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If you're anything like us, you may have felt a bit ... underwhelmed by the recently released screenshots of Warren Spector-lead project Disney Epic Mickey, especially when compared to the magic-filled concept art leaked so many weeks ago. Speaking to 1UP in a recent interview, Spector says he works on creating concept art that will find the metaphorical "line" by "pushing past it." For him, it is a question of finding the boundaries for not just himself and his development team, but also Disney. "I know where my lines are, but I don't know where Disney's are."

He additionally teases, "Some of what you saw was beyond the line ... some of it was early design ideas that are no longer relevant ... some of it is stuff that's still in the game, and I'm not saying what." If the recent steady stream of information on Disney Epic Mickey continues, we'll likely see at least a few of those original concepts in their current form at a point in the not-too-distant future.

Assassin's Creed 2 head Patrice Désilets and MGS: Peace Walker head Hideo Kojima had a war of compliments in the most recent issue of Famitsu. It seems that the two gentlemen have a bit of a game industry bromance going on, lauding the other's current project in a back and forth translated by 1UP. "I think there are three games that stand out above the rest of the pack in the remainder of this year. One is Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, one is Uncharted 2, and the third is Assassin's Creed II," said Kojima.

"If I had to give my impression of Peace Walker, I'd have to say that I want to play more," Désilets responded. "It was great fun; I can't wait for the retail version." Kojima expanded a bit on his appreciation for Désilets' "focus on game design" over style, and said that he's currently considering the possibility of them "maybe, kinda" going steady. Okay, we made up that last part.

Gran Turismo 5's Kazunori Yamauchi says he could give you his studio's next entry in the venerable racing-sim series right now ... but he won't. Speaking with Famitsu last week (translated by 1UP), the Polyphony Digital studio head explains that while "We could release it any time we want," he's more interested in trying to give the game "that classic GT-style." And though "daily progress is slow," the Japanese developer assures us that "it's still going forward at a steady clip."

Unlike the PSP iteration's somewhat lackluster feature set, Yamauchi intends on going "way beyond gamer expectations" with GT5, even confirming the export of cars earned in GT PSP to next March's PS3 sequel. We're hoping he goes way beyond our expectations as well and delivers the game to other territories in a more timely fashion.

1UP editor and podcast personality Garnett Lee has joined GameFly to become the editorial director for all of the game rental service's media properties. He will now take charge of GameFly's recently acquired and created sites, which include Shacknews, FileShack, Ponged and Gameanswers.com.

Lee was one of the few survivors in the great 1UP culling that occurred earlier this year, when the former Ziff-Davis property was purchased by UGO. GameFly, as we've mentioned before, is slowly shifting from its core competency of being a game rental service to becoming an internet publishing outfit.

Update: We spoke with Garnett Lee and his comments about the change are after the break.

It might not be the game we were most excited by at E3 2009, but upcoming action game Nier is apparently already getting the franchise treatment. According to a two-page ad spotted by 1UP in the most recent Famitsu, "Nier Replicant" is set to be detailed in next week's issue of the Japanese magazine.

The spread features a scantily clad white-haired lady with a single line of text that reads, "Beyond revenge lies crazed desperation." Given the absolute dearth of information we have on the Nier franchise, we're sorry to say we can offer little more than our furrowed brow to assuage your confusion over Replicant's tagline. We do know that the name could very well change before it's formally announced on Western shores, as Nier was recently announced in the same edition of Famitsu as "Nier Gestalt" -- known as to us as just Nier. It appears as though at least some of our questions will be answered in next week's issue.

Bayonetta has received a release date of October 29 in Japan, reports 1UP. Not only that, but those who pre-order the game in the region will also receive a CD entitled "Rodin's Selection." The soundtrack disc contains ... well, we don't exactly know, but it comes in a neat case, designed to look like a pub menu.

We've contacted Sega to see if it's still planning on a simultaneous global release for the game. We'll update if we hear back.

In addition to the ultra smooth (and likely quite sophisticated) King of Fighters XII anti-aliasing graphical update, it appears as though the home version of the game will be coming with two new characters. Elizabeth Blanctorche and a character known only as "Mature" will be joining the ranks of the already 20-character strong roster as a result of the move to console from arcades.

1UP claims the game's Japanese language website also teases, "the art of K' and Mai Shiranui in the style of KOFXII," though it remains unconfirmed whether or not the console release will see more exclusive characters. The game releases this July, and in the meantime, we'll be over here looking through the beautiful gallery full of artwork we already have.

