An "extremely well-informed exec" tells Trusted Reviews that the 6G iPod will be released in December, and it will be capable of 480p resolution. The source confirmed that it will be a touchscreen model with virtual click wheel control, but made no mention of whether wireless connectivity would be part of the package. Added the source, "This is why Jobs isn't afraid of the Zune."

We've seen the iPod touchscreen patent documentation, and we've entertained countless rumors and even reliable tips about the upcoming device; what we need to see now is a real picture of it. One thing's for sure, if this widescreen iPod is released in the next two months, the Microsoft Zune with its old-fashioned 4x3 screen and crippled WiFi will be slam-dunked. ...

Pokemon Battle Revolution has been revealed as the first Wii game to use DS as a compatible controller.

Instead of using the Wii-mote to select your pet's attacks during a battle, by setting up DS's WiFi connection with the Wii console you'll be able to use the handheld's touch-screen to make your offensive selections.

Also the first game to feature Wii's online multiplayer, Pokemon Battle Revolution is planned as a launch title for Japan, before being released some time next year in the UK.

Nintendo is obviously serious about a feature it attempted to push between GBA and GameCube, with The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles among the only titles to make any decent use of the compatibility between the handheld and console.

With Wii's controllers being less suited to games that don't heavily feature motion-sensitive gameplay, however, a DS could become a useful tool thanks to its easy to use touch-screen ability. We're hoping to see more developers push the unique aspects of Wii, and the link with DS could be yet another innovative strength for Nintendo's new console. ...

Pokemon Battle Revolution has been revealed as the first Wii game to use DS as a compatible controller.

Instead of using the Wii-mote to select your pet's attacks during a battle, by setting up DS's WiFi connection with the Wii console you'll be able to use the handheld's touch-screen to make your offensive selections.

Also the first game to feature Wii's online multiplayer, Pokemon Battle Revolution is planned as a launch title for Japan, before being released some time next year in the UK.

Nintendo is obviously serious about a feature it attempted to push between GBA and GameCube, with The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles among the only titles to make any decent use of the compatibility between the handheld and console.

With Wii's controllers being less suited to games that don't heavily feature motion-sensitive gameplay, however, a DS could become a useful tool thanks to its easy to use touch-screen ability. We're hoping to see more developers push the unique aspects of Wii, and the link with DS could be yet another innovative strength for Nintendo's new console. ...

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A senior Microsoft executive has admitted that the firm bungled its release schedule earlier this year on Xbox 360, resulting in gaps which were "too long from a first-party".

Speaking to our sister site GamesIndustry.biz, Microsoft Games Studio general manager Phil Spencer acknowledged the disappointment the firm had caused consumers and retailers with a staggering 210-day void between first-party releases Dead Or Alive 4 on 27th Janaury, and Ninety-Nine Nights on 25th August in the UK.

"I won't duck the question. Obviously our job as a first-party publisher is to lead on our platform and to create content not only that appeals to a broad set of customers, but also content that comes out with a regular pacing to continue to freshen the shelves," Spencer said. "But I wouldn't disagree with you that there were periods this year where there were gaps that were too long from first-party."

Microsoft's gaming blackspot was mirrored by a paucity of heavyweight third-party releases over a particular barren summer during which the firm arguably failed to capitalise on good early momentum and the absence of Sony's rival PlayStation 3 system.

"Obviously launch was a very challenging time - I was very proud of the three launch titles we had in Kameo, Perfect Dark and Project Gotham. To have three launch games is a good statement from a first-party," Spencer insisted. "We would love it if the pacing of our first-party games fit exactly with the calendar, but sometimes they don't."

However, Spencer promised that, having negotiated through this unconvincing period, Microsoft Games Studios and third parties were now hitting their stride with Christmas approaching.

"The more rosy picture is our pacing going forward; it's set up where you won't see those gaps," he claimed. "You see the set-up now on the platform, starting with Viva Pinata, then Gears of War, Crackdown, Forza, Mass Effect, Fable 2, Halo 3. We understand the production of the game such that I feel very good about the strength of the quality of the portfolio and, to your point, the timeliness of the portfolio on 360."

He continued: "[But] we're not going to let the date drive when a first party game comes out, because a bad first-party game coming out at the right time doesn't matter."

