The official site for God of War: Chains of Olympus, the first portable entry in the series, has been launched. Though it does not offer any actual details on the game, or any media, the site offers gamers a free UMD “Special Edition” of the demo delivered by mail. There is no indication as to how many UMDs will be mailed, but one can still register for the free demo.

A (leaked) trailer of the game can be found here. Further information is expected soon.

Following up on their promise of downloadable content for Crackdown, Realtime Worlds has released a screenshot showcasing the content that will include a “new game type and a new type of vehicle.” The image posted below shows a gun-equipped dune buggy-like vehicle; no other information was given. No release date was mentioned either.

The fiscal year has come and gone, and Japan thanks to their handy weekly hardware sales will really be a good indication of how things are changing. The Wii stays fairly solid and doesn’t budge, while the DS lite packs in an extra 39 thousand (more than three times the total PS3 and 360 sales to put it perspective). Nintendo has forcast they will hit 14 million Wii’s by the end of this new fiscal year. While the demand for Nintendo products certainly seem to be on target, production has a ways to go before it catches up with the DS Lite.

- DS Lite: 172,359
- Wii: 77,913
- PSP: 29,459
- PS2: 11,398
- PS3: 11,000
- Xbox 360: 2,307

Read (Media Create)

Ubisoft has officially announced The Settlers – Rise of an Empire, the sixth game in the popular strategy series. Scheduled for release this September, the game will have players create medieval town, building up a flourishing economy, tend to the settlers’ needs and defend the town from danger.

An Youtube video trailer has been uploaded. Check it out below, and hit the jump for more details on the game.

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The Square-Enix Party, which kicks off May 12th, is set to feature a wealth of products. 10 different versions of Final Fantasy to be exact, and an unknown game or two which will debut. Famitsu has already unveiled that Square-Enix will reveal the next chapter in the Star Ocean series on the date. It is currently unknown about which system the game will be for, seeing as the developer has traditionally worked on Sony systems in the past, but is currently developing a 360 game. Although it would be more likely the game would surface on a Nintendo console over 360 which would be much more appealing marketshare wise for the Japanese based company.

Read (CVG)

We all know that the majority of game console manufacturers lose a significant amount of money when producing a system, and hope to make up the loss of profit with sales of software titles. Microsoft is a company that uses this method of marketing strategy. In a recent Entertainment and Devices Division report for this quarter, their losses show a drop in operating costs by $100 million.

This is actually due to less systems being made, as shipments have also decreased as demand for the system has decreased. Most potential buyers have already bought an Xbox 360, and those who are currently waiting for the Elite are going to have to grab some of the limited supply. This is also an effect of increased sales of portable devices of Microsoft, so it’s important not to only look at the gaming department. Profit loss is predicted to be even lower next quarter.

Read (arstechnica)

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Here it is, the official trailer for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

It’s exciting times to see Nintendo making a comeback. Gone are the days of them throwing away their major 2nd parties to the likes of Microsoft. It seems Nintendo is in the market, and they’ve already made a smart first buying decision. Creators of Xenosaga, Baten Kaitos and the upcoming Disaster: Day of Crisis. A note that this is the Japanese Monolith Soft, and not the similarly named Monolith Productions in America responsible for the likes of F.E.A.R. and the Matrix Online.

Not only does the studio pack a formidable punch, they also bring with them an RPG flair that has been sorely missing from Nintendo consoles since the SNES days. If Nintendo actually wants to strengthen its console generation in Japan, more RPG support is definately the way to go.

Read (Platformers)

Chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment, Ken Kutaragi, has packed his bags and is ready to depart from the company in June. It’s the end of a legacy, as Ken helped build the Playstation brand from the ground up, leading the way to the mass success the brand has generated around the world.

Announcements like this always carry a weight of questionability. Let’s face it, sometimes people just retire or like to move on, but sometimes there is some motivation from the company to have those people move on as well. Ken says he has been thinking about this decision for a while, and it has been several months already since he stepped down as president of the company.

It’ll be a sad day to see Ken leave the company, and we’ll have to see whether this will be good or bad news for future SCEI products.

Read (Macworld)

Apparently EA is somehow under the impression that gamers like/know how to read. What gave them that impression? That’s a strong assumption, which rides on the fact that they will be releasing a novel about Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars on May 29th. The novel takes place in 2047 and is written by Keith R. A. DeCandido. EA included a brief description of the novel.

Tiberium—a self-replicating alien substance that has infected the Earth—is spreading like a radioactive ice age. The Global Defense Initiative, a high-tech alliance of the world’s most advanced nations, is fighting to contain Tiberium, but Kane, the megalomaniacal leader of the Brotherhood of Nod has other plans for Earth. Kane’s secret society turned superpower is bent on using Tiberium to take control and transform humanity into his twisted vision of the future. In the midst of battles throughout the world, a third alien race emerges, and all-out war rages over Tiberium. The fate of the planet rests in the balance.

If you are a fan of the series, this will be a definite must to add to your collection.

Read (EA.com)