Peter Jackson, auteur of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong, is reported to have signed on with Microsoft to create two interactive series for the Xbox 360 to be released in episodic format.

Shane Kim, head of Microsoft Game Studios, was on hand at the event to reveal the news, stating that Jackson's two projects are still in the very early stages of the design phase. However, he also hopes that they will set a standard for other Microsoft developers to follow, confirming that the company is backing the idea of episodic content on the Xbox 360 wholeheartedly...more click on heading

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Last year at this time, gamers were beginning to grumble about the Xbox 360. The talk wasn’t about failure rates or a lack of good games. The big question that everyone was posing was simple: Where are all the so-called “next-gen” games? Sure, there were some nice looking titles that launched with the system, but we really hadn’t seen any titles that could be called “the next big thing” in gaming. Finally, in the span of two weeks at the end of February and beginning of March, we saw the two titles that would launch the Xbox 360 into the proverbial stratosphere. The first was EA’s Fight Night Round 3, and the second was Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. Amazingly, nearly a year to the day after the release of the first GRAW (as the cool kids call it), a sequel is touching down. Naturally, this brings a new question to everyone’s minds: Are we seeing something new, or just more of the same? ....more click on heading

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It’s not been easy being a Sonic fan for the past, oh, decade or so. Ever since Sega’s super mascot made the transition to 3D (beginning with the never-released Sonic Xtreme on Saturn), it’s been one misstep after another for Sega’s mascot. Fortunately, the original Genesis gems have been re-released several times during the same time period, allowing old-school fans to stick their heads in the sand and remember why they were fans in the first place. This latest re-release is a port of the original Sonic the Hedgehog for the Nintendo Wii’s Virtual Console, and it’s still just as fun now as it was nearly 16 years ago...more click on heading

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Elevator Action (NES, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points): This is a multidirectional, scroll-type spy-action game that is a blast from the past. Control a spy and sneak alone into a building to steal the secret papers hidden there. Use a pistol, kicks, an elevator and even the lights to take out the building's guards. The gun-fighting action is full of thrills. Players will need speed and timing to get on the elevators, move between floors, steal the secret papers and escape from the basement parking lot.

Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts (Super NES, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): The third game in the legendary Ghosts 'n Goblins series of video games, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts follows Arthur in another quest to rescue the princess, his fair maiden and damsel in distress at large. Players take control of Arthur and defeat the creatures of the night to save the day once more. Discover what glory awaits those brave enough to take on the armies of Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts...more click on heading

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When firmware update 1.54 hit PS3, one of the features Sony added was: "You can now use a compatible USB camera (webcam) compliant with USB video class (UVC) for video chat."

Lo and behold, the Xbox 360 Live Vision Camera is a USB webcam, does it work with PlayStation 3? The answer is yes, says Gaming Bits. Ironically, the Xbox 360 camera works with PS3, but the 360 itself won't work with any other cam except for their own Live Vision.

Sony's got a more flexible system in this regard...more click on heading

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Shadowrun plans to do something that has never been done before; bring Xbox 360 and Windows Vista gamers together on one platform to battle it out. Pocket-lint was invited for a preview of the game in London before its official launch in the UK later in the year.

Called Shadowrun, the game is the first cross platform game available to allow gamers to complete against each other. In what it likely to be advertised as you Console gamers chance to prove the controller is better than a mouse and keyboard combo (or vice versa) the game will launch at the same time as Microsoft's new Windows for Live gaming service...more click on heading

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Designed especially for the Wii control systems MySims will bring Simeons up against Mii’s by allowing players to come up with a wide variety of toy-like Sims to their god-like whim.

Then it is off to town, well a rundown town ready for reshaping by the players Sim.  As the game unfolds Sims will meet Non Playing Characters such as Mayor Rosalyn P Marshall and the lazy Bellhop Buddy.

Sims will be given tasks within the game whilst retaining their own freedom design a MySims landscape to their own desires...more click on heading

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As Australians await next month's release of the PlayStation 3 (PS3), the makers of the game console believe the technology inside the box will remain relevant for at least a decade. Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) confirmed the Australian release date and retail price of the machine for the product.

The PS3 hits Australian shelves on March 23 at a recommended retail price of $999.95.

SCE's Australasian managing director Michael Ephraim believes the unit represents a significant leap forward for both home entertainment and hard-core gamers...more click on heading

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Microsoft Corp. will show off the Xbox 360 IPTV features at next month's Connected Home exhibition in London. The event will take place between March 5th and 7th. Ed Graczyk, Microsoft's Worldwide director of marketing, will demonstrate the service during his keynote speech titled, "The Future of Connected Entertainment".

"Separately the Xbox 360 and Microsoft TV IPTV Edition deliver unique and exciting entertainment experiences, but IPTV on Xbox 360 delivers a real value proposition for consumers, service providers and content and game developers alike," Graczyk said...more click on heading

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Wii started off the new year by outselling both PS3 and Xbox 360, according to preliminary NPD Group data. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that not only did Nintendo Wii dominate the month of January, but rivals PS3 and Xbox 360 couldn't even outsell PlayStation 2.

Nintendo's next-gen console sold 436,000 units to start the year off with a bang. Coming in at number two is Sony's PS2, which didn't quite make the 300K mark with 299,000 consoles...more click on heading

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Wii reigned supreme in terms of sales for the month of January, according to the latest report by Bloomberg. Nintendo's console was on top with 436,000 units sold the first month of the year, followed by Xbox 360 with sales of 294,000 consoles and PlayStation 3 with 244,000...more click on heading

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The latest Xbox 360 charts have been released, and who's not lured in by a good top 10? Even if the moving and shaking at the top is kept to a bare minimum.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles (UU’s)
1 Gears of War
2 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas
3 Call Of Duty 3 ...more click on heading

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We all know the story about the 360 in Japan, but in North America the 360 is "a powerful enemy" for the PS3, which could ultimately lead Sony's game business to continue to lose money in the next fiscal year.

The folks at popular gaming blog Kotaku got their hands on a translation of an interesting article from the Weekly Toyo Keizai that details the PlayStation 3's hurdles. Rather than being Japan-centric, the piece takes a hard look at the North American marketplace, where Microsoft's Xbox 360 is currently leading with over 10 million consoles sold...more click on heading

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Getting ready for the launch of the PlayStation 3 (PS3) console in Europe, retailers are reporting overwhelming demand and huge numbers of pre-orders in comparison to other consoles. Play.com is taking six times more pre-orders for the PS3 than for the Xbox 360, and 15 times more than Nintendo's Wii console. Play is offering a PS3 bundle including MotorStorm, Resistance: Fall of Man and Genji for £524.99...more click on heading 

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While rumors of a new Star Wars title spread a few weeks back, LucasArts officially announced Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will be coming this November to the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP and Nintendo DS.

The Force Unleashed is set in the movie void between ‘Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith’ and ‘Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope’. There you’ll play as Darth Vader’s “Secret Apprentice” with your own force powers: force push, grip, repulse and lightning...more click on heading

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