[Via 1UP]

A fan on 2ch has a list of expected differences between Final Fantasy XIII's demo and retail versions, cobbled together from statements made in Famitsu, Famitsu PS3 and Dengeki PlayStation. 1UP reports the list is everything that FFXIII director, Motomu Toriyama, claims will be changed. A bento sampler:

• Battles will be harder in the retail version.
• Players can issue orders to party members in the final build.
• Most important: The Final Fantasy victory song will be present in the final game.

Check out the full list of alleged changes over at 1UP.

Japanese isn't exactly our strong suit here at Joystiq, though one intrepid staffer has the ability to make those crazy shapes interpretable. And he's explained that the teaser for next month's issue of J-mag V Jump has some enticingly vague information about an upcoming collaboration between the magazine and publisher Square Enix.

Out of the six lines of indecipherable glyphs (to our gaijin eyes, at least), he gleaned this gem: "Together with Square Enix, we're producing the next generation epic 'Project V!' Could your ideas become reality!?" For clarity's sake, the snippet isn't referring to that other Project V.

We're not quite sure our ideas will become reality, but we suspect we'll at least find out more about the partnership in next month's issue. (And if you're one of those people with the amazing ability to read Japanese, you'll want to head over to the magazine's website and look out for the symbol you see on the right.)

[Via 1UP]

Whatever it is, Barlog says that it'll be "something that everyone's fairly familiar with." A God of War movie script then, maybe? We know a movie is in development and who better to write the script than someone who has worked so closely with the franchise? It's all speculation at this point, but we're certainly intrigued to find out more. Hopefully soon.

Though he wasn't ousted by the 1UPocolypse, we're always happy to see a former EGM-er land on his feet. That's the good news we got today when Game Cinema HD revealed their new show, "Cut Scene," starring real-life sweethearts Raychul Moore and former EGM editor-in-chief Dan Hsu.

We're a little cautious of the show's proposed formula, which seems to be a blend of video game talk and inter-couple strife, but we'll hold out judgment until the first episode of the show (which is specifically designed for the iPhone and iPod Touch) appears.

Looks like the alums of the EGM/1UP era aren't ready to call it quits. 1UP Show staff have already moved onto a new video project, CO-OP. Former EGM editor-in-chief Dan Hsu is also working on an unrelated project also featuring ex-EGM/1UP staff, as revealed on his personal blog. Demian Linn, former executive producer of The 1UP Show and GameVideos.com will be Shoe's primary business partner. Other ex-1UPers ready to contribute include Michael Donahoe, Greg Ford, Crispin Boyer, and Karen Chu, former "art star at 1UP.com."

Hsu is also calling up on the dedication of EGM fans by inviting donations on his blog. Contributions already made have gone toward covering the initial costs of starting this new venture. Hsu is currently looking for investors, a difficult prospect in this economic environment. "If you know any really rich people who would like to see a bunch of ex-EGM and 1UP guys get a new project off the ground, we could sure use the help," he notes in his blog. "This will be a legitimate, revenue-producing business."

[Update: We've made edits to reflect the following: Ms. Chu emailed to clarify that despite being referred to as the "art star at 1UP.com" she was not, in fact, the "art director." Additionally, our original post stated that the list of people, including Chu, would "join the staff" of Hsu's venture; we've clarified the freelance nature of this relationship.]

Unwilling to let a little thing like no longer being gainfully employed slow them down, the 1UP Show team of Ryan O'Donnell, Matt Chandronait, Cesar Quintero and Jay Frechette have returned with a brand new moniker -- Area 5 -- and a brand new show called CO-OP. The very first episode, available right after the break, features a bevy of former, current and very recently current 1UP staffers recounting their top games of last year.

The show currently has no advertising or revenue model, so if you like what you see and hear, perhaps a PayPal tip would be in order.

With the end of the holidays came the news that EGM is being shuttered. These are disappointing days for many people, not least the hard-working staff that contributed to the respected magazine. I think that the occasion probably merits a mention as much for its inevitability as its sadness.

In days in which even large, mainstream print publications are facing severe financial difficulties, it seems all too obvious that smaller, niche publications are going to face similar pressures. And gaming magazines seem to me to be among the most vulnerable, for several reasons.