It's official! Gears of War 2 developer Epic Games has confirmed via its forums that the "All Fronts" DLC set to release on July 28 was available on Xbox Live Marketplace by accident early this morning (or: late last night, for you owl-types). According to a posting on the company's forums, "The 'All Fronts' DLC was leaked for 800 MS points last night around 1AM (US Central). When users attempted to download it, they received an error message."

Interestingly, a number of folks have not only been able to download it but also play the new content. The forum member continues, writing, "Those who bought them right away are playing them RIGHT NOW -- if you attempt to download them now you will receive an error message ... those [of] you [who] received the first error before Microsoft was alerted can redownload them fine."

These statements appear to be confirmed by the flood of excited responses of people playing the game, as well as by statements from Epic's Community Manager "Flak," who explains, "This was a bug or mistake. The DLC is still scheduled for release on the 28th for 1,600 Microsoft points (All Fronts) and 1,200 Microsoft points (Dark Corners)." Unsurprisingly, Epic asks forums users not to upload any video or screenshots of the accidentally released DLC -- so, ya know, you'll probably be seeing it everywhere by noon today ...

Update: Microsoft has officially responded to the situation and released this statement:

"Earlier this morning, the "Gears of War 2: All Fronts Collection" Game Add-on was briefly made available on Xbox Live for 800 Microsoft Points. The content has since been removed and will launch on Tuesday, July 28th worldwide as planned, together with the "Dark Corners" Game Add-on. Pricing will remain as originally intended (1600 and 1200 Microsoft Points for "All Fronts Collection" and "Dark Corners," respectively). The small, lucky group of Xbox Live members who were able to download the content during the short window it was available will be able to retain the content for the price at which it was purchased as well as keep all related Achievements. There won't be any penalties for those who purchased this content early. Think of it as a lucky treat for those with quick reflexes!"

There you have it, folks! Enjoy!

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/17/ha...y-released-pu/ ...

Have you seen the latest episode of Pulse, the fortnightly PSN content highlight video? If so, you will have noticed that a demo for Square Enix's next PSP release, Dissidia: Final Fantasy, will be available to download on July 23. That's the expected release date, at least, but don't be surprised if it slips back down the slippery slope leading to the PSN servers. It wouldn't be the first time.

For many of us this will be the first time to see how the game actually works, as screenshots and videos have shown nothing more than a lot of mindless mid-air hacking and slashing. For a game which apparently lasts for over 40 hours, there's got to be a little more to it than that.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/17/di...ected-july-23/ ...

Zico Liu, programmer (and Trophy) on WipEout HD, recently dropped by the European PlayStation Blog to confirm a price and date for the game's latest expansion: Fury. Psychedelic speedsters in Europe can get their greasy mitts on this new content come July 23 for £7.99 (€9.99). US gamers won't miss out, as Fury will also be available on the US store for $9.99 that day. For those of you not in the brightly-colored loop, Fury adds a whole lot of new content, including game types, tracks and ships, to Sony's futuristic racer.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/17/wi...uly-23-priced/ ...

Though it's been quite some time since we last heard anything about a portable gaming device from Microsoft, corporate VP Shane Kim recently reconfirmed to Kikizo that the company is still very interested in the idea. "We're building a service in Live that will... will extend to other platforms ... no question about it," Kim told them in an interview earlier this week.

He stresses that, with development for Project Natal underway, Microsoft isn't exactly ponying up for extra resources to make portable Xbox gaming a reality. "If we chased after a mobile or handheld opportunity, we would not have the resources and ability to do things like ... Project Natal." Surprisingly, Kim even touches on the always touchy (and often not even mentioned) Live Anywhere initiative, saying, "We talked about Live Anywhere a few years ago ... Live is the connective tissue." From the sounds of things, though Microsoft may very well be thinking about the idea of a gaming handheld in the future, it's not exactly right around the corner.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/17/sh...x-live-brands/ ...

Today I woke up late. Then I ate eggs. I ate all of the eggs in the house. There are no more, so forget it, you can't have any. Know what you can do? Talk.

It's time for TELL US DAMMIT.

Here's how it works: We ask a question, you answer it. Simple and no strings attached! This isn't some marketing survey or whatever. It's an emotional investment in you. Yes, we're interested in knowing you, reader person.
You probably know oodles about us - more than you even want to, we're sure. But, hey, we'd like to know about you. That way you won't be some faceless blob - and we might feel a tinge of guilt when we ban ya. Or not, because really we're incapable of human emotion.

Question: What is your favorite game theme song? ...

Famitsu may have spilled the beans with regards to the Valkyria Chronicles 2 announcement, but Sega has now officially opened the game's website for business. There's not much there right now except for the first page in the developer's blog, though it contains a few screenshots from the game, one of which you can see above. It looks like the style of the original has been maintained, despite the lower-resolution PSP graphics.

The developer diary -- handily translated over at Andriasang -- notes that the game has been bought to the PSP "to expose the series to a greater variety of users," and is keen to state that "this is a true sequel." The game is set three years after the first game, with no sign of any of the characters from the original, though we'd be very surprised if one or two didn't make at least cameo appearances in the sequel.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/17/of...site-launches/ ...

