Rumor Xbox 3 Launch In 2012 & Dev Kits Before Xmas

The Xbox 3 rumors continue to come out despite Microsoft’s silence. This latest set of rumors comes from Edge.

According to their sources Electronic Arts & Ubisoft Montreal are in possession of “target boxes” for the Xbox 3. What is a target box? Basically it is a personal computer with similar specs to the final product. Think of it kind of like a “pre-development kit”, it may lack all of the fine-tuned elements that those kits bring. The first versions of the development kit are expected to hit developer's doorsteps by Christmas.

The second part of the rumor is where things get murky. If Edges’ sources are correct then everything is on track for a 2012 launch for the Xbox 3. The release date of the next Xbox is a point of contention. Some fans & industry analysts believe that the third Xbox should arrive sometime in 2012 while others believe 2013.

Regardless of the authenticity of this rumor it, the first part falls in line with previous speculation that came out of E3 that big publishers like EA & Ubisoft had development hardware already.

Source: Edge Via Kotaku

Happy Birthday Xbox!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, XBOX! You still look great ;)

Be sure to drop by our Remembering The Xbox article!rates their 10th birthday today.

Need For Speed The Run Available Now

The best-selling racing franchise of all time is back -- and the stakes have never been higher. Get ready to race for your life in a heart-pounding cross-country race from the Golden Gate to the Empire State as Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that Need for Speed™ The Run is now available at retail stores in North America. Need for Speed The Run has already earned a perfect 5/5 from Stuff Magazine, while Men’s Health heralds the game for its “killer racing action ." Univision highlights Need for Speed The Run for its “spectacular cars and intense racing" and GameTrailers declares the game “a blast to drive.”

Featuring an all-star cast including Mad Men star Christina Hendricks, Never Back Down’s Sean Faris, 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover Model Irina Shayk and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Chrissy Teigen, Need for Speed The Run takes players on a thrilling cross-country race known simply as “The Run.” With $25 million on the line, players take the wheel as Jack Rourke navigating thousands of miles of treacherous terrain from San Francisco to New York squaring off against 200 other racers all while evading the cops and the mob, who are hot on his trail.

“This is the biggest, fastest and most dangerous Need for Speed game yet,” said Jason DeLong, Executive Producer, Need for Speed The Run. “Need for Speed The Run delivers the series’ trademark thrilling racing and ups the ante with incredible action sequences and stunning performances from our all-star cast.”

And the action doesn’t stop when players cross the finish line in New York. Need for Speed The Run delivers an addictive challenge series and highly-competitive multiplayer. The acclaimed Autolog feature also returns , delivering moment-by-moment performance feedback to ensure players are always in head-to-head competition with friends, enemies and online competitors.

The expansive vistas and impressive tactile environment in The Run are made possible by the Frostbite™ 2 engine. The raw power of the DICE game engine, that enhanced real time warfare in Battlefield 3, enabled the massive scale and scope of Need for Speed The Run from visually stunning courses like the slippery slopes of Independence Pass, CO to the hottest vehicles, including the all-new 2012 Porsche Carrera S and 2012 Lamborghini Aventador

DmC Devs Reportedly Offering Top Players Early Access to Game

Ninja Theory may be seeking feedback from top Devil May Cry players on the series' reboot, DmC: Devil May Cry, according to reports from Joystiq via NeoGAF. According to one forum post, a well-known DMC player received the following from someone claiming to be a developer representative -- I’m part of the team currently developing the new Devil May Cry title at Ninja Theory and I wanted to get in touch to see if you’d like to come in and play the game. Essentially I’m inviting in a very select few really top end DMC players to come and play through a section of the game and talk to some of our team about your experience.

We’ll pay for travel to and from the studio and will also provide lunch. Let me know if this sounds of interest and I can give you some more details. For the moment though, this remains unconfirmed, though we wouldn't be surprised to see Ninja Theory paying closer attention to DMC's die-hard fanbase as they work on a re-imagined version of the game. We'll keep you posted if we hear anything more. If you want to dig deeper, check out the NeoGAF thread.

EA President Confirms Battlefield 4

In news that shouldn't really surprise anyone, IGN is reporting that EA President Frank Gibeau revealed the existence of Battlefield 4 today.

