The past few days have been a mixed bag for Sony: PS3s are selling likethings that sell really well, but they’ve managed to incur thewrath of St. Andrewin the process. But,Akuma’s hotnessand two new PlayStation Network games to hit by the end of this month tip the balance into the “hey, it wasn’t such a bad week after all!” part of spectrum. What are these new games you ask? One isPiyotama, aBejeweled-esque puzzle game in which the player must match and hatch brightly-colored eggs....

At its gamescom press conference, Sony showed off the Nihilistic-developedResistance: Burning Skiesfor PlayStation Vita for the first time. The demo looked good, and if you’re a fan of Insomniac’s franchise, it seems like it could be a solid entry. And one that you can play on the toilet! For more details on the game,check out yesterday’s write-up. For a closer look at the game’s visuals, check out these new screens. Demands: I’m making them....

With the “it’s done when it’s done” design philosophy forStarcraft IImeaning a tragic yet understandable2010 release, it seems like many of us are wondering why Battle.net was cited as a reason for the delay. Courtesy of Gamasutra, we havegot some answers. Activision’s leading man Bobby Kotick says that the intention is to make Battle.net “the foundation for connecting tens of millions in the Blizzard community in a social gaming network across all Blizzard’s future games....

Perhaps you’ve heard about the PSP Mini games and wondered what the big deal was. They’ve been likened to the iPhone App games in size and function. And that’s about right, except you get to use real buttons.Ooooh, burn. Maybe you’ve been wanting to try one. If that’s the case, I have one for you. It’s probably the best one available, and it’s calledBlast Off. Blast Off, from Halfbrick Studios, is a gravity-based puzzle game that is so addictive that you’re likely to lose track of time....

October 26, that’s the day you should take off from work if you want to rock out in your pajamas (or underwear) while playingRock Band 3all day long. Harmonix and MTV Games have announced the late-October date as the day the game will hit shelves for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Nintendo DS. In addition, they’ve confirmed a whole slew of pre-order details. Reserve at GameStop get three free song downloads, aspreviously reported(“Burning Down The House” by Talking Heads; “My Own Summer” by Deftones; and “Blue Monday” by New Order)....

Kotakuis reporting that a survey sent over to them hints at the possibility thatGuitar Herowill be getting a Red Hot Chilli Peppers edition much like other headlining bands before them. The survey describes the game as such: “Celebrate the entirety of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ life, starting with their early days in LA, to their famous Hyde Park concert to their highly anticipated new studio album. Discover the story behind their legendary music as you unlock interviews, retrospectives, concert footage and other commentary....

A source has toldDevelopthat Nintendo’s new console, codenamed Project Cafe, will include a front-facing camera in itspad-like controller. They say that the camera can be used for in-game images. With the already rumored touchscreen and all, this is sounding a lot like a 3DS. In fact, some are saying that the 3DS could act as a replacement controller. “The functions are the same,” the source said. “It is a standard wireless controller added with a front-facing camera and touch screen....

We’re a week out from E3, but that doesn’t mean the rumors have to stop just yet. According to a supposed E3 fact sheet, Sony’s PSP successor,codenamed NGP, is going to be known as the PS Vita. Yes, it sounds like something you’d call a bottle of overpriced posh water. Sony’s E3 press conference is going to happen on June 6, where it’s expected we’ll get the final look and name of this thing....

Ah,Shenmue. I’ll never forget firing it up on the Dreamcast and being in a state of semi-shock over the graphics and gameplay, not to mention a sense of delight that I was playing a game set in various parts of Japan and Hong Kong (the Japanophile in me was already beginning to set in.) Suffice to say I would love to play the game again, not to mention its sequel. If rumors are to be believed, I just may get to do that in a new way: a poster on aGameFAQs forumremarked that a Swedish magazine called Gamereactor had news thatShenmue1 & 2 would be ported to the Wii with extra minigames added and use of the Wiimote enabled....

Samurai Warriors 3is going to be exclusive to the Wii. It’s not often that Koei sticks to one system for itsWarriorstitles, but with the amount of support Nintendo is giving the game, who can blame them? The game is to even haveits very own Classic Controller, which will come bundled with the game at launch. Monster Hunter 3will be the first game to bundle with a Classic Controller, but not even Capcom is getting its very own design....

PS3 gameNo More Heroes Red Zonehas had little in the way of screenshots or video since we first heard about it. We did getsome nice boxartawhile back, but it’s been pretty quiet since then. I know that four screenshots isn’t much, but I’ll take what I can get. You’ll see some jackery icons for the PlayStation Move, splattered blood and people bowling in these four screens, so at least they’re worth something....

There was a point at which I would have told you I would never be excited for any MMO again. I put my time in with many in the past (and by “put my time in”, I mean “countless hours on end”), but by the time I was done I felt I had gotten the MMO bug out of my system, and preferred to focus on games that left time for, oh, I don’t know, REAL LIFE....

Thereis wordcoming from Japan thatSonic Unleashed— long pegged for a holiday release — has been pushed significantly back until Spring 2009. The delay is intended to improve the quality of the game, but is only supposed to affect the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, while the Wii version is still in line for a holiday release. The game is known asSonic World Adventurein Japan and was due for a December 18 launch on all home consoles....