VideoGaming247 reports that a MMO based on White Wolf’s World of Darkness vampire/werewolf franchise is set for launch in 2010, according to financial documents of developer CCP.

“CCP is currently working on new projects, the largest of which is World of Darkness, a MMOG that is scheduled to launch 2010,” reads the document.

CCP – the studio behind EVE Online – has begun production on the MMO after having acquired White Wolf in 2006. Magnus Bergsson, marketing director at the company, had previously suggested a 2011 release date for the title.

Yesterday we reported on the ever-continuing cycle of corporate trash talking. Sony Computer Entertainment chairman Kaz Hirai criticized Microsoft for the Xbox 360′s ‘lack of longevity’. Not to let this shot across the bows go unanswered, Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg is returning fire with a verbal salvo of his own.

Greenberg says that Hirai’s position reflects that of a company grown complacent by success and says that this generation will not be won by better hardware specifications but by innovations, great online experiences and bringing your consumers the widest possible library of games.

He goes on to point out that with a reported install base of seven million in the USA alone according to the NPD the PS3 has a lot of catching up to do. Even if Xbox sales ceased altogether and PS3 sales doubled, Sony’s console wouldn’t catch up until 2014.

Resident Evil fans are quite eagerly awaiting every detail of the next game in the series. Just recently Capcom released the box art for the game and intrepid researchers discovered that in addition to the previously discussed online two-player co-op there’s another form of multiplayer. PS3 owners who hook up their consoles via system link can have anywhere from two to sixteen players together. It’s written on the box, and it’s definitely no error or hoax. CVG contacted Capcom and got confirmation that this fact, although they didn’t intend to release it yet, is quite true.

Unfortunately there’s nothing more to report on the topic, because while Capcom was gracious enough to confirm the story they wouldn’t give any more details about it. Speculation abounds as to what this multiplayer mode will be, but it’s possible it could be a survival mode similar to the Nazi Zombies feature of the newest Call of Duty or the Horde Mode in Gears of War 2. Other safe bets are some kind of standard deathmatch or an agents versus zombies mode, or maybe even several of these modes.

UPDATE: Unfortunately this all seems to be bogus. CVG has been contacted by Capcom who apparently are correcting themselves, saying that they were incorrect in saying that the box art was correct. The system link gameplay will be limited to two players. Sorry if this got anyone too excited.

The only downside of playing Rock Band is that in order to unlock more songs you sometimes have to play through songs that you don’t know or like. With such a wide array of music from classic rock to punk and heavy metal songs it’s unlikely that anyone will truly enjoy all the songs. Luckily if you’re willing to pony up a bit more cash you can download whatever track packs or individual songs are to your liking.

Harmonix has announced six new tracks available for owners of the Wii version of the game which despite being only a handful of songs should have some appeal for most people. There are two Nine Inch Nails songs, “March of the Pigs” and “The collector”; two classic punk songs, The Clash’s “I Fought The Law” and “Rockaway Beach” by The Ramones. There are also two Jimmy Buffet songs that have been re-recorded for the game, “Margaritaville” and “Volcano”.

This is the first of many updates for Wii Rock Band owners, the back catalog of downloadable content already available for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game will be made available for Wii owners piece by piece. Each song in this pack will cost 200 Wii Points and although you’ll buy the songs through the in-game store you’ll have to purchase Wii Points beforehand.

So it’s not just the PSP who’s getting a firmware update. The PlayStation 3 is also receiving one. Version 2.60 will bring you a new Photo Gallery app which will help you sort photos. The application comes with face detection and it will let you organize photos by various criteria. In case photos on the PS3 aren’t exactly your thing then you might be interested in version 3.11 of that DivX encoding or the guest access to the PlaStation store. Go ahead and check out the video walk-through for more details.

Connect with a thousand gamers from all walks of life by joining the online ps3 tournaments.

That Wii controller isn’t that good when it comes to shooting stuff right? I mean you can do plenty of things with it but you definitely need an improved version to really feel like you’re shooting those bad guys. So how about that Overkill Hand Cannon then? It comes bundled with The House of the Dead Overkill or it comes alone for $17. Now if we can only have it in a different color that would be just perfect. Bad guys won’t take you seriously if you’re shooting virtual bullets at them from your white gun.

via Amazon

I know you want a totally new PSP console! So do I! But we’re not going to get that any time soon, are we? Sony has just announced that there’s a new firmware update for your PSP. It’s version 5.03 which will be released soon. The official blog says it’s just a small update meant to improve system software stability while you’re using certain features. So there’s nothing special with this update? That’s what you’re telling us Sony?

via Sony

As you might expect, the main character in Halo 3: ODST isn’t getting a deeply complicated backstory. Thus far he’s only been referred to as “The Rookie”. Bungie has begun discussing how your adventure as The Rookie will be different from your battles against the Covenant in the cybernetic, armored boots of the Master Chief. The redesign of the SMG has hinted that some stealth might be involved.

The sheer fact that the hero is human and thus less durable than the heavily armed and armored Master Chief suggests that you’ll have to be a bit more cautious in your approach. The Brutes will have new tactics which will make them even more deadly. They’ll seek cover, lay traps and ambushes, requiring much more care and planning before you engage them, especially since the rookie lacks the shields of the Spartan armor.

How often do people accuse a film, novel or other work of ‘ripping off’ some other previous work when the creator would be the first to acknowledge that this supposed plagiarism is actually a nod or loving homage to the genius and creativity of the past. If you’re a big fan of Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid games, the designer has put together a list of fifteen films that influenced his classic series.
Some of these films you’ve probably seen before such as Die Hard and The Bourne Identity, but many others are older, classic titles that are worth a viewing even if you’re not a rabid MGS fan. The films influenced the game in a variety of ways; Snake’s bandana is taken from Deer Hunter, not Rambo as many think; Planet of the Apes suggested that strong messages could be seated within entertaining works. It’s part of a promotion with a Japanese video rental chain, but even if you can’t take advantage of that, you can definitely get some insight into what made the Metal Gear Solid games so great.

At times it seems that the higher-ups of companies devote much of their time to putting down their competition. Sony Computer Entertainment chairman Kazuo Hirai has criticized the Xbox as ‘lacking longevity’. He defends this point by pointing out that Microsoft has “never had a console on the market for more than four or five years”. This point quickly loses validity when you consider that Microsoft has only had one console that has reached the end of its life span.

He goes on to say that he likes to think that his company maintains “official leadership” of the industry, regardless of who sells more or has a bigger install base. Just like the short, fat asthmatic kid on your high school basketball team was the MVP. Of course he goes on to discount Nintendo, saying that they don’t consider the company a competitor, since they operate in a ‘different world’.

Of course he puts in a shot about the lifespan Sony is planning on for the PS3, saying that unless things go disastrously wrong he’s sure the PS3 will have a larger install base than its competitors by the end of its life cycle. Unfortunately there’s a recession on and the PS3′s big price tag was off-putting for many before the financial crunch.