True Crime: Hong Kong has been revived as Sleeping Dogs.

Square Enix has unveiled its plan to revive the popular open-world action game from United Front Games — who had been working on True Crime: Hong Kong for more than two years before Activision decided to cancel the game in 2011.

However, then in August, Square Enix picked up the rights to the game, but not the franchise; and Square needed to rebrand the game before it could be intentionally released. Thus, Sleeping Dogs was born.

Now being developed in conjunction with Square Enix London Studio, Sleeping Dogs is headed to the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC this August.

David Jaffe, the mind behind God of War and Twisted Metal, is intending to leave Eat Sleep Play, the company he helped create.

Scott Campbell — the other co-founder — confirmed Jaffe’s departure and said that the company and Jaffe are “going down two separate paths.”

“I work at home, the team’s out in Utah and I loved it at first, but man it’s cabin fever after a while,” said Jaffe.

CD Projekt RED confirm today that The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is launching on April 17 in North America for the Xbox 360. The developer has added a raft of new features and insists it’s the “most polished and definitive version of the game.”

Netflix is not expanding into the video game retail business, marking the end of its potential dangerous Qwikster business experiment.

Netflix chief executive officer Reed Hastings confirmed to investors that his company no longer plans to rent games, a strategy that was first announced in September as apart of the planned Qwikster business spinoff.

Qwikster is a standalone business dedicated to discs but, when customers heaped criticism on the company, Netflix hastily scrapped the plan. “We expect DVD subscribers to decline steadily every quarter, forever,” said Hastings on the DVD based business in general.

Microsoft plans to upgrade its disc technology in its next console to Blu-Ray discs, according to industry sources.

Sony, its competitors, utilizes the disc technology in its PlayStation 3, which contains 25 or 50GB of data compared to only 9GB on DVD discs. However, the disc integration could be far less impactful to the next generation of game consoles.

“I’ve heard from one reliable industry source that Microsoft intends to incorporate some sort of anti-used game system as part of their so-called Xbox 720,” reports Kotaku editor Stephen Totilo. “My source wasn’t sure how Microsoft intended to implement any anti-used game system in the new machine.”

Totilo also reports that Microsoft is interested in making a smaller controller for its new console.

It’s a rematch!

The New England Patriots are set to play the New York “Football” Giants, once again, for “all the marbles” in the NFL — this time in Indianapolis.

The Patriots have won ten straight games, with their last loss coming from — you guessed it — the Giants. And, from the opposite prospective, New York have won five straight games, both stats include their Championship Games.

“We know they’re a great team,” Giants quarterback Eli Manning said about the Patriots. “We played them already this year. They’ve been playing great football recently.”

“This team really overcame a lot, and they fought hard all year,” said New England coach Bill Belichick. “It wasn’t always perfect just like today. We had our moments, but they hung in there and they fought hard. I’m happy for the players. They did a great job today.”

Now one can only wonder what Madden NFL Super Bowl predictions will be made for Super Bowl XLVI.

It’s official! Capcom has confirmed the next installment in its long-running horror franchise, Resident Evil 6, and the highly anticipated title already as has a release date.

Taking place some ten years after the infamous Raccoon City incident, Resident Evil 6 begins with the President of the United States about to reveal the truth behind the Raccoon City incident.

But, unfortunately, he’s instead transformed into a hideous mutated monster and its up to bodyguard Leon S. Kennedy to make sense of it all. Meanwhile, Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance agent Chris Redfield arrives in China, but it itself is under a bioterrorist attack.

It looks like we might be getting a mix of both traditional Resident Evil survival horror elements and action oriented elements. However, no other details where made available. With that said, the globe outbreak is expected on November 20 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 — with the PC infection expect sometime after that.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have announced Mortal Kombat for the PlayStation Vita, expected later this spring.

In development at NetherRealm Studios, Mortal Kombat has been purposefully designed for the portable gaming experience, and it includes “brand new gameplay features and content developed exclusively” for the handheld.

“The NetherRealm team is committed to making sure that we follow up the success of 2011’s Mortal Kombat with an equally compelling experience on the PlayStation Vita,” said creative director Ed Boon. However, no other details where made available about the project.

The popular role-playing game is headed to consoles after all.

Blizzard Entertainment community manager Micah Whiple confirmed via his twitter feed that Diablo III is indeed headed to consoles. However, no specific platforms were mentioned for the console version, or a release date.

“Yup,” Whipple said. “Josh Mosqueira is lead designer for the Diablo console project.”

LG has announced a partnership with Gaikai to integrate the cloud gaming application into its televisions, filling the gap between console and television.

At the International Consumer Electronics Show, there’s an active demo of the program, and it showcased a solid input rate — although there are some issues because of artifacts.

But, a Gaikai spokesperson did inform us that the programs still in the early stages of development. With that said, LG hasn’t solidify a release date and price for the service. The service will permeate LG Cinema 3D televisions.

Despite its strong release, Media Create data reveals that the PlayStation Vita sales have slown down once again in Japan — as the Vita sold only 42,648 units in its third week at Japanese retail.

Last week — its second week on the market — the handheld moved an already troubling 72,479 units. This compares to the Nintendo 3DS, which also saw a decline in its third week.

Sony said that it doesn’t expect to announce a new console at this years Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Sony division head Kaz Hirai said that they’ve always expected the PlayStation 3 to have a decade long life cycle, and he doesn’t see any reason to rush and replace it with a new system.

During an investors roundtable at the trade show, a reporter questioned the possibility of new console announcement. The head of Sony’s video game division, Andrew House, said that there would be no announcement at the show.

“Andy [House] is absolutely right in that we are not making any announcements at E3,” Hirai added, reports The Wall Street Journal. “I’ve always said a 10-year life cycle for PS3, and there is no reason to go away from that.”

Intel has moved beyond the era of the personal computer — to the era of “personal computing.”

At the International Consumer Electronics Show, Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini said that, as the devices themselves become “less relevant,” the question becomes who can craft the better experiences.

Otellini emphasized the importance smartphones — an area where the company has been trying to gain traction. He then introduced the Lenovo’s new K800 smartphone, which will be coming first to China.

Liu Jun, senior vice president of Lenovo, then appeared on stage with the device in hand. “This is only the first step — I firmly believe Intel and Lenovo will achieve great success is the mobile market,” Jun said.

After detailing the device, Sanjay Jha, chief executive of Motorola Mobility, came on stage to show its support for Intel’s mobile hardware. “We’re thrilled” to build high-performance mobile products based on the mobile Atom hardware,” Jha said — announcing a multi-year partnership with Intel.

“Intel coming into the mobile business is a good thing,” Jha said. “It brings in a new perspective.”

AT&T has revealed its pricing and availability dates for the PlayStation Vita — through its partnership with Sony Computer Entertainment.

When the PlayStation Vita launches, costumers of the carrier will have their choice of two data plans. There will be a $15 a month plan for 250MB, and a $25 plan for 2GB a month. Both plans will be month-to-month and will not require any long-term contracts.

• Location-based application “near” will allow users to find out what other PS Vita owners in their vicinity are currently playing and what titles are most popular in the area. “near” also enables location-based gaming features such as “gifting,” in which a user can access virtual game-related items that other users are sharing by checking in at geographic locations. For example, in the popular kart racing series ModNation Racers: Road Trip, PS Vita users will be able to collect rare gift items provided through the game when visiting specific points of interest in 45 major cities around the world. They can then share them with other PS Vita owners through the “near” application.
• “LiveArea” is an interactive interface for each PS Vita software title in which users can access the latest information for games through PlayStation Network.
• In addition, a variety of social networking and communications services such as Facebook, Flickr, foursquare, and Twitter will be available on PS Vita.
• PS Vita systems with an active AT&T data plan will also take advantage of software functionality developed specifically for the 3G-enabled model that allow users to game at the speed of their mobile lifestyle, including turn-based, asynchronous multiplayer gameplay, instantly updated rankings and leaderboards, immediate access to the latest downloadable add-on content, and real-time community news.

