For $79.99 the "limited run" version of Ubisoft Montreal's stealth action game—still due February 23 in North America—packs in the requisite art book, "collectible" decals, an embossed Steelbook DVD case, one Splinter Cell comic book and a pair of in-game items.

Also included is a USB drive "loaded to the max" with collectors edition exclusive content. On top of that, you'll get a game disc and manual. Those two alone are worth $59.99 at least!

For the full description, straight from Ubi, read on. It's all them from here on out.

CUSTOM USB DRIVE - This credit card–sized 3rd Echelon USB drive can stealthily fit in your wallet, is compatible with Xbox 360, and is loaded to the max with exclusive content you won't find anywhere else, including:
• Full-length 'Making of Splinter Cell Conviction' video
• Wallpaper
• Concept art
• Renders
• Screenshots
• Storyboards
• And more…

"FIFTH FREEDOM: THE ART OF SPLINTER CELL" BOOK
• Relive the best of Splinter Cell from past to present. This comprehensive hard-bound art book by Prima(TM) includes detailed art from the original Splinter Cell, Pandora Tomorrow, Chaos Theory, Double Agent, and Conviction, as well as in-depth commentary and notes from the developers.

TWO EXCLUSIVE IN-GAME CONTENT ITEMS
• Gain first access to the MP5-SD3, a lethal close-quarters submachine gun with an integrated suppressor.
• Customize your multiplayer character with an exclusive 3rd Echelon outfit.

COLLECTIBLE DECALS - Available only in the Collector's Edition are two unique Xbox 360 decal stickers.
• 3rd Echelon Logo Decal
• Iconic Bullet Hole Decal

"DIGGING IN THE ASHES" COMIC BOOK
• Watch the sequence of events preceding Splinter Cell Conviction unfold before your eyes in this one of a kind digital Splinter Cell comic book.

STEELBOOK DVD CASE
• Premium embossed metallic steel case packaging with iconic imagery.

In an interview with Kikizo, Ubisoft's Steven Masters has completely gone against previous Ubisoft comments on the matter and been refreshingly frank, saying the real reason the game won't be appearing on Sony's console has nothing to do with his development team, and everything to do with the suits upstairs:

Ubisoft as a company now has a lot of experience with PS3. Our processes, tools, techniques are very well-developed - we could absolutely execute on the PS3 if we had the opportunity, but like I said it was a business decision.

A "link of heart" my arse. You know, in five year's time, I'd love to see just how much Microsoft spent on securing all these "exclusives".

Interview: Splinter Cell: Conviction [Kikizo]

It's certainly a different take on a gaming staple, and makes a refreshing change from the standard talking heads or bullet points. But while it looks OK in Splinter Cell: Conviction, what if the concept had been implemented in some older titles?

[8-bit Conviction @ Flickr, via GameSetWatch]

While at E3, Ubisoft's Maxime Bernard's told Official Xbox 360 Magazine in a recently published article: "He [Spielberg] had an entourage... and he said to his friend 'it gives us a lot of ideas, it's very inspiring.' I was thinking, like, wow. If we made a game that inspires Spielberg then [censored], we're doing something good here."

That censored word is going to bug me all day. What ever could it be?

Ubisoft: Spielberg inspired by Splinter Cell [OXM via VG247] [Pic]

In honor of Father's Day, we celebrate dads in video games: from the good to the bad to the "Luke, I am your father kind," that don't fulfill any fatherly duties beyond lopping off a limb. Join us now in separating the Bill Cosbys from the Darth Vaders.

Fathers in… Role-Playing Games
Much like mothers, fathers in role-playing games often are killed early in order to inspire the hero to leave home and avenge dear daddy (and mommy) and the rest of their destroyed village. However, there are some dads who stick around. When they do, they're usually playable support characters their son or daughter's active fighting party, or they show up in flashbacks and hallucinations to offer pep talks and parental criticism. Here are a few of these fatherly figures:

Jecht, Final Fantasy X – Father of Tidus: He's an alcoholic all-star blitzball player who insults his son to toughen him up. Instead, he winds up alienating him. Only after son and father find out they're dead do they make up with a manly high-five.

