Point your eyes at these new photos of Transformer characters Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, two classic heroes revamped for the new generation Transformers movie - and the recently revealed game, of course.

These images show the toy figures made for both Autobot characters, giving us a good idea of how Michael Bay's - director of the all-live-action Transformers movie - redesigned robots in disguise will look in the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC videogame released this summer.

Screens Here ...

Capcom just released Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Justice for All for the DS last month, but the publisher is already holding a contest surrounding the possible localization of the next installment in the series.

Over on the official Phoenix Wright forums, an administrator has posted details about a new contest in which Capcom wants gamers to make the case for bringing a third Phoenix Wright game to American shores. To participate in the "Ace Attorney: Plead Your Case" contest, gamers need only download a template of a comic book page and empty word bubbles, then combine them in creative ways to explain why Capcom should bring the game to the US. Three winners will each receive a pair of Phoenix Wright figurines and a collectible pin.

When asked to confirm a US release for the next Phoenix Wright game, a Capcom representative said, "We have no announcements regarding future Ace Attorney games at this time."

via gamespot ...

Racing fans probably aren't complaining about the Sony's PlayStation Store, part of the online experience of the PlayStation 3. In addition to the downloadable game GripShift and PlayStation port of Jet Moto for the PlayStation Portable, demos for Motorstorm and Gran Turismo HD Concept are currently available for free.

Two more games that would give Driver's Ed teachers headaches are headed to the online store today. First up is the demo for Full Auto 2: Battlelines, the PS3 combat racing from Sega and developer Pseudo Interactive. Full Auto 2 was originally released on December 7

via gamespot ...

Source: A widely circulated scan allegedly from the latest issue of Famitsu.

What we heard: Though neither Shadow of the Colossus nor ICO were runaway hits in the US--selling 566,859 and 189,799 copies domestically--they do have a rabid fan base. In Japan, though, they have a following so passionate, a pack of hyperactive hari-krishnas on meth would look like three-toed sloths on valium. Within the first 24 hours of Colossus' release, 80 percent of its launch shipment was sold.

So little wonder, then that the Ico crew is working on a new project for the PlayStation 3--allegedly, anyway. Today, a scan (picture) allegedly from this week's Famitsu, everyone's favorite Japanese gaming magazine, got ICO/Shadow fans all hot, bothered, and unladylike. The ad shows two sentences--one in black in the background and another in red overlaying it.

According to a native Japanese speaker, the black sentence says. "The ICO and Wanda and the Colossus team is hiring production staffers for a new project for PS3." (Wanda and the Colossus was Shadow's Japanese title.) The red sentence then says, "Are you recruiting now? When you finish the game, what's going to happen to PS3? It's too late, old timer." At the bottom of the scan is a Sony Computer Entertainment copyright notice in English--a trait shared by the PlayStation Japan Web site--and the SCE logo.

The official story: Sony Computer Entertainment America reps did not respond to requests for comment. But they shouldn't have to, since all the easily excitable forum-posters spreading the hullabaloo seem to have forgotten that ICO and Colossus director Fumito Ueda announced in 2005 that this next project would be for the PS3.

Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus.

via gamespot ...

The latest figures from ABC have revealed that gaming magazines appear to be in a continuing decline, with a few bright spots as readership of many Future and Imagine titles falls once again.

OPSM2's monthly circulation is down 24 per cent from the August 2006 figures to hit 76,351. But there has been a 17 per cent rise for Official Nintendo, with readership almost topping 43,000 copies per month.

Official Xbox 360 is also up from 42,680 to just over 56,000, with sales likely to have been boosted by the closure of Official Xbox Magazine. Figures for the new Official PlayStation 3 Magazine were not provided.

Excluding OPSM3, 175,368 official titles are sold each month - compared to 218,863 six months previously.

As for the battle of the unofficial mags, Future's PSW is down from nearly 34,500 to just over 26,000 copies, while Imagine-published Play is in the lead with 29,000 - despite a 37.5 per cent drop in readership compared to a year ago.

Circulation for Imagine's Powerstation was down to 15,171 from 22,288 in February 2006. Future-published rival PSM2, currently transitioning to become PSM3, saw a drop of more than 25 per cent over the past six months to hit just over 26,500.

Xbox 360 World, another Future mag, saw its circulation remaining steady at around 23,000, while readership for Imagine's X360 was up more than 20 per cent to edge past the 28,000 mark.

The figure for 360, also published by Imagine, fell slightly from 13,098 to 11,369. Relative newcomer Uncooked Media experienced a rise in sales for 360 Gamer, which went up from 9100 to top 10,600.

