An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft confirmed this morning that the Xbox 2 will be revealed on live TV on May 12. MTV will air a half-hour long special to launch the system. 'It doesn't make sense to unveil the product behind a closed door, at a trade-only event,' according to Microsoft corporate VP Peter Moore. 'We wanted to talk directly to the consumer first.'" More coverage available on GamesIndustry.biz and Press the Buttons.

Eurogamer.com has some more details on the mini-expansion cum tech demo that is "The Lost Coast". The release will be specifically for high-end PCs, and is intended to show off the places that Valve can stretch the Source technology into. From the article: "If you jump out of a dark space into a light area you're going to be blinded. It's going to be really bright until your eyes adjust. It can be used the other way around, too. Hide from a monster in a dark area and it will take a couple of seconds to go from a silhouette to detail..."

The New York Times has a piece on in-game advertising, likely sparked by the installment of RL billboards in Anarchy Online. They discuss the ways in which ads are placed into games and the possible negative reactions from game players as a result of advertising in entertainment they've already purchased. From the article: "I don't want to pick up a sword and have it read Nike on the side..."

Advill wrote to mention a story on Tom's Hardware discussing The Gathering 2005, an enormous LAN party that takes place in Norway. From the article: "For a while now, The Gathering (TG) has been competing with Dream Hack in Sweden for the title of World's Largest LAN Party. Last year The Gathering won the title, but then Dream Hack struck back again and regained it. This year, the organizers of The Gathering thought that 5,200 participants ought to be enough and decided to stop competing for the title."

Despite the fact that the next generation of the Xbox console is expected out before the end of the year, via Evil Avatar a story stating that Microsoft is committed to the original Xbox through 2007. From the article: "A Microsoft spokeswoman told Reuters that 2007 is not a hard stop, but rather a guideline for the last releases of new games developed for the Xbox. Microsoft has not said whether its next console will be compatible with the current Xbox."

Described via Voodoo Extreme, in something of a roundabout way Mythic Studios has released the Dark Age of Camelot 'Catacombs' graphics upgrade for free to its players. Apparently they've gone all out improving the new user experience, and as a result to see the improvements to the starting towns the Catacombs engine is needed. The download, which takes up 50 megs, is optional but suggested if your machine can handle it.

wanker256 writes "If you were intrigued by the 4-story Pixellated Mario Mural, then here is an art gallery that you will be sure to enjoy. On April 19th through May 20th, the iam8-bit exhibit will be present the talents of over 100 of the world's top artists who have put their fond gaming memories to paper, canvas, wood, or somewhere in between. So if you ever wanted to analyze the crazed image of a Burger Time sausage gone ballistic or Space Invader doing disco, this is the art gallery to attend."

greysky writes "Gamespot cites an interview on AMC where Coppola reveals that he is upset with Paramount for making his Godfather movies into a video game. He's quoted as saying 'I knew nothing about it. They never asked me if I thought it was a good idea...I think it's a misuse of film'. The interview is set to air on AMC this Sunday."

Jakob Paulsen writes "According to research group Nielsen Entertainment, men now spend more money on buying games than on buying music. This adds further credit to the general belief that video games are displacing other forms of media for the attention of young men. Nielsen base their findings on interviews with 1,500 people in January and February."

Eurogamer.com has word that the expected expansion pack for Half-Life 2 is already in the works. Reporting on information gleaned from PC Gamer UK, the site has learned that the expansion will be entitled 'Aftermath' and is currently slated for a summer release. Aftermath will deal with the fallout from the events at the close of the PC title as the residents of City 17 make for the hills in an attempt to get to safety. Alyx Vance, heroine and robot wrangler, will play a larger role in the expansion, but the article doesn't give specific details on what exactly her relationship to you as the player will be. From the article: "The reason we're able to do this, and why it's so exciting is because of Steam. If we were doing this without Steam we'd have to put it in a box, we'd have to start figuring out shelf space over a year beforehand. You'd see it six years from now..."

When in-game advertising was announced as a backbone of the new free of charge Anarchy Online, it seemed like this far off concept that we'd see 'someday'. That day is now. Grimwell has a look at Rubi-Ka after the invasion of the marketeers. From the article: "The advertisements were blinking on various billboards, both in cities and in instanced missions. They randomly displayed ads for the upcoming tournament, the "Rubi-Ka rumble", or the above product placements. Obviously, one or the other of them could be existing through time, human cataclysms, and space travel to the future planet of Rubi-ka, but seeing Motley Crue ads did cause me to wonder when I'd see them touring Omni Entertainment." Totally worth it if only for the screenshots.

Evil Avatar (and everyone else) picked up on the registration announcement for the Dungeons and Dragons Online Alpha phase of testing. From the article: "The world of Eberron awaits your arrival, as you embark on the great adventures that Dungeons & Dragons is known for. Register through the members only area today -- and prepare to master this unique new online campaign world!" If any Turbine folks are reading Slash today, I'd just like to mention how much I like your logo. :)

krf writes "Gamasutra reports that researchers in West Virgina are doing a study on using DDR to fight childhood obesity." From the article: "The study, which is currently budgeted at $60,000, provides each of the selected 85 child participants with a game system, copy of the game, and dance pad."

John Callaham writes "As we approach E3 next month, what game projects are currently in development but are still under official wraps? Computer Games Magazine takes a look at the sparse facts and does some speculation as well." From the article: "there is a period of near silence as developers work on games that are, for whatever reason, not ready to be officially announced yet. But that doesn't mean we can speculate based on the tiny snips of info that can be gathered from official sources, such as web site postings, press releases, interviews and job listings."

As mentioned previously on Slashdot Games, Puzzle Pirates is gearing up for a retail release. To increase interest in pre-sales of the boxed edition, preorders between now and April 7th are entered into a bootytacular promotion. From the post: "In order to encourage you, we're offering this week, for all pre-orders placed before April 7th only, the chance to win one of the following - A Lifetime Account to play Puzzle Pirates to infinity and beyond, A Gold Ship, custom named cutter of your choice!, A bonus pack of cards, Signed by the Ringers!, A very rare Ye Win! T-Shirt of beta tourney days!, An Island named for YOU! in the next ocean!"

morcheeba writes "Retro Redux was a 24-hour video game programming contest held last weekend in New York. Nine teams worked through the night to produce new Atari 2600 compatible games. Awards were given for the most innovative game, best visuals, and best sound. The best game overall was "Ninja Garden," and it will be featured in a future version of the Atari® Flashback(TM) Game Console. The New York Times was there with event coverage."

Gamespot has results from the first week of PSP sales. Unit sales have already cracked 600,000, generating in the neighborhood of $US 150 million for Sony. From the article: "Sony would only say that the device sold 'over half a million units' during its first 48 hours on the market, meaning it sold only approximately 100,000 units continent-wide over the next five days--at best. Still, Sony said the tally was enough to 'further validate PSP as the most anticipated product of 2005 and an industry-altering force.'"

pasm writes "The BBC is running article about how "DIY software and hardware experts have been quick to embrace Sony's PlayStation Portable console." Today I have witnessed some colleagues playing a wireless racing game with imported ones in the office. It seems that this will be the gadget of the year for both gamers and programmers with a neat idea and time on their hands."

Gamespot has a heads up about a new possible Alternate reality game celebrating the Xbox 2 E3 unveiling. The game site, Our Colony, has a countdown meter running down until just a few days before Microsoft's pre-E3 unveiling of the Xbox 2 console. From the article: "The countdown will ends at 8pm PDT on Thursday, May 12, nearly four days to the hour before Microsoft's pre-E3 presentation on the evening of May 16. What will happen on May 12 remains unclear."

howman writes "Reuters is reporting that Sony has been granted 2 patents, both describing 'Method and system for generating sensory data onto the human neural cortex'. These are patents 6,729,337 and 6,536,440. The patents go on to 'describe a technique for aiming ultrasonic pulses at specific areas of the brain to induce sensory experiences such as smells, sounds and images'. The story was first broken by New Scientist magazine." Commentary also available via Ars Technica.