There's Queen, too. Queen makes everything better.

Osu! [Official Site via GoNintendo via GameSetWatch]

Joystiq writes that an anonymous tipster tells them that iNis is the go to dev for the project, which makes a lot of sense what with their beat-game background and 360 project.

Rumor: Elite Beat-dev iNiS developing Xbox 360's 'Lips' karaoke game [Joystiq]

Other deals I saw included the DS lite starter kits with some kind of system cover and your choice of games (Elite Beat Agents, Polarium, or True Swing Golf) discounted to $9, and the Nintendo Zapper with Link's Crossbow Training at an extremely respectable $12.

However, when if there were Xbox 360 games that iNiS itself is in development on, Yano guardedly confirmed: "Yeah. We are currently working on a title. I can't really get into it more than, 'Yes, we're working on something!'" No further details on publisher or genre were available for the game.

iNiS' Yano Confirms Xbox 360 Project, Engine Development [Gamasutra]

A user by the name of facetheglue has uploaded some footage of the trial version of Ouendan! 2 which releases in Japan this week. I know everyone is looking forward to the eventuality of Elite Beat Agents 2, but for me, I shall remain happy with it's Japanese counterpart. However, if they do make an EBA 2, I think everyone will agree: More Rolling Stones and less Cher. Flynn De Marco

Not too long ago, Amazon.com started a new feature in their video games section called Deal of the Day where they offer a popular game for a really cheap price for 24 hours. Recently we saw Rockstar's Bully for $25 and several other really great bargains. Definitely a feature to keep your eye on if you are looking to get some great games you may have missed on the cheap.

Today's featured Deal of the Day is Elite Beat Agents for $20. For the record, I am much more enamored of Ouendan! than Elite Beat Agents, but for twenty bucks I might be able to swallow my pride and sit through the likes of Ashlee Simpson and Cher. Combine this with the earlier Castlevania deal and you can get three DS games for the price of one PS3 or 360 game with no shipping! Pretty sweet! Flynn De Marco

Deal of the day: Elite Beat Agents [Amazon.com]

The goods:

I won the contest and was able to attend the flight a few weeks ago, and the awesome folks over at MTV got the whole thing on tape and finally put it on their website. I'm not going to lie, playing a touch screen based game in zero gravity is extremely difficult (I had to set Elite Beat Agents down to easy in order to get anywhere) and my friend had an equally hard time with Star Fox Command. If anything, the trip should have been a testimony as to how many beatings the DS lite can take, as it was stepped on and knocked out of my hands countless times and still works perfectly. One interesting note was how our flight instructor, Steve Steiner, actually brings his DS with him on these trips to kill some time.

Pretty damn awesome, Jaime. We need more heroic readers like yourself. Hats off! Michael McWhertor

Spore man and media darling Will Wright will be one of the speakers at next week's DICE Summit in Henderson, Nevada. Will's speech will focus on the staffing of the Spore development and is appropriately titled "I am not alone in this universe: Will Wright speaks on building the SPORE team" and goes down on Thursday, February 8 at 2:45 PM.

Also wowing the DICE crowd one day later with his insight into the game development process is iNiS co-founder Keiichi Yano. His company is responsible for the awesome music games Gitaroo Man and Elite Beat Agents and will speak on, you guessed it, music in games with "Yeah! The Mathematics of Music and the Emotion of Game Design." Killer.

Guess what? I'll be there, with a seat up front. Our coverage of DICE starts next Wednesday when I drive into town, ready to interview developers, executives and industry professionals who will in turn, ask me "How did you get so handsome?" I shan't give away my secrets! Michael McWhertor

WILL WRIGHT TO REVEAL INSIGHTS ON FORMING THE TEAM THAT BREATHES LIFE INTO SPORE AT D.I.C.E. SUMMIT 2007

CALABASAS, Calif. - January 31, 2007 - Creating a game about creation takes more than just the hands of a legend, the world renowned Will Wright called upon a team of developers to bring the highly anticipated, SPORE to life. Wright shares his philosophy on forming this development team at the D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit 2007. Wright's presentation, "I am not alone in this universe: Will Wright speaks on building the SPORE team," will take place on Tuesday, February 8 at 2:45 p.m.

Will Wright is Maxis' chief designer and co-founder. Wright's SimCity—The City Simulator garnered 24 domestic and international awards. Wright followed up this blockbuster with SimEarth—The Living Planet, SimAnt—The Electronic Ant Colony, SimCity 2000, SimCopterare, SimCity 3000 and SimCity 4. Wright's groundbreaking game The Sims became a cultural phenomenon. In September 2004, The Sims 2 sold more than 1 million copies in the first 10 days worldwide - becoming the fastest selling PC game ever.