Kaim, Lost Odyssey – Father of Liram: Kaim believes his daughter is dead, but when he rediscovers her as an old, sick woman, he gets around to some parental duties like making funeral arrangements and babysitting the grandkids.

Pankraz, Dragon Quest V – Father of The Hero: Pankraz travels the world with his son and eventually sacrifices himself to save The Hero from monsters. Alas, he can't save his son from being sold into slavery from beyond the grave.

Walter, Suikoden Tactics – Father of Kyril: Walter goes into exile to protect his lover and bastard son but decides to keep Mommy's identity a secret. He gets turned into a fish monster and attacks Kyril before another party member puts him out of his misery.

James, Fallout 3 – Father of You: Daddy dearest ditches you in Vault 101 and goes to find a cure for irradiated water. When you finally catch up with him, he sends you on a deadly quest and then bites it in the name of science. And, uh, saving you – that too.

Uriel Septim VII, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion – Father of Martin: Had several legitimate sons to stock the throne with heirs, but wisely kept a child out of wedlock just in case a Daedra Lord killed all of his other kids. Instead of fostering the boy to a vassal or something noble, Septim stuck Martin in the church to keep him out of trouble.

Best Dad… Pankraz, because, while he couldn't keep his son from being sold into slavery, he didn't hesitate to take on a horde of monsters to save him.

Worst Dad… Uriel Septim VII, because, really, it was bad enough for Martin to be born a bastard – even worse to have Daedra Lords come after you because of some dude you've never even met. Thanks for nothing, Dad!

Fathers in… Fighting Games
Fighting games have a high volume of fathers. Apparently, popping out a few kids is the thing to do after winning world martial arts tournaments. But no father in any fighting game seems to have thought the decision to become a father and a world martial arts champion at the same time all the way through: Either you're abandoning the kid at a young age so they invariably follow in your footsteps just to find you. Or – worse – you actively train them in your fighting style so they can grow up, follow in your footsteps and then kick your ass.

Raphael Sorel, Soulcalibur series – Foster father of Amy: Raphael got kicked out of his own family for killing some crazy noble and found the orphaned Amy wandering the streets of some French town. He took her in, raised her, trained her and went completely crazy trying to create a perfect world for her.

Frederick Schtauffen, Soulcalibur series – Father of Siegfried: Frederick left his infant son to go fight in the Crusades. While he was gone, Siegfried fell in with a bad crowd and wound up beheading his own father in a misguided act of patriotism.

Seong Han-myeong, Soulcalibur series – Father of Mi-na and wannabe foster father to Hwang: Teaches both children how to kick some serious ass, but winds up favoring Hwang with family heirlooms. When Hwang refuses Han-myeong's offer to adopt him, he tries to marry Mi-na to Hwang. Mi-na runs away.

Cervantes de Leon, Soulcalibur series – Father of Ivy: Somehow fathered the hottest thing in the Soul series and then tried to devour her when she comes looking for his sword, Soul Edge.

Heihachi Mishima, Tekken series – Father of Kazuya: Throws his son off a cliff to toughed him up, throws him down a volcano out of spite and basically does nothing but try to destroy his son for the entire Tekken series.

Kazuya Mishima, Tekken series – Father of Jin: He may not have thrown his son off any cliffs, but Kazuya's revenge aspiration against his own father eventually turns his son against him. Also, it turns his son into a flying demon thing.

Marshall Law, Tekken series – Father of Forest: Law sees more of the insides of restaurants than he does of his own son, but he stops at nothing to pay the hospital bills when Forest wrecks his motorcycle.

Lau Chan, Virua Fighter – Father of Pai: Abandons his daughter to fight in the World Fighting Tournament and has the nerve to act surprised when she devotes her martial arts career to kicking his ass.

