The purchase of Criterion by EA has definitely shaken things up. This is the industry's largest company taking full control of the leader in middleware software solutions. That's pretty big. Right now, both sides are trying to downplay the issue that this could negatively affect companies; but one has to ask, what other greater incentive is there in this purchase than controlling a crucial piece of software roughly 20% of the industry relies on? If this idealistic dream comes true where Criterion and EA will share information, combine resources, and create something truly epic, then the buyout could be a great thing. But most of us are pessimists and we see this as an opportunity for one company to start holding all the cards. Let's hope that Criterion holds true when they say, in the words of CEO David Lau-Kee, "Our intention is to continue exactly as we have before."

	EA Buys Criterion In a surprising move, Electronic Arts announced today the purchase of UK-based developer Criterion. This not only gives EA the intellectual properties Burnout and Black, but more importantly, the widely-used RenderWare platform. No financial details were revealed, but it was clearly outlined that EA has acquired all aspects of the company. Criterion CEO David Lau-Kee commented, "Combining EA's tools and technology libraries with the existing RenderWare technologies will create a superior platform for game development." Another upside is that this deal gives EA an inside edge on next-generation console development as they are now in complete control of Criterion's RenderWare 4 platform, their next-gen dev system.
	Nintendo Reveals Final Design of the DS The Japanese giant today pulled back the curtains on its upcoming Nintendo DS portable device and gave us a first look at the final design of the handheld. Sporting more angular cuts and a slimmer body, the device casts away its blocky, rounded form. On top of that, the buttons have undergone a few changes; moving around and getting an enlargement. Also, the speakers now use stereo sound. Despite showing off the finalized version, Nintendo made no mention of a price or release date, just informing us that they'll make an announcement soon.
	Atlus to Bring Five Games to Nintendo DS Japanese company Atlus announced plans today to bring five games to Nintendo's upcoming DS product. Headlining the pack is Shin Megami Tensei DS, but other familiar series will see a release such as Snowboard Kids and Choro-Q (sometimes called Gadget Racers). No other information was made available, such as if any of these were launch titles.
	Square Enix Considering DS Recently, Final Fantasy I & II was released for the GameBoy Advance in Japan. Inside, gamers found a questionnaire card asking them what ports they would like to see brought to the Nintendo DS platform. Choices included FF III-VI, the Saga series, Chrono Trigger, Seiken Densetsu, Front Mission, the Chocobo series, and Hanjuku Hero. Oddly enough, all titles from the Dragon Warrior series were absent.
	Area 51 Delayed Until 2005 Midway's Area 51, which garnered a decent amount of praise at this year's E3, has been pushed back into 2005. Said Midway president David Zucker, "Area 51 is a superb game, and we believe it will receive much more attention in a launch period with comparatively less crowding, such as the first half of 2005." In other words, they don't want to go up against Halo 2, DOOM3, and Killzone.
	NFL Street 2 Announced Following up on Monday's announcement of NBA Street V3, EA announced that development is underway on NFL Street 2. The game is undergoing a redesign, adding new moves and features such as wall moves and style catches. The game is in development for all three consoles and will be released early 2005 under the EA SPORTS BIG label.
	Next Spider-man Game Confirmed At their "Activate" event, industry player Activision confirmed that they are working on a Spiderman title for 2005. Dubbed Ultimate Spiderman, the game will follow Spidey through the Ultimate line of Marvel comics. No developer was mentioned, but it is assumed Treyarch will reprise their role.
	Misc. Q&As/Features 1up has a Q&A with one of my favorite composers, Danny Elfman, regarding his contribution to Fable. Rob Fahey of gamesindustry.biz interviews two men influential in the decision for EA to purchase Criterion, David Lau-Kee and Bruce McMillan.
	Misc. Media/Previews
	GamerFeed has a hands-on impression of Viewtiful Joe. GameSpot gives us a preview of Hot Shots Golf Fore! and an import preview of Gradius V. GamesAreFun hosts a handful of shots of Jak 3. Images of Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal are at GameSpy. IGN has exclusive movies and details on Shadow Hearts: Covenant, a video of Gungrave OD, goes hands-on with Shaman King and Spy Fiction, and delivers images of Crescent Suzuki Racing: Superbikes and Super Sidecars.
	Some screens of Tron 2.0 Killer App are at GamerFeed this evening. TeamXbox chimes in with their hands-on of Dead or Alive Ultimate. IGN has a few details and a direct feed of Conker: Live and Reloaded, four flicks of Blinx 2, and images of Forza Motorsport.
	The crew at IGN sits down for over twenty hours of the newly-titled Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and gives us the low down.
	IGN gives us two videos of The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age.
	A video focusing on the defensive side of Madden NFL 2005 (PS2, Xbox, GCN) is at GameSpot. There are also two vids of ESPN NHL 2K5 (PS2, Xbox), screens of X-Men Legends (PS2, Xbox, GCN) and shots of Need for Speed Underground 2 (PS2, Xbox, GCN). GamerFeed has the first shots of NBA Street V3 (PS2, Xbox, GCN). TeamXbox hosts images of Call of Duty: Finest Hour (PS2, Xbox, GCN) and a preview of Area 51 (PS2, Xbox). Konami hosts a new video for Winning Eleven 8 (PS2, Xbox). GameSpy previews Robotech: Invasion (PS2, Xbox), hosts screens of Test Drive: Eve of Destruction (PS2, Xbox, GCN), and images of The Punisher (PS2, Xbox). IGN beams us up with new screenies of Destroy All Humans! (PS2, Xbox), direct feeds of Mortal Kombat: Deception (PS2, Xbox), movies of The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (PS2, Xbox, GCN), and videos of Burnout 3: Takedown (PS2, Xbox, GCN).