First, Electronic Arts is not buying Epic Games, OK? Doesn't matter that EA has tons of money and someone else with a lot of time on his hands has good ideas for what to do with it. "Rubbish," says Epic Vice President Mark Rein, a guy who's in position to actually know something substantive about this.

Then everyone jumped on the bandwagon of a rumor that Sega was breaking back into the handheld market. That's not true either. Well, not exactly. The "Sega Vision" isn't a PSP competitor, unless Java games have gotten way more sophisticated, because that's it's only game functionality. Unofficial RPG Site ran down the Sega rumor with, of course, Sega itself. While it's not a fake, "it is not intended as a re-entry to the gaming hardware market or a rival to Sony or Nintendo's systems," said a spokesman.

"Sega is committed to remaining a software third party in the videogames industry," the spokesman continued, "but also has several non-games products in the market. The Vision is primarily an MP4 video player with some basic games functionality, and not a new handheld gaming machine."

Best part? "Further investigation on our part finds the Sega Vision isn't actually a Sega-developed device at all, and in fact a cheap Chinese iPod-style alternative, rebranded with the name of the fallen hardware company."

So there you go. You didn't hear this stuff here first, for a reason. By the way the source of this EA-Epic rumor was the same site behind last week's Xbox 360 slim horseshit, shot down by Major Nelson himself. One's own personal speculation is fine — it helps if it's informed, of course — but it should always be clearly labeled as speculation.

EA Buying Epic? "Rubbish" Says Rein [Videogaming247]
SEGA Vision is "Real," Not a PSP Rival [Unofficial RPG Site]

The memo, seen above, appears to suggest that this particular, model I suppose, of the Xbox 360 was once codenamed Xbox Xbox Lean or Xbox Granite and that the final name should be Xbox Pure.

I'm also intrigued by the comment that "metal plates" have been disregarded. Judging by the codenames and final name, it seems to suggest that this would be a stripped down version of the Xbox 360. Could this be Microsoft's answer to Sony's slim line of consoles? Are we soon going to be seeing a new, thin 360 with only disc-based game support and no harddrive? I'm sure, if this rumor is true, we will be finding out in the next month.

XBOX's New Name? [Cheap Ass Gamer]

UPDATE: It appears that this rumor story could be CAG throwing their credibility out the window as part of a contest. Kotaku''s decision to run rumors is always based on the credibility of the site and the information contained within it. In the past CAG has proven to be a reliable site, having broken a number of stories through apt reporting. It appears that may no longer be the case.

While the idea seems crazy at first blush Valve's Doug Lombardi has said they're willing to be bought. So we checked in with Lombardi himself this morning and he put our minds at ease, telling us it is purely a rumor, a bit of fiction.

With Google out of the picture, I guess the real question is who exactly would Valve like to buy them.

Google Entering Game Industry Through Valve?

Since there's not an article on the game, let's check out Famitsu release calendar.

This section shows what games are coming out this December (12月 in Japanese). Do you see 白騎士物語? We don't. What about a game coming out on December 11th? Nothing!

Let's take a gander at the section that show game releases marked "TBA" or 発売日未定.

Ah! Look, there White Knight Story (白騎士物語). No release date and no price for this game. We're not saying it isn't coming out on December 11th — we're saying that this issue of Famitsu, which was rumored to dated the game, does not say when it's coming out. So, until there's something official announced, consider this game "TBA" and this Famitsu rumor smashed.

The Microsoft Vista promotion referring to TGS took place in 2007, and is old news - we've had the winner over for taking the pictures already.

Sorry for the confusion and possible disappointment, but this was not an annoucement that Wake would be shown at TGS 2008. Remedy's team is just getting back from a bit of holiday and we haven't had time to chat with Microsoft on upcoming shows/showings yet.

Oh. Question: Then why didn't we see it at E3?

How far has Remedy comed on Alan Wake [Alan Wake via VG247]

After several days, today I could shoot a prototype hard drive for the Wii. According to what we've been seeing these days, work is well underway and I think it could be submitted on July 15 at the Kodak Theatre.
I would like to have one to experiment ^_^

But this "prototype" is fake. Like, really, really, really fake. Hilariously so. Okay, let's say that Nintendo actually did put stickers on prototypes that read "Confidential Property of Nintendo". Hey, maybe they do! See that picture of the label? It's kind of hard to make out the Japanese, but there is Japanese. And Nintendo is a Japanese company. As a Japanese company, Nintendo does know how to use the Japanese language correctly. The person who made that sticker does not. At all. So let's look at where this "prototype hard drive" exposes itself as a big, fat faker. That, after the jump.

The top of the label reads:

特定の販売の禁止。これは従来のハードドライブのディスクではない、ハンドルを慎重にします。

Which makes little to no sense whatsoever in Japanese. You know when you see funny English with funny grammar written by Japanese people? This is the EXACT SAME in reverse. Right up there, that translates as (grammatical errors intentional) "Prohibited to be selling of specified. This is not prior art hard drive disk, we will treat steering wheel carefully!" As game localizer and author Matt Alt points out, the person who made this probably typed "Please Handle With Care" in a machine translator and got something about being nice to a steering wheel. See, the word "handle" in Japanese is "steering wheel" and a machine translator doesn't know the difference! If that wasn't enough, the label's bottom reads:

このモデルのみで使用RVT−R１！

Love the exclamation point. Even better, love what that translates to: "RVT-R1 that we use only this model!" Once again, grammatical errors intentional.

Robert334's photostream [Flickr]

According to Valve's marketing director Doug Lombardi Half-Life 2: Episode Three won't be making an appearance at E3 this year, with the listing chalked up to a "misprint (or something)." We would assume that if Valve is showcasing anything at E3 this year, it will be Left 4 Dead which is planned for a November 4 release.

GayGamer notes that Svensson doesn't say which assertion is false — an offer of cash, or Capcom accepting — but "multiplatform release," means what it says, and thats moot. Also doesn't knock down the "big things" rumor about E3 but then, saying big things will be announced at that show is like saying a boxing match will feature people hitting each other in the face real hard.

Any Word if This is True or Not? [Capcom Unity, via GayGamer]

That is completely false information. Regarding FF, our company works very hard every day so that everyone can enjoy it as a game. There is currently no development being made [to bring FF to pachinko/pachi-slot machines].

Good, because Square Enix needs to focus on FFXIII and not other stuff.

『FFXIII』がパチンコ、パチスロに？” [Famitsu]

I'm surprised nobody has stepped forward to debunk this rumor. There are no 90 minute cutscenes in MGS4. The ending is long, but 90 minutes is a gross exaggeration.

And here I thought gamers liked long endings!

So there ya go, no 90 minute cutscenes and a lengthy ending says Kojima Productions.

PC Gamer Squelches Diablo 3 Rumor [Shacknews]

As far as we know, this story is a hoax. There have not been any arrests here, and we're not aware of any convictions like that in this county.

Did a 13yo buy hookers with dad's credit card? [Stuff.co.nz, via GamePolitics]

It [the rumor] is not true. We are just planning to move to LA. Currently we have an office in NJ, but we should have the branch office in West Coast, because of time differences and access are much better than NJ.

Also, Ignition USA is located in LA (Marina Del Ray), so recently we have done co-publishing announcement with them.

We will keep our NJ office until 31st of December for our direct publishing in North America. Then we will move to LA. Previously as SNK NEOGEO Corporation, we had an office in LA.

[SNK founder] Mr. Eikichi Kawasaki is Chairman of SNK PLAYMORE USA.

We will renew and revitalize our US corporation. We must keep our US corporation in North America. Currently we are developing KOF12 for next gen consoles, as you know. How can we close our US office? It is 10M$ project, we want US people know our passion for 2D fighting games.

We want to show that SNK is sticking to making 2D fighters and is the world leader in 2D fighters.

So there you go! SNK isn't closing its US branch and is dead serious about the US market and 2D fighters.

Eds Note: The information we received from SNK is incorrect as nothing official has yet been announced about the US SNK branch, other than it is not closing down.

Still, how anyone would have a heart dark enough to forge such a teasing document is beyond us.

A spokesperson for the publisher told Eurogamer it was a total fabrication, and that Treyarch and Infinity Ward would still alternately create installments in the shooter series.

Microsoft says no Blu-ray for Xbox 360 [Reuters, via Game Pro]

The story in Xbox World 360 is based entirely on rumour and speculation. Unfortunately, we were never contacted by the publication to confirm information or participate in the story in any way, as we would have confirmed that we do not have the necessary rights to release GoldenEye on Xbox Live Arcade.

We were perplexed, yesterday, while listening to Larry Hryb's special mid-week interview with Don Mattrick, when we heard the Microsoft Entertainment boss seem to say that the Xbox 360 was not only getting exclusive downloadable content, but that online multiplayer support was also exclusive to the 360.

I'm really excited with GTA IV's downloadable content and online multiplayer support, again that's something that's unique to 360. We think consumers are gonna love that. It's gonna create what I would describe again as the premium experience on our platform.

It was weird to hear Mattrick seemingly bunch together those two things into a sentence about things unique to the 360. After doing some digging we found that it wasn't the first time Microsoft has made it sound like only the 360 is getting the online GTA play. To clear it up we contacted Rockstar, which was quick to respond, crushing the rumor, and perhaps Microsoft's hopes, under the heel of their steel-tipped boots.

"To answer your question, the PS3 version of the game will indeed have online multiplayer just as the 360 version does. "

Microsoft playing loose with the language or a genuine mistake? We'll probably never find out.

Regardless of what you have read, achievements are not disappearing for users

This afternoon Microsoft officially responded to our request for a comment, saying mostly the same thing Hryb said:

Xbox LIVE is not erasing Achievement's earned while playing on the service. If any member is having trouble with their Xbox LIVE service, we urge them to contact 1-800-4-my-xbox.

For the record, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is a PlayStation 3 exclusive and there are no plans to develop an Xbox 360 version of the game.

"We're very happy being a platform agnostic company and have moved up the ranks the past three years from #11, to #9, and now stand at #6 in terms of our market share by units among third-party publishers. We like our current strategy and have no plans to change in the middle of this outstanding growth."

Users will have to make do with high definition trailers for both games and crystal clear 1080p stills of Milla Jovovich in thigh-revealing outfits.

Sorry, Resident Evil: Extinction does NOT have RE5 and DMC4 demos on the Blu-Ray disc [Capcom]

I'm sure that Microsoft—and many third parties—would love to add these options to older Xbox re-releases. The cash revenue from achievement whores could make even Psychonauts finally turn a healthy profit.

Will Xbox Originals have Achievements? [Microsoft]

The Smash: Last night at the Assassin's Creed shindig, producer Jade Raymond personally told Guest Editor Geoff Keighley that those rumors were totally untrue and that she's never do something like that. She actually seemed somewhat offended people thought she would. Ubisoft PR got so many inquiries about it almost had to issue and official statement. So, while this rumor so SMASHED, please don't rule out Creative Director Patrice Desilets' Maxim spread!

Haha. Nooooo. There's no new Psychonauts game in the works right now, but I'm glad some people got excited by the idea. I know *I* got excited.

The rumor seems to have originated from a PS3Forums posting titled "Game Informer to reveal the Team ICO game?" with a transcribed article, but no scans, photos or links.

Fortunately, Andy McNamara of Game Informer poked his head into the NeoGAF thread on the matter, casting even more serious doubt on the preview. According to GI's Editor-In-Chief "This is not in the next issue of Game Informer. The new GI has something new...but its from another much-loved developer."

Too carefully worded? What if it's in the Game Informer issue after that? McNamara tries to bring sanity to the Team ICO next-gen rumor circus. "Trust me...we'll try to get the next Team ico game....love those guys" he wrote in a follow up post, "But I wouldn't slam the door shut on the next issue yet."

