Odd choice. Batman has already had a Lego head.

Thanks to reader Davis who spotted this in Brooklyn's High Street station.

Lego Batman [Flickr]

According to the insider, who has a flawless track record on these matters, the Elite will soon be bundled with free copies of LEGO Batman and racer Pure. Not a bad deal that, as you'd keep most people happy with one, if not both of those.

No word on a similar deal for the Arcade unit, but hey, it's only September.

Mole spills holiday 360 bundle as Microsoft begins $50 rebate [Ars Technica]

Why does the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood find LEGO Batman, of all games, so distasteful for our children, nominating it for a TOADY (Toys Oppressive And Destructive to Young Children)? Is there a special broken glass bottle controller included that we're not aware of?

In their words, it's the crass commercialism and forced marketing that's so icky.

"How do you turn the ultimate creative toy into a symbol of commercialized childhood?" writes the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. "Begin by partnering with media companies to sell that toy in branded kits designed for recreating movies like Star Wars, rather than creative construction. Then, dispense with hands-on building altogether by turning your toy into a video game so that instead of deciding what to build next, children choose which cyber weapons to use to beat up their opponent."

Okay, so it's robbing our kids of LEGO building creativity. What else ya got?

"Finally, ignore the fact it was rated suitable for ages 10 & up and partner with McDonald’s for a Happy Meal toy giveaway to simultaneously promote the video game, junk food, and the violent Dark Knight movie series to preschoolers."

Well.... I guess I can see your point there. No one likes violent fat kids. But I'm still voting for the Barbie Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader Doll. She's such a bitch!

Toys Oppressive And Destructive to Young Children [CCFC via GamePolitics]

Now, during our negotiations, remember how my company's CEO said they had to snake the PS3 through backchannels back in 2006? Couldn't find any because of high demand? Paid something like a grand for it? Maybe I should have looked at the PS3's box. Why, do you ask?

Oh God and baby Jesus, what is all this Japanese shit.

[8:24 pm phone call to Adam Barenblat]

Owen: Adam, you have a PS3, right?
Adam: Yeah.
Owen: Why do I have a message scrolling, "Sorry, Japanese language only" in my upper right hand corner?
Adam: Say what?
Owen: Also, is there some reason my web browser points to psn.jp.playstation.com?
Adam: [starts convulsing with laughter]
Owen: Look, I know it's ridiculous that anyone would surf the web with a PS3 but I need your help. Seriously.

Adam directed me to inspect the back of the box. Thank God I'd saved it. "What does it say?" Adam asked.

"Looks like a sushi menu," I replied. "It says NTSC: J. Oh, fuck, what have I bought?"

"You might need to call Bash," Adam said.

"At this hour?"

"It's noon where he is, dumbass."

I demurred. I need to save my pennies [WARNING: JOKE INCOMING] to buy a $150 HDMI cable for this thing from Best Buy. [JOKE WARNING OVER]

"Somehow, you managed to buy a Japanese PlayStation 3," Adam advised. "This is the funniest thing I've heard all week. I don't know if the 20GB was region locked or not. You could be buying all your games overseas."

"Put in LittleBigPlanet and see if it works," Adam said.

"I don't have that," I said.

"Then put in MGS4," Adam said.

"Dude, I've gamed on nothing but Xbox for 5 years," I said. "Me playing a Sony, this is like rooting for UNC. I keep hitting square when I mean X."

"Falcon FACEPALM," Adam said. "Go to Blockbuster and rent something."

So I went to the Blockbuster in Belmont — Ralston at El Camino, for those scoring at home. I haven't been in a Blockbuster since I bought a used DRIV3R from the one in Morganton, N.C. with a gift certificate my grandmother gave me for Christmas 2004. So I had to open a new account. First I tried to rent Dead Space. Might as well right? Hey, if it works, I can follow up my feeling of relief with a warm piss stain in the front of my pants. Whoops, I brought the store display case to the front, instead of the blanks. They were all out. So I got Lego:Batman.

At home, I put it in. It worked. I downloaded the Bioshock demo. That too worked. I kept waiting to see screens rendered in Kanji, but everything seemed kosher.

Wait!!! Wait! One more test. Oh, God, what use is is this multimedia powerhouse if my porn favorite movies are region-locked?!

/whew.

"Congratulations," Adam said, "You just bought an imported PlayStation 3 for $100."

"Yeah," I said, "But I can't wait to see what PlayStation Home is gonna look like on this thing."

I was unable to complete a single level without trying to collect the hundreds of thousands of LEGO coins that appear when you break something. Note: everything is breakable. It’s the jingling noise the coins make. . .the way they zip through the air into Batman’s utility wallet. . .this simple, visceral thrill led to several uncontrollable hours of collecting shiny things. Current in-game progress as a result: 9.6%

I've made my armchair studies of OCD/neurotic gaming behavior before — I still want to erase my progress in Star Wars:STFU and start all over, even though I haven't beaten it.

But Ward talks to some health professionals and notes a study from earlier this year that found a high rate of OCD in those who played classic 1980s arcade games. On the flipside, kids weaned in the 1990s Super Nintendo games based on TV shows, movies and athletes, exhibited less of a tendency. But now we seem to have swung back around.

Take the open-ended Grand Theft Auto series. Its vast landscape intimidates a need to control my environment. “My little brother has major OCD,” one online post reads. “I noticed while he's playing [GTA] that he can’t drive a car in the game if it has the smallest dent in it, he won’t even steal cars if he has to break the window to get into it.”

The Most OCD Video Games [Village Voice]

IGN
LEGO Batman is unique from past titles in the building blocks' franchise. The story isn't based off a movie or even a comic-book plot. This is an original tale. That gives Traveller's Tales some latitude, since there's no need to follow a well-known plot. There isn't even a direct tie-in to a particular Batman universe. This isn't Batman of movie fame, the campy TV show or the comics. It's Batman from the toy shelves, which means a sort of hodgepodge of ideas and a myriad of costumes meant to sell extra action figures. It translates well into LEGO, though I wonder if the original four movies wouldn't have made for better source material.

GamesRadar
Indy and Star Wars could do silly, but where in either would you find a man-penguin and cat-lady robbing a natural history museum while riding dino skeletons? Indy rode the occasional bike, but then we guess Batman’s crocodiles, ice-cream vans, military mechs and walruses would seem a tad out of place inside the Well of Souls. His loss. Bouncing bricks here (sign there’s plenty of building to be done) guarantee that fun is about to kick off. GameDaily
Where LEGO Batman excels over previous LEGO games is its variety of missions. The hero missions are cool, complete with exciting vehicle segments (including a fun ride in the Batmobile) and different characters to control. Villains also get their share of the spotlight. Not only do you control The Joker and the Penguin (among others), but they also get their own missions. From stealing an ice cannon to facing off against an impatient Commissioner Gordon, these stages are just as much fun as the heroes'. Don't be surprised if you find yourself growing attached to Joker's antics with his electrified hand buzzer. Finally a Batman game worth playing.

GamePro
The only gripe I had with LEGO Batman is that you really can't play it alone; the A.I. partner isn't particularly helpful and while it does an adequate job of being in the right place when it comes to cooperative puzzles, it spends most of its time just sort of standing around. But the real joy of a LEGO game is heading out with a friend to smash stuff up and grab scads of loot, so it's not that big of a deal.

"There's an expectation now that there would be a LEGO game per year, and we certainly feel that one or two games would be the right amount per year, otherwise there'd be a saturation of LEGO games and they'd lose the charm...We're also conscious that we're making games for young kids. We don't want to take the piss out of the consumer and end up making any old rubbish. We're hoping people feel our games are of a high standard and we want to continue doing that."

Thank goodness I say. Games like Lego Caligula and Lego Schindler's List need to stay in my imagination, for the good of all mankind.

TT not going to "take the piss" out of LEGO-game fans News [Eurogamer]

Happy Meals [McDonalds, via Go Nintendo]

"My understanding is that they will use the engine, the Maya files where the characters come to life, but they'll be creating animated... I think it's a 20-minute cartoon. I'm personally quite intrigued to see how it comes out. Lego, every time they've had a new brand out, they've done some CGI stuff as well, but I think this will be quite different."

This would be a perfect opportunity to bring Adam West back into the Batman fold, as I can't see Batman: The Animated Series lead Kevin Conroy's voice coming out of Lego Batman's little round head.

20-minute Lego Batman cartoon in works [GI.biz]

There have been earlier Java midlet versions of LEGO games - notably Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, but it would be nice to think that theiPhone would get a proper conversion..

The possibilities for manipulating LEGO bricks using multi-touch gestures could make for an interesting twist on the LEGO gameplay. Even if it is just a port of the DS version, though, it should be worth checking out providing the thorny issue of lack of D-Pad is resolved.

Pocketgamer don't mention a source for the news — hence the rumor tag — but as soon as we get more details, you shall be the first to know.

LEGO Batman goes crimefighting onto iPhone [PocketGamer]

Enjoy the new screens of Alfred, along with a shot of Batgirl that snuck in there when we weren't looking.

A tipster sent us the attached SKU query (full size mobile phone pic after the jump) which claims a metallic silver DS drops in less than a month (Sept. 7). Also looks like the PS2 "Family Value Pack" that includes the console, Lego Batman and the Justice League: New Frontiers DVD, for $149, has a street date of Sept 23.

DS Fanboy reported the metallic silver rumor last month saying it would arrive in September, but didn't specify a date.

Fair warning, this is not a full screen shot, so if you work at a Best Buy and want to nitpick what's not shown on the screen.

Rumor: USA to be Awarded Silver [DS Fanboy]

This video is 15 minutes long. I'm pissed there's no sound, because I love the Lego speak in the cutscenes, and God only knows what they're "saying" in that opening. It looks like a delightful game, with tons of LOL potential.

