Gamsasutra reports on analyst predictions of another PS3 price drop in time for the holidays. This time, the 80GB sku would take the place of the now fully-cleared-out 60GB unit. "Jesse Divnich from fantasy video game prediction market simExchange has said much the same, adding that 'after examining more closely the hardware sales of the PS3 over the last 6 months we have come to the conclusion that the PS3 cannot remain competitive in the current North American environment at its current retail offering at $499 and $599 ... To remain competitive against the other consoles, the Sony PS3 would have to reduce its 80GB SKU by $100 down to $499. Other options, besides a price drop, could be the bundling of more free software titles, which has always been a popular option during the Holiday season.'"

Both Ubisoft and EA are offering up free games to cash-conscious gamers this week. For the low, low cost of nothing you can play titles like Command and Conquer Gold, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, and Far Cry. The catch? Well, EA's offering is totally gratis; 1995's C&C Gold is a gift to gamers for supporting the series for all these years. The Ubisoft games, though, are only "free". They're available from Fileplanet in ad-supported format.

insidedesign writes "Blogger Marco has recently discovered that the newest version of Google Earth includes a flight simulator. Though simple in comparison to full-blown simulators, Google Earth's is fun and addictive. To get started, press Ctrl+Alt+A for the initial dialog (on OS X, Command+Option+A). Then choose your plane (F16 or SR22) and initial airport. Joysticks are supported; it has even been reported that force feedback works. The game's controls are sensitive so it takes some getting used to. Here are all the available controls. For a quick overview, check out this YouTube video."

Haze, a first person shooter slated for release this year, has surprisingly been announced as a PlayStation 3 exclusive. This past spring Ubisoft, the game's publisher, announced that the First Radical title was going to have the PS3 as its 'lead platform' when it released. It appears that lead has now become 'only'. "Currently only the PS3 version of Free Radical's shooter is in development. The France-based publisher also noted that it was still leaving the door open in the future for 'new partnerships,' but currently the game is indeed only planned for the PS3. A spokesperson said, 'The official statement on PC and Xbox 360 is that these platforms are not confirmed.'"

Retro Studios, the makers of the games in the Metroid Prime series, has announced they'll be stepping back from the games for a bit now that Corruption is in stores. Comments from project director Mark Pacini discuss that decision and their interaction with the Wiimote: "I'm sure that there will be other titles created but as far as Retro Studios is concerned, we're taking a break for a little bit. We started with the core ideas of the game ... but we did not receive the information about the Wii controller until well into development. So we got a big surprise, of, hey, this is what we're going to do for the next console. Many things had to be refactored, but actually many things fell right into place. The Wii remote enables us to do things that we hadn't previously done in other Metroid games."

GamePolitics is serving up email transcripts that show increasing tension between Jack Thompson and 2K Games. The two parties have been acting at least vaguely civilly towards each other since an April settlement. A taunting, factually incorrect email from Jack to 2K (and other parties) has set things off again. 2K's response is to-the-point: "We demand that you cease making these false statements about our online sales practices. Your dissemination of knowingly false statements for the purpose of adversely affecting Take-Two's business is actionable and we reserve all of our rights under the settlement agreement and state and federal law. Not only are your statements clearly false, but they were made in an email publicly disseminated to both the FTC and the press. Please be assured that I am happy to answer any questions you have concerning our practices in a private communications. It is for this very reason that our settlement agreement designates a legal contact for you at Take Two."

GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that an inquiry into the Virginia Tech shooting in April of this year has revealed no connection whatsoever to videogames. The shooter's lack of interest in violent gaming was widely reported among game news sites at that time in the year, despite the exploration of the idea on cable television news. The official report, filed with the governor of the state, lays that 'motive' to rest. From the article: "The report, which includes a mental health history of the shooter, Seung Hui Cho, notes that during his childhood he had 'played videogames like Sonic the Hedgehog,' yet 'none of the videogames were war games or had violent themes.' This flies in the face of statements made on Fox TV news by Jack Thompson in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, which laid the blame for the incident firmly at the door of videogames."

pluke writes "According to the Daily Telegraph, the Wii has sold 1,000,000 units during 38 weeks in the UK. This makes it the UK's fastest selling console ever, beating the Playstation 2 (50 weeks) and the Xbox 360 (60 weeks). Some industry analysts are also reporting that the Wii has overtaken the XBOX 360 to now become the worlds market leader across console and handheld fields. 'The sales figures are particularly impressive because the Wii was in short supply following its much-heralded launch just before last Christmas [ie, Xmas 2006], and has only recently become easily available again.'"

