GameStop is jumping into the mobile market. The company hinted at the possibility of developing a gaming tablet earlier this year, but today president Tony Bartel explained to GamesIndustry that they’re testing the sale and distribution of an unspecified Android tablet which will be Gamestop branded, and paired with a dedicated controller peripheral. The device will support mobile apps, but the goal is to allow the tablet to stream full retail releases. Bartel also mentioned that the company was working with developers to create titles specifically for the hardware.

New Features including aircraft carriers, airstrike, air defense, flak cannons, and Japanese missions are coming soon to version 1.2 of the iPad strategy app Battle Fleet. Before launch, however, the folks behind the game are in need of a few good beta testers to take the fleet out for a spin in a new US Campaign mission. Those interested should email iPhone Strategy Games, and include which iPad version you have.

Joystiq reports that Perfect World Entertainment plans to turn Star Trek Online free-to-play by the end of this year.

“And also Star Trek Online, after the acquisition, in fact Cryptic is working on the free-to-play model for Star Trek Online,” Perfect World Entertainment’s CEO, Kelvin Lau, said in a recent earnings call for Q2 2011. “This is going to be launched by the end of this year as well. So I think free-to-play model we have a bigger potential in US market and also in China market.”

The PlayStation folks intend a complete redesign of the heart of PlayStation Home to reinforce their evolution into the “ultimate social game platform” for consoles.

Beginning this fall, the new Home experience will feature a hub and districts design that will help you find games, people and places within your favorite genres. The design features a new Hub that integrates games, quests, community events, and user-generated content, while providing you with additional navigation, shopping, socialization and entertainment options. The Hub will also feature an Activity Board filled with games to play, rewards to be won, a new UGC events system, and stuff to discover. Surrounding the Hub will be districts based on game genres to suit your mood.

Earlier this month, we reported on a rumor that the PlayStation Vita was getting a reduction in RAM in order to cut costs. Sony has finally come forward and stated that the Vita will ship with 512MB of RAM when it ships. Whether or not this is a reduction is unclear, because Sony never officially stated the amount of RAM when the Vita was first announced.

In upcoming PlayStation Vita title Uncharted: Golden Abyss the adventure isn’t the only thing that’s new. While Drake is no stranger to female companionship, he will not be joined by Chloe or Elena. This time around, new girl Marisa Chase will be aiding Nathan Drake on his quest. Get a first look at Marisa in the trailer posted left.

Gamescom is full of new game announcements and trailers, and this year has been no exception. Grasshopper Manufacture and Digital Reality have teamed up to develop and release upcoming PSN and XBLA title Black Knight Sword. As seen in the announcement video above, the unique game design gives the feeling of watching a puppet putting on a play as the black knight moves across the screen.

Most Wanted Entertainment, the developers behind 2004′s PC real-time strategy game Nexus, have joined forces with GamesPlant in an attempt to develop and release Nexus 2. Sales of the original Nexus are still going strong on Steam, and Most Wanted wants to create a sequel based on feedback from their vocal fan base.

GamesPlant, for those of you who are unaware, is kind of like a “Kickstarter” for video games. Like “Kickstarter,” contributors to a project on GamesPlant are usually rewarded with offers based on their donation level. For more information on the Nexus 2 donation drive, check out their GamesPlant profