The 800 point game will include five additional game modes: Waves, which they say has been supercharged and tweaked; Pacifism, which has been promoted from achievement to full game mode, and new modes King, Deadline, and Sequence. All of the modes can be played solo or with up to four players on a single console. The multiplay allows for both co-op and competitive modes. You can also play co-pilots where one person drives and the other shoots.

Sounds like you're getting a lot for your Microsoft scrip.

Over the coming months the strip will tell the story of Vault 77: One man and a crate of puppets.

Fallout Comic

"We keep getting emails asking why our Penny Arcade game is not on PSN," said Hothead's CEO, Vlad Ceraldi. "We have always said we wanted to have our games on as many platforms as possible to give choice to gamers. All good things take time and we are very excited to be debuting our first PS3 title and look forward to bringing more games to this platform in the future."

The PSN version will feature similar pricing to the Xbox Live Arcade and PC versions, so expect to shell out around $20. Enjoy the first screens from the PS3 version below, and be sure to check out our review to help you decide whether or not you should be excited about this whole deal.

PENNY ARCADE GAME COMING TO A PLAYSTATION(R)3 SYSTEM NEAR YOU

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - July 23, 2008 - Hothead Games today proudly announced that its well received Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One is currently in development for the PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system and will debut on PLAYSTATION(R)Network late fall 2008.

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness is an RPG-Adventure game series set in the comic-book-meets-pulp-horror-meets-H.P. Lovecraft deranged 1920s universe of New Arcadia, delivered to gamers via accessible episodic releases. Players join Gabe and Tycho, the crime-solving team of the Startling Developments Detective Agency, to combat savage enemies and solve mysteries hidden deep in the sinister heart of New Arcadia. The game is the result of close collaboration between Hothead Games and Penny Arcade, featuring distinct artwork and characters designed exclusively by Mike "Gabe" Krahulik, story and dialogue by Jerry "Tycho" Holkins, and all brought to life by the Hothead team.

"We keep getting emails asking why our Penny Arcade game is not on PSN," said Hothead's CEO, Vlad Ceraldi. "We have always said we wanted to have our games on as many platforms as possible to give choice to gamers. All good things take time and we are very excited to be debuting our first PS3 title and look forward to bringing more games to this platform in the future."

The PLAYSTATION(R)3 system version of Episode One will be priced in line with the game on other platforms.

Players enter the machine on either side. The inside was very spacious, much wider than some I've seen of a similar fashion. The bottom of the machine, in front of where each player stands, was lined with LED lit candles.

Each player holds a controller shaped like the handle of a whip. The top of the whip handle is lit up with LEDs - 1P is blue, 2P is a dark pink. Each whip handle has a yellow trigger where your index finger goes. This controls your subweapon, such as knifes, crosses, etc. A red button is placed where your thumb goes. Sadly, I was not able to use it in this demo of the game, but the Konami rep told me it was used for activating items you get later on in the game. During gameplay, swinging the whip handle, a la Wii remote, results in a slash mark across the screen.

When the game starts, each player is asked to stand in their designated spots and aim the top of their whip controller at the center of the screen and press the yellow trigger button to calibrate the motion sensor.

The game begins in an outside area. Skeletons stumble onto the screen much like Silent Hill or House of the Dead. Some shoot arrows at you from a distance. You can take them out either by swinging your whip or by throwing knives at them (by pointing the tip of the whip controller and firing with the yellow trigger). Subweapons, such as knives, consume hearts. You can regain these by shooting various candles placed throughout the areas. There seemed to be a maximum of 25 hearts while I played.

The first chapter ends after you arrive at the gates of Dracula's castle and fight Death, your first boss. I squealed a little bit when the Bloody Tears theme started playing during the fight. Chapter two took place inside the castle. The boss was a giant skeleton snake, and upon winning the battle, the demo ended.

The graphics were really nice, definitely next gen; on par with PS3/Xbox 360. One small detail I liked was that any candle I whipped/threw a knife at would cause the surrounding area to go dark when destroyed.