In the absence of a high definition Nintendo console - or even new Starfox games, for that matter - some fans have taken matters into their own hands, and are building a new Starfox game: Shadows of Lylat.

Similar to the popular Battlestar Galactica mod, Beyond the Red Line, Shadows of Lylat is built on the FreeSpace Open, meaning it takes advantage of the space combat sim's engine without the user needing a copy of Freespace to play it. All you'll need is Shadows of Lylat.

Being built around Freespace, the developers say it'll be a little more serious to play than the arcadey action of the Nintendo titles, but that shouldn't worry too many of you. What should worry you are the chances of Nintendo being assholes and shutting this down.

It'll be out "when it's done" (if it ever gets done), and is promised to run on Windows, Mac and Linux.

http://kotaku.com/5317359/if-nintend...hese-guys-will ...

J.J. Hendricks, the Denver entrepreneur who bought the rare Nintendo World Championships Gold cartridge, is hosting an event today that seeks to recreate the original contest. He spoke to Kotaku about it and his acquisition.

Hendricks, the owner of vintage game-and-console retailer JJGames.com, bought the NWC Gold cart last month for $17,500. The seller was asking $25,000. So it was a nice discount for a "holy grail" of game collecting similar to baseball cards' Honus Wagner T206 or comics' Marvel Comics #1. Rather, his business bought it, and will reunite that game with a lesser known (and possibly more rare) Nintendo Campus Challenge cartridge he's in the process of purchasing for $14,000.

"My guess is that they'll increase in value over time," Hendricks said, saying he considers both cartridges to be investments held by the business he founded 10 years ago while at the University of Colorado. "I these as opposed to wine or paintings or other collectibles because of the business connection, and because I have always enjoyed video games."

Though the NWC Gold cart was a newsmaking buy back when Hendricks got it in June, the Campus Challenge cartridge was an even luckier find. That cart was the basis of a 60-college tour by Nintendo from 1991 to 1992 and, unlike the World Championships, none of the game cartridges went public as prizes or giveaways. Hendricks said his copy was found at a garage sale and might be the only known copy.

For those wondering, yes he has played the original NWC gold cart - it was advertised as a working one, after all, and Hendricks wanted to make sure it was still good. I asked if the cart - made in 1990 - required the Nintendo Blow.

"Yes, but after I played it," Hendricks said laughing, "I just wanted to make sure it was clean before I put it in a safety deposit box."

Unfortunately, the cartridge will be there, not on display, during JJGames' inaugural - and free - Retro Game Championship today in Denver. From 2 to 9 pm today (MDT) at the business's warehouse storefront in south Denver, players can try for high scores in both the World Championships and the Campus Challenge. Hendricks had duplicate carts worked up off of both games' ROMs. Ten screens will be set up, five playing one game and five handling the other.

"I got the idea earlier this year while thinking about buying the game," Hendricks said. "I wanted to have an event that would as closely as possible recreate the Nintendo World Championships - right down to the six-minute, 21-second standard time limit."

In the NWC, players have to grab 50 coins in Super Mario Bros., complete a specialized course of Rad Racer, and then rack up as many points in Tetris until the end of the time limit. In the Campus Challenge, players grab 25 coins in Super Mario Bros. 3, score 100,000 in Pin*Bot, and then play Dr. Mario until time expires. It too has a 6:21 limit.

JJGames is offering prizes, from $200 gift cards to top scorers to T-shirts for the first 20 people to show up. Reproduction carts will also be offered as giveaways. Directions and details are here.

As a collector, Hendricks says he is choosy about what he'll acquire - he won't just throw money at a cabinet or other collectible. As of now, the Campus Challenge and the World Championship are the cornerstones of a collection that has just one other specimen.

"It's a Starfox Super Weekend competition cartridge," Hendricks said. "It's worth maybe $300."

http://kotaku.com/5317437/gold-cartr...ionships-today ...

Ordinarily it's not my policy to cave in to peer pressure like this, but ignoring the likely-fake shakycam video of a PS3 Slim hasn't slowed the tide of hey-d00ds tips we're getting about it.

There's also a nagging, buzzing doubt in my head, in the region of my brain that entertains such ideas as a faked moon landing and the existence of Bigfoot. After all, rumor went around last month that this sucker was in production, and a steep price cut on the 80GB PS3 likely means retailers have been told to clear space for a new SKU.

So I am going to put this to the wisdom of the crowd. Is this a real PS3 slimline console? Or is it fake?

Arguments pro:
• You can see the ethernet and USB ports on it. Why would counterfeiters go to that kind of trouble?
• Logo looks legit enough.
• It's in the Philippines, where you can buy anything before it's available, such as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Arguments con:
• Plugged-in-and-running footage or GTFO.
• Some clown's giving us the old shake-and-fake.
• It's in the Philippines, where you can buy anything before it's available, such as Flintstones Chewable Viagra.

Alright, vote!

http://kotaku.com/5317605/yes-i-know...s3-slim-video-[update] ...