Mytob writes "Today is the last day of service for NCSoft / Net Devil's Auto Assault. The game, which has never proved that popular, will have its service terminated at midnight central time. Refund emails have already been sent out, and end-of game events have been happening since last week. From the Auto Assault Website: 'We are now in the final week of Auto Assault and to mark this occasion on Friday night we'll be doing all sorts of nutty things in-game — whatever you request, we'll try to make happen. Most of the fun will be in and around Ground Zero (don't worry if you don't have a high-level character, we'll boost you), but we'll be doing other stuff all around the game. We plan on starting around 9PM CDT (if not before) and should last right to midnight when the servers are shut down for the final time.'"

Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw is described as a "British-born, currently Australian-based writer and gamer with a sweet hat and a chip on his shoulder." That melange of Python and Steve Irwin has combined, somehow, to produce some of the most hilariously insightful games commentary I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. Via Gamers With Jobs I came across Croshaw's first video review on The Escapist site, all about the the Heavenly Sword demo and the Resident Evil 5 trailer. He talks a mile-a-minute, does his own wonderfully primitive animation work, and manages to walk that tightrope between jerk and brilliant with seeming effortlessness. He's slated to put one up every week, and since the first post has released a look at the cult classic Psychonauts , and some cutting commentary on the console war. Go watch, please; just make sure you can a.) use NSFW sound and b.) won't get looked at weirdly for laughing aloud.

willatnewscientist writes "A couple of Hungarian researchers have developed a computer game that knows when you're going to press the 'jump' button ... 2 seconds before you do it. The researchers use neural networks to analyse several type of biofeedback signal — heart rate, EEG and skin conductance — and discovered that skin conductance alone is enough to predict a jump up to 2 seconds beforehand. They say the technique could ultimately be used to make aircraft controls that respond more quickly to a pilot's actions. But it could also be used to create so-called 'frustration games' that respond to a player's actions before they occur."

simoniker writes "A new 'Analyze This' feature on Gamasutra examines analysts' views on the rise of Nintendo's Wii and DS, and how well game publishers have reacted to it, with Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter commenting: 'It's hard to criticize anyone for putting too much faith in the PS3, as most [publishers] haven't created "cutting edge" titles yet for that platform. Most of the PS3 titles so far have been perennial titles, like Madden, Tony Hawk, etc ... I'd say that most failed to capitalize on the DS and Wii opportunity. The exception on the DS side is THQ, which has made every game it can for the platform. On the Wii side, Ubisoft took a big chance by making ten games for the [Wii] launch window, and it has performed very well, so far. I think that the others will catch up no later than early next year.'"

The official Bungie site has the word that Halo 3 is done. In games industry terms, they've 'gone gold'. "That means we delivered a final version to our internal certification group that passed all the tests and is now being whisked away to top secret manufacturing locations to be turned into retail versions of the game - and eventually packaged and sent to stores in various cases, tins and cat-helmets. We can't wait to share it with you guys on September 25th and 26th, but we have to say thanks."

Next Generation has word from Sony that they've shipped all of their 60GB PlayStation 3s. They don't have any more in the warehouses; retailers still have ample stocks, though. From the article: "Once all of the remaining 60GB PS3s have been snapped up for $499 apiece, the only option left open to consumers will be to purchase the 80GB model, which currently retails for $100 more at $599. It has long been rumored that once all 60GB PS3 stock dries up, the 80GB will be subject to a price cut, but SCEA has failed to be drawn on the matter to date. 'We won't be making any further announcements regarding our PS3 model hardware strategy in North America until the 60GB model is exhausted and market conditions are evaluated,' the company has said."

