For the past few months, Rockstar has been teasing us with gorgeous in-game trailers for its upcoming open-world Wild West action game Red Dead Redemption. Well, today the teasing stops. The developer has thrown open the corral gates and let loose a trailer with actual gameplay -- and we think you'd have to agree it looks pretty amazing.

More than just a bunch of quick cuts between brief action clips, it's fully narrated, describing the goals of the dev team at Rockstar San Diego and backing them up with in-game footage. Besides just talking up how open the open-world is, it goes into aspects such as the ability to play like a hero or outlaw -- do you bring your bounty back alive or dead? -- and also shows quick glimpses of a variety of cool-looking gameplay, from the old "try to stab the table between your fingers without cutting yourself" to dragging a guy behind your horse on a rope. But, mostly, it just looks so damn cool.

We'll stop with the talking so you can commence with the watching. Giddyup!

After a string of disappointments, fans of Modern Warfare 2 on PC may be down, but a ray of hope has emerged on the horizon. Responding to a fan asking about mod tools for the game via his Twitter account, Infinity Ward spokesman Robert Bowling said, "there may be some Mod Tools news coming in the future, I'll pass it along once I have it."

We suppose this news could be something like, "We're never ever going to release mod tools ever, so please stop sending us hate mail smeared with Cheeto dust fingerprints," but that would be mean -- even for a company that lets us blow away civilians.

[Via Escapist]

As rumored last week, LittleBigPlanet will receive a massive chunk of DLC just before Christmas -- the "Pirates of the Caribbean Premium Level Kit." This pack includes the highly anticipated Water update, along with the tools Sackboy will need to navigate said fluids (scuba tanks, air ducts and the like). In addition, the pack includes five pre-made Pirates-themed levels, four new audio tracks, a new background, a free "Cannibal" costume, and a whole mess of decorations, stickers and materials to collect.

The pack will land on the PSN alongside a six-pack of Pirates costumes, which include Jack Sparrow, Davy Jones, Will Turner and other characters from the movie, on December 22 for $5.99 each. Check out the pack's aquatic, buccaneering offerings in the trailer above.

[Thanks, Casder.]

Though SingStar may not possess the massive community base of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, Sony recently unveiled a PS3 application which offers a great deal of social networking capabilities to the karaoke game's players. Titled SingStar Viewer, the app (which appears under the Games folder of the XMB) allows users to browse and purchase songs from the SingStore, as well as view and vote on videos, photos and profiles uploaded by members of the MySingStarOnline community. This impressive functionality is totally free, and accessible even when the SingStar disc is absent from the PS3's drive.

The PlayStation.Blog post, which announced the software, didn't give a firm release date for the app, but suggested you "check the PlayStation Store over the coming weeks." Check out the video after the jump to get a brief demo of the services offered by the application. Then wonder if you're confident enough in your karaoke chops to place videos of you and your friends singing in front of the cruel, cruel internet.

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We think the redesigned PS3 is small enough. However, Sony's Japanese designers, in their continuing desire to shrink things, noted that the PS3 Slim "could have been made even smaller."

Sony's executive VP of technology Masayuki Chatani spoke with Japanese newspaper Nikkei about the challenges of designing a slimmer PS3. The goal was not only to cut costs, but to expand its attractiveness to "an even wider range of users." Considering the Japanese penchant for small electronics, the original PS3's girth was certainly a limiting factor.

However, certain sacrifices would have been necessary for Sony to pursue an even smaller box. One option was to place "the power supply on the outside," much like Microsoft's Xbox 360 power brick. Taking yet another page from Microsoft, an even more drastic option considered was to remove the hard drive altogether. The alternatives -- Flash memory or virtual network storage -- proved to be too expensive, and too unreliable. Ultimately, the Sony team chose function over form. "One of the best features of the PS3 is that people can download games to the internal local storage unit and play comfortably." That reminds us -- we need a bigger couch.

[Via IGN]

Just in time for the holiday season, RedOctane has kicked off yet another Guitar Hero deal. In exchange for $99.99, patrons of the Guitar Hero Store can snag a copy of Guitar Hero 5, plus two wireless guitar controllers, on either Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. And if you're thinking about this as a gift for someone special this holiday season, be sure to check out of our gift guides, which are chock full of ideas for gaming gifts.

The internet is running rampant with speculation that Nintendo is working on a follow-up to its current home console, tentatively dubbed "Zii." Siliconera discovered a Japanese trademark for the Zii, and many wondered if this was the official name for the fabled Wii HD.

Conspiracy theorists will want to settle down, though. Our friends at Engadget discovered that the Zii trademark request is simply a renewal of a 2006 request. In fact, in addition to the Zii, Nintendo has applied for trademarks covering Bii, Cii, Oii, and Yii. Unless Nintendo is planning on making five new consoles, each with a different name, it seems as though the company is just covering its bases.

Source - What Is The Nintendo Zii? [Siliconera]
Source - Nintendo trademarks 'Zii' all over Japan [Engadget]

We know there's a temptation to freak out, but just stick with us until the second graph, okay? When asked by Nikkei Japan how the company managed the cost of maintaining the free PlayStation Network, Sony Computer Entertainment executive VP Masayuki Chatani highlighted the possibility of new revenue streams, saying, "In addition to single-payment packaged software, there are also schemes like monthly fees or per-item charges."

As GameIndustry.biz points out, Chatani could be talking about any number of different items and monthly-charged services delivered via PSN -- as was vaguely referenced in a presentation last month. Viewed together, the comments may seem troubling, but additional services don't necessarily equate to PSN itself becoming a subscription service. If Sony wanted to lose the biggest advantage of its online service just as the PS3 builds up a good head of steam, a funeral service might become more appropriate.

