EA Purchase Bioware And Pandemic Studios

EA have further broadened their scope for the take over of the gaming industry, with their purchase two major developing studios; Bioware Corp. and Pandemic Studios.

EA will pay up to USD 620 million in cash to the stockholders of VG Holding Corp. and will issue up to an additional USD 155 million in equity to certain employees of VG Holding Corp., subject to time-based or performance-based vesting criteria.

EA will also assume outstanding VG Holding Corp. stock options and has agreed to lend VG Holding Corp. up to USD 35 million through the closing of the acquisition.

Bioware are due to release Mass Effect for the 360 this November, and will be published by Microsoft. Pandemic are currently developing Mercenaries 2 and Saboteur.

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Project Gotham Racing 4 Demo On Marketplace

If you can't wait until this Friday to get your PGR4 goodness, then head over to Live Marketplace and grab the download for the demo of the game

The demo is sized at 1.27GB and allows you to try out three cars and two bikes in a small selection of Arcade Mode as well as an exclusive Nurburgring Snow Challange.

Also, if you are in the US or Canada, you can download a demo for F.E.A.R. Files: Extraction Point, which comes in at just under 500MB.

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Toyota To Release Free Yaris Game On Live Arcade

Toyota is the first company to use the 360's Live Arcade as a sole advertising platform. Their game is titled Yaris, and features three versions of the small car; Yaris Sedan, Sports Sedan, and the Liftback.

The game has eight different tracks, and the more coins you collect from races, the more items you can buy to suit up your car. Items include various weapons, shields and tires.

If that wasn't enough, you can even gain 12 achievements from this free game. The game will be available on Live Arcade this Wednesday, and yes it will be free.

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Simpsons and Conan Demo On Marketplace

360 owners will be happy to hear that they can now get the demo for The Simpsons Game from Marketplace.

The demo is identical to last weeks Playstation 3 demo and sees you take control of both Homer and Bart. The pair need to stop the giant Lard Lad statue, which has come to life and is destroying the town, along with his army of miniature Krusty's.

This section is a sort of parody towards the great Shadow of the Colossus, and from what we sampled, is looking to be a pretty good game filled with all the usual humour and slapstick you tend to expect from the comical show.

If that doesn't interest you, you may want to download the demo for Conan, where you can execute a portion of the game’s many fighting moves and combinations as Conan decimates his foes using a variety of deadly weapons, hand-to-hand combat and even his surrounding environment.

Both demos come in at just under 500MB each.

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BBFC Reject Revised Manhunt 2

The BBFC have rejected the revised version of Manhunt 2. Rockstar's appeal for the initial rejection was suspended, pending the outcome of the classification for the revised version.

David Cooke, Director of the BBFC had this to say:

“We recognise that the distributor has made changes to the game, but we do not consider that these go far enough to address our concerns about the original version. The impact of the revisions on the bleakness and callousness of tone, or the essential nature of the gameplay, is clearly insufficient. There has been a reduction in the visual detail in some of the ‘execution kills’, but in others they retain their original visceral and casually sadistic nature.

“We did make suggestions for further changes to the game, but the distributor has chosen not to make them, and as a result we have rejected the game on both platforms. The decision on whether or not an appeal goes ahead lies with the distributor"

This comes after the game was allowed to be released, alebiet with the AO rating, meaning it will not be stocked by "family-friendly" retailers such as Blockbuster and Walmart.

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Looney Tunes Invade Live Marketplace

To possibly get one in on Sony for their Simpsons Demo, the American Marketplace now features a demo for another cartoon, in the form of Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal. The game sees you play as a variety of different Looney toons as they fight for their lives.

Also up for grabs are demos for Bee Movie, Thrillville and Bladestorm.

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PSN Gets The Simpsons Demo

If you want to give EA's new Simpsons Game a try, then you better have a Playstation 3, as there is currently a playable demo for it on the US Playstation Store, sizing in at just under 700MB.

It's the first time that the Playstation 3 has landed a significant third-party demo before Microsoft's Xbox 360.