Joystiq has the word that the epic space RPG from Bioware, Mass Effect, now has a ship date attached to it. The date? November 20th. "The preview videos have been yummy, the conversation system looks amazing, even our time with the game was nice -- now if we could only get a straight answer on those weird frame-rate hiccups we keep seeing. We hope that'll all be cleaned up by November when we'll be partaking in turkey and then sitting our tryptophan overdosed selves down for hours of Mass Effect. Who would watch football after dinner when there's a galaxy to save?"

Jim Rossignol writes "An article on a new blog I'm contributing to discusses how The Sims (mostly the original, but also the sequel) gets used for sexual purposes, and also examines how this kind of response is essential to the appeal of the game. Here's an extract: 'On sites like Simulated, Eight Deadly Sims, Pandora's Sims and Strange Sims we see increasingly bizarre uses of the modding tools. While mainstream sites are for all ages, these have reached such a level of risqué or alternative content that the majority hide behind pay-for-access barriers to ensure that the users at least have a credit card (i.e. aren't minors), and to earn a little cash. Of all the mod cultures online — and virtually every PC game has users making their own additional content either in publisher-supported or unofficial ways — it's only The Sims which has such an obvious number of sites which demand money for access. This is particularly unusual: there's a clause in EA's tool license that they can only be used 'on your personal non-commercial website'. That Electronic Arts hasn't gone after such a sizeable community is interesting in and of itself.'" Jim Rossignol is a well-respected games journalist in the industry, and his new blog (Rock, Paper, Shotgun) is well worth checking out.

Next Generation reports that the ESRB is flatly refusing Leland Yee's request to further outline their logic behind Manhunt 2's re-rating. Says organization president Patrica Vance, "It is simply not our place to reveal specific details about the content we have reviewed, particularly when it involves a product yet to be released. What can be said is that the changes that were made to the game, including the depictions themselves and the context in which those depictions were presented, were sufficient to warrant the assignment of an M (Mature 17+) rating by our raters."

The New York Times has an article up this week talking about Nokia's third attempt to get their N-Gage brand into the minds of gamers. This time it's a service, not a device, and the company is betting that branding mobile games will be a better tactic than their previous attempts. "The Ideo and Nokia executives concluded that users mainly want to play against their friends and, at the very least, they want to know the skill level of their opponents. As a result, the new N-Gage permits users to see what games their friends have on their phones and whether they are online. They can also see how many points a person has earned in the game, as well as how much time they devote to solitary play versus group play. The researchers also asked players what their greatest frustrations were. High on the list was buying a game that turned out to be disappointing. In the new N-Gage service, customers will be able to sample games free before buying them. The selection will lean toward the casual side of gaming, with soccer and fishing titles and the popular puzzle game Bejeweled, among others. Nokia has not yet discussed prices."

Wired author Clive Thompson has up an article stating that, with today's jaded audiences, videogames are more effective horror-conveyances than movies. Thompson argues that the removal of the fourth wall, placing the player directly into the story, overcomes the obstacles movie-makers face when telling a scary story. "I'll start down a corridor, hear something freaky up ahead, then freeze in panic. Maybe if I stay quiet the monster will go away? S^!t, maybe it's already headed this way, and I should move! But if I move the monster will hear me ... so maybe I should stay quiet ... gaaaaah! Games already seem like dream states. You're wandering around a strange new world, where you simultaneously are and aren't yourself. This is already an inherently uncanny experience. That's why a well-made horror game feels so claustrophobically like being locked inside a really bad -- by which I mean a really good -- nightmare." Do you agree? Is your favorite scary tale a movie ... or a game? (Silent Hill, I'm looking at you.)

Though Electronic Arts and Nintendo are planning to attend the first consumer-oriented 'E for All' Expo this October, neither Sony or Microsoft have plans to show games at the event. Other smaller publishers like Capcom, Sega, Midway, and Sony Online Entertainment have also stated they won't be attending. "While not making any official statements, at least one publisher indicated to GamesIndustry.biz that it questioned the return on investment based on the number of attendees and the cost. There were also some concerns with the proximity of the event to the TGS. IDG [E For All's Parent] could not be reached for comment. "