Siren

Sega has just posted on their blog the release dates and prices for the HD remakes of NiGHTS into Dreams and Sonic Adventure 2. The uber popular and one of the top selling games for the Sega Saturn, NiGHTS into Dreams will be releasing on October 2 for the Playstation Network and on October 5th to the Xbox Live Marketplace. It is priced at $9.99 or 800 MS points. Sonic Adventure 2 will be releasing with the same dates and prices with the only difference being that there will be additional Battle Mode DLC available from it's release dates and will cost $3.00 or 240 MS points. via Sega Blog

Borderlands 2 is just about here and to celebrate it's highly anticipated launch, Gearbox has released the launch trailer that shows some familiar faces. Enjoy! http://youtu.be/ERe3wZdIAtc

What game are you currently playing? Nothing specific really, I suppose Crysis 2 will be next in line since I just got it on sale, and it shouldn't take long to beat. What game are you looking forward to that has yet to release? Grand Theft Auto 5 is probably the main one. I have to have that game. I would literally invade a foreign country just so that game would release early. If you could be anything in the world what would it be and why? I suppose the only two jobs that interest me are radio talk show host or a professional wrestler. Although most radio host make horrible money. Ever since I was a kid I wanted to be a wrestler, however I'm only 5'6 160 and the ones who make it big are 6'4 250+. I wish I could just win the lottery, keep my job for the insurance, and travel the world. What is your biggest gaming pet peeve when playing with others? Well I don't usually play with strangers, so the whole trash talking usually isn't an issue, but the one thing that does bug me while playing with friends is when we try to organize something and people want to goof off. We will all be lined up or preparing to do something and someone will shoot someone, or start a fight because they think it will be cute or funny, when they can just stand there and be patient until our organized gameplay is over then start goofing off. When you aren’t gaming, what are you doing? When I'm not gaming, I'm probably working or sleeping. That is a usual day but I like watching television series, and movies, so I usually wind down by watching a good show or movie. I read quite a lot at work since there is a lot of down time and I usually enjoy mysteries. I just bought a house a couple months ago and I found out I enjoy doing yard work, so I'm usually out in the yard doing something during the day. I just bought a new bike for exercise so maybe I'll get into that too. If Jason Statham was standing right in front of you what would do? I would like to say I'd just shake his hand and get an autograph but that wouldn't happen. I would have to fight him. He is the greatest warrior in history. Statham is the only person worthy to fight me. So if I were to die by his hands I would be happy and I would like to think he would feel the same. They would have to evacuate a large radius though so there aren't any casualties. There would also be a long dramatic dialogue between us before the battle, we finally found our equals. It would be glorious. If you have a super power: a) how did you get it what exactly is it c) what do you use your powers for, good, evil, or something in between? I'd have to say teleportation. I would like to think it would be like the story line in heroes where everyone has the ability to have super powers, but they inject the person with shot to bring the powers out. So I'd like to think I got it from a mad scientist some how but the serum is destroyed. I would first rob many banks and stash my money somewhere. I would buy me a kick ass house somewhere in the country, by a kick ass outfit, something full bullet proof, then I would use my powers for good. I would use it to hunt down terrorist and bad guys. Until I met jason statham of course and we would do battle, and I would be labeled a villain, because I would be the hero the world deserves, I wouldn't be the hero the world needs right now, because I'm not a hero, I'm don knotts bitch, the grumpy protector, i'm green grenades. In 5 words or less, describe your gamer self grumpy, protective, bad ass, misunderstood, confused

Video game retailing giant has axed Sony's Playstation 2 from stores, however the company states that the move is purely demographical. "The PS2 is a unique one — we still generate a whole lot of profit off PS2 sales, but we're going to keep PS2 where PS2 does sell, and we won't put it in stores where we see really lapsed sales. It's somewhat demographic — it's somewhat regional, it is. The heartland of the U.S. tends to catch the wave a little bit later than the coasts to a degree. So we kinda bring it in, and we'll take it out of the stores where the shelves would be better served by next generation product, or they're just small stores where they can't fit it in." explained GameStop's senior vice president of store operations. "I think the PS2, as long as it serves a need for the consumer that we can fill, we'll have it in some store base until the consumer tells us, 'Take it out". GameStop added that they are preparing for the upcoming release of Nintendo's Wii U and are also looking forward to the announcement of Sony and Microsoft's next gen consoles stating that they have been hearing alot of rumors that began this past week about a 2013 holiday release for both Sony and Microsoft. via The Verge

