Harmonix still commited to Rock Band franchise

The Guitar Hero franchise is no more and Harmonix was sold off for the paltry price of a new retail game, but the developer is reassuring fans of the Rock Band franchise that it's still alive and kicking. Speaking to Industry Gamers, Greg LoPiccolo said there's more Rockband to come with a big announcement at this years E3. "We think there's a lot of life left in the Rock Band franchise and there's a lot of creative directions to take that."

Whether the announcement is Rock Band related remains to be seen, but with music game sales falling flat recently, Harmonix really need to step up their game to bring back the audience that is pretty much tired of the plastic instrument music games.

Nintendo not giving up on the Wii

Wii owners are quite unhappy with the confirmation of the Wii 2 being shown by Nintendo at this years E3. The lack of first party titles scheduled for release on the Wii for the first quarter of 2011 hasn't helped this growing sentiment. Now many Wii owners feel the system has been abandoned. However Satoru Iwata claimed otherwise at a Japanese investor meeting, with apparently a bunch of titles coming out for the Wii later this year.

"We have not released any new Nintendo software titles for Wii, except for The Last Story (Japanese Title) in January, partly because we have focused on the launch of Nintendo 3DS since the beginning of this year. Therefore, some in Japan seem to have the misunderstanding that Nintendo has given up making efforts on Wii. We are actually ready to release new Wii software titles every month from May to the end of this year."

Duke Nukem Forever gameplay trailer

It's time to kick ass and chew bubble gum all over again. Itching for more Duke Nukem Forever? Well, here's over ten minutes of gameplay footage in all its uncensored glory. Topless women and more Duke shenanigans feature in this new trailer. It'll no doubt stir up more outrage from women's groups who are already petitioning for the game to be banned.

More publicity is no doubt what Gearbox is aiming for. Check out the trailer below and get your copy on June 14th in North America and June 10 in other regions.

Wii 2 to launch with GTAV?

Notice the drought of Wii games for 2011? That's because of the expected revelation of the Wii 2 at this years E3. Rumor has it the new console will attempt to capture more of the hardcore market and will be equal or exceed the power of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, sport 1080p capability, backwards compatibly with Wii software and have 6" LCD touch screens on the controllers.

Other rumors claim that Nintendo sent a Wii 2 development kit to Rockstar with the intent of GTAV being a launch title on the system. GTAV is expected to be released in 2012.

Sony's 2011 E3 conference dated

It's not too long now until E3 2011 begins once again and Sony has just revealed when they will be holding their official conference during the event. The largest gaming expo in the world will run from June 7-9 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in California and Sony is scheduled to present on June 6 at 5pm PST. Make sure not to miss it via the live feed or the downloadable versions.

Disgaea 4 to be released in September

It's been out in Japan for a while, but NIS has confirmed that Disgaea 4 is finally heading to North America in September. Europe will see the game sometime this fall.

The latest iteration of the tactical RPG series will contain a new class (Professor) and remove gender class differences. You'll also be able to share user generated content over PSN, such as maps, senators and character data.

Sequel to Sniper Elite Revealed

The sequel to 2005's Sniper Elite, which put you in the role of a sniper during the final days of World War II has now been confirmed. Titled Sniper Elite V2, developer Rebellion has teamed up with 505 Games in hopes to improve on the existing formula and have greater success in the process. The game will once again be set during World War II.

Sniper Elite V2 is still a ways off, with the game scheduled to be released in 2012 for the current consoles.

New Burnout title revealed?

Criterion put the Burnout series on hold to give the studio time to work on the Need for Speed reboot (Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit). In the meantime there hasn't been a new title in the series since Burnout Paradise, which was released in 2008. A listing on the Australian Classification Board for a Burnout title hints at a new multiplatform release known as Burnout Crash.

Burnout Crash is likely to be in development for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 and will hopefully be officially revealed soon. If the game is being rated already, it;s possible that the game is a downloadable title and not a full sequel to Burnout Paradise.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City revealed with trailer

Capcom has made a rather surprising announcement about the next game in the Resident Evil franchise. Intended to be released sometime near the end of the year, the new title, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City will be developed by Slant Six games for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. The developer is known for the mediocre online only game, Socom Confrontation on PS3 Fans and critics alike cited major issues with the titles and it was patched multiple times only to break something new with each fix. Why Capcom chose the studio for the development of one of their biggest franchises is anyone's guess.

The latest iteration in the franchise will take a whole new direction, with four player co-op multiplayer modes in third person and likely takes inspiration from the Left 4 Dead games. Story wise, the game will provide a reinterpretation of the events in Resident Evil 2 and 3. See the teaser trailer below:

Duke Nukem Forever delayed once again

In a move that will have many skeptics rolling their eyes while muttering "I told you so", Gearbox has announced a delay to Duke Nukem Forever. However the game is still on track and the delay is short with just an extra month added to the wait. According to Gearbox head Randy Pitchford, Gearbox didn't want to rush the final polishing process even though they could  have made the May release date if they were forced to do so.