The complicated relationship between HBO and the video rental service Netflix just got alittle more complicated.

According to The New York Times, HBO is no-longer selling its DVDs at a discount price to Netflix as of the beginning of this year, continuing the battle between the two entertainment giants.

Though this isn’t a huge financial hit for Netflix, a Netflix spokesman said, “Netflix will continue to provide HBO titles on DVD and Blu-ray to our members.” Proving that Netflix will continue to push its DVD service, besides an increased emphasis on online streaming.

It’s that time of  the year, where we grather up the most enjoyable titles of past year to generate at list of the most notable ones. Including, the most coveted award, the Game of the Year award.

With that said, these awards where decide on by a group of three “strong-mined” people, with each category being built of four nominees. However, only two title will be shown, respectively the winners and runner-ups in each questionably decided category.

Most Underrated Game of the Year
Winner – Rayman Origins
Runner-up – Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Best Indie Title of the Year
Winner – Bastion
Runner-up – Minecraft

Best Shooter
Winner – Battlefield 3
Runner-up – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Best Action-Adventure Game
Winner – Batman: Arkham City
Runner-up – Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

Best Sport Game
Winner – NBA 2K12
Runner-up – FIFA Soccer 12

Best Original Soundtrack
Winner – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Runner-up – Dark Souls

Best PC Game of the Year
Winner – The Witcher 2: Assassin’s of Kings
Runner-up – Portal 2

PSP Exclusive of the Year
Winner – Monster Hunter Portable 3rd
Runner-up – Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy

DS/3DS Exclusive of the Year
Winner – Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version
Runner-up – Super Mario 3D Land

Multi-Platform Game of the Year
Winner – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Runner-up – Batman: Arkham City

XBOX 360 Exclusive of the Year
Winner – Gears of War 3
Runner-up – Forza Motorsport 4

PlayStation 3 Exclusive of the Year
Winner – Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Runner-up – LittleBIGPlanet 2

Nintendo Wii Exclusive of the Year
Winner – The Lengend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Runner-up – Kirby’s Return to Dreamland

Game of the Year
Winner – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Runner-up – The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Approaching its release, Sony revealed the launch details about its latest handheld, the PlayStation Vita, including a list of launch titles and platform accessories.

When the handheld launches in North America on February 22, it will feature twenty retail titles and five additional downloadable titles available only through the PlayStation Network. Sony also outlined the software support for the system’s First Edition bundle, which will hit retail on February 15.

According to the list, all five of Sony’s first-party games will be on shelves early, as will a quartet of third-party releases. Beyond the launch lineup, Sony detailed another 10 titles currently set for the system’s “launch window,” though how far that window extends is unclear. In addition, Sony also detailed its plans for the PS Vita accessories.

Feb. 15 Game Releases
BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend–Aksys
Escape Plan (PSN only)–Sony
Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational–Sony
Hustle Kings (PSN only)–Sony
Little Deviants–Sony
Lumines: Electronic Symphony–Ubisoft
ModNation Racers: Road Trip–Sony
Rayman Origins–Ubisoft
Super Stardust Delta (PSN only)–Sony
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3–Capcom
Uncharted: Golden Abyss–Sony
WipeOut 2048–Sony

Feb. 22 Game Releases
Army Corps of Hell–Square Enix
Asphalt Injection–Ubisoft
Ben10: Galactic Racing–D3Publisher
Dungeon Hunter Alliance–Ubisoft
Dynasty Warriors Next–Tecmo Koei
F1 2011–Codemasters
FIFA Soccer–Electronic Arts
Michael Jackson The Experience–Ubisoft
Plants vs. Zombies (PSN only)–Sony Online Entertainment
Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen–Namco Bandai
Tales of Space: Mutant Blobs (PSN only)–Drinkbox Studios
Touch My Katamari–Namco Bandai
Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour Edition–Sega

Launch Window Game Releases
Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention: NIS America
Gravity Rush–Sony
Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7–Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
MLB 12: The Show–Sony
Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus–Tecmo Koei
Reality Fighters–Sony
Ridge Racer–Namco Bandai
Silent Hill Book of Memories–Konami
Supremacy MMA: Unrestricted–505 Games
Unit 13–Sony

Sony PS Vita Accessories (available Feb. 15 except where indicated)
4GB Memory Card–$19.99
8GB Memory Card–$29.99
16GB Memory Card–$59.99
32GB Memory Card–$99.99
Starter Kit with Memory Card–$39.99
In-Ear Headset–$19.99
Carrying Case–$19.99
Travel Pouch–$19.99
Protective Film (two-pack)–$9.99
Card Case–$5.99
Cradle–$19.99
AC Adaptor–$14.99
USB Cable–$14.99
Portable Charger (spring 2012)–$49.99
Car Adaptor (spring 2012)–$14.99

While expecting his award for “Best Performance by Human Male,” at the Spike Video Game Awards, a computer animated The Joker held up a script that read “Batman: Arkham World,” hinting at the possibility of another Batman game.

Before continuing with his acceptance speech, he tossed the script mischievously stating “whoops, spoilers.” Of course, this isn’t a formal announcement, and it is far from Rocksteady confirming another sequel.

Naughty Dog is developing the PlayStation exclusive, The Last of Us.

The bombshell was dropped: Naughty Dog is developing the PlayStation exclusive, The Last of Us.

Shown at the Spike Video Game Awards, the trailer features a father and his daughter fighting it out with a thug and then battling some fast-moving zombie-like creatures. “This is our routine, day and night,” she narrates. “All we do is survive.”

It’s been rough and challenging road for the Tony Hawk franchise as of recent, but now they’ve decided to take the franchise in an entry new “digital” direction.

Onstage at the VGA pre-show, Tony Hawk revealed Tony Hawk Pro-Skater HD, an high-definition combination of the first two games. It’s a download only title, and should be able “sometime before the summer.”

Miyamoto has expressed an interest in returning to development, working on “smaller projects with even younger developers.”

The man behind Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda plans to retire from his current position at Nintendo.

Legendary game creator Shigeru Miyamoto plans to stay with the company, but will take on a smaller roll in the development department. “I’m not saying that I’m going to retire from game development altogether. What I mean by retiring is, retiring from my current position,” said Miyamoto.

Miyamoto then expressed an interest in returning to development, working on “smaller projects with even younger developers.” The legendary designer even suggested he might work on projects entirely on his own, which will be the first in years.

Basically, for the last several years, Miyamoto has been able to train many younger teams and developers; one of the reasons he’s comfortable resigning from his current post. ”After all, if I’m there in my position as it is, then there’s always kind of a relationship. And the young guys are always kind of in a situation where they have to listen to my ideas. But I need some people who are growing up much more than today.”

Its domination continues. As more than 6.5 million people have purchased Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 within its first 24 hours on the market, in both North America and the United Kingdom, with it pulling in more than $400 million in total revenue.

That number makes it one of the largest entertainment launches in history, with the record being held by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 at $483 million — but that was within two days, not one. Meaning that, Modern Warfare 3 could still obtain the record.

“We believe the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the biggest entertainment launch of all time in any medium, and we achieved this record with sales from only two territories,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard, Inc.

“Other than Call of Duty, there has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records three years in a row. Life-to-date sales for the Call of Duty franchise exceed worldwide theatrical box office for “Star Wars” and “Lord of the Rings,” two of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time.”

The specification are still being formulated but, according to Develop, Nintendo engineers are working to incorporate duel tablet control for the upcoming, motion controlled console, the Nintendo Wii U.

A trusted development executive has revealed that there are numerous indications, within the Wii U code, pointing to the console being operate with two tablets. However, Nintendo had previously indicated that the Wii U could only operate with one control because of the “technical limitations.” But, it also stated that nothing was finalized at the time.

“I am truly sorry this happened, and I apologize for the inconvenience,”Newell said.

