If a seemingly oddball rumor holds true, it appears thatDragon Age: Originsowners could be devouring a huge slab of DLC in the near future. Something much more epic than Warden’s Keep or Return to Ostagar. TheCzech Web arm of Eurogameris running the sexy gossip: according to the Web site, EA and Bioware are slated to announce a full expansion for the PC version of the game dubbedDragon Age: Awakeningthis January. The content is said to feature a wholly new character, as well as a proper origins narrative, and at least 15 hours of additional play time....

According to a reliable source, Turbine is currently eyeing their MMO,Lord of the Rings: Online, for an Xbox 360 release. The source added that Turbine has hit a snag, unrelated to the development process. Microsoft, allegedly, won’t commit to allow Turbine to utilize a free-to-play model, which is what the developer desires for the console version ofLOTRO. We contacted Turbine today in order to obtain official confirmation of the console title....

Much to the delight of penny-pinchers everywhere, Major Nelsoninforms usthat the Tera Patrick-starring download has been marked from 800 Microsoft Points down to 560 Points — three whole dollars off! Problem is, at the time of writing, the price cut hasn’t yet been activated for whatever reason. Step to it, boys.

Here’s a lovely little trailer forThe Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. It shows off a little of the “school” setting that we’dpreviously heard about, and reveals some more gameplay and dungeons. It looks like a fairly typical Zelda game, which means it will likely be excellent. Also, I don’t know what that dumpy little squirrel-bird is, but I want one in real life!

Following last week’steasing teaser, SEGA has officially announced the next Sonic the Hedgehog game,Sonic Generations. It’s due out for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 during the holiday 2011 season. As the teaser suggested,Generationswill feature playable versions of both the modern “green eyed” Sonic and the pot-bellied 1991 incarnation. It’s set across Sonic’s three defining “eras” and features reimagined classic environments that will come in 2D or 3D flavors. Each Sonic has his own special moves — Classic Sonic will have the Spin Dash and Spin Attack while modern Sonic will have his Homing Attack and Sonic Boost....

Akira Yamaoka has been all over the news lately. We first told you that he wasleaving Konamiafter many years of working on horror game series Silent Hill. Last week we found out that he’s thenewest employee of Grasshopper Manufacture, and is already working on a new game for them. Now we hear that the composer is going to be speaking at the 2010 Game Developer’s Conference. In the Audio Track, his panel, “As Long as the Audio is Fun, the Game Will Be Too,” Yamaoka will speak from his experience in the game audio field, going back 20 years....

Despite the fact thatThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrimis not out for another three months, Bethesda has already announced that there will be at least two DLC packs for the game. Good news, especially if you plan on getting it for the Xbox 360, sinceMicrosoft‘s console will be getting whatever extra contentSkyrimhas 30 days before anyone else. I had every intention of gettingSkyrimon the PC, and that hasn’t changed. I am not even very upset about having to wait a month to get DLC since I can always play moreSkyrimwhile I wait....

If you’re needing a new kart racer and love some cheap nostalgia whoring, then you might want fire up your Xbox 360 and download theSonic & Sega All-Stars Racingdemo. It’s up on Xbox Live right now, so go and make that happen if you are so inclined. As somebody who genuinely enjoyedSega All-Stars Tennis, I’m expecting a pretty decent racer. Not aspectacularone, but a fun one nonetheless. Sega is pretty clever with theseAll-Starsgames, in that it picks genres that are pretty hard to screw up....

[Update:When researching this story, I failed to notice that these videos were created “on spec,” meaning that they were shot with the hope of being sold to Sony. They are not official ads and, God willing, they never will be. I apologize profusely for this error.] It’s been a while since I’ve been able to ask this question aboutSony marketing, so I’m going to savor it a little bit: Who the hell thought this was a good idea?...

We just told you aboutSony’s PR head Dave Karraker leaving the games industry to get back to the booze business (who wouldn’t want to do that?), and now that today is his last day,Next-Gen.bizhas a sort of exit interview with him. In his interview, he talks about the challenges of heading up public relations during the PS3’s launch, his previous work history, and what it will be like for him to get back to the spirits industry....

EA founder and mobile games advocate Trip Hawkins has today madethe bold claimthat Apple’s trendy iPhone is causing Sony and Nintendo to “freak out.” Apparently, the device’s potential as a gaming platform has shaken up the two companies, who have enjoyed a relatively small handheld battleground until now. “The iPhone is by far our most effective platform,”said Hawkins, who currently runs mobile game studio Digital Chocolate. “We make as much money with these games on one device as we do putting a game on 100 different cell phone platforms....

With PlayStation Move gearing up for launch this year, Sony is pushing out the boat to try and make us forget that it’s basically copying the Wii. The best way to do that, of course, is the imply that the Wii ruined motion control for everybody, and that Sony is here to save the day. Paging Peter Dille … “The Wii has been wildly successful but at the end of the day it’s not a very precise experience and it relies on the wand,” says Dille, aiming the bullsh*t cannon and firing with abandon....

Disney Interactive’s frantic, high-speed, Hollywood blockbuster-style racerSplit/Secondis headed to the PlayStation Portable this holiday. The publisher announced the title today, saying that it will feature “unique handling and controls” for the portable, as well as one new track and challenges not found in the console version released earlier this year. You’ll also be able to link up for four-player races locally, which is great if you happen to know three other people who actually own and use a PSP....