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Steam is offering up another fine weekend sale with 50% off Far Cry and Far Cry 2: Fortune's Edition. They can be purchased individually for $4.99 and $9.99 or as a package for $14.99.

Released in 2004, Far Cry is among the most popular FPS titles for the PC and was developed by Crytek, who later brought us Crysis. Players are put into the boots of Jack Carver, an ex-US Special Forces operative, who is contracted by a reporter investigating a series of islands where a mad scientist is performing illegal genetic research. After his boat is blown up by mercenaries occupying the islands, Jack is shipwrecked and forced to fight for his life.


Far Cry 2 was picked up by Ubisoft and Crytek played no part in the development. Reviewers didn't rate it quite as high as the original, but it still fared well with a Metacritic score of 85%. Set in a civil war-torn fictional African nation, the game features an open-ended storyline and players control a mercenary attempting to assassinate a notorious arms dealer called "The Jackal." "Fortunes Edition" refers to downloadable content (included) that brings three new weapons, two vehicles, and four additional multiplayer maps.

Microsoft's Marc Whitten announced in a blog post today that the company would discontinue Xbox LIVE for original Xbox consoles and games, including both titles for the first-generation Xbox and Xbox Originals. The switch to Xbox 360-only service will take place on April 15, so you still have a couple months to squeeze in some Halo 2 multiplayer action.

In justifying the move, Whitten explained that the decision wasn't "made lightly," but is necessary to facilitate the evolution of Xbox LIVE. "To reach our aspiration, we need to make changes to the service that are incompatible with our original Xbox v1 games." Affected members will receive messages via LIVE and email over the next few weeks for "more details and opportunities."

In his closing, Whitten said he believes forthcoming changes to Xbox LIVE and Microsoft's Project Natal will make 2010 a landmark year in gaming and home entertainment.

Microsoft announced today that it would begin selling a 250GB hard drive add-on for the Xbox 360 next month. On March 11, Japanese customers will be able to purchase the larger drive for ¥15,540 (about $172). Additionally, Microsoft will release the Wireless Controller Game Pack for ¥5,775 ($63) and the Xbox 360 Wireless N adapter for ¥8,925 ($98).

The company has packaged a 250GB drive with various special edition consoles in the past, but this marks the first time it will be sold as a standalone add-on. Avid gamers will surely welcome the extra storage space, as the Xbox 360 Elite only ships with a 120GB hard drive, which is quickly consumed by installing games, DLC, demos, and other downloadable media.

Unfortunately, the company is still overpricing its storage accessories. A 2.5-inch 250GB 5400RPM/7200RPM OEM drive costs $50 to $70 e-tail, so Microsoft charges quite a premium for its gigabytes.

It isn't clear if or when the 250GB drive will land in North America and Europe.

GOG has been a synonym of classic PC gaming since it launched in 2008, with a library of cheap, DRM-free titles that's been growing steadily ever since. Today they have announced their biggest partnership yet, one that will bring Activision's wide array of back-catalogue games to their digital platform.

They are kicking off the deal with just two games priced at a mere $6 apiece -- Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura and Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers. The first a steam punk-esque RPG in the style of the classic "Fallout" games, while the latter is a voice-acted revamp of Sierra's 1993 adventure game. Further Activision titles are due to be added each week during February.


In related news, Marcin Iwinski, Co-Founder of GOG.com and its parent company CD Project, was recently interviewed by GameZebo and let slip one interesting tidbit: iPad compatibility might be in the works. Though not officially confirming anything, Iwinski shared a Photoshop mockup depicting an "Apple Multi-Touch Interface"-compatible version of Adventure Soft's Simon the Sorcerer. Guess that sort of answers the question we made them a while ago regarding their plans on the mobile space.

Ubisoft has confirmed that it will not use the much-despised StarForce DRM mechanism in upcoming PC games. Instead, the company will rely on its new online services platform for anti-piracy protection. The new scheme is reportedly present in the Settlers 7 beta.

Ubisoft said in a statement that the new online platform allows users to install titles on as many computers as they wish, play games without a CD or DVD, and even it supports saved game synchronizations between systems via the Internet.


There is a catch, though: the platform requires a permanent Internet connection. Acknowledging its decision is controversial, Ubisoft said the connection requirement is justified "by the gameplay advantages offered by the system and because most PCs are already connected to the Internet."