With the way the machine was designed, it was MUCH easier to hear the music/sound effects than Silent Hill, even with all the noise from other games going on outside...

This game was a total blast. Nostalgic music, sweet graphics, whip-cracking action. There's nothing more I could've asked for in a Castlevania arcade game. I used to think Silent Hill was kinda fun when I was a little bored, but this totally blows it out of the water. Good job, Konami!

Puzzle Quest Expansion Pack hits Xbox LIVE® Arcade on July 23rd

D3Publisher of Europe Ltd (D3PE), a publisher and developer of interactive entertainment software, has announced that expansion pack Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords™ - Revenge of the Plague Lord, its latest Xbox LIVE® Arcade for Xbox 360™ offering, will launch on Xbox LIVE Marketplace on July 23, 2008.

The expansion pack will be available for play as an addition to fan favorite game Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords for Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and includes four new hero professions, scores of new spells to cast and items to collect, challenging new quests, monsters and bosses, and the introduction of a new archenemy. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - Revenge of the Plague Lord will be available on Xbox LIVE marketplace for 700 Microsoft Points.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - Revenge of the Plague Lord will offer fans hours of additional gameplay with four brand new Hero Professions: Bard, Rogue, Ranger and Warlock. Players will adventure with new or existing Heroes to explore an expansive new area on the Southern Map containing more than 25 challenging quests, cast more than 50 new spells and collect more than 40 new magical items as they’re immersed into the compelling story of Antharg, the Lord of Plague and brother to the infamous Lord Bane. New monsters, bosses and more will challenge veteran and casual fans alike for hours of compelling entertainment. The expansion pack further increases the full Puzzle Quest experience by adding three new Achievements and raising the character Level Cap to 60. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - Revenge of the Plague Lord was initially code-named “Puzzle Quest: 1.5” to reflect its tremendous amount of content.

For more information about the story and features of Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - Revenge of the Plague Lord and other Puzzle Quest properties, please visit www.puzzle-quest.com.

Mega Man 9 is very hard. We didn't want to do Mega Man, but easy. We want players to get better, we want them to remember. I've always tried to challenge players, and I think there are gamers who miss being challenged by games.

We'd like to think so as well. Takeshita also expressed his interest in making more Wii titles, which is good news for Wii owners looking for a challenge.

We've also got the Capcom-published, Backbone Entertainment-developed and arcade-inspired 1942: Joint Strike (800 Microsoft Points), a top-down vertical shooter set in a "parallel" WWII era, featuring updated 3D graphics and stylized aircraft.

Both titles hit on Wednesday morning — incidentally, PlayStation Network gets 1942 on Thursday.

"Go! Go! Break Steady" and “1942: Joint Strike” launch on Xbox LIVE Arcade this Wednesday, July 23, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. GMT (2:00 a.m. PDT).

"Go! Go! Break Steady" features an original style combining rhythmic beat-matching with match-3 style puzzle game play. Choose your character and then make them dance to the beat while solving increasingly challenging puzzles. This addictive game features a unique visual style, multiplayer versus and cooperative local and multiplayer action via Xbox LIVE, and 20 different songs in a variety of genres for your character to break dance to.

Developed by Little Boy Games, Inc. and published by Microsoft, "Go! Go! Break Steady" will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points and is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB.

“1942: Joint Strike” imagines a parallel world reminiscent of our own WWII era, where pilots take to the skies with stylized aircraft carriers and devastating weaponry! Inspired by the popular 80's arcade series, “1942: Joint Strike” combines classic top-down vertical shooting with updated 3D HD graphics. Take on massive waves of incoming enemies while dodging explosions and missiles! Face off with huge enemy bosses in death-defying dogfights. Recruit a wing man locally or online to pull off new “Joint Strike” attacks, combining the powers of both aircraft in one explosive barrage. With new weapons and power-ups in your arsenal, prepare to rejoin the battle!

Developed by Backbone Entertainment and published by Capcom, “1942: Joint Strike” will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points and is rated E10+ for Everyone 10+ by the ESRB.

For more details on "Go! Go! Break Steady," please visit http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/g/gogoxboxlivearcade/default.htm. For more details on “1942: Joint Strike,” please visit http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/1/1942jointstrikexboxlivearcade/default.htm.

Both full size strips are on the jump. Sorry to do that, but at front-page width you can't make out the words.

It's Just Like Being There [Penny Arcade]
Eeee Threeee [F@NBOY$]

Even though we as game journalists play a metric ton of games across a wide variety of genres, each of us has our Achilles' Heel — one genre, sort or stripe of game that we are just no good at. It's like a huge void in the repertoire, one particular area of the landscape that just doesn't register on the radar.

For me, two key words invoke a state of terrible incompetence: Stick. Shooter.

When I arrived at the XBLA booth to check out the upcoming titles, the reps were still aglow with awe at the reportedly epic Galaga Legions skills of my colleague, Michael McWhertor. He impressed them so soundly that I thought it best to merely bypass it altogether and get straight to dying every twenty seconds at Geometry Wars 2, the better to move right on to Castle Crashers and leave the whole "embarrassing myself in front of Microsoft" episode behind me.

Geometry Wars 2 now has co-op and multiplayer. Great; now I can die every thirty seconds in front of my friends as I lose track of which player is me. Mind you, this is squarely my failing — Geometry Wars 2 is fireworks of mesmerizing gorgeousness, and the new modes are great.

There's a timed mode called "Deadline," a sort of pattern-recognition mode of short stages called "Sequence," a versus mode, a mode called "Waves" that forces players to stay away from walls, and one called "Pacifist" where you can't shoot at all, but must try to guide the enemy ships into exploding devices.

The standout in my mind was "King" mode, in which you can protect your ship and shoot from safety by flying into a colored ring, which narrows slowly on you until you're forced to move out and onto another one. Outside the rings, you're vulnerable. See, I like the mode where there is a way to avoid being shot at all — but even in King mode, I was the first among the other players to get taken out in round after round.

But I get the appeal of Geometry Wars 2. It's visually overwhelming, I think, but also stunning. I enjoyed just watching the others (after I'd set my controller down in surrender).

Fortunately, I also got to play The Behemoth's Castle Crashers, featuring cute colored knights done in Dan Paladin's inimitable art style. The cartoony knights are really cute, and we four players as a team hurried from left to right, using weapon moves, archery and magical spells to knock out some surly castle guards on our way to storm the gates.

There's a strong attack, a weak attack, and a ranged attack, and each color knight has his own special ability charged by holding down the left trigger when you attack. It's simple, easy to play fun that feels classic and stylish, and seems great for groups, as it's engaging without being especially intense.

After my group reached the gates, we teamed up to take down a big boss, and then had to fight each other to the last man standing for the heart of the princess we rescued.

I was the second to last one standing. Microsoft's Scott Austin was like, ten levels ahead of me after demoing all day, though, so that's the only reason why he won. Seriously, I so had that.

It's pretty simple stuff on the surface. Move your ship anywhere on the screen with the left analog stick. With the right stick, you can place your ship's two satellite guns. These two guns can be dropped anywhere on the fly, with a quick tap in the direction you want the guns to autofire.

Your ship will autofire by default too, but you can choose to call your own shots with the right trigger. The point? Higher scoring bonuses. The whole mechanic makes a lot of sense and you'll need equal parts strategy, quick reflexes and pattern recognition to make it through all five areas.

Like the original Galaga, Legions throws wave after wave of enemy at the player. The formations are more varied in the XBLA update — those series of blue lines you see in the pictures draw on screen prior to each wave — and enemies can come from any direction at very high speeds. You'll have to quickly plan where your ship and your satellite guns should be to survive the crush of Galagas.

And like the original, you'll be able to add extra fighters to your assault team. This time, instead of the Galagas capturing your ship, you'll capture theirs. In some formations, a special freighter-style ship will appear. Shoot it, and the remaining Galagas will be absorbed and added to your forces. This addition of a few dozen fighters on your side of the screen adds a heaping help of chaos, but seeing the swarm of space bugs go after their former allies is awesome stuff.