What game are you currently playing? I’m perpetually playing WoW. I just finished playing Silent Hill Homecoming and just started re-playing Final Fantasy IX, which is one of my all time favorites. I’ve been feeling nostalgic so I have plans to replay FFX-2 and Kingdom Hearts soon. Silent Hill HD is in my “soon” queue, too. What game are you looking forward to that has yet to release? I’ve preordered Sims 3 Super Natural and WoW Mists of Panderia. I’m looking forward to the re-release of FF14. FF13-2, Assassin’s Creed 3, Sims 3 Seasons and Borderlands 2 should all be out soon. Is there a new Cooking Mama coming out? I’ll play the crap out of that. I just freaking love games. Answers subject to change after PAX 2012. If you could be anything in the world what would it be and why? A unicorn because I heard you get to fart rainbows and poop perfectly cooked bacon. What is your biggest gaming pet peeve when playing with others? When my mom comes in and yells when I’m playing Halo and everyone hears. It’s super embarrassing. Seriously though, I hate playing with angry people who yell nonstop about how badly you (I) play. I hear it all the time because I suck at games. Was it really my fault that we wiped the raid for the 5thtime? Probably. Will my Halo driving skills be magically better if you yell about how bad I am at it? Probably not. When you aren’t gaming, what are you doing? I guess I’m knitting, though I have plans to quit knitting for a while and take up something new. Maybe quilting because the world is woefully lacking gaming themed quilts. Here is a gallery of some of my sweet knitting creations. I am a scarf knitting fool. http://www.flickr.co...s/79289157@N04/ What dead politician, celebrity, author, etc…..would you like to have a dinner with and what would you discuss? I actually put a lot of thought into this and in the end I realized that I’d love to have the opportunity to watch more than discuss. I’d love to see a real Shakespearean play staged in his life time. I’d need the T.A.R.D.I.S. though or I’d never understand a damn thing. I’d also love to see the court of Queen Elizabeth the First. If you were being stalked, Michael Myers Halloween style…. What would you do? The only way to beat a stalker is to out stalk them. I’ve played enough Tenchu Z to know that the right way to handle an enemy is to hide on a roof top until he passes then jump down all stealth like and slit his throat from behind. In 5 words or less, describe your gamer self I get around

A development screenshot of Kinect 2 showing a noticeable improvement regarding tracking has been leaked along with a photo of the developement kit for the next Xbox. The screenshot was leaked by someone going by a moniker of SuperDaE who late last week leaked the $10,000 development kit for the next Xbox being code named "Durango". The supposed development kit was met with alot of criticism including claims of being photoshopped. According to The Verge, one of their sources familar with the Kinect 2 and the next Xbox say that all of the photos are legit. Their source is not the only one repeating those words. Other developers who have spoken to Eurogamer's Digital Foundry who are confirming that the photos are all legit.

During a podcast interview with The Verge, Xbox Live General Manager Brian Hall spilled the beans about the next Xbox and Microsoft has been attempting to damage control since the accidental leakage. Hall who was speaking about Microsoft's products during the interview said, "We've operated Hotmail for about 16 years, We obviously have Exchange and Outlook that people use at work, and we just decided it was time to do something new and bring the best from each of those and put them together and release it right in time for the new wave of products that we have coming out with Windows 8, with the new version of Office, with the New Windows Phone and the new Xbox...". Whoops! Microsoft has since said that he was speaking about the fall dashboard update, however a job posting ad by Microsoft says something different. "Over the next eighteen months Microsoft will release new versions of all of our most significant products including Windows (Client, Server, Phone and Azure), Office and Xbox, along with completely new offerings like Microsoft Surface. This wave of product launches will define the course of the company for years to come and thus provides an unprecedented opportunity for us to refresh and evolve our strategic brand." The ad which has blew up all over the internet, has since conveniently disappeared. via OXM

