamespot reports on the exact wording of the sad announcement: "Clover Studio Co., Ltd. has met the goal of developing unique and creative original home video game software, however, in view of promoting a business strategy that concentrates management resources on a selected business to enhance the efficiency of the development power of the entire Capcom group, the dissolution of Clover Studios Co., Ltd. has been raised and passed at a Board of Directors' meeting."

Gamespot is reporting that Nintendo's production of the Wii is actually going better than expected. Analyst firm UBS is now estimating that 7-9 Million Wii units should be off the production lines by 2007. From the article: "Citing industry 'checks,' UBS analysts Alex Gauna and Steven Chin claim that Nintendo already made 2 million Wiis by the end of September. They go on to predict that, 'at least 7 million and potentially as high as 9 million more units are in the build plan for Q4 06. This production ramp handily exceeds a publicly announced target for 6 million units to ship by year's end.'"

In todays Opposable Thumbs column at Ars Technica, Ben Kuchera wonders out loud on the importance Microsoft is placing on Gears of War . Despite assurances that 360 games will look better, it's still a toss-up over whether Microsoft or Sony will emerge as the graphical powerhouse of the seventh generation. With ad copy flying fast and only a few weeks until the game's launch, this is Microsoft's last chance to persuade any on-the-fence PS3 fans. From the article: "The question is: does Sony need to beat it? It's not important right now--Sony is delivering what amounts to a paper launch this year; a few people will get systems but the vast majority will be waiting until supplies get a little heavier. It is clear that Sony is going to have to show those early adopters something strong and at least as good as Gears of War in terms of graphics: even thought it's a second generation game against first generation titles, the $200 price difference means people want to see better than 360 quality, and unless we get it now there will be some grumbly early adopters."

eldavojohn writes "Gamespot has an article describing PS3s operating erratically at conference demonstrations.' In its defense, Sony said the PS3 failures were caused by unusually high temperatures created by having many of the next-gen consoles operating in close proximity to each other. 'It's not a problem with the PlayStation 3 unit itself,' Sony spokeswoman Nanako Kato told the AP. 'For a normal player at home, there shouldn't be any problem.' As a result, Sony's stock slid 2.75%. I guess they should have thought first before releasing five times the number of kiosks as they did with the PS2 — they're causing each other to overheat. There goes my PS3 beowulf cluster idea!" Update: 10/04 20:40 GMT by Z : anti-human 1 wrote in to mention a GamesIndustry.biz article, with a flat denial of overheating issues from Sony. "As could be seen on the TGS floor by the tens of thousands of media and public attendees, both the hardware and software worked flawlessly."

Gamespot reports on Burger King's disturbing foray into gaming. From the article: "Finally, Sneak King takes the stealth action genre and puts it to a friendlier use than usual. Instead of tiptoeing behind enemy guards to silently snap their necks, players will sneak up on hungry people to surprise them with offerings of Burger King food. Gamers will have to sneak up on people in a logging yard, a construction site, downtown, and the suburbs, and they will be graded on their performance 'based on how elaborate the delivery is executed.' This is not the King's first visit to the world of gaming. The genuinely off-putting monarch of meat appeared in Electronic Arts' Fight Night Round 3 as an unlockable manager character to accompany your boxer to the ring. " Some screenshots will assist you in understanding how deeply distressing these games are.

In the wake of yesterday's formal announcement of the Marvel Online title, Gamespot has an interview with 'Cryptic Studios' creative director, Jack Emmert, and Marvel Entertainment's vice president of Interactive, Ames Kirshen — as well as Microsoft Game Studios' senior director of business development, Frank Pape. They discuss the details of a game on Windows and the 360 (both will play in the same world), how the game will reflect the comics, and why Cryptic is involved. From the article: "Cryptic with their great pedigree, their great track record on the City of Heroes franchise — it was the perfect partner. We have access to all the characters in the history and lore of the Marvel universe to put into this game. So we're super excited. I mean this is, for an MMO player and for folks on the console that want to play an MMO and bringing in a new audience, it's as compelling a statement as we can make." And here I thought they were going to talk about that little multi-year lawsuit between Cryptic and Marvel.

Despite some confusion last week about pricing on PS3 titles, U.S. gamers (at least) will be able to buy titles for Sony's console at a manageable price. Gamespot reports that the official Sony site is listing PS3 games at about $60. This includes seven launch titles, including a first-party game. From the article: "Shoppers can now preorder Ubisoft's Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII, Activision's Tony Hawk Project 8, Call of Duty 3, and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog and Full Auto 2: Battlelines, as well as Sony Online Entertainment's Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom. The pricing of Untold Legends may reveal what future PS3 owners feared--that first-party games would retail for the same price as third-party games." Ars Technica's Opposable Thumbs notes that 360 games are already dropping in price, and hopes Sony will follow suit next year.

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.

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.

Gamespot is reporting that this year's Tokyo Game Show will feature a record number of titles on display, some 573 games. The huge numbers reflects the console launch cycle, but surprisingly a full half of the games on offer are either PC or mobile games. The official TGS site has the full list of games, with Square Enix having some particularly interesting titles on offer. Sony has released the list of playable PS3 and PSP games that will be at the event, with heavy hitters like Heavenly Sword, Lair, Resistance, and Warhawk rounding out the list nicely. Game|Life has some commentary on the games selection for the curious. "Also on Sakaguchi's plate are two Xbox 360 RPGs to be published by Microsoft. Blue Dragon was reconfirmed to be shipping this year, and Lost Odyssey will be at Tokyo Game Show but ship in 2007. Microsoft's dreams of publishing the next big Japanese RPG don't stop there, however. The company's partnership with Star Ocean creators Tri-Ace will come to fruition next year with an RPG called Infinite Undiscovery."