As announced in Famitsu, here is a new character appearing in Street Fighter IV, named Crimson Viper (eeg). They also confirmed that Street Fighter IV is coming to the arcade.

Industry and multi-console news

New media: Prototype developer video in which they discuss the game's main enemy force, the Blackwatch

• EGM editor-in-chief Dan Hsu says that Midway and Ubisoft have blackballed EGM due to poor reviews.
• Civilization developer Sid Meier will be receiving a lifetime achievement award at this year's Game Developers Choice Awards.
• There's a new Fallout 3 developer diary up, profiling the Brotherhood of Steel.
• Speaking of which, Bethesda is hiring Quality Assurance testers.
• The newest Japanese sales charts have been released.
• A Manchester company called MindWire has come up a device that provides "sensory feedback" in the form of electric shocks for video games.
• At CES, Ion Audio showed off a prototype Rock Band drumset that uses quieter pads and wired cymbals. You can see video of it in action here.
• Also shown at CES were retro console clones that play real cartridges. They say the consoles are based on lapsed patents, so they're supposedly legal.
• Rumors say that a BioShock movie is being discussed in Hollywood. Look forward to seeing Will Smith playing Andrew Ryan a few years down the road. AW HELL NAW, says the man in Moscow.
• Racketboy looks at the best undiscovered TurboGrafx-16 games.
• Sega has filed a patent for something called Sonic Chronicles, which most are assuming to be the Bioware Sonic RPG that's in the works.
• Someone on the Insert Credit forums compares the different versions of Mad Stalker, just for the hell of it, I suppose. I like that they also point out that one of the Mad Stalker boards on GameFAQs has been hijacked and turned into some kind of relationship discussion forum. Seriously, what the hell GameFAQs.
• Columnists at conservative website Human Events have an article up warning against Hilary Clinton's anti-game stance.
• Police in Shinjuku have supposedly been stopping people who look like otaku and performing spot checks. Why is a little unclear.
• I appreciate this man for collecting a list of the last games to be published for each major console, but he goes on to admit he couldn't figure out how to play Wario's Woods, and for that he needs to be put into a home.

PC and mobile news

New content: Lucky Luke: Go West demo, World of Warcraft 2.3.2 European patch
New media: Warhammer Online concept art

• Ron Gilbert has joined Hothead Games as creative director, where he will work on a new episodic adventure-RPG called DeathSpank. He describes it as Monkey Island meets Diablo.
• Some people have been having problems with the recent Crysis 1.1 patch.
• The Starcraft II website has slowly been updating with screenshots and unit profiles. The most recent update focuses on the siege tank.
• A World of Warcraft player is trying to fully level two pacifist characters without killing anything.
• RPG/RTS Stranger is set for a North American release on March 3.
• Penumbra: Black Plague will be released February 12.
• Gamers with Nvidia cards can download Portal: First Slice for free by creating a Steam account. Don't worry ATI fans, it's just an extended demo.
• Codemasters Online will be having a two day consumer event in March to showcase their latest titles. Games on display will include Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar and Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach, and consumers will also be able to take part in Q&A's and roundtable discussions with the developers.
• New site WeGame.com is looking to be a kind of YouTube for PC games. What makes it interesting is they offer their own program for recording in-game footage, which supposedly works without significantly slowing down the game (as opposed to, say, Fraps).
• Amazon has Crysis marked down to $39.99.

Nintendo news

New media: First Blue Dragon DS screens (scans), Destiny of Zorro gameplay footage (or someone crapped in my eye, I can't tell which)

• A new character for Smash Bros. Brawl has been announced. I know some people don't want to be spoiled, so you can click if you want to find out.
• Wii Fit has sold over one million units in Japan.
• Next Generation looks at the games of 2008 for the DS.
• Majesco has announced a Cake Mania sequel on the DS.
• Nyko showed off the wireless nunchuck at CES, which will go on sale in February for $29.99.
• Mugen no Frontier: Super Robot Taisen OG Saga is coming to the DS in Japan.
• Engine Software has started work on their first WiiWare title, called Project Bang!
• A developer has managed to get IPTV working on the Wii.
• Colors! is a homebrew digital painting program for the DS.
• Act now to secure your order of Super Mario Galaxy Super Balls.

Sony news

New media: LittleBigPlanet level editor footage, MGS4 English demo gameplay footage -- Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

• Next Generation looks at the games of 2008 for the PSP.
• Nyko is preparing to release a guitar that works with both Rock Band and GH3 in March.
• An update to Need for Speed ProStreet is causing freezing and glitches for some players.
• Dynasty Warriors Gundam is being ported to the PS2, which should work out well.
• Two new Folklore DLC packs are coming to the Playstation Network soon.
• Sony says in-game XMB support is coming sometime this year.
• Zero Punctuation's video review this week is for Silent Hill Origins.
• If you're going to make a cheap knock-off of the PS3, you might as well go all out and call it the Winner.
• Amazon has All-Star Pro Football 2K8 for $9.99.

Microsoft news

New Live Arcade titles: Omega Five, Tron
New content: NFL Tour demo

• Microsoft says that HD-DVD is not critical to the success of the 360, and that they would consider supporting Blu-ray if it ended up the winner in the format war.
• PopCap has confirmed that Peggle is coming to Live Arcade.
• The Peggle announcement came after the game showed up in the ESRB database; Ultra Bust-A-Move and Bliss Island are also listed as 360 games but haven't yet been confirmed.
• Q Entertainment says to expect Rez HD before the end of January.
• Microsoft has announced the details of the first ever Halo 3 Championship Tournament.
• Xbox Evolved, a site I've never heard of before in my life, citing only "very reliable sources," claims that Goldeneye is coming to Live Arcade. Take that as you will.
• Gaming Steve determines that even if you were owed money due to the recent Life downtime (and you aren't, no matter what class action lawsuit you file), it would only come out to about 82 cents per person.
• Amazon's deal of the day is Avatar: The Burning Earth for $25. Is it worth 25 bucks to gain the 1000 easiest Achievement points in the history of the 360?