The latest patch has been applied to the wide open world of Skyrim on Xbox 360. The 1.4 update -- out on PC since last week -- squashes some bugs and fixes issues with a number of quests. You can find a full list of fixes and changes right here.

Bethesda is still awaiting word from Sony regarding the PS3 patch. It will hopefully go live today as well.

Remedy believes in a future for Wake.

Matias Myllyrinne, CEO of Remedy, told us at DICE 2012, with the imminent launch of Alan Wake on PC and Alan Wake's American Nightmare on XBLA, that the studio isn't done with its literary protagonist.

"We're crowd pleasers, we'll do what the audience wants, 'cause usually that's the good business move as well," Myllyrinne responded when we asked what's next for Wake. He also reconfirmed the studio owns the IP, so the future of Wake is theirs to write.

"Hopefully, we'll have one or two surprises. I don't know, I'm loving the digital [distribution] side and we'll see how that evolves, but just being able to give people quick access to bit-size chunks of gaming is maybe more fun than working for years and years -- taking the phone offline and closing the shutters-- at least, this way, you're able to react much more quickly to people's desires and wishes."

With Remedy directly publishing Alan Wake on Steam, we wanted to know if the studio had an internal figure for sales that would dictate resources being put into a full-blown sequel?

"I don't know. I don't know if that would dictate it. If it bombs [laughs], then that's certainly a signal, but we're fairly confident that it'll do well. We'll certainly continue with Wake. Right now we're focusing on getting the PC out next week, then getting American Nightmare out. And it's too early to talk about what our next move is, but we've obviously put things into motion."

Some Amazon shoppers in Canada are even luckier than those buying a selection of early Vita games at GameStop: their Vitas somehow got out of Amazon's warehouse well ahead of launch.

Multiple users in the Red Flag Deals forum report receiving shipping notices this week, with a few already having the systems in their hands -- not just of the "First Edition" bundles, but the wi-fi Vita, which isn't due to launch officially until February 22.

Before you rush over to Amazon.ca, note that Amazon has caught on and returned the item to its proper February 22 ship date. Congratulations to the elite Canadian Vita owners' club!

The annual industry-focused trade show DICE kicked off last night with a keynote from Bethesda Game Studios' Todd Howard, but he is not the only industry veteran at the conference with insight into the inner workings of the games industry.

In this special DICE edition of The Joystiq Show Alexander Sliwinski sits down with Eat Sleep Play's David Jaffe to discuss the imminent launch of Twisted Metal, his current status with the company, and his plans to move into next-gen and browser game development.

The second interview features IGDA Mobile SIG's Kevin Dent, the man responsible for shining the spotlight on THQ's business practices and potentially disastrous financial predicament several weeks ago. Dent joins Alexander to delve into the details of his public statements and motivations for why he spoke out.

Part 1 (0:13) - Interview: David Jaffe
Part 2 (13:31) - Interview: Kevin Dent

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Host: Alexander Sliwinski (@XanderSliwinski)
Guests: David Jaffe (@davidscottjaffe) and Kevin Dent (@TheKevinDent)
Producer: Jonathan Downin (@jonathandownin - Game Thing Daily)
Music: "Bust This Bust That" by Professor Kliq

View the full guest list, related stories, and stream the show after the break.

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The Game Audio Network Guild (which translates to the convenient acronym of GANG) has announced its nominees for the 10th annual GANG Awards to be held at GDC, honoring the best music and audio in interactive entertainment over the last year. You can see all of the nominees in the press release after the break. As you might imagine, Battlefield 3, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Portal 2 are all nominated, all of which boasted very excellent and memorable aural experiences.

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, however, leads the pack in nominations, with nine total, including Audio, Music, and Sound Design of the Year. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary also got a nod for Best Soundtrack Album, despite the fact that most of the music is as old as the awards ceremony itself. And while most of the choices are obviously worthy, there's one more worth mentioning: Bastion was only nominated for one category, for Best Audio in a Casual/Indie/Social Game. Shame that it's relegated to just that category -- <a aiotitle="Build that Wall" "="" data-cke-saved-href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8cELTdtw6U" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8cELTdtw6U">"Build that Wall"</a> is one of the best listens our ears have had all year, video game-related or otherwise.

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It took about 8 hours and 11 minutes. Late last night, developer Double Fine revealed a new project, one that would only be created with help from fans. Dubbed 'Double Fine Adventure,' the game would bring the developer back to its rich adventure game heritage, which helped put company icons Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert into the industry's spotlight.

The asking price was high -- $400,000 to create a brand new PC-based, "classic point-and-click adventure utilizing modern touch technology -- but gamers were more than willing to help.

Funding for the game still runs for an additional 33 days and support does not seem to be slowing. On the official Kickstarter page, Double Fine notes that "extra money" earned during this process will be "put back into the game" as well as a behind-the-scenes documentary following the creation of the new title, which will only be distributed to those who back the project.