Bass Armstrong, Dead or Alive series – Father of Tina: Two words sum up his entire parenting technique– over and protective.

Fame Douglas, Dead or Alive series – Father of Helena: Fame knocks up a world-famous opera singer and then doesn't marry her; but he does leave his daughter his effed up company, DOATEC, after being assassinated. Thanks, Daddy!

Raidou, Dead or Alive series – Father of Ayane: Raped her mother. ‘Nuff said.

Dhalsim, Street Fighter – Father of Datta: Dhalsim serves as a father to his entire village by entering the World Warrior tournament to raise money for them.

Best Dad… Bass, because he loves his daughter too much to let her dress like a slut – unlike Cervantes.

Worst Dad… Heihachi, because he throws his son off a cliff and into a volcano; and he imprisons his grandson. Somebody call Child Protective Services!

Fathers in… Action Adventure and Survival Horror Games
It's hard to feel warm and fuzzy about fathers in these types of games because they're almost always an antagonist. Even the well-meaning Dads who just want to protect their offspring usually wind up doing the opposite by turning evil, letting work consume them or by losing the family farm to a rival rancher. But, even if they're real jerks, they're still fathers and they deserve their due on this day.

Joe Hayabusa, Ninja Gaiden – Father of Ryu: Leads an entire ninja clan and raises a badass ninja son.

William Birkin, Resident Evil 2 – Father of Sherry: The guy's got no time for parenting – he's so married to his work he becomes the last boss.

Mr. Burnside, Resident Evil: Code Veronica – Father of Steve: Not only did he raise his son to be a whiny loser, but Mr. Burnside also thought it'd be a great idea to steal from the Umbrella Corporation, thus getting his wife shot full of holes and landing him and his son on a zombie-infested prison camp island. Great going, old man.

Harry Mason, Silent Hill and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories – Adoptive father of Cheryl and possibly Alessa, depending on which ending you get: Harry probably shouldn't have picked up a strange child on the side of the road, but damned if he doesn't do his best to hang onto her – even when the monsters start showing up to kill him.

King Zora XVI, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – Father of Princess Ruto: He loves his daughter, but is too fat and lazy to go save her when she goes missing inside a giant fish monster.

Talon, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – Father of Malon: Talon is a narcoleptic rancher who makes a good living for himself and his daughter on Lon Lon Ranch; but unfortunately, he has poor taste in employees. Pro tip: don't hire somebody with the hots for your daughter.

Deku King, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask – Father of Deku Princess: Overprotective doesn't quite sum it up – this is a guy who tortures small animals when his child goes missing instead of looking for her himself.

Bowser, Super Mario Bros. series – Father of Bowser Jr. and seven other Koopalings: He lets his kids run wild with pirate ships and magic zappy wands. Not exactly parent of the year material.

Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong series – Father of Donkey Kong Jr.: He'd rather hang out with his nephew, Diddy Kong, than his own son. What does that say about his fatherly reputation?

Kratos, God of War series – Father of Calliope: He's away from home a lot, fighting wars and when he does come back, he kills his kid in a God-induced rage. She goes to heaven and he tries to visit, but that would kind of break the world, so he leaves her be.

Kento Marek, The Force Unleashed – Father of Galen, aka Starkiller, aka Vader's Secret Apprentice: He escapes the Jedi purges with his wife and young son and hides out on Kashyyyk. Vader shows up, kills him and takes his son to train/raise.

Dr. Light, Mega Man series – Father of Mega Man: Okay, so he didn't provide Mega Man chromosomes; but Dr. Light built him and raised him. So he's like both father and mother to Mega Man.

Nate Harlow, Red Dead Revolver – Father of Red: If nothing else, the old man sure taught his son to shoot.

King of All Cosmos, Katamari Damacy – Father of The Prince: His binge drinking wiped out the world, and he sent his son to clean up the mess. What a role model.

The Mourning King, Prince of Persia – Father of Elika: He makes a deal with the dark god Ahriman to resurrect his daughter, sends his men to capture her and then unleashes pure evil by destroying the Tree of Life.