Valve Corporation co-founder and managing director Gabe Newell has sent a public message revealing that credit card numbers and other personal information have been compromised during an attack on its Steam service.

Valve advises that all of its customers monitor their credit card activity, as those numbers were inside a database that the hackers penetrated. The Steam Forums are currently closed, however the service remains online.

“We do not have evidence that encrypted credit card numbers or personally identifying information were taken by the intruders, or that the protection on credit card numbers or passwords was cracked. We are still investigating,” informed Newell. “We don’t have evidence of credit card misuse at this time. Nonetheless you should watch your credit card activity and statements closely.”

The database exposed during the attack “contained information including user names, hashed and salted passwords, game purchases, email addresses, billing addresses and encrypted credit card information.”

Mario Kart producer Hideki Konno has shown an interest in bringing the popular franchise to the Wii U. In a recent interview with Nintendo Power, Konno expressed that he’d love to expand the franchise onto Nintendo’s new platform.

“I can’t get into the specifics, but I do want to create a new and enjoyable Mario Kart that uses the unique functions of the Wii U,” Konno said. “Anything beyond that I have to keep secret. Please bear with me for now!” He also debunked featuring other franchises characters in the game, stating that they’ve “never seriously considered that.”

Ubisoft Montreal have unveiled Rainbow 6 Patriots, the next installment in the highly acclaimed Tom Clancy franchise. Patriots details the tactics of Team Rainbow, a homegrown terrorist uprising and the many civilians caught in the crossfire.

The games terrorist threat, called the True Patriots, hopes to restore its interpretation of American values by beheading corporate America and overthrowing the government. In addition to the announcement, creative director David Sears showcased a technical prototype of Patriots; showcasing the developers vision for the title, which is a bit controversial.

“Terrorism has evolved, and so has Rainbow 6,” added Sears. “In Rainbow 6 Patriots, all the team play, tactics, and realism that fans of the series love have been coupled with an exciting new narrative direction. This adds an unprecedented level of humanity that will make Rainbow 6 Patriots an extremely tense and immersive experience.”

It’s here! The official trailer for Grand Theft Auto V. It’s alittle over a minute and 20 seconds, and shows a game set in Los Santos and perhaps even other parts of the fictional California.

Pirated copies of the highly anticipated title have been circling around the country, ahead of its release. According to VentureBeat, an employee at a shipment warehouse in California stole two copies of the PC retail version of Modern Warfare 3.

To prevent the spread of the pirated copies, Activision is chasing down those found to be playing the game, even turning up at their doors and asking them to delete pirated copies.

Rumors have indicated that the next Grand Theft Auto title will be located in San Andreas, the series’ fictional version of Los Angeles. Now, according to Kotaku, sources close to the development team have confirmed these rumors to be true.

In addition, these sources have also revealed that Grand Theft Auto V will feature multiple playable characters, a first in the series. With that said, the option for multiple characters is something that fits within the series’ natural evolution — because the cities have always been detailed with the stories of multiple characters.

Next week, on November 2nd, Rockstar Games will be debuting trailer for the fifth major installment in the Grand Theft Auto series, according to the developer’s website. But, unfortunately, no details where revealed about the forthcoming project.

Continuing the series’ fine tradition, NAMCO Bandai have revealed that Ezio Auditore da Firenze of the Assassin’s Creed franchise will be featured and playable in SoulCalibur V.

The white-clad assassin, who found fame in Ubisoft’s hit adventure franchise, will be available in both versions of the title. However, considering all the previous guest characters, Ezio, perhaps, makes the most sense because the renaissance-era assassin fits closely to fits the series plot and era.

Blizzard Entertainment have announced a brand new expansion pack for World of Warcraft, Mists of Pandaria. The latest expansion will reintroduce the Pandaria and centerpiece the conflict between the Horde and the Alliance.

Mists of Pandaria highlights the idea of “war,” with vice president Chris Metzen stating that the Alliance and Horde will go to war in ways we haven’t seen since the second WarCraft installment. Introducing a the new Monk class, it features the Pandaren as a playable race of characters. It also brings the level cap up to 90, add new talents, a “Challenge Mode” for dungeons and a “Pet Battle” system.

The Amazing Spider-Man is being made into a video game, and it’s coming from Activision and the Edge of Time developers Beenox . More importantly, it’s going to be it’s own game, besides coinciding with the movie.

At the Marvel development panel, Beenox creative director Gerard Lehiany discussed developing a game that will coincide with the movie. The Amazing Spider-Man, sharing the same name as the movie, will return to the open-world structure as some of its predecessors.

“We brought back the city into Spider-Man games,” said Lehinay. “For us it is important to be able to web-swing in the city. So that’s one of the major things that we’ve been working on.”

During the presentation, a brief discussion broke out about the game development process with Marvel, and how the universe’s characters rich and Beenox ability to transform these characters and still be close to the original character.

The online pass system seems to be everywhere, even in single-player games. According to Eurogamer, Warner Bros. Interactive have confirmed that an online pass will be needed to access the Catwomen content on the Batman: Arkham City disc.

“Further to your story, players who purchase previously owned copies of Batman: Arkham City can access the playable Catwoman content for £7.99/ 800 Microsoft Points,” said a Warner Bros representative. “Playing as Catwoman is not required to complete the game.”

However, without the code, Catwoman still appears in the game as part of the story, but her playable missions remain locked. In addition, it also unlocks Catwoman as a playable character in the challenge missions.

After an ocelot of speculation, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has confirmed the existence of Nightwing in Batman: Arkham City — the upcoming sequel to Arkham Asylum — in the announcement of the Nightwing Bundle Pack.

The character will release with moves and gadgets unique to him, as well as the “Wayne Manor” and “Main Hall” challenge missions. The Nightwing Bundle Pack will run for 560 Microsoft points/$6.99 on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network on November 1st.

According to multiple reports, Team Bondi, the Australian studio known for L.A. Noire, owes its employees more than one million dollars, which is a fitting epitaphs to its already enormous amount of employment issues.

Following the reports of its shady employment practices, an insider is tipping that Team Bondi’s boss was something of an insufferable martinet. That insider, Brendan McNamara, has largest slate of that one million dollars in unpaid compensation. In addition, Depth Analysis, which created the game’s animation technology, is owed more than $140,000.

However, Team Bondi is currently being liquidated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, and the proceeds will go to pay outstanding claims held by McNamara, employees and other creditors.

“If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.”

Apple, Inc. has announced the passing of its visionary co-founder Steve Job, as he lost his battle with cancer at the early age of 56.

Jobs had previously denounced his position in August, but this wasn’t before he changed billions of lives. “Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being,” the company said in a statement.

“Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”

There’s going to be another Dead Space title — and reports have indicated that — it’s going to be a radical re-thinking of the horror series. No longer will there be dark corridors, the series is going into an entirely new direction.

According to Siliconera, the next Dead Space title will take place on a planet called Tau Volantis. The planet features “white-out blizzard conditions,” replacing the dark corridors with “pure white,” which will be a new method of hiding the series’ trademark creatures.

In addition, Siliconera’s inside source have revealed that the enemies will be “hive minded” in the sequel. However, though other rumors have pointed another sequel, this is not official information.

During its pre-TGS event, Team Ninja unmasked the competitive multiplayer mode for Ninja Gaiden III. The “World of Ninjas” mode will connect up to eight players in a sort of “ninja tournament,” the ultimate goal is to rank up and surpass master ninja Ryu Hayabusa.

Team Ninja producer Yosuke Hayashi also introduced two new play style systems; in addition to the normal and hard difficulty levels. “Ninja” mode follows a familiar style of gameplay, but “Hero” adds things like auto-block and auto-dodge, to let new players just “enjoy the story.” In conclusion, these system are also being added to the Vita release of Ninja Gaiden Sigma.

In a bombshell announcement — collaborating with the tenth anniversary — Square Enix announced that it will be releasing an HD version of Final Fantasy X.

