IGN has the exclusive reveal of Guitar Hero: On Tour for the DS. It's certainly.. interesting. The trailer they have at the link shows what looks to be the on-screen guitar catching fire and the player blowing on it; I swear to God they better not have made another DS game where you blow into the damned mic.

Industry and multi-console news

New media: Kung Fu Panda trailer, Tom Clancy's EndWar gameplay footage -- presented by the Frag Dolls, ick

• According to Variety, development teams under Vivendi's Sierra label will have to pitch their current projects to Activision executives due to the merger. And it's doubtful all will survive: "Just like when a new executive teams takes over at a film studio, some projects in development get killed and others get changed as the new folks in charge start establishing their own tastes and corporate priorities."
• Ninja Theory is working on a new game for the 360 and PS3 which is not a sequel to Heavenly Sword. They're considering creating a CGI movie using the game engine alongside the game itself.
• EA CEO John Riccitiello has been criticized for his choice of words in calling EA a "white knight" in the Take Two takeover attempt.
• Beau Bridges has joined the cast of the Max Payne movie as "B.B. Hensley, a former cop and mentor figure to Payne."
• Gamasutra has a pair of new features: A Japanese RPG Primer: The Essential 20 and Video Game Pranks.
• More Street Fighter movie casting news: Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas will be playing Vega, and Neal McDonough will be playing M. Bison.
• Microsoft Xbox team member Ozymandias has been working on a Co-op Gaming Bill of Rights with help from the gaming community, listing the features for co-op gaming that "the community really feels are critical to the experience."
• Brad Shoemaker has become the fifth staffer to leave Gamespot since the firing of Jeff Gerstmann.
• This week's Zero Punctuation review is for Turok.
• David Jaffe has a point here about filmic game directors and their place in the industry, if you can find it within the drunken, rambling writing. "If people who make games that are movie-like want to be treated like people who make movies, then our movie-like games need to somehow find a way to become the biggest successes in the gaming business. And that- so far- has simply not come close to happening."
• In discussing the proposed Massachusetts law to restrict the sale of violent video games to minors, the mayor of Boston's director of Health and Human Services claimed that many games "award players points for shooting people, raping women or setting people on fire." Ironically, he said this while urging lawmakers to view Mature-rated games for themselves.
• David Hellman has posted part 1, part 2, and part 3 of The Art of Braid.
• The Square Enix Member program is coming stateside, and you can sign up now.
• A photographer is claiming that the game Juiced 2 uses a photo he shot without his permission.

PC and mobile news

New content: Commander: Europe at War 1.06 patch, Building & Co patch
New media: Requiem: Bloodymare screenshots

• EA has revealed the first details on Sims 3.
• Metal Gear Solid Mobile is now available for Verizon Wireless customers.
• Next Generation talks to developers and analyst Michael Pachter about the viability of the iPhone as a gaming device.
• Nickelodeon is developing 600 casual games, with 185 being prepared for Nick.com alone.

Nintendo news

New media: Soul Bubbles screenshots

• Disney has announced Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals, a sequel to last year's DS game.
• Greenpeace has again ranked Nintendo at the bottom in their Guide to Greener Electronics, scoring eight zeroes across nine categories. The ratings don't necessarily indicate bad environmental business practices, only a lack of public policies.
• The Korg DS-10 synthesizer program will be released worldwide.
• MTV Multiplayer has a pair of videos demonstrating Mario Kart Wii's controls, both with the wheel and without.
• Eegra has an interview with the creators of Chibi Robo and Archime-DS, the latter of which is coming here as LOL.
• Destructoid has a trailer for an in-progress fan remake of Metroid II.
• Broken Review tests how much punishment a DS Lite can take.
• Amazon has Avatar: The Burning Earth for $15.47.

Sony news

New media: Persona 4 screenshots and promo trailers

• This Playstation Network TV ad has been getting some notice on the Internet, probably because it is a Playstation ad that isn't horrible.
• The original Metal Gear Solid is coming to PSN in Japan on March 21, no doubt in anticipation for MGS4. It seems at least possible that they might do the same for other territories.
• Amazon's deal of the day is Gangs of London for $12.99.

Microsoft news

• Three upcoming Live Arcade games will be "Fable 2 compatible," meaning you can win gold in the games that can then be used in Fable 2.
• Bungie has revealed the second map in the upcoming Legendary Map pack for Halo 3: A Sidewinder tribute called Avalanche.
• Remember when it was reported that Ubisoft said Haze was a PS3 exclusive for all time? Well, what they meant to say was that it's a PS3 exclusive "for now."
• The April issue of UK OXM refers to the Live Arcade version of Ikaruga as "out now", meaning the game should be nearing release.
• Best Buy is giving out $50 gift cards to people who bought HD DVD players before February 23.
• You can get an extra Rainbow Six Vegas 2 map by following the instructions at the link and not feeling weird about downloading what is essentially an ad.