Microsoft is planning USB storage support for its Xbox 360 game console, citing the increased market penetration of high-capacity, high throughput USB mass storage devices. Xbox owners will have two options on how the USB device is used by the console, with “Configure now” and “Customize” settings that allow a user to choose between occupying the entire storage capacity of the device or limiting the usable storage space to 16 GB, respectively.

Source: eWeek

Square Enix revealed today that sales figures for Final Fantasy XIII show that more than one million copies of the title moved off of store shelves in its first five days. The company also reports that this release is the “largest first-week sales in franchise history.” The franchise has combined sales of more than 96 million units worldwide in its more than 20-year history, and Square Enix anticipates that chapter 13 will add another 6 million to that number.

Paradox Interactive has announced the release date for Fatshark’s third-person shooter, Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West, and the gun-slinging action of the Old West will be available April 8 via Steam. Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West attempts to capture the spirit of the Wild West with team-based combat and a colorful cast of characters just itching to pull their triggers.

(click to play the video)Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood fans rejoice, as a trailer for the upcoming RPG for the PSP, Fullmetal Alchemist: Yakusoku no Hi e has just been released. The title is scheduled for a Japanese release near the end of May, but there’s unfortunately no information on a North American release date as of yet.

Take Ed and Al on their quest to fix what they have done. Walk their path, meet Roy and Risa and fight the homonculus. Be adventurous, take the unbeaten path, don’t be afraid to make unconventional choices and you’ll be able to unlock secret scenarios within the game. Combine attacks with the comrades you meet during your journey, pull them to your side and they just might do something to help you out of tight situations.

At Lionsgate, newcomer Kyle Ward is writing a script for Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. Bruce Willis has been confirmed for the role of Kane and Jamie Foxx has just been secured for the role of Lynch. Willis and Foxx as a pair of anti-heroes is certainly enticing, but there’s an odd element to this casting, as the Lynch in the game is an aging, long-haired Caucasian man, which Foxx is decidedly not. That said, what could be better than seeing Foxx and Willis rack up a body count and cause millions in collateral damage as they embark on a mission to retrieve a stolen microchip.

Source: MTV

Due to unforseen circumstances, we will not be hosting tonight’s Halo 2 game night. Chris Troilo will be returning with a new game selected for May, but due to a familial emergency will be unable to attend tonight. Keep checking both the forums and the front page for April’s announcements for both our PS3 and PC game nights, and please forward your suggestions to Ryan Asher and Andrew Clark. We look forward to playing with you again, soon!

Realtime Worlds, the developer behind APB: All Points Bulletin, have today laid down the law to all wannabe Criminals and Enforcers looking to get hands-on the game during its third and final closed beta session. With the beta test already underway, gamers are required to sign up at www.apb.com/beta-application where lucky applicants will gain early access to the violence of gangland San Paro.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming thousands of new players to San Paro in the coming weeks.” said Dave Jones, Creative Director at Realtime Worlds. “As APB enters this final stage of closed beta testing, we’re anticipating a huge surge of interest with gamers from all over the world applying to take part and provide invaluable feedback to the development team preparing us for launch.”

APB is set to launch simultaneously in North America and Europe later this year.

Has one of your friends been playing StarCraft 2, while you’ve found yourself unable to even check it out? Well, while you probably should have signed up for the beta last year, hope is not lost. Joystiq reports that Blizzard has sent out a wave of fresh beta codes to everyone who’s already in the beta, so that they can share with a friend. The codes are being sent via email, so if you’re already enrolled, log in and spread the fun!

Inside MGC has posted a list of achievements for Microsoft’s upcoming Game Room for the Xbox 360. There are a full 1,000 achievement points to be had in 56 achievements. You’ll receive points for every three medals, and even some points for just spending time in the arcade. Game Room opens in less than a week on March 24.

The release of GTA IV episodes The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony on the PlayStation 3 and PC has been delayed following last minute requests made by Sony. Both games will now be released on April 13 in North America and April 16 in Europe. Related events, which include Rockstar Social Club multiplayer sessions on PSN and Games for Windows Live, will also be held back until April 16 and 17.

Rockstar’s official statement said the delay was “due to a last-minute game submission request from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe to edit some of the in-game Liberty City radio station, television and internet content. Unfortunately, with each round of changes comes fully re-testing the game and a full re-submission to PlayStation. This is the nature of the game submission process. Believe us, if we could expedite the turnaround any sooner – we would. We are dying to get this game in the hands of fans who’ve waited for it for so long in the first place.”

These episodes have been available on the Xbox 360 since last year, due to an exclusivity agreement held between Rockstar and Microsoft.

Warner Bros. Interactive has announced Lord of the Rings: War in the North, a co-op action RPG, to be released in 2011 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. The game will be based on the J.R.R. Tolkien series, not the film property, and will “explore both original and familiar narrative elements” of the series. The game is under development by Snowblind Studios, best known for producing popular action RPG Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance for Interplay.

EA’s new PC title Command & Conquer 4 will require a constant internet connection to play, mirroring similar demands in recent Ubisoft titles.

A post on the game’s official forum from community manager EA Apoc states that the game has “NO DRM”, and that players do not need to have the DVD in the drive to play the game. The game can also be installed from the disc an infinite number of times on any machine. However, to play the game the PC must be connected to the internet at all times.

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Eidos reports that the demo of Just Cause 2 has been downloaded more than 2 million times. Launched on March 4 at Xbox Live Marketplace, PlayStation Network and for PCs the demo is claimed to be one of the largest ever for an open world game. Eidos suggests that the 2 million players of the demo have already driven the equivalent distance from the Earth to the moon and back four times. 30 million inhabitants of the fictional island of Panau have been killed in total, with 2.5 million of them scored as headshots. Eidos has also calculated that a total of nearly 1 million drivers have been thrown from hijacked vehicles and 27,000 piñatas have been destroyed. Players have also BASE-jumped twice the distance through the Earth’s core, pole-to-pole. The full game, developed by Swedish team Avalanche Studios, is due for release on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC on March 23 in North America and March 26 in PAL regions.

Sony and game designer David Jaffe have prevailed in a court battle against screenplay writers who claimed that God of War infringed on their copyright.

Jonathan Bissoon-Dath and Jennifer Dath claimed that they conceived the idea behind the game God of War, having submitted two treatments and two screenplays based on a story involving a Spartan attack on Athens and the resulting effort by the Greek Gods to restore peace. But Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ruled against the pair in her verdict, concluding there were key differences between their story and Sony’s, and that the basic idea for a story cannot be owned anyway.

Source: Games Industry Biz

Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: BioWare
Genre: RPG
Release date: Available now

It’s been a little while since we defeated the Archdemon (the corrupted old god in the shape of a giant high dragon), about six months to a year by my watch, but the Darkspawn did not disband and retreat to the Deep Roads. They’re organizing and ransacking the north country, and rumors abound of some that speak. As not only Ferelden’s Queen, but also its Grey Warden commander, I find myself on the road to Vigil’s Keep to rebuild the Wardens and scoop up those pesky post-blight stragglers. Of course, the new recruits and I are attacked along the way, so the ritual dismemberments resume in Dragon Age: Origins—Awakening.

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