However, details are still scarce, as the game is still deep in development. But, Square did reveal that it’s coming exclusively to both PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.

Today we honor the memory of those who lost their lives on September 11. Gone but never forgotten.

Personally, I’m not one for interfering in the marketing side of video games, even though I am a journalist, somewhat. But, something came to my attention — seeing that it’s the anniversary of the attacks on 9/11.

I was watching the Kill Bill marathon on Spike TV and a advertisement for Resistance 3 appeared. It’s not that the advertisement was bad, it’s just that the context of the advertisement was alittle untimely. The advertisement conveyed a last ditch effort message, but couldn’t there of been a better quote to use then “destroy the tower” on the anniversary of the attacks?

*The actually ad was shorten, and just showed the destroy the tower part.

Throughout history there have been a select characters that have represented a set console generation. Many of these iconic characters reside as console poster boys, however they’re much more then that. These characters are the reasons why gamers, and casual gamers, purchase a set console.

In my studies throughout this generation, I’ve personally composed a list of the characters that have shaped this generation of console; so far, of course. This list is a non-bias composition of characters that have single-handedly shaped this generation, all of the iconic characters that we already love, won’t be on this list – no discrimination was important when making this list.

The first character I’ll like to mention is Nathan Drake, the chromatic and adventurous, adventurer. I placed him as one of the more iconic characters of this generation because he has single-handedly transformed the way characters are portrayed in video games. His realistic mannerisms have changed the way developers craft characters — challenging developers and animators to really take on character development in a different form. Personally, I find his impact to the industry hard to describe. But, understand this; his influence has re-imagine the iconic Tomb Raider franchise.

The next character I’ll like to mention is Desmond Miles/Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad/Ezio Auditore da Firenze, who are all technically the same person. I didn’t pick these characters based off what they’ve done but, instead, because they matter so much to this generation of console. The Assassin’s Creed franchise represents something greater, it could indeed represent this generation as a whole because the titles have improved so much over each installment, in terms of plot and gameplay.

The next character I’ll like to mention is Commander Shepard, who’s an important addition to this list. He’s the main reason I decided to conduct this list of the today’s most iconic characters. Basically, Shepard has fitted to everyone’s portrait of him or her, giving the player an emotional attachment to the story, which is an incredible task within itself. But, more importantly, the addition of the “Decision Wheel,” which has transformed character interaction forever because of it has “simplified” the in-game decision process for consoles.

The next character I picked, the Big Daddy. Picking the Big Daddy was challenge for me because, well, I wanted to pick Jack, the character whom the player controls. But, I couldn’t; the Big Daddy character was prefect in representing BioShock, a game that has transformed story telling in video games forever. The game was so artfullily crafted and unique that, even though the main character couldn’t talk, the story was relayed throw the people around Jack and the location.

In conclusion, I’ll like to mention Marcus Fenix, the main character of Epic’s Gears of War series. As I’ve said, each generation their are characters the define a generation of console, and I believe that Fenix represents this generation of console for Microsoft. Master Chef wholehearted represent the original Xbox and the revolution of the first person shooter, and Gears of War represents the revolution of cover-based third-person shooters, it just makes sense that he would be one of this generations more iconic characters.

I’ll also like to mention these characters: Sackboy, Niko Bellic, John Marston, Issac Clarke and GlaDOS.

*These characters also represent the both assistant characters and main characters.

Halo 4 creative director Ryan Payton has denounced his position at Microsoft’s 343 Industries, stating that development had become a “crazed endeavor.” Payton leaves behind the development of Halo 4 and the entire Halo development team.

Payton, who had worked at Kojima Productions, was tasked with developing the game’s story and overseeing the creative team who where planning “The Reclaimer Trilogy” of Halo games.

“I had a great run at Microsoft,” Payton told Kotaku. “I don’t regret one day of it. But after a few years, there came a point where I wasn’t creatively excited about the project anymore.”

However, his decision isn’t because the game is bad, it simply was because the project had lost line with his original vision. “The Halo I wanted to build was fundamentally different and I don’t think I had built enough credibility to see such a crazy endeavor through.”

“I think time is the most valuable thing we have,” said Payton, “and I’ve decided that I’m not going to waste one more day working on something that doesn’t speak to my values.”

While other companies have pushed themselves into the third-dimensional market, Microsoft has sat on the sidelines. But today at PAX, the company announced that Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary will feature stereoscopic 3D support when it releases.

The publisher and console manufacture has stated that it’s using a “custom made top-and-bottom 3D technology” to allow the game to run in stereoscopic 3D — however, a 3D compatible television will still be needed to take advantage of the technology.

In a shunting turn of events, Silicon Valley legend Steve Jobs resigned his position as chief executive of Apple, Inc. — ending his 14-year reign at the technology giant.

The company had suspended from trade before the announcement, insuring the company’s gain in the market today. The industry icon, who has been on medical leave for an undisclosed condition, will be replaced by Apple, Inc. COO Tim Cook.

“I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come,” he said in a brief letter announcing his resignation.

Update: Apple has announced that COO Tim Cook has been named the company’s new CEO, and that Steve Jobs has been elected Chairman of the Board.

The anticipation towards DMC has been building, especially since no one knows exactly what to expect. But, at gamescom, developer Ninja Theory — in conjunction with Capcom Japan — detailed the new combat system and hinted into the upcoming “rebirth.”

When discussing the upcoming title, developer Tameem Antonisades said that the developer wanted to “preserve the combat dynamics of the [Devil May Cry] franchise.” He added that they wanted to import Ninja Theory’s “world building” and character development; keeping the franchise tradition and expanding on them. But, working “collaboratively” to expand on them with Capcom Japan.

Continuing the discussing, co-producer Alex Jones discussed the demo they showcased. “[The demo] touches on the guts of DMC, which is fluid character control, uber responsiveness; all the things that people want from a DMC game,” said Jones. “It’s where we’ve put most of our production resources in to this point in the game.”

“We’ve spent the bulk of our resources nailing that,” added Capcom Japan co-producer Motohide Eshiro. However, as for Dante, the game takes place in both the real world and limbo, a demonic dimension which runs parallel to real world. Dante will inhabit both sides of the spectrum, because he has some demonic heritage of his own. It’s kind of like the real world and the actual world situation.

But, for the character himself, the developers describe Dante as a disenfranchised youth that “has a lot of rage.” Thus of use of this “rebellious” style — in both character and overall design, pushing Dante to become the antihero that we know and love.

“We did want him to feel more contemporary, more Raging Bull than Rocky 3,” says Tameem. “Dante’s kind of like an outcast in this story, he lives on the periphery of society. We’ve found a good balance of a young Dante who is pissed off, but still retains that wit, that black humour. He’s not emo – he’s never been emo! – he’s just so disaffected and disassociated with society that he just doesn’t give a shit about it. He has no fear, and no respect for authority, particularly not the demonic authority that runs the world.”

Amidst the bombardment of news coming out of the event, the new Guild Wars 2 trailer is something that will shunt anyone with its picturesque beauty and unbelievable brand of chaos.

The original Borderlands was crafted by a simple idea — mix first person-shooter and role-playing elements. However, the original severed as more of a beta test — a successful beta test in fact — to home in a more creative idea.

Indeed, the sequel looks to write the wrongs of the original, something Gearbox vice president Steve Gibson wants to make evident. “We had no weapons in Borderlands 2 for about six months while we gutted the weapon system and replaced the whole thing,” says Gibson. “But we felt like we could do a lot better. We thought the AI system could be a lot better. We felt like the quest system could be a lot better. We felt like the vehicle system could be a lot better.”

However, the most noticeable change is in the use of textures — adding more interesting and unique environments. “This time around we’ve actually put the writer of Borderlands in the same room as the lead designer of Borderlands. We’re connecting the world and the story and your quests all together now. We’re trying to weave a much more intricate tale.”

