Crecente got a look at Facebook on Xbox Live at Tokyo Game Show. A firmware update preparing the Xbox Live dashboard for the three services went out at the end of September.

Get Together [Xbox.com via VG247, thanks Kay]

Other contenders include Assassin's Creed at 7/2 and FIFA 10 at 4/1. Core-gamer darlings such as Tekken 6, Brütal Legend and Left 4 Dead 2 all can't do better than 40/1. Grand Turismo is 25/1 and ODST is 12/1. Sadly, Demon Tits is not listed. And in oddsmaking that plainly defines "sucker bet," Metroid: Other M, Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Alpha Protocol are all offered for wagers; none will be out before the week of Dec. 19, when Paddy will consult data at www.chart-track.co.uk and declare a winner.

Here's the field; you're welcome to offer your own proposition, too.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 11/8
Metroid: Other M 20/1
Ghostbusters: The Video Game Ghostbusters: The Video Game 50/1
Assassin's Creed II 7/2
PES 2010: Pro Evolution Soccer 25/1
Tekken 6 66/1
FIFA 10 4/1
Gran Turismo 5 25/1
Alpha Protocol 80/1
Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Winter Games 9/2
James Cameron's Avatar: The Game 25/1
Rogue Warrior 80/1
Super Mario Galaxy 2 6/1
Planet 51: The Game 33/1
Brutal Legend 100/1
Wii Fit Plus 8/1
Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues 40/1
Ratchet & Clank: A Crack In Time 100/1
HALO 3: ODST 12/1
Left 4 Dead 2 40/1
Saw: The Video Game 100/1
New Super Mario Bros Wii 14/1
Guitar Hero 5 40/1
WWE Smackdown VS Raw 2010 150/1
Metal Gear Solid: Rising 18/1
The Saboteur 50/1
Rabbids Go Home (Rayman Raving Rabbids) 150/1
Need For Speed: Shift 20/1

Modern Warfare 2 Bookie's Favourite for UK Christmas Chart-Topper

Former MTV boss Peter Einstein is behind the show, and he thinks he knows why video game shows "have failed in the past."

From what we've seen in the past a lot of the focus has been more outside of the games, with presenter reviews, stats, interviews with creators and only a bit about the games themselves – as one assumed that you only ‘play' games you can't ‘watch' them.

So, wait a sec. This means we're going to be watching people play games? Casual games? Sounds like it.

By taking the rich production values of many games today, using the story line or game objective, [production company] Ginx creates a TV production from a TV viewers point of view. We feel this concept provides a fun, entertaining TV event which is appealing mostly to the casual gamer.

Has anyone gotten a look at this yet? Is this really what's going on? Like, a documentary of one man's struggle to master Boom Blox?

Update: UK reader The A Drain says he's seen the show and files this report:

I managed to catch the first episode of this entirely by accident while browsing channels having breakfast the other day.

It's the same old drivel other shows are, but without as much talking. A 20-something girl bounces around the screen making sexual allusions for 5 minutes, then you get a 5 minute clip of a game, no commentary, simply game footage that's all.

Then you get two 'reviews' if you can call them that, in which a random dude voices over uninterrupted game footage, they reviewed both Ghostbusters (failing to mention that it's PS3 only for now in Europe, and called it multiplatform) and Red Faction Guerrilla. Essentially, they took a typical casual standpoint while doing the review, they gave no review score, avoided any and all technical aspects, and spent roughly 10 minutes saying "It's great you can smash stuff wiv a hammer!/Trap ghosts!"

Same typical uninformed drivel as other shows, except with a different girl bouncing around.

Ex-MTV Boss Targets Games TV [MVC via Joystiq]

The city is taking suggestions for names of two stretches of road, and one of the more popular ideas is Lara Croft Way. The city's marketing director thinks it's a great idea too. "Personally I would be in favor of something that projects something new and modern about the city so I quite like the Lara Croft idea," said John Forkin, the director of Marketing Derby.