Those of you who do not to read spoilers about Halo 4 need to leave and not proceed. Halo Waypoint has released the full set of achievements that will be in the game and the folks behind Master Chief's newest adventure said that they "to live up to Halo tradition with weird ass names for some of them". Dawn: Complete Mission 1 on any difficulty 10 Points Requiem: Complete Mission 2 on any difficulty 10 Points Forerunner: Complete Mission 3 on any difficulty 10 Points Infinity: Complete Mission 4 on any difficulty 10 Points Reclaimer: Complete Mission 5 on any difficulty 10 Points Shutdown: Complete Mission 6 on any difficulty 10 Points Composer: Complete Mission 7 on any difficulty 10 Points Midnight: Complete Mission 8 on any difficulty 10 Points Wake up John: Complete the Campaign on Normal or harder 20 Points I Need a Hero: Complete the Campaign on Heroic or harder 40 Points The Legend of 117: Complete the Campaign on Legendary difficulty 70 Points Lone Wolf Legend: Complete the Campaign solo on Legendary difficulty 90 Points Skullduggery: Complete any Campaign mission with 3 or more Skulls on Heroic or harder 15 Points Bropocalypse: Complete any Campaign mission co-operatively on Heroic or harder 10 Points Bromageddon: Complete the Campaign co-operatively on Heroic or harder 40 Points Contact the Domain: Find a Terminal in the Campaign 10 Points Terminus: Find all of the Terminals in the Campaign 50 Points Digging up the Past: In Mission 1, find and access Chief's record 20 Points Midnight Launch: In Mission 2, get significant air in the Warthog at midnight 20 Points This is my Rifle, this is my Gun: In Mission 3, carry a UNSC weapon all the way through on Heroic or harder 20 Points Bros to the Close: Make it through Mission 4 without one preventable Marine death on Heroic or harder 20 Points Mortardom: In Mission 5, hijack a Wraith and use it to kill at least four enemy Wraiths on Heroic or harder 20 Points Explore the Floor: In Mission 6, trick or force a Hunter to fall to his demise 20 Points Give Him the Stick: In Mission 7 in solo Campaign, take out both Hunters using only the Sticky Detonator 20 Points Chief, Smash!: In Mission 8, kill 3 Crawlers in one hit with the Gravity Hammer 20 Points Not Some Recruit Anymore: Rank up your Spartan-IV to SR-5 15 Points Movin' on Up: Rank up your Spartan-IV to SR-20 30 Points I ♥ Red vs Blue: Win 5 War Games matchmaking matches 10 Points The Dongblainer: Win 20 War Games matchmaking matches 30 Points Operation Completion: Complete a Spartan Ops Mission on any difficulty 15 Points A Legendary Episode: Complete all chapters in Spartan Ops Episode 1 on Legendary difficulty 40 Points Dedicated to Crimson: Complete all chapters in the first 5 episodes of Spartan Ops on any difficulty 80 Points Crimson Alone: Complete a Spartan Ops chapter solo on Legendary 20 Points Roses vs Violets: Find one of the RvB Easter Eggs in Spartan Ops 20 Points Rescue Ranger: Save at least one Marine in Chapter 3 of Episode 2 of Spartan Ops on Heroic or harder 20 Points Knight in White Assassination: Assassinate a Knight in any Spartan Ops mission 20 Points What Power Outage?: Complete Chapter 4, Episode 5 of Spartan Ops without losing a generator on Heroic or harder 20 Points No Easy Way Out: In Ch 1, Ep 5 of Spartan Ops survive all enemy waves during the defense on Normal or harder 20 Points The Challenged: Complete a Challenge 10 Points The Challenger: Complete 25 Challenges 20 Points Armorer: Change your Spartan's armor in the Spartan Armor card 5 Points Badge: Change your Emblem in the Spartan ID card 5 Points PWND: Change your Service Tag in the Spartan ID card 5 Points What a Poser!: Change your Spartan's pose in the Spartan ID card 5 Points The Cartographer: Create and save a Custom Map in Forge 5 Points Game Changer: Create and save a Custom Game type in War Games 5 Points Snapshot!: Save a Screenshot from the Theater 5 Points The Director: Save a Film Clip from the Theater 5 Points Sharing is Caring: Upload a File to your File Share 5 Points

