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The most noteworthy release this week isAvenging Spirit, a Game Boy title for the 3DS’ Virtual Console. If you’ve never played it, it’s an action game in which you “Help a heroic ghost rescue his girlfriend from her kidnappers so he can finally rest in peace.” Sounds delightfully morbid. The eShop also getsGo! Go! Kokopolo, in which you control a “hyperactive wildcat” across “80 stages of pure arcade mayhem.” The 3DS’ downloads are rounded out byCrazy Hamster, which sounds crap, andMy Asian Farm, which sounds racist....

Hmph. Like they need it. The year was 2002, and Nintendo got a huge slap on the wrist by the European Commission after being busted for price fixing their wares and software in the late 1990s. If you remember, they were hiking prices in Europe, and then working with distributors to keep them high. Well, this slap was actually more like a forceful kick in the balls. The fine was 134 million pounds, or about $200 million by today’s conversion....

The stuff of your potential nightmares —NintenhorseandNintendolphin— were almost 3DS games. This massive bombshell was dropped by Nintendo’s president Satoru Iwata during the Nintendo World Event in Japan last week. Unfortunately, both the dolphin and horse (targeted at Europeans, apparently) ideas were scrapped when Shigeru Miyamoto got a cat. And what Shiggy wants, Shiggy gets —Nintendogs & Catsis set to launch alongside the system this year. The game will bring the cuddly little purr pals to the handheld, along with camera support that will have the animals recognizing its owners by sight....

Like it’s a slow news day or something, I’m happy to report that the ESRB has finally got around to rating Rockstar’sGrand Theft Auto IV. The verdict may surprise you! According to the ESRB, Rockstar’s forthcoming PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 sure-thing blockbuster contains intense violence, blood, strong language,strongsexual content, and partial nudity. Oh, and use of drugs and alcohol. Did anyone at the ESRB even have to see the game to determine this?...

Mega Man is so hot right now. Tons of new games are coming and to compliment all of them Archie Comics announced at NYCC that they will be publishing a brand newMega Mancomic. Now don’t instantly slap our forehead here, as any comic fan will tell you Archie Comics does some good stuff. They also do the Sonic comic, which is not so good. The new comic book will be drawn by Patrick “Spaz” Spaziante and written by infamous Archie action/adventure writer Ian Flynn....

Here’s a second chance to check outR.U.S.E.for those who missed out on the closed beta: next week, anyone with a Steam account can take part in the PC strategy game. Accordingto a tweet byUbisoft community developerAymeric Evennou, March 9 is the official start date. It seems Eugen Systems took much of the player feedback it received to heart; this video with senior producer Mathieu Girard states all of the various additions, tweaks, and fixes that have been made to the game....

While gamers still curse Microsoft for its recentXbox Live price hike, industry analyst and sourpuss Michael Pachter has used magic to determine that it’s going to get a lot more expensive than that. The soothsayer has had visions of a new tier to Xbox Live — a $100 Platinum service. “The extra $10 translates to around $100 — 150 million per year in additional revenue for Microsoft,” says the bottersnike. “I think that they will reinvest at least this much in developing other new applications, and will roll out a premium service with $100-200 million worth of enhancements....

So, last night Randy Pitchford and I got to talkingin the wake of his denialthatAliens: Colonial Marineswas confirmed for a post-2011 release. This time I did my job properly and went straight to the mouth of the horse, where I received … very little information. Still, you may’t blame a guy for trying. Randydidconfirm that the game’s still on, and that everybody involved is excited about it. He also confirmed he will dodge any and all questions about a release date until further notice....

I’m not sure if there’s crazy stuff going on inPlayStation Homethat most of the world is not privy to, but if there is we’re sure to find out now that Sony has released a new video capture tool. The Loot Active Camera gives users control of a virtual camera with which they can record whatever bizarre antics go on in that virtual realm. The tool was developed with users who want to create machinima videos in mind....

I remember the day that Twisted Pixel, developer of the Xbox LIVE Arcade gameThe Maw, announced its title‘Splosion Man. It was earlier this year on April 1. “Let’s just make a game where stuff blows up,” Creative Director Josh Bear was quoted as saying in the press release. “Yeah, lots of ‘splosions…like a guy made out of ‘splosions, and he’d be like‘splode ‘splode ‘splode!And then things die.” “Yeah, but not like regular dying....

Got you all worked up with that headline, didn’t I? I bet a few of you are even sporting wood, and furiously hunting for a bottle of hand lotion, aren’t you? Well, keep it in your pants, freak, it’s not quite what it seems. According toGamesIndustry.biz, UK e-tailerAriahas dropped the price on the 60GB version of the PlayStation 3 (by a whopping 25GBP aka $49.06USD) only three days after its official launch....

I dream of a day where I can get paid to make s**t up all day, but until then, I’ll leave it to the analysts — one of which thinks that the sales of the PS3 will catch up to the Nintendo Wii in 2011. Economist.comgives us this nifty bar graph (above), with data supplied byScreen Digest. Their analysts think that the Wii will still lead by 2011, but the PS3 will come in a close second, with both selling more than 70 million units total....

I’d argue thatExplodemon!is a terribly silly-sounding name for a game. But God damned if it doesn’t look slick, setting off just about every retro alarm in the Destructoid offices (this also involves sprinklers and string cheese). In development by Curve Studios for PC, PlayStation Network, and WiiWare, the game looks like a fresh take on classic platforming titles, with a look and feel clearly inspired by Capcom’sMega Man. As the studio itself name-checks the Blue Bomber, Mario,Halo, andHalf-Life 2in describing the game… and that should really say it all....