Later this month WWE stars Shelton Benjamin and Johnny Nitro are stepping into the ring to challenge Xbox 360 fans on Live.

It's the latest event in Microsoft's Game with Fame calendar and is happening on April 23 between 1pm and 3pm (GMT). The two will be playing WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 versus gamers in a connected gaming session before they head off to an actual RAW event at Earls Court arena, London, later in the day.

In order to get the chance to bash Benjamin and Nitro around the ring, you need to email your name, age, nationality and Gamertag to [email protected]. Microsoft says that if you're selected to play you will receive all the information you need to take part nearer the time of the event.

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After the ruckus this morning over the axing of God of War II's secret HD mode for European versions, SCEE has fired over a full explanation to CVG on just why PAL gamers won't be checking out Kratos's bonce in HD glory next week.

SCEE's statement reads as follows:

"As has already been correctly reported, the truth is that the US version of [God of War II] already pushed the dual-layer disc to near-capacity, and the addition of audio for French, Italian, Spanish, German and Russian meant that the development team had to make a Herculean effort to ensure that everything would fit.

"However, even if the game only featured English it would still not have been possible. This is because everything in the game has been optimised for PAL (576i), including the movies. The God of War games are famed for the seamless transition between gameplay and cutscenes, and if we had kept the movies in NTSC resolution, there would have been a very noticeable, very jarring transition between the two display formats. The only compromise would have been to have featured the movies in both PAL and NTSC resolutions, but as evidenced by the struggles the development team had to even fit localised audio onto the disc, this was clearly not an option. It should also be explained that the excellent PAL optimisation meant that a 60Hz option was also not necessary.

"Ultimately, the decision fell to what would benefit the majority, and the number of European PS2 owners who own a component cable and the necessary equipment to display 480p output is extremely low compared to those who are playing on CRT sets, or indeed on HD sets via a composite/RGB SCART connection. It was a necessary measure that was taken with a great deal of consideration.

"The IslandOfRhodes site makes it explicitly clear that the mode is actually a slightly enhanced version of the standard 480p option that is available from the options menu (US version only), and was implemented at the very last minute due to the fact that it created additional bugs. By Tim's (Moss) own admission it was just intended as a bonus.

"Development of the PAL version ran extremely closely alongside the NTSC version, and to have asked the team to develop a similar bonus mode for the PAL version would have distracted from their efforts to get it into the best shape possible. In addition, it would have required additional QA testing that would have a resulted in substantial delays to the game's release.

"It should also be noted that when playing the game on a PS3 via a component of HDMI lead, it runs in true 576p and not just an upscaled version of 576i. The Enhanced Definition (ED) output is forced from the PS2 graphics chip which is why a lot of PS2 games - not just GoWII - will look a lot better. By contrast, if you boot up the US GoWII on an NTSC PS3 and switch Progressive Scan mode on, there will be no difference as the emulator is pushing the 480p mode regardless.

"What this basically means is that the PAL PS3 is giving the best PS2 visuals you will be able to get anywhere!" ...

Publisher Sierra has reiterated that its XBLA board game Carcassonne is still on the way and will arrive on the 360 download service sometime this summer.

It's also offered new details on the game, which in case you're not quite nerdy enough to know is based on the board game of the same name which has you claiming towns and farms with your medieval pieces.

According to Sierra the Live Arcade version will sport adaptable AI, a four-player multiplayer mode and support for up to five players over Xbox Live.

Apparently 72 tiles, all rule-sets and the Rivers I expansion tile-set will also be included, which, we'll be frank, means bugger all to us.

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If you're a bizarre anime-type like cartoon-crazy Mike J in the corner of the office, you'll be delighted to hear that San Francisco-based manga op Viz Media has acquired the rights to bring the Blue Dragon anime to North America and Europe.

The license includes television, home video and non-videogame rights to the series that's just begun airing in The Land of The Rising Sun, and follows the story of young Shu who protects his land with the aid of his big navy mate.

The game, in case you've been living outside of CVG's radar, is headed by Final Fantasy man Hironobu Sakaguchi, scribed by Dragon Ball Z artist Akira Toriyama with music by Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu. Basically it's an RPG fan's wet dream.

At this early stage there's no word on when the anime series will reach our shores,

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Sony has stirred the embers of recent speculation that it's to release an 80Gb PS3.