Microsoft has announced that the Kinect's price has dropped from $149.99 to $109.99 almost reaching the below $100.00 mark. The price drop is permanent in North America, Latin America, and Asia Pacific as of today with Australia and New Zealand seeing the cheaper Kinect on October 4th. Not included in the new lower pricing are Japan, Europe, Middle East, and Africa. via Major Nelson

Details on the VIP membership that is included in the $80.00 limited version of Turn 10's Forza Horizon have been released. VIP members will have access to five cars; the 2011 Koenigsegg Agera, 2011 Lamborghini Sesto Elemento, 2012 Audi R8 GT Spyder, 2012 Pagani Huayra, and the 2011 RUF Rt 12 R. Other goodies included in the VIP membership are a VIP icon that appears next to your gamertag, extra slots in the Store Front, in-game gifts, and extra space in your My Forza gallery. Besides the VIP membership, the limited edition version of the game comes with a steel book, a Horizon Festival ticket to XBL content, day one car pack, a Horizon Accelerator pack, and five exclusive LCE Car Pack liveries. Details of the other cars will be revealed each day beginning tomorrow on Forza's Facebook and Twitter. via Forza Motorsport

Remember that controversial video game dubbed Six Days in Fallujah that was being developed by Atomic Games and later dumped by publisher Konami in 2009? Rumor has it that Sony once considerd publishing the game that was based on the second battle during Operation Iraqi Freedom called "Operation Phantom Fury" which spanned six days, hence the title. The ever so outspoken David Jaffe sent a tweet over Twitter and revealed that Sony developer Allan Becker may have been behind Sony's possible involvement with the shooter that has been on the back burner for three years. "A few years back, Allan left Sony Santa Monica to take over Sony’s Japan Studio after a very, very successful run as the SM studio head. When he was at Santa Monica he spearheaded a lot of amazing games, including bringing Gran Turismo PS2 to America (along with sir Taku, of course), TM:BLACK, WAR OF THE MONSTERS, FLOW, FLOWER, JOURNEY, KINETICA, and the GOD OF WAR franchise. He also was the guy who funded and supported LA NOIR for a long time before that game left Sony and went to RockStar, along with SIX DAYS IN FALLUJAH..." Regardless of Sony's rumored involvement, IGN revealed in late 2010 that Six Days in Fallujah is finished and will be coming out despite Atomic Games having to get rid of most of their workforce the prior year. Six Days in Fallujah is the story about a squad of U.S. Marines from 3rd Battalion 1st Marines who were involved in the second battle of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The game was developed using stories from fellow Marines returning from combat and their likeliness for physical character details, historians, Iraqi civilians and insurgents, and military officials about the six day battle that took place in Fallujah. via David Jaffe

Rare has tweeted the Xbox 360 edition of Minecraft will be getting Jet Force Gemini skins that include Juno, Vela, and Lupus. The three classic character skins join a long list of character skins (over 45 to be more precise) for Skin Pack 2 including that precious tiny little cube of meat Super Meat Boy, Perfect Dark's Joanna Dark, Gears of War: Judgement Day Baird, the Pretztail from Viva Pinata, and Bill from Left 4 Dead. via PlayXBLA blog

