Well maybe it’s not the worst kept secret in gaming history, but it still comes pretty close. Today 1UP is reporting on the all but confirmed next generation of the PSP, along with a few rumored tidbits concerning the new portable.

Among the rumors include a guesstimate launch date of September in Japan and Fall in the U.S. with no mention of a date for a European release. Also of note is that the system is seemingly ditching all traces of the UMD format, with ‘Classic’ PSP titles available to buy on the PSN at launch if you missed out on Chains of Olympus or Patapon. The most interesting tidbit to me is that they cite Gran Turismo Portable as a rumored launch title for the next PSP. Gran Turismo Portable, you know the game that was shown on every PSP render when it was first unveiled in 2004? The one Sony promised was absolutely real, so much so that they also produced a mock box art of the game and a mock UMD to show off to everyone just how REAL the game was? Could we finally see it done and ready at this years’ E3?

At least the twin confirmations of Tekken Six and a new Soul Calibur for the PSP are already officially confirmed, so we won’t have to guess about those, but damn, you can already taste the hype the gaming journalists are building for the return of the TRUE E3 this year. – The Ben

Marvel’s Official Site just updated with the first official confirmation of the Marvel Versus Capcom 2 port for the PS3 and 360, along with a teaser trailer and artwork. Immediate details from the teaser site? All the characters seem to be returning, graphics are just as they should be with no new coat of HD gloss…oh and there’s also online multi-player confirmed in the teaser trailer. Go, take yourself for a ride. – The Ben

Ha, I was right! It looks like the hype train for the next Elder Scrolls is indeed starting to move. Joystiq reports that Bethesda has announced New York Times bestselling author Greg Keyes to write up two Elder Scrolls novels to be released beginning this fall.

The first novel, titled ‘The Infernal City’ is said to take place after the events of Oblivion (you know that epic apocolyptic battle where you were never in much trouble at all depending on how you leveled up and ultimately watch the main villain of the title become destroyed via an interactive cut scene) and hopefully begin to build a bridge that connects to Elder Scrolls V.

I hope every few pages the author slips in a minor character just casually saying things like ‘You’ve got nimble fingers, what have you been getting yourself into?’ to the protagonist of the tale. Y’know, just to add to the authenticity of the world the novel’s trying to visualize to the reader. – The Ben

According to a report from Asahi.Com, Konami has decided to ditch the Fallujah game it was publishing that made the news rounds just a few weeks back. According to the site Konami decided to axe the game after seeing the fallout of the general opinion concerning the game’s subject matter.

Will the game still see release under a different publisher now that Konami has decided to put the title out to pasture? It does seem like the game had a lot of research done in order to authenticate it. The news article ends with a few notes from Wall Street Journalist Jamin Brophy-Warren about how about 40 U.S. Soldiers helped the developers by offering their own experiences with the event through their journals diaries. Following that is the fact that the developers used thousands of photos along with the discloser of the actual soldiers working there to construct as accurate of a recreation of the battles in Fallujah as they could get.

– The Ben

This week, Brian, Kyle, Stephen, and Kevin get together and talk about what they’ve been up to, followed by a heated discussion on piracy and DRM. They then move on to discuss Bethesda, Obsidian, and both past and future Fallout, including the announced release date of the final [blippr]Fallout 3[/blippr] DLC pack.

Backwards Compatible Volume 4: Mechwarrior 4 – Vengeance will begin on next week’s episode with the discussion of the first six levels. If you’re keeping up, tell us about your experience on Forumopolis or email us at (podcast) at (lifeinsidethebox.com).

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 Life Inside the Box - 039 - Pirates, and zombies, and downloads, oh my! [62:10m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Mike Smith from Yahoo! Games reports that the president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, Rajan Zed has been making a bit of a fuss over what’s being called the first console game developed entirely in India. His reasons for denouncing the game seems to have to do with the small fact that the protagonist of the game the player controls is Lord Hanuman, a key figure in Hindu mythology.

Rajan Zed explains in a press release that, “”Controlling and manipulating Lord Hanuman with a joystick/button/keyboard/mouse was denigration. Lord Hanuman was not meant to be reduced to just a ‘character’ in a video game to solidify company/products base in the growing economy of India.”

Mike Smith ends the article by quoting an actual review of the game by reviewer Sameer Desai which proclaims the game as “…without a doubt, the worst console game I’ve ever played, and I’m pretty sure the worst game ever to be published by Sony Computer Entertainment.”

At least Lord Hanuman can take heed in knowing he’s not the only mythological character from a religion to be exploited in video game form. Hey at least the game managed to spell his name right, the same of which can’t be said about fellow Hindu mythology figure Curl-er Kali. What a fate to befall the Hindu goddess of destruction. Reduced to serving more recent fictional monsters and having her name butchered beyond recognition. – The Ben

By Brian Perry

The weekend has come around and it’s time to play, so here’s your weekly guide to what’s on sale at your favorite downloadable services.

Impulse - This week’s Impulse buys:
[blippr]Stalin Vs. Martians[/blippr] $15.95
[blippr]Restaurant Empire[/blippr] $9.99
[blippr]Nemesis of the Roman Empire[/blippr] $9.99
[blippr]Galciv II – Ultimate Edition[/blippr] $39.95
[blippr]Warlords Battlecry III[/blippr] $9.99
[blippr]Capitalism II[/blippr] $9.99

Steam - Weekend Deals: The Orange Box 66% off
[blippr]The Orange Box[/blippr] $9.99
Including:
[blippr]Half-life 2[/blippr]
[blippr]Half-life 2: Episode 1[/blippr]
[blippr]Half-life 2: Episode 2[/blippr]
[blippr]Portal[/blippr]
[blippr]Team Fortress 2[/blippr]

Good Old Games –
Complete your Fallout Collection $14.37
Including:
[blippr]Fallout[/blippr]
[blippr]Fallout 2[/blippr]
[blippr]Fallout: Tactics[/blippr]

XBLA
[blippr]Tiger Woods 09 Spyglass Hill Course[/blippr] 400 msp (Gold Members Only)

Well here’s a little something most people seem to have missed. In this Gamasutra interview with Pete Hines, Pete casually says that, “We’re getting ready to do something else with Oblivion this year, because it is still selling and retailers still like it.” He goes on to explain that, “If we weren’t talking about that game, they’d only be focused on the [newer] things. But we stay on top it. I think that owes to our sales guys who stay on top of it and don’t want to let it just die.”

Does this mean one more set of DLC for Oblivion before they begin work on Elder Scrolls V? Could that hypothetical DLC help serve as a bridge between the IV and V story wise? Or is that probably too much to ask?

Even if they aren’t going to make any new Oblivion content, no doubt they’ve already begun brainstorming ideas for V. It has already been three years since Oblivion was released already. It’s nigh time to begin looking back to Tamriel and wonder what we’ll get to do this time. – The Ben

By Brian Perry

As if XBLA, DS, iPod, iPhone, the internet, and PC versions were not not enough casual games superpower PopCap is now announcing a Peggle addon for Blizzard’s World of Warcraft.

Now you have some choice of things to do after a wipe in das uber raids.

Gamasutra’s Christian Nutt recently posted an interview with senior vice president of marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America Peter Dille and SCEA corporate communications manager Julie Han.

Now, I gotta point something out here. Last year in 2008 Sony had a banner year. Maybe not financially or even quality wise for some people. But what they did excel at last year was keeping their trap shut. Or more specifically not spurting out PR gaffes that seem to have been said for the sole reason of message boards going into a frenzy over them. Even if you don’t remember much about what Sony said in 2008, at least you don’t remember them making the talking point list of every gaming podcast and magazine known to man.

But now we’re here in the Spring of 2009, almost four years since that E3 where everybody was hailing Sony as the once and future king. Watch that video in the link I just posted, go on watch it and see just how the mainstream perception of Sony has changed over the years. E3 was still getting prime time TV coverage, PS3 was going to do everything including walking the dog, and Fox News was more concerned with ads in gaming than the actual console they were talking about.

