Pictured: Master Chief made of balloons (left).

I was recently reminded that Gamespot never finished their Flashback video series. I don't have any grander point to make here, it just bugs me because I had that page bookmarked for a long time, waiting for them to finally update it. Of course, half the people involved don't even work at Gamespot anymore.

Industry and multi-console news

New media: Quantum of Solace screenshots, Street Fighter IV screenshots showing some of the game's interface

• Kotaku has the list of Who tracks coming to Rock Band this month.
• HMV's head of games says that games "are the new rock and roll."
• Treyarch has apologized for an Activision senior producer calling Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway a "crappy war game."
• GameCareerGuide has a report on what it's like inside a Japanese game school.
• Two more Tatsunoko vs. Capcom fighters have been revealed: Alex from Street Fighter III and Gan-chan from Yatterman.
• The Top Gun Anthem (not Danger Zone) is coming to Guitar Hero III as a free track this Thursday.
• A pair of Gamasutra features on game design: the Problem of the Cutscene and Creating Credible Obstacles in Games.
• The ticket prices for this year's E for All have been announced.
• I'm not sure why anyone would expect it to, but for the record, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith doesn't work with Rock Band guitars.
• Gamesradar presents 65 things that look like Pac-Man.
• Capcom has clarified earlier reports, saying that Mega Man 9 is only coming to WiiWare.
• Capcom is looking for San Francisco Bay-area gamers to test a secret game.
• A study conducted at the University of New South Wales in Australia using a custom-made video game for the study found that players were more likely to shoot Muslim-looking characters whether they were a threat or not.
• Pulitzer-prize winning author Junot Díaz has a feature in the Wall Street Journal about how GTA4 falls short of some of its high praise, which to be fair, has been pretty ridiculous in places (Gamespy claimed the game was "on par with the finest films by directors like Martin Scorcese or Francis Ford Coppola"). Despite what you might expect, Diaz is coming from the well-informed perspective of having played the series since the first game in 1998.

PC and mobile news

New media: Crysis Warhead trailer

• BioWare is open to the possibility of developing on the iPhone.
• Age of Conan is now the second biggest western MMO, having surpassed 700,000 subscribers.
• Stardock is offering full refunds to anyone who bought The Political Machine only to find out their computer can't run it due to video card compatibility issues.
• Diablo fans are whining that Diablo III is too bright. The only color on the spectrum they recognize is Cheeto orange.
• Square-Enix' free-to-play MMO Concerto Gate is entering closed beta, with 5000 keys up for grabs at FileFront.
• Funcom says the Age of Conan bug that causes female characters to attack slightly slower than males will take another three to four weeks to fix.

Nintendo news

New media: Dragon Quest V trailer, C.O.R.E. debut trailer -- is it just my monitor settings or can you not see half of what's going on here

• Disgaea DS and Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure are both hitting America on September 23. I can't believe they're remaking Rhapsody.
• A Wii Hula game has been announced for Japan, and is listed as requiring the balance board.
• Castlevania Judgment will feature Wii-DS connectivity to "unlock bonus gameplay content."
• A Nintendo art exhibit is being organized in Melbourne for September. Artists are being encouraged to submit contributions to the show.

Sony news

New media: Resistance 2 trailer

• Sony has denied rumors that PS2 games are coming to PSN.
• Disgaea 3 has been given an August 26 release date in America and a price of $49.99.
• Trophies will be part of an upcoming update to Burnout: Paradise. But not the next one.
• If you're somehow still confused, the official Playstation blog offers a firmware 2.4 FAQ.

Microsoft news

New content: Rock Band tracks (including one free)

• Kmart has begun advertising a 360 price cut in Australia.
• IGN lists the 5 things they want fixed in Too Human before it's released.
• The voice actor for Dominic Santiago claims that Gears of War 2 will be "more emotionally affecting that BioShock."
• The new version of RPG Maker will produce 360 compatible code.
• The Fanboys takes a look at the design of the dashboard and how to make it better. You don't notice just how much wasted space there is until it's pointed out.
• Meanwhile there's a rumor that Microsoft is planning a second dashboard interface to work with their upcoming motion controller (which is also just a rumor).
• Microsoft Games Studios Europe says not to expect many simultaneous PC/360 releases, as that would "basically shoot ourselves in the foot."
• Amazon's deal of the day is Dark Sector for $19.99.