Wright, an inductee of the AIAS Hall of Fame, will join a line up of high-profile speakers, including Doug Lowenstein of the ESA, Phil Harrison of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Chris Taylor of Gas Powered Games. The D.I.C.E. Summit will be held at the Green Valley Ranch Resort, Spa and Casino in Las Vegas, Feb. 7 - 9, 2007.

5. Guitar Hero II

4. Elite Beat Agents

3. Grandia III

2. Kingdom Hearts 2

1. Prey - Don't Fear the Reaper

So that's my list of the best gaming songs of 2006, complete with visual aids to help you along. Completely arbitrary of course, so feel free to add your own to the list. Share your favorites with us! I'll be sure to check them out if I manage to survive this weekend's festivities. Until then, Happy New Year! Michael Fahey

Industry rag Gamasutra has published its Quantum Leap awards for 2006, citing five video games from the past year that excelled in "innovation and advancing the state of the art of the industry." You already know number one. It's Wii Sports.

Gama editor Frank Cifaldi sums up nicely why the tech demo pack-in nabbed the top spot.

My mother, who hung up her gaming gloves for good after beating Super Mario Bros. 3 within a month of its release (love you, Mom), swearing to never play a video game again, practically snagged the Wii remote from me last Thanksgiving, after watching me bowl in Wii Sports. If that's not revolutionary, I don't know what is.

While the rest of the top five may not contain many surprises—save possibly Elite Beat Agents—it's the honorable mentions with which you should familiarize yourself. More obscure titles like Nintendo's Bit Generations series and Ray Hound are definitely worth the small investment. I know I fully plan on putting Dotstream on my personal "best of" this year. Michael McWhertor

Gamasutra's Quantum Leap Awards: Most Important Games, 2006 [Gamasutra]

A while back, MTV's Stephen Totilo had a whooper of an interview with Nintendo honcho Reggie Fils-Aime. There's been concern about how the Wii-mote eats batteries. But is Nintendo planning an internal rechargeable battery? Meh. Says Reggie:

I would love to see a third party do that, and that's something a third-party licensee can do a lot more efficiently than we can.

Reggie doesn't have time to fiddle with batteries, folks. He's BUSY. Worrying about things like why Elite Beat Agents has only sold 120,000 copies— as opposed to the 300,000 he had hoped for. Says Reggie:

I have to say I'm a little personally disappointed. The sales are strong and good. I personally thought it was going to be explosive.

See that? Elite Beat Agents: Personal. Batteries: Not. Brian Ashcraft

Reggie Interview Left-Over Goodies [MTV]

Our very own Geek on Stun posts about some damn cool Osu! Tatakae!! Ouendan shirts that popped up on the backs of the developers for the game, also known as Elite Beat Agents here in the U.S.

The come in three fancy colors, midnight, lime and banana, and feature a little bubble that reads "Agents Are..." on the front and god knows what on the back. The suspense if killing me. Brian Crecente

Inis Made Elite Beat Agents T-Shirts! [Geek on Stun]

Well... 2 and half hours later, I still couldn't get past the fourth set of screen objects after the second cutscreen. I had the first two sections down so pat that I was bored out of my skull every time I got sent back to the beginning. Several times I swung my DS laden hand back over my head and prepared to end this cavalcade of misery... but relented.

But no man can be put through endless torture without snapping, and likewise, after the 100th time I had nearly aced the first two sections to be suddenly humiliated by the third and fourth sets of the third... my DS snapped in half because I threw it across the room.

Then, I gathered the bottom portion of the unit and touched it like I really wanted to: With a screw driver.

And I promptly tossed the rest of my DS games in the trash.

Should I have relented? Traded in my DS stuff and gotten store credit at Electronics Boutique or Gamestop? No. Immediately after this... I wasn't upset that I had destroyed an expensive piece of hardware. I'd just rid myself of a terrible cancer. I tried to remember back to the last game that Nintendo had, itself, made that I had truly enjoyed... and I couldn't think of one. I mean, they were enjoyable for the first few minutes, or hours in some cases. But inevitably, I grew frustrated, angry, and upset with the game and felt it was more like penance than pleasure. Sure, I had enjoyed games on Nintendo systems, no doubt, even difficult games, but only the Nintendo games made me ANGRY.

So why not trade the games in? Simply because no human being should be made to suffer a Nintendo video game ever again.

I hate Nintendo now. I think I have Elite Beat Agents to thank for helping me come to this realization.

There's a word for this: Batshit insane. (Yeah, two words, I know. Or is that three?) Brian Ashcraft

He's Nutso [Forumpolis]

Mmmmm... Thanksgiving. This will be the first time in a long time that I don't get to see my family on the fourth Thursday of November and the first in years that doesn't devolve from family togetherness into a Mario Party or Karaoke Revolution gatherround cut short by a tryptophan coma. Instead, I'll be hanging with the Tofurkey set, enjoying a half-dozen or so adult beverages, playing ultra-violent games like Gears of War or spending some alone time with Elite Beat Agents.

