When the"> countdown clock first struck, many users were treated to a countdown timer reset to 65 days, but after waiting awahile and patiently refreshing the new trailer was finally revealed. It's fairly action packed, featuring a nice look at the characters of the game, as well as several examples of battles from the upcoming RPG. We'll have it for you here as son as we can pull it down!

What else is there to it? Beats me. The Triforce-looking countdown is brought to you by Marvelous Entertainment, the 8-bit mushroom is courtesy of Sega Japan. It makes a 1up (extra life, not blog) sound when you click it. Are we gonna see a Mario/Sonic combo? Your guess is as good as mine.

In the interest of full disclosure, I usually don't talk about news judgment but seeing how late to the party this one is, I owe an explanation. Yesterday I saw this, considered it, and came to a decision that countdown clocks are primarily marketing, and offer little news value beyond the mention of their existence. Plus, there's nothing definitive I can say about what these point to, and my own knowledge of what these developers have worked on is extremely limited, so my speculation is uninformed. That said, the first rule of news, as Dad always told me, is that it's what people are talking about. And plenty of people are talking about this. Bad call on my part.

Update: Loyal Reader Shaun O Mac fiddled around and found this on the Sega countdown:

Clicking the letters in the Takao Miyoshi brings up links to other Sega products, not sure what that's about though. One is Let's Tap, C is Let's Catch, The other is U-Can, and P in produce plays a funky jingle, but I don't know what it's from.

The games that are displayed are Prope titles which is Yuji Naka's studio so perhaps he is ready to announce his next title, and Sega are giving him back Sonic the Hedgehog. That I doubt, but it is Prope related.

Marvelous Entertainment Vaguely Zeldaish Countdown Clock [site]
Sega Japan Vaguely Marioish Countdown Clock [site]
Thanks to many tipsters who mentioned these.

Spooky SCEJ Countdown [Sony Computer Entertainment Japan - Thanks Everyone!]

Your best guesses are welcome in the comments. Thanks for the heads up, Matthew.

Brutally Fun [Xbox.com]

Yeah, I didn't know there was a countdown either.

I guess it just got lost in the horde of other countdowns that have been popping up, like Smash Bros., StarCraft, Fallout 3 and the like. Does it lessen the news that Godzilla Unleashed will feature 23 monsters - the largest stable of Godzilla critters ever to grace a video game, including two specifically designed just for the title? Not at all. It just feels like that birthday party I had when I was 10 where my mother decorated the whole house, set up party games, cooked for hours, and then only one kid showed up.

He was crying and left immediately after handing me my present.

It just goes to show that if you're going to countdown to a major event, you need to hype it up a bit, or in my case, remember to hand out invitations. Michael Fahey

Atari Reveals 23 monsters on the roster for upcoming godzilla®: unleashed

Who: Atari, Inc announced today the meaning behind the mysterious countdown on the official Godzilla®: Unleashed web site. It was revealed today that there will be 23 monsters in the upcoming Wii™ title, many of which are making their debut in a game for the first time. This is the largest number of playable monsters ever in the popular series and features two entirely new monsters created specifically for this title.

What: Godzilla: Unleashed immerses players into a world where monsters are larger than life and the mother of all giants reigns. Specially designed for the Wii controllers, the game stars the legendary Godzilla and a slew of the most renowned monsters to control, destroy and fight. Gamers are challenged to ultimately save the planet from mayhem and complete annihilation. Godzilla: Unleashed provides an environment perfect for epic worldwide obliteration with interactive 3D cityscapes, an innovative non-linear storyline, big destructible buildings, soaring skyscrapers and towering alien formations. The title is also being developed for Nintendo DS™ and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system.

When: The title is set to launch this Fall.

Where: For more information, please visit www.atari.com/godzilla.

It seems that EA is putting out a new Simpsons game in what I can only assume will be a tie in with the upcoming movie. Going to this page on EA's website, we are presented with a classic Simpson's yellow screen featuring the title "XXII" done in a mock GTA IV style. Underneath is a counter using the now famous Matt Groening font that is counting down the time, which at the writing of this article was down to exactly four days. So, by Wednesday afternoon we should be treated to some kind of announcement having to do with this mysterious game.

This better not be some sort of Island of Rhodes fiasco where on Wednesday the clock just rolls over to add two more days on. Although, if that did happen it would be pretty damned funny and I'm sure I would laugh heartily after throwing my laptop across the room. Flynn De Marco

Sony has apparently found yet another way to plug it's uber popular God of War series, this time in the form of a mysterious website featuring a countdown clock and a picture of Kratos looming in the distance. No one is really sure what this is all about, but IGN confirmed earlier this week that it absolutely does not have anything to do with the PSP version of the game. IGN's query to Sony was met with an answer as puzzling as the website itself.

The website is for true God of War fans...Think of the original God of War.

The URL for the site, islandofrhodes.org, was allegedly discovered by a player after completing a 999,000 hit combo. The video, which is waiting for you after the jump (and for God's sake turn the volume down), shows the player's score climbing higher with little messages popping up like "Your destiny awaits" and "The secret is near" until finally, the URL appears in large letters.

What is this all about? Is it yet another marketing gimmick like yesterday's LARP game or will this site hold something truly substantial for fans of the game? I leave it to you, dear readers, to speculate in the comments... Flynn De Marco