via IGN


Square Enix has chosen Wii as the destination for the next installment of its blockbuster role playing series Dragon Quest.

That's according to Reuters, which says the publisher has yet to reveal a launch date or any pricing details for Dragon Quest X.

Before the new game's release, Dragon Quest IX will launch for DS on March 28 in Japan. It'll cost 5,980 yen ($64.73), but there's no word yet on when the title will be coming out over here.

Early titles in the multi million selling Dragon Quest series appeared on Nintendo platforms, before the franchise decamped to PlayStation, but the recent rebirth of Nintendo via the success of Wii and DS means, from a business perspective, it just makes financial sense to target those markets.

More details when we get them. ...

via Games Industry


Sony's long-awaited social networking environment for the PlayStation 3, Home, will finally go live worldwide tomorrow, December 11.

A free download for all PlayStation 3 owners, Home will allow users to create avatars, communicate via text and chat with other users in real-time, play mini-games, view entertainment, and create their own online communities.

For Europe, Ubisoft will be the first publisher to offer a themed Far Cry 2 space, with more environments planned for Sony titles Warhawk, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, MotorStorm and SOCOM. Sony Europe has said it is also working with Activision, Eidos, Electronic Arts, Midway, Sega and Atari on future themed locations.

A Club House feature will allow users to create groups for other PS3 users, with Sony charging for the entitlement to run a Club, although no price has yet been announced.

Last week it was revealed that Red Bull would be one of the first brands to claim space in Home, with Diesel, Paramount, Ligne Roset, Hexus TV and Eurogamer also offering unique content for the online world.

Diesel will begin offering clothing for avatars – some free, some priced up to EUR 1.50 – while Ligne Roset will offer furniture which can be customised.

The PlayStation Home Theatre will allow users to view exclusive movie content from Paramount, while Eurogamer will provide gaming content and Hexus TV lifestyle programming.

"PlayStation Home is truly a promising network community service on the PlayStation platform, made possible with the powerful combination of PS3's overwhelming computational power and PlayStation Network that covers many countries around the globe," said Kaz Hirai, President of Sony.

"We are committed to providing PS3 users with exciting gaming experiences with PlayStation Home and together with our partners and users, expand the new world of interactive entertainment as we move forward."

The Home beta has been available to thousands of PlayStation 3 users over the past month, but the opening of the service tomorrow to a wider audience is still being labelled as a 'beta' product by Sony.

The company intends to add more features and content to Home throughout 2009.

Home has suffered a number of delays since it was first announced, disappointing not only consumers but industry executives such as EA's Peter Moore and Microsoft's Neil Thompson - rivals who will no doubt be scrutinising Sony's bold move into virtual worlds. ...

via Computer and Video Games


You've got to love ELSPA. Not content with recently getting the 'boob job pirate' put behind bars, the publisher association has confirmed its latest victory - busting a massive games copying factory in the West Midlands.

According to the organisation, it was a £1 million racket, from which 30,000 illegally copied games, films and music DVDs were seized in a recent raid.

Slightly less impressive sounding, West Midlands police and members of Sandwell Council's Trading Standards Department also stormed "a market stall and a residential property" as part of the swoop.

Seven computers attached to 35 DVD re-writers, three printers, 19 hard drives, 15 Xbox 360s, two Wiis and a number of circumvention devices for chipping consoles were recovered alongside the pirated games and movies. We think ELSPA could've been more specific with that list.


ELSPA advised punters to avoid dodgy games and hardware by sticking to reputable dealers in the run up to Christmas, before sending out a chilling message to pirates still operating under the radar.


Another textbook pirate bust there. Well done. ...

via Computer and Video Games


You've got to love ELSPA. Not content with recently getting the 'boob job pirate' put behind bars, the publisher association has confirmed its latest victory - busting a massive games copying factory in the West Midlands.

According to the organisation, it was a £1 million racket, from which 30,000 illegally copied games, films and music DVDs were seized in a recent raid.

Slightly less impressive sounding, West Midlands police and members of Sandwell Council's Trading Standards Department also stormed "a market stall and a residential property" as part of the swoop.