Is Team ICO hard at work on a PS3 project? Most definitely. Is it The Last Canyon? Nah. This rumor is a colossal pile of heart-wrenching lies fabricated by a cruel, cruel man. We continue to wait.

Rumour: Are you ready to glide through "The Last Canyon?" [Team ICO Gamers]

Not so says SCEA, though their responses to our inquires and the one they posted on their site don't match up.

When contacted for comment by Kotaku, head Playstation PR guy Dave Karraker said that there was "nothing sneaky about the red light" adding that it was just an odd lighting effect and that there are no changes to the controller.

Patrick Seybold writes on the official Playstation Blog that the Home button glows red when you charge the debug controller and that it is not a sign or indication of a new controller for the 80GB model.

As I told Karaker: Pooh!

Ah, the wonderful world of Digg. Home to many interesting stories as well as many unsubstantiated rumors. Take for example this recent story that has been rising up the Digg charts. Website Zelda Universe posted a story claiming that the upcoming DS game Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass will utilize a voice chat option. The author of said article fully admits that he doesn't know Japanese but is learning and translated this "news" from a Famitsu article.

Thankfully, the folks over at The Hylia were able to provide a real translation that revealed no reference to a voice chat option for the game. So, sorry to burst your bubble, but if you read this story on Digg, it is sadly, patently untrue. You can read the full translation of the article here. Flynn De Marco

Voice Chat Not in Phantom Hourglass [The Hylia]

For the second time in about as many months Sony is smashing the rumor that Warhawk is going to be downloadable only.

In fact, Sam Kennedy, who floated the rumor as apparent fact, spent the day playing the game on a disc. Whoops.

When contacted for comment today, Sony reps said:

At this time that's simply not true. We have not made any decision with regards to distribution for Warhawk, which is due out this fall.

DId they leave a little wiggle room? Sure, but I hear that's more about leaving room for any eventuality than because they think the game is going that route. The fact is that right now the early version of the game is playable on a disc. Brian Crecente

QJ Net is running a "leaked" picture of what purports to show the set-up for using your Playstation Portable as a wing or rearview mirror in F1 Championship Edition. Yes, that picture up there.

Well, it's not true. Not yet at least. I've got the retail North American version of the game and have worked through the instruction manual, all of the in-game options and ran a few races. There is, at this point at least, absolutely no way to use your PSP as a mirror in the game.

Hopefully that will change with some sort of patch or download in the future, though frankly, I don't think it needs it. I'll make sure to post my review when the embargo lifts next week.

To be fair to QJ and others who have run with this rumor, the developers have been talking about this, Kaz showed a demo of the PSP functionality as a possibility of how the connectivity would work and QJ was very clear it was just a rumor.

So consider this rumor smashed. Brian Crecente

Leaked image of F! Championship Edition PS3-PSP Connectivity [QJ]

There was some debate yesterday on Three Speech about whether or not Sony has any comment on the current "solid" rumors by Luke Smith from 1UP and CVG regarding Killzone being shown at GDC next month, possibly with a playable demo. The response is:

"No, Killzone won't be at GDC at all," stated SCEA Manager, Ryan Bowling, in a conversation with IGN held yesterday afternoon. "The time for that game is coming and we'll have new information about it in the future, but not at GDC."

Does that still leave room for it to be shown at a private event during, before or right after GDC? I suppose. It's hard to tell if this is about semantics or corrections. Brian Crecente

KILLZONE WILL NOT BE SHOWN AT GDC NEXT MONTH [Three Speech]

The Rumor: Word is beginning to trickle down to fitbabits HQ from several independent sources that Microsoft has all but completed the purchase of Capcom. I'm not going to spell out the ramifications if this one is true, but I will mention two words and a number - Resident Evil 5

The Smash: While no one will officially comment on this rumor (We all know and love that song and dance). It appears this particular bit of gossip has roots in a thread that hit NeoGaf on Jan. 10.

It started out as a rumor that Microsoft was holding a press conference in Osaka the next day. The thread quickly turned into a place to shoot off pie-in-the-sky theories (go figure) about what might happen during the mystery press conference.

Among the odd ideas was the now smashed rumor that Hideo Kojima was putting together a 360 Metal Gear Solid title.

While not outright denying it, when contacted by Kotaku a Capcom rep called the story an "old rumor." Brian Crecente

Bashcraft's note: Regular readers know that this is my favorite Hideo Kojima picture. Pretty much because it looks like he was shoved in front of an Xbox 360 background. Just look at his face!

The Rumor: A press conference in Osaka today revealed that Konami has established a development team called "Konami X Productions." The team is being headed by MGS creator Hideo Kojima. Frist, Konami X Prods. will develop the Metal Gear Solid trilogy for the Xbox 360 and MGS: Fluid Ac!d for the Zune.

The Smash: Kojima might be from Kansai, but Konami, a Tokyo-based company, does not give press conferences in Osaka. Also, news of such press conference never appeared on Konami's or Kojima Productions' sites or on any major Japanese gaming news website like Famitsu, Game Watch Impress or Dengeki Online. A well-placed source confirmed with us that this rumor is total baloney. Hit the jump for the elaborate (and phony) press release announcing this b.s. Brian Ashcraft

The untrue and fake press release:

OSAKA - Konami Digital Entertainment - Japan, a division of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., today announced a new, exclusive for the Xbox 360 gameconsole, development team will be formed inside Konami Corporation. On January 11, 2007, Konami Corporation merged and consolidated its group companies. Accordingly, former Konami Computer Entertainment Japan East Team, lead by creator Hideo Kojima (Corporate Officer, Konami Corporation), embarks on a new era as "Kojima X Productions" inside Konami Corporation.

The newly formed Kojima "X" Productions is proud to announce that Metal Gear Solid: Triology is currently in development for the XBOX 360 ( X360 ) next-generation computer entertainment system from Microsoft ( MS ). Metal Gear Solid: Trilogy will be a remake of three Hideo Kojima's masterpieces. Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance and Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. The Metal Gear Solid series, is highly acclaimed worldwide, with its breathtaking graphics, profound stories, intricate human drama, original game design and superlative gameplay. Also under development is one other exciting game in the Metal Gear series — Metal Gear Solid: Fluid Ac!d for the Microsoft Zune media player.

Updates regarding Kojima Productions will be posted periodically on the following website: Kojima Productions Official Homepage: http://www.konami.jp/kojima_pro/.

About Konami Corporation
Konami Corporation is a leading developer, publisher and manufacturer of electronic entertainment properties, specializing in the home video game market. Konami Corporation's action and adventure titles include the popular franchises Metal Gear Solid , Silent Hill and Castlevania , among other top sellers. The latest information about Konami can be found on the Web at www.konami.com. Konami Corporation is a publicly traded company based in Tokyo, Japan with subsidiary offices, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. in the US and Konami of Europe in Frankfurt, Germany. Konami Corporation, the parent company of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. is traded in the United States on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol KNM. Details of the products published by Konami Digital Entertainment - America can be found at www.konami.com/gs.

In a recent interview with French site dvdrama, director Christophe Gans stated that Silent Hill 2 will be penned by Roger Avary and fantasy author Neil Gaiman.

Not so says Gaiman. On his personal site, he blogs:

I'm afraid that I don't think I am — I mean, it's the first thing I've ever heard of it, and I'm sure that if they make a sequel Roger would want to write it himself. I am writing Black Hole with Roger (we're one draft in right now), and we already wrote next year's Beowulf. If I get home to find an invitation to write Silent Hill 2 with Roger is waiting for me I'll let you all know, but for right now I think it's a discredited internet rumour.

Discredited internet rumors that apparently start with movie directors or just miscommunication clusterfuck? Love it! Brian Ashcraft

Not Me, Dude [Neil Gaiman, Thanks Dean!]