Ubisoft Montreal's next Splinter Cell title, initially announced as Splinter Cell: Conviction, has been delayed until Ubisoft's 2009-2010 fiscal year, the publisher confirmed today.

The stealth-action PC and Xbox 360 game is now expected to arrive between April 1, 2009 and March 30, 2010, instead of the previous estimated release between January 1 and March 30, 2009. Curiously, Ubisoft only referred to the game as Splinter Cell in the announcement, suggesting the Conviction subtitle may have been dropped.

No reason was provided for the latest postponement of the thrice-delayed title, which was originally slated to arrive in holiday 2007. Ubisoft noted that the push would help "bolster the line-up for fiscal 2009-10," though rumors have suggested the title was recently forced "back to the drawing board."

The recently revealed delay of Studio Liverpool's Wipeout HD (PS3) may have been prompted by the game's failure to successfully pass epilepsy risk testing.

According to CVG, a source revealed that the downloadable series update "fails the epilepsy tests so much that it has to be re-engineered."

The game was previously slated to debut this summer, but was delayed due to unspecified technical issues. Sony Entertainment Europe CEO David Reeves described them as "tricky technical problem" which none of Sony's studios have yet been able to resolve.

People afflicted by photosensitive epilepsy can experience seizures triggered by rapid visual stimuli such as flashing lights or moving patterns. Many games including elements which could possibly prompt such seizures often include... Read more

Previously slated to arrive this summer, Wipeout HD, Studio Liverpool's downloadable PlayStation 3 update of the classic hovercraft racing series, has been delayed.

"There is a specific technical problem with Wipeout that we have to solve," Sony Computer Entertainment Europe CEO David Reeves revealed to Eurogamer. "I can't go into details but it is a really, really tricky technical problem that no region has been able to solve at the moment."

Reeves further noted that "it is something that was just very difficult to get to grips with," but that he thinks the game "will come out before the end of the year."

Amidst massive layoffs and word that it will remain open, Hellgate: London developer Flagship has ceased production of its next project, the online action-RPG Mythos (PC).

"We regretfully announce that on Friday, July 18, 2008 at 11:59 CST the world of Uld known as Mythos will be going on hiatus," reads the game's official site.

"We want to thank you to everyone for their support and assistance with Mythos Alpha and Beta testing and we hope to see you soon."

While some reports have indicated that Flagship's properties are now owned by external parties, the studio claims it still retains ownership of both Hellgate: London and Mythos.

Thanks to Pluto69 for the heads up.

The third entry in Running With Scissors' controversial open-world series Postal is heading to PlayStation 3 in addition to the previously announced PC and Xbox 360 versions, studio marketing moyel Mike Jaret has revealed to Shacknews.

While the PC and Xbox 360 iterations of Postal III were tentatively slated for release in Q2 2009, Jaret noted that those two editions are now more likely to arrive in "mid-to-late 2009."

However, he was unable to provide an estimated release date for the PS3 version, attributing the uncertainty to technical concerns in utilizing the game's... Read more

Microsoft just confirmed with Shacknews that Ensemble Studios' Halo-based strategy game Halo Wars is delayed until the first half of 2009. Though no release date was ever officially announced, the game had been expected to arrive later this year.

According to a rep from Ensemble, the game was delayed for additional control and balancing polish, and to avoid the crowded holiday season.

Check back with us later for impressions of the game.

Amidst a flurry of controversy regarding its WiiWare title Beer Pong, developer JV Games has renamed the forthcoming downloading effort to Pong Toss.

Based on the age-old college drinking game, Beer Pong (real-life edition pictured left) tasks players with bouncing a ping-pong ball into a cup filled with beer, forcing their opponents to drink the alcoholic beverage.

Following the game's rating of "T for Teen" by the ESRB, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said the label was "absolutely inappropriate" and promoted underage drinking.

Blumenthal further accused the ESRB of being "under the influence" for declaring that "frat party video drinking games [were] suitable for minors." After the title was renamed Pong Toss, it was relabeled by the ESRB with an "E for Everyone" rating.

"Since we never had any drinking in the game, we elected to change the name from 'Beer Pong' to 'Pong Toss' to better reflect it's [sic] true contents and cater to a larger audience," JV Games VP Jag Jaeger explained on the Frat Party Games blog.

Said to be the first in JV Games' Frat Party Games series, Pong Toss missed its projected June launch and is now expected later this summer for around $9.

Slant Six Games' downloadable multiplayer shooter SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation (PS3) has been delayed, franchise community manager Seth Luisi revealed on the official SOCOM blog.

Previously scheduled for a September 16 debut, the title is now bound for retailers and the PlayStation 3's digital storefront on October 14. Luisi explained the delay as necessary for last-minute improvements.

"Our top priority is delivering the best SOCOM online experience possible," Luisi wrote. "We just had to face the facts and do what is best for the title. Rather than sacrifice features, quality and stability, we had to do the right thing and re-adjust our schedule."

Publishing label Rockstar Games announced a delay for Midnight Club: Los Angeles today, as the Rockstar San Diego developed PlayStation 3 / Xbox 360 racer is now due October 7.

Rockstar had previously indicated a September 9 ship date for the game. As before, the PSP game Midnight Club: LA Remix, developed by Rockstar London, will ship on the same day.

With E3 and its countless parties coming up, these timely new This is Vegas screenshots from publisher Midway caution us of the dangers of drinking to excess. Once expected to arrive this year, the open-world and many party-based activities of Surreal's This is Vegas, including wet t-shirt contests, are now slated to hit PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2009.