The company added, "any initiative that allows us to lower the impact of piracy on our PC games will also allow us to concentrate further effort on the creation and expansion of our intellectual properties."

According to a CVG source, Nintendo turned down the device that became Microsoft's Project Natal. Israel company 3DV Systems reportedly showed the technology to Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata and other execs toward the end of 2007, but Iwata wasn't convinced Nintendo could sell it at the right price-point. There was also concern about latency during gameplay. Microsoft later purchased the technology and its creator, eventually revealing Project Natal at E3 2009.

The unnamed insider said, "Honestly - I've heard Iwata describe the prototype he saw at length, and it's definitely Natal… What we witnessed at E3 was smaller and the facial [reading] stuff had improved, but it's the same technology. We remain unconvinced Natal will deliver on the more sophisticated elements of what Microsoft is promising at the price they're aiming for."

CVG notes that the cost issues fit with Microsoft's recent decision to remove a chip from Natal to save on research and development expenses. Neither Nintendo or Microsoft responded to the site's request for a comment.

Valve's digital distribution platform Steam may be on its way to Mac OS X if this next bit of news has any substance. Superannuation found a curious block of text on the LinkedIn page of Valve's Chris Green: "I work for Valve. You should work for Valve. REALLY looking for senior Linux + Mac engineers. Always hiring Senior Engineers, Artists, and Mappers."

That's not particularly revealing, but it makes a bit of sense for Valve to introduce a Mac version of Steam. Various titles that the service offers are already Mac-friendly, such as PopCap's casual games, and Apple's userbase seems to be increasing -- especially among younger crowds, who happen to like video games.

Are there enough Mac-compatible games on Steam to make it worth Valve's while? Would you install the Steam client on your Mac?

In a blog post last Friday, George "geohot" Hotz claimed to have hacked the Sony PlayStation 3 after five weeks of work with "very simple hardware cleverly applied, and some not so simple software." Hotz said he's gained read and write access to the entire system memory, as well as HV-level access to the processor.

"I have hacked the PS3. The rest is just software. And reversing. I have a lot of reversing ahead of me, as I now have dumps of LV0 and LV1. I've also dumped the NAND without removing it or a modchip."

Hotz said he wouldn't reveal the exploit yet, and noted that isn't really patchable -- though, Sony could make implementations more difficult. While he can't post the dumps, Hotz hopes to find the decryption keys and make those available.

George Hotz gained popularity for assisting the effort to jailbreak the Apple iPhone.

Amid the flurry of disapproval, 2K Games has decided to scale back the DRM restrictions on BioShock 2. Fans were unhappy to learn a five-install limit would accompany the sequel to BioShock, but according to community manager Elizabeth Tobey, the company has done away with SecuROM install limits on both the retail and digital editions of BioShock 2.

SecuROM will be present, but "only to verify the game's executable and check the date." Tobey also noted that the company would abide by standard Games for Windows Live non-SSA guidelines, which allow up to 15 activations. Beyond that, you can reset them by calling Microsoft. This follows the implementation of other recent games, like Batman: Arkham Asylum.


While I understand the desire of developers and publishers to protect their livelihood, DRM-laden games are still cracked and readily available on most torrent trackers. Increasing the install cap to 15 is certainly an improvement, but I'm curious to know how many thefts are prevented as opposed to the number of frustrated paying customers.

OnLive's ambitious games-on-demand service clearly has a lot to live up to. The company has been keeping its cards close to the chest since announcing the technology last year, which promises to make high-end games playable on low-end computers via streaming, and has since moved into a "public" beta stage but is only giving out access to a handful of testers based on their geographic location and other variables.

Ryan Shrout of PC Perspective may have broken a few rules when he borrowed someone's beta account to access the service last week. Nevertheless, the site has a detailed write-up on the performance he experienced playing Burnout Paradise, Unreal Tournament 3 and Tom Clancy's HAWX over the web on a Core i7 860 system. The games were running at a fairly decent 1280 x 720 resolution and used around 1Mb/s of bandwidth.


As a whole the experience wasn't awful but definitely not up to par with playing the same games on a local, appropriately beefy home PC. OnLive's client was easy to start up and had a very small footprint as promised, using under 60MB of memory and anywhere from 4-7 percent of the CPU power. As you might suspect, however, lag was an issue, and so were the downgraded graphics.