Like Pac-Man Championship Edition, Galaga Legions looks to have copious replayability. It's not just a lovely looking freakshow, it's fun to play and a great example of how to update an old franchise.

Thanks Brian for the tip!

The Midway Arcade site lets players post their high scores, too. Additionally, Midway's opened a digital storefront on its main site, where you can buy titles like Stranglehold, UT3 and BlackSite: Area 51 as direct downloads.

Full announcement with prices listed follows the jump.

Midway Launches MidwayArcade.com Casual Games Site for
Pick-Up-and-Play Classics

Company Also Announces Digital Storefront at Midway.com

CHICAGO—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Today, Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading interactive entertainment software publisher and developer, announced two new online storefronts for downloadable distribution of titles from the company’s vast catalog of arcade, PC and touchscreen titles.

Beginning today, gamers can go to www.midwayarcade.com to download versions of the company’s arcade classics and touch screen favorites. More than 25 classic titles, such as Defender®, Joust®, Spy Hunter® and Mahki®, are now available for download, starting for as little as 3 games for US$5.

In addition, Midway also announced the launch of a digital storefront at www.midway.com. The new site is intended for the North American market, and features ten recent Midway® releases, starting at $9.99 per game.

Midwayarcade.com and the storefront at midway.com were built by Digital River, Inc. (Nasdaq: DRIV), a leading provider of global e-commerce solutions. For the online stores, Digital River is managing the online sale and download of Midway games, offering customers a seamless shopping experience and immediate access to popular Midway titles.

“We are excited to work with Midway Games and help maximize the sales opportunities on its online stores,” said Don Peterson, Digital River’s Senior Vice President of Global Client Development. “Using our e-commerce expertise, we can help Midway offer a consistent, reliable and user-friendly way for its consumers to purchase their favorite Midway games.”

“The Midway brand has a long and rich history of fast-paced and addictive games from our arcade and touchscreen heritage,” said Mona Hamilton, vice president, marketing, Midway Home Entertainment. “The new digital storefront at midway.com and the casual games site at midwayarcade.com allow us to deliver these classics, favorites and recent releases directly to a wide-range of Midway fans.”

MidwayArcade.com

MidwayArcade.com will give longtime arcade and touchscreen fans a chance to replay some of the classic Midway games from years past. Players can post their high scores on the site.

Arcade Games – APB™, Arch Rivals®, Cyberball™, Defender®, Gauntlet® 2, Rampage®, Rootbeer Tapper®, Spy Hunter®, Joust®, Primal Rage®, Super Offroad®, Total Carnage™, Wizard of Wor®, Robotron: 2084®.

Titles from the Midway arcade catalog are available for purchase in bundles of 3 for US$5, 5 for US$8 and 7 for US$10. All 14 Midway arcade titles can be purchased for US$15.

Touchmaster® Games – 3 Peak Deluxe®, 5 Star Generals®, Crystal Balls®, Gem Slide®, Go Wild™, Mahjongg Pairs, Mahki®, Powercell®, Solitaire, Target 21®, Trivia, Word Search, Wordz®. Casual Touchmaster games are available for US$5 each.

For more information, log onto http://www.midwayarcade.com.

Midway Online Store

Gamers can visit Midway.com to purchase games and download them directly to their PC’s for immediate play.

Midway games that are now offered for digital purchase include:

Unreal Tournament 3 – US$29.95

Midway Arcade Treasures™ - US$19.99

Midway Arcade Treasures™ Deluxe - US$19.99

Area 51® - US$14.99

Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy® - US$14.99

The Suffering® - US$9.99

The Suffering: Ties That Bind® - US$14.99

Rise and Fall: Civilizations at War® - US$19.99

Stranglehold® - US$19.95

Blacksite: Area 51® - US$19.95

For more information, visit www.midway.com.

About Digital River, Inc.

Digital River, Inc., a leading provider of global e-commerce solutions, builds and manages online businesses for software publishers, consumer technology manufacturers, distributors, online retailers and affiliates. Its multi-channel e-commerce solution, which supports both direct and indirect sales, is designed to help companies of all sizes maximize online revenues as well as reduce the costs and risks of running an e-commerce operation. The company’s comprehensive platform offers site development and hosting, order management, fraud prevention, export controls, tax management, physical and digital product fulfillment, multi-lingual customer service, advanced reporting and strategic marketing services.

Founded in 1994, Digital River is headquartered in Minneapolis with offices in major U.S. cities as well as Cologne, Germany; London, England; Shannon, Ireland; Luxembourg, Luxembourg; Stockholm, Sweden; Taipei, Taiwan; Tokyo, Japan; and Shanghai, China. For more details about Digital River, visit the corporate Web site at www.digitalriver.com or call 952-253-1234.

About Midway

Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with offices throughout the world, is a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software for major videogame systems and personal computers. More information about Midway and its products can be found at www.midway.com.

DanceDanceRevolution X [Konami Thanks, Riyu!]

ATLUS has developed "TRIPLE CATCHER ICE", THE state-of-the-art prize machine carrying the latest freezing technology. "TRIPLE CATCHER ICE" is so unique that it will be absolutely imperative at every amusement scene worldwide.

We agree. This is absolutely imperative. Oh, and while other machines are typically one player affairs, the Triple Catcher -25C can be played by four players at once. It's a quadruple catcher! The Triple Catch Ice -25C doesn't use more electricity than the standard crane machine. For Atlus, arcade innovation means cold and delicious.

「ATLUS TRIPLE CATCHER ICE−25℃」 [オープンカーで颯爽と]

Rumored and then confirmed earlier this year, Duke Nukem 3D is making its way to the Xbox Live Arcade this year, but when? The time could be near, as an anonymous tipster sends us several pictures of the game's XBLA entry. Of course it isn't available now...note the 1337 placeholder price tag...but the fact that these shots are coming out indicates the game is very close to release. Check out the other screens below, including a shot of the "Looks Like A Cleanup On Aisle Four" achievement, which makes stepping in a pile of shit fun!

Capcom VS Tatsunoko features Gold Lightan [ToyboxDX Thanks, Matt!]

One individual who didn't think quite so highly of the Journey arcade game was Steve Perry, former vocalist of Journey. He says he was against it from the get go, in a not exactly new interview with GQ magazine.

"Everybody went against me on that issue," he tells GQ "‘Cause I thought it was silly. I’ve come to find out that there’s a generation of kids who think it’s classic and wish they could find the arcade version. But I personally thought it was dumb."

Perry's kind of an odd duck, but it sounds like the Journey video game was, to him, an unnecessary ego stroke.

"See, it’s funny [...] Because I thought that we were big already, that we didn’t need a video game," Perry adds. "But that’s how the world judges you. Like, 'Gee whiz, you have a Lamborghini, so you must’ve been big.' I didn’t understand that."

Okay, Steve. WHATEVER. Yes, we understand you have a Lamborghini and you're too good for a half-baked mini-game collection with your face slapped on, but some of us never had video games made about them. Kind of hard to empathize with your digitized plight. Hmph!

Foolish, Foolish Throat: A Q&A with Steve Perry [GQ]

Also on XBLA this week we have Golf: Tee It Up!(800 MS points), Housemarque and Activision's answer to Hot Shots Golf, with customizable golfers, online tourneys for 2-4 players, and two full golf courses, a number I am almost certain will grow with downloadable content down the line.

"Schizoid" and "Golf: Tee It Up!" hit Xbox LIVE Arcade this Wednesday!

“Schizoid,” the first Xbox LIVE Arcade game developed with Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio technology, and “Golf: Tee It Up!” launch on Xbox LIVE Arcade this Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. GMT (2:00 a.m. PDT).

“Schizoid” is a fast and furiously paced action game with simple, intuitive gameplay. Billed as “the most co-op game ever,” reflexes and smarts are key but sharp teamwork pays off even more! Ram your way through waves of glowing enemies: single player with an AI bot helper; or co-op multiplayer with two players offline or online through Xbox LIVE. “Schizoid” features over 120 challenging levels of mayhem that will appeal to casual and hardcore gamers alike. For the brave player, “Schizoid” offers the intense Uberschizoid game mode, in which a single player controls two different ships at the same time.

Developed by Torpex Games, “Schizoid” will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points and is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB.

Pick up and play a few quick holes on your own or compete in a full 18-hole multiplayer tournament with friends in “Golf: Tee It Up!” Both beginners and experienced golfers can easily join the fun on beautiful, panoramic and challenging courses. With the unique Focus feature, you can read the green or control the ball’s spin in flight to achieve amazing precision! “Golf: Tee It Up!” features zany, customizable characters and a variety of game modes including stroke, cup, or match play with local or Xbox LIVE multiplayer modes.

Developed by Housemarque and published by Activision, “Golf: Tee It Up!” will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points and is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB.

For more details on “Golf: Tee It Up!” please visit http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/g/golfteeitupxboxlivearcade/. For more details on “Schizoid” please visit http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/s/schizoidxboxlivearcade/.

I think that it will [shift into a Hollywood-type model]. And I think that, ultimately, it has to. And I think we will shift to that model, but I think that there are a couple of things that have to happen before we really shift to that. One is that I think technology has to settle down a little bit. I think technology is moving forward really rapidly, and part of what a lot of teams do is exploring new technology, and I think that's kind of hard to do with an ad hoc thing.

I think the other thing that's going to have to happen - and this is a really big one - is we're going to have to become unionized. Because I don't think that you're going to be able to grab all of these freelance people when you need them if there isn't some kind of a union structure that's over the top of them. You can't really have a bunch of animators just floating around from job to job with nothing in between.

So I think there's going to have to be a lot more structure, and I think that's going to have to come in the form of unions - which, you know, I don't know that I really agree with that; I think unions bring a lot of bad things to gaming, but I think they're going to be necessary for us to move into that Hollywood model.

Interesting interview with a lot of content; worth plowing through if you're in the mood for some interesting reading.

Spanking Death: Ron Gilbert Goes Episodic... And Loves It [Gamasutra]

SEGA PRIVATE SHOW 2008 -SUMMER [IT Media]

Honestly, we have no idea what's going on here yet, but we like Sega has tossed on an off-kilter anime style to the whole thing. We actually liked the cel-shaded The House of the Dead III and were crushed when Sega nixed it for a more photorealistic look.

Sega is showing off the new arcade light-gun shooter at the Sega Private Show in Japan and we're anxiously awaiting more details.

House of the Dead EX [AM-net]

We haven't discussed any home console plans for the title yet, so platform discussions are a bit premature. All that's been anounced is arcade... There are a lot of licensing issues around the title given that those properties are held by different companies across the West and they vary by territory greatly. It was created as a Japan-only project but we're investigating.

That's sure nice of Capcom.

Quick Question on Capcom vs. Tatsunoko [Capcom via Siliconera]

『タツノコVS. CAPCOM』に「ヤッターマン」が参戦だ、ヤッター！ [Dengeki]

春麗に待望の新コスチュームが！？ [Famitsu]

Street Figher IV Arcade Data Cards [Famitsu]

Hummer Game Looks Cool, Too [Sega Nerds Forums via Sega Nerds]

Also appearing on XBLA this week is 280 new questions for Wits & Wagers for 320 points, which is not nearly as exciting as Soulcalibur but certainly has its charm.

This week on Arcade: SOULCALIBUR and Wits & Wagers DLC [Xbox Live's Major Nelson]

カプコン、ロケテストを東京と大阪で7月10日より [Game Watch Impress]

Episode 2 [Penny Arcade]

「稼働日発表！」　プロジェクトマネージャー：塩沢夏希 [SFIV Blog]

R-Tuned [Official Site via Game Watch]

"WACK-A-DOODLE-DOO" [UK:Resistance]

It's been almost nine years since I first played the Dreamcast port of Soul Calibur which, at the time, seemed like the pinnacle of fighting game visuals. Another instance of my gaming career where I genuinely thought "This is it. They've done it. It can't possibly get any better." This was, of course, before the engineers at Namco Bandai dedicated man hours and processing power to ass-jiggle physics; before we really knew how detailed a cod piece could be. Anyway, the compressed Soul Calibur for Xbox 360 seems like a fun diversion, but I've still got my Dreamcast hooked up to Input 3 on my television. And Soulcalibur IV is out, like, any day now. Kinda makes the whole thing seem moot.

Soul Calibur Gameplay HD [GameTrailers]

"We nearly doubled our exhibition hall and added another 80,000 square feet of content overall, so the show is going to be pretty amazing this year," says Penny Arcade's Robert Khoo. "You should come. I think you would like it."

I've a feeling he could be right. This year's show takes place August 29th through the 31st in sunny Seattle Washington. Hit the jump for a full list of exhibitors. Be prepared to scroll.

PENNY ARCADE REVEALS PAX 2008 EXHIBITORS AND FIRST PROGRAMMING DETAILS

Headliners include Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, EA, Activision and Ubisoft

SEATTLE - June 26, 2008 - The organizers of the fifth annual Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) today announced key details of the upcoming gaming festival, to be held Aug. 29-31, 2008 at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center in Seattle.

This year's exhibit floor will offer PAX attendees hands-on time with highly anticipated games and products from more exhibitors than ever, including Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, EA, Activision and Ubisoft (see below for a complete exhibitor list). In addition to seeing a massive number of pre-release games on its show floor, attendees can expect a bevy of panels, the Omegathon gaming competition, tournaments, and more. First details of PAX 2008 programming include:

- The ECTO-1, of Ghostbusters fame, will be on display for all three days of PAX

- The PAX 10 independent games showcase, to thrill and delight you

- Two nights of music that will almost certainly change your life

"We nearly doubled our exhibition hall and added another 80,000 square feet of content overall, so the show is going to be pretty amazing this year," says Penny Arcade's Robert Khoo. "You should come. I think you would like it."

Complete List of PAX 2008 Exhibitors:

- 1up.com
- 2K Games
- Activision
- Antec, Inc.
- Astro Gaming
-The Behemoth
- Bethesda
- Bioware
- Blizzard
- Brawndo
- Bungie
- CCP/Whitewolf
- CDV
- clubNAMCO.com
- Cogswell Polytechnical College
- Cryptic Studios
- D3P
- Destineer
- Dolby
- EA Mythic
- ECA (Entertainment Consumer's Association)
- Electronic Arts
- Fantasy Flight Games
- Flying Frog Productions
- Flying Lab Software
- Foundation 9 Entertainment
- Game Publishers Association
- Gamecock
- GameTrailers
- Garage Games
- Guildhall at SMU
- Harmonix
- Hothead Games
- Hudson
- Indiecade
- Intel
- ITT Tech
- Klei Entertainment
- Media-blasters NYC
- Mega64
- Meteor Games
- Microsoft XNA
- Microsoft
- Midway
- Namco Bandai
- NCsoft
- Nintendo
- Nokia
- Patriot Memory
- Pegasus Publishing
- Pink Godzilla
- Plantronics
- Privateer Press
- Razer
- Rockstar
- Roosterteeth.com
- Sierra/Vivendi
- Sony
- SouthPeak Games
- Stardock
- Sumo Lounge
- Telltale
- THQ
- Tinderbox Entertainment
- Tritton Technologies
- Turbine
- Ubisoft
- Udon Entertainment / Oni Press
- Upper Deck
- Vivox
- Wizards of the Coast
- Zenimax

[Pic]

Oh yeah, I'd could play this arcade game. In front of other people, even.

Location Test [Konami Thanks, Riyu!]

ビーマニ最新作が絶賛稼働中 [IT Media]