Developer CD Projekt today revealed that its reworked and tweaked version of The Witcher, titled The Witcher Enhanced Edition, has been delayed to early September.

Originally slated for a May release, CD Projekt made mention of the delay in April, but had not specified a new date for the expanded PC fantasy RPG.

The revised launch date was announced in an update to the game's community page, where the company explained that the delay was necessary to prepare ten different language localizations of the game for a simultaneous release.

Beyond bug fixes and stability improvements, The Witcher Enhanced Edition will see the addition of fifty new character models for an increased variety in NPCs, new voice acting, a redone translation, improved facial animation and gestures, and... Read more

Publisher Square Enix has dismissed reports that its action-RPG offshoot Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3) is on hold, claiming that development of the game is still on track.

"Reports that development for Final Fantasy Versus XIII is on hold are false," the company said in a statement reported by Eurogamer. "The truth of the situation is that when free, some staff from the Versus team have been helping with the XIII team on development of Final Fantasy XIII."

The statement directly contradicts yesterday's report from Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, in which Final Fantasy XIII (PS3) lead designer Tetsuya Nomura said that the team behind Versus XIII were pulled from the project to help complete FF13.

"Development for both titles is continuing as originally scheduled," added Square Enix.

Set in the same universe as Final Fantasy XIII, Versus XIII is an action-RPG featuring completely different characters and story than its main series counterpart. The games were announced at E3 2006 alongside a third title, Final Fantasy Agito XIII, in development for mobile phones.

The team behind Square Enix's action-RPG offshoot Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3) has been pulled off the project to aid in the completion of the main series installment Final Fantasy XIII (PS3), Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu reports.

Going by a translation from gaming forum NeoGAF, Versus XIII will remain on hold until Final Fantasy XIII has wrapped. Both titles have suffered several delays since their announcement, and a firm release date has not yet been specified.

The latest edition of Square Enix's flagship RPG series, FF13 was unveiled at E3 2006 alongside Versus XIII and a third game, Final Fantasy Agito XIII, for mobile phones. The titles have yet to be demonstrated in playable form at any conferences.

The forthcoming Xbox 360 biomechanical strategy RPG Zoids Assault has been delayed two weeks to a new September 9 release date, publisher Atlus announced today. The company provided new screenshots as a means of explicit distraction. "Zoids Assault is going to slip out of late August and into early September," said Atlus sales manager Aram Jabbari in a press release. "Hey, are these new Zoids Assault screenshots? These are great! Let's focus on these instead."

Zoids Assault is the latest title in a long-running franchise based on plastic model kits produced by Japanese toy manufacturer Tomy. The game features grid-based strategic warfare with war machines that can be customized with over 60 different parts.

Now available for all to download is a trial version of the Spore Creature Creator. This tool will allow you to create your own completely unique creatures, which you can then use in Spore later this year.

If you want to go beyond the trial, Electronic Arts will be selling a $10 full version of the tool online, starting tomorrow--marking a one-day delay beyond what was originally announced.

Publisher Sega announced today that Stainless Games' Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm will hit PCs next Monday and the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Marketplace next Wednesday.

Based on Mondo Media's cute yet disturbingly violent animated series Happy Tree Friends, False Alarm slipped from its originally scheduled April release for unspecified reasons.

In celebration of the game's swiftly approaching release date, Sega of America released a new trailer from the upcoming action-platformer. Registered users can use the HD Stream.

Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive revealed today that it has delayed the first piece of Grand Theft Auto IV DLC until the first quarter of its 2009 fiscal year, which runs from November 1, 2008 to January 31, 2009.

According to the company, the Xbox 360-exclusive downloadable content was pushed back "in order to provide a better balance in Take-Two's release schedule."

Little is known about two planned pieces of game-expanding content, though marketing materials refer to them as "episodes." Both were originally slated to debut before November 1, though the second pack was pushed into FY2009 late last year.

Reuters is reporting that Volition's Saints Row 2 (PS3, X360) has been delayed. Originally scheduled for an August 26 release, the open-world action game sequel is now expected October 14.

The delay can be attributed to "product quality and marketing considerations", with THQ executive Bob Aniello noting "Product quality is a huge driver of a game's success and this move allows us to polish the game. The game is done, it's about polish."

Nintendo has slightly delayed this week's release of Wii Fit, nudging the title from two days past its announced debut on Monday, May 19.

Though Nintendo launched the game at New York's Nintendo World Store yesterday (pictured left), the rest of the North America has to wait until Wednesday, May 21 to get its hands and feet on the $89.99 fitness game and its weight-sensitive balance board.

No reason was provided for the delay, though Shacknews can confirm that many retailers already have the much-anticipated fitness title sitting in their backrooms.

An unconfirmed report by Xbox World 360 magazine claims that Ubisoft's twice-delayed stealth-centric title Splinter Cell: Conviction has been postponed yet again, with this delay going so far as to push the Xbox 360-exclusive game "back to the drawing board."

As relayed by CVG, the magazine states that the game and its pedestrian-filled environments are now expected for a holiday 2009 or spring 2010 release.

Ubisoft had previously expected a release between April 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009, with a Microsoft GDC presentation in February listing Splinter Cell: Conviction among the exclusive Xbox 360 titles due out this fall

The magazine speculates that the delay stems from the game not comparing favorably to other internally-developed titles, such as Ubisoft Montreal's Assassin's Creed.

When reached for comment by videogaming247, Ubisoft did not deny the allegations, but instead claimed it had "no official comment on this story, which is based on a purely speculative news piece."