OnLive responded to the criticism via its official blog claiming that PC Perspective's report is not representative of the actual product. The company has always boasted that they were going to try and match each user with a data center within 100 miles of the player to minimize lag, but it turns out that Shrout was about 2,100 miles away from the company's server in California. The final version of OnLive also promises to adapt to your Internet connection and location every time you connect in order to deliver the best possible experience.

Unfortunately for them, some other anonymous beta testers have come forward claiming that the experience isn't much better in the ideal scenario. There is still room for improvement as no official launch date for the service has been announced, but for now I remain a bit skeptical -- there are just too many limitations. One thing is for sure, you won't want to throw out your console or abandon your PC upgrade plans anytime soon.

Steam has opened pre-orders on the sequel to the widely popular survival horror FPS, BioShock. Slated for release on February 9, purchasing BioShock 2 now will score you a 10% discount that brings the price from $49.99 to $44.99, as well as a free copy of the original BioShock.

Steam is also taking advanced orders on Aliens vs. Predator, which costs $49.99 and is scheduled for a February 16 launch. Unfortunately, there's no discount involved, but you will receive a $20 copy of Universe at War: Earth Assault, as well as three unique in-game skins: SGT. Kaneoko, Number Six, and Alien Head Predator.


If you already own BioShock or Universe at War: Earth Assault, you can give the extra copy to a friend. It's also worth noting that both of these titles made our Most Anticipated PC Games of 2010 list.

Those of you who were eagerly anticipating getting your hands on Sony's PlayStation 3 motion controller sometime this spring will have to wait a little longer. The company has officially pushed back the release by six months as it looks to ensure a wider variety of compatible titles at launch, which they plan to disclose "soon."


The delay means losing the launch advantage it had over Microsoft's Project Natal system, which is slated for a fall release just in time for the year-end holidays, though we're probably better off waiting a bit more than getting half-baked implementations in advance. The new controller is designed to work with the PlayStation Eye camera, which tracks the glowing ball mounted on its end, and reflects the precise movement within the game.

This sort of gameplay was pioneered by the Nintendo Wii more than three years ago, which helped them bring a whole new audience to the video gaming world -- an audience that both Sony and Microsoft are now after.

Even with a December sales performance that “broke all industry records,” U.S. videogame sales slipped 8 percent last year over the $21.4 billion generated in 2008. Aside from portable hardware sales which experienced a 6% increase in revenue, every other category experienced a decline, among which retail sales of PC games suffered the biggest drop with revenues of only $538 million in 2009 according to NPD.

This equates to a 23% decline versus the $701 million generated in 2008, which in turn was down 14% from a year earlier at $910.7 million -- and that 2007 total was a 6% drop from 2006 so you can see the trend here. However, those figures don't account for digital distribution or subscriptions.

So while the industry as a whole has grown by more than 250% at retail alone in the last decade, the decline on the computer front doesn't necessarily mean PC gaming is dead -- quite the contrary some argue it is by far the most prevalent gaming platform and that it's definitely evolving to a more online market. Unfortunately, despite being aware of this, NPD is still not tracking game sales through nontraditional channels.

Hoping to get your grubby paws on Half-Life 2: Episode Three this year? Well, I hate the be the bearer of bad news, but reports around the Web claim the overdue installment won't arrive in 2010. In the February issue of Game Informer magazine, Valve supposedly states the much-anticipated episode won't be ready this year.

Given the lengthy development time (HL2: Episode Two came out in 2007), many are questioning whether the upcoming title will be HL2: Episode Three or flat out Half-Life 3. There is no mention of Portal 2, and apart from a casting call for voice actors in mid-2008, Valve has kept quiet on its progress -- or lack thereof.

Last year, Valve's Gabe Newell said development of Episode Three was ongoing, but provided no additional details about when the world would see it. A followup statement from Valve is inevitable, and let's just hope this is one big misunderstanding.

Nintendo mopped the floor with Microsoft and Sony last month, selling 3.81 million Wii consoles and 3.31 million DS handhelds versus the competition's 1.31 million Xbox 360s, 1.36 million PS3s, 333,200 PS2s, and 654,700 PSPs.

In fact, Wii and DS sales were so strong in December, they surpassed the PS2's best-selling month. Although Nintendo stole the spotlight, the PS3 broke its personal sales record, and the video game industry as a whole witnessed its biggest sales month ever, beating last December's figures by 4%.

