Shortly after learning that the Flood would be making an appearance in Halo Wars, we were whisked away to a meeting with Ensemble's Graeme Divine where we immediately asked: "Is the Flood a playable race?" As quickly as we asked it, we were answered: no. With an emphasis on the story-driven single-player campaign, Divine told us that the multiplayer component would only include the UNSC and Covenant forces, as already revealed, and the campaign would only be playable as the UNSC, not the Covenant.

But that brings up another issue: how is the Flood present in a prequel taking place 20 years before the events in Halo: Combat Evolved? The more Halo-aware amongst you (read: total nerds) will recall that the introduction of the mysterious Flood in that seminal title was a surprise to the player and, indeed, to the entire UNSC command. When asked if they're retconning the Flood earlier into the Halo timeline, Divine said that the events observed in Halo 1 "was the first time UNSC knew about the Flood." So how does the existence of the parasitic aliens twenty years earlier go entirely unrecorded? Unsurprisingly, they're not saying (our guess: everyone dies).

Nestled comfortably alongside major content partners like Capcom, Electronic Arts, and Square Enix is the Microsoft booth – a bright white oasis of relatively line-free gaming. Seriously, our wait in the Resident Evil 5 co-op line at Microsoft's booth this morning: approximately five minutes. The wait at Capcom's Resident Evil 5 booth? Think "infinity." Check out our gallery below for a quick walkthrough of what the big M's got on display at TGS this year.

For the first two and a half years of the Xbox 360's lifespan, owners eagerly looked forward to regular "spring" and "fall" updates, packing more functionality into their consoles through (what Microsoft marketing would later call) the "magic of software." With the absence of a spring update this year and the subsequent announcement of the New Xbox Experience we wanted to know if Microsoft would return to the biannual updates ...

So we asked John Schappert during our sitdown earlier this week in Tokyo. He said, "I don't know if we're going to tie ourselves to a spring fall release schedule" and continued, "I like staying focused on bigger, more impactful releases ... maybe it'll be twice a year, maybe less frequently, to-be-determined." Speaking of what those future updates could consist of, Schappert said that Microsoft is asking itself, "What's the next big launch? What do we bring? When can we bring it? And how can we do it in a big way?"

The NXE is certainly a bigger, more impactful release. We're assuming, however, that Microsoft doesn't plan on reinventing the wheel every couple years in which case what "big" functionality should we expect in future Dashboard updates, regardless of when they're released? No, really, we're asking you.

After several months of unplanned silence ("This was the project we originally were intending to announce at E3," they say), Bungie finally revealed Halo 3: Recon at TGS. We had an opportunity to talk with Luke Smith and Brian Jerrard during a group meeting in Tokyo this morning and Jerrard briefly addressed some of the more obvious questions we were bound to have:

• "It will be a standalone disc sold in stores in boxes next Fall. It's also going to include some multiplayer maps."
• "It is a first-person shooter still ... It's not a squad-based shooter."
• "As an ODST, compared to playing as in invulnerable Spartan, you are going to have to sort of pick and choose your encounters a little bit differently."
• "It is going to very much feel like Halo. Full feature parity."

That out of the way, Jerrard explained that Recon isn't the only thing Bungie's been up to since jumping off the Microsoft Express this time last year: "This is one of a few projects that we're currently working on. This is the first time at Bungie we've actually had multiple things happening at once and not just, every three years, doing the massive game release." In order to develop Recon, Bungie used a "small agile team" made up of a "bunch of elders" who started the Halo: Combat Evolved franchise some seven years ago (that doesn't sound like ex-GRAWer Christian Allen to us). Who better than to deliver a "bit of a departure" from the last three titles?

Were you worried your procrastination would be irrevocable when you learned that Rocky & Bullwinkle – an Xbox Live Arcade title you'd flirted with for months – could have been summarily "delisted" from the 360's Marketplace for no reason other than a horrible review average and a notable lack of enthusiasm from the console's constituents?

Fret no more! Microsoft's John Schappert told us yesterday that the company has "no immediate plans to act on delisting" and, in fact, that little brouhaha earlier this year was simply the company setting "parameters by which [they] can delist" content. With the New Xbox Experience promising an easier-to-use Marketplace, the existing retail mess will (ostensibly) be cleaned up and the XBLA shovelware shouldn't get in the way of what you're really there for: Rocky and Bullwinkle.

Following his TGS keynote, Microsoft's John Schappert crammed himself into a stuffy hotel room with about a dozen representatives from various gaming outlets, including yours truly. Tasked with peppering Schappert with questions, we asked about the sales figures he cited in the keynote (were those worldwide figures?), the decision to delay the Halo 3: Recon announcement from E3 to TGS (do the Japanese even play Halo?), the spring / fall update schedule, and Microsoft's plans to delist XBLA content (don't hold your breath). Instead of reading our condensed version, we've embedded the audio below for your listening pleasure.

[MP3 download]

10:40PM ET – We're sitting tight, listening to a panel of reps from Capcom, Square Enix, and Namco Bandai discussing the current realities (crises?) facing the Japanese gaming industry. Appropriately enough, we're waiting for Microsoft's John Schappert to take the stage and deliver his TGS keynote. We'll keep taking notes here, and begin updating as soon as things get underway.

11:03PM ET – Finally! The lights are down and the screen is on. They're playing a The Last Remnant trailer. Very slick, as is to be expected from a Square Enix RPG.

11:06PM ET – John Schappert is on stage, reminding us that TLR will premiere exclusively on Xbox 360 this November – the 20th to be exact. He thanks the preceding panelists for sharing their insight (read: We better pay more attention to Microsoft). Schappert brings up his background as a Super Famicom developer (dude's the real deal) – wants to help Japanese creators bring their games to the world. Says we need three key things.

Many of us at Joystiq are still torn on Rare's upcoming Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, the build-a-bear's-car platformer heavy on vehicle creation. This morning's demo of the game at Xbox Tokyo, steered by Rare's Neill Harrison, once again reinforced our positive appraisal of the game's creative possibilities while leaving this writer as-yet-unconvinced of the game around the toy.

Preaching a message of replayability and open-endedness, Harrison detailed some of the game's "sharing" functionality: Blueprints and replays. Particularly cool vehicles can be shared amongst friends by "gifting" blueprints to them. Spent twelve hours making the absolute perfect jet/boat/car with detachable helicopter and torpedo attachments? Want to share it with Grandma? Gift it to her and go head-to-head in a multiplayer grudge match. Or challenge her to beat your best time in one of the game's Challenge Modes.

It's Friday, so you know what that means: It's podcast day! So get downloading, kick back, and listen to the soothing sounds of Chris, Ludwig, and ... well, that's it. But just because Justin isn't here this week, doesn't mean he's not here in spirit. There he is in that picture above! And we've got a couple special guests tasked with filling in his velcro shoes.

We're talking about LittleBigPlanet, we're giving away LittleBigPlanet beta codes (tune in!), and we're playing the latest hit game based on the podcast. No, not Earthosaur, you nerd. It's ColorBlind so check that noise out! And thanks to hard-working man Danny from the JPAG for the pic of his totally-not-a-photoshop work shirt.

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Hosts: Chris Grant, Ludwig Kietzmann and ...

Music: "Get Ready for Love" by Nick Cave, "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1" by The Flaming Lips

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See all of this week's links after the jump.

Tucked inside a press release straight from Nintendo of America comes the downplayed news that Cave Story – the Japanese freeware cult-classic – is coming to "Wii this holiday season" via the console's often dubious WiiWare service.

But it's not just a straight port, oh no. The indie Metroidvania title will have "new, exclusive content and features created only for the WiiWare version." No word on what those are, what Cave Story will cost or, really, when "this holiday season" it'll be available to play. But, hey, if you've got a "computer" at home, you can play it today. Without waiting. Or paying "money."

"Oh, and one more thing ..."

Okay, so Nintendo's Cammie Dunaway didn't quite pull a Steve Jobs but she did save some of the biggest news for last. Japan's (and Europe's ... and Australia's) envy-inspiring Club Nintendo service – a "loyalty program" which rewards your Nintendo purchase with points to be redeemed for cool swag – will be making its way to North America "by the end of the year." Is this a move to placate the dissatisfied "core" gamer, still bitter from Nintendo's mainstream E3 pitch? Or a plan decades in the making which just so happens to coincide with said dissatisfaction? We may never know, but we're anxious to see what sort of goodies Nintendo offers its too-long taken for granted fanboys and girls.

The latest Famitsu has some info on one of those nine unannounced PS3 games coming from Sony and to be shown off at TGS next week. Demon's Souls is a single-player, fantasy-themed action-RPG being developed by From Software (and directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, of Armored Core fame), and published by SCEJ. Though it's a new IP, the game's director and SCE producer mention From Software's RPG series King's Field – perhaps a spiritual successor of some kind? Demon's Souls will be playable at TGS, so we'll find out then, okay?

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

British video game pub MCV is insistent in telling us that the rumored new DS model, packing MP3 functionality and a built-in camera – the DS Sight? – will be announced by Satoru Iwata during Nintendo's press event in Japan around 12AM Joystiq Time tonight. MCV says its source is "impeccable" and "guarantees" the announcement; we say, let's wait until later tonight. We'll be here, on the lookout for anything with the letters D and S in close proximity.

With the 873 million of you out there with a PSP that alternates between being dragged around everywhere and then totally neglected, there may be hope yet! We first heard rumors back in April that LittleBigPlanet would be cramming its creative britches into something more appropriate for the PSP; now, Sony is looking to recruit someone capable of just such a cramming, a "PSP Game Engine Lead" who would "work on the development of exciting new LittleBigPlanet projects."

Pretty convincing, but not nearly as convincing as the game's developer brainstorming a PSP version with Eurogamer telling, "There's definitely scope for a PSP version ... We've had discussions and talks, [but] nothing concrete at the moment." Maybe once they get that PSP Game Engine Lead all signed up, those slushy talks will stiffen up into something decidedly more concrete.

Source – "LittleBigPlanet projects" job listing [Via PSP Fanboy]
Source – LittleBigPlanet boss reveals PSP vision [GamesIndustry.biz]

So, get this: Nintendo, having had pretty incredible success with the Wii, is going to make another one! We know, it sounds crazy ... but so did the idea that we'd still be having trouble finding Wiis into 2009. Despite our fears that Nintendo will continue trickling Wiis out the door until 2027 – at which point it'll finally offer a second, soon-to-be sold-out color offering – former 1UP editorial director John Davison says that "Nintendo is currently showing early presentations of its next home console hardware" (according to "multiple sources in the game development and publishing community" that is!).

So what's Wii 2 (Super Wii? Wii Advance?) got? According to Davison, the few that have seen this mythical beast have dubbed it "Wii HD" – it's got HD visuals (duh), "a greater emphasis on digitally distributed and backwardly compatible content," as well as a familiar "emphasis" on what's in your hand instead of what's next to your futuristic HOLO-TV. With R&D spending at the Big N tripling since the Wii launched in 2006, we're not certain that's just a plain-old-Wiimote anymore. Our best guess now: a HOLO-ARM.