And that's even considering other suggestions of a more robust tradition - Florence Nightingale Way and Rolls Royce Way, among them. Nightingale lived in the area, and Rolls Royce is a major employer.

I wouldn't be surprised to see them go with Lara Croft here. In Europe, they go for recognition in naming their public construction. As opposed to the United States, where it seems most bridges, overpasses and stretches of highway are named for some transportation commissioner, retired general or state senator no one's ever heard of.

Lara Croft is Lined Up for Derby Inner Ring Road Immortality [Derby Telegraph via Destructoid]

So, woohoo, even though this game depends on a zillion-word vocabulary and there is tons of localization to be performed - you see, "spotted dick" draws something completely different on this side of the pond - it's only gonna be a 10 day wait before Brits can pit hyenas vs. Keyboard Cat with steak stuck to his face.

Scribblenauts UK Release Date [Eurogamer via RipTen]

"Basically, I think playing games is a good thing," Watson (pictured) told the Mirror. "I'd rather my boy be playing on his Wii than passively watching telly. Most games are educational. They make you think, focus, challenge and change - 500 years ago a medium that did this would be called art."

Five centuries ago, actually, I think gamers would have been in a Spanish dungeon somewhere, but never mind. Watson says his three-year-old son learned to count on a Tele-Tubbies game, and Runequest taught another child how bronze is made.

But his games positive attitude is not on message with other government initiatives, such as one battling childhood obesity. Hey, no one's saying they're mutually exclusive (or, inclusive, I guess). Mirror, that bastion of responsible journalism, follows Mr Watson's remarks with a point-counterpoint. No one gets called an ignorant slut.

Minister Urges Children to Play More Computer Games [Mirror, thanks Dayvie]

"I hardly play any games, I'm not from that generation, but because of my job, I had to research the industry. The vast majority of my parliamentary colleagues are always wanting to ban the latest game, but they don't know the details of the industry. Few people in this country realise how important it is to the UK economy."

Instead of trivializing or dismissing something he didn't understand, he looked into it and gave it a fair evaluation. It's part of being a representative and a leader, and I wish others would practice it more — and on subjects other than video games, of course.

Foster was noting how the UK games industry had fallen to fourth place overall in world development, and backing UK publishers who need stronger education policy to deliver them trained graduates, and tax breaks to stop the drain of development to nations with lower costs of doing business. Eidos' creative director and head of acquisitions recently said that the mainstream of the UK still treats games makers as "one notch up from pornography," and the government's posture doesn't help. Not sure how effective Mr. Foster will — Liberal Democrats are the third largest party in Parliament — but at least he's showing some support.

UK MP Backs Games Industry [Edge Online via GamePolitics]

As if the British economy wasn't looking dark enough - now we face another Christmas of not-that-cheap Xboxes.

"Pricing is handled on a region-by-region basis," said a killjoy Microsoft spokesperson, "We do not have a price drop in this region to announce."

An Xbox Arcade will set you back £159.99 ($281.35) in the UK, while an Elite can be obtained on the open market in exchange for a kidney or other major organ.

Microsoft says no Xbox 360 "price drop" in the UK [Pocket Lint]

Amazon UK opened up preorders for the Nintendo Wii this morning, allowing gamers across the United Kingdom to secure one of the hottest new gaming systems around for the holidays.

For a whole 2 minutes!

While preorders were supposed to go live at 9AM GMT, a kotakuite named Juho (which is amazingly fun to say) reports that they didn't start up until 9:35, after spending the better part of a half hour endlessly refreshing the page. Then at 9:37 the preorders were all gone, having only lasted 2 minutes. It's okay Amazon UK. We understand it was your first time and you were nervous. It happens to all major online retailers.

Looking back over the past few weeks, we could have saved a lot of time by creating story templates. 'Blank' sold out of 'blank' preorders in 'blank'. It would be like Kotaku Mad Libs! Michael Fahey

Amazon.co.uk Wii Page [Thanks Juho]