Back to the Gamasutra interview though, Peter Dille is quoted at one point in the article saying that, “”Microsoft owns the office; Sony owns the living room; and Wii owns the closet.” He even makes sure to mention that it was a quip he heard from Mr. (Find me a PS3 on store shelves and I’ll give you six-thousand bucks) Jack Tretton himself. It’s like Sony gave it their all last year, saw that it wasn’t giving them anything good, and decided to screw their short-lived “Actions instead of words” style go back to attack mode.

With the old fashioned E3 coming back in little over a month from now, it probably won’t be long before all the gaming companies start console warrior-esque quip wars when they get on stage for their big conferences in June.

– The Ben

Gamasutra Reports that a court has approved the consummation of Square-Enix and Eidos. More of a corporate takeover than a balanced matrimony it may be, this new conglomerate will only strengthen the Square-Enix Empire in ways Eidos couldn’t ever dream of doing alone.

I could make another “Lara Croft gonna get JRGG’d” joke that basically every outlet has made by now, but I’d much rather go with the more sinister “Deus Ex gonna be a JRPG” route. If that series was out there on a psychological level before, man Square has people hired for the sole purpose of creating confusing plot points.

Life Inside The Box – Podcast

This week the whole gang get together to celebrate the one year anniversary of Life Inside the box they go over the usual what they’ve been playing then it’s the news with a lively debate about the future or DLC and M rated games on a portable console and the ever present NPD’s raising the specter of the peek of the Wii.

Backwards Compatible Volume 3: [blippr]Rise of the Triad[/blippr] concludes this week as the guys wrap up their impressions of the aged shooter. Make sure you grab a copy of the next Backwards Compatible Game Mechwarrior 4 available at amazon or ebay and as always make sure to drop by Forumopolis and tell us about your experiences, or send us an email at (podcast) at (lifeinsidethebox.com).

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 Life Inside the Box - 038 - The One Year Anniversery Show [107:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

By Brian Perry

The weekend has come around and it’s time to play, so here’s your weekly guide to what’s on sale at your favorite downloadable services.

Impulse - This week’s Impulse buys:
[blippr]Restaurant Empire[/blippr] $9.99
[blippr]Nemesis of the Roman Empire[/blippr] $9.99
[blippr]Galciv II – Ultimate Edition[/blippr] $39.95
[blippr]Warlords Battlecry III[/blippr] $9.99
[blippr]Capitalism II[/blippr] $9.99

Steam - Weekend Deals:
[blippr]Dawn of War 2[/blippr] $37.49 (Our Review)
[blippr]Worldwide Soccer Manager™ 2009[/blippr] $14.99

Good Old Games –
Stronghold Bundle Pack $11.98
Including:
[blippr]Stronghold[/blippr]
[blippr]Stronghold Crusader[/blippr]

XBLA
[blippr]GRAW 2[/blippr] Co-op Collection 2 320 msp (Gold Members Only)

Life Inside The Box – Podcast

This week Brian and Kyle are joined by Kevin Myers where they go over the usual what they’ve been playing like [blippr]Infinite Discovery[/blippr], [blippr]Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty[/blippr], [blippr]Twilight Princess[/blippr], and [blippr]Tomb Raider: Anniversary[/blippr]. then it’s the news with a lively debate about the Time Warner’s download caps effecting the future of gaming and how soon is too soon while discussing Konami’s newly announced [blippr]Six Days in Fallujah[/blippr]

Backwards Compatible Volume 3: [blippr]Rise of the Triad[/blippr] will pick up next week when the whole gang gets together to finish up the game. if you haven’t played it yet it’s still available at Good Old Games make sure you grab a copy and play through the end of the game Make sure to drop by Forumopolis and tell us about your experiences, or send us an email at (podcast) at (lifeinsidethebox.com).

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 Life Inside the Box - 037 - Meter This! [106:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

By Brian Perry

The weekend has come around and it’s time to play, so here’s your weekly guide to what’s on sale at your favorite downloadable services.