Noting that publisher Eidos' name was missing from the Batman: Arkham Asylum sequel's teaser trailer, we contacted Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment yesterday to ask if Eidos (Square Enix Europe) was involved with the game. A company representative informed Joystiq, "WBIE is publishing. Eidos is not involved. We are not disclosing any additional information at this time." In addition, our request to learn the sequel's actual name was not granted.

Meanwhile, in an interview with PC Zone magazine (via CVG), Rocksteady Senior Gameplay Programmer Paul Denning stated that the Arkham Asylum angle for Batman has "almost run its course." He elaborated, "Gotham itself is a fantastically realized fictional city and there are so many places that would be probably be ideal for gameplay and great to explore." But don't expect Grand Theft Gotham just yet, as Denning notes that "you have to be so careful when you take that route." Especially because of all the carjackings.

We know that we've approached that proximity to Christmas where you feel bad buying things for yourself, but Amazon's got a pretty enticing offer running today. For just $39.78, the online retailer will let your grab a copy of Assassin's Creed 2 for the 360 or PS3. Yeah, it's probably money you should be spending on presents for your stupid family -- but once they see Ezio's first double-blade assassination, we're sure they'll understand.

But wait, there's more! Today's Gold Box offers are all for games on the PS3 platform. You can find a full list of the clues for each of these time-released sales after the jump. The next clue, which goes live at 12 EST, references "an electrifying adventure in Empire City," so we're guessing that a discount for Hannah Montana: The Movie: The Game is right around the corner. What? Her concerts are freaking electrifying.

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In a tersely worded press release, ZeniMax Media – parent company of Fallout 3-dev Bethesda Softworks and, as of June, FPS hall-of-famer id Software – has "announced today that it has picked up the publishing rights for Rage, the video game under development at id Software." First announced in July 2008 during Electronic Arts' E3 press conference, Rage was to be published under EA's successful EA Partners program, home to other major titles from outside developers, like Rock Band, Left 4 Dead 2, and Brutal Legend.

Unlike ZeniMax's other development studio, Bethesda, id Software will not be self-publishing Rage; instead, "Rage will be published by Bethesda Softworks," the press release states. It concludes, "As a result, Electronic Arts Inc. ... will not be involved in the sales and marketing of Rage. The ongoing development of Rage is unaffected by this development."

With EA out of the picture and publishing duties for Rage in ZeniMax's hands, the partnership between the two companies can finally be consummated without having to wait for Doom 4, or whatever's next in the Wolfenstein franchise. Ah, love.

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With plenty of actual controversy surrounding Modern Warfare 2, the issues of colorblind gamers seem a relatively innocent (and common) oversight. An ongoing petition and Facebook group is requesting a patch for the game. According to the petition, those with a particular type of red/green color blindness "cannot tell friend from foe in the online matches, as their names appear in these colors, and the radar uses the colors too." Infinity Ward's community manager has acknowledged that he will bring up the concern to the team.

Our very own red/green color blind Ben Gilbert, who doesn't have a particular issue with MW2's spectrum decisions, noted, "I can think of about 20 other games that need a solution for this before MW2. How about every puzzle game ever made that depends on color matching -- I'm looking at you especially, Super Puzzle Fighter, you heart breaker."

Considering color blindness is relatively common, especially among males, it's surprising that it isn't tested for more regularly. Any QA folks who can give better insight into whether color blindness is tested for (and how) should feel free to drop a note in the comments.

[Via Escapist, Evil Avatar]

Last week, a US District Court judge denied Bethesda's request for an injunction against Interplay, which would have prevented Interplay from selling its Fallout games -- and stopped it from developing Project V13, the Fallout MMO.

The company released a short statement about the court case in the form of SEC Form 8-K, which is intended to provide information about major events to shareholders. Interplay is not happy to merely defend its rights to make and sell Fallout games: the statement reads that Interplay is going to continue pursuing "its Counter-Claims against Bethesda, including its claims for Breach of Contract, Tortious Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage, Rescission, Accounting and Declaratory Relief seeking an award of damages and other relief."

Interplay reportedly claims that Bethesda shopped the Fallout legacy games around to other publishers, telling them that Interplay no longer had the license, which constitutes "unreasonable interference" with Interplay's property.

[Via Duck and Cover]

Sony Computer Entertainment America has laid off 30 full-time members of the company's Quality Assurance department. SCEA explained to Gamasutra that its San Francisco-based first-party QA group had been consolidated and moved to San Diego. The company would not comment on the 100 or so contract positions reportedly affected by the reorganization, as noted by Kotaku.

Sony is currently on the long road back to profitability -- expect some unfortunate bumps along the way.

Source -- SCEA Consolidating First-Party Quality Assurance [Gamasutra]
Source -- Dozens of Tester Jobs Affected in Sony QA Consolidation [Kotaku]

An intrepid Sega fan going by the name Bacteria would like you to see what he's spent the last four months building: a portable Sega Dreamcast -- complete with a built-in VMU (Visual Memory Unit, should you have forgotten). Called the IntoDream, the handheld is actually comprised of some non-Sega components, specifically a 5" LCD screen for the PSone and ... a third-party N64 analog stick? The full specs are listed on his blog.

Bacteria says the rest of the buttons and innards came from a PAL Dreamcast console, and that it "was primarily made to play Quake 3 and also Unreal Tournament on the Dreamcast, and it does it very well indeed." Just not for long -- the IntoDream's six amps of battery juice powers the device for just over two hours on a single charge. Still, for such a commendable custom carry-along, you take what you can get, right?

Check out two videos -- one a making-of, the other of the IntoDream in action -- after the break. Oh, and in case you're wondering, it's not for sale.

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