But, we can’t forget the weapons, the piece de resistance in the Borderlands universe, in the sequel each weapon will carry a specific property, for instance, Tediore weapons will basically be junk weapons — they can still fire, but they aren’t meant to be reused. So, you’ll just pull another one off your belt. But, if you pick up a Bandit weapon, they’ll always have extended clips — but are also disposable.

There are promises of a wholesale overhaul to the way enemies behave in combat. “Enemies are actually going to work together, call plays, and take more advantage of the environment,” added Gibson. “At least, the smart ones will do that. The psychos, everyone’s favorite raving lunatics from the first game, still operate with a mantra that Gibson describes as, “Wow that’s a gun! I want my face in front of it.”

Another interesting change, the change in vehicular physics. Gibson promises a more dynamic, realistic and “geographically correct” experience when traveling around in the sequel — no longer will vehicles over react when you hit areas around the environment and pin-pointing areas will be much easier.

One of the final Wii titles on the horizon, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was given the release date of November 20 in North America. In addition, Nintendo revealed that it’s also set for a November 18 release in Europe.

Tecmo Koei have revealed that Ninja Gaiden III — the newest installment in it’s long running action franchise — will feature PlayStation Move support, allowing for real-life motion control.

In a statement, Team Ninja head Yosuke Hayashi said that the addition of Move functionality will “bring players closer to the game’s protagonist, Ryu Haybusa,” which falls in line with the studio’s attempts to deliver a more visceral overall action experience.

In an interesting turn of events, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe have announced a new handheld iteration of it’s popular Resistance franchise, entitled Resistance: Burning Skies.

Developer Nihilistic Software is at the helm, under the supervision of Insomniac Games. Burning Skies is set before the events of the second title as the Chimera have started to invade the United States.

During the Electronic Arts press conference, EA Sports executive vice president Andrew Wilson took the stage to announce they’re working on FIFA Street, the “most authentic” street soccer experience.

According to Wilson, a research team traveled across the world to see how people actually played soccer in the streets, even visiting places like Rio, Amsterdam and the United Kingdom.

In addition, Wilson also revealed that FIFA Street would also be apart of EA Sports Football Club — a new online social service that allows users to manage teams, create and download content, track leaderboards and more.

“What does a hero truly need?” That is the question developer Valve asks in the debut trailer for DOTA 2.

With the current state of Nintendo’s stock and the somewhat successful launch of the Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo investors are pushing for the video game firm to develop a Mario title for the iOS.

According to Bloomberg, the rift was caused by consumers “shunning” Nintendo’s devices to play on Apple’s handheld platforms instead. However, President Satoru Iwata has stated that the company will only make titles for its own products as long as he’s in charge. But, with the recent flop of the 3DS, his business position may need to be changed.

“Smartphones are the new battlefield for the gaming industry,” added Masamitsu Ohki, a fund manager at Tokyo-based Stats Investment Management Co. “Nintendo should try to either buy its way into this platform or develop something totally new.” However, Nintendo has declined to comment to the reports.

But, Ohki isn’t alone in when it comes to stating that Nintendo should reconsider his business strategy. When The Pokemon Company announced that it was developing a title for iPhone and other handhelds running on Mountain View, it’s stock increased.

Speaking during a keynote at QuakeCon, id Software director John Carmack revealed that parent company ZeniMax has given them permission to release the Doom 3 source code sometime after the release of Rage, the developers upcoming title.

Carmack added that the code needed a quick polish before you can all get in the hands of other programmers, and that it still has to run past legal. In conclusion, he then called on other developers to release some of their older codes.

In the Ultimate Spider-Man Universe, Peter Parker is dead. However, a world isn’t a world without a man in the red and blue suit, his replacement; a multicultural teenager named Miles Morales, a character of Black and Latino descent.

On Wednesday, comic book juggernaut Marvel released “Ultimate Comics Fallout #4,” which introduces Spider-Man’s newest alter ego — giving a glimpse of life after Peter Parker, and the events and future exploits of Miles Morales.

“He swings into action, kicks butt, and when he pulls back his mask, there is another face there,” said Marvel editor-and-chief Axel Alonso, who is positive about the new hero and his connect with comic book fans.

“When the opportunity arose to create a new Spider-Man, we knew it had to be a character that represents the diversity — in background and experience — of the 21st century,” Alonso said. “We have a president of mixed heritage; in fact, I’m of mixed heritage, this is just the world we live in.”

The multicultural hero revamp has been in the works for sometime now, but Marvel credited actor Donald Glover, who lobbied for the starring role in “The Amazing Spider-Man” movie, for the final decision. When Glover didn’t make the role, it sparked many a discussion about race, racial casting. Writer Brian Michael Bendis said that Glover’s actions convinced him he was making the right move.

Confirming recent speculation, Gearbox Software confirmed the development of Borderlands 2, the sequel to the “extravasplosive” breakout sensation. Returning players to the planet of Pandora, Borderlands 2 is the “epic” sequel for the “ultimate” shooter loot fest.

According to Game Informer, the developer plans to introduce more diverse environments, with smarter and more powerful enemies and an improved mission system capable of delivering a better overall story in the sequel.

Now, that San Diego Comic-Con and EVO 2011 are over. SoulCalibur V director Daishi Odashima has unleashed a barrage of details surrounding the “Critical Edge” combat system, which will be featured in the upcoming fighting game.

“Critical Edge is a new attack system that delivers high damage to the opponent. [It] can be used in combos. Requires 1 Critical Gauge bar,” Odashima explained. “The Critical Gauge can be charged up to 2 bars. So some characters can connect 2 Critical Edges in a row.”

“A small portion of the Critical Gauge can be used to perform Brave Edge; a powered up [version] of standard attacks (character shines when used). The properties change depending on the move; increase damage, adds additional attacks, gives advantage on block, changes hit property etc,” he continued.

He then detailed some of the newer defensive maneuvers in SoulCablibur V. “There are 3 defensive systems. Quick Move can be performed by tapping the same direction twice. Kind of like a faster version of the [8-way Run] 8WR,” he explains. “[It's] similar to SC2′s evasion but doesn’t have invincible frames. It’s very easy to do and can be used by beginners too.”

The Dark Knight Rises has arrived in Pittsburgh — in addition to some spoiler-heavy images from the set. The first images reveals Tom Hardy in his Bane costume and the second from a desert cameo-covered version of the Tumbler.

Source article

• Tom Hardy: On Set As Bane for ‘The Dark Knight Rises!’ (justjared.buzznet.com)

Red Faction: Armageddon has decreased the publishers confidence in the franchise. During an investors call this evening, THQ CEO Brian Farrell described the Red Faction franchise’s reach as “niche,” and that consequently its no longer worth pursuing.

“Given that that title, now in two successive versions, has just found a niche, we do not intend to carry forward with that franchise in any meaningful way,” Farrell said. According to Farrell, the recently released Red Faction: Armageddon “did not resonate with a sufficiently broad console gaming audience,” despite its “passionate niche following.”

“In today’s hit-driven, core gaming business, even highly-polished titles with a reasonable following like Red Faction face a bar that continues to move higher and higher,” he said. “Moving forward, our core game titles must meet a very high quality standard with strong creative and product differentiation, appeal to a broad audience, and be marketed aggressively.”

The Last Airbender movie left an undesirable taste in your mouths. But, at the Nickelodeon Comic-Con panel, the cable service released a brand new trailer for new The Last Airbender mini-series “Legend of Korra,” washing the taste out of our mouths.

This pass weekend, San Diego Comic-Con attendees were treated to an exclusive look at MTV’s Good Vibes, an upcoming animated series from the producers behind of The Simpsons and Pineapple Express.

The show takes place in a fictional California beach town where two best friends — Mondo and Woodie — attempt to prove that they’ve got what it takes among a world of surfers and babes. And, as seen in the trailer, it’s not afraid of raunchy humor.