Duke Nukem Forever will now be released on June 14 in North America and June 10 in other regions. You'll be able to get it for either PS3, PC or Xbox 360.

Homefront sales high despite lackluster reviews

While short, the single player campaign in THQ's Homefront is good fun, even if it is just another modern warfare clone. The game has received mediocre reviews, but this hasn't stopped copies flying off the shelves. In fact, the game servers are having trouble coping with the amount of players logging on to play the game with 375,000 copies being sold on launch day alone.

After almost a week out on the shelves, Homefront is on its way to reach a million units with 850,000 copies, with around 60% being for Xbox 360 alone. The rest being made up of the PC and PS3 version.

Mortal Kombat not coming to Australia

The decision is now final. Mortal Kombat will not be seeing the light of day in Australia. Warner Bros. submitted an identical copy of the game to the classification board for appeal and stated that the game is no more violent than anything else on the market. The appeal for the game to be classified was denied and the Refused Classification status still stands. Now the only way for Australians to play the game is to import a copy.

An official statement from Warner Bros. stated the following: "We're obviously extremely disappointed that the refused classification decision has been upheld by the Classification Review Board. We want to thank the thousands of Mortal Kombat fans in Australia and around the world who have voiced their support during the appeal process."

Diablo III Heading to Consoles

Blizzard hasn't confirmed the matter via a press release or interview, but it's safe to say that Diablo III is indeed heading to consoles and will likely be available for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. In the job listing section on the Blizzard website, the company is looking for people to work on the console version of the game.

The original Diablo was released for consoles, but the sequel was left as a PC exclusive. Blizzard has previously stated that they were seriously considering porting Diablo III to consoles and it now looks to be the case.

THQ's inSANE to be a Trilogy if Successful

You may have heard of the upcoming THQ game known as inSANE, which is being masterminded by movie director Guillermo del Toro. Promising to strike the perfect balance between a video game and Hollywood, inSANE is also planned to be a trilogy if the initial game is successful.

Before becoming too excited though, there's a long wait ahead with the first game expected to be released in 2013, while the whole trilogy expected to be completed in 8 to 10 years. With such a long timespan, it's likely the first game will be released on the current generation of consoles (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) and the sequels would follow on the next generation hardware.

Serious Sam 3 to be Released in Summer

It's been a longtime coming, but Croteam has revealed that Serious Sam 3 is on track to be released later this summer for both consoles and PC. The arcade-style shooter gameplay which the series is know for will return with plenty of new features to boot!

Serious Sam 3: BFE will take place in 22nd century Egypt. The last struggle against Mental's invasion of beasts, creatures and mercenaries and serves as a prequel to Serious Sam: The First Encounter. Expect new enemies, new weapons and plenty more mayhem.

Mortal Kombat Banned in Australia

In a surprising announcement, Mortal Kombat publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Australia revealed that the game has been banned from being sold in Australia by the Australian Board. Main issues of concern were the numerous fatalities which were deemed unacceptable for being too violent.

Warner Bros. is very disappointed with the decision and currently has no plans to cut any content. What happens next is yet to be decided. Gamers need not despair however, the game can of course be pre-ordered at Play-Asia without waiting for this problem to be resolved.

Operation Flashpoint: Red River - New Trailer & Release Date

Known for its emphasis on realism, the Operation Flashpoint series of games play very differently to the mainstream war shooters such as Call of Duty and Medal of Honor. Codemasters plans yet again to deliver an authentic military experience with their latest iteration in the franchise, Red River. You'll play as one member of the U.S. Marine Corps fire team. Together with three other members, you'll engage in firefights throughout Tajikistan.

Built for co-op play, players will be able to join games and jump into the action at any time to replace fellow AI players. Red River will be released on the 21st of April in Europe and on the 26th in the US for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. See the new trailer below:

Bizarre Creations Gets Shut Down

After Activision recommended Bizarre Creation be shut down one month ago, it has now come into fruition. The studio will be closed at the end of this week after being in financial trouble for a long period, mainly to do with the commercial flop of racing game Blur. Activision sought to sell the studio, but no buyers were forthcoming.

Having created the Project Gotham Series and Formula 1 back on the original PlayStation, it's quite sad to see the studio go. It seems unlikely that any of the franchises will be picked up by another publisher.

Activision Pulls the Plug on Guitar Hero Franchise & True Crime

In a surprise move, Activision have given the Guitar Hero Franchise and the upcoming True Crime: Hong Kong title the thumbs down and brought them to an early grave. That's right, Guitar Hero is no more.

