Looking to try out that PSP Mini on your preposterously sized high definition television? Though we can't promise the results will be particularly gorgeous, we're pleased to announce that the option is now available to you. Sony just launched PS3 Firmware Update 3.15, which allows you to play PSP Minis on your decidedly un-Mini console. In addition, the patch makes it easier to transfer files between PS3s using only a LAN cable. Read here to learn more about this functionality, and simply go to the System Update option on the XMB to get the patch!

Seriously, Cryptic Studios and Atari -- you are drowning us in screenshots for Star Trek Online. We had to go out and purchase another external hard drive just so we could keep tabs on our ever-burgeoning "STO Assets" folder. We feel like, if scanned through quickly enough, we could accurately recreate gameplay segments from the title. Really, really disjointed gameplay segments.

Check out the latest batch in the gallery below, then check out all 104 images we've received to date and dropped in this gallery. Then, try to approximate how many more we'll receive before the game's February 2 release date. We're guessing somewhere within the vicinity of 3,000, but that's a fairly conservative estimate.

Last month, the extremely certain pop-rock outfit No Doubt sued Activision for allowing their likenesses to be used in Band Hero, where players could perform the game's entire catalog of songs as the Stefani-fronted group. According to the complaint, this feature turned the band's appearance in the game into a "virtual karaoke circus act." Earlier this week, The Hollywood Reporter dug up a countersuit filed against the band by Activision, who claimed No Doubt was in breach of a contract between the two parties, and had reaped unjust enrichment as a result.

Activision's main response to No Doubt's claim is that that the band requested their likenesses be limited to perform the band's own songs in-game -- however, it made this request "only after the Band Hero programming was finalized." Activision seeks an unspecified amount of damages and interest from the band, as well as court and attorney fees, and a return of all payments dispersed to the band for their initial involvement. Jeez, Activision. Might as well go ahead and ask for the kitchen sink while you're at it.

[Via GamePolitics]

In one day, the NPD Group will release its game sales report for the month of November, which should reveal the (near) exact number of units Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has sold in the US thus far. In the meantime, Gamespot reported on two analysts who have predicted the portion of November software sales that were made up of Warfare purchases. Industry analyst superstar Michael Pachter says the game accounts for 23 percent of total game sales. However, Pacific Crest analyst Evan Wilson has it pegged at 25 percent of total November sales.

Wilson added that this feat is made especially impressive due to his firm's prediction that "this November's sales will match the month's highest historical total on record." In related news, news stories dealing with Modern Warfare 2 composed 67.2 percent of all news stories over the past month. Oh, wait -- now it's 67.5 percent!

Last month, we wrote about Facebook-based advocacy group Gamers' Voice, British Labor MP Tom Watson's initiative to combat the wave of negative press garnered by violent video games and gaming culture as a whole. At the time that story was published, the group had a few hundred members. Just two weeks after the story was published, the group had over 15,000 members.

According to a recent interview with IndustryGamers, Watson is inviting the group's ranks to join him at the British House of Commons tomorrow to discuss the future of the group. However, he's already seen results in Parliament, where his fellow politicians have shown interest in learning about the issues that pertain to games and have asked about connecting with gamers. Watson's personal goals are fairly reasonable: To stop the media's attacks on the entire industry "because one scene in one game is unpleasant to one journalist," and to "get a balanced view about what games really are."

If you were wondering what the world of Mirror's Edge would look like from a side-scrolling, out-of-body perspective, your answer can be found in the above trailer for the platformer's iPhone port. Though the handheld obviously lacks the processing power of the 360 and PS3, the game still manages to retain the first installment's crisp visual aesthetic. Also, there's a lot of roof-jumping, which we remember being pretty prevalent in the home console version of the game.

However, the video still doesn't clarify how the original game's fairly complex control scheme will port over to the iPhone. "See, to scale this wall, you do a quick tap, then a tappity-tap, and then half a tap, and then you shake your iPhone violently. No, no, half a tap. How are you not getting this?"

If you've been desperately wanting to live the luxurious life of a virtual DJ, but lack the finances required to do so, fret no longer -- GuitarHeroStore has temporarily knocked the price of the Wii, PS3 and 360 versions of DJ Hero down to $79, and the PS2 version of the game to $64. That even includes free shipping, which is good, since plastic turntables probably cost more than your average parcel to transport cross-country.

Make sure you enter in the coupon code "DJHPP1" while checking out in order to access the offer. Otherwise, you'll end up paying full price for the game, losing out on $20 you could've spend on other disc jockey accessories. Like oversized headphones! Or LED-infused robot helmets.

[Via SlickDeals]

Though most gaming enthusiasts received the announcement of the streaming game service known as OnLive with raw, unmitigated zeal, Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick isn't convinced of the platform's revolutionary properties. According to GamesIndustry, Zelnick explained during the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York City, that, if successful, OnLive would "meaningfully and beneficially transform the economics of our business." However, he later added that the digital distribution-centric system "doesn't really speak to our business model."

Zelnick noted the benefits in not having to worry about costs associated with production and distribution, but explained that "the bulk of our business is packaged goods because initial releases are for the console business." He later claimed that OnLive's bold distribution model "probably won't be a sea change in our business." Shortly after that, he did 1,000 sit-ups, and then arm wrestled everyone in the audience simultaneously. Needless to say, he won.