In a recent interview with GameZone, DICE studio head Patrick Bach discussed transferring Battlefield 3 onto console. Bach said that the biggest difference between the PC and console versions are shown in the multiplayer, down from 64 on the PC to just 24 on consoles.

“The biggest difference between the PC and console version of Battlefield 3 is that we have 64 players on PC and 24 players maximum on console.”

“The biggest difference between the PC and console version of Battlefield 3 is that we have 64 players on PC and 24 players maximum on console,” Bach said. “The rest is more or less the same: we use the same engine, the same technology, the same animation system, the same lighting system. Our aim is to give the player the exact same experience and not try to dumb down the console version.”

“If you want the same quality of game, I would say it’s really, really hard. We tried to get more players in [to the console version] but then you need to scale down all the graphics, scale down all the destructibility, and sometimes you need to scale down all the map sizes. Everything is a compromise on: where do you cut?”

“You could argue that other games do [fewer] players as well. There are games that do less, and there are games that do more. We don’t see games that have more players as a better experience, so having more players per se doesn’t automatically give you a better experience.”

Bash then outlined the differences in the map sizes on consoles when compared to the PC — the leading platform for development. “[We've] tried to compact them slightly to keep the action up. If you compare it to Battlefield: Bad Company 2, the maps weren’t really small on console. We actually had huge maps even for console. We have the same kind of angle on it right now [in Battlefield 3].”

“We want to create the same experience for PC as for consoles,” he continued.

During the Star Wars: The Old Republic panel, director and lead designer James Ohlen was asked about how many planets are in the game and whether more planets scheduled for release in later expansions.

“I can say that we have 19 major worlds,” he said, according to Darth Hater. “Then we have an indeterminate number of minor worlds. And our goal, obviously this being an online game that we’re hoping is going to last for decades, we’re going to be, obviously, adding more to the galaxy map as the game progresses.”

“We want to add dozens of worlds,” Ohlen continued. “Hundreds of worlds eventually. In 2025, we’ll hopefully have 500 worlds.”

“Guaranteed. In year 2025,” added in director of production Dallas Dickinson. In addition, boss Frank Gibeau had previously describe the game as “gigantic,” although he wishes the budget was so extreme.

Marvel Studios have released the complete seven piece concept art for The Avengers — when assembled, they form one big banner for the highly anticipated movie.

Behold, the Knights of Badassdom trailer. And, from the looks of the trailer, the movie looks extremely promising. Knight of Badassdom follows a friend who tags along with his pal for a weekend of LARPing, but things soon get supernatural.

The publisher reaffirms its plans for a third major installment in the series. At the “Crafting a Universe” panel, writer Darby McDevitt explained his position on crafting a story that fits a certain location and the overall narrative structure of an Assassin’s Creed title.

McDevitt explains that after constructing a certain narrative him and his team go into “research mode” to learn as much as they can about a certain location. After the research, team uses what they’ve learnt and craft characters that compliment the overall setting.

McDevitt then took questions from the audience about the Assassin’s Creed universe and the upcoming Revelations. When asked if they had any plans to continue the series into the upcoming year, McDevitt replied stating that “there are plans.” Speaking on Revelations, he added that fans can expect better integration of the Brotherhood with more specific opportunities in controlling them. The way players meet and recruit the members will also be more varied.

Keeping the panel moving on, producer Louis-Pierre Pharand showcased Assassin’s Creed: Embers. In the clip shown at the panel, it showed an older version of Ezio with his family, as he fears that someone is trying to kill him. However, it was mention throughout the panel that Embers is a “narrative,” and that it uses environments and items from the game but is not playable.

The Spirit of Vengeance returns. And directors, Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine — known for the intensely unique Crank series — are looking to bring their unique style to the flame-headed antihero’s upcoming movie.

At the Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance panel, the two directors were joined by stars Johnny Whitworth, Idris Elba and, of course, Nicolas Cage. The panel began with a behind the scene clip showing exactly how the on-screen insanity was achieved.

The method behind the madness; namely, real life insanity. The clip showcased a collection of wireworks and rollerblading, both used to film the movie. ”You will see bones be broken. Real bones,” said Taylor, putting emphases on the on-screen insanity.

Continuing the panel, Cage stated that — because all the actors were required to do their own stunts — he’s actually happy that he got the chance to portray Ghost Rider, instead of just Johnny Cage. He also said that he was happy to return to the character because there’s a lot that he had left to say about Johnny Cage.

Speaking about differences between the two movies, Cage added that he’s been living with his “head on fire” for several years so he’s a bit more acclimated to the aspects of his character. However, Taylor describes the character as a “pure nightmare,” saying that “there’s no logic to it at all. He’s not a superhero, he’s more like a horror character.”

Whitworth then talked about the intensity of the two directors style, stating that the camera was always in his face and that their stunt filming style was “extremely different.” In addition, the directors explained that they changed the Hell Cycle up a bit, saying that anything the Ghost Rider rides transforms into a hell-vehicle.

Ending the panel, when asked if they saw any more Ghost Rider films in the future, Neveldine replied that there’s nothing that would be more fun than doing it again.

Ending with a historical season one, everyone’s wondering what’s in store for HBO’s Game of Thrones season two. At the Game of Throne panel, producer David Benioff said that people who read the novels know exactly what to expect.

“Well, those who’ve read the books know what to expect, but we’ve got a bunch of new characters coming in. It’s time to meet the Red Priestess. It’s time to meet Stannis Baratheon. There’s bad stuff lurking north of the wall. This will be a season of exploration.”

There was also that conversation of the length of each season. Because the third novel, A Storm of Swords, could be “too long for one season.” However, Benioff has said that he would consider breaking the book into two seasons, or have one and a half of a season.

Nevertheless, Benioff will just consider this entire venture a triumph if he can get to a scene in A Storm of Sword called ”R.W.” “If we get to R.W.,” he said, “we’ll know we’ve done something. If we can get to R.W., then I can retire.”

As for the DVD version of season one, those who hoped for deleted scenes may be a bit disappointed. “Unfortunately, or fortunately, we didn’t really have any deleted scenes,” Benioff added. “We used everything we shot. So as a result of that there wasn’t that much left on the cutting room floor. But the DVD team is putting together some amazing supplementary material. With art from Will Simpson.”

“I am concerned about the ending,” author George R. R. Martin admitted about continuing the series. “I still have two books to go and I’m juggling a lot of balls, and there is that fear that some of those balls will land on my head. But I’m just going to keep juggling as fast as I can.”

At the Mass Effect and Legendary Pictures panel, BioWare director Casey Hudson and movie writer Mark Protosevich discussed the challenges of transporting Mass Effect onto the big screen.

Hudson states that the strength of the game comes from its characters. However, Protosevich adds that people can be easily be seduced by visuals and the cinematic qualities of a game. And, when it comes to turning a game into a movie, filmmakers normally don’t care if the game has a solid enough storyline.

“In the early days [of video game adaptations], the idea was, let’s try to recreate this, instead of pausing and asking is this a good story,” Protosevich said to the crowd at Comic-Con. “Does it have interesting concepts, does it have interesting philosophies and themes? I think most games fail that test. This doesn not.”

But, when it comes to Mass Effect, Protosevich argues that the Mass Effect universe is as strong as the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings universes. Hudson then adds that working with Legendary Pictures will allow them to make sure that the Mass Effect movie will be “different” from other movies.

At the Halo Universe panel, Karen Traviss, the writer who has authored the Halo novelizations, discussed the challenges of writing the origin story for the Halo universe. The author compares the pressure of writing the novels to “writing the origin story of Superman.”

It was because, at the beginning of the panel, 343 Industries Frank O’ Conner revealed that everything surrounding the Halo universe will be connected, including the novels and animated movie.

Continuing the panel, managing editor Kevin Grace demoed the much talked about Terminals, which will be featured throughout Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary campaign. Grace stated that these Terminals will offer links into Halo 4 and that, when it comes to developing Anniversary, it’s important that it “play exactly like it originally did.”

