As excited as folks got at the Halo 3 trailer, the 360 game I've enjoyed seeing coverage of at this year's E3 is Epic's Gears of War. From GameSpy's hands-on piece: "While many third-person shooters are run 'n gun affairs, Epic likes to say that the emphasis in Gears of War is on a 'stop 'n pop' style of play. This means that, rather than running directly into the action, players are better off using cover to proceed across the war zone. Using said cover is a breeze in Gears, thanks largely to the 'All button,' which is mapped to the Xbox 360's A button. Once you're facing cover, a quick press of the A button will slam you into place, out of harm's way, and pressing it again will pull you away." More impressions below if you Read More.

Next Generation follows up on news last week of the enormous financial burden the 360's launch has placed on Microsoft. CEO Steve Ballmer sent around an email discussing the company's bright outlook with the new console. From the article: "While Xbox 360 hardware itself is the most prominent area of videogame-related investment, Ballmer indicated that further development of Xbox Live is also integral to the success of the platform and its respective division, saying, "We must execute our Live strategy with speed and precision." Relatedly, Live's downtime yesterday has resulted in an underwhelming feature addition: messaging.

The Elder Scrolls series is well known among PC gamers as the high water mark for an open-ended RPG experience. The series, set in the world of Tamriel, has a staggering breadth and depth thanks to the exacting standards of the team at Bethesda Softworks. The newest title in the line brings Tamriel to life in a manner that is renewing the faith of even the most jaded CRPG player. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion may not be the perfect game for everyone. For those willing to give it a shot, Oblivion treats gamers with a level of respect that is unique, uplifting, and (hopefully) inspirational for game developers in all genres. Read on for my impressions of a truly unique game.

Gamasutra has a report on the state of game addiction science. From the article: "Yes, South Korean and American gamers have died from exhaustion. Yes, this makes bored journalists and unpopular politicians very happy. China has already thrown a fair bit of legislation at video games, whether or not games are the problem. On the other hand, such legislation might fail to address the real problem. In this article I explain addiction simply. Then, I talk about research that attempts to connect addiction to gaming, and some clear problems in that research. One caveat: this article is not going to make anyone into a trained clinician."

Next Generation has a piece predicting the 360's performance for 2006. An analyst with Amtech Research expects 12 Million 360s sold worldwide by the end of the year. From the article: "He continued, saying that he is no longer concerned with any potential adverse effects that an Xbox 360 shortage would have on publishers' March-quarter results. Amtech and McNealy also conducted a survey involving 125 retailers last week. Twenty-six of them had Xbox 360 units in stock, although all but five of them only had the non-hard drive Core units. Stores that did have the $400 Premium Packs late last week sold out of units very quickly."

Next Generation has a look at which of the gaming franchises are the weightiest by measuring game sales for current and next-gen systems. From the article: "A new graphic shows the top-sellers across all current major platforms, with Mario, Madden and GTA leading the pack. The list - based on NPD North America data - shows Mario at number one followed by Madden and then GTA. Star Wars is the top entertainment licence at number four followed by Tony Hawk."

Gamespot is reporting that the nominees for the annual Game Developer's Choice Awards have been announced. The awards are given out every year in a ceremony at the Game Developer's Conference. From the article: "This year, God of War leads all games with six nominations, followed closely by a quintet of nods for Shadow of the Colossus. Project Gotham Racing 3, Guitar Hero, and Psychonauts each received three nominations. GameSpot's game of the year for 2005, Resident Evil 4, only garnered a single nomination, that one in the Visual Arts category."

RosethornKB writes "Over at Killer Betties, we have an article on all the fitness games available on the market currently. From the article: 'Perhaps it was the Nintendo Power Pad that issued in the era of interactive and athletic workout videogames, but the results were less than thrilling and the new technology did not takeoff as intended. The Nintendo Power Pad - a twelve button (6 red and 6 blue on one side or 2 red and 6 blue depending on what side you were using) mat with sensors that corresponded to the presses you inputted for certain games that supported the peripheral - hardly made an impact when it was released in 1988.'"

Ford Prefect writes "One of the biggest things to happen to PC games in the last decade is the rise of the mod - the free modifications produced by fans. There's no denying their influence on future game development, but what do the developers of the original games think? 1UP.com's MOD Summit has the answers, interviewing major games developers, past modders who've made it big, and some of the current mod authors who make it all a reality. (Disclaimer: I was one of those interviewed!)"

Patrick Curry, currently working on the next-gen John Woo title Stranglehold has a blog where he posts short, interesting idea kernels for games. His most recent post, entitled Snow Day, really grabbed my attention. From the post: "Snow Day is an open-world game where you play as a kid in a small town that's been completely snowed in. The schools and businesses are all closed, so for this one day the kids can do whatever they want! You can have a snowball fight, make a snowman, make snow-angels, or build a fort. As you explore the town you find items that unlock new activities, like sledding, skiing, snowboarding, and ice-skating ... Snow Day gets really interesting when you start thinking of it as a multiplayer game. Suddenly the casual activities turn into a tournament, a sort of Winter Olympics for kids. Snow Day has most of the classic gameplay archetypes... exploring, racing, and some very light combat. But it also has creative gameplay, in building forts, snowmen, and all of the other ways you could manipulate the environment." Some of his other game idea posts include Oval Office, a president sim, and Freelance Foto, an on-the-run photojournalist game.

Two pieces up in the media right now talking about problems with the Xbox 360. Games.net has an overdramatically title piece, Five Ways to Save the Xbox 360. The article lays out ways in which Microsoft should revamp the console and its games in order to truly dominate the next-gen war. Meanwhile, a 1up editorial asks the question Is the Xbox 360 Hurting the Games Industry? The article looks at the ways in which Microsoft's console was rushed out the door, and the negative consequences that may have on the industry as a whole. From that article: "More important, though less remarked upon, is that the Xbox 360 was also launched before the industry was ready. If you pay attention to companies' end-of-year financial reports, which I'm sad to say my job requires me to do, one thing that stands out in the postholiday reckoning was the statement, again and again, that the Xbox 360 launch had hurt sales across the industry."

GameDev.net has a wrap-up from Nintendo's busy week. They touch on the release of development kits, production delays for the DS Lite, and the ongoing DS vs. PSP war. From the article: "It seems Nintendo, who have in the past tended to rely heavily on first-party games, are eager to elicit support from third-party developers. According to some big-name developers who have had their kits for some time there have already been several versions of the kit: the first was just the console and a wired controller, while the second had a few minor tweaks and the third a boost in CPU power."

Kyle Orland has a considered look at some more poor reporting on gaming in the mainstream media. This time it's Chicago's WGN, and a weak report about the 'medical dangers of gameplaying'. From the article: "Sorry, but isn't this how rebellious teenagers have been acting for generations? I'd challenge the reporter to find a adolescent child whose hormones don't make them act this way at some point. I'd also like them to explain how playing fun games fails to make a child 'fun-loving' (or show some evidence that any of these children were 'family-focused' and 'totally different kids' before being exposed to the evil of games). And while it's regretful that the three children that are the focus of the story have a mother who says 'it felt like I really couldn't connect with them' it seems a bit much to blame video game for the generation gap that inevitably develops once a child passes the age of, oh, eight." Kotaku also has a nice deconstruction of the piece on journalism grounds.

Eurogamer reports on a PSP title that will see Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest character meeting up for the second time. From the article: "Japanese magazine Shonen Jump has revealed the first snippets of info about the game, including news that it will feature playable characters from both series, including Final Fantasy XII's Fran and Balflear. Stages will include one based on the Phantom Train in Final Fantasy VI. This isn't the first time Squenix has produced a DQ/FF game - back in 2004, they released Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special for the PS2. It was a big hit in Japan, but never made it over here. The PSP game won't be a direct port of the original - instead it'll feature all-new characters and stages. "

Eurogamer reports that Half-Life 2 will not be required to run Episode 1, the first content pack for Valve's hit game. From the article: "Half-Life 2: Episode 1 won't actually require Half-Life 2 to play, Valve's explained, and although the game will be 'four to six hours' long, marketing director Doug Lombardi reckons it's 'markedly richer' in terms of content quality ... The change from Aftermath to Episode 1 was 'simply a name change' he says, when asked about the shift to episodic content - which wasn't a shift at all, he adds, since 'the format of episodic releases was decided before Half-Life 2 was made available'."

Ant writes "IGN has a top ten list that focuses on some of the brilliantly terrible game controllers that shipped for game systems. Many of these were first-party, out-of-the-box concepts, while others were cash-in ideas from engineers that clearly either didn't have a sense in their noggin, or they simply listened too much to their marketing department. Either way, these controllers are a bad bunch."

Sune Nielsen writes "The Independent Games Festival main competition has a lot of great games from independent developers, who will all be presenting their games in the IGF booth at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose. The IGF has an Audience Award, and has just opened voting. Demos are available for most of the contestants. You need a Gamespot login (free) to vote, but not to try the demos. The award ceremony will take place on March 22nd at the GDC." Free demos, folks, of some of the most out-there games you're likely to play this year. I'm rooting for Darwinia and Dad n' Me.

A Washington Post article explores the problems facing the games industry in this year of console generation turnover and lackluster PC game sales. From the article: "There are other potential problems. The new-generation consoles look best when plugged into high-definition TV sets -- and it is not clear how many people will buy a new television just for the latest version of the Madden football game. And the cost of the new gaming systems continues to rise. Perhaps no question haunts the industry more at the moment than the mystery of when Sony's PlayStation 3 will come out and how much it will cost."

Via a Gamers With Jobs Press Pass post, an interview with Dorian Richard, the Atari external producer for Neverwinter Nights 2. The Game Tycoon piece discusses the relationship between publisher and developer, and touches on some of the challenges of creating a sequel to a title like Neverwinter Nights. From the article: "GT: What are the most common challenges you face when interacting with developers? DR: There's inexperienced developers, and there's experienced developers. Inexperienced developers tend to lack staff with sufficient scheduling and managing experience. They might be good at certain development tasks, but they don't know how to read warning signs and manage people, so they frequently fail to recognize when a big slip is looming. They don't plan for likely emergencies, like a key team member getting sick or having a family emergency."

GameDailyBiz has a piece detailing comments from Peter Jackson on next-gen gaming, and the possibility of another King Kong title. From the article: "'It'll be very interesting when a filmmaker creates a video game-based film experience that goes beyond what people thought it could be,' continued Jackson, who is executive producing the Halo film with special effects from the brilliant WETA team. 'For example, music videos were originally just musicians playing music while being recorded on video so people could watch them, but now they are elaborate short movies that do everything from interpret the song through the medium of visual art to communicating political statements.'"