Gather ’round, dear readers, and take a good look at this five-pageSplinter Cellactivity book. It shares a striking resemblance toHighlights, but the content here is much more realistic in its attempt to engage young folks. If a single tear flowed down your face as you realized this thing was not real, I’m right there with you. Don’t worry, you may always print out these books and distribute copies to adolescents at your closest mall....

Great news!Sony CEO and executive VP, Nobuyuki Oneda hasboasted to the worldthat PS3 production costs are now down by 70%. This is great news for … well … just Sony, really. Good news for Sony, and nobody else. “The cost reduction since we introduced the PS3 is very substantial and this is on schedule,” proclaims Oneda. He wouldn’t go into specifics, as Sony has never been forthcoming about production costs, but did confirm a reduction of 70%, possibly because Sony is making the things out of cardboard....

Japanese gaming magazine/hype pamphletFamitsuhas listed the biggest news stories of 2009 according to its readers and retailers. Unsurprisingly, the list includes a ludicrous amount of Sony and Square Enix stories, with such gems as the PSPgo,Final Fantasy XIVand, of course,The Last Guardian. The PS3 Slim, however, tops the poll. Apparently everybody in Japan thought that was more mindblowing than Project Natal, even though we all knew the PS3 Slim was coming so it wasn’t much of a shock....

If you buy and Xbox 360 this holiday, don’t expect to be able to check your teeth for food bits in its reflection. Microsoft has announced that it’s ditching the glossy look of the console this holiday. “We are actively transitioning all our Xbox 360 S consoles to a matte finish,”writesLarry “Major Nelson” Hyrb on his blog. “The consoles will start to arrive in stores over the coming weeks, so if you really love the idea of a glossy console don’t wait much longer....

It’s possible that Razer is releasing another mouse I can get behind. Earlier this afternoon the peripheral manufacturer announced the DeathAdder Left Hand Edition ($59.99), a lefty twist on their regular DeathAdder mouse which houses a 3.5G infrared sensor and boasts a variety of features you can check out below the fold. In an interview I ran centuries ago, I asked Razer president Robert Krakoffabout left-handed mice. At the time I was fiddling with anImperator review unit, an impressive mouse that I still use....

Happy Friday, listeners, and welcome to another episode of RetroforceGO! We tried to do an episode on Disney games this week, but it mutated into something more akin to uh … kind of a … Okay, look. This episode is mostly just us singing, alright? We tried. We really did. You put four nerds (who happen to have some pipes) together and ask them to talk Disney, the whole thing is destined to be horribly derailed into a fiery apocalypse of lyric and melody....

Ahh, Thursday. The only day that I wake up in my warm, comfy bed made out of newspapers and milk crates with a good feeling towards the world. The reason for this rare moment of mirth and merriment, is because Thursday is the day that I get to release the latest weekly episode ofRFGO!upon the masses in the selfish hope that it will give you a laugh, and corrupt your mind....

Ladies and gentlemen, I would advise you to all to duck as there will almost certainly be a large amount of splatter coming from every fan near you as a result of the news I have to share. Primotech hasa storyup claiming insider information regarding the firing of Gamespot reviewer Jeff Gerstmann. Mr. Gerstmannrecently awarded Eidos’Kane & Lynch: Dead Mena 6.0 scorewhile Eidos was pumping a large amount of advertising cash into Gamespot, and shockingly this pissed off some of the higher-ups....

You know what DSiWare means? It means that DS games can finally enjoy the fun-filled world of downloadable content! A rumor fromNeoGAFhints that this potential will soon be realized by Square Enix, with DLC keepingDragon Quest IXfresh for a very long time. The rumor suggests that Squeenix will be delivering downloadable missions forDragon Quest IXonce a week. In addition, the game allegedly contains twenty-five treasure map bosses, including 12 old bosses fromDragon Quest‘s past....

Believe it or not, but it’s been ten years since Running With Scissors first upset and shocked the gaming world with their over-the-top PC first-person shooter, POSTAL. To commemorate the occasion, they’ll be releasingthe POSTAL: 10th Anniversary Collector’s Editionboxed set, that comes with a bunch of great goodies. And boobs. The set ships in one of the cooler packages seen on the market — a Postal KrotchyO’s cereal box. The box is packed with stuff including: the originalPOSTALandPOSTAL Plus;POSTAL 2: Share the Pain;POSTAL 2: Apocalypse Weekend; four user mods; dozens of videos; a music CD;POSTALcomics; posters; a stickum play set; and ten sets of “Postal Babe” photos....

Things have been quiet on Brash Entertainment’s front regarding the previously-announced videogame adaptation of the horror film,Saw. Perhaps it’s because they’re actually trying to make a good game instead of selling titles based on brand recognition —Alvin and the ChipmunksandJumper, anyone? In an interview with horror Web siteBloody-Disgusting, the film’s producer Oren Koules spills his (bad pun alert) guts on the games, which he says “the game company are not letting [them] talk too much about....

That’s right, folks. RPG sequelMagnacarta 2has only just released, and Namco Bandai has made sure to “support” it with meaninglessdownloadable content, as is the publisher’smodus operandi. The new DLC includes weapons and — wait for it — cutscenes. Yes, you can download cutscenes. For 400 Microsoft Points, you’re able to download a “Bonus Pack” that includes three comedy cutscenes and twelve weapons for the game’s six main characters. If you think that’s a crap deal, be glad you don’t live in Japan, where Namco is selling the cutscenes separately for 320 Points apiece....

Nothing starts a Friday off better than some hot new screens for an upcoming Wii-exclusive Mistwalker RPG. Except maybe bacon. We don’t have bacon, though, so choke down theseThe Last Storyscreens and be grateful. As far as Wii games go, this is definitely looking to rock some of the best visuals we’ve seen. Add in to that the promising gameplay aspects and a solid Sakaguchi plot, and I think we’re going to have a terrific RPG on our hands....