News

In an effort to shift the blame for epic delays in Australia, Nintendo is pointing a finger at a recently convicted pirate as the primary reason for Aussie gamers being made to wait longer for games than their English-speaking counterparts in the US and UK.

GameSpot AU

Q Games founder Dylan Cuthbert hints at the possibility of a sequel to PlayStation Network action game PixelJunk Shooter, even after an all-but official downloadable expansion pack is expected for release later this year.

Cuthbert is fond on the idea of making PixelJunk Shooter 2, telling G4TV

Genetics isn't the only thing being modified in Deus Ex 3--a trademark filed by Square Enix Europe points to a possible name change for futuristic first-person role-playing sequel.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution may very well be the new title for the third instalment of the series, thanks to some digging done by Siliconera.

That Square Enix would file for the Human Revolution title makes it a likely candidate for the final release. The last Deus Ex game avoided numerals and went with a subtitle as well: Invisible War.

Unfortunately, we don't have any details on the game, which has been largely kept under wraps since developer Eidos Montreal was acquired by Japanese publisher Square Enix. A possible release may be set for winter 2010.

Sequel to the acclaimed 2007 original, BioShock 2 is now available on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.

The role-playing shooter returns to the underwater world of Rapture ten years after the events of the first game, this time putting you inside the diver's suit of a Big Daddy as you battle the maniacal Sophia Lamb.

Joining the new single player story are half a dozen multiplayer modes, all of which focus on competitive play. Deathmatch-style "Survival of the Fittest" mode is joined by others like "ADAM Grab" and "Capture the Sister," which works like capture-the-flag but with Little Sisters filling in for a flag.

BioShock 2 is available now on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC with downloadable content planned for release in the coming months.

In an interview with PlayStation Blog Europe, Final Fantasy XIII producer Yoshinori Kitase and director Motomu Toriyama hail the game as a saviour for the Japanese game development industry.

The pair rebutted criticism of the Japanese development scene, saying that Final Fantasy XIII proves that it's far from dead.

"Some people have been saying that the Japanese game industry is dead, and all thatI dunno. I will say that Final Fantasy XIII is one really epic title for high definition consoles. With this game, we are going to resurrect the whole thing."

While one game may not have the power to revitalise an entire industry, Final Fantasy XIII will undoubtedly be a morale boost. It's selling well in Japan and is expected to be huge in Europe and the US when it ships on March 9.

EA has quietly canned the PC version of Dead Space 2, avoiding an announcement of the cancellation by tucking the information away in its financial reporting released yesterday.

In our excitement over Dead Space 2 heading to portables, we missed other news related to the sequel: its absence on PC. The same document that highlights a portable release also shows none planned for PC

EA hasn't returned our request for comment yet, though it seems pretty official given that there's no PC version of the game marked on legally binding financial documentation.

To be fair, there could be a PC version coming out after the console and handheld versions, which means it couldn't be listed on the company's projected release calender for 2010-2011.

The leading man of Assassin's Creed II journeys to Rome in the multiplayer spin-off Ubisoft plans to release before the next instalment to the main series.

Ezio Auditore will take the hidden blades to Renaissance-era Roma in the next game in the franchise for PS3 and Xbox 360. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot announced the game's setting during a conference call with investors regarding its third quarter 2010 fiscal year results.

"This time, [he] will strike directly against the templar's order in Rome," proclaimed Guillemot.

No details were provide about how the game will be structured, though the multiplayer component was heavily emphasised. It's not evident if the game will feature competitive or cooperative gameplay.

Ubisoft did clarify, though, the game's release date: sometime before April 2011.

After a few years on leave, Ubisoft is deploying the Ghost Recon franchise for a new instalment slated to hit PS3, Xbox 360 and PC during the 2010 holiday season.

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is being developed by the Ubisoft Paris team that handled the Advanced Warfighter iterations, though more details are hard to glean from the brief reveal made today. Whether it will stick with the style of the latter or make changes to compete with Modern Warfare 2 and Medal of Honor is uncertain.

We do know that Ubisoft will launch a multiplayer beta for the game over the summer. On Ubisoft's community Twitter feed the company pledged beta access for anyone purchasing an Xbox 360 copy of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction.

