Multiplayer reports that Killzone2 is actually owned by Vegard Aure of GameDiscovery.com, which also owns DevilMayCry 2 and DevilMayCry3 websites.

And apparently neither Sony nor Capcom have contacted Aure to ask about the sites... well, not yet. A call to Sony reps netted a "we're going to look into it" comment.

It raises an interesting question about official sites for video games. How often do you search out a game, by name, on the web in hopes of netting new details? Would you be annoyed if the site wasn't owned by the publisher or developer?

Sony Owns Websites For ‘Killzone’ And ‘Killzone 3′ …But Not For ‘Killzone 2′ (Or 4 Or 5!) [MTV Multiplayer]

The outcome of such work isn't important because it's good; it's important because it holds meaning for its creators and their kin. No matter what the VCs and technopundits may say about sharing and aggregation, YouTube and Flickr and the like function as social media because they function first as private media. Our notion of "private" has just expanded somewhat.

If you look closely at sites like Sims Carnival, you'll find the snapshot games hidden among the much less interesting DIY attempts at mainstream casual games. Games about crushes, games celebrating birthdays, games poking fun at celebrities. That site even has an "e-card" section for such games, and premade templates to create games about kissing a date, icing a birthday cake, or celebrating the holidays.

Sims Carnival's tools make the customization process more like Eastman's "we'll do the rest." It's easy for someone to insert fixed assets like text and images — the things they already learned how to create easily in previous eras.

It's worth a read through; there's been a lot of talk about user generated content, and even universities have gotten into the act when it comes to making it easier for non-pros to make pretty, individualized assets. The comparison to casual photography works really well here, and there's no doubt that 'casual' asset design is ever more important to virtual worlds.

Persuasive Games: Video Game Snapshots [Gamasutra]

Steve Taylor's company, Wahoo Studios, alternates between contracting for publishers and producing self-published titles through their indie label, NinjaBee. He notes that working through online distribution portals is not much different from working with traditional publishers. "Portals and other distributions services impose their own rules and limitations. Supposedly indie-friendly distribution options like Steam and Instant Action still have subjective gatekeepers."

He maintains that the stark reality of remaining solvent often overshadows the dream of creative freedom. "If you want your game to make money, you have to consider what will sell, and this means adapting your pure creative vision to match the real world. Besides, do you really have the resources to achieve your ultimate creative vision? "

These fledgling entrepreneurs have also discovered their rebel status doesn't make them immune to piracy. With most indies struggling to make ends meet, they feel its impact directly in their own wallets. "Since we are a small developer that has a hard time getting attention, you would think we would have very little piracy," says Peeler. "Unfortunately, that's not the case at all. It's depressing how many sites are pirating Depths of Peril."

It's an interesting look at the transition and why people decide to make the leap (and sometimes do so unsuccessfully). Despite a look at some of the problems, the article is positive overall in terms of what these mainstream-to-indie 'rogues' are getting out of being their own masters.

Going Rogue [The Escapist]

Chris Plante has posted a plea over at GameSetWatch — one for bringing more global entertainment to the West (well, America specifically). His idea? Some sort of portal that will be able to showcase games from all over the world, dragging American gamers kicking and screaming into acknowledging foreign countries that are outside of East Asia. Interesting concept, and one that could theoretically be implemented right now:

I’m discussing a middle ground, not just for poverty stricken countries, but for nations that simply have trouble getting their mainstream entertainment to viewers across the globe. I’ve gotten worked up over the social change these games might bring, but on a smaller scale, world games will allow for our culture to experience other cultures vis-à-vis how they entertain themselves. For example, when was the last time you played a game from Yugoslavia or even Greece?

Gamers often do amazing things together. We solve petty crimes, we help one another in times of need, and we (read: Cheapy D) foster truly awesome causes, like Cheapy D.’s and Kevin Stewart’s campaign to donate games to soldiers in Iraq. Why not make this world game portal work?

On the other hand (and maybe it's just my accumulated bitterness about being in an area studies ghetto), I'm not sure many people care. Would people — enough people to support this sort of portal idea — be interested in games from South Africa? Certainly Chinese and Korean MMOs that are arriving in the US in ever greater numbers seem to frequently be met with a snort of derision from US gamers ('Oh god, not another one'). I like the idea in theory — giving wider access to independent media from around the world is indeed a worthy cause — but I wonder how many people would cheerfully push themselves outside of their comfort zone and give it a try, checking their condescension at the door.

Why We Play - "Wanted: World Games" [GameSetWatch]

In the new world of high profit margins, limited middlemen and free green lighting for all, innovation would inevitably flourish. And for the most part, once you account for Sturgeon's inevitable law that 90% of everything is crap, this is exactly what happened. More game developers poured into the market and some truly wonderful games were born.

Middlemen, however, were not eliminated. They merely evolved.

First, Half-Life 2: Episode Two will be released simultaneously on the PC, 360 and PS3. The 360 and PS3 versions will feature all of the HL2 back content. This hasn't really been explained, but we assume it means at least Half-Life 2 and Episode One, in addition to TF2.

Not only that, but it will also include a new single-player puzzle game called Portals. It looks like we're not the only ones who noticed how fun portals were in Prey, pictured to the right. We'll let someone who actually saw it in action describe it, after the jump.

In addition to that bombshell, Newell revealed that all versions of Episode Two will ship with a separate single-player game called Portals. This is something of an insanely inspired puzzle game that takes advantage of the Source engine, judging from the hilarious trailer that Newell showed. The trailer took the form of a training video for a new employee of an advanced corporation in the Half-Life 2 universe.

The video shows a diagram and explains that as an employee of this company, you may have to find the emergency exit to a certain room. However, there are often obstacles in your way, like a gaping chasm. No problem, because all you need to use is your Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device to create dimensional doorways that let you mess with reality. For example, if there's gaping chasm between you and your objective, just shoot a portal on the far side of the room, then shoot a portal open on your side, then enter the portal. You'll instantly transport from one side of the room to the next by walking through the portal (you'll even see yourself going through the portal).

That's the simplest example of how to use the portal gun. In other situations, you may be under fire by a gun droid. So all you need to do is shoot a portal open over the gun, then shoot a portal open beneath a crate, then watch the crate fall through the hole and crush the gun. It gets even crazier, and the diagrams shown in the trailer showed some incredibly crazy things that you can attempt, like creating a series of portals so that you're constantly chasing yourself. Some of the puzzles sound like they'll be "impossible," so the challenge will be to figure out how to use the portal gun.

This promises to be an incredibly puzzle-style first-person experience, which Newell says is part of the goal. "We wanted to take physics out of this domain as a tool that lets you bounce grenades around to how can we really change the game experience for our customers," he said.

I don't really want to risk enraging Mark Rein into looping my scrotum around the bumper of the Epic Games E3 party bus, then taking it for a drive in a granite quarry. But I'll risk it: I love Valve. Florian Eckhardt

Half-Life 2: Episode Two - The Return of Team Fortress 2 and Other Surprises [Gamespot]