PC titles appear to be in a slow but steady decline - PC Zone is down from just over 30,000 to 27,000, while PC Gamer lost 1675 readers to hit just over 43,600.

It's a different story for the multi-platform titles, which appear to be in a stable position. Games Master's readership is now hovering around the 54,000 mark following a small increase in sales, while circulation for Imagine's Games TM still stands at just over 20,000. Once again, Edge faired better than many of Future's publications - readership is up from 33,597 to 35,145, a rise of more than 4 per cent.

via gibiz ...

The collaboration of Electronic Arts and Apple on games for the iPod has been described as "a marriage made in heaven" by Javier Ferreira, vice president of publishing for EA Mobile.

The publisher has enjoyed success with titles such as Mahjong, Tetris and Mini Golf on the market-leading entertainment player, with future projects on the highly-anticipated iPhone expected to be announced shortly.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz at 3GSM in Barcelona, Ferreira said, "As the iPhone comes to the mobile space it's an exciting opportunity for us. It's a marriage made in heaven.

"For us, fundamentally, we love new platforms, we love new ways of playing and new ways growing the market."

Although Ferreira would not disclose specific sales figures for EA games sold through iTunes, he did reveal that the titles have been a success - and confirmed that the two companies are working together on new projects.

"I'm not going to comment on the sales figures, but it's been tremendously exciting," he said. "We always welcome innovation on platforms - and the iPod is a very interesting platform from a gaming perspective."

"It's great news for us, we've worked with them and we'll continue to work with them," he added.

With EA's Mitch Lasky recently revealing the company is in talks to develop games for the iPhone, the publisher clearly sees another opportunity to expand its gaming reach. And although titles deemed 'casual' are only currently available for the iPod, it won't be long until some of EA's key brands appear on Apple's hardware.

"The more devices that people can play on, the better. You'll see people play The Sims on the Xbox, the PC, their iPod and then the mobile phone," Ferreira said.

"We don't see these platforms as competing against each other, we see them ultimately expanding and augmenting the gaming category – and as the market leader in the gaming space, that's fantastic news for us."

via gibiz ...

Rockstar has cleared the charges against Vice City Stories this afternoon, confirming that the game will retail for GBP 19.99 when it launches on 9th March, which leaves you enough spare pennies to start your very own crime syndicate.

Originally a PSP game, it will be ported to PS2 and feature enhanced graphics as well as improved draw distance and overall performance.

Like Liberty City Stories on PlayStation 2, which was also ported from PSP, it won't feature a multiplayer mode - something Rockstar is keen to do, but only if it's done properly.

"We couldn't recreate the same thing we did on the PSP on the PS2, so unfortunately it's not on it," a PR spokesperson told Eurogamer.

It's certainly something Rockstar could do on Xbox 360 and PS3, which leaves us dribbling with gang-banging excitement for its potential next-generation offering.

However, you don't necessarily have to wait that long for a free-roaming city rampage, as Crackdown recently proved.

via eurogamer ...

Bonkers bunnies clearly aren't done bouncing, with Ubisoft having announced that Rayman Raving Rabbids will be appearing on Xbox 360 and DS in March.

Microsoft's new version is rumoured to support Xbox Live Vision, plus it will feature exclusive mini-games and more technical punch than previous games.

There's no news on the DS version, which is confirmed for 16th March, and Ubisoft was unable to comment at the time of writing. Or in the two minutes after when I went to the loo, and when they could have called me back to say they'd changed their minds.

Rayman Raving Rabbids launched across numerous platforms late last year, most notably on Wii. It's comprised of numerous mini-games, each based around the lunatic rabbits that really provide the main attraction of the game.

We found it to be surprisingly entertaining, but it lacked any real depth

via eurogamer ...

It was essentially inevitible that Nintendo's Wiimote was destined to become a weapon of mass destruction, and while we've seen folks jailed and even killed over an iPod, even we're a bit hesitant to call the blunt object a "criminal tool." Still, that's precisely what a former Clay High School junior was purportedly using when he "hacked into school personnel and student files" and transferred sensitive information to his dubious Pod. After threatening to "open up a credit card in someone's name and ruin their credit," school officials began to investigate the situation, and were quite relieved when they discovered the breach before any of the data was used with ill intentions. Currently, no court date has been set for the youngster's criminal case, but considering all the grief being endured in order to keep those files from leaving school grounds, one just has to wonder what secrets could possibly be held in those potentially steamy "personnel files."

via engadget ...