Late Night Consoling

Mercenaries (PS2, Xbox) developer Pandemic Studios has recently been dropping a series of hints on its website related to its mysterious Project Q. The concensus among the internets was that the images and captions were clues suggesting a sequel to Mercenaries. Those suspicious were confirmed when Pandemic officially announced Mercenaries 2: World in Flames. "While we're building on the core mercenary experience we created for the original," said Pandemic CEO Andrew Goldman, "we've taken full advantage of next-gen technology to offer a more richly detailed, reactive, living world than gamers have ever seen before." Specific platforms were not revaled, but considering the original game shipped for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, successors PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 are a fair bet. LucasArts published the first game, but was conspicuously absent from the press release, suggesting a new publisher may have been found.

No real information about the game was disclosed, with Pandemic preferring to keep the game under wraps until it is presented during E3. Check back next week for more.

When Nintendo released its updated DS Lite handheld in Japan, the system saw demand that was even higher than anticipated, which most likely resulted in Nintendo's reluctance to nail down any non-Japanese release dates by which time the supply chain would be sufficient. Today, the company finally revealed when DS Lite will be coming to North America: June 11. The system will be priced at $129.99, the current going rate for the original Nintendo DS, and will be available only in the iPod-esque Polar White color at first. Nintendo Australia also announced that the system will be available in Australia a bit early, arriving June 1 for AUS$199.95. Nintendo Europe has not yet announced a release date for European territories.

Though it answers several important questions, Nintendo's press release raises a few as well. It was not stated whether the original Nintendo DS will see a price drop once its sleeker and brighter sibling hits shelves, for example. Also, though the system will be available for a base price of $129.99, the release states that it will be priced "as low as" the quoted figure, implying there may be other options such as a version with a packed in game. The obvious choice there would be New Super Mario Bros. (DS), which will be released on May 15.

If you're considering picking up a DS Lite and are curious how it stacks up to the original Nintendo DS, check out our extensive hands on preview.

In the past week, we've seen quite a few rumors confirmed as fact. That happened yet again today as Vivendi confirmed that Monolith's acclaimed PC shooter F.E.A.R. will be heading to Xbox 360. Last month, Monolith's Xbox 360 launch title Condemned: Criminal Origins took the opposite route, heading over to the PC platform. Day 1 Studios, responsible for the two MechAssault games on Xbox, will be handling the port to 360.

F.E.A.R. for Xbox 360 is set to ship this fall. The game will be shown at E3. - Screenshot.

THQ announced today that it will be publishing a video game based on the HBO mob-centric television series The Sopranos. The player is cast as the illegimate son of Sal "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero, attempting to rise within the ranks of the mob and prove complete loyalty to boss Tony Soprano. Neither a developer nor a final name was revealed for the game, which is in development for PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360. "Teaming up with one of the best in the business, we're excited to enter this new entertainment medium with our most successful and widely recognized original series, The Sopranos," said HBO's Carmi Zlotnik. "It's clear that fans want more of The Sopranos, and creating a game that puts the player in their world is a great way to satisfy them."

THQ's The Sopranos game is planned for release this holiday season.

Sony Computer Entertainment America today revealed its E3 lineup for PlayStation 2 and PSP. Not surprisingly, the publisher is keeping quiet on the PS3 front until next week's pre-E3 press conference. Today's list consists of thirteen games across the two platforms.

- ATV Offroad Fury Pro (PSP)
- ATV Offroad Fury 4 (PS2)
- Gangs of London (PSP)
- God of War II (PS2)
- Killzone: Liberation (PSP)
- Lemmings (PSP)
- LocoRoco (PSP)
- NBA '07 (PS2, PSP)
- Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (PSP)
- Rogue Galaxy (PS2)
- SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 2 (PSP)
- SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Combined Assault (PS2)
- World Tour Soccer '06 (PSP)

THQ announced its full lineup for this year's E3, consisting of nineteen games across all current- and next-gen home consoles as well as portable consoles and PC. The console lineup is as follows:

- Saints Row (X360)
- Frontlines: Fuel of War (PS3, X360, PC)
- WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2007 (PS2, PS3, X360, PSP)
- The Sopranos (PS2, X360)
- MotoGP '06 (Xbox 360)
- GTR (Xbox 360)
- Cars (PS2, Xbox, GCN, X360, Wii, DS, PSP, GBA, PC)
- Destroy All Humans 2 (PS2, Xbox)
- SongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab (PS2, GCN, Wii, DS, GBA, PC)
- Monster House (PS2, GCN, DS, GBA)
- Bratz: Forever Diamondz (PS2, GCN, DS, GBA, PC)
- Barnyard (PS2, GCN, GBA, PC)
- Avatar: The Last Airbender (PS2, Xbox, GCN, Wii, DS, PSP, GBA, PC)
- Juiced: Eliminator (PSP)
- Alex Rider: Stormbreaker (DS, GBA)

Activision announced its fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal year outcomes this week, and like so many other gaming firms in recent months, the situation could be better. In the fourth quarter, the company saw a net loss of $9.2M on revenue of $188.1 versus a profit of $3.6M on $203.9M in the same period last year, for a decrease in profits of $12.8M year over year. Still, for the full fiscal year, Activision saw increased revenue over the previous year, rising from $1.41B to $1.47B. However, overall profits shrunk substantially from $138M to $42M. The company pinned the declines on the oft-noted current console transition, which has been taking its toll industry-wide. Activision expects revenues to fall in 2007, but to rebound significantly heading into fiscal 2008.

During an analyst conference call, Activision also indicated that it plans to have three launch titles each for PlayStation 3 and Wii this year. A company representative noted that these games will ship during "launch periods" rather than necessarily launch day. Furthermore, it was confirmed that Activision will be lending greater support to Wii than was granted to GameCube. One of Activision's launch period titles for Wii is almost certainly Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam, a yet-to-be-formally-announced Tony Hawk skateboarding spinoff heading to Wii and DS courtesy of Star Control and Star Control II developer Toys for Bob.

Lucasfilm today announced that the original Star Wars trilogy (you know, Han shoots first etc.) will be coming to DVD for a limited time on September 12. At the same time, LucasArts announced that Traveller's Tales' LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy will be hitting shelves the same day. It was also revealed for the first time that the game is in development for Xbox 360. That means it's headed to a total of eight platforms, the others being PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Nintendo DS, PSP, Game Boy Advance, and PC. LEGO Star Wars II is a followup to last year's surprisingly successful LEGO Star Wars, which featured a LEGO brick video game rendition of the Star Wars prequel films. For details on the DVDs and game, check the full press release. - Trailer.

Next Generation catches up with Microsoft's Peter Moore during the runup to E3. Moore touches on the competition, Xbox 360 in Japan, and why the term "online gaming" is a term that is "off-putting" and "quite frankly seems kind of geeky." Please, implores Moore, call it connected gaming.

Game Informer interviews a EA's Jason Armenise and Chuck Blevins about the company's version of Madden for Wii.