According to a report recently published by typographically-challenged research firm Analysys, revenues from China's online gaming industry will reach 73.1 billion yuan ($10.7 billion) within three years. If you're one of those people who have a hard time telling whether numbers are large, let us assure you that this one is very large indeed. As a point of reference, the entire U.S. gaming industry pulled in $11.7 billion in revenues last year.

The report expects online gaming revenues for the nation to reach $3.8 billion this year -- however, it also estimates MMO market penetration to only be at 27 percent, a number it expects will increase as internet access becomes more readily available to Chinese citizens. Of course, all the internet access in the world won't bolster online gaming revenues if all the good ones keep getting shut down for no reason whatsoever.

Havok, developer and distributor of the powerful middleware engine of the same name, recently announced a new, altruistic initiative that should fill indie devs with gallons of holiday cheer. The aptly named Independent Developer Program offers the engine's entire software suite (Havok Physics, Havok AI, Havok Cloth, etc.) to developers at a "flexible and affordable" rate. Rather than licensing the tools directly, these developers sign up for an annual agreement with Havok, which allows them to prototype the tools, picking and choosing which ones they want to leverage for the creation of their latest opus.

The recently downsized Krome Studios is the first outfit to benefit from the program. We really hope Sony Santa Monica is the next team to utilize the software, if only so we can make the following joke: "Sony tried Havok, and let slip the God of War." We're not certain it qualifies as "independent," unfortunately. Shucks.

If you read the first installment in the latest installment of "Pachter Predixx," you already know that the analyst's new report praises the PS3 for its resilience during these troubled times. According to the report, the PS3 saw an 85-percent year-over-year sales increase in November, while the Wii and Xbox 360 suffered sales declines. This reversal in fortune leads Pachter and his Wedbush associates to a surprising conclusion: "We think that the PS3 will again outsell the Xbox 360 in November and December, prompting a price cut some time early next year."

Pachter adds that while Microsoft "has the ability to lower price yet again," it probably won't do so until "it begins to lose significant market share to Sony." As with all conjecture -- even when delivered by professional conjecture conjurers -- we suggest considering Pachter's educated guess as just that: a guess.

Though the November NPD sales report won't be released until later this week, gaming industry analyst (and possible soothsayer) Michael Pachter has predicted November's biggest players in the gaming hardware and software markets. Unsurprisingly, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the highlighted title in his report -- not only does the report claim the game sold around 6 million units last month in the U.S. (for about $350 million), it credits the game with pulling the industry out of a downward spiral that it's followed for seven of the past eight months.

The report also awards a large gold-star sticker to the PlayStation 3, which is predicted to have sold 700,000 units in November, an 85-percent year-over-year sales increase. Despite the two upswings, Pachter's report ends on a decidedly dour note, stating, "as 2009 draws to an end, it is clear that it will end as a horrible year for video game publishers." Pachter suggests that sales will drop off once more in December. Happy holidays, gaming industry professionals!

We just don't get it, folks. Usually, the purchasing habits of the Japanese gaming populace is formulaic and predictable -- when a console diminishes in size, its sales spike into the stratosphere. However, the gigantified DSi LL managed to retain its commanding lead in this week's chart, despite its newfound largeness. At the same time, the PSP Go, which is considerably smaller than its UMD-reading predecessor, continues to plummet to the bottom of the rankings.

Our world's been flipped, turned upside-down! If this one constant rule, which has proven itself true time and time again throughout the annals of history, can be so easily dismissed, what other laws of nature can we ignore? Gravity? Thermodynamics? That one law that prevents us from smashing open gumball machines and harvesting the candies within? That path leads to anarchy, friends. Delicious, chewable anarchy.

- DSi LL: 67,243 33,310 (33.13%)
- PS3: 46,558 11,806 (33.97%)
- Wii: 46,673 13,829 (42.11%)
- PSP: 38,839 6,087 (18.59%)
- DSi: 37,021 4,951 (15.44%)
- DS Lite: 7,268 2,217 (43.89%)
- PSP Go: 3,809 765 (16.72%)
- Xbox 360: 3,685 400 (9.79%)
- PS2: 2,057 33 (1.63%)

[Source: Media Create]

See: The archives

There's a good reason why we never went into late-night comedy: We really didn't want to compete against lanky comic genius Conan O' Brien. We thought writing about (and, more often than not, making fun of) video games would be a career path where we'd never have to compete with the gargantuan Irish host -- unfortunately, in a recent episode of Late Night, Conan managed to encroach on our territory, making a joke at the expense of the recently released (and tepidly received) Avatar: The Game.

Check out the video of Conan's gag after the jump while we consider another career choice -- one that will definitely be devoid of Conan competition. (We're thinking about horse whispering. Seems pretty safe, right?)

[Via Kotaku]

Continued →

Boxing fans who were hoping to enhance their sweet, sweet scientific exploits in Fight Night Round 4 for the Xbox 360 were recently stricken with disappointment -- the game's latest DLC, the "Champions Pack 2," hit the Xbox Live Marketplace with a fairly problematic issue which caused the system to freeze up while downloading the content. This is doubly troubling, because as we understand it, downloading is actually a pretty important step in the DLC process.

EA Sports commented on the error on its official forums, stating that the DLC has been pulled from the Marketplace until a non-glitched version can be rolled out, hopefully "before the Christmas holidays." People who managed to download the DLC without freezing can still play the game, but won't be able to access the pack's locked content until the revised DLC is released. People who managed to download half of the DLC pack before freezing can play as Evander Holyfield's torso.