The Team Fortress 2 Meet the Sniper video has been released, and immediately people have begun scouring it for any secrets it may hold. For instance: What's this the pyro's carrying?

Industry and multi-console news

New media: Call of Duty: World at War screenshots

• EA has once again extended the deadline for their Take Two offer. Dude, let it go.
• Next Generation has new UK and other European sales charts.
• Japanese news sites are reporting that more employees have indeed left Tecmo and are suing for unpaid overtime.
• GamesRadar lists the top 7 worst parts of good games.
• Gamasutra has an analysis of the big three console download services. They find there's been a slowing of new software releases during the first half of 2008 compared to 2007.
• GameSetWatch wonders why Team Fortress 2 seems to draw a more mature audience.
• The New Gamer does some wondering too, about why there aren't more confessional games.
• Sega says the leaked Crucible video posted yesterday isn't the game Silicon Knights is working on.
• D3 will be making games based on the Shaun the Sheep TV series and upcoming Coraline movie.
• Jack Thompson got a visit from US Marshals recently. This was in response to a letter to a judge in which he claimed terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay got more rights than he did, adding: "I guess my 'mistake' was not killing 3000 people to make my point..." Naturally, he is now claiming the Marshals were sent to intimidate and harass him.
• Future Shops in Canada are going to begin selling used games.
• GameTrailersTV seems dead set on constantly getting exclusive debut footage, as the first trailer for Call of Duty: World at War will air on their show Friday.
• Rolling Stone film critic Peter Travers says GTA4 may be the best popcorn movie of the summer. "It's better than anything I've seen at the multiplex so far this summer, except maybe Iron Man."
• Gamasutra has a lengthy interview with Richard Jacques, music composer for Sonic R and Metropolis Street Racer, who has more recently contributed to games like Mass Effect and Sega Superstars Tennis. "I think back in the day, with the Sonics and Marios, music played a different function, whereas today, it's to support characters and narrative, to create emotional rises and falls in the stories and arcs, etcetera."
• Square Enix has released a new fantasy card game called Lord of Vermilion in Japanese arcades.
• Stephen Totilo and N'Gai Croal have kicked off a series of posts debating the ups and downs of GTA4.

PC and mobile news

• The Team Fortress 2 Pyro update is coming this Thursday and will contain three weapons (one of which no doubt being whatever that thing is above), 35 achievements and two user-created maps. In addition, there will be another TF2 free weekend starting Friday.
• BodySurf is a script that uses the Wii balance board to control Audiosurf.
• Sins of a Solar Empire developer Stardock says Microsoft is not to blame for a lack of progress in the PC gaming world. "The reason why Microsoft can't do as much as they should is because we're talking about a company that gets sued if they bundle a media player with their OS."
• The Gathering Tempest, the 46th update for Everquest II, has been released.
• SimsCarnival.com has entered open beta.

Nintendo news

• Despite yesterday's low numbers, EA says Boom Blox sales have met expectations. They expect the game to have a "much flatter, much longer curve" than hardcore titles that make up to 30% of their lifetime sales in the first week.
• LostWinds is currently the most downloaded WiiWare title in Europe.
• Fresh off apologizing for saying only "geeks and otaku" want extra storage, Laurent Fischer says Nintendo is working on a solution to the storage problem. But there's no plan to make an external drive.
• Nintendo says they will be announcing "several new titles that core gamers will be interested in" at E3.
• Nintendo has released a Wii update that kills the Twilight Princess homebrew hack and renders Datel's Wii Freeloader useless.
• For the next two weekends, you can get a rare Deoxys Pokemon by going to Gamestop with a DS and a copy of Diamond or Pearl.
• IGN has a list of Gamestation locations in the UK holding Smash Bros. Brawl tournaments.
• Chow.com suggests some one-handed foods for use on Wii gaming nights.

Sony news

• Kotaku is reporting the rumor that Heavenly Sword 2 has been cancelled.
• On reports that the MGS4 bundle is becoming scarce, Sony says that more shipments are on the way. They just don't say when.
• MGS4 has become the fastest-selling PS3 game in Japan.
• There's a rumor that the extra content for Bioshock on the PS3 will include a new opening movie showing Rapture before the fall, and the zoo area that was cut from the 360 version due to time constraints.
• LocoRoco 2 is coming this year.
• Sony says that lack of online functionality was a consideration in the decision to cancel Eight Days. Heaven forbid you have an offline-only game, you'll be living in a cave and hunting mammoths next.
• A PixelJunk Eden demo is coming next month.
• Cosplayers aren't all losers. At least one of them managed to make Hideo Kojima laugh.

Microsoft news

New content: Rock Band tracks
New media: Operation Darkness screenshots

• Die Hard 4 director Len Wiseman has been brought on to direct the Gears of War movie.
• Freeverse has announced Marathon downloadable content, coming June 18.
• XNA games will most likely be less expensive than Live Arcade titles.
• After failing to appear at the event last year, Microsoft will be attending E for All this year.
• The next Halo novel will be called The Cole Protocol.
• Sierra has announced Interpol for Live Arcade.
• Amazon's deal of the day is Call of Duty 3 Platinum Hits Edition for $9.99. They also have 512MB memory units for $28.13.