There's an enormous void in our brains where Splinter Cell: Conviction should be. It wasn't long ago that the Xbox 360-exclusive spy simulator used to occupy a significant chunk of the quadrant reserved for games being released in 2007 but, after several increasingly vague reports – not to mention the game's total absence at the recent Ubidays event – we're having a hard time remembering it ... this was the one where Sam Fisher goes totally emo, right?

Well, he was totally emo last time we saw him but who knows what state the game's gravelly voiced protagonist is in now. If a rumor on Sarcastic Gamer is to be believed, the hero's distinctive voice – heretofore provided by star of stage and screen and Scanners, Michael "Ironside" Ironside – may be replaced for this latest version with who the hell knows. We've put our feelers out but, as long as we've got you all here, let's do some brainstorming. We all realize David Hayter will be missing those Solid Snake checks pretty soon and, assuming this rumor is true for just 7 seconds, Ubisoft may need a leading man('s voice) pretty soon. David, Ubisoft. Ubisoft, David. Imagine it:

Sam! SAM! SAAAAMMMMMMM!

And the Splinter Cell Conviction delay rumor-mill keeps on grinding. The latest non-conclusive statement about the possibility of a Conviction delay was made on the official Ubisoft forums in the form of an open letter from the development team. The group says that development is continuing well and they'll start showing the game in the "forthcoming months."

Rumors of Splinter Cell Conviction's possible late 2009 -10 delay began after an article was written in Xbox World 360. At the time, Ubisoft just made a "no comment." Then when the game didn't get shown at UbiDays, the publisher danced around the issue, but stuck with a release window of this fiscal year (April '08 - March '09). Well, E3 is in July -- also known as a "forthcoming month" -- and we'll be sure to pay attention if Splinter Cell Conviction makes an appearance.

Ubisoft is being very cloak and dagger about the status of Splinter Cell Conviction after its no-show at Ubidays. The publisher tells CVG that the time frame for Conviction is this fiscal year, which would be sometime before April '09; meanwhile, Ubisoft tells Eurogamer that the team is currently "polishing" the title, but wouldn't give a time frame for any further Conviction information.

Ubisoft maintains that rumors of Conviction's delay until late 2009, or possibly 2010, are purely speculative. The company wouldn't elaborate, but did say that Splinter Cell is one of its major IPs and it won't release it until its perfect ... and "it's not yet perfect."

Source -- Ubisoft "not ready to be more specific" about Splinter Cell
Source -- Conviction "not yet perfect", says Ubi

(Cue The Incredible Hulk "Lonely Man" theme after the break) According to CVG, the latest issue of Xbox World 360 states that Splinter Cell Conviction is going dark until late 2009 or Spring 2010. The magazine speculates Conviction was sent back to the drawing board after games like Ubisoft's own Assassin's Creed made it seem outdated.

Ubisoft's response to the story has been to pull a "no comment" and say that the news piece is pure speculation. Videogaming 247 states the last press release about the title (from last Summer) had Conviction hitting retail in late 2007. Some answers on Conviction's fate may be revealed at Ubisoft's UbiDays event in Paris next week

Read -- Splinter Cell Conviction 'back to drawing board'
Read -- Ubisoft refuses comment

Despite a recent GAME typo that listed Splinter Cell Conviction for PlayStation 3, Ubisoft has already cashed Microsoft's blank check, er, reaffirmed its "deal" with Microsoft to keep the console version of the sneaky sequel bound exclusively to Xbox 360 – and besides, PS3 can't render Sam's new beard, right? "This is just a mistake by the retailer. The game is not coming out on PS3," an Ubisoft spokesperson told VideoGamer. The representative also dismissed GAME's suggested April 1 release date, stating, "We're sticking to the original announcement." Last we heard (and confirmed again today), the next Splinter Cell is scheduled for the company's coming fiscal year (April 2008–March 2009).

Microsoft Games chief Don Mattrick has confirmed (or, in some cases, reaffirmed) via a memo a handful of exclusive titles to arrive on Xbox 360 in 2008. The list of assuredly not canceled titles include Halo Wars, Too Human, Fable 2, Alan Wake, Splinter Cell: Conviction and "several exciting yet-to-be-announced titles."

Following the list of 2008 exclusives, Mattrick continues to say that "Xbox 360 will be home to the next versions of great franchises like Grand Theft Auto and Resident Evil ... Madden and FIFA." We're not sure if he meant to imply Resident Evil 5 is due out this year, but it's certainly a suspicious line. Other than this year, no schedule was given as to the release of these titles, although we now get a sense of what Microsoft feels will keep gamers happy in this post-Halo 3 world.