Nothing beats a kick in the scrotum to start your day. Ex Darksiders 2 Senior UI Designer, Xander Davis has said in an interview with Not Enough Shaders that Nintendo's upcoming console the Wii U is "$400 Xbox 360 seven years late." "I’ve not worked on any Wii U version of anything (luckily). But, y’know, I very early on raised my major concern about this. Anybody buying any Wii U game that’s a port is probably buying it almost exclusively and specifically for how it can play differently through the Wii U’s alleged innovated UI. I’m already a known skeptic on whether the interface paradigm is at all anything but idiotic. But if you’re gonna do it? Fine. Then, you HAVE to do it right. You HAVE to innovate on the UI. You HAVE to enhance game mechanics and gameplay in a MATERIAL way that justifies all the hassle and a $400 Xbox 360 seven years late." Davis hurled the insult towards Nintendo when asked what he thought of the Wii U, but he did not stop there. Davis went on to say none of what makes up Wii U make sense and that others who have the chance to preview the console are saying it's gimmicky and well just plain sucks. "I can’t comment on THQ / Vigil specifically. However, just in general, I doubt any studio or publisher is truly giving it the kind of proper UI design and thinking it deserves. Hell, apparently this is a huge leap for regular triple-A console releases. From what I’m hearing from people who have actually played a Wii U as recently as a month ago, the games pretty much suck and the tablet is pretty much a complete gimmick. Still tethered, not wireless. Maybe publishers can pull off something clever. But won’t it just kind of be clever for a little bit, then not really worth your $60 dollars and just annoying afterwards? Kinect comes to mind. PlayStation Move comes to mind. Motherfucking Wii comes to mind. But, sure, we’ll have to wait and see… I can’t comment on specifics. I can only speculate, but as a UI Designer applying experienced critical thinking to game mechanics UI and the Wii U tablet, none of it makes sense to me to truly add value to gamers, even if you try..." Nintendo was not the only party to feel the wrath of Davis. Davis also took a bite of out both THQ and Virgil Games, the folks responsible for Darksiders 2. Davis called THQ a catastrophe; " ...Catastrophe, is a word that comes to mind. Remember that fable about the desert landfill of Atari E.T. cartridges that crashed the industry? Same thing, except now it’s filled with uDraw tablets that crashed a publisher. That might have something to do with everything else..." and went on to attack Virgil Games by claiming that he was not given credit for his work in Darksiders 2; "Most of my direct experience was with dealing with the management at Vigil. Needless to say, I’m not impressed. All the other people that lost their jobs are not impressed. The person I most directly had to answer to seemed to have no investment at all in the UI. Not part of one meeting for it. But sure, I’ll take the blame, even though I solved his emergency problem and he ultimately used my work." Virgil Games did release a detailed response to Davis's claims and said that they are not "focused on the issue of employees that voluntarily left or were fired from the company". "To reiterate, Vigil’s primary concern while doing Darksiders II credits was that we credited team members that were affected by the recent downsizing. We were not focused on the issue of employees that voluntarily left or were fired from the company. We find it alarming that a former employee would personally attack and lie about other team members while falsely inflating his contribution to the game."

For those of you who will be missing those fun and fast paced Wager Matches of Call of Duty: Black Ops you can relax, well sort of. Treyarch has confirmed that "fun game modes" will be available in Black Ops 2. Speaking to NowGamer, Treyarch Game Design Director David Vonderhaar said that "In Black Ops they were called Wager Matches, and there was the 'gambling' component. But those somewhat oddball, out-of-context, just kind of fun game modes are actually going to make a fairly significant return in Black Ops 2, as what we call Party Games". Let's just hope that they aren't taking the term "oddball" to seriously.

The Producer behind Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, David Cox has announced on Twitter that the followup to 2010's Castlevania: LOS will indeed be releasing on the PC. Castlevania: LOS was only released on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The details on the sequel are unknown except for a tiny tidbit of information that Konami revealed at this year's E3. (If you have yet to play the Castlevania: LOS or beat it, you might want to skip this part) Gabriel is back as Dracula and the Belmont family is out for his blood. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is expected to release on the PC, PS3, and 360 next year.

Netflix has finally rolled out their "Post Play" option which allows users to watch the next episode in a television series automatically within 15 seconds of the current episode ending without having to go back to the list of episodes and choosing the next episode in the lineup. The long awaited feature has already been implemented in the Playstation 3 version of the Netflix app and also on the internet. Other devices will receive the update soon. via PC Mag

Gamescom 2012 decided to give gamers a heart attack everywhere when it posted Half Life 3 as a game that was supposed to be announced at the venue. Organizers of the show have spoken directly to Eurogamer and said that it was a "mistake". Also on that list of games that included another "mistake" was Dragon Age 3. Eurogamer did ask three times why both of the games were mentioned and are now a "mistake", however the people behind Gamescom did not give an answer. Was it really a mistake on the part of an employee behind the scenes or was Half Life 3 suppose to be announced but Valve changed their plans?