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Sony Cut Price of PS3 Again, Introduce 40GB Unit

Sony have confirmed that they will be slashing the pice of their Playstation 3 console yet again, this time down to the price of £349 for the 60GB "Full" unit, and will still come with a Sixaxis pad and 2 first-party games.

They also announced the long speculated introduction of yet another SKU, the 40GB version for only £299. This will include just the console and a Sixaxis pad, but expect retailers to start bundling games and random Blu-Ray movies to make it look more attractive, as you will definitely need persuading if you wish to buy this console, seeing as Sony have removed a few features from this unit.

The first is not major, but still a loss - 2 USB ports from the front of the console. Next, the memory card reader (which was able to read a handful of various cards) has also been taken out. The most surprising loss to the new unit is the ability to play backward compatible games (PS1 and PS2), and will make owners of the PS2 hesitate at the idea of not being able to play their older games.

All in, the prices are very attractive, and if yo have no inclination of playing last generation games, and want a Playstation 3 then this price is very attractive. Comparing it to the Elite, which is the same price as the 40GB version it seems like a bargain, especially considering that the Playstation 3 also comes with a built-in Blu-Ray player.

The price drop and 40GB unit will start rolling out on October 10th. Now if only the console had some good games.

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Rockstar Don't Like Parody

Controversial developer, Rockstar, have, rather surprisingly complained to EA about the "Grand Theft Scratchy" level that features in the upcoming Simpsons Game. This is surprising, as it is Rockstar themselves who have used wanton parody and satire in their Grand Theft auto series, and we would expect them to be a bit more relaxed this, but according to Greg Rizzer, game designer on The Simpsons Game:

"If we make fun of Grand Theft Auto, we're not going to hurt the sales of Grand Theft Auto... But yeah, we've definitely had some reactions - we've had to pull stuff from the game"

He's definetly right there, no one is going to hurt the sales of GTA, nothing really can to say the least.

Harmonix on the other hand, actually appreciated the parody of their award-winning Guitar Hero - called Sitar Heroe in The Simpsons Game, where they have "Apu playing this 60-button controller and songs like Pour Some Curry On Me".

Now come on Rockstar, no need for this kind of behaviour!

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Free Nintendo Wiimote Jackets

Nintendo have announced a new accessory to go with the Wiimote wrist-straps, the all new Wiimote Jacket.

This "innovative" accessory will not only protect all those people who find it hard to keep hold of the Wiimote and by cushioning its impact should you somehow let go of it, or should the wrist-strap break. The Jacket will also warm your Wiimotes during the Winter months, keeping them nice and cosy until the early spring.

Nintendo are to spend $18million on this rather useless product, and are to give it away free with all Wiimotes (both solus, Wiiplay and the ones that come with the Wii). And if you already have Wiimotes, you can order yourself up to four Jackets, all for free.

We feel sorry for the third-party companies who have been selling silicon sleeves for about £9.99, as these will almost become redundant now that this freebie has hit the streets.

If you wish to take advantage of Nintendos generosity, follow the link that applies to you:

UK Owners
Australian Owners
American Owners

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Call of Duty 4 Beta Ends Tonight

The Call of Duty 4 Beta is to be closed tonight at midnight, bringing to closure the testing phase of the multiplayer game, which has truly impressed everyone who have had the chance to play it, and makes the month or so wait until November 5th all the more agonising.

Read what we thought of the Beta here.

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New Car Pack for Forza 2

A new car pack is now available to all you budding Forza players. It features ten new motors for only 400 Microsoft Points. The pack includes the following cars:

1967 Lamborghini Miura P400
1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Hemi
2006 Audi R10 (#8 Audi Sport Team Joest) Prototype
2006 Dodge Challenger Concept
2006 Honda Civic Si Coupe
2007 Honda Civic Type-R
2006 Lamborghini Miura Concept
2007 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997)
2007 Saturn Sky Red Line
2007 SEAT Leon Supercup

And if you don't feel like spending anything, then you can pick up a free '07 SEAT Cupra.

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Activison Buys Out Bizarre Creations

Activision have struck again, and have now acquired the developers behind the Project Gotham and Geometry Wars series.

In its on going strategy of buying up developers to enter new genres, first with developers of the critically acclaimed Guitar Heroes, Red Octane, and now with Bizarre Creations, in the hope of entering the racing genre.

Project Gotham Racing 4, due out in October, will be the last 360 exclusive racer to come from the studio, and is set to end the Bizarre/Microsoft partnership on a pretty high note.

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LocoRoco Cocoreccho available on PSN

If you have a PS3 and have nothing to play, head over to the Playstation Store and download Locoroco Cocoreccho.

It costs only £1.99 and lets you roll over 200 different Loco's around the artistically styled setting of the Loco world.

LocoRoco Cocoreccho is basically a glorified screensaver which uses the Sixaxis motion sensing capabilities to allow you to move the Loco's around. And for the barganious price of £1.99, no PS3 owner should refuse!

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PES 2008 Demo Hits Live

Another demo for all you 360 owners, this time of “the greatest football game of all time” according to Konami, and is none other than Pro Evolution Soccer 2008.

The demo weighs in at 1.18GB and lets you kick around the ball with a handful of teams to see how the game handles.

The full game is out on the 26th of October on 360, PC, PS2 and PS3 and should be interesting to see how well it does seeing as it is released a whole month after arch-rival Fifa 08.

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Viva Piñata Party Animals Demo on Live

Microsoft released a Demo on Live Marketplace today for the upcoming spin-off of Viva Piñata, titled Party Animals.

The Demo is sized at just under 1GB and allows you and up to three other people to play a handful of mini-games featuring the cuddly creatures.

The game is out this Christmas and will feature over 40 mini-games.

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PS3 Rumble Controller Confirmed

IGN have confirmed that they have been using a rumble version of the Sixaxis PS3 Controller at EA's Press Event prior to the start of the Tokyo Game Show (which opens tomorrow).

The controller is exactly the same as the Sixaxis, except that it is obviously a bit heavier and has a "RUMBLE" sticker at the bottom.

No name has yet been announced for the device, but a formal announcement is expected by Kaz Hirai at Sony's Conference tomorrow.

It's a big u-turn since Sony stated that rumble was a 'last generation' feature back in February.

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Sega Rally Demo on Marketplace

If you can't wait till Friday the 28th to get your Sega Rally goodness, then head over to Live Marketplace and download a demo of the game.

The demo weighs in at just under 700MB features two tracks, Canyon 2 and Tropical 2, as well as two cars, the Mitsubishi Evo IX FQ3 and the Subaru Impreza STi Spec C type RA.

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Project Gotham Racing 4 Arcade Details

Bizarre Creations have revealed details about the the Arcade mode for Project Gotham Racing 4 which is due out in October.

Arcade mode is made up of ten chapters, each with its own theme, and of which there are six events per chapter. Such chapters are also aptly named and include 'Rough Riders' and 'Drifto 101'.

The standard medals seen in the series, from bronze to platinum, make a return. And you can also view how good a driver you are on the Leaderboard.

Hit the jump to view all the events of Arcade mode.

Catch me if you can
1. Street Race, Palace Square (St Petersburg), Overcast
2. Street Race, Nevskiy Run (St Petersburg), Clear
3. Street Race, Pushkin's Places (St Petersburg), Fog
4. One-on-one, Embankments and Parks (St Petersburg), Overcast
5. Street Race, Parliament Hill (Quebec), Clear
6. Eliminator, Twisted Old Port (Quebec), Overcast

Drifto 101
1. Superstar, Rampart Run (Quebec), Rain
2. Time Vs Kudos, Spring Mountain Turns (Las Vegas), Overcast
3. Cone Sprint, MGM Grand-Bellagio Loop (Las Vegas), Rain
4. Superstar, Buccaneer Loop (Las Vegas), Overcast
5. Time Vs Kudos, The Grand Theatre (Shanghai), Clear
6. Cone Attack, South Strip Loop (Las Vegas), Storm