Software fared well last year, with Modern Warfare 2 (combined SKUs) topping console sales. New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Wii Fit Plus, Wii Sports Resort, Wii Play, Mario Kart, Assassin's Creed II, Left 4 Dead 2, and Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story also made the top ten list.

The top list of PC game sales in 2009 isn't entirely surprising: The Sims 3, WoW: Wrath of the Lich King, The Sims 3 Double Deluxe, WoW: Battle Chest, Modern Warfare 2, The Sims 3: World Adventures, Spore, Dragon Age: Origins, Empire: Total War.

Activision today announced that Infinity Ward's blockbuster military shooter, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, has accumulated over $1 billion in estimated global retail sales. The title's popularity has far exceeded expectations, shattering numerous entertainment records, and even becoming the most pirated game of 2009, despite its late-year release.

"There are only a handful of entertainment properties that have ever reached the $1 billion mark, which illustrates the power of the Call of Duty franchise and the mass appeal of this game," said Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick. Modern Warfare 2 generated $550 million sales during the first five days available, surpassing box-office hits like Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, as well as games such as GTA IV.


Naturally, the game has been popular among pirates too, and the PC version of MW2 alone pulled in some 4.1 million unauthorized downloads in less than two months, compared to The Sims 3's 3.2 million downloads in a six-month period.

As for the future? Several downloadable content packs are due this spring, and rumors suggest that Infinity Ward's next project will be an MMO while another developer might pick up the Call of Duty franchise.

Nintendo has announced that the Wii will finally receive Netflix streaming capabilities. The video service has been available on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for some time, and will arrive on the Wii this spring. Anyone with a Wii, an Internet connection and at least a $9 per month Netflix subscription will be able to access the service, which will require the use of a special streaming disc like the PS3.

While the added functionality is great news, the Wii can't handle HD content, so Netflix users will be stuck with SD videos. Although, this probably isn't a concern for the average Wii owner, rumors suggest that Nintendo may update the console to add HD-capable hardware.

Considering the number of Wii units in circulation, Nintendo has a great opportunity to offer content -- despite the company's stance that the Wii is nothing more than a gaming console.

Razer and Sixense have partnered up to develop a "revolutionary true-to-life, next-generation motion sensing and gesture recognition controller for PC gaming." The companies -- along with select OEM partners -- are working on new motion sensing controllers that use electromagnetic fields to track precise movements, which can be used in current and upcoming PC games.

How precise and what kind of games are we talking about here? The companies say the absolute controller position is tracked to within one millimeter for positioning, a degree for orientation, and the technology is being demonstrated with Left 4 Dead 2 at CES. First person shooters generally require high speed and accuracy, so if the technology is suitable for L4D2, hopefully it's more than just a wonky novelty.

Razer and Sixense will push their motion controller to market later this year, and developers interested in porting existing or creating new games for the technology can email Razer at gamedevrelations@razerzone.com.

Considering the entertainment industry records shattered by Modern Warfare 2, it's only natural that the blockbuster FPS was also popular among pirates. TorrentFreak collected data from several sources, including reports from all public BitTorrent trackers, and Infinity Ward's military shooter ranked as the most torrented game of 2009.

With 4.1 million unauthorized downloads of the PC version alone, Modern Warfare 2 was distributed twice as much as last year's "winner", Spore. The "accomplishment" is remarkable when you take into account that MW2 was released on November 10, while the second most stolen title, The Sims 3, was released five months earlier on June 2 and accumulated 3.2 million downloads.


Other "contenders" include Prototype with 2.35 million (released June 2009), Need For Speed Shift at 2.1 million (released September 2009), and Street Fighter IV with 1.85 million downloads (released July 2009). MW2 was also the most pirated Xbox 360 game, while New Super Mario Bros. was the most popular Wii torrent.

In addition to GOG's amazing holiday sale, Steam has shown its Christmas spirit with up to 80% off hundreds of games. Some noteworthy deals include 50% off Ubisoft and THQ's entire catalog as well as the Eidos Collector's Pack, 66% off all Atari games and the Unreal pack, and 33% off 2K titles and the Rockstar Collection.


Along with the "standard" discounts, Steam is hosting daily special deals, marking down popular titles like GTA IV ($7.49), Defense Grid ($2.49), S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl ($1.99), Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising ($19.99), and Mirror's Edge ($4.99). When these expire in 22 hours or so, another selection of hits will take their place.

