Posters at the Ragnarok forums reckon that in addition to some suspiciously similar monsters turning up in both Ragnarok and Aurora Blade they have spotted similarities between the Chinese-developed MMO and several other games including World Of Warcraft (skill backgrounds), Maple Story (class icons) and LaTale (character creation icons).

IGG, who publish the game in the West, have been contacted for comment. Meanwhile, the company posted a statement on the Aurora Blade forums claiming that they were not responsible for the content of the game they hosted and threatening posters with banning if they referred to the controversy.

Warning - Aurora Blade Similarity
Many forum members have posted threads regarding similarity betwen Aurora Blade, and other third party games

Note:
We would like to explain that SkyUnion(IGG) is not responsible for the developing of the game, that is any character, artwork and graphic is developed by another company and this game is HOSTED by IGG.

Any thread or post containing information about other games that including screenshots, game info or any other information will be deleted, as its against the forum rules.We will also take actions against members that will repeat breaking the forum rules.Therefore we have to ban members according to the severity.This may lead to a permanent ban from the forum.

Please take note of the warning!

[Thanks to reader 'Onis' for the tip]

All three games will shortly be removed from store shelves or simply not shipped. Batman and Indy were set for release in the territory on December 18th.

No reason has been offered for the move - perhaps Lego just isn't held in the same esteem by the Japanese, or perhaps there is some confusing licensing issue. It could be anything - maybe Lego is suspected of corrupting Japanese youth with bricks that can be made into makeshift (if brittle and ineffective) street weapons. Who knows. Wild theories in the comments please.

Japan - Activision stops sale of LEGO games [GoNintendo]

Asked by Five'sThe Gadget Show in the UK about the possibility of a Microsoft handheld to compete with the Nintendo DS and PSP, Xbox UK's head of gaming & entertainment Stephen McGill put paid to the suggestion. Again.

“No thank you, we’ve got plenty going on with the 360," said McGill, "We don’t want to get distracted by going into the handheld market.”

Maybe if we all keep asking him, though..

Xbox handheld: only available in dreamland says Microsoft [The Gadget Show]

Rumors have been stirring since December about a potential motion control apparatus for the Xbox 360, and instead of fading away like bad rumors generally do, more and more fuel has been added to the possibility as time went on. With the latest speculation indicating a new motion-controlled friendly redesign of the Xbox Dashboard, E3 could very well be the time for the big reveal.

The announcement of a motion controller would naturally lead to the reveal of a big-name title or titles that would use it. This could be Banjo Kazooie, once the subject of one of the motion controller rumors, or an entirely new title. Microsoft isn't the type of company to bank on innovative gameplay alone, so if a motion controller is announced you can bet they'll have the games to back it up.

Then there is the future of the Halo franchise. We all know something new is coming, whether it be Peter Jackson's Halo game or something entirely different. Microsoft isn't going to let the franchise stagnate, and as lovely as the strategy game Halo Wars is looking I very much doubt it has the strength to carry fans of the original FPS gameplay, so there's a good chance we'll be seeing something new, with or without Master Chief.

Personally I am hoping for more information regarding the Zune gaming we got a look at during GDC this year, including some actual titles and release dates for the functionality, but that might just be because I recently bought a Zune for some odd reason. Yeah, I don't know. It was shiny.

All will become clear Monday morning, so we have until then to speculate, assume, and wildly imagine to our hearts' content. What would you like to see from Microsoft? What do you think we'll get? This is why God created the comment section.

Also, an IGN Insider interview (transcript provided by reader Max) let slip that buyers of Rock Band 2 will have access to all of the songs off the original Rock Band disc, available as free DLC. Full details on both after the jump.

Says IGN 360 editor Nate Ahern:

Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour create an interesting situation for gamers. If you bought Rock Band 1 then chances are you'll feel cheated by the release of RB2, thus you'd think that GHWT would be the way to go as it somewhat redefines the music gaming genre. However, if you didn't buy the first Rock Band then I would absolutely agree with notagoth. Immediately upon purchasing Rock Band 2 you'll have the ability to download a huge library of songs, as well as all of the songs off of the original disc as a free download. Then again, Guitar Hero World Tour does allow users to create and share their own songs, so it's really only a matter of time until the Rock Band library is eclipsed. At the end of the day it could come down to which series has earned your allegiance over the last year since RB's original release."

