Late Night Consoling

Electronic Arts today announced that developer Criterion is currently working on the fifth entry in its well regarded Burnout series of racing games. Entitled simply Burnout 5, the game is headed for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Burnout 5 diverges significantly from past series entries by featuring a seamless open world environment called Paradise City. "Gone is the need to jump in and out of menus to aimlessly search for fun," notes EA's press release. As players gain more notoriety in the world, they will face up against the city's other legendary racers. "Burnout 5 is a complete reinvention of the series, built from the ground up for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360," said Criterion designer Alex Ward. "To create truly next-generation gameplay, we needed to create a truly next-generation game, from top to bottom." In a feature that is somewhat reminiscent of Stefan Eriksson's car crash that spawned months of bizarre and convoluted Gizmondo-related news, today's announcement claims that players will be able to actually "rip their cars in half."

EA plans to ship Criterion Games' Burnout 5 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2007.

Raven Software's upcoming action RPG superhero mashup Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (PS2, Xbox, GCN, PS3, X360, Wii, NDS, PSP, GBA, PC) will be scored by its own alliance of composers. Activision announced today that Chance Thomas (Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire, Unreal II: The Awakening), Cris Velasco (Jaws: Unleashed, Terminator 3: The Redemption, God of War), and Mark Griskey (Gladius, Star Wars: Racer Revenge, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith) will be handling composition duties for the game, which will feature over 50 minutes of original music.

Activision plans to ship Raven Software's Marvel Ultimate Alliance to all platforms later this year.

IGN relays information from a Tecmo financial report indicating that the veteran publisher has signed on to release content for Nintendo's Virtual Console service for Wii. Long time gamers no doubt remember the company's classic NES titles such as Tecmo Bowl and other sports games, as well as the Ninja Gaiden series, both of which are likely candidates for Virtual Console inclusion. Apparently, the company's support for the service is "aggressive." No specific titles or release dates were divulged.

Bethesda sends word that its next piece of downloadable content for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion will be available for the Xbox 360 version of the game via Xbox Live this Thursday, August 31, the same day the content for the PC version will be available. The Spell Tomes pack, which adds several new spells to the game, is the cheapest Oblivion download yet, at 80 Microsoft Points ($1).

Atlus announced today that its dark Sony-developed survival horror title Rule of Rose (PS2) has received its very own official site. Rule of Rose is set for release in North America on September 12, 2006.

Capcom has announced that its zombie killing title Dead Rising (X360) has seen brisk sales in its first two weeks at retail, with the publisher already having shipped over 500,000 units in North America. The game, which has also seen strong reviews, is set for release on September 8 in Europe and on September 28 in Japan.

Over at FileShack we've got a video diary on Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Vegas (PS3, X360).

As you may have noticed in tonight's Evening Reading, Wired has a lengthy feature up asking whether the PS3 can save Sony. It frames the upcoming PS3 in the context of Sony's recent PR and financial troubles, looking back on the company's history leading up to its present situation, and comparing it to its competitors in Microsoft and Nintendo.

CNET News.com has an interview with Sony Computer Entertainment America president Kaz Hirai, speaking on PlayStation 3 and revealing nothing particularly new.