Corbo

Actually, a fair number of them aren't - the co-founders left to form a new company a short time ago and I think they took a few key people with them. Doesn't necessarily mean that the ones still there are useless but it's pretty disheartening.

Presumably a result of the commercial failure (or just insufficient success, I don't really know the exact figures) of Haze, combined with the lack of a major seller since the last 'Splitters in 2005 and the general state of the economy.

Still a shame though, especially since a new 'Splitters and Battlefront 3 would probably have been more than enough to keep them going. It wouldn't be ideal but it would be better if they were swallowed up by some big company than if they just closed down completely.

"I could argue that some other competing formats are on their way down right now."

Yes, and I could argue that black is white and promptly get myself killed on the next zebra crossing .

I'm trying to think of a pun involving patches, leading to eye patches which leads to pirates, so I can make a joke about the PSP's constant anti-homebrew firmware updates but I've got nothing.

They seem to be much more concerned about IPs than developers. They kept Halo when Bungie went, PGR when Activision bought Bizarre and I think they've still got a few of the FASA IPs (Crimson Skies and maybe some others). If this rumour's true, they'll presumably still have all the "Age Of..." rights.

Someone really ought to explain to them what can happen to a brand when the good products aren't there to back it up. Maybe someone should put them in touch with Sonic Team...

LFG stands for Looking For Group. Generally used in MMOs when people are... looking for a group. I guess it's kind of self-explanatory once you know what it stands for.

I expect there are big queues and waits for certain demos, etc., so rather than waiting in line for ages you get a ticket and come back when it's your turn. That's the only reason I can think of.

LoS De'wI' ghot Quj nuQ jIH.

Oh, wait, wrong fictional language.

Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm just joking. I'm not really a conspiracy nut - the hat is just a convenient and stylish way for me move tinfoil around.

And if I were a proof-reading man, that would have read "Microsoft".

If I were a cynical man, I'd say this had less to do with generosity and corporate policy and more to do with the fact that, if it was sold for cash, Apple would get a cut of the money.

Fortunately, I live on a fluffy cloud in the Land of Unicorns and Fairies, so I'm really glad that Micorsoft is looking out for the little man!

People always forget why the console market arose in the first place - PCs were too complicated and fractured as a gaming platform. Sure, you might be able to draw more performance out of them with enough tweaking but most people don't have time for that. They want to walk into a shop, hand over some cash and walk away with something that'll play the latest iteration of FIFA for the next 4 years.

I can see downloadable games becoming more prominent over the next few generations but the vast majority of them will still be getting downloaded on to consoles.