Seven computers attached to 35 DVD re-writers, three printers, 19 hard drives, 15 Xbox 360s, two Wiis and a number of circumvention devices for chipping consoles were recovered alongside the pirated games and movies. We think ELSPA could've been more specific with that list.


ELSPA advised punters to avoid dodgy games and hardware by sticking to reputable dealers in the run up to Christmas, before sending out a chilling message to pirates still operating under the radar.


Another textbook pirate bust there. Well done. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Sony is bullish about LittleBigPlanet's prospects, even if the game's made a somewhat troubled start.

The brilliant platformer hasn't set the chart on fire since launch, but Sony Computer Entertainment America is confident it'll have legs sales wise.

Marketing manager John Kohler told GamePro that LBP is seeing "explosive" sales and that it'll "absolutely" rack up big sales over time, calling the the title an "evergreen game for the PS3".

...

via Engadget


According to two reports, Sony Ericsson and HTC are both semi-confirming Android handsets for 2009. An SE spokesman by the name of Garfield Brusewitz was quoted as saying that the company would introduce higher-end models of the Google-powered devices to start with, then supplement those handsets with cheaper versions aimed at a broader market. In another article, HTC says that it will launch one "or more" Android phones in the new year, aiming to have them on shelves by Summer.

This hardly comes as a surprise from either of these companies, as HTC has been on-board since day one of the OHA and, you know, already has an Android handset out, and Sony Ericsson's announcement of participation was naturally going to lead to some actual hardware. Now it's just a matter of getting these out the door, and... sneak peaks at CES, anyone? ...

via Joystiq


Okay, get this. CVG is reporting that the new issue of EGM features a Gears of War 3 rumor. Come on, that's just silly. Everyone knows that Cliff and the gang have "never announced" a trilogy. (Why do it now?) Besides, suggesting that Gears of War 3 will be released during holiday 2010 is just a little too obvious -- don't you think? Gears 1 in 2006. The sequel in 2008. And part three in 2010? No way. Everyone knows you're supposed to wait three years between the second and third games.

And what's this about Gears 3 featuring a "five-player co-op" mode? Ridiculous. There's no way Marcus and Dom's relationship has room for a third wheel, let alone a fourth and fifth. Move along. Nothing to see here. ...

via Eurogamer


Peter Molyneux has hinted that Fable II could be made available as a full digital release on Xbox 360.

The Lionhead Studios boss refused to confirm any concrete plans, but told GamesIndustry.biz: "I think it would be a great thing for this studio to work on."

Pressed on whether there were already plans for the critically-acclaimed RPG to be made available over Microsoft's Live service, Molyneux said: "I can't say anything else on it – I would be killed to death."

Microsoft, which already offers full original Xbox titles for download via its Marketplace service, has never formally revealed intentions to make full retail 360 titles available, but industry watchers have long predicted this could happen later in the console's lifecycle.

Molyneux's enthusiasm for a digital release comes after the success of the original Fable, which was made available for download on 360 earlier this year as part of the Xbox Originals range.

"It did really, really well," he revealed. "It was one of the highest selling, if not the highest selling, [Xbox Originals title]. I didn't track that exactly, but I know a lot of people got very excited about it when it came out."

Fable II released in Europe on October 24 and topped the UK charts after its opening weekend.

However, slowing sales, a crowded marketplace and tough economic conditions prompted UK retailer Gamestation to slash the price of the game by more than half its RRP to GBP 19.57 at the end of last month.

"Any way that more people can play it, the better," insisted Molyneux. "Normally I'd feel quite emotional about that, but at the moment I just think it's a reflection of where we are when people will struggle to spend any money at Christmas at the moment."

He added: "It's hard to see any products that aren't being discounted and it seems like retailers in this country are focusing on different products every week. If this hadn't been this time last year, I don't think it would have happened." ...

via Kotaku


Valve has issued a server-side fix to stop cheaters from taking advantage of Left 4 Dead exploits on the Xbox 360. Reported cheats allowed players to spawn infinite items and enemies in online games.

A follow-up statement from Valve says that the fix has already been deployed to address cheats on dedicated Xbox Live servers, which accounts for the majority of co-op and versus mode play.

It expects to deploy a title update "in the coming days" for Xbox 360 owners playing on user-hosted servers or via system link. Thanks, Valve! ...