Reported on Bloomberg.com, Sony Computer Entertainment spokesperson Satoshi Fukuoka revealed that introducing a PS3 with a larger hard drive is under consideration at the company.

No further details were given, and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe was unavailable for comment at the time of writing.

Fukuoka's revelation follows the news of Sony's confirming it is ceasing offering the 20Gb model in North America, this decision "in line with our strategy as we had planed to choose models based on consumer needs", Fukuoka explained.

Sony then will be weighing up whether a PS3 with a larger hard drive is a product consumers will embrace.

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The success of PlayStation 3 in Europe has rescued the console from "the perception wars" that hit sales in Japan, says Sony's boss, Sir Howard Stringer.

"I think [in] the first two days in the UK, £100m ($199m) revenue changed hands and that's probably the largest consumer electronics sale in history," he told the FT. Stringer said that PS3 had entered the Euro market with "more games and, perhaps we lived up to the expectations in Europe in a way that perhaps we didn't in Japan".

Analysts expect Sony to start making some money back on the console next March, "In the March quarter of 2008, Sony will start making money on the console," said Yuji Fujimori, analyst at Goldman Sachs. "In the longer term, I see the PS3's market share at 50 per cent within three years. In the shorter term, I see it at below 30 per cent."

We reported yesterday that Japanese analysts wanted to see a PS3 price cut sooner rather than later.

It's also strange to see such claims when there are reports doing the rounds that your European office is about to lay off 160 people.

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The European arm of Sony Computer Entertainment is preparing to lay off around 160 members of staff.

"The business targets that we face make this regrettably unavoidable," said president and CEO David Reeves in an internal email that Next-Gen reports has been leaked.

Apparently every SCEE employee will receive a letter on Wednesday informing him or her if they've been "provisionally selected at being at risk".

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Susan Nourai, the senior director of the PlayStation Network, has been speaking about the future of the PSN and how the company plans to improve the experience over time.

"We look at PSN as an emergent entertainment network. Our goal is to take a consumer-centric approach in both user experience, and just as important, to provide the type of content that consumers expect from PlayStation. This is evident in the types of games we offer on the PlayStation Store, like Flow, and the upcoming Calling All Cars and Little Big Planet," she told GamePro.

"Currently, we post new content every Thursday. Our content offering is growing and we look forward to the fantastic slate of games and entertainment content coming down the pipe."

When asked about future changes or improvements, Nourai replied, "We've only scratched the surface and are working closely with the engineering team in Japan to improve the overall consumer experience. We stay in close touch with our consumers via communication outreach and research and have really appreciated the positive and constructive feedback. We plan to keep enhancing the things we're doing right, and will continue to evolve the service into something our PlayStation fans want. We've accomplished a lot in our four months with over 600,000 registered accounts and 3.7M downloads. It's a great start to a journey and a long-term relationship with our consumers and business partners.

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press release:

Former Electronic Arts Canada, industry veterans announced today the formation of Jet Black Games, a video game development company that will focus on developing original and licensed intellectual properties for the Nintendo DS and Wii. With careers that have spanned two generations of consoles, the founders have been credited with numerous blockbusters and platinum selling titles.

ìWith the launch of our new studio weíve brought together all the key elements to develop top games: proven experience and talent, the desire to push the creative envelope, commitment to making games we ourselves want to play, and all the resources and support systems needed to perform,î states Roger Freddi, Co-founder and CEO of Jet Black.

Jet Black has strategically aligned itself with Flashman Studios Inc., a business management firm specializing in interactive entertainment endeavours. This alliance presents immediate opportunities for Jet Black to leverage Flashmanís roster of well-known intellectual properties, and situates the studio at the forefront of Nintendoís revolution in gaming.

"Both the Nintendo DS and Wiiís WiFi capabilities provide an advanced medium for Jet Black to bring already popular franchises to an even broader worldwide audience."

Freddi adds, "These recognised licensed properties serve to ensure that Jet Black is a name to affiliate with Nintendo games, and nicely complement the original IP on which weíre working."

"We are confident in the capabilities of Jet Blackís exceptional team, and know our strong global alliances and years of game experience will help grow their business", Brad Young, CEO of
Flashman said. "Our proven success in cultivating the right match of intellectual property, publisher, and developer will allow Jet Black to do what they do best - build great games, create inspirational ideas, and develop great technology." ...