So, the most anticipated PC Game of all time, Peggle Deluxe Nights, is out.

Go grab yourself a copy over at the Popcap website, and don't come back until you've mastered the last levels. The game should be out on Steam eventually, but there's no need to wait.

Why are you still reading this? Just think about it, you could be hanging out with Bjorn and Jacques right now, playing some delicious Peggle! Go go go!

Posted by Jan Birkeland at 5:10 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Here's some more fuel for your passive-aggressive grandpa that complains about all those kids and their crazy video games these days.

According to a new survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project 97% of young people today play video games in one form or another - boys and girls alike.

And when they play video games, they often play them with someone else, ether in person or online. Two-thirds play face-to-face, the survey found, while a quarter play online with other people.

"It shows that gamers are social people," says Amanda Lenhart, a senior researcher at Pew. "They communicate just as much. They spend time face-to-face, just as much as other kids. They e-mail and text."

The kids these days game fairly often, too, with 50% of them saying they had played a video game the previous day.

And even though many underage respondents said they had played or owned several M- and AO-rated games, the Pew researchers were quick to distance themselves from making any proclamations about video games and real world violence.

Instead, Joseph Kahne, a study co-author and dean of the education school at Mills College in California, said games like Halo--while violent--provided "more than average opportunities for players to help one another."

Posted by Jan Birkeland at 4:10 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Rockers unite! EA have announced that the much hyped RockBand will hit our shelves next month.

A little late to the party, New Zealand will get the Xbox360, Wii, PS3 and PS2 versions of the game, which includes guitars, a drumset and microphone. If you don't have three friends, now is the time to get some.

There will be more than 200 songs available for download on the Xbox360 and PS3 systems, you can check out the complete list of downloadable songs here.

The pricing is a little convoluted, depending on your needs:

Playstation 3 and Playstation 2
Instrument Pack (excluding Software) R.R.P. $219.99
PS3 Software R.R.P. $99.99
Standalone Guitar R.R.P. $89.99
PS2 Software R.R.P. $79.99
PS2 Song Pack 1 R.R.P. $49.99

Xbox 360
Instrument Pack (excluding software) R.R.P. $219.99
360 Software R.R.P $99.99
Standalone Guitar R.R.P. $89.99

Wii
Instrument Pack (excluding software) R.R.P. $219.99
Standalone Guitar R.R.P. $89.99
Wii Software R.R.P. $79.99
Wii Song Pack 1 R.R.P. $49.99

Finally you can build a city of rock and roll.

Posted by Jan Birkeland at 2:37 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Nintendo has finally confirmed its plans to announce new products at a pre-Tokyo Game Show press conference on October 2, but so far the company is mum on what, exactly, those new products will be.

The smoke and mirrors approach to product announcements is nothing new for Nintendo, which as market leader in the video games industry adopted a new "wait until the last minute" strategy at the E3 conference regarding new game announcements. The most recent example was Wario Land: Shake It, which was announced only a few months before its initial North American release next week.

Comments made to [Edge Magazine] Wednesday only served to muddy the waters even more, with a Nintendo rep saying, "In terms of the press conference, its content and announcements are still being finalised so we are not announcing anything at this time"

Disaster: Day of Crisis has been bandied about in select rumour circles as a potential candidate for this show, but its European and Japanese release dates are already well-known. Calling it "new" and creating a press conference seems slightly overkill.

Jack Loftus

Posted by Ted Gibbons at 9:56 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Sony Computer Entertainment president Jack Tretton is confident his first-party spring lineup has the skills to pay the bills.

"We're looking forward to a solid holiday season and are excited to offer a string of unmatched content to consumers in the coming months with LittleBigPlanet, Socom: Confrontation, Resistance 2, and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift," said Tretton.

By comparison, Microsoft's first-party lineup this spring includes Gears of War 2, Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, Fable 2, and Banjo and Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.

Nintendo, usually the strongest first-party competitor, will have little on tap this spring, partly due to the company having already released a majority of its high-profile franchises on Wii thus far. Notable games coming before the end of the year include Wario Land: Shake It, Animal Crossing: City Folk, and Wii Music.

Regardless of who you feel has the best first-party lineup, the playing field levels quite a bit when considering multi-platform and third party exclusive games, of which there are many for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii. So whatever system you own, this season is shaping up to be another memorable one for games.

Blake Snow (GamePro)

Posted by Ted Gibbons at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

New analysis on Microsoft's development of the Xbox 360 points to improper testing and rushed manufacturing behind nearly two million defective consoles.

A scathing analysis by journalist Dean Takahashi contends that Microsoft was fully aware of defects in its Xbox 360 console before launch.

Prior to the console's November 2005 release, Microsoft knowingly pushed manufacturing ahead despite glaring test failures. The drive to beat rivals Sony and Nintendo to market were behind the decision to ship the console in light of the problems.

"Everything Microsoft did was under time pressure," writes Takahashi. Microsoft began on Xbox 360 hardware development later than rival Sony, yet forced an early launch a full year ahead of PlayStation 3.

Takahashi goes as far as claiming, "The Xbox 360's defect problem will go down as one of the worst snafus in consumer electronics history."

Ironically enough, that hasn't stopped gamers from snatching up the console. Well over 20 million units have been snatched up since 2005. Declining sales against PlayStation 3 and Wii, however, have slowed reception. According to Takahashi, a cheaper, smaller version of the console will be sold next year.

By Tracy Erickson

Posted by Ted Gibbons at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )