Microsoft to make Xbox 360 retail announcement tomorrow?

According to MCVUK, Microsoft is set to make an official announcement on discontinuing the mid-range Pro Xbox 360 line, and price cuts for the Elite and Pro systems. Of course, with all the gossip, speculation and evidence in the form of Target, Wal-Mart and other flyers dating a sale on August 30, Does Microsoft really have a choice? I mean, sure the company could just be quiet but it would look even sillier than it does now.
This is officially the second worst kept secret of 2009 - right behind the PSP Go.

These product adjustments come ahead of the official launch of Sony’s PS3 Slim console on Tuesday, September 2 – a move that, Microsoft hopes, will take away any momentum Sony could have gained by cutting the price of its PS3 and revealing a new slimmer SKU.

Target ad shows $299 Xbox 360 Elite 120GB, $250 60GB Pro

What is Warren Spector’s secret Disney project?

Epic Mickey. That’s what the media is calling Warren Spector’s super secret project for Disney. Back in 2007 Warren Spector’s Junction Point studio was bought by Disney and the man behind Dues Ex has been busy working on something ever since. But let’s start at the beginning.

At the end of 2008 Gamasutra talked about a secret project they’d seen concept art for that indicated a title codenamed “Epic Mickey.” The concept art featured “pencil sketches of cities assembled from junk” and “a surreal seashore invasion scene, in which machines wearing the faces of the Seven Dwarfs deposit old-fashioned renditions of Disney characters onto the beach with mechanical hands.”

An even earlier report from 1Up offered this small tidbit of information on the project:

Ever since Disney bought his studio, thus crushing our dreams for Ninja Gold, we’ve wanted to know just what the heck ace developer Warren Spector is working on. Hints were dropped on GFW Radio, but Quartermann claims to have the skinny. Word is that Spector’s new Disney project will be a platformer looking to compete with a certain pesky plumber. And who’s big enough to take on Nintendo’s star? Only the mouse himself!

And so, here we are today, with some new information: new artwork uncovered by Neogaf, and details unearthed by Superannuation point to Epic Mickey featuring familiar Disney characters and locations with a steampunk setting.

The Neogaf art shows a robotic scorpion with a bear head, a spider-like robot with mouse ears, a steam punk style cityscape, a castle, a giant jug of paint thinner with Mickey Mouse on the label on a beach and a number of other conceptual sketches. The artwork was found on the web site of artist Gary Glover, who worked for Junction Point as a concept artist from 2007 - 2008.

Further proof comes from Superannuation who uncovered a mention of “Epic Mickey” in the resume of current Junction Point Studios concept artist Tony Puhlham - including the fact that the game is being developed for the Wii.

Of course “Epic Mickey” is probably a codename for something else, but at least we now have a general sense of what it is Warren Spector has been working on for almost two years.

More details when we have them.

Zeno Clash rumors and DLC

Zeno Clash will be getting some free downloadable content called The Pit, which will add three new challenge levels for those who want to show their superiority on the Zeno Clash leaderboards. The three levels feature a variety of traps, destructible floors, and hopefully some harrowing moments as the players tries to make it to the bottom floor of the pit in one piece. To celebrate this release of the DLC on Steam, Zeno Clash will get a 50 percent discount.

There is also a rumor circulating that Zeno Clash might soon be coming to Xbox Live at some point. While I won’t call it a confirmation, ACE Team artist and game designer Carlos Bordeu wrote an interesting reply in the ACE Team forums that is pretty telling:

“The console version is still NOT confirmed. It still has to be approved.

The ‘pit’ DLC is not the XBLA new content. That should be out for the PC build soon…

Saying that “it has yet to be approved” is a good indication, at the very least, that it exists.

QORE reveals PSP Go details by accident or on purpose

Is Sony leaking its own news or seeding it prior to its E3 press conference at the beginning of this week. We don’t know for sure, but it sure seems like a marketing ploy. The latest edition of Sony’s QORE reveals a ton of information on the new PSP GO, confirming many of the rumors that have been circulating for the last several months.

The video magazine confirms that the PSP Go won’t have a UMD drive, but will feature a sliding screen that hides the button layout and uses a Memory Stick Micro for storage. Apparently Sony is looking forward to new customers with the removal of the UMD drive. Better hold onto your old PSPs if plan on buying the PSP GO - you’ll need it to play those UMD’s.

The latest episode of QORE also hints at some new games for the PSP in addition to showing off a few that we already knew about. Some of the unannounced (but not detailed) titles include new entries in such popular series as Metal Gear Solid, Jak and Daxter, and Gran Turismo.

We’re not sure if it was Sony’s attention to leak this information pre-E3 on purpose, but it’s smart marketing as they prepare for E3., because we’re all writing about it.

And on a related note, Eurogamer has some nidt shots of the new PSP Go here.

New Wii Fit, Mario rumors surface

Even before E3 kicks off next week, more speculation and rumors are circulating about what Nintendo has planned for us later this year and beyond. Two rumors making the rounds - thanks to a report on Nikkei - are that Nintendo is working on two new games: a new Mario title and a sequel to Wii Fit. The Japanese paper reports that Nintendo plans to release the new Mario game in Japan in the second half of 2009, as part of its attempt to bolster sales of its Wii console in Japan. Details on the Mario game were not available.

Another rumor is that a brand new Wii Fit game is on the way for Japan, expanding on the popular fitness game - no details on this game either beyond the fact that it will add online features, the ability to compete against other players as you try to lose weight and get fit, and enhanced motion sensitivity.
While these rumors seem tangible, we’ll wait and see if Nintendo’s E3 press conference proves them to be true..

3DRealms comments on closure, lawsuit

3DRealms issued a statement this week addressing it’s closure and offering a rebuttal to Take-Two Interactive’s lawsuit alleging breach of contract related to Duke Nukem Forever. The statement, at face value, sheds some light on just what rights the creators of Duke Nukem Forever hold. The first thing worth noting is that 3DRealms claims that the company has not closed, despite notes on the company’s official web site, insider information and multiple news reports.

“Despite rumors and statements to the contrary, 3D Realms (3DR) has not closed and is not closing,” the company said in a statement. “3DR retains ownership of the Duke Nukem franchise. Due to lack of funding, however, we are saddened to confirm that we let the Duke Nukem Forever (DNF) development team go on May 6th, while we regroup as a company. While 3DR is a much smaller studio now, we will continue to operate as a company and continue to license and co-create games based upon the Duke Nukem franchise.”

What the company will be able to accomplish without any funding, developers, a less-than-stellar public image and a pending lawsuit seeking $20 million in damages for “breach of contract,” is in serious doubt.

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