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BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra are to hold a "Big Gaming Weekend" between May 22 and 25, where their collective viewers will vote to find "the best game ever".

Industry experts (one of which is us) have provided lists of their top 100 games for Radio 1 and 1Xtra, from which listeners will then be invited to pick their top three and vote for their favourites online.

Scott Mills will launch the poll on Friday May 22 between 6.30am and 10am and the results will be revealed on Bank Holiday Monday during Mistajam's show which is simulcast on BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra between...

Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of Square Enix interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, today announces two brand new releases from TAITO based on classic video game franchises. PUZZLE BOBBLE GALAXY...

2K has revealed that Digital Extremes is developing the multiplayer component of BioShock 2, and it's set before the fall of Rapture.

Promising a "rich prequel experience", it's an experience-driven battle between plasmid test subjects working for Sinclair Solutions.

Players will learn more about the fall of Rapture and get to see it before the fall, with areas in and around Kashmir Restaurant and Mercury Suites (presumably among others) reworked for FPS multiplayer.

There's not much detail on the experience system yet, but 2K says has said it will...

Activision's unveiled music games Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero and (finally) the first official word on DJ Hero.

All three games are due this autumn and together "will transform the way consumers enjoy and engage with music by offering the largest variety of music genres, innovative technologies and new social entertainment experiences," says Activision.


New game Band Hero sounds to be an easier-to-play, more family-friendly version of Guitar Hero.

Here are the company's official words:

DJ Hero: The company's groundbreaking DJ Hero expands...

Final Fantasy XIII producer Yoshinori Kitase has said that he doesn't view his game as a J-RPG (Japanese RPG).

Odd, considering the Final Fantasy series basically defined what a J-RPG is - usually very different in style to the average western RPG like Oblivion, Mass Effect and Fallout 3.

But Kitase has reasons for his view. "There's a trend these days to strictly categorize games as western RPGs or Japanese RPGs, but Final Fantasy is something that we don't...

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter doesn't expect a new hardware cycle to begin before 2013.

"We do not expect a "new" console in 2010 (other than the long-rumoured high definition Wii, which is likely to upgrade the Wii to current console technology)," he wrote in an industry newsletter.

"We do not expect the 'next' generation to begin before 2013, if at all," he added.

"We remain convinced that the publishers will resist the introduction of any video game hardware technology that requires a refresh of software, as the publishers...

Adding it all together, a teaser by Japan's Pokémon Sunday TV program points to an announcement next weekend that Pokémon Gold and Silver will be remade.

The tease, offered this weekend, said simply that Pokémon Sunday would have a "world-exclusive first announcement," on May 10 during the program's Pokémon Game Arena segment.

Oh, but there's what you say, and then there's how you say it. Or, more importantly, where you say it. In this case, it was said underneath two gold and silver confetti-filled balls. (depicted). Hmmmmmm. HMMMMMMMM. What could that mean?

It seems like we've been waiting for ten thousand years for Square Enix to finally release Final Fantasy XIII, and Square Enix itself won't deny that some of its games take forever to come out. In fact, company boss man Yoichi Wada has admitted as much, confessing that the publisher does indeed take too long with its titles.

Wada was asked if we could trust notoriously sub-par Eidos titles, now that the Tomb Raider and Kane & Lynch publisher had been bought by Square Enix. Wada said that they certainly hope to improve the quality of Eidos titles, but that it's hard to make sure games...

It has been nearly seven years since the original Mafia was released for PC and about five since it hit the PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles. There's an entire generation of gamers unfamiliar with the franchise. Whether you have fond memories of Mafia (the PC version, at least) or you have never heard of the series, 2K Games wants to make sure that you know about Mafia II. Taking place decades after the original, Mafia II blends shooting action, driving sequences, melee combat, and heavy storytelling in a game that shows the glamorous and not-so-glamorous sides of mobster life. I recently saw apre-alpha...

This reads like a fairy tale, but it's all true. A 6-year-old Norwegian boy wanted to change his name to "Sonic X," and in his land, such things must be approved by the king.

Wise King Harald of Norway politely declined the request of young Christer on the grounds that, being only six, he was too young to make such a decision. So Christer must wait until he's 18 to reapply.

