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When you go to purchase either the standard or limited editionofAlan Wake, keep in mind that buying used — or renting from GameFly, etc. — means you’ll have to pay for the first downloadable content pack. In each new copy, a token card can be found, as is steadily becoming the norm for this industry. We don’t know when thefirstAlan Wakeadd-onwill be out, or what it’s even about, really. Perhaps Remedy will say more once we get closer to the game’s release next month....

High Voltage’sThe Conduit 2wasrevealed only yesterday, but the first bunch of screens have appeared online, giving us a taste of what’s in store for fans of the Wii shooter. As expected, the game is already looking graphically accomplished as far as Wii games go, although the generic art style that hampered the original seems to be back in force. The designs look alittlemore original than last time, but I really wishThe Conduitcould get some striking visuals to stand out from the pack....

Last week‘s debate was between the two terrors you see above. Thanks to all those who submitted game debate art — the two pictures above belong to DtoidersHildebrant(left) andMrJunko(right), and I attached the rest of everyone’s awesome art below. So, who did we decide was the biggest and baddest of them all last week? There were hundreds of comments that went back and forth for both sides, with rape pictures of Pyramid Head as support for one side, and videos of Pyramid Head getting owned by a plank as support for the other side....

Ever since getting my iPod Touch, I’ve become a huge fan of Gameloft. The French studio specializes in bringing console-style games to downloadable handheld platforms such as iTunes, PSN and DSiWare. They’re a pretty rad company, so it’s great to see the work paying off. Gameloft’s sales are up 7% during Q1, with the studio raking in €33 million (£28.8m/$43.6m) between January, February and March, as opposed to last year’s to €30....

I have officially obtained the rank of “minor Z-list celebrity that nobody cares about”, making this the most important day of everybody’s lives. Basically, I was on the BBC’s World Service station this morning talking about Russia’s proposal to ban games likeModern Warfare 2due to negative stereotypes. Although I was on the show — calledNewshour— for about two minutes, it was still freaky to think my voice was broadcast around the world!...

Halfbrickhas making quite a stir on the Xbox Live Arcade withRaskulls(which is already getting some preemptive comparisons to The Behemoth’sCastle Crashers). Well, the Australia-based developer switched gears a bit at Gamescon, announcing that it would be bringing four games for therecently-announced PSP Minis program. The games are being developed under Halfbrick’s Friday label, which is in charge of smaller, downloadable titles, which are, of course, perfect for handheld digital distribution. As of right now, Halfbrick Friday has four games coming to the PSP Minis service, per the press release:...

From squealing like a fangirl withDoug Lombardi, I suddenly found acting as lady-like a possible and bowing after ever sentence as I was faced with the Japanese development team behind the new MMORPG,Final Fantasy XIV. I talked with a Japanese translator as I attempted to find out some of the key points to the newestFinal Fantasygame. The Japanese team was happy to tell us all about the new title, why they have been unable to announce the game for the Xbox 360 and of course, what direction they plan to take the all-important battle system....

If you’re a one-console-future believer, avert your eyes for a few seconds. At a Luminaries Lunch during GDC, Blizzard’s vice president of game design, Rob Pardo, admitted togamesindustry.bizthat Blizzard are talking with Microsoft about a new console. More than likely, this new console is the successor to the Xbox 360. Acclaim’s chief creative officer, David Perry, hasn’t had a discussion with Microsoft or Sony about another console, but he did have something to say on the matter....

Thank goodness for Nintendo’s Rich Amtower and the company’s Treehouse division. Day two of Game Developers Conference, Dale North arrives from Tokyo in possession of his fancy new lime Nintendo DSi. With the menus in Japanese, it took me ten minutes to figure out how to take a picture. Add another 20 minutes to record my voice and then make myself sound like a parrot. Due to the hardwork of Amtower and Nintendo’s localization team, this should be a snap....

Minecraftcreator Markus “Notch” Persson has come out in defense of piracy, claiming that it does notequal theftand that pirates should be treated as potential customers. “Piracy is not theft,” he said. “If you steal a car, the original is lost. If you copy a game, there are simply more of them in the world. There is no such thing as a ‘lost sale’. Is a bad review a lost sale? What about a missed ship date?...

Activision has today announcedPrototype 2, even though the game was the revealed Saturday night. Quick off the mark, those guys! Still, the evil publisher at least had a bit of real news as well — the firstPrototypeis now available for download on Xbox Live, with a PlayStation Network release coming December 14. Reactions to the firstPrototypehave always been mixed. I personally thought it was great, while others were quite unimpressed. It seems to be one of those “love it or hate it” games, which is odd since it’sblatantly betterthan the critically acclaimedinFAMOUS....

Earlier today I brought you myhands-on impressionsof the first 30 minutes of upcoming PlayStation 3 gameGod of War III. It goes without saying that they wereverygood. While at the same event, I got a chance to sit down withGod of War IIIDirector of Product Development John Hight, and he had a lot to say about the development of the game, his experiences working with a remarkable team, and even the stuff he likes to play when not dedicating countless hours in the day to Kratos and the gang (he lovesDragon Age!...

According to Take-Two,the software tie ratioforGrand Theft Auto IVis the “highest it’s ever been.” Just in case you’re unfamiliar with silly industry terms, the tie ratio is the amount of software sold compared to the install base of the console it’s released on. Basically, this meansGTAdid good. “Our tie ratio forGrand Theft Auto IVillustrates the strength of the franchise,” claims T2 boss man Strauss Zelnick. According to the figures, the tie ratio for the PS3 is 32%, while the ratio for the Xbox 360 is 28%....