LEGO Batman: The Videogame E3 2008 Gameplay Trailer (HD) [GamersHell]

Rather than masquerade a single video as an entire post, here are some highlights of what's available from other sites in the way of movies and screens:

• Above is the new trailer for Lego Batman. We picked it up from Gamers Hell. It's got Poison Ivy building some evil-looking plant mini-kits, and Bruce Wayne kicking ass with a briefcase.

• Some more screens from Tomb Raider: Underworld. (Also Gamers Hell)

• Also the World Exclusive Debut Trailer for Blitz: The League II. It's at Gametrailers, because everything over there is a world exclusive.

There I am chatting with him about the upcoming Lego: Batman game and suggesting that a Lego: Transformers game would be fun. He asks me, essentially, for an on-the-spot verbal pitch. As chronicled on my Multiplayer blog, I say

I said, you’d take advantage of the wide cast of Transformers characters and put them in the format started by “Lego: Star Wars.” There are plenty of Transformers for gamers to control and swap, certainly more characters in the pantheon than there were for “Lego: Indiana Jones.”

I said TT coul have all sorts of fun letting the characters transform to get through the levels. You have the existing good mix of character and vehicle stuff in the Lego games, so there’s a blueprint there.

“Sounds like you just want a good Transformers game,” Smith replied

I tried more. He didn't bite. Where did I go wrong? Bad concept?

How I Failed To Successfully Pitch ‘Lego: Transformers - The Game’ [MTV Multiplayer blog] [Pic]

Warner Bros. has just hooked us up with some screens showing off the newest characters revealed for the upcoming LEGO Batman: Nightwing, Bane and Clayface.

If you're like me and know next-to-no Batman lore, you wouldn't have learned until right this second that Nightwing is who Robin became when he struck out on his own. Former actor Clayface is now a shape-shifting bad guy, and prison escapee Bane resists damage and has super strength.

Thankfully, bios and screens follow the jump, which will probably explain all of the things I couldn't tell you.

NIGHTWING
REAL NAME: Dick Grayson
OCCUPATION: Police Officer
BASE OF OPERATIONS: Blüdhaven
EYES: Blue
HAIR: Black

After his circus aerialist parents were murdered by criminals, young Dick Grayson was adopted by Bruce Wayne, becoming his ward...and his partner in the war against crime as Batman's sidekick, Robin. Years later, Robin struck out on his own as Nightwing and now lives in the corruption ridden city of Blüdhaven where by day he serves as a member of that city's police department...and patrols its streets by night as Nightwing.

Attributes:
• Expert in most known forms of martial arts
• Trained in all aspects of criminology
• Trained gymnast
• Trained in stealth and espionage techniques
• Expert escape artist

Powers and Abilities:
In LEGO Batman: The Videogame, Nightwing is a bonus character, he can also utilize all of Robin’s technology suits.

BANE
REAL NAME: Unknown
OCCUPATION: Professional criminal
BASE OF OPERATIONS: Gotham City
EYES: Unknown
HAIR: Unknown

Born a prisoner for crimes committed by his father, the child who would become Bane survived cruel solitary confinement in a Santa Prisca prison. During his long lonely years, he developed incredible powers of concentration, and, once released into the prison population, studied every book he could get his hands on. After nearly four decades of imprisonment, he was chosen for a military experiment with the drug Venom, which greatly enhanced his strength. Escaping, he sought out Batman to prove himself to the world by destroying the greatest specimen of mankind. Bane broke Batman, but the Dark Knight went on to recover and defeat Bane.

Attributes:
• Master strategist
• Enhanced stamina
• Enhanced strength
• Superior hand-to-hand combatant

Powers and Abilities:
In LEGO Batman: The Videogame, Bane has the ability to pass through toxic gases unharmed as well as super strength, which allows him to carry and throw huge objects.

CLAYFACE
REAL NAME: Basil Karlo
OCCUPATION: Former Actor, Professional Criminal
BASE OF OPERATIONS: Mobile
EYES: Brown
HAIR: Black

Initially an actor in horror films, Karlo went mad when he learned a classic film of his was to be remade. He donned the mask of the film’s villain, Clayface, and killed several of the remake’s cast and crew before being stopped by Batman and Robin. Later, Karlo joined a collection of villains who subsequently used the name Clayface in an alliance that came to be known as the Mud Pack. While that group was defeated, Karlo tricked his allies, injecting himself with the essences of several of them, becoming a superhuman imbued with the abilities to change shape, melt others into protoplasm with a touch, and mimic the powers of heroes or villains he copies.

Attributes:
• Clayface can alter his physical form, adopting the appearance of anyone or anything.
• If those whose appearance he adopts have super powers, he copies those as well.
• His touch can reduce an enemy to proptoplasm.

Powers and Abilities:
In LEGO Batman: The Videogame, Clayface has the ability of super jump allowing him to jump to heights unattainable by other characters and even make his body elastic to reach higher characters. Clayface also has the ability of super strength, enabling him to pick up super strength objects and smash super strength walls.

Perhaps your appearance in Lego Batman will finally help me finally move on. While you do lose some of the tragic villain mystique you've built up with the whole frozen wife storyline, you might manage to make it up in sheer Lego adorability. Fingers crossed!