During a keynote at the Unversity of Southern California, Gibeau apparently let slip that "there is going to be a Battlefield 4", the first such mention of a fourth Battlefield title by anyone at the publisher.

Still, considering Battlefield 3's strong sales, today's news should come as no real surprise.

TeamXbox Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Review

Love it or hate it, there is no doubt that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is going to be the biggest selling game of the year, and that creates a lot of expectations. We take a look at the game in our review and find that while Modern Warfare 3 may not innovate the genre or veer too far from the (scripted) path that Infinity Ward set up 4 years ago, it does provide a hell of an experience.

Read The Full Modern Warfare Review .

Halo Anniversary Maps Coming To Reach As DLC

Looking forward to Halo: CE Anniversary’s campaign, firefight and multiplayer modes but don’t want to shell out a full $40? The six multiplayer maps, as well as the Firefight map Installation 04, that are included in the Halo CE Anniversary package will be released as downloadable content for Reach starting Tuesday November 15th.

So if the Halo CE campaign with new graphics doesn’t quite grab you, and we don’t blame you with the likes of Assassin’s Creed, Modern Warfare 3 and Saint’s Row being released within the same week then this $15 DLC bundle might be for you.

Xbox Live Deal Of The Week Deadliest Warrior, Scott Plilgrim

This week's new Xbox Live Deal Of The Week has gone live, offering more discounts for Xbox Live Gold subscribers.

This week, Microsoft is offering 50% off on Deadliest Warrior and two related avatar items. Also included for 50% off is the excellent Scott Pilgrim Vs The World: The Game, and Sega's classic Shinobi. As always, these deals last for one week.

Saints Row 4 Will Be Even Wilder

G4 posted a preview clip for their upcoming interview with Danny Bilson, Vice President at THQ. In the clip Danny reveals that he already knows the plot of Saints Row 4! He promises that the fourth entry will be ‘even wilder’ than what they have revealed for three. It would seem that THQ and Volition would have a hard time toping themselves considering that Saints Row The Third includes Cyberpunk Gangs, Pimps and other kinds of insanity.

Check out the short clip below. We obviously don’t know much else regarding Saints Row 4 just yet. Saints Row The Third ships to retail next Tuesday, November 15th.

Xbox 360 Games - E3 2012 - Saints Row: The Third

New DmC Devil May Cry Concept Art

Capcom released some new concept art for the upcoming DmC: Devil May Cry reboot. They focus on enemy design and look like something you'd expect to see in Silent Hill -- creepy!

What do you think? Are you a fan of the new art style that Capcom is going for in DmC? Let us know in the comments.

Rainbow Six Patriots Gameplay Target Trailer

Ubisoft has taken the surprising move of releasing their "gameplay target" trailer for the upcoming Rainbow Six Patriots. The reason that this is so unusual is because this trailer is not final gameplay or even beta footage but a pre-rendered vision of what the game may play like. Usually these are used by development teams to visualize the look and feel of the final product before it enters full production.

Ubisoft chose to release the target render after various leaks surrounding the game popped up earlier this summer and fall. These leaks included the registration of the domain name "RainbowSixpatriots.com", screen grabs from the target render video and the game's current logo.

We shouldn't really judge the visual quality of the target render, as it was created with a computer and is obviously not running on Xbox 360 hardware. We can critique and discuss some of the coolest moments from the trailer.

Patriots centers around a volatile America where homegrown terrorist organizations have begun causing havoc. The trailer opens with these terrorists breaking in to the home of a presumably middle-aged man on his birthday. They take his wife and child hostage and outfit with a backpack bomb and the goal to deposit the bomb at times square.

As his transport across the Brooklyn bridge crashes he is instructed to continue on foot. From there the gameplay prospective switches to Team Rainbow, the international anti terrorism task force. The first person /third person (when in cover) gameplay we are familiar with returns. For patriots they've incorporated "see through" mechanics similar to detective vision from Arkham City. Members of Rainbow are able to see hostile targets through cars and other in game obstacles.

The rest of the trailer shouldn't be spoiled. Watch it for yourself at the bottom of this news articles. It ends on of the most intense moments we've seen in videogame promotion in a while. If the full game can live up to the vision of this trailer then Patriots might be one of the "must play" games of 2013.

