Yet another movie tie-in rears its head, as Gamespot has word that Sean Connery will be reprising his role as James Bond for an upcoming 'From Russia with Love' game title. From the article: "Based on the 1963 movie of the same name, the game will also feature the likeness of the then-33-year-old actor, who is currently 74. It will also feature the 1963-era likenesses of his Love costars, including the late Robert Shaw, who played villain Donald "Red" Grant, and the late Desmond Llewelyn, who played gadget master Q through most of the spy-film series."

From Press The Buttons, an article entitled Acquisition: The Art Of Purchasing Used Video Games. In it, the author lays out useful tidbits for getting the most from your hard earned gold pieces. From the article: "Yes, you could go all willy-nilly and toss a handful of game paks into a shopping cart down at the local Electronics Boutique, but the most obvious way of obtaining a used video game is not always the most economical. Allow me to share with you a few rules I have learned over the years about locating and acquiring used video game entertainment."

Ant writes "Shacknews posted BusinessWeek's Pinball's Last Remaining Wizard article that is a portrait piece on Gary Stern, president and owner of Stern Pinball, which is the last remaining pinball manufacturer in the world. Yearly, his company produces 10,000 hand-built machines and designs about 3-4 different models. A few of their most recent releases used licensed rights of the Sopranos and The Simpsons."

Gamespot reports that this past week, a portion of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association was set aside to show off a system called gameNET. The group intends to promote video games on demand via current cable setups. From the article: "With the convention proper focusing heavily on the emergence of HDTV and on-demand video services, gameNET followed suit by addressing both issues. Pixel Play, a New York-based on-demand game company, showed off its cable-based games built around the Tetris, Monopoly, Scrabble, Centipede, and Asteroids brands. The market for such games, said a spokesperson, is the emerging casual gamer--typically a female over the age of 40 who is married and has two children."

Terra Nova has a post up about a financial development on the World of Warcraft server Elune. From the article: "two players recently bought out the entire contents of the Auction House in Ironforge, with the exception of premium-priced high-level weapons and armor (e.g., they bought all the trade goods) and then resold all of what they bought at a higher price." They go on to discuss the event in the context of Massive Game economies and the results that tradeskills can have on monetary inflation.

Gamasutra has word that there are already several Japanese game development studios and designers lining up to create titles for the Xbox 2 system. Yoshiki Okamoto, a former producer at Capcom, is quoted in the article as being surprised at the response the new console is getting. From the article: "I've been hearing that some other designers will also be joining. There are a lot of surprises. I find myself saying: 'What, this development studio!? This game!? These people!?'" Commentary on the upcoming console's Japanese future also available at GamesIndustry.biz. Update: 04/07 03:18 GMT by Z : The translations from the original source came from Gamespot.com.

The official site for Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is now live, with trailers and information now available. Unfortunately, the site makes heavy use of Flash and a fast connection is likely required to make effective use of the site.

A sequel to the ball rolling simulator Katamari Damacy is due out in July of this year, according to a Gamespot news blurb. From the article: "In Minna Daisuki Katamari Damacy, gamers once again assume the role of the diminutive hero known as the Prince of All Cosmos. And, once again, the prince must save the universe by rolling around a giant snowballing mass of sticky debris (katamari) to pick up various objects." Update: 04/08 06:02 GMT by Z : If it's okay with everyone, I'm just going to retcon this one and pretend that I know how to read.

Gamespot has the word that Quake IV will get some face time at QuakeCon this year. id CEO Hollenshead released the information at the Xbox Doom 3 launch event. From the article: "Over the past few years, PC game sales have either declined a little bit or stayed relatively flat, while console game sales have seen mostly double-digit growth. I don't know if we'll be releasing multiple SKUs at the same time, but as for PS3 and Xbox 2 and so on, yes, we will continue our development effort on the consoles."

GamingNexus writes "GamingNexus is running an interview with Chris Satchell from Microsoft on their upcoming XNA Studio developer suite for game developers. It talks about the differences between the XNA Studio and the upcoming version of Visual Studio 2005 (which it's based on) as well as how it will support all phases of the gaming development lifecycle (including artists and project managers."

The ever interesting Grimwell.com has commentary available forecasting doom in the near future for World of Warcraft. Commentator Geldonyetich argues that, by the very nature of the Warcraft game design, the impressive subscription numbers they currently boast are fleeting. From the article: "World of Warcraft is a tremendously successful game. Its subscriber numbers are reaching peaks that threaten even the lofty Korean Internet Café centered Lineage series. Those of you who are stuck behind overloaded servers, don't despair: I can see WoW's success as being a very temporary thing."

syousef writes "A shooting game that shoots back, delivering electric shocks through the player's hips when they're shot, is being used for recruitment (Hey shooting people is fun) and training by the U.S. military. There's talk of developing it into a PC game. Here's a quote from the article: 'It has the same power as a stun gun. It knocks you down. You have to continue to work through the pain and keep on fighting, as that is what you need to do - to keep on fighting even when wounded.' I guess in Soviet America, games shoot you. How many law suits would this cause based on unknown heart conditions? I also hope there's some sort of built-in safety in case the thing starts to zap you repeatedly. (Deadly endless loop, anyone?)"

An anonymous reader writes "Volksport has created a new script that allows PSP owners to access IRC from the PSP. The script requires the use of the Wipeout Pure Web browser hack in order to get the PSP online. Once that is done, all you have to do is access this Web page (as the script is server side), and you will be able to chat on the official PSPIRC project IRC channel. Users are currently limited to the PSPIRC chatroom. The script also features virtual PSP keyboard support."

The New York Times has a quick blurb up discussing some New Game Journalism pieces. While I think a look from a major newspaper at the actual writing style would have been interesting, it is more a simple linking story than anything else. From the article: "Over the last year, however, a handful of gaming writers have been bringing a more personal touch to their work, using a narrative, experiential approach that acknowledges the effect of the game on the player. Their young genre even has a name: New Games Journalism, after the New Journalism of the 1960's and 70's."

Via Press the Buttons, a page that has scans of the classic Nintendo Power comic series Howard and Nester. From the page: "Anyone who has read Nintendo Power since its beginning has, obviously, at least glanced at the little comic strips in a couple of pages of the magazine called "Howard & Nester", which chronicled the adventures of bowtie-wearing Howard Philips (who was an actual employee of Nintendo and president of the Nintendo Fun Club at the time) and a stubborn redheaded teen named Nester." I, um, recall them being a lot funnier when I was a kid. The Maniac Mansion comic is still pretty cool, though.

Wired has an article up which harkens back to the days of yore, when men played Zork and women congregated in MUDs and MOOs. The Keyboard is Mightier Than The Sword takes a look at the still extant realms of the text-based virtual space. From the article: "For me, asking why I play a MU (multi-user text game) when I could play EverQuest is like asking someone why they would read a book instead of watching the movie of the same story..."

GamesIndustry.biz has the news that the European launch of the PSP handheld may be delayed until September of this year. June is currently assumed to be the earliest the platform could arrive in Europe, delays being caused by ongoing supply shortages. From the article: "The company managed to ship only half a million units in Japan in the month of launch, while in order to supply a million units to the USA for launch, the European and South Korean launches had to be bumped back. With both Japan and North America to keep supplied, the process of manufacturing a respectable number of units for the European market could be even slower, unless the firm brings new production capacity online."

Via eToychest, an interview at TeamXbox with Kijong Kang, executive producer of the upcoming Xbox Live enabled MMOFPS game Huxley. The game will exist within a persistent world which draws inspiration from several game genres, and is slated to use the Unreal 3 engine to bring the shiny. From the article: "Compared with Planet Side, there are some common features such as MMO, PW, and FPS. However, the biggest difference is the level of action. Planet Side is an enjoyable game, but it is a strategy-focused FPS game rather than an action-focused FPS game. With outstanding features, Huxley is an absolute action game such as Quake or Unreal."

In case any of you were wondering what was and wasn't true yesterday, Gamespot has a rundown on some of the stories that made the rounds on 2005's April 1st. From the article: "One of the day's more devious pranks--also spread by the now obviously complicit Slashdot--plays on the fears of many gamers. In particular, it outlines the nightmare scenario of those who shelled out $99.99 for the Final Fantasy XI/PS2 hard drive bundle. Namely, if its subscriber base dwindles, Sony might discontinue support for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game." Heh.

megli writes "OCRemix.org, the popular video game remix site, is announcing on its front page that it has entered a partnership with Electronic Arts. Their forums have erupted with arguments about the benefits and drawbacks of the partnership, especially considering EA's recent bad press." Update: 04/02 18:02 GMT by Z : April 1st hoax story.