Best Dad… Harry Mason, because he could have adopted some other orphan, but no – he went through Silent Hill for his Cheryl. That's a dad who cares.

Worst Dad… Steve Burnside's dad, because, while Kratos might've killed his kid, too, at least his daughter went to heaven instead of a zombie-infested prison camp island.

Fathers in… Shooters
Dads are the stars of shooters. Even if they're not the main character, they very often drive the plot even from beyond the grave. This is probably because a lot of cultures have a manly mythos of the son surpassing the father and it's bled right into the manliest of video games. Even with all that testosterone, there's room for really great dads. And some really awful ones, too.

Eli Vance, Half-Life series – Father of Alyx: Eli lived the simple life of a scientist at Black Mesa Research Facility with his wife and young daughter. Then things explode as they often do in the profession and his wife dies. He eventually falls in love with another woman, but to his dying day, he never stops loving his daughter.

James McCloud, Star Fox series – Father of Fox: Clearly James did something right in parenting Fox; he inspired such filial piety that his son hallucinates him during boss fights.

Andrew Ryan, BioShock – Father of Jack: Andrew had Jack out of wedlock with stripper/dancer Jasmine Jolene and didn't get to spend any time parenting him. Mommy Dearest sold the embryo off to Andrew's enemy. Ryan Sr. might make a big fuss about a man choosing; but, the truth is, you can't choose your children.

Big Daddies, BioShock series – Father of Little Sisters: Big Daddies have no blood relation to Little Sisters and probably no soul, either. But they do what all good daddies do: protect the bejesus out of their babies with power tools.

Roy Campbell, Metal Gear Solid series – Father of Meryl: He lies to his daughter and says he's her uncle for most of her life, but then relents and calls her his "pride and joy" at the most inopportune moment. Later, he gives her away at her wedding.

Jack Raiden, Metal Gear Solid series – Father of Rose's son: To his credit, Raiden probably would have been a great dad if his wife had lied and said she miscarried the baby. But, since she did lie and tell him that, he let himself be turned into a high-tech version of a Ken doll and now his son is really going to have daddy issues despite his parents getting back together.

Big Boss, Metal Gear Solid series – Father of Liquid and Solid Snake: Daddy must be so proud of his clone sons. One of them is a chain smoker with a terminal illness and the other one keeps trying to bring about a nuclear holocaust. He probably should have spent more time raising them instead of trying to kill one or both of them.

Adam Fenix, Gears of War series – Father of Marcus: Supposedly he's some kind of genius and like James McCloud he must've done something awesome to inspire filial piety that borders on insanity. His son winds up in prison for abandoning his post to save Fenix Sr. during an alien invasion.

Sam Fisher, Splinter Cell series – Father of Sarah: Sam is so devastated by his daughter's death he spends an entire game avenging her. Drunk drivers and assassins beware a bereaved father, especially one who's a secret agent.

Best Dad… Eli Vance, because he loves his baby girl without smothering her independent spirit.

Worst Dad… Big Boss, because one lousy man-hug does not make up for the sheer number of times he tried to kill his son.

(Dis)Honorable Mentions
Shinnok, Mortal Kombat – He's only Raiden and Shao Kahn's dad in that awful movie, Annihilation, so he doesn't count as a video game dad.
Homer Simpson, Don Corleone, Darth Vader – They've all got a presence in video games, sure, but their status as good or bad fathers comes from the shows and films they're from, not from the games they appear in.
Dr. Tenma, Astro Boy – Father of Astro Boy and Tobio: Like a lot of Dads, Tenma was married to his work until the day his nine-year-old son Tobio died in a car accident. Then, he turned his work into his son, created Astro Boy as the son that would never die. Unfortunately, he wouldn't age, either – so Tenma sold him to a robot salesman.
You, Fable II, The Sims games and Harvest Moon games - Just as with moms, even if you play as an upstanding paragon of parental vigilance as a dad, you're going to be guilty of neglect at least half of the time.