Final Countdown
1. Speed Challenge, Shanghai Grand Slam (Shanghai), Clear
2. Breakthrough, Landmark Tour (Shanghai), Rain
3. Eliminator, Kazanskiy Cathedral (St Petersburg), Overcast
4. Eliminator, The Hermitage Race (St Petersburg), Fog
5. Speed Challenge, Half F1 Circuit (Nurburgring), Clear
6. Breakthrough, Shinjuku Speedway (Tokyo), Storm

Two Wheels Only (bike events only)
1. Street Race, Jiu Fu Loop (Shanghai), Clear
2. Eliminator, Long Strip Straights (Las Vegas), Fog
3. Overtake, Neon Tour (Shanghai), Clear
4. Street Race, Half F1 Circuit (Nurburgring), Overcast
5. One-on-one, B-Circuit (Shanghai), Clear
6. Street Race, Estrada de S Francisco (Macau), Clear

Horses for Courses (car events only)
1. Cone Sprint, Instituto Politecnico (Macau), Overcast
2. Super Cone Sprint, Sprint 1 (St Petersburg), Overcast
3. Cone Attack, Shanghai Old Town (Shanghai), Clear
4. Cone Sprint, Whitehall Straits (London), Clear
5. Cone Attack, Jiu Fu Loop (Shanghai), Clear
6. Super Cone Sprint, Sprint 2 (St Petersburg), Ice

Rough Riders
1. Overtake, Museum Loop (Shanghai), Rain
2. Eliminator, The Bulldog (London), Storm
3. Overtake, Tochomae Loop (Tokyo), Rain
4. Eliminator, Las Vegas Blvd Tour (Las Vegas), Rain
5. Street Race, Instituto Politecnico (Macau), Fog
6. Street Race, La Grande Allee (Quebec), Rain

Flatout
1. Speed Challenge, Shanghai Grand Slam (Shanghai), Clear
2. Breakthrough, The Outskirts (New York), Overcast
3. Street Race, The Admiralty (St Petersburg), Clear
4. Hot Lap, Ekimae Loop (Tokyo), Fog
5. Hot Lap, Avenida de Dr Rodrigues (Macau), Clear
6. Eliminator, Avenida da Amizade (Macau), Overcast

Steamroller World Tour
1. Street Race, Old Port Short (Quebec), Clear
2. One-on-one, Her Majesty's Pleasure (London), Rain
3. Street Race, The Hermitage Race (St Petersburg), Overcast
4. One-on-one, Twisted Straits (New York City), Rain
5. Eliminator, Moika Turns (St Petersburg), Rain
6. One-on-one, Parliament Hill (Quebec), Clear

Trackday Specials
1. Eliminator, Full F1 Circuit (Nurburgring), Clear
2. Eliminator, The Short Test (Michelin Test Track), Clear
3. Time Vs Kudos, The Medium Test (Michelin Test Track), Clear
4. Street Race, Nordschliefe (Nurburgring), Rain
5. Breakthrough, The Ultimate Test (Michelin Test Track), Clear
6. Street Race, The Behemoth (Nurburgring), Clear

Ultimate Challenge
1. Breakthrough, Chateau Frontenac (Quebec), Fog
2. Speed Challenge, La Haute-Ville (Quebec), Overcast
3. Overtake, The Bulldog (London), Overcast
4. Time Vs Kudos, Crazy Turns (Tokyo), Rain
5. Cone Sprint, The Triangle Building (Tokyo), Rain
6. Eliminator, Hotel Lisboa (Macau), Overcast

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Xbox Live Downtime on 10th September

Don't worry if you can't access Xbox Live on 10th September as there is a scheduled timeout for 4 hours between 10am to 2pm GMT (2am to 6am PDT for all the State side players).

This may be a bit annoying to all the UK players, as it is the same day that the Call of Duty 4 tokens are being sent out, so they will have to wait a few hours until they get their hands on the Beta.

And for all the late night American players, get some rest!

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