If there's one thing that we want to know about Siren: Blood Curse it's what's it going to cost us to play. You see, while Sony is releasing the game in Japan in both downloadable and Blu-ray formats, it's straight up "episodic" on PlayStation Network for both the European and North American markets. While we don't have the price for North American gamers just yet, ThreeSpeech says the European version will be £4.99 (about $10) for a "chapter" containg three episodes, or £19.99 (about $40) for all four chapters. (Sorry, no prices in Euros).

If there's two things that we want to know about Siren: Blood Curse, it's the cost (see above) and when we're going to be able to play it. ThreeSpeech says all four chapters will be released on July 24th in Europe, meaning you could just buy the whole thing on day one or, alternatively, buy each chapter as you get to it. Don't like the first chapter? Don't buy any more. Don't have time to finish the game right now? Buy the rest when you're ready; it's the same price either way. A novel concept, but we can't help but want a Blu-ray release alongside it, what with our PS3s filling up and all.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

All you Nerds worried about wasting Mounds of time waiting for Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise should stop being such Airheads. The anticipated sequel will be Star-bursting onto the scene on Sept. 2 in North and Latin America and Sept. 5 in Europe and the UK. That leaves plenty of Paydays for you Smarties to save up the $59.99 you need to buy it. That's not a Whopper of a price ... much less than the 100 Grands it would take to travel to ... Whatchamacallit ... Mars.

You see, piñatas are filled with candy ...

[Via X3F]

Like the rumbling of thunder in the distance, an unstoppable force is audibly and rapidly approaching us. Soon, a cacophony of clicks will ring through our ears, the reverberating result of posting an article which not only concerns Halo 3, but prominently features the word "free." What have we done?

Bungie's Luke Smith has announced via Bungie.net that "Cold Storage," a chilly new multiplayer map for everybody's favorite cyborg shoot-em-up, will be downloadable -- for free -- from the Xbox Live Marketplace beginning Monday Bungie Day, July 7. The map will be implemented in regular rotation in playlists that require the Legendary Map Pack, which will also drop from 800 MS Points ($10) to 600 MS Points ($7.50) on the same day. If you haven't tried those environments out yet, now's the time to join in on the gradual extermination of Earth's population.

[Update: Check out a tour of Cold Storage, along with a tease of what Bungie's got in store for Bungie Day, here.]

We hope you opted to use pencil when scribbling the release date for Rockstar's latest non-felony related driving game into your Niko Bellic pinup calendar. Midnight Club: Los Angeles – the fourth installment in Rockstar San Diego's pimp-your-ride racing game – has jettisoned the old September 9 release date in favor of a new October 7th date (October 10 for you Europeans). Ostensibly, the extra time is being used to put that final coat of Turtle Wax on the open-world, track-less, load-time-less title but we like to imagine they're having difficulty getting the LA traffic experience just right.

The Economic Times reports that Sony is preparing to launch a new "slimer, sleeker and more suave" version of the PlayStation 2 in the Indian and European markets by Diwali – the festival of light – scheduled for October 28 this year. In addition to the new Slimer™ look, ET reports "there will be no more external AC adapters" and the price will remain the same, Rs 6,990 ($162).

If you're wondering why Sony keeps pushing the PS2, we'd be quick to point out that it keeps selling. A Sony rep might tell you that it feels the "PS2 has the potential to penetrate further into the Indian and Russian markets" because "console gaming is in its nascent stage in India." Maybe true, Mr. Sony rep, but not so nascent as to be unable to enjoy the PS3! The same ET report also announces that Sony will be launching the PlayStation Network in India by the end of the fiscal year.

Not saying we were taking bets on this but, surprising exactly no one, Midway's "lifestyle action experience" This is Vegas has been delayed until 2009 for all three platforms in development. Midway tells GameSpot that developer Surreal Software – the team behind The Suffering games – is being "given the development time needed in order to make This is Vegas a triple-A videogame and a must-have for all PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC owners." The game will be playable at E3 in a couple weeks so we'll be sure to let you know how close it is to a "must-have" then.

Get ready to hit the seedier side of Tokyo and slug it out in HD – Yakuza 3 is coming. The "real" Yakuza 3. As first reported on 2chan, the latest issue of Famitsu quotes Yakuza series director Toshihiro Nagoshi as stating that the game is a direct sequel to Yakuza 2, and is in development exclusively for PS3.

Nagoshi states in the Famistu article that Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! – which is set in Edo-era Japan – is actually considered a spin-off from the "main" Ryu ga Gotoku series (Yakuza here in the West). No release date has been announced for the series' third (well, technically fourth) installment, but we'll keep you posted.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

As we've already reported, SCEA has removed firmware 2.40, released early this morning, from its update servers. Users attempting to use the System Update feature from the PS3 XMB from firmware prior to 2.40 are now being told that their software is up to date.

This action follows a large number of reports on the official PlayStation message boards of the update adversely affecting users' systems. The most widely noted problem is systems simply failing to reach the XMB upon booting, instead getting stuck on a screen with only the familiar "wave" background displayed.

Some posters have reported that removing the PS3 hard disk, formatting it via a PC, then re-inserting it allows the PS3 to boot properly ... with the obvious drawback of losing everything – profiles, saves, DLC, etc. – that was on the drive.

Joystiq contacted SCEA for comment on the situation as was told by PR director Patrick Seybold that they are aware of the message thread and that they are "looking into it right now and will work with those customers directly to address any issues they may be experiencing." This comment came before the update was removed from Sony's servers. We're seeking further comment and will update as we receive it.

Update: SCEA has issued a formal statement via the official PlayStation blog confirming that firmware 2.40 has "temporarily" been taken offline until it can "isolate the problem" and "identify a solution."

After issues were reported with the PlayStation 3's 2.40 firmware update, it appears the update has been completely pulled from the Network. This blogger had not updated yet and, when attempting to, was told the latest version was already installed. A tipster reported the same thing. We've contacted Sony for comment and will update as soon as we hear back. If you haven't updated yet, give it a shot and let us know if you're successful.

[Update: Sony just updated the PlayStation blog stating that it has "temporarily taken Firmware v2.40 offline" due to "a limited number of calls from consumers experiencing an issue with installing the system software update on their PS3."]

[Thanks, Ian]

Well, that didn't take long. After Square Enix quietly launched a teaser website seemingly devoted to bringing fan fave Chrono Trigger to the Nintendo DS, we've managed to scrape our jaws off the floor just in time to see that the company has confirmed plans for the title, and that the game will ship in time for North American gamers to pull it out of their stockings this holiday season.

With the original having shipped some 2.5 million copies the world over, Squeenix calls the portable take on the 1995 SNES role-playing classic "newly revamped," promising a new dungeon and wireless play of some sort. Touch screen support is also promised, something we're getting plenty of practice at as we paw at our computer screens in eager anticipation.

A new Square Enix countdown site has launched, which features only a clock and the Nintendo DS logo. Considering the URL is square-enix.co.jp/ctds, we're going to take a guess and say it's Chrono Trigger DS. It could be a remake, a sequel ... or something entirely different. Chrono Tetris, perhaps?

Screw that. Who are we kidding?

[Thanks to everyone that sent this in! And to Square Enix, for doing something right.]

The much-ballyhooed PlayStation 3 firmware 2.40 update -- with in-game XMB and Trophies -- is now available. What are you waiting for? Download it now, and be sure to check out our coverage of the firmware so far.


Check out more information about Firmware 2.40's features, including the Trophy system and video of the in-game XMB in action.

With nine days to go until Criterion's crazy-fast racer gets an infusion of new content via the "Codename: Cagney" update, designer Simon Phipps has confirmed on the PlayStation Blog that the game will also receive support for PlayStation Trophies "soon." He says that Trophy support won't be part of "Cagney," which will introduce 70 timed Freeburn challenges for the game's online component.

In a surprise turn, Phipps also revealed that Criterion was "thinking ahead" and the Trophies will, in fact, be retroactive, meaning that players will receive them for feats already performed in the game. This is, according to Phipps, possible because of the way Burnout Paradise save data is linked to players' PSN accounts, which also means it won't be happening in other PS3 games en masse.

We didn't have to wait long to find out what tracks would be replacing Who's Next album DLC in Rock Band. The Who Official Band Website has published a press release revealing the 12 song "Best of" collection, featuring 3 songs from Who's Next (Baba O'Riley, Going Mobile and Behind Blue Eyes). All the tracks are presented in their master recordings.

The Best of The Who Rock Band Edition (1600 MS points / $20) -- All songs are also sold individually (160 MS Points / $2)

• "Amazing Journey"
• "Baba O'Riley"
• "Behind Blue Eyes"
• "Eminence Front"
• "Going Mobile"
• "Leaving Here"
• "My Generation" (LIVE)
• "Real Good Looking Boy"
• "Sea & Sand"
• "Summertime Blues" (LIVE)
• "Who Are You"
• "Young Man Blues" (LIVE)

Videos of the songs can be found after the break. The Best of The Who is expected the week of July 15.

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced today that the state of Minnesota has paid $65,000 – that's $6.50 for every lake – in attorney's fees and expenses to the organization over its unconstitutional game law. The ESA claims it has now been awarded moneys totaling almost $2 million for fees and expenses incurred by defending the industry in other jurisdictions.

Bringing out fightin' words, ESA CEO Mike Gallagher said that Minnesota's taxpayers should be "outraged" by having to pay this bill after its elected officials ignored precedent and pursued a political agenda. Gallagher wants politicians to get behind the efforts of the ESRB "rather than continue to pursue unconstitutional legislation."