The kid wrote the letter and asked his folks to mail it, and mum and dad were all >_> and

Valve has The Orange Box on sale this weekend for $9.99.
Never bought it? Now’s your chance.
After the sale is over it goes back up to $29.99.
Head on over to Steam.

2K Marin shows first gameplay of BioShock 2's campaign, in which you star as the first Big Daddy ever created in Rapture. PLUS: new Plasmids combos, a badass arm drill, and a lethal encounter with the menacing new Big Sister.

The secret is out - in 2009's BioShock 2, you ARE the Big Daddy. In fact, you're the first Big Daddy ever created, a slightly smaller, more agile prototype of the hulking brutes found in the first BioShock. As a Big Daddy, you have a thicker skin, more powerful weapons, and the ability to attack enemies with a powerful arm-mounted Drill and a penetrating Rivet...

Activision has released new Track Pack for Guitar Hero World Tour today for Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 and Wii. British hard rock band Motörhead re-recorded new versions of “Jailbait,” “Iron Fist” and “Love Me Like A Reptile” for the Motörhead Track Pack.

The Motörhead Track Pack can be downloaded from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 440 Microsoft Points and from the PlayStation Store for $5.49. The songs are also available as singles for 160 Microsoft Points, $1.99 from the PlayStation Store or 200 Wii Points.

This past March, MGS4 went to Sony's Platinum budget line in Europe. Now, it's following suit for Japan.

Hideo Kojima's swan song for Solid Snake, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, will be released on Sony Computer Entertainment "PLAYSTATION 3 the Best" line on June 18 for ¥3,990 (US$41).

MGS4 went on sale June 12, 2008. Even though it's one of the biggest selling PS3 titles in Japan, MGS4 still hasn't reached the million copies sold benchmark in The Land of the Rising Sun. By the end of last year, the game sold 4.5 million copies worldwide.

A court has approved Japanese publisher Square Enix's takeover of British publisher Eidos, which is expected to become effective tomorrow morning.

The move will bring the Tomb Raider, Deus Ex and Hitman franchises under the same roof as the likes of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, and give the Japanese publisher a stronger foothold in the western market.

On February 12 the two parties announced that they had reached agreement on the terms of the acquisition, and in late March Eidos shareholders overwhelmingly approved the takeover, with over 85 percent of shareholders representing...

When Dragon Quest IX was delayed, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada stated that it could have an effect on the release date for Final Fantasy XIII.

"One way or another," Wada said at the time, "I want to get [Final Fantasy XIII] out during 2009." Looks like he's got his wish.

On April 16th, Blu-ray movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete goes on sale in Japan, complete with a playable Final Fantasy XIII demo.

After the hour long...

The publisher and peripheral maker of upcoming DJ game Scratch: The Ultimate DJ have filed suit against developer 7 Studios and Activision for "intentional interference with contract, breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets."

Scratch publisher Genius Products and turntable controller maker Numark Industries allege that Activision and 7 Studios have "conspired to withhold the current version of Scratch in an effort to delay the development and...

"Medieval Manhattan. That's what the little walled hill-top town in Tuscany named San Gimignano is often referred to for its many medieval towers.

Seen from afar the towered town looks like a smaller medieval version of Manhattan's skyscrapered skyline. These towers were built by competing families both for protection from each other (think Romeo & Juliet) and to show power and prestige.

Assassin's Creed 2 will be set in Renaissance Italy and specifically Venice and Florence. However, recent reports and photo scans from the upcoming Game Informer issue shows two...

"When we're not too busy trouncing Halo 3-developer Bungie in "humpday challenges," we fancy ourselves quite the career builders. And so it was with shock that we found ourselves colliding directly with the enormously popular franchise on CareerBuilder.com, albeit under the auspices of Halo license-owner Microsoft. Apparently the company is seeking folks who not only love Halo but also love "building scalable online infrastructure and websites for large and passionate audiences."

What does that mean, exactly? The listing doesn't go into as much details as we'd...

Pwn or Die have come up with a good bar argument: The four faces on a hypothetical Mount Rushmore of video gaming. The four they've chosen are good, but are they the best choices?

As you can see in the pic, the selections are Master Chief, Mario, Lara Croft and Sonic the Hedgehog. Lara is the only head scratcher to me, although she does represent the 1990s PC gaming boom pretty well.

If it were my call, and we were picking analogs to the US presidents...