When questioned about the final version of the game, it was revealed that the Anniversary development team was “still” deep in its development. It was also revealed that Combat Evolved would be a budgeted title, meaning that it would retail for $39.99.

Optimus Prime just got some cinematic competition. Relativity Media have confirmed that its obtained the film rights for Voltron, and that it will adapt the popular cartoon into a live-action movie.

For those not familiar with the cartoon, the show follows a team of five pilots whose individual vehicles would combine to make Voltron, the defender of earth. In collaboration with Atlas Entertainment, the studio will adapt a live-action film based on the show. It optioned the rights from World Event Productions.

In the mock S.H.E.I.D. helicarrier base on the show floor, Marvel debuted The Avengers costume for Captain America.

During the Red Steel truck event at Comic-Con, Hugh Jackson confirmed the villain for The Wolverine.

Jackson revealed to the crowd that The Wolverine is scheduled to begin filming in October, and that “Chris McQuarrie has written a fantastic script.” He added that he’ll be fighting the Silver Samurai in the new film and that, “that should be exciting.” In addition, Jackson also revealed that most of the filming will take place in Japan.

At the Batman: Arkham City Comic-Con panel, director Paul Crocker and team revealed Talia al Ghul, a love interest of Batman and the daughter of Ra al Ghul — Talia is being voiced by ABC Castle’s Stana Katic.

But, sadly, no other details where given about Katic’s character because “that would spoil a huge part of the game.” However, in the comics, Batman and Talia get married and, at some point, Talia gives birth to Batman’s son, Damian Wayne. Rather or not this subplot is featured in the sequel is unknow, but color me intrigued.

In addition, Crocker also revealed The Penguin, the black market racketeer of Arkham.

“The foul fiend brings his criminal and financial genius, hand-to-hand expertise, treacherous toys and his feathered friends into the walled streets of Arkham City, with the sole aspiration of ridding the world of the Dark Knight.”

During the Street Fighter X Tekken panel, Yoshinori Ono stated that the Darkstalkers series is not dead.

Ono then asked the asked fans to hold up $10 or $20 in support of the game and took a picture, promising that he would show it to the Capcom President. According to G4TV, the development teams working on another title in the series.

Walt Disney Pictures have debuted the teaser poster for Marvel’s highly anticipated movie, The Avengers.

Combining the elements of the past decade of Marvel movies, The Avengers promises to be the super hero team up of a lifetime. When an unexpected enemy emerges and threatens the global, Nick Fury finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster.

Bane made his way across the internet all thanks in part to his role in the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises movie. But, more importantly, the titian-charged supervillain will be returning to the video game scene.

In issue #5 of the Batman: Arkham City comic book series, it was revealed that Bane will be returning for Batman: Arkham City, the sequel to the greatest comic book video game of all time. Here’s the summary:

“Inside Arkham City, entrapped criminals have to find new ways to keep themselves occupied. In Bane’s case, he’s binding his time by running an extreme fighting ring. The lack of serious competition leaves him frustrated, until an otherwise lackluster opponent produces a big surprise. The result may inspire Bane to take on deadlier hobbies.”

The rumors were true! Leading into this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Capcom has announced Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, the updated version of the hit fighting game, which is target for a November release date for $40.

The title’s being updated of the with a “dozen” new fighters, eight new stages and some new modes. The new cast will include such characters as Ghost Rider and Hawkeye from Marvel, and Firebrand and Strider Hiryu from Capcom. Beyond these additions, Capcom is promising a number of adjustments to the fighting system and enhancements to its online portion.

With the original Darksiders, the development team was “searching around” trying to find the “soul” of the title. Vigil Games director Marvin Donald expresses that “[they] didn’t really know what Darksiders was until the end.” But, not with the sequel.

“This time you’re playing Death, another of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. You may remember in the first game that War was gone for a century for accidentally bringing about the apocalypse. In this game you have to restore mankind in order to rescue your brother.” Darksiders II is a game with less of a focus on Earth and more of a focus on a stylized demon underworld, the Abyssal Plane.

The director describes Death as a quicker, more “feral” character then the previous protagonist War — and it’s a trait that will carry on in multiple areas of the sequel. In the journey to rescue his brother, Death will travel across a number of twisted and varied landscapes, he’ll need to use a number of different acrobatic movements to traverse these environments. Death is very much his own man, he’s far less lumber of a character in comparison to War.

So much, that he’s a much more customizable. Because of an expanded collection of role-playing elements, which include a loot system. The game will allow you to customize your battle attributes, as well as your appearance. “We’re big RPG fans at Vigil, and we would have done this with Darksiders if we had the time and bandwidth.” But, it would have taken time to balance the experience. “That’s one of the biggest challenges ahead of us.”

In conclusion, it appears that the sequel has stepped up from the promising original, which was widely expected. But, hopefully, Vigil Games can resolve the technical problems that plagued the original title because Darksiders II seems to be its own game.

Crystal Dynamics decided to reboot the Tomb Raider franchise because Lara Croft was starting to “lose relevance.” In an interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, director Karl Stewart augured that gamers were struggling to relate to the “invincible, infallible” old Lara.

“I think Lara’s a beloved character and Crystal has really enjoyed their time they’ve been able to spend with her,” explained Stewart with great discretion. “We felt she was losing some relevance in the gaming world, that she was a little too hard and removed. We wanted to make her more approachable and relatable.”

“I think she became an icon,” he added. “When you do, you remove yourself from relatability. We wanted to bring her to a place where she didn’t have all those skills, she wasn’t perfect. The modern gamer can relate to that, they want a complex hero.”

Stewart also added that the development team also ran out of stories to tell with the original Lara, stating that Lara was “all grown up.” “I think Lara had done all the growing she could. We’d taken her to a great place, to somewhere she had some closure. There weren’t really many more stories we could have told. So we feel like with this new place we have fertile ground and there’s a lot of places we can go.”

No, it won’t be rendering any big blue aliens. But, according to AMD, the people responsible for the Xbox 360′s graphical tech, the next Xbox will be able to render graphical details that’s on par with James Cameron’s big-screen aliens.

The company wouldn’t confirm if its working on the next console but, according to the Official Xbox Magazine, AMD’s Neal Robison said that the new Xbox will launch with that level of graphics, leaving a lot for gamers to be excited about.

Robison added that the upcoming A.I. and physics will lead for every pedestrian in a game, such as Grand Theft Auto, to react differently to a situation, giving them their own personalities.

Harry Potter and the The Deathly Hallows – Part 2, the highly anticipated final chapter in the series, has broken the record for the biggest domestic box-office opening, which was previously held by The Dark Knight.

Harry raked in an unprecedented $168.6 million at the box office in just three days, making it the highest-grossing movie opening of all time at the domestic box office. The title was previous held by The Dark Knight, which opened to $158 million back in 2008. According to Box Office Mojo, one out of every four movie tickets sold this weekend was to Potter. Final estimates are due Monday.

In the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, The Amazing Spider-Man director Marc Webb discussed the transformation to the classic mechanical web-shooters — present in the original comic book series — from the genetic web-shooters.

In the Sam Raimi directed movies, Spidey was genetically given the webs, but in the comic books, Peter Parker made the web-shooters with a mixture of chemicals. But, it was said to be “too advance” for “geeky” Peter Parker to manufacture in Raimi’s movies. “We made a very conscious decision to go back to the mechanical web-shooters,” said Webb, “and I think the fans will appreciate it.”

Ubisoft creative director Tommy Jacob has admitted that the development teams have struggled when it comes to nailing down the “identity” of the Ghost Recon franchise, while simultaneously trying to grow the franchise’s user-base.

“It’s been a struggle to nail down and maintain an identity that stays true to Ghost Recon’s roots while allowing the franchise to grow and be competitive in the genre,” said Jacob to CVG. Much like the Assassin’s Creed franchise, the development of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier has been outsourced accross different development teams, which has also been a challenge within itself for development.

“It was always going to be a challenge,” added lead game designer Roland Campos Oriola. “It’s the drill when you’re working on a franchise with a quality track record and you want to innovate and offer a different game experience. It takes time and trials to get it right.”

343 Industries have explained the concepts behind “terminals” within Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, and how they’ll offer hints into the plot of Halo 4, the next major installment into the series.

In an interview with CVG, executive producer Dan Ayoub said that terminals will be placed throughout the game and that finding them will unlock short videos that explain some of the things that will happen in Halo 4.

“So you guys may remember Terminals from Halo 3, they were very much like Easter Eggs in the game. You went through, found them and got some story info. It was usually just text on the screen. But it’s not really that interesting to read text on a screen, so we’re doing some very cool things with it,” said Ayoub.

“You’ll hear Tim Dadabo, the actual voice actor for Guilty Spark from the original game [narrating these Terminals]. The Terminals are definitely setting the story for Halo 4 but we’ll talk about that more in the future.”

“We’re giving Terminals a much more visual treatment, where we’re telling each story in a graphical way. It’s a lot cooler than reading text on a screen and also allows us to convey a lot more emotion in our storytelling. We’ve got Terminals hidden throughout the game and if you find them all you’ll learn story about the Halo universe, the ring and also story elements of things you’re going to see in Halo 4.”

During an interview with Famitsu, director Tetsuya Nomura revealed a small amount of information surrounding the long awaited Kingdom Hearts III. According to Nomura, the third installment will mark the end to series antagonist Xehanort.

However, it won’t mark the end of the franchise. Apparently, the development team have already set in place the framework for future sequels, which will retain Sora as the main protagonist. Nomura has also promised that Kingdom Hearts III will answer the questions which will be left by Kingdom Hearts 3D on the 3DS, suggesting that this could be the final title before the third installment.

In addition, Nomura also stated that the development on KH3D is about forty to filthy percent complete.

Netflix has revealed its plans to “upgrade” its overall pricing structure, for both its mail-in and streaming services. These price changes won’t take affect for existing costumers until September 1st, but the change will be immediate for all incoming costumers.

According to the company’s official blog, the change will replace the existing plans, adding a $2 surplus charge for unlimited streaming, and from now on there will no longer be an unlimited discs and streaming as a single package. The new packages are as follows:

• $7.99 for 1 DVD out at a time
• $11.99 for 2 DVDs out at a time
• $7.99 for unlimited streaming (no DVDs or Blu-rays)
• $15.98 for 1 DVD and unlimited streaming

The Burnout series carries a certain amount of weigh within the racing community, because of it’s arcade racing style. However, never has the series deviated from its established style; each installment has always innovated on the previous.

Now, Criterion Games are ready to changed this with Burnout CRASH!, stripping the series down to its “roots” and changing its perspective for the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade. The main attraction behind CRASH! bring the “fan-favorite Crash mode to the forefront” with “a crazy mix of pinball and game shows.”

“Burnout CRASH! is a crazy mix of pinball and game shows,” said Richard Franke. “We’ve evolved the core gameplay which everyone loved about Crash Mode, and expanded the whole experience using music, style and Autolog to create what we feel is the most mindless fun you can have on any gaming platform.”

In the original BioShock, the unknown nature of the main protagonist was apart of the lasting mystique. However, the mystique is focused differently in BioShock Infinite. Now, thanks to the cover of the most recent issue of EGM, we now have a face to match the name.

It wouldn’t be a Batman game without villains, however incorporating them is a different story. As consumers “the more the merrier,” but for the developers, there are a plethora of problems when incorporating these villains and having them make sense.

“It’s something that games often have difficulty doing simply because a big character like Penguin or Joker or Riddler or whatever is usually treated as boss encounter,” said Eidos marketing games manager Dax Ginn. “And you don’t just walk up to a boss and floor them with one punch, but in actuality if Batman was going to throw a punch at the Riddler, he would knock him out.”

It’s because, when it’s all said and done, all the characters within the Batman universe are mortal, and it’s important that these encounters are believable and enjoyable — especially in Batman: Arkham City.

“They’re humans. They’re mortal. Batman’s a mortal guy, but he’s a total badass, so we’ve got to make sure that all of a sudden someone like Riddler doesn’t just develop superhuman strength because it makes gameplay sense. No. Riddler is a smart guy but he’s not a powerhouse, and so the combat between Batman and Riddler exists on the intellectual level.”

Speaking to global business giant Forbes, BioWare founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka talked about the possibility of continuing the series after the third installment, stating that the diverse alien races and planets have struck a chord with the series’ audience.

“We do have a desire to continue the Mass Effect franchise,” added Muzyka, “and we’re working on the details, figuring out what the fans want, figuring out the right way.” Judging the amount of backstory surrounding the Mass Effect universe, there’s no doubt that they’ll find someway to continue in the universe.

There’s been a ton of questions surrounding newly the redesigned Master Chief, which was shown at E3. Now, sources close to 343 Industries have revealed that the redesigns apart of “steps to incorporate” elements from Halo: Reach into the forth installment.

In Reach, the players used modifications — like jet packs, sprint and shields — to take on the many challenges throughout the game. However, in the original story-arch, these element weren’t present. According to these sources, in Halo 4, these elements will become apart of the original story-arch for the first time.

These sources have also revealed that the undisclosed ”lapse in time” will be used to explain the addition of these elements. With that said, it makes prefect sense that they would want to add these gameplay elements to the original story-arch. In other news, it was recently reported that the changes made to Master Chief would be “story-driven” changes.

They’ve have explained the concepts behind Elizabeth, an important companion throughout the course of the adventure. But, they haven’t explained the importance of “tears,” controllable rifts within space-time continuum.

In a series of exploration trailers, Ken Levine explained the fictional science behind tears; detailing Elizabeth’s ability to manipulate tears into other worlds. There’s also a snippet of the much talked about portal that opens into an alternate 1980′s reality.

Hitman: Absolution, the next installment in the series, won’t be easier than its predecessors, but it will be more “flexible,” taking a different approach in teaching the player the overall mechanics.

“Hitman has historically been a very hard game, and it still is in many ways, but we also focussed on… easing the player into the game,” IO Interactive’s Tore Blystad told games.on.net. “Making him understand the game and making him form choices, rather than just killing him off and having him restart.”

The graphical capabilities of the hardware is something that’s been “hard to explain” — even developers have struggled when explaining it. However, Shigeru Miyamoto was a little more specific in his explanation.

In an interview with Gamespot, Miyamoto said that the Wii U may not “necessarily dramatically outperform the systems that are out now.” The reason behind this decision seems to be pricing concerns, and that parents may not purchase the console after a certain price limit.

“We’re very sensitive to pricing because people have generally only a certain amount of their spending that they’ll devote to entertainment,” said Miyamoto, indicating that the touchscreen controller might be “somewhat reckless” from a pricing standpoint. But, the idea for the tablet style touch screen controller isn’t a late addition, Miyamoto added.

Warner Bros. Interactive today confirmed that Robin will be a playable character in Arkham City’s “new and improved” challenge mode — he’ll only be available in the Tim Drake Robin expansion pack available exclusively via pre-order from Best Buy.

Robin will come complete with his own unique gadgets and special moves, and will be playable in all challenge maps in the game, as well as two additional challenge maps that are included with the pack – Black Mask Hideout and Freight Train Escape. The pack will also contain a bonus Red Robin character skin.

In an interview with Gamespot, Microsoft Game Studios’ Phil Spencer confirmed Kinect integration for Halo Anniversary, the re-imagining of the hit franchise. However, Spencer didn’t reveal any other details about the Kinect integration.

“As a first party we believe that Kinect will be important to all genres of games, be it racing games with Forza, combat games like Ryse — even games like Halo Anniversary has Kinect integration,” he said, when being questioned about the future of Kinect.