Halo 4 has jumped on the day one DLC express that gamers just love. Microsoft and 343 Industries made the announcement concerning day one DLC and put a price tag of 2000 MS Points or $25.00 on the War Game Map Pass. If you purchase the limited edition version of Halo 4, the War Game Map Pass is included. The War Game Map Pass includes nine multiplayer maps, two helmets for your Spartan, and the Falcon in game emblem. 343 Industries and Microsoft also gave details regarding what happens when a player reaches a level 50. At level 50, each player will get to choose between eight specializations; two of the specializations, Wetwork and Pioneer will be available from launch day. However if you do purchase the $99.99 limited edition, all eight specializations are available to you from day one along with different skin options, avatar props, three videos, and let's not forget the $25.00 War Game Map Pass. Each specialization is designed to give you the upper hand in combat based on how you prefer to play the game. Wetwork - Allows you to move quickly and silently giving you the upper hand for stealth kills. Pioneer -Gives the ability to gain more XP in battle allowing you to level up faster than those that do not choose the option. Engineer - Gives you an advantage to knowing when an ordinance drop will happen containing supplies. Tracker - Allows for better long range tracking. Rogue - Provides aiming stability when in combat. Stalker - Allows you to track and find previous enemies who have killed you in combat. Pathfinder - Decreases weapon overheat when operating a vehicle's turret; also allows the player to move faster carrying a detached turret. Operator - For those that prefer to be behind the wheel, this mod provides increase stamina and durability of the vehicle you are operating. Once you choose one of the specializations it cannot be changed until after you complete the additional ten rank levels that each class adds to your Spartan. Each specialization also comes with a weapon skin, a set of armor, emblems, and a visor color. Specializations via Halo Waypoint via The Examiner

The BitBag is reporting that Hideo Kojima may have possibly been hinting about another entry into the Silent Hill series. BitBag spied the two questionable tweets, “Silent Hill” movie that I borrowed from Murashu as the next sequel is coming out. It would be a scary game if we make Silent Hill game on FOX engine.?(?_?;)" and “Silent Hill” is in closed room setting and doesn’t require full action so that we can focus on the graphic quality. Enemy doesn’t have to be a lot or move fast. It only requires scariness by graphics and presentation. As being a creator making action game in open world, such game is very enviously attractive. Wish someone could create this on FOX engine." and now there is speculation that Kojima might be looking into developing a Silent Hill of his own using the newly developed FOX engine which will be showcased in the next Zone of Enders release.

During Gamescom 2012, Sony unveiled the first trailer for Call of Duty Black Ops: Declassified for the PS Vita. The newest entry into the Call of Duty series will contain everything that fans love about the Call of Duty series including Perks, Prestige Levels, and Create A Class and this Vita only Call of Duty addition will tell the events that took place in the Black Ops timeline between Black Ops 1 and the upcoming Black Ops 2. http://youtu.be/jHIh4qn8xO8 via Playstation Blog

2. What game are you currently playing? Was playing Skyrim... Currently playing Skyrim... Will be playing Skyrim... So good and very addicting. Will probably only get better after I play some mods for it and eventually get Dawnguard. 3. What game are you looking forward to that has yet to release? Ask PK the same question and I'll probably agree with his answer. 4. If you could be anything in the world what would it be and why. I like me as is, although it would be pretty sweet to fly. Sure make traveling easier and you wouldn't have to deal with crazy drivers. 5. What is your biggest gaming pet peeve when playing with others? Loud music over voice chat... I'm sure the song's great but it doesn't do justice over chat as about all music sounds like crap over a headset. 6. When you aren’t gaming, what are you doing? Either at work programming or in front of my computer programming. My top android app is Amazon Free App Notifier and my top Desktop program was Imgur Album Downloader with both receiving 1000s of downloads. I'm currently working on an open source program Reddit Image Downloader and it should turn out to be the best program I've written yet. I find writing desktop applications and Android apps a lot of fun so if you ever have a cool idea swing it by me and I might be able to make it happen. 7. If you were to take over the world, what would be the first thing that you would do? Free tacos for everyone? Force EA to never release day one DLC? Give everyone a kick-*** gaming computer? Make Gabe give us Half Life 3? Promote world peace? If I took over the would why couldn't I do it all at the same time? 8. If someone ran up to you and yelled, "The sky is falling!" and you look up and it is, what would you do? First I would probably be the crazy one who would stay outside for a little bit and take pictures (If tornado sirens go off, I'm one of the first people to run outside. ) Then I would attempt to find shelter and prepare for Fallout, Midwest Style (Sure, it's not nuclear, but who knows what would really happen ). 9. In 5 words or less, describe your gamer self. The One and Only Click here to view the article

