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Okay, so the Zune HD didn't get off to the greatest start as a portable gaming platform, but we're willing to let bygones be bygones should the device's most recent patch be as amazing as it sounds on paper. A recent press release has announced that firmware update 4.3 adds six free games to the Zune Marketplace: PGR: Ferrari Edition, Lucky Lane Bowling, Vans Sk8: Pool Service, Piano, Checkers and Audiosurf: Tilt.

The press release does explain that, yes, you'll have to watch a short ad when you start these free games up. So what? It's Audiosurf on a mobile device, and it lets you make rollercoaster tracks out of your own songs. If we had to watch The Adventures of Pluto Nash start-to-finish every time we loaded the game, we'd still be thrilled.

Bizarre Creations' Ged Talbot admitted that the developer's long-running, Xbox (and Xbox 360) exclusive racing series Project Gotham Racing was beginning to lose its sizzle, according to an interview with CVG. Talbot explained, "By the time we got to PGR4 I certainly felt that the time was right to move on and do different things." That's a desire the developer will be fulfilling with its upcoming "Mario Kart meets Forza" racer, Blur -- a project Talbot calls "a breath of fresh air."

Yes, they're breaking up the monotony of their worn out racing franchise, and rejuvenating their stagnant creative juices by generating a totally new ... racing franchise. Bold!

Gallery: Blur

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AddictGaming.com is reporting that developer Turn 10 (the crew behind the Forza franchise) is currently working on the next installment of the Project Gotham Racing series seeing that longtime PGR developer Bizarre Creations is sleeping with Activision. The news comes from an undisclosed Turn 10 employee who says that Microsoft assigned them to PGR5 which will be announced as early as next week. Something that isn't totally unbelievable, but we'll just have to wait and see.

When Project Gotham Racing dev Bizarre Creations was scooped up by Activision last year, many 360 owners were left wondering what would become of the system's flagship racing franchise. Speaking to Kikizo, Microsoft Game Studios VP Shane Kim provided one possible (and likely) scenario: put Forza Motorsports 2 team Turn 10 behind the wheel.

Kim says that MS is eager for Turn 10 to branch out and "do more creative execution in the racing space." (Read: more than just hardcore racing sims.) Kim expressed a desire to take "a fresh creative approach" to a fifth game in the series, and, to that end, proposed imagining "a future where [Turn 10] would develop a new version of Project Gotham Racing." We humbly suggest that – should they get the gig – Turn 10 replace Kudos with actual MS points.

Activision-owned Bizarre Creations' new racing franchise -- which is not PGR5 -- is due out in the 2010 fiscal year, which begins on April 1, 2009. In a conference call (start at 29:55 mark), Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith said, "Bizarre is deep in development on two multi-platform titles and we are looking forward to the release of our first new racing IP in fiscal 2010, which already looks very strong."

Bizarre just recently said goodbye to its Project Gotham Racing series, handing off PGR4 downloadable content duties to IP owner Microsoft.

There's a gritty side to Mexico's booming game industry, shown today as the ESA celebrated the efforts of Mexican law enforcement. 500 officers from the Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) and the Agencia Federal de Investigacion (AFI) teamed up to knock on a few doors down in Mexico City's 'notorious' Tepito district. By the end of the day, four pirate hideouts and three booty stashes were raided, netting roughly 290 DVD/CD burners, 28,800 illegal copies of games and more than 900,000 game cover inserts.

"Mexico is an important market for ESA members due to the enormous popularity of entertainment software," said Ric Hirsch, senior vice president for Intellectual Property Enforcement at the ESA. "Unfortunately, Mexico also has an alarmingly high rate of game software piracy that by our estimates reaches 88%." Sounds like those federales have a few more doors to knock on.

Having spent the last few months polishing off The Club, Bizarre Creations just released word of brand new downloadable content for Project Gotham Racing 4. On Thursday, February 14, two content packs will be released for the latest installment in the popular racing franchise, the Free Challenge Pack and the Premium Challenge Pack. The Free Challenge Pack is, well, free and includes the design contest winning Peugeot Flux as well as two new game modes. The two new modes include, Tourist Mode which allows players to take in the sights with their friends over Xbox Live and Free Roam Cat and Mouse where a slow mouse vehicle must avoid enemy cats. The Premium Challenge Pack includes the free pack content, 7 additional cars, 3 bikes and the World Challenge Arcade Mode, which gives you 20 arcade events in 3 themed chapters for 400MS points. Additionally, the packs include an auto-update for PGR4 that sports 10 new achievements, 3 of which are exclusive to the Premium pack. Time to strap back into the driver's seat people!

Proving that not all in-game advertising is used solely for evil, the Scottish government plans to spend £10,000 on virtual billboards to discourage drunk driving, the BBC reports today. The campaign will place anti-drunk driving messages in Xbox 360 racing games like Need for Speed: Carbon, Project Gotham Racing 4, and sports titles like Pro Evolution Soccer 2008.

The Scottish government is elated that the campaign will be going forward, as it believes that video games are a great way of reaching younger audiences. We couldn't agree more, and think that this is one of the smartest uses for ad dollars we've seen in a while. Kudos to the Safer Scotland campaign.

With Activision gobbling up Project Gotham Racing developer Bizarre Creations, the future of the Microsoft's racing series seems to have a lot of question marks attached. Interestingly, lead designer Ged Talbert has already been talking about what they could do to improve on the series, telling CVG, "Obviously Gotham 4's about to come out and we're really happy with it, but behind the scenes we've already started ripping our game to pieces. We know where we failed in certain areas."

Bizarre's going to be popping out a new racing IP for Activision now, so we'll have to wait and see if the improvements Talbert wants will be implemented in PGR 5, or in some new series. That said, are we the only ones who are a bit more worried about the future of Bizarre's other property, Geometry Wars? Traditionally, it's been a part of PGR, so will it be in someone else's hands too?

Independent UK developer Bizarre Creations of Project Gotham Racing and Geometry Wars fame is now the property of Activision following an acquisition announcement this morning, making the studio one of Activision's wholly owned subsidiaries. The move by Activision follows last year's purchase of Guitar Hero publisher Red Octane, and while financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, Activision notes that its first Bizarre Creations game will not be released until sometime following fiscal 2009.

That said, Bizarre Creations will still release its visceral shooter The Club as an indie for publisher Sega this February for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The upcoming Project Gotham Racing 4 will be the studio's final game for Microsoft.

While it's always somewhat disheartening to see once independent developers sapped up like this, in some ways it's inevitable, especially given the high costs associated with console game development. Still, according to a blog post on Bizarre Creations' website, Activision's ownership will be "hands off," leaving creative control in the studio's capable hands, for now at least. In addition, the post adds that the company will have "absolutely no redundancies," no doubt causing a sigh of relief from those in the trenches.

MS just sent out an announcement that Project Gotham Racing 4 will be arriving on October 2nd for the MSRP of $59.99. To sweeten the deal, the also announced some more vehicles in the game, both those with two wheels and four. Personal favorites at X3F Towers in the most recent bunch include the Ariel Atom 300 Supercharged, making a return since being introduced in PGR2, and getting "High Def'd" in PGR3. Since it would be boring to use some stock PGR4 logo as the image for the post, we're grabbing the Ariel's segment from Top Gear and spreading the love. Full list of announced vehicles after the break.

Those hoping to steer seductively shaped hunks of metal through rain and snow should be pleased to note that Project Gotham Racing 4 is scheduled for release on October 2nd in America and October 12th in Europe. Those unsure of the Xbox 360 racer's selling points should simply read the first sentence again, noting that said hunks of metal may constitute either cars or motorcycles.

Though initially aimed for a September release, the DVD-loving folks at Bizarre Creations explain that today's two-day delay provides them with enough time to put "the finishing touches on the game to ensure it crosses the finish line at retail as the best title yet in the 'PGR' racing franchise." If you're curious as to what it is you'll be racing, peek past the break to see a list of newly unveiled in-game vehicles.

Microsoft says Project Gotham Racing 4 will be available in September. We're sure Bizarre Creations -- makers of PGR4 -- don't want to make liars out of Microsoft. That said, Bizarre's business director, Brian Woodhouse, admits they may have to do just that. In a recent press briefing during E3, Woodhouse told Eurogamer that PGR4 would not be rushed (something he admits happened to PGR3). "This one," said Woodhouse, "we're not letting go 'til it's done." Woodhouse's comments were directed towards the rather unbalanced difficulty of PGR3. We can tell you from firsthand experience, the game looks amazing. If Bizarre needs a little time to make it perfect, we say let 'em have it.

Project Gotham Racing 4 follows the track of previous PGR titles by recreating cities on a building-by-building basis and then letting the fast cars loose. The September Xbox 360 game will include 10 total locations: New York City, Tokyo, London, Las Vegas, Quebec City, Shanghai, Macau, St. Petersburg, Nuerburgring, and the Michelin Test Track.

I got some hands-on time with a recent version of the in-progress game, with the touted weather and rain specifically being shown off. PGR4 looks and feels like it'll be a fun racer, and this time, motorcycles get to play alongside the cars.

Alright, this is getting ridiculous. For the third time in almost as many months, a sports model from Project Gotham Racing 3 has becoming an unwitting spokesmodel for Sony's PlayStation 3. Having already been mistaken for Gran Turismo HD and used to promote the PS3 in a KIA ad, Microsoft's exotic car racer now finds itself inside Dutch magazine, Mediamarkt, as posted in the Bizarre Creations forums. The depicted Saleen has likely been in those pages before... just not in an article discussing the PlayStation 3's future.

Is this indicative of some deeply rooted desire for a multiplatform excursion for the series? Perhaps it's some subtle commentary on the lack of distinguishing features in the racing genre? We'll ponder these questions and more once we've finished our race in the Forizmo demo. Or whatever.

[Thanks, v]