UK Xbox boss Neil Thompson backed this up, telling GI.biz: "When you bring out a platform, there's a ramp up phase that you go through and a lot of third-parties as well as ourselves look to the Christmas season as a key point to release some of the bigger franchise titles.

"The platform is more than first-party, and from a third-party point of view, we've got a great offering out there. By Christmas there'll be 160 games on the platform and I think that's pretty good choice." ...

Electronic Arts has announced that the next Def Jam game will be called Def Jam: Icon, and it's due out on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 next March in the US and Europe.

Handled by EA Chicago, the chaps who most recently brought us excellent next-gen fighting game Fight Night Round 3, Icon will continue to fuse hip-hop music, culture and lifestyle into its beat-'em-up gameplay, and judging by comments from executive producer Kudo Tsunoda, the power of PS3 and 360 make a bit of a difference here in several ways.

For a start, he says, EA Chicago is "completely innovating the role of the environments in the games, moving from the typical lifeless arenas the hip-hop celebrities are fighting in to environments that play an instrumental part in the fight where they will react to the music and interact with both characters like a third fighter."

EA also talks about reworked controls that offer players better feedback, and of course you'll be able to assume the role of celebs like Ludacris, T.I. and Big Boi.

Watch out for more on Def Jam: Icon nearer release. ...

An enterprising young person by the name of Elder on PS3forums.com seems to have got his hands on a lot of the press bumf due to emerge at Sony's US Gamers Day event later this week - most notably giving us a better idea of what's likely to be released through the PlayStation 3's e-Distribution service.

Games listed as first party (with screenshots, some preserved on other forums) include Blast Factor, a 1080p shoot-'em-up with self-adjusting difficulty and global rankings, which uses the tilt function of the SIXAXIS controller to help push enemies around the play area and is reportedly in development at Bluepoint Games.

Others on the list are flOw, which was shown off at the Tokyo Game Show (catch up with our impressions elsewhere), Go Sudoku (complete with multiplayer mode), something called Swizzleblocks, Lemmings 2 (apparently a new game and not a port) and one called Criminal Crackdown. Sony hasn't released any previous details on these games, or confirmed anything on the list beyond flOw, we might add, but adding to the veracity of Elder's post were a number of new assets for existing PS3 games like Untold Legends and Full Auto 2.

Third-party e-Distribution games mentioned, meanwhile, included what sound like PlayStation Portable ports - GripShift (an unappreciated little PSP title we rather liked) and "Crash Carnage Ciaos". On the latter, most assumed the last word was a typo for "Chaos" but it also seems possible that the whole thing is a slight twist on Sony Online Entertainment's "Cash Money Chaos". Either way, we'll find out whether those are legit, along with the final, Wheel of Fortune game also mentioned, when Sony's Gamers Day concludes tomorrow... ...

Just when we thought the growing pile of games on our desks couldn't get any worse, the Arcade version of Mizuguchi's seminal puzzler, Lumines Live! has just fallen onto Xbox Live. Or at least it will do, when the servers come back up.

The puzzle game costs 1200 Microsoft points to purchase (about 10 GBP), and offers classic and time attack modes, online vs. play and 12 different skins for you to block-bust through.

In addition there's also an "advance pack" available for 600 Microsoft points (5 GBP), which gets you a further 22 skins, one of which probably has Madonna in it - but that's just our own speculation.

Microsoft also revealed today that we can expect to see Contra, Gyruss, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Mutant Storm Empire, Small Arms and others on Xbox Live Arcade in the next few weeks, although we won't be able to afford any of them because we would've already spent all our money on Lumines Live!

We're off to keep vidual in front of the Xbox 360, until Xbox Live comes back online. ...

Via CVG

Developed by Rockstar Leeds with a little help from Rockstar Toronto, The Warriors will be similar to the recently release PS2 version, though Gordon Hall, president of Rockstar Leeds, says, "The PSP system allows us to deliver the experience in an entirely different way, while staying very faithful to the original source material."

Just in case you don't know, The Warriors is based on the 1979 cult movie of the same name, set in 1970's New York City.

The PSP version is due to punch North America and Europe in the nuts this Christmas. ...