British Gaming Blog takes a look at the always odd world of pirate video games. Containing all your favorite classics, like Dick Tales and Speed Car.

Industry and multi-console news

New media: Soul Calibur IV trailer and Yoda gameplay footage, EndWar gameplay demonstration, Awkward Guitar Hero World Tour footage featuring Tony Hawk playing the game with Paula Abdul on the sidelines clapping like an idiot

• Ubisoft's content director says that games won't be the same after EndWar. "It's kind of boastful, but I really do think that this is a watershed type of game."
• The new Australian sales chart has Wii Fit remaining on top for the third week.
• Next Generation has analysis of China's growing games market.
• Saints Row 2 has been delayed until October 14.
• Phil Harrison believes the game industry will move away from single player games.
• Excitebike 64/Nitrobike developer Left Field Productions is working on Score International Baja 1000 for all major systems.
• Civilization Revolution has been delayed until July.
• GameTrailers TV will be debuting new Facebreaker and Resident Evil 5 footage this Friday.
• Ubisoft has revealed the list of their top selling franchises of all time. Rayman actually tops the list, over any of the Tom Clancy games.
• Gamasutra has a collection of responses from the development community to their recent article on quality of life in the game industry.
• GameCareerGuide looks at 10 myths about game degrees.
• Namco Bandai has announced that Killzone scriptwriter Gordon Rennie is writing the script for Splatterhouse.
• Japanmanship lists a few artifacts of gaming's past that are still around, and why they need to go. There are actually very good reasons for each of those things to still be around.
• EA has released a video demonstrating how Madden 09's animation is better than 08's.
• The Exploding Barrel has a couple videos of Katt Williams and Ricky Gervais in GTA4. But one must turn to YouTube for the pinnacle of man's creation, EVERYDAY I'M HUSSLIN'
• The Guinness Book of World Records has recognized Sid Meier as the developer who has won more game awards than anyone else.
• As they did with Penny Arcade Adventures, Big Download compares the PC and 360 versions of Mass Effect.
• With Wii Fit now released, GamePro looks back at seven failed foot-based game controllers.
• Taking input from different game reviewers, MTV Multiplayer has compiled the first draft of their game reviewer bill of rights.
• On the subject from the other side, they also look at the "common but not widespread" phenomenon of review scores affected developer royalties. “I’ve gotten e-mails from developers over the years who have said, ‘I don’t think you realize what you’re doing to me with this review’ because my review knocked them out of the range of some bonus that they were up for."

PC and mobile news

New GameTap titles: Ducati World Championship, Tortuga: Pirates of the New World
New content: The Sims 2: Free Time patch, Dominions 3: The Awakening 3.17 patch, Empires in Arms 1.02 patch, Pacific Storm: Allies 1.52 patch

• Deus Ex is being added to GameTap's roster of free games next week.
• A TurboGrafx-16 emulator has been released for the iPhone.

Nintendo news

New media: Tecmo Bowl DS screenshots

• Gamespot has more details on SimCity Creator.
• The Nintendo Channel is set to launch in Europe and Australia tomorrow.
• Design Lesson 101 examines LostWinds and finds that "changing the method of input can make a familiar genre feel like a unique experience."
• Nintendo has no first party games coming in June, their first month off in years.
• Nintendo has supplied some details on the newly announced Wario Land Shake. There's a blurry magazine scan here.
• MTV Multiplayer talks to Eugene Jarvais, the man responsible for the awful arcade/Wii game Target Terror (and, oddly enough, also Defender and Robotron). He takes the game a little too seriously. “The beauty of full motion video is that you can capture all the human emotion of a live actor."

Sony news

New content: Rock Band tracks

• Sony CEO Howard Stringer admits that the PS3 was "sort of on life support before."
• An Eye of Judgment patch will be going up tonight.
• Reuters has an interview with Hideo Kojima in which he again he again fudges on the finality of the MGS series (and his involvement). "MGS will always be around. I feel a responsibility to continue this series as long as users demand it. But it doesn't mean I'm going to sit in completely."
• The deputy head of a Japanese technical college has been arrested for using the PSP's camera peripheral to look up a woman's skirt.
• Amazon's deal of the day is Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII for $25.99.

Microsoft news

New media: Soul Calibur (XBLA) gameplay footage, Spectral Force 3 screenshots
New content: Kung Fu Panda demo, Ace Combat 6 planes

• Yukes has announced Double D Dodgeball for Live Arcade, a title that is no doubt expressly designed to mislead.
• The next Live Arcade update will include Roogoo, a game that involves putting blocks in holes. Yep.