That does it for dads this year. Think we missed somebody important? Drop a line in the comments. And don't forget to call your dad on Father's Day!

And that's because the game isn't slated to appear on the PS3. Just the 360 and PC. Seems strange in this day and age for a major third party like Ubisoft to release a console-exclusive title. So we'd better let them explain themselves:

Splinter Cell conviction is a true Microsoft exclusive title and there are no plans to have Splinter Cell Conviction on other platforms. There are several reasons behind this choice. First of all, Splinter Cell games are historically linked with Microsoft platforms. The first Splinter Cell on the original Xbox was one of the first games to fully exploit the console's technical possibilities. At that time, Microsoft really believed in the game potential and provided strong support to promote it. So, there is a "link of heart" between the franchise and the platform. Some games are like this (think of Final Fantasy for instance). The second reason behind this choice is purely linked to production. Having a single target platform means that we can optimize the game even further, because we only have one type of - console - hardware to support.

Interesting. A "link of heart" between a game and a system. Like Final Fantasy. Fat lot of good that "link of heart" did for Final Fantasy XIII.

Regardless of those kind words, don't be surprised to see the game appear on the PS3 somewhere down the line, even if, at E3, we were told by Ubisoft that the dev team didn't even have a PS3 dev kit. After all, these days, "no plans" usually just means "not yet".

Q&A [Splinter Cell, via VG247]

The snippet of footage leaked from Ubisoft's press site over the weekend shows Sam with a haircut that's a little more...age-appropriate. I liked his floppy do, gave the hard man a much-needed air of "lattes on a Parisian side-street with a beautiful, complicated stranger", but I don't work in marketing.

Marketing people do. And it looks like the mis-labelled "emo" backlash has put Ubisoft off, resulting in the leaner, meaner style Fisher sports today. Fans of the shaggy Sam will have to hope he adopts the style at a different point of the game.

AC2 is up thar; SCC is down thar. These don't feature gameplay, QT events only. We're assuming these are meant to be played sometime at E3. Thanks to chillchillin and Byvar for the discoveries.

Highlights on the list include Q3 (November 2009 to December2009) releases for Assassin's Creed 2, which Ubi prez Yves Guillemot says will cost 20 percent more than the original and be a much bigger game; the long-delayed Splinter Cell: Conviction; the MotionPlus-only Red Steel 2; Wii-exclusive Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage and Rabbids Go Home.

Announced for early 2010 (Q4 ranging from January 2010 to March 2010) are strategy title R.U.S.E., survival game I Am Alive and a new Ghost Recon.

Notably absent from the list is the previously-teased Beyond Good & Evil 2.

There's nothing much to the site - teaser websites are like that - but popping up now, only a few weeks before E3, signals a return to the public eye for the game, which was rumoured to have been in development hell before Ubisoft promised it would be out by the end of the year.

Let's hope that, after a couple of years out of the limelight, he's still got that lovely beard.

[Third Echelon Alert, via 1UP]

The actor was dining at the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai when militants opened fire. Rudder was hit by three bullets and rushed to hospital where he successfully underwent surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.

In a CBC News report, Rudder recounted the tragedy: "I found myself in a Bruce Willis Die Hard moment, where my arm — had a lovely white shirt on — and it just exploded into red. And, while I was taking that in, I got a bullet in my leg. So I quickly got myself on the floor to get a bullet in the butt as I was going down — and then another bullet, still another bullet grazed my head. So I just laid there in utter shock."

The actor played dead. That is, until the gunmen threw grenades, which filled the room with fire and smoke. Instead of laying there and suffocating to death, Rudder knew he had to make a run for it. "If I would've sat there and said, 'Oh, I don't feel well, I don’t think I’ll get up from the floor and watch the smoke come in and suffocate me,' I think I would've been kind of an idiot." How did he find his way out? "To tell you the truth, I followed the bloodstains," Rudder said.

Read the full story below.