Impulse - This week’s Impulse buys:
[blippr]Restaurant Empire[/blippr] $9.99
[blippr]Nemesis of the Roman Empire[/blippr] $9.99
[blippr]Galciv II – Ultimate Edition[/blippr] $39.95
[blippr]Warlords Battlecry III[/blippr] $9.99
[blippr]Capitalism II[/blippr] $9.99

Steam -
50% off Both Peggles $9.98
[blippr]Peggle[/blippr] $9.99
[blippr]Peggle Nights[/blippr] $9.99
Strategy First Spring Sale, all Strategy First games 50% off including:
[blippr]Exodus from the Earth[/blippr] $9.99
[blippr]Perimeter 2[/blippr]: New Earth $14.99
[blippr]Darkstar One[/blippr] $4.99
[blippr]Disciples II[/blippr] Gold $9.99
[blippr]Culpa Innata[/blippr] $4.99
[blippr]Jagged Alliance 2[/blippr] $9.99

Good Old Games –
Special Spring Promo
Including:
[blippr]Giants: Citizen Kobuto[/blippr] & [blippr]Sacrifice[/blippr] $8.98
[blippr]ToCA Race Driver 3[/blippr] & [blippr]Screamer[/blippr] $11.98
[blippr]Arx Fatalis[/blippr] & [blippr]Stonekeep[/blippr] $8.98
[blippr]Painkiller[/blippr] & [blippr]Redneck Rampage[/blippr] $11.98
[blippr]Second Sight[/blippr] & [blippr]Messiah[/blippr] $11.98
[blippr]Perimeter[/blippr] & [blippr]Hostile Waters: Antaeus Rising[/blippr] $11.98
[blippr]Freespace[/blippr] with expansion & [blippr]Freespace 2[/blippr] $8.98

XBLA
Penny Arcade Episode 1 800 msp (GOLD Members Only)

Life Inside The Box – Podcast

This week Brian, Kyle, Raymond and Stephen get together and discuss what they’ve been playing talking about [blippr]Resident Evil 5[/blippr] again, as well as [blippr]Dark Messiah of Might and Magic[/blippr], [blippr]Far Cry[/blippr], and of course [blippr]Rise of the Triad[/blippr] then it’s the news with EA’s DRM decisions as well as the potential to have a used PC game market again.

Then the guys start Backwards Compatible Volume 3 discussing [blippr]Rise of the Triad[/blippr] available at Good Old Games make sure you grab a copy and play through the end of the game Make sure to drop by Forumopolis and tell us about your experiences, or send us an email at (podcast) at (lifeinsidethebox.com).

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 Life Inside the Box - 036 - Backwards Compatible Volume 3: Rise of the Triad [78:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

By Brian Perry

The weekend has come around and it’s time to play, so here’s your weekly guide to what’s on sale at your favorite downloadable services.

Impulse - This week’s Impulse buys:
[blippr]Flock![/blippr] $13.49 – PREORDER
[blippr]Restaurant Empire[/blippr] $9.99
[blippr]Nemesis of the Roman Empire[/blippr] $9.99
[blippr]Galciv II – Ultimate Edition[/blippr] $39.95
[blippr]Warlords Battlecry III[/blippr] $9.99
[blippr]Capitalism II[/blippr] $9.99

Steam - Weekend Deals: 75% off Tomb Raider Anniversery
[blippr]Tomb Raider: Anniversary[/blippr] $5.00
[blippr]Flock![/blippr] $13.49 – PREORDER

Good Old Games –
The Broken Sword Pack $9.98
Including:
[blippr]Broken Sword 2[/blippr]: The Smoking Mirror
[blippr]Broken Sword 3[/blippr]: The Sleeping Dragon

XBLA
[blippr]Oblivion[/blippr] DLC all on sale (Except Horse Armor)
Including:
The Shivering Isle 1200 msp
Knights of the Nine 400 msp

By Kyle Krueger

Late last year, GameStop CEO Don Dematteo told GameDaily that he wasn’t frightened of digital distribution, citing a recent study that indicated that no network was in place to handle the sale of full games via the internet. Maybe he hadn’t heard of Steam, Impulse, and Good Old Games. Then again, maybe he was just plugging his ears to the sound of the gaming world’s looming paradigm shift.
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