Late Night Consoling

It has been known for some time that Vivendi is to publish an Xbox Live Arcade title based on the current SciFi Channel series of the same name, but until now the company has refrained from publicly announcing or acknowledging the game. Today, Vivendi revealed that the game is called, simply enough, Battlestar Galactica, and will be released on both Xbox Live Arcade and PC this fall.

Australian developer Auran Games is handling Battlestar Galactica, a single-player and multiplayer space combat game. Few gameplay details have been revealed, other than that it will allow players to relive noteworthy battles from the show using ships from the Battlestar Galactica universe.

In concert with today's announcement, Vivendi has released a series of Xbox 360 pictures and themes currently available through the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Atlus today announced that it will be publishing Vanillaware's Odin Sphere in North America. A rare case of a modern home console game employing high resolution hand-drawn 2D artwork, Odin Sphere is a sidescrolling action RPG that puts the player into the role of Odin's daughter, who must put a stop to a prophesized epic war in order to save the world.

Developer Vanillaware was founded in 2004 by Seiya Kamiya, known for his work on the well loved 1997 Sega Saturn RPG Princess Crown. Some have declared Odin Sphere to be a spiritual successor to Princess Crown. Screenshots and artwork for the game can be found on the website of Japanese publication Famitsu. Music for Odin Sphere is being handled by Hitoshi Sakimoto, composer on several games in the Ogre Battle franchise, Radiant Silvergun (SAT), and various Final Fantasy games including Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1) and Tactics Advance (GBA) as well as Final Fantasy XII (PS2) and the upcoming Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings (NDS).

Atlus expects to ship Odin Sphere for PlayStation 2 in North America this spring.

Microsoft sent over word that they're making sure lonely gamers have plenty to do on Valentine's Day, thanks to some Xbox 360 events being held over Xbox Live over the coming week. This weekend, forgotten and desolate lovers can shoot each other in the face on a forgotten and desolate world thanks to the All-Nighter multiplayer extravaganza for Capcom's Lost Planet: Extreme Condition. Starting the evening of Saturday, February 10 and lasting throughout the night, Microsoft is encouraging players to load up Lost Planet's online multiplayer over Live. Feel free to send a note with your Gamertag and how long you played--along with pictures--to this Microsoft email address for a chance to win some free Capcom prizes.

On Valentine's Day itself, February 14, Microsoft is also encouraging players to make use of the pinata trading feature in Rare's Viva Pinata. Check out Microsoft's site for more on how that works. On the subject of Viva Pinata, Microsoft also sent over some Valentine's Day wallpapers themed around the game.

Finally, for those involved in relationships with those who do not game, Microsoft has published a series of tips on how to introduce your significant other to the hobby. Be forwarned: these tips are from registered Xbox community members. You know, the ones you hear over your headset when you're playing Halo 2. I'm just saying.

Ubisoft today confirmed that the animated film division on which Canadian publication La Presse reported yesterday is indeed to be opened at the company's Ubisoft Montreal studio, which will also see bolstered game development operations

Atari sends word that Cavia's Xbox 360 action game Bullet Witch has gone gold. The title is on track to ship to North American retail shelves on February 27th.