Game Politics is reporting that video games sales saw a decent sales decrease of 20% during the month of July. This has been the eighth consecutive drop since November 2011. One console did manage to make a buck during the month of July. The Xbox 360 remained on top of the console market for the 19th consecutive month moving 230,000 units. Both Nintendo and Sony did not release figures for the month of July. Is this decrease in sales another sign of economic times taking a toll on the gaming industry or just the long summer video game drought that gamers face in the rather boring summer months?

An update for Netflix on the Xbox 360 rolled out yesterday adding a new section that is "Just For Kids". This new update is perfect for a family with small children who are looking for more family friendly oriented television shows and movies. The "Just For Kids" section not only seperates Netflix's standard movie and television genres, but also allows the user to search by characters which can be found without having to type in the character's name and is located on the main area of the new section. This feature makes it easy for young children who cannot read yet to shout out the names of their favorite characters that they want to watch. Case in point, my living room lit up like it was Christmas morning when my two year discovered the character icons that were for "Thomas The Train", "Spongebob Squarepants", and "Dora The Explorer" would take him to his favorite shows without mommy and daddy having to choose for him allowing him to be feel a bit more independent. David Watson, Director of Product Innovation for Netflix on the kids and family friend end stated on his blog that the "Just For Kids" area of Netflix is very "popular" among their users on the PC, PS3, and various other devices so they "are sure it will also be a hit on Xbox 360". This update has been met with criticism with some Xbox 360 users saying they don't need it and wish they could disable it, others wishing for back to back play features instead of a kid only section along with various other updates and the addition of new shows and their episodes, and there is also the simple fact that this feature has been available to PS3 users since March 2012 and Wii users since November of 2011. Ouch! What do you think? Was this a necessary update that Netflix needed for families with young children or was this just a waste of time when Netflix should have been concentrating on refreshing their content and adding options to make it easier for the user to use the app?

An example of parenting skills at their finest. A mother was forced to call an ambulance after her 15 year old son collapsed from a possbile four to five day Modern Warfare 3 marathon on his Xbox 360. Speaking to NBC4 news out of Columbus, Ohio, Jessie Rawlins mother of 15 year old Tyler Rawlins said that her son emerged from his bedroom after a possible four to five day continous gaming session looking pale and his lips appeared to turn blue. "I was very scared. I thought he was going to die. He just fell over three times." explained Jessie Rawlins to the local news. The mother who cannot confirm if it was four or five straight days that Tyler spent in his room engrossed in Modern Warfare 3 did say that her son came out of his room one time to get snacks, use the restroom, and take a shower. Tyler was diagnosed as being severely dehydrated and was immediately given an IV with fluids during his transport to the hospital. Tyler has since been released and Ms. Rawlins says she and her son learned a lesson the hard way and that Xbox is now gone.

Ubisoft Annecy's multiplayer game director Damien Kieken confirmed the news that there will be no multiplayer beta for Assassin's Creed 3 claiming that Ubisoft would rather spend time perfecting the game, then putting out a time consuming beta. "To be honest, it’s something we want to do every year because we get community feedback that helps us tune the game. It is also a good reward for the community that has followed us from the beginning. But doing a beta takes a lot of time; we’d need to polish a version, submit it to the platform holders and support it when it’s out. And all the time put into the beta doesn’t go into the final game. Because we wanted to push so many things into the game, we took the hard decision to favor the final game content instead of doing a beta and we believe it will be favorable in the end..." Kieken told Xboxgamezone in a recent interview. Disappointed that you won't be able to take the game for a test drive, before it's release? Relax, you can get your eager gaming mitts on Assassin's Creed 3 on October 30th. http://youtu.be/Boy11rMf50Q