Late Night Consoling

The platform list for Ubisoft Montreal's Assassin's Creed has been a subject of much debate ever since the game was first revealed as Project Assassin last year. When it was officially announced under its current title, Ubisoft listed only PlayStation 3 as a target platform for the title, but rumors have consistently flared up indicating that the game will also head to other platforms, such as Xbox 360.

This week, reports started to surface that the latest issue of PC Gamer UK included news of a PC version of the game. When contacted by Shacknews for comment, an Ubisoft representative replied with the following comment: "Assassin's Creed PC will indeed see the light some day. Details will be provided at a later date." Ubisoft would not give any further comment in regards to when the PC version will be released, or whether an Xbox 360 version of the game is in the works, as is widely believed.

In 2005, Sony showed off a demo of EA's Fight Night boxing franchise on PlayStation 3 during its pre-E3 press conference, but no Fight Night game was ever officially announced for the system. That changed today as Electronic Arts announced that this holiday season, PS3 will be graced with Fight Night Round 3, which was first released on various systems last year to very positive reviews. This version will contain a new mode entitled "Get in the Ring," though specific details were not released. "With EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 3 for PlayStation 3, we want to give gamers an exciting and unique gameplay experience that will take the realism of Fight Night even further by allowing players to live the game through their own eyes," said producer Michael Blank. "This is the closest youÂ’ll get to trading blows with Muhammad Ali." The game will also include EA's ESPN Integration feature being applied to various next-gen EA Sports titles, allowing players to experience ESPN broadcasts and updates from within the game.

EA Canada's Fight Night Round 3 is set to ship for PlayStation 3 this holiday season.

A report on Japanese publication Famitsu's website, translated by IGN, suggests that Microsoft may plan to reenact a successful PR strategies it introduced during this year's E3. Throughout the week of E3, Microsoft released various Xbox 360 trailers and playable demos for download via Xbox Live, allowing gamers to experience some of the content the company was showing off at the expo. A similar plan may be in the works for the upcoming Tokyo Game Show, to be held September 20-24, and possibly also Microsoft's own Xbox-focused X06 event, to be held in Barcelona the following week. Apparently, the Famitsu article only mentions video content and screenshots, and does not specify demos. Microsoft declined to comment on the report.

According to a paraphrased IGN translation, Maxis' classic SimCity franchise is being built for Nintendo DS. The series has come to Nintendo systems before, via games such as HAL Laboratories' well regarded SNES version of SimCity 2000, and Full Fat's more recent and less well received port of the same game. This time around, the source game is the SimCity 3000 on the PC. A developer was not specified. Apparently, the article was quick to mention that this game is not a port. It will feature stylus control, a unique advisor character, and the ability to chat with players and trade in-game landmarks. When contacted for comment by Shacknews, a Maxis representative responded, "Sorry, we have nothing to announce at this time. Stay tuned!"

Electronic Arts plans to ship Sim City DS in Japan this winter. A North American release has not yet been announced.

Publisher Ubisoft and developer Gearbox Software today revealed that Gearbox's well regarded World War II shooter franchise is coming to PSP. The companies jointly announced Brothers in Arms D-Day, telling the stories of Sergeant Baker and Sergeant Hartsock leading their paratrooper squad through the infamous Normany invasion. The game will feature new teammate capabilities and enemy A.I., as well as new weapons and destructible cover. Local wireless cooperative play will be available in a separate 12-mission Skirmish campaign mode. - Screenshots.

Ubisoft plans to release Brothers in Arms D-Day, developed by Ubisoft Shanghai and Gearbox Software, in fall 2006.

It's been a number of years since we've gotten a new installment in Sensible Software's Cannon Fodder series, whose two main games first appeared in the early 90s. The original game took a vaguely Lemmings-like approach to a shooter, giving players control of a squad and take out enemies in a humor-tinged modern combat environment. Codemasters has now announced that it is bringing back Cannon Fodder, this time to PSP. The game will feature the original gameplay but has been graphically revamped for the console. - Screenshots.

Codemasters plans to ship Cannon Fodder for PSP in spring 2007.

Krome studios today announced that it has launched a new official site. The Australia-based independent developer is the studio behind the TY the Tasmanian Tiger series as well as the upcoming The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning (PS2, Xbox, GCN, NDS, GBA) and Hellboy (working title) (PS3, X360, PSP).