For those of you spending quality time with the fam', including those travelling cross-country, what are you playing? Who's bringing what consoles with them home? Anyone going to show off their new Wii's or PS3's to mom, dad, grandma, et al?

Let us know your holiday gaming plans in the comments. And save me some pie. Michael McWhertor

I know what you're going to say. Gears of War right? Guitar Hero II? Not me. It's going to be a straight up Elite Beat Agents weekend freak out for yours truly. What with the frantic apartment searching, HDTV shopping, and PlayStation 3 game playing going on all week, I've not even had the time to take it out of the shrinkwrap.

Wait. Here I go.

Damn, that was some good shrinkwrap removal. Time to huff that new, full-color manual. /huff

Refreshing! So let's have it. Are you burning through this week's new releases to clear your gaming plate for next week's new releases (including Final Fantasy III and a slew of PlayStation 3 games)? Are you still on that next-gen boycott, pledging your devotion to the Sega Saturn? Well, what is it, people? Make with the comments! Michael McWhertor

Wow. Talk about huge. Not only are Gears and Guitar Hero II being unleashed, but the first PlayStation 3 software will be arriving at stores, well over a week before the console itself launches. (Also, keep in mind that some stores already have GH II, EEE and Lumines II early.) Get ready to stress test your credit cards for this week's new and notable releases.

Gears of War (Xbox 360)
Sci-fi shootin! Guns with chainsaws! Nuff said.

Call of Duty 3 (PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360)
More intense WWII FPS action.

Guitar Hero II (PS2)
Bigger than Jesus, better than sex.

Tony Hawk's Project 8 (PS2, PS3, PSP, Xbox, Xbox 360)
Tony's back and looking very pretty.

Viva Pinata (Xbox 360)
You can't blow up aliens, but you can collect cute paper horses.

Final Fantasy V Advance (GBA)
Square's classic RPG gets an overhaul.

Elite Beat Agents (DS)
The best DS game ever gets Americanized. Buy or die.

Lumines II (PSP)
More block arranging fun, but seemingly more of the same.

Every Extend Extra (PSP)
The PC freeware port may already be available at a store near you.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance (PS3)
The other PlayStation 3 game shipping early.

Good God. I hope my bonus check shows up in the mail soon (along with my consoles), cause I'm getting Guitar Hero II, EEE, and Elite Beat Agents. What's that you say? No Gears of War, Mr. McWhertor? Nope. I still don't have a 360! Have pity!

So what are you picking up this week?

Clicking on "Action!" launches a web-based version of the demo that at least gives you a sense of what the game is all about... which is music and men with big hair dancing to said music.

Now Go! Go! Go!

Elite Beat Agents Brian Crecente

Bring on the Stones, Bowie and, uh, Chicago. And *ehem* Cher and *gasp* Ashlee Simpson. The Elite Beat Angels sound track has something for everyone. The upcoming musical rhythm game for the DS features 19 (count 'em) tunes. Without adieu (okay, hit the jump), they are:

• "Walkie Talkie Man"—Steriogram
• "ABC"—The Jackson Five
• "Sk8er Boi"—Avril Lavigne
• "I Was Born to Love You"—Queen
• "Rock This Town"—Stray Cats
• "Highway Star"—Deep Purple
• "Y.M.C.A."—Village People
• "September"—Earth, Wind and Fire
• "Canned Heat"—Jamiroquai
• "Material Girl"—Madonna
• "La La"—Ashlee Simpson
• "You're the Inspiration"—Chicago
• "Survivor"—Destiny's Child
• "Without a Fight"—Hoobastank
• "Believe"—Cher
• "Let's Dance"&mdash:David Bowie
• "Jumpin Jack Flash"—Rolling Stones
• "Makes No Difference"—Sum 41
• "The Anthem"—Good Charlotte

Odd, you say? The game's designer, Keiichi Yano, points out:

The concept for song selection was this—the roaring songs you would want to hear if you went to a college frat party. I used to play in bands like that, and when the whole crowd is jumping up and down to your tunes...this is the essence of our selections.

Songs to game by, songs to do keg stands by. Rock on. Brian Ashcraft

Elite Songs and Kohler's Thoughts [GameLife]

I've been hearing about Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! almost since the DS came out, and I've been meaning to pick it up for just as long. Procrastination is the name of the game, my simians.

Now I have no excuse, because Elite Beat Agents, the localized version of the rhythm game, is due out on Nov. 8th and it's not taking "maybe later" for an answer.

Some of the scenarios we've seen include a lost dog running back home, two girls fending for themselves on a deserted island and a babysitter trying to take care of a punk kid. Even though the cover art doesn't say it, Elite Beat Agents is rated E10 by the ESRB for cartoon violence, crude humor and suggestive themes.

Crude humor is the only type of humor I recognize. Eliza Gauger

Elite Beat Agents release date discovered [Siliconera]