What are you looking at?

This giant prinny was on hand for a small Disgaea 3 launch event in Japan. Now that it has served its purpose, I want it for my living room.

Industry and multi-console news

New media: Bully: Scholarship Edition trailer, Just Cause 2 screenshots, Bionic Commando concept art, Street Fighter IV screenshots -- same Ryu and Ken, same background, same goofy expressions

• EA has revealed FaceBreaker, a new boxing game with real-time facial deformation.
• The second European Game Developers Conference will be held in Paris at the end of June.
• Epic's Mark Rein admits that consoles are stealing hardcore gamers from the PC.
• Brash Entertainment has announced a game based on Space Chimps, an upcoming animated movie that we'll probably be seeing ads for every three minutes in the near future.
• The Patry Copyright blog has several excerpts from the judge's opinion on the Romantics vs. Activision case, in which they sued over a cover in Guitar Hero that sounded too much like their original. The judge denied the motion.
• Reuters has an article on actors getting a second chance in video game voice acting.
• Former EA exec David Gardner has been made CEO of Infogrames.
• Rockstar's Dan Houser says they expect a strong media reaction to GTA4, probably because they're not dumb. He also said that the title is less cartoony than previous iterations, both in graphics and writing.
• It looks like a GTA4 viral campaign is underway, with wanted posters for the main characters showing up in cities around the country.
• MTV's Multiplayer blog lists the top ten under the radar games for 2008.
• The latest OXM reveals the schedule for Rock Band downloadables in March. Nothing terribly exciting, to me at least, though I'm sure some people will be into the Nine Inch Nails pack and more Maiden and Sabbath. And I'm sure all the Metallica fans will be overjoyed to see their next song is Fuel.
• Yahoo Games breaksdown where the candidates stand on video game legislation issues. Amusing side note: Someone immediately complained that Ron Paul wasn't included in the recap.
• Despite complaints from the ECA, ESA and other acronyms starting with E, the New Mexico video game tax bill has been introduced.
• Valve says there is "more Portal for sure" coming. Sometime.
• Kotaku has what they say is 32 pages of the live-action Castlevania movie's script. I don't know how or if they've authenticated it.
• The Game Critics game of the year awards have been revealed, with Bioshock at number one in the top 10 of 2007.
• There's a rumor that ADV could be cancelling the release of the Devil May Cry anime in America. ADV says that the report from which this information was taken was a "contingency" draft and that "ADV is working through a few short-term challenges and fully intends to continue our releases." That doesn't sound good in general.

PC and mobile news

New GameTap titles: Futoshiki, Shadowgrounds, Tube-It
New content: Updated Speedball 2 - Tournament demo

• Gamasutra has a lengthy feature on the history of the Apple II as a gaming platform.
• Blizzard has reported its first billion dollar year.
• The Hellgate: London team remind you that their Founder's Offer expires at midnight tonight.
• One Seattle computer shop has a sign in their window advertising that they remove Vista.
• 1up talks to people at Square about what's being done about recent Final Fantasy XI hacked accounts.
• Rumors are circulating that Halo Wars could be coming to the PC. Microsoft says nuh uh.
• The first trailer and screenshots for the third episode of Sam & Max Season Two, called Night of the Raving Dead, have been released.
• The full version of Off-Road Velociraptor Safari is now out. It's a free game that has already become somewhat of a minor cult hit due to it involving chasing velociraptors with jeeps and hitting them with a ball and chain.
• Author James Patterson and Gabriel Knight creator Jane Jensen are collaborating on a new game based on one of his books. "We're going to give people who don't want to shoot things ... who prefer to use their brains ... a chance to solve a really good mystery."
• Down In Front has an interview with the art director for Duke Nukem Forever.
• You can now spend ten bucks to have your sex changed in Lineage II.

Nintendo news

New media: Yet more Smash Bros. Brawl footage

• The Smash Dojo blog plans to start revealing hidden characters and stages, so even the official website is no longer safe for those fleeing from spoilers.
• The doctor who created Brain Training has refused all compensation for the title, because he "likes to work."
• The manager of the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association believes that up to 90% of American DS users play pirated games using the Chinese R4 chip. Of course, it's more likely 90% of American DS users don't know what an R4 chip is.
• Gamasutra asks whether Nintendo should bring back the Seal of Quality for Wii titles.
• Majesco has released more details on Major Minor's Majestic March, the new Wii rhythm game from the developers of Parappa.
• Eidos has announced Monster Lab, an action RPG for the Wii and DS.
• Nintendo Wii Fanboy has an gallery of odd Wii remote patent diagrams that Nintendo filed, from Wii remotes strapped to headbands to remotes stuck in the pedals of bikes and wheels of skateboards.
• Vintage Computing and Gaming looks at whether you actually save money by buying Virtual Console games instead of the actual carts on Ebay. It varies based on system (and what you're buying, obviously), but in general it is indeed cheaper. Especially when comparing the $6 price of Bonk 3 to the $200 it fetches at auction.
• Amazon's deal of the day is The Suite Life of Zack & Cody for $9.99.

Sony news

• SquareEnix has spoken out to quell rumors of dates or demos for FFXIII.
• Listings on the ESRB and Sony UK websites make it pretty clear that flOw is coming to the PSP.
• Sony has reduced their PS3 forecast to 9.5 million units by March 2008, down from the 11 million they repeatedly said they were on track to hitting. The concern seems to not be about the PS3 itself but in reduced consumer spending across the board in America.
• Atlus is bringing the all-girl 2D fighter Arcana Heart to the US on April 8.
• Warriors Orochi 2 is coming to Japanese PS2s on April 3.
• Home has undergone some changes as a result of feedback from testers.

Microsoft news

• Buku Sudoku will be coming to Live Arcade this year.
• Cooper Lawrence has spoken a little more about Mass Effect and the Fox debacle. Her original apology seemed like a complete back-down, but now she sounds a little more defensive. "I firmly stand by the research I cited that violence and sexual content in video games has a desensitizing effect on young developing minds."
• Xbox360Achievements.org has a list of the Achievements in the upcoming Triggerheart Exelica.
• Microsoft accidentally made the recent PAL Beautiful Katamari demo accessible to Live Silver users only. They're working to fix it.
• It seems Burnout Paradise requires a hard drive for online play.