The event will end on January 3, so there's plenty of time to take advantage of the savings. If you spot something that's simply too good to pass up, tell us about it in the comments.

The Team Fortress 2 "War" event marches on as Soldiers receive a new weapon today. The Direct Hit rocket launcher was created for Soldiers "who have mastered the art of shotting at their targets instead of vaguely near them," with a 70% smaller blast radius, 80% faster rockets that do 25% more damage and are guaranteed to mini-crit on mid-air targets.

This follows yesterday's Demoman update, which brought a Close Combat Kit consisting of a sword and shield with mixed effects. The haunted Eyelander sword decapitates enemies when killed and decreases the Demoman's maximum health. Meanwhile, the Chargin' Targe shield replaces the sticky bomb launcher, protects against fire (+50%) and blast (+65%) damage, and can be used as a stabbing weapon.


The War has pitted Solider and Demoman players against each other, with the winner receiving a new (undisclosed) unlockable weapon. The event will end tomorrow night, and the Soldier is currently leading the Demoman's casualty count (4,923,531 versus 5,056,134). In addition to the new exclusive weapon, tomorrow's update will bring a crafting system, new maps, achievements, "surprises" and the remaining weapon unlocks.

To celebrate, Valve has announced that Team Fortress 2 will be free to play for four days immediately after the update (Thursday through Sunday). If interested, you can preload the game now. It's also worth noting that a new TF2 comic was introduced yesterday and today.

As expected, Microsoft launched an assault on Steam and other similar services by opening up its Games for Windows Live Games on Demand digital distribution feature late yesterday. As the name suggests, Games on Demand will allow users to purchase titles, using a credit card or by redeeming Microsoft Points, and download them directly from their PC. For now, however, the service's catalog is limited to just 13 games.

As part of an introductory offer Microsoft is giving 50 percent discounts on Shadowrun, a decent online shooter that never got much attention, and life simulator Viva Piñata. A free copy of puzzle game Tinker, which had previously been released with Windows Vista Ultimate, is also available for download.


Besides these titles the rest of the lineup includes Fallout 3, DiRT 2, Resident Evil 5, Street Fighter IV, Battlestations Pacific, FUEL, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, Section 8, Juiced 2, and Red Faction: Guerrilla. Previously promised indie titles Osmos and World of Goo are strangely absent from the list, however.

Prices are comparable to other digital distribution services, ranging from $9.99 to $49.99. If you are new to Games for Windows Live you can download the client here, while existing users will need to update to the latest version (v3.2) in order to access the Games on Demand feature.

Everyone knows that the money for console manufacturers is in games and accessories, not the console itself. Still, it is surprising to learn that Sony is still losing cash every time a PS3 is sold, despite the rig going through numerous hardware refreshes and cost cuttings. A modern PS3 costs about $336 to manufacture and is sold at $299, losing at least $37 with each sale.

Spanning over millions of consoles, that's a substantial amount. In the pioneer days of the PS3, Sony intended for it to break even early on. Streamlined manufacturing and other improvements gave them cost savings, but not enough to beat the market. To compete with Nintendo and Microsoft, Sony was forced to cut the PS3 price down back in August.

Sony is still third in current-gen console sales, trailing Microsoft by upwards of 7 million units -- though, the gap is slowly closing with Sony's price cuts.

Valve announced today that it expects to release the first downloadable add-on for Left 4 Dead 2 in early spring 2010. Among Scavenge, Versus and Survival additions, the DLC will bring a new campaign that offers an interesting twist.

Set in rural Georgia, "The Passing" sees the return of the original Left 4 Dead survivors as they cross paths with the new cast. Unfortunately, it seems Bill and the rest of the old crew will be unplayable, but the idea of eight survivors fighting the horde together is cool nonetheless. It also marks the first time players actually encounter other uninfected humans -- apart from shouting through doors.


The upcoming DLC is also said to contain a new uncommon infected, as well as a new melee weapon and firearm. An exact release date and pricing haven't been set, though I'm guessing it will probably be free on PC and about $7 for Xbox 360 players.

November video game sales fell 7.6 percent to $2.7 billion compared to $2.9 billion in 2008, according to NPD's latest report. Despite the small slowdown this was actually the industry's second best month for revenues in history and a much bigger month compared to October, helped by the release of a few blockbuster titles.

As expected, software sales were dominated by Activision and Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The game moved an astonishing 4.2 million copies during the month on Microsoft's console, while the version for Sony's PlayStation 3 sold 1.9 million. Coming in at a strong but distant second was New Super Mario Bros. Wii with 1.4 million copies, while Assassin's Creed II and Left 4 Dead 2 also made the top sellers list.

On the hardware front, Nintendo was once again the big winner with 1.7 million DS handhelds and 1.3 million Wii consoles sold in November. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 grabbed third and fourth spot respectively with 819,500 and 710,400 units sold. In all NPD expects the video games industry -- not counting PCs -- to rake in $20 billion this year, down slightly compared to last year's record sales of more than $21 billion.

Owners of the PlayStation 3 can now download the latest system update, version 3.15. The patch is optional to install, though some of the new features make it appealing.

One of the changes includes the introduction of mini games on the PS3, a small attempt by Sony to support casual gaming. These mini games were previously only available on mobile devices like the PSPgo. Anyone who already owns mini games will be able to transfer them to their PS3 via the instructions Sony has posted on the PlayStation blog.

In addition to the mini games, v3.15 brings the ability to transfer data between two PS3s via Ethernet. The update is small, but demonstrates Sony's continued efforts to improve the PS3 as a platform. While they still face some PR issues, Sony is competing well with Microsoft these days.

Take-Two is facing financial setback, suffering a 28% drop in share value yesterday after the publisher announced it might not meet profit goals for next year. Outside analysts claimed accountability problems were partially to blame, along with poor performance of some game titles.

Take-Two's reasons differed considerably, blaming weaker consumer spending for the loss in profit. This runs contrary to data from the NPD, which indicated in November that the game industry is doing well overall.

The poor financial outlook isn't a surprise. Take-Two reported a $55.5 million loss in September, citing delayed titles as part of the cause. Will Take-Two manage to recover, or will they be swallowed by a larger publisher down the road?

Microsoft has announced that Games for Windows Live will receive Games on Demand on December 15, essentially becoming a full-fledged game distribution platform. As implied by its name, Games on Demand will allow users to purchase and download titles from their PC.

While this concept is hardly new (think: Steam, D2D, Impulse), Microsoft said its offer won't just be a "cut-and-paste version of existing digital distribution services." Without citing any particular innovations, the company said it has worked to develop an integrated platform that "takes full advantage of the unique capabilities offered by the Live service."


Games on Demand will launch with various titles, including Resident Evil 5, Red Faction: Guerilla, and Battlestations: Pacific, as well as new exclusive Live-enabled versions of games like World of Goo, Osmos, and Tinker -- the latter of which will be free. Pay titles will be purchasable with either a credit card or Microsoft Points.

Where do you think Microsoft's game distribution platform will fit amongst the competition?

More details have emerged about EA's reboot of the Medal of Honor video game series. Claimed to be the "most authentic modern war experience," the upcoming installment will be titled simply "Medal of Honor" and is slated for release in the fall of next year on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

Set in modern-day Afghanistan, gamers will play as a "Tier 1 Operator" -- an elite Special Forces soldier of sorts -- who embarks on grueling missions assigned by the National Command Authority. The title will depart from previous Medal of Honor releases, which have largely featured WWII-era gameplay.


EA's Los Angeles studio will reportedly develop the game in conjunction with DICE, who will work on multiplayer elements. Medal of Honor will use DICE's Frostbite engine, which also powers recent Battlefield releases, including Bad Company, Bad Company 2, and the downloadable Battlefield 1943.

Expect to see a trailer during the Spike VGA awards on December 12. In the meantime, EA is taking preorders for all three platforms.

According to a CVG tipster, Logitech is developing a UMD drive add-on for Sony's PSP Go. The accessory would attach to the PSP Go allowing users to play UMD games on the device. This would add a bit of bulk to the otherwise sleek handheld, but it could be worthwhile if you have a large UMD collection -- and it certainly beats juggling two PSPs.

Seeking confirmation, CVG contacted Logitech's UK office who denied knowledge of the add-on. "We’re not aware of it, so it may be something the US office is working on." CVG has also contacted the US division as well as Sony. Neither have responded, but the site will surely post an update if they hear back.


The PSP Go debuted in October and relies on internal memory along with Sony's digitally distributed content rather than physical media. While there were talks of a "good-will" program to swap UMD games -- which previous PSP models used -- for digital copies, Sony scrapped the plan because of "legal" and "technical" reasons.