And on to the leaked track lists. The first is from Demp, a commenter on 8bitfix, and he's got the FOAF who saw the email source. That's like fourth-hand hearsay, but whatever, this ain't court.

1 AC/DC Let There Be Rock
2 AFI Girl's Gone Grey
3 Alanis Morissette You Oughta Know
4 Alice in Chains Man in the Box
5 Allman Brothers Ramblin' Man
6 Avenged Sevenfold Almost Easy
7 Bad Company Shooting Star
8 Beastie Boys So Whatcha Want
9 Beck E-Pro
10 Bikini Kill Rebel Girl
11 Billy Idol White Wedding Pt I
12 Blondie One Way or Another
13 Bob Dylan Tangled Up in Blue
14 Bon Jovi Livin' on a Prayer
15 Cheap Trick Hello There
16 Devo Uncontrollable Urge
17 Dinosaur Jr Feel the Pain
18 Disturbed Down with the Sickness
19 Donnas, The New Kid in School
20 Dream Theater Panic Attack
21 Duran Duran Hungry Like the Wolf
22 Elvis Costello Pump it Up
23 Fleetwood Mac Go Your Own Way
24 Foo Fighters Everlong
25 Go-Go's, The We Got the Beat
26 Grateful Dead, The Alabama Getaway
27 Guess Who, The American Woman
28 Guns N' Roses Shackler's Revenge
29 Interpol PDA
30 Jane's Addiction Mountain Song
31 Jethro Tull Aqualung
32 Jimmy Eat World The Middle
33 Joan Jett Bad Reputation
34 Journey Anyway You Want It
35 Judas Priest Painkiller
36 Kansas Carry On Wayward Son
37 L7 Pretend We're Dead
38 Lacuna Coil Our Truth
39 Linkin Park One Step Closer
40 Lit My Own Worst Enemy
41 Lush De-Luxe
42 Mastodon Colony of Birchmen
43 Megadeth Peace Sells
44 Metallica Battery
45 Mighty Mighty Bosstones Where'd You Go
46 Modest Mouse Float On
47 Motorhead Ace of Spades
48 Muffs, The Kids in America
49 Nirvana Drain You
50 Norman Greenbaum Spirit in the Sky
51 Offspring, The Come Out & Play (Keep 'em Seperated)
52 Panic at the Disco Nine in the Afternoon
53 Paramore That's What You Get
54 Pearl Jam Alive
55 Presidents of the USA Lump
56 Rage Against the Machine Testify
57 Ratt Round & Round
58 Red Hot Chili Peppers Give it Away
59 Replacements, The Alex Chilton
60 Rise Against Give it All
61 Rush The Trees
62 Silversun Pickups Lazy Eye
63 Smashing Pumpkins Today
64 Social Distortion I Was Wrong
65 Sonic Youth Teenage Riot
66 Soundgarden Spoonman
67 Squeeze Cool for Cats
68 Steely Dan Bodhitsattva
69 Steve Miller Band Rock'n Me
70 Survivor Eye of the Tiger
71 System of a Down Chop Suey
72 Talking Heads Psycho Killer
73 Tenacious D Master Exploder
74 Testament Souls of Black
75 Who, The Pinball Wizard
BONUS SONGS (all HMX bands)
76 Abnormality Visions
77 Anarchy Club Get Clean
78 Bang Camaro Night Lies
79 Breaking Wheel Shoulder to the Plow
80 Libyans, The Neighborhood
81 Main Drag, The A Jagged Georgeous Winter.
82 Speck Conventional Lover
83 Sterns, The Supreme Girl
84 That Handsome Devil Rob the Prez-O-Dent

And then from Loading Reality, which notes that this numbers only about 60. Some of the tracks are the same as the list above, just in a different order. "Keep in mind, some of these could easily be DLC that's in the works," Loading Reality writes. A wise caveat.

1) Tangled Up in Blue (Bob Dylan)
2) Bad to the Bone (George Thorogood)
3) We've Got the Beat (Go-Gos)
4) Bad Reputation (Joan Jett)
5) Pinball Wizard (The Who)
6) Dammit (Blink 182)
7) That's What You Get (Paramore)
8) The Trees (Rush)
9) Ace of Spades (Motorhead)
10) Chop Suey (System of a Down)
11) Testify (Rage Against the Machine)
12) Spirit In the Sky (Norman Greenbaum)
13) Ramblin' Man (Allman Brothers)
14) Rebel Girl (Bikini Kill)
15) Eye of the Tiger (Survivor)
16) Panic Attack (Dream Theater)
17) Everlong (Foo Fighters)
18) One Step Closer (Linkin' Park)
19) Lump (Presidents of the USA)
20) Come Out and Play (Offspring)
21) Drain You (Nirvana)
22) Carry On Wayward Son (Kansas)
23) Peace Sells (Megadeath)
24) Souls of Black (Testament)
25) Livin' On a Prayer (Bon Jovi)
26) Round and Round (Ratt)
27) New Kid In School (The Donnas)
28) Alright Now (Free)
29) Today (Smashing Pumpkins)
30) Man In the Box (Alice In Chains)
31) Any Way You Want It (Journey)
32) Holiday In Cambodia (Dead Kennedys)
33) Give It Away (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
34) White Wedding (Billy Idol)
35) Hello There (Cheap Trick)
36) Cool for Cats (Squeeze)
37) Psycho Killer (Talking Heads)
38) ? (Devo)
39) One Way or Another (Blondie)
40) De-luxe (Lush) [dare to dream, shoegaze in Rock Band!]
41) Push It (Static-X)
42) Pump It Up (Elvis Costello)
43) Master Exploder (Tenacious D)
44) Bandages (Hot Hot Heat)
45) PDA (Interpol)
46) My Own Worst Enemy (Lit)
47) Float On (Modest Mouse)
48) Aqualung (Jethro Tull)
49) Spoonman (Soundgarden)
50) Bodhisattva (Steely Dan)
51) Suffer (Bad Religion)
52) I Was Wrong (Social Distortion)
53) American Woman (The Guess Who)
56) You Oughta Know (Alanis Morrissette)
57) Mountain Song (Jane's Addiction)
58) Stop! (Against Me)
59) Hungry Like the Wolf (Duran Duran)
60) Alabama Getaway (Grateful Dead)

So there you have it. Could be real, could be bs, again that's the fun of rumors. But even if this is in-progress thinking, and not final stuff, it shows Harmonix is not F-in around, and will move to counter Guitar Hero: World Tour's peripherals and custom song features with outstanding content.

Rock Band Two Rumored Track List [8bitfix, in comments]
60 Rock Band 2 Tracks Leaked [Loading Reality, thanks Max]

We questioned the possibility of Forza 3 being distributed on more than one disc. Our source was quick to comment that “one way or the other, the core game will be shipped on a single disc. Content won’t be sacrificed … fans will be pleasantly surprised for what’s in store.”

Angry Pixel went snooping around Dhruva Interactive, a Bangalore-based developer that's worked on Forza in the past, as well as Project Gotham Racing 3 and 4, so presumably the unnamed source is from there. There was the obligatory "more to come fairly soon" (which means E3) but no other details.

Forza 3 is Coming, Sans Disc-Swapping [The Angry Pixel, via Gamer Center Online]

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]

• The next Call of Duty will be known as "World at War" instead of CoD5. There are five box concepts leaked. There's speculation that calling it World at War is an effort to keep the lifespan of hot-selling CoD4 running as long as possible.

• Forza Motorsport 3 is so huge that the limitations of the DVD format became an issue. It will include 400 cars, 100 tracks and must ship on two discs. Car deformation was also mentioned as a feature of the new title.

Possible CoD5 Rename, Plus Boxarts and pic [Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Forza Will Have 2 Discs, 400 Cars, More [Xbox 360 Fanboy]

A yet-to-be-plugged leak has spilled rumors and secrets on Call of Duty, Forza Motorsport 3, and plans for Xbox Live. Xbox 360 Fanboy is rooting through the plumbing, here's what has broken so far on that site.

• Microsoft seems to be developing a response to the Mii, confirming a long running-rumor. From the docs obtained, it seems avatars will replace the gamer picture and "provide a more lifelike, animated, and fully customizable persona."

More on these leaks as they develop.

Rumor: Avatars are Microsoft's Take on Miis? [Xbox 360 Fanboy]

[Speight] who voiced Gears of War's "Cole Train", recently made an appearance at the TriForce panel at Wizard World to shoot the breeze about the company's line of GoW-related replicas. When asked about the sequel's release date, the TriForce crew remained tight lipped, though Rasta suggested asking him again on November 16.

Sounds specific enough to me. The tip came in via David Hinkle of DS and Wii Fanboy. They're pursuing. We will too as soon as more is known.

Rumor: Voice of 'Cole Train' suggests November 16 release for Gears of War 2 [Joystiq]

Reader hukeedonfonics also tipped us to the above video, which shows in-game XMB over the BioShock title screen. Comments claim a BioShock developer leaked it.

Gaming Age writes that requested features like a universal friends list, and in-game messaging will be a part of the drop, in addition to "a few rather nice surprises (*cough*soundtracks*cough*)" (their words, not mine.)

So, spread the word, and we'll hopefully have more on this as it develops.

PS3 In-Game XMB is Coming[Gaming Age, via NeoGAF, thanks hukeedonfonics]

So ... now what? Analysts quoted in a Friday San Francisco Chronicle story still think the deal will get done. Michael Pachter cited the Wall Street Journal story that places Rockstar's Dan Houser in the pivot, as his contract with Take-Two is up next year and he's open to EA ownership. Pachter's reasoning: Houser would broker the deal in hopes of being rewarded by his new employer. EA talks about how GTA IV's success was already built into its offer to Take-Two, so surely GTA IV's success is already built into Take-Two's relationship with Houser. A grateful EA might be willing to throw in a premium Houser couldn't negotiate otherwise.

Even though the deadline was not extended, as some suspected, that by itself doesn't preclude another offer. Weekend deadline negotiations are usually for labor unions and management. They certainly aren't covered by amateurs like yours truly, or the Agence France Presse writer who called the game "Grand Theft Auto IV: Liberty City Stories." We're not that well sourced. Once the regular writers and analysts get back in the office this week, someone will say something.

Deadline Passes in EA Bid to Buy Take-Two [AFP/Yahoo News, via Joystiq]

Metroid was optioned for a film deal way back in 2004, according to the Hollywood Reporter. And then, nothing. I can't get this Swedish blog to load, but the date on this poster — if it's European format, that's February 5, 2009 and that's a Thursday. If it's US, that's May 2 (prime blockbuster season — have we ever had a video game adaptation release in May? I don't follow that closely) and that's a Saturday. US releases typically open on Wednesdays or Fridays.

Oh, and John Woo is not in the Comic Con's list of guests.

Debunked?

John Woo to Announce Metroid Film at NYC Comic-Con [Destructoid, via The Tanooki]

But this has been up for a solid two days, Rockstar hasn't demanded it be taken down (could they? I dunno) and the comments on its YouTube page point out a zillion problems with it. But what do they know? It is time for Kotakopolis to pass judgment: Is this real or is this fake? You make the call! Vote after the jump.

Arguments Pro:
It's got a case!
Immigrant's Guide to Liberty City
I WANT TO BELIEVE

Arguments Con:
Convenient transition right as 360 boots
Gameplay or it's fake
Music sucks
Rockstar hasn't bothered to get YouTube to take it down

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

She claims that Avatar, that's James Cameron movie game by Ubisoft Montreal, will feature images enhanced by theater-quality 3D glasses. We're guessing it's shutter polarized technology (not the red and blues above), and quite a few companies are still playing with 3D glasses (I last saw a 3D TV by JVC at CES 07...it was kinda neat). She also adds that a "Japanese company" is making a similar 3D "incarnation of a legendary racing franchise."

If the rumors are true, Ubisoft is making a huge gamble. Video and video-enhancing eyewear has been around for a long time and never taken off. But that doesn't mean it's out for the count.

December twenty-sixth things. [via gonintendo]

Not content to break the fictitious news that the Master Chief is dating a Hollywood star, satire site Dateline Hollywood also "reports" that the big MC is gay.

The site says that MC was seen hanging out with High School Musical star Zac Efron during the Universal City launch of Halo 3 last week and points to the widely spread images of the duo as proof of their hot story.

Not everyone is surprised, though, particularly those who have fought Master Chief in battle.

"He's a great warrior, but frankly, I started to get suspicious when he kept wanting to 'cover my rear' during our recent battle to prevent the covenant from setting off the Halo rings and destroying the universe," said the Arbiter, an alien who fought alongside Master Chief in "Halo 3."

Added Cortana, a female artificial intelligence who was once implanted in Master Chief's helmet: "I've been saying that Master Chief is a huge f*g for years, but no one believed me."

Cortana, who was not invited to the "Halo 3″ premiere event, ended up crashing the party.

"I'm pretty sure I heard Master Chief tell Zac he'd like to get his hands on his Covenant-held Forerunner structure," she said. "We all know what that means."

Ooooh, hoo, ho, ho, but don't we... wait, what does it mean again?

Zac Efron Rumored to be Dating Master Chief [Dateline Hollywood]

Obviously it's in the rumor bin because it's from a forum where only one user has experienced this "problem". If it is true, all that you can do is make a trip down to Home Depot to buy some fancy soldering irons and find some one with some very tiny, steady hands. Kim Phu

Nintendo Shipping Mod-Proof Wiis in Japan ]]> Kotaku-264378 Wed, 30 May 2007 09:40:00 MDT Kim Phu http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=264378&view=rss&microfeed=true Team ICO who are responsible for the Shadow of the Colossus have been out of the limelight for awhile, but recently, a member on the PS3 forums has posted some information on the company's ventures after a chance meeting with a Sony Playtation product manager from Germany while at the Motostorm event:

...(H)e told me that Team ICO is actually developing two games at once with one being close to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus in terms of atmosphere and setting."

It's no secret that Team ICO have been working on a game for Playstation 3 that will probably stay close to the nature of their previous games, but a mystery project that some guy told another guy could kind of possibly be in the works?! I can't wait to find out. Kim Phu

Rumour: Team ICO is developing not one but TWO games [N4G]

An article from a Korean site called Fighter Forum is claiming that a StarCraft 2 release might be around the corner at the end of 2007. The article is also full of meaty gossip morsels that include a new race being added to the game, and a super-sized whopper of a rumor that claims Blizzard will shut down the original StarCraft servers to make ensure that the sequel will come out on top.

I hope it is a fake. I can't take all the lies about needing to work late and the nightmares he has about making crystals. Kim Phu

A Korean Site Claims to Have the Scoop on a New Race and the Future of the Original Starcraft [IGN]

Always get an iffy feeling posting black Xbox 360 stories — Especially ones that pop up in April. Yes, we know that the debug unit is black. And yet, the rumor continues to surface. This month's Game Informer says that a black Xbox 360 with larger 120GB hard drive, HDMI output and an HDMI cable will retail for approximately US $479. It does not include HD-DVD playback. A well-placed source at Microsoft tells GI that the reason is because the "format's not proven." Then again, neither is this rumor. And if this is in fact an April Fool's Joke, we've got two words: Not funny. Brian Ashcraft

Thanks Jc!

Ed's Note: Matt Helgeson, senior editor over at Game Informer, just dropped us a line to let us know that the story is in fact true. As a rule they don't post fake news stories in their April mag. So go celebrate.

Pointing Fish says: Word has it that a big software maker puts new employees through a series of checks before they can finally enter the company. These aren't run-of-the-mill tests, either. A bit about the company: It seems to pump continuous, never-ending stylized sequels for its big three franchises. According to an employee, new entrants are required to take a psyche test as well as give stool samples before starting work. Okay, Kotaku-land, what company is it? Brian Ashcraft

This year NamcoBandai has Hellgate: London, a PC RPG cum, shooter that it is co-publishing that with EA. Given the company's newfound penchant for cross-platform development, I ask if an Xbox 360 version is likely. Karlsson won't confirm it, but he admits that it's highly unlikely that such a notion is far from the company's planning calendar.

So sit tight until there's a formal announcement and we get this BandaiNamco/Bandai Namco nonsense sorted out. Brian Ashcraft

Hellgate 360 Bound? [Next-Gen]

Well the good news is that developer ZootFly has confirmed with IGN that the Ghostbusters game footage that saw heavy circulation yesterday was in fact actual footage from an Xbox 360 game they are developing. Unfortunately the game is currently on hold due to licensing issues the company is actively working to resolve, so there is no projected release date for the game, or really any guarantee that it will see the light of day whatsoever.

I wouldn't be surprised if the leak itself were in fact manufactured in order to further the developer's cause. Would be a rather canny move on their part if it were. The response from the gaming community has been pretty overwhelming. Most of you want the game made. ZootFly wants the game made. Hell, I want the game made. The only obstacle remains Ghostbusters' legendarily complicated rights ownership...also one of the main reasons we haven't seen a Ghostbusters 3 yet. Michael Fahey

Ghostbusters Game Busted - [IGN - Thanks James!]

With Castlevania: Symphony of the Night rolling onto Xbox Live, a new generation gets to experience the PS1 title for the first time. But it doesn't stop there, it seems. EGM has a small article (Thanks, Evan!) in the February issue titled "Second Symphony." The last paragraph reads:

Check back here next issue to get the exclusive scoop on the next Castlevania installment. Trust us—if you're a fan of SOTN, you'll want to sink your fangs into this killer exclusive.

Cockteases. Brian Ashcraft

Unconfirmed, but the source who correctly said Virtua Fighter 5 was 360-bound now claims that Tekken 6 is headed for the Microsoft console shortly after its PS3 release. This comes in a wake of chatter claiming big PLAYSTATION 3 exclusives like Devil May Cry 4 and Metal Gear Solid 4 will make it to the Xbox 360. Two words: Uh oh. Brian Ashcraft

Tekken 6 Not PS3 Exclusive? [Aeropause]

Nintendo has turned all Scrooge (bad Scrooge, not good Scrooge) on us, apparently telling game site Eurogamer that there will be no "free" VC Christmas downloads. It's been rumored that Super Mario Bros., Toe Jam & Earl and R-Types would be available to all at no charge on the 25th. Instead, gamers can look forward to paying for stuff. Happy Holidays! Brian Ashcraft

No Free Downloads [Eurogamer]

Is this the PS3 60GB HDD killer? Though there's been nothing official from Microsoft, reader Plaid Ninja snapped this photo at the Xbox Live event, and it shows 70 gigs of free hard drive space. A shoot in the dark, but we imagine these should be out soonish to take advantage of Microsoft's downloadable content service. Expect Sony to counter with even bigger hard drives until we end up with 300 GB HDDs. It's like the space race, but with game consoles. How dorky! Brian Ashcraft

Eds Note: Microsoft is officially saying they aren't doing one at the moment. And this could be a dev kit HDD. Stay tuned.

Bigger Drive [Plaid Ninja's Flickr]

Eds Note: This is unconfirmed, so take it for what it's worth.

A Best Buy mole just dropped some interesting tidbits about the upcoming PS3 and the Wii launches. The mole reports that there are over 900 Wii units on order for his/her/its district of 10 stores. What's more our insider adds his/her/its store is getting a little over a hundred:

They will be in stock on launch day. No October 29 crap like that first image you guys posted a little while ago. There are 748 stores in the US. If you average 102 units per store, there will be around 76,296. If the 1 million is an appropriate launch amount, that means as a company, we'll be getting 7.6% of launch units. That doesn't seem like much, but considering we got the majority of 360 launch units (my store got almost 80 combined), and there's an ass load of other video game stores abound, that's high up there.