Wii, PSP, and DS versions of the game are also planned. More details on Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier are expected during E3, well ahead of its holiday launch.

A new game building upon Will Wright's massive evolution simulation Spore is being pegged for an early 2011 release by publisher EA.

Revealed in a financial report for the company's third quarter 2010 fiscal year, the new Spore instalment will supposed be a sequel to the 2008 PC original.

While not achieving the same hysteria as The Sims series, Spore did sell quite well in the first few months following release with approximately 2 million copies sold. The free creature creator saw nearly 100 million uses.

Console versions of the game are noted on EA's release calender, so whatever this mystery Spore title is, expect it to be friendly toward controllers.

It won't be a long wait for the next instalment of BioWare's budding fantasy role-playing series, as EA has announced plans to release the next Dragon Age game at the beginning of 2011.

Tucked deep in the company's third quarter 2010 fiscal year financial report is confirmation that the next Dragon Age game is slated for release in the first three months of 2011.

There aren't any more details than that vague release window, but that's pretty exciting in its own right given that we didn't know how aggressive EA and developer BioWare were planning to be with the new franchise.

The sequel will come after a standalone expansion pack coming this March, along with scores of downloadable content. Also of note is EA pledging to release handheld versions of the sequel; no specific platforms were announced, though PSP is assumed, as well as a potentially iPhone and iPod touch.

Survival-horror sequel Dead Space 2 will be released on an unnamed portable platform(s) in conjunction with its previously revealed PS3, Xbox 360, and PC release.

Third quarter financial results for EA's 2010 fiscal year ironically announce an unannounced game: Dead Space 2 for portables. While the financial reporting doesn't say which device, it's clearly marked for "handheld" release.

It's likely a Dead Space spin-off would appear on either PSP or iPhone and iPod touch, with DS being an distant option. Publishers have been trending away from major DS releases over the last 12 months due to rampant piracy and lagging sales (the two aren't mutually exclusive).

Mediocre to poor PSP games sales point to an iPhone release, though until EA makes an official announcement, we're just guessing.

Shigeru Miyamoto, the famed creator of Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda series, hinted at work Nintendo is doing on new gaming hardware while speaking at a festival in Japan.

Andriasang has a detailed report from the Japan Media Arts Festival that took place over the weekend at which Miyamoto confirmed rumours that Nintendo is developing some new hardware.

Speculation has abounded that the company will reveal a new gaming system at next month's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, though it's unclear if it will be a successor to Wii or DS, or perhaps an incremental upgrade of either system.

What we do know is that Wii sales are declining and the explosive growth of iPhone and iPod touch as portable gaming devices has caught Nintendo off guard. New hardware seems likely soon.

As Netflix hopes to reach a new swath of gamers by way of Wii, vice president of corporate communications Steve Swasey downplays the company's HD streaming service on PS3 and Xbox 360.

The Wiire interviewed Swasey about the prospects of expanding Netflix subscriptions on Wii and whether the lack of HD videos will put that console at a disadvantage.

In short, Swasey is admitting that the HD offerings on PS3 and Xbox 360 suck. While that might make Wii owners feel better, how exactly is that going to motivate subscribers on PS3 and Xbox 360?

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 isn't just about modern warfare - the realistic first-person shooter series gives a shout out to its World War II roots with an introductory level set during the conflict.

Connected Consoles sighted details regarding the flashback level on the game's ESRB rating description.

The description outlines, "players conduct missions on an unnamed Japanese island during World War II and then move into the modern day through jungles, deserts, and snowy terrain."

It seems like a plot device to set up the story, which features the same cast of characters as the first Bad Company. We'll know for sure when the game comes out in March.

LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars keep the series alive with new levels based on the war chronicled in Cartoon Networks's animated series.

To be fair, this new LEGO Star Wars game treads somewhat different territory than any of the previous instalments. The Clone Wars, which were never detailed in the main movie series (it occurred in the years between Episodes III and IV), will be rebuilt brick-by-brick here.

A level editor and new abilities hope to set this latest LEGO game apart from the scores of others developer Traveller's Tales have crafted. Squad command, Lightsaber slicing, Lightsaber jumps, long distance Jedi attacks and Grapple Tie-Ups are some of the added abilities mentioned.

An autumn release for LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP and DS is promised.