At the time of publishing, the Kickstarter project has 9,464 backers, putting $432,249 towards Double Fine's next adventure. Joystiq has contacted Kickstarter to find out if Double Fine's project is the fastest project to hit such an impressive funding total in the company's history, but have yet to hear back.

A jovial Schafer wrote on Twitter: "Okay, on to the next project! the next thing we need to do is get this Black Sabbath reunion back on track, people."

You know, baseball's been missing something as of late, wouldn't you agree? Good thing 2K Games has come to the rescue by adding more sports to our sports!

When MLB 2K12 launches in March, you'll be able to pick it up for the annual asking price of $60. If you spend $10 more, you can snag a combo pack including NBA 2K12, a game we're totally comfortable telling you is not too shabby. Outside of the inclusion of NBA 2K12, there are no differences between the separate SKUs.

2K Games has also announced the return of the annual perfect game pitching challenge, awarding one lucky virtual hurler (professional wrestler or not) a cool $1 million check. Hit the break for more details on this year's contest.

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The thing about video games as a hobby and fascination is that they can be quite expensive. Some may employ unscrupulous means to whet their appetite, but you won't have to do the same for a free taste of The Darkness 2.

Gaikai has added the demo to its list of streaming titles, joining the ranks of Dead Rising 2, Orcs Must Die!, The Witcher 2, Spore and others. It's all part of Gaikai CEO and industry veteran Dave Perry's goal to offer pre-release demos of major titles to all (with good internet connections).

The European Union provides us a small-scale glimpse into the potential functions of a truly global society -- and more recently, a global society in crisis. The unified currency of the EU, the Euro, was on the brink of collapse recently and all of its member countries are still running damage control.

Now, France in particular is facing another monetary hurdle, as its tax incentive for game development has expired and casued "genuine concern" the EU may not renew the exception that would reinstate it. State aid is normally forbidden under EU law, but in some cases it is allowed -- without an exception, game-development tax incentives would be banned in all EU countries, including France and the UK, Develop reports.

French developer Quantic Dream (Heavy Rain) said that if the tax break is not reinstated it would relocate its operations to Canada, which does offer incentives for development companies, Develop adds. And according to TIGA, The UK's game-development workforce -- which sees no tax breaks -- fell 10 percent between 2008 and 2011, with 41 percent of its workers relocating overseas to countries such as Canada.

Sony has announced its PlayMemories video editing software for the Japanese PS3, following an announcement in Europe. Along with this news comes details of the services provided with the app, including five gigabytes of free, cloud-based storage.

PlayMemories Studio (that's the PS3 app) users will be able to upload their videos and photos to the online service, called PlayMemories Online. From there, they'll be able to view and manage that media through the PC-based PlayMemories Home and iOS/Android PlayMemories Mobile apps. So if you only want images to enter your eyes through a Sony portal, you can quite nearly accomplish that.

Double Fine has announced that it will finally return to its adventure game roots. Utilizing the crowd-sourcing power of Kickstarter, Double Fine will hope to fund the project. As rewards for funding, the developer will offer bonuses such as "advance access to the game, original art from its development, and a bowling night out with the team."

The project is already listed on Kickstarter, asking a hefty $400,000 for its completion. Double Fine also plans to "create a unique, serialized documentary available only to Backers," developed by the team at 2 Player Productions.

According to the Kickstarter page, the game will be in development with a small team over a six-to-eight month period. The game is described as "a classic point-and-click adventure utilizing modern touch technology."

In related news: though Minecraft creator Markus 'Notch' Peterson had offered to help fund a sequel to the cult-hit game Psychonauts, Double Fine isn't ready to announce the title. "These things take time to figure out -- if they can be figured out -- so please don't expect any Psychonauts 2 announcements any time soon," video game icon Tim Schafer wrote on Twitter.

Schafer promises he and Notch are having a "lovely chat" about the possibility, and jokingly says the indie millionaire is a tough negotiator -- at his insistence that the game be dubbed "PsychoNotch."

Update: Moments ago, Double Fine achieved its goal of $400,000. At the time of publishing this update, the project has 8,880 backers and is currently sitting at $404,168. The funding process took less than ten hours.

Let's pretend you work at Bethesda Game Studios. Congratulations! You've just shipped The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a game that would go on to win multiple 'Game of the Year' awards. You're tired, probably haven't seen your family in months, and you have a week off. What do you do? Work on Skyrim, of course!

During his DICE 2012 keynote, Bethesda Games Studios game director and executive producer Todd Howard discussed an annual tradition at the company: a game jam, where staff are allowed to create anything they want on company time for one week. This year, the only stipulation was creating something within the recently released Skyrim.

In a sizzle reel presented to attendees, the public was shown what the minds at Bethesda could create. On the list? Mountable dragons, epic mounts (like flaming horses), giant mudcrab bosses that rival any other games, a new skill tree focused on lycanthropy, Kinect-enabled shouts (like this!), the ability to build homes, adopt children, use spears, and much more.

Howard was quick to note that the features shown in the video -- which were all running within the game -- were experiments. "How much of this stuff sees the light of day? To be determined. Could it be in a future DLC? We don't know. Could various parts of it just be released for free? We don't know."

And what was id Software's John Carmack doing that week? "[He] shot a rocket into f***ing space!" Howard said, showing actual footage of a rocket Carmack sent out of the earth's orbit. We'd still rather have dragon mounts. Check out the list of 'Game Jam' features after the break.

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During his DICE 2012 keynote speech, Bethesda Games Studios game director and executive producer Todd Howard revealed that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been played by "over ten million people." In December, Bethesda revealed it had shipped ten million units worldwide.

Of the "over ten million" players, Howard says that "many million" are playing the game on PC. Based on Steam statistics Bethesda has seen, "the average playtime is 75 hours," something Howard called "amazing." Our assumption is that there are a number of players worldwide who have yet to power down their machines since the game's November 11, 2011 launch.

The PC version of Skyrim continues to evolve, with the recent release of the Skyrim Creation Kit and its partnership with Valve to become the second featured title -- behind Team Fortress 2 -- in the Steam Workshop, which highlights user-generated content and streams it into games.

"It's something we'd like to see come to consoles one day," Howard said, adding that giving players the ability to "take and change" the game helps to make the experience unique. To Howard, games are the "ultimate combination of art [and] technology" and allowing the players to become their own "director."

Finally, your indecipherable ramblings can be heard by your comrades. A recent patch for Battlefield 3 on the PS3 has corrected a known issue involving inexplicably mute teammates. In reality, teammates talk a bunch.

EA recently revealed sales of over 10 million for Battlefield 3, so this should come as good news to what we'd classify as "plenty" of PS3 players. And now that this adjustment is out of the way, DICE can get back to dealing with those pesky cheaters. If the developer could do something about those jerks who always steal the jet, only to crash it in ten seconds, we'd be all set.

Set aside your favorite movie, music, or traditional piece of art, because there's only one medium that has the ability to make the one experiencing it proud: video games. This was the message Bethesda Games Studios game director and executive producer Todd Howard had for attendees during his DICE 2012 keynote.

Using the level end music from Peggle and the level-up sound from Modern Warfare, Howard explained that video games have the ability to reach people in ways others are unable because they can convey a sense of accomplishment. Helping to give players that feeling with intelligent game design "makes it the greatest," he said. Howard noted jokingly that he used the Modern Warfare sound for his email, to give him a sense of pride when he sends something off.

Much of Howard's introduction focused on Bethesda's three rules of development, which he discussed during his 2009 DICE keynote. Howard said the difficult balance of design is finding a harmony in creating a challenge for players that isn't so easy that it leaves them bored and isn't so difficult that they give up.

The gameplay loop (Learn, Play, Challenge, Surprise), as he explains, is presenting a game mechanic to the player in steps that entice them to continue. Howard discussed how Half-Life 2's introduction to the Gravity Gun is a perfect example of using the loop effectively -- players learn how to use the gun by playing with it, they are challenged to use it in new ways, and are surprised by what they can accomplish. This accomplishment helps to build the level of pride the players experience throughout the adventure. Howard urged game makers in the audience to be proud of their work and to make gamers proud in the process.

"Do something great. Make yourself proud," he said. "Make the player proud they played it. Make them proud they bought it."

Last year, for the 25th anniversary of the show, GDC featured a series of "Classic Game Postmortems" on games like Pac-Man, Prince of Persia, Another World, and Marble Madness. These new looks at old games proved so popular that the show is bringing them back for the crucial 26th anniversary event.

This year's set of classic games to go under the microscope includes Alone in the Dark (with designer Frederick Raynal), Fallout (with designer Tim Cain), Gauntlet (with creator Ed Logg) and Harvest Moon (with producer and former Marvelous CEO Yasuhiro Wada). Forget about all those new games! This is why we really go to conferences.

Remember Star Wars: Battlefront 3? It was never really made, but was never officially canceled either, and the idea faded into the background some time in 2010. Not everyone is ready to let the dream go, as PlayStation Lifestyle is reporting a slew of data that it says suggests developer Spark Unlimited is working on Battlefront 3.

Lifestyle's evidence includes a job opening at Spark listing "a 3rd Person Action/Adventure sequel in a high-profile science fiction franchise currently greenlit for full production development for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC markets;" a Spark employee's LinkedIn profile that describes a sword-fighting game for a well-known IP; and another that lists a triple-A third-person shooter that's been in development for three years.

Spark Unlimited's previous projects include 2008's Legendary and Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, and 2004's Call of Duty: Finest Hour. Battlefront 1 and 2 were developed by Pandemic Studios, which was bought by EA and eventually shuttered in 2009. Before closing, Pandemic said it was not working on Battlefront 3, and no developer has officially claimed it since.

Spark's coming title could be one of many unannounced sci-fi sequels, such as Star Wars: Jedi Knight 3, yet another XCOM revamp (why not?) or Asteroids 3D: When Spinning and Shooting Doesn't Work. Spark says it plans on publicly announcing its sci-fi secret this year.