Continuing, the mole says that Twilight Princess is listed with a November 13th street date, a full 5 days before the console hits. Our insider reports a little over 90 copies will hit his/her/its store.

But, here's the whooper:

Finally, onto the PS3. I searched for the 20GB and 60GB models in the system, and what I found startles me. We have yet to order any systems from Sony. I checked district. Again, nothing. Apparently, the 400,000 Sony promised for the States isn't too stable for Best Buy to get their hands in.

Um, shouldn't things like the friggin' console be ordered before the console launches?! Brian Ashcraft

We're titling this as a rumor, but even so, sources have revealed to Game Informer Online that there will be a Halo 3 demo released over Xbox Live in the first half of 2007. Obviously Microsoft hasn't revealed any details yet, but we wouldn't be too surprised if something was dropped in the second or third week of November. You know, just to mess a bit with the PlayStation 3 and Wii launches.

GameInformer muses that this might be the first demo Microsoft charges for, which certainly seems to be the direction the whole Marketplace is going: charge for everything that used to be free. My question is whether or not it will be single player or multiplayer. My guess is the latter, as some sort of stress test, but personally I have very little interest in Halo outside of the wonderful setting, story and personalities of its single player campaign. Florian Eckhardt

Rumor: Halo 3 Demo Coming Early Next Year [Game Informer]

Yesterday, we posted about a grainy picture apparently announcing the 100 GB HD for the Xbox 360. A couple German 360 sites Spidey sense started tingling? Does that add up?

So they contacted Boris Schneider-Johne, Germany's Major Nelson. He says, via Babelfish:

Yes, about two and a half thousand people sent to me a link to that, in which one sees a photographed powerpoint slide, featuring a non removable disk on which someone stuck 100 GB in an Arial font.

Come on, you know Microsoft presentations. How many times have you been to GC? Would this company announce a product in such a ragged manner? Quote: No large non removable disk is announced.

So there you go. But the Germans have been known to be duplicitous. Florian Eckhardt

Gro e Platten [Hope you read German!]

It has to get bigger, you realize. There are rumors swirling that Microsoft is working on a 100GB hard drive. Website Game Inside is reporting that Microsoft in a recent Korean version of X06, the new HDD will be released in March in Korea and potentially elsewhere. This would be a big boast for the console's current 20GB hard drive and help it compete with the PLAYSTATION 3's 60GB one. Though, I've heard rumors from a reliable source that Sony is *considering* eventually releasing a PS3 with a 300GB hard drive. Nothing confirmed and no date on that one, except that it would be really, really expensive. Brian Ashcraft

New HDD? [TG Daily, Thanks Ron!]

I don't speak German. The difference between the umlaut and ablaut, frankly, both confuses and infuriates me. Luckily, though, Babelfish does. Sure, it's some strange computer pidgin dialect, but it gets the gyst across.

Which allows me to report that according to German site Consolewars, Gear of Wars is set to be less a 360 Exclusive than a Microsoft exclusive. According to a leaked release list from Switzerland, Gears of War is slated as an upcoming 2007 Games for Windows release.

Grain of salt, but it makes sense: the Unreal engine does already work swell on the PC. Florian Eckhardt

Gears of War erscheint auch f r den PC bork bork bork [Consolewars.de]

An apparent Nintendo "insider" who blogs under the internet moniker Kiyoshi Saruwatari claims that the Wii console runs on the open source Linux OS. This has not been confirmed or announced by Nintendo, but Saruwatari claims that Linux was used to help reduce dev costs and help run features like web browsing, video playback, file management and emulation. Apparently, the actual games won't run under Linux. He claims:

How could Nintendo cut the cost? It's very simple. Simply Wii will have software based on a industry standard platform that's open source. Linux. You read that right.

What does this mean for homebrews? Saruwatari claims the OS is "closed and will allow only signed code." Meaning it's only a matter of time before it is hacked if this rumor is not total hogwash. Saruwatari claims that Linux will lead to "a lot of third-party add-ons, much like Opera." None of this has been verified, and it very well could be a pack of dirty lies, but we'll ping Nintendo in the morning and keep you updated. Brian Ashcraft

Kiyoshi Makes Linux Claims [ArsTechnica]

At any rate, we're getting info on a game that'll be announced on November 1. So please look forward to that date, upon which you will be informed of everything. You'll find out, for example, how I got a thick layer of desert sand all over my white Old Navy shirt. Suspense!

So circle that date on your calendars, Bethesda lovers. There's all sorts of speculation that could go down, but I'm betting that the "game" being announced is an Oblivion expansion pack. Florian Eckhardt

Vegas, and Things I Can't Talk About [Game|Life]

iRiver G10 was slated to be released in Korea this past August. It didn't happen. The company has been facing financial troubles, changed management and apparently put their Wi-Bro networked G10 portable on hold. Apparently, this is indefinite as all their Wi-Bro related product development has stopped, and the new management has announced the company will be focusing primarily on mp3 players. A shame because the portable was rumored to have a touch screen, working models exist and screen shots for upcoming games look good. Brian Ashcraft

Check Out These Specs [Club iRiver, Thanks Torokun!]

For anyone who has ever had a 360 die on them — and, judging by buzz, that's just about everyone — there's an excellent new rumor going around: namely, that the 360 is going to get a processor upgrade as early next year that will hopefully make the Red Eye of Death a thing of the past.

Apparently, the upgrade will change the Xbox 360's 90-nanometer manufacturing process to a 65-nanometer manufacturing process. Yes, that's gibberish to me as well. However, this change will mean the CPUs will require both less power and will output less heat. Therefore, be less likely to spontaneously explode in the middle of Oblivion.

If this rumor is true, the only thing required to win our hearts and minds forever, Microsoft, is letting everyone trade in their old 360 for one that won't sporadically melt down.Florian Eckhardt

Xbox 360 CPU Upgrade in Q1 2007 [IGN]

During Ken Kutaragi's TGS keynote, the Sony Computer Entertainment leader stated that Mega Drive (Sega Genesis) and PC Engine (NEC TurboGrafx 16) games would be downloadable over the PS3 network. Game site WORTHPLAYING claims that Sega Japan has released a statement saying this option is still being considered and currently "under examination." The site unfortunately didn't provide any links to show where they got the info, so we've contacted Sega to see what the official word is. We'll keep you updated should we hear back. Brian Ashcraft

Update: The official word is currently a "no comment."

More Here [VGB]

Bits & Bytes & Pixels & Sprites (a website that is such a pain to type out I went ahead and created a TextExpander script for it) is rumoring that if you want to get a PS3 or Wii reserved for you on launch day, Friday is a very good day to incessantly whine to the drone with a face like a beige orange peel behind the counter.

According to B&B&P&S, a manager told him that all store managers are to find out on Friday how many units each store is getting. Shortly thereafter, they should start taking pre-orders. I'm not entirely sure if this is Texas only or nationwide — I was somewhat under the impression that pre-orders were already being taken.

Still, Texas has a few million people, and at least a couple of them probably read this site between tearing the flesh off of a BBQ-slathered sow. And if it can be extrapolated further, that might be an excellent time to start incessantly hitting the Gamestop speed-dial button. Florian Eckhardt

Potential Wii and PS3 Gamestop reserve info??? [B&B&P&S]

More Here [Xbox 360]

According to GamersReports.com, translating a Finnish website, Virtua Tennis 3 will be entirely offline. According Pelajhetti.com, Producer Mie Kumagai says that Sony hasn't delivered the necessary information about how their online network works to even code it.

It's just a rumor, of course. But Tony Hawk's Project 8 just did the same thing. Get your act together, Sony. Florian Eckhardt

Virtua Tennis 3 Drops Online Play For PS3 Version? [Gamers Reports]