Activision said that sales of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock was a major reason for ending the franchise. The last iteration of Guitar Hero not only received poor critical response, but also failed to move units. Apparently gamers have grown tired of the whole Guitar music games genre in general, with Rock Band creators Harmonix having been recently sold off to Viacom.

"Due to continued declines in the music genre, the company will disband Activision Publishing's Guitar Hero business unit and discontinue development on its Guitar Hero game for 2011. The company also will stop development on True Crime: Hong Kong. These decisions are based on the desire to focus on the greatest opportunities that the company currently has to create the world's best interactive entertainment experiences."

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Trailer Released

Namco Bandai are bringing a new Ace Combat to the PS3 and Xbox 360 this year. Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is being dubbed the rebirth of the series and the publisher hopes to reignite sales in the latest edition of the franchise. Check out the video below:

NGP Revealed as the Successor to the PSP

Sony finally unveiled the successor to the PSP in Tokyo at the PlayStation event. Known by its working name as "NGP", the Next Generation Portable features the latest cutting edge technology to create the most powerful handheld device ever made. Featuring a 5" OLED screen, dual analog sticks, a quad-core ARM Cortex processor and Power VR graphics processing unit, the NGP is according to Epic Games, four times more powerful than anything else on the market and boasts PlayStation 3 quality graphics.

The NGP also contains front and rear cameras and touch pads, as well as 3G connectivity, three motion sensors, gyroscope, accelerometer and electronic compass and a microphone. UMD game discs are now replaced in favor of flash memory cards with even higher capacities and faster loading times than the 1.8GB UMD format. All this comes with a question of how much will it cost and how good is the battery life? So far all we know is that it won't cost $599. A few games were shown with the graphics impressing everyone in attendence. Check out the conference below:

L.A. Noire Release Date Leaked

Rockstar was pretty unhappy when a new trailer of L.A. Noire was leaked onto YouTube and revealed the  release date of the game as May 17th for the US. Quick action resulted in the trailer being taken down quickly before most people had a chance to view it. However, the release date is now confirmed. Europe will see the game three days later.

While the game isn't even available yet, many assume Rockstar will once again create another AAA title with L.A. Noire. After four years of development and various delays, Team Bondi and Rockstar have had a good amount of time to polish the title to the high standards set before by the studio.

Mortal Kombat Release Date Unveiled

The ninth entry in the Mortal Kombat series is a reboot set to bring the game back to its roots and please fans and newcomers alike. Returning once again to 2D fighting, the game follows in the footsteps of Street Fighter IV and aims to garner the same success. Initial trailers have been very promising and Warner Bros. has finally revealed the release date and cover art.

The impressive looking reboot will be available for purchase on April 18 in the UK and the following day in the US. Mark it on your Kalender.

Yakuza 4 Release Date & New Trailer Released

Yakuza 4 may have been released as far back as March 2010 in Japan, but the rest of us will be happy to know that Sega has finally announced the release dates for North America and Europe. Not only that, we also have a brand new trailer to enjoy!

Check out the  trailer and get ready for the release of the game on March 15 in North America and March 18 in Europe. The Europe release date being exactly one year since the game was released in Japan.

Boxart & Release Date for MotorStorm Apocalypse Revealed

MotorStorm Apocalypse has been official given a release date. Apart from driving through the post-apocalyptic terrain, you'll also be able to experience it in earth-shattering 3D, if you have a compatible TV set and glasses of course. Europe and North America are receiving two different box art covers and  both look great. The image to the right belongs to the European box art.

MotorStorm Apocalypse is the third game in the series and set to be released on April 12, 2011 for the PS3. If you pre-order, you may receive a bonus of some kind depending on the retailer.

Rockstar announcement of new L.A. Noire release date imminent

After plenty of delays, this could be the final one. Rockstar is set to announce the next release date for the highly anticipated title and while delays are common with their titles, Rockstar does churn out fairly polished titles with the extra time they give themselves. For many the news of a release date being unveiled soon for such a highly anticipated title is big news indeed, but it was simply posted on Rockstar's twitter page. This is what they had to say: "L.A. Noire is coming to Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3 this spring. The official release date will be announced soon..."

Shouldn't be long now until we have the (hopefully) final release date and don't encounter any more delays.

Splinter Cell Collection Gets Dated?

Ubisoft has confirmed the rumor from late last year regarding the Splinter Cell trilogy being released in HD for the PS3. It follows the recent release of the Prince of Persia trilogy in HD and will be followed by a Beyond Good & Evil Remake sometime this year.

No release date has been forthcoming, but if you believe Amazon is pretty accurate with their release dates, you can expect the Splinter Cell Collection to be released on March 22nd this year for $39.99USD. The collection includes the original Splinter Cell as well as the sequels Pandora Tomorrow and Chaos Theory.