Montreal actor uses film knowledge to escape Mumbai bloodbath [CBC Thanks, Junky!]

The actor was dining at the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai when militants opened fire. Rudder was hit by three bullets and rushed to hospital where he successfully underwent surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.

You may recognise Rudder's voice from such games as Far Cry Instincts, Prince Of Persia: The Warrior Within (he played the Dark Prince), Jagged Alliance and - somewhat ironically - terrorist-slaying black ops game Splinter Cell.

[UPDATE: to clarify, Michael Rudder did NOT play Sam Fisher in Splinter Cell - that was Michael Ironside, who to our knowledge has never been shot by terrorists of any kind. Rudder provided other voice work for the game.]

Canadian actor recovering in Mumbai after being shot [CBC]

And that's just the start. Eventually - tech and public interest allowing - the Endwar "universe" would act as the overarching Clancy universe, within which the storylines of each new Rainbow Six, Splinter Cell and HAWX missions would be played out, ultimately leading to the direct linking of each game's campaigns.

Like I said, it's pie-in-the-sky stuff. Details are thin. But hey, even if you can't stand the thought of a Clancy-branded Katamari sweeping the globe rolling up piles of cash money, you have to admit, it's a pretty neat idea.

Ubisoft to merge Tom Clancy range into Super Game [Gameplayer]

While Easton toes the company line that Conviction's "gameplay has evolved," don't expect it to look much different. He tells VG247 that "the visual direction is simply much better than what you’ve seen." Hopefully that means a higher whisker-count in Sam's gloriously rendered beard.

Splinter Cell: Conviction’s new “visual direction is simply much better” [VG247]

Signs at Ubidays seemed to suggest that the game was undergoing a reworking, though Ubisoft's reps were specifically vague on details. We also heard that a "way too egotistical" Michael Ironside would no longer be returning as the voice of Sam Fisher.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot elaborated a bit during the company's call to investors:

"We can give him a little bit more time to make sure it can become a huge product," Guillemot said.

Later, he added, "The way we build our [fiscal guidance] plan is always in having a certain number of products... that will not be automatically in the year. It was one of the products that was in what we call the 'risky products'... it's one product that is now leaving to another year, but it doesn't change our plans."

Guillemot defined "risky" as a title for which the company expected high returns, but for which research and development costs are also higher than with other titles.

He was getting to way too egotistical about the project and extremely difficult to work with...He was also asking for a shit load of money... He pretty much tied his own noose.

Granted, this is still unconfirmed and Ubisoft apparently hasn't offered an official comment on this rumor. US? We're on the fence: Ironside is the voice of one of Ubisoft's biggest franchises, which is why it's hard to believe they'd let him get away. (That would be a total buzz kill for Conviction!) Then again, because he is so important, maybe he's become "difficult." Watch out, though, Ubisoft. Piss off Ironside and he'll totally scan you. KA-BOOM!

Ironside's Ego Demands [Sarcastic Gamer Thanks, Drew!]

There are lots of rumours flying around right now about Conviction's development status and we can tell you that the gameplay has evolved, similar to what happens in every game's development process, and you won't be disappointed.

Critics should note they mention the evolution of Sam Fisher's gameplay, not his hairstyle.

A letter from the devteam [Splinter Cell Conviction, via CVG]

According to GI.biz, these are the total lifetime numbers sold as of this month:

Rayman: 22 million

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: 20 million

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: 19 million

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: 16 million

Driver: 14 million

Petz: 13 million

Prince of Persia: 11 million

The Settlers: 7 million

Assassin’s Creed: 6 million

Brothers in Arms: 5 million

Imagine: 4 million

Far Cry: 4 million

Red Steel: 1 million

Tom Clancy series tops 55 million units sold [GI.biz]

computer-savvy, technologically able, quick thinking...We find increasingly we have to use less conventional means of attracting people . . . to go beyond glossy brochures and milk-round stalls.

Why video gamers make the best spies [timesonline] Thanks Ad!