More Tom Clancys Rainbow 6: Patriots Videos

Daytona USA Review

Like any developer with a vast back catalog of much-loved titles, SEGA has always been keen to bust out re-releases of classic games from its glory days. These have included the a smattering of Sonic titles, along with more obscure titles like Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram, but one popular SEGA classic has been missing until now. Daytona USA is a game with its origins in the publisher’s heyday back in the early 90s, and in the years following its release, you couldn’t go anywhere near an arcade without being drawn to its cheesy soundtrack and impressive (for the time) visuals.

Read our full review

Steven Spielberg Said No To Assassin's Creed Movie

After rumors swirled last month that Sony Pictures was close to a deal to produce the Assassin's Creed movie, Vulture is citing unnamed sources that say Ubisoft demanded so much control over the fate of the film that it caused many different studios to pass on the offer.

"They want to be able to pull the plug on the whole movie's development if they decide to. It's ridiculous," said the head of one of the unnamed studios that also passed on the film.

"They're not moviemakers, and the only way to make sure it's a bad movie is to undervalue what movie studios do — and this is a deal that totally undervalues what movie studios do." said another.

A Hollywood agent said that "The whole Ubisoft/Sony deal is a waste of ink, paper and time. The level of control Sony gave up means, effectively, that Assassin's Creed will never — and I mean never — get made."

We can't blame Ubisoft for wanting so much control in the fate of the film -- we've seen so many movies based on video games turn out so bad that we wondered how they were green lighted in the first place.

Sony supposedly said yes to the offer because of how little of an investment they'd have to make in producing the film, effectively taking a gamble -- one we'll have to wait and see if it pays off.

Are you looking forward to the possibility of an Assassin's Creed movie? Let us know in the comments.

PAX East 2012 Registrations Open

The ever-popular Penny Arcade East registrations are now open for those looking to head over to Boston to enjoy one of the largest and most successful game conventions around. Tickets are on sale for $35 per day or for $65 for a 3 day pass, and are sure to sell out well before the April 6th to April 8th date of the con itself.

If you're looking at those dates and thinking "Wait, why does that weekend sound familiar", it probably because April 7th is the Armenian Day of Maternity and Beauty. Also, that week happens to be Easter weekend. The PAX East organizers say they apologize for any trouble this may cause would-be participants, and are working with the city of Boston to (hopefully) ensure that it does not happen again.

Skyrim Avatar Launch Collection Now Available on XBL

Upset at the lack of dragonborne armor for your XBox Live Avatar? Wish there was a sweet mage robe in which to ensconce your digital doppelganger? Well wait no more! The Skyrim Avatar Collection has been released on Xbox Live. Here's a listing of their offerings:

Dragonborn Armor – 400 MSFT points | $4.99 Dragon Bone Armor – 400 MSFT points | $4.99 Mage Robe – 320 MSFT points | $3.99 Dark Brotherhood Armor – 400 MSFT points | $4.99 Dragon Bone Helm – 240 MSFT points | $2.99 Dragon Prop – 240 MSFT points | $2.99 Elder Scroll Prop – 240 MSFT points | $2.99 Magelight Prop – 240 MSFT points | $2.99 Stormcloak Helm – 240 MSFT points | $2.99 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Premium Theme – 240 MSFT points | $2.99

The scroll... It looks so... scrolley!
Which ones will you be getting, if any?

How to Fly Jets in Battlefield 3

If you're struggling with the age-old Battlefield problem of how to effectively pilot jets without immediately nosediving into the sea, then you should check out IGN 360's guide to Battlefield 3 aerial combat.

In it, you'll learn how best to assault ground targets, along with enemy planes, while avoiding unplanned encounters with either the ground, sea or enemy missiles. Check it out below!

Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City Demo Arrives Early 2012

If you're looking forward to killing zombies (or members of STARS and the Raccoon City Police department) in Capcom's upcoming multiplayer focused squad based shooter, you're in. Acccording to Joystiq , Capcom plans to release a demo for the game some time in early 2012.

When exactly next year? Well, the game itself launches on March 20th, 2012, so the beta will obviously happen within the first three months of the year.

News of a demo wasn't the only Raccoon City news to come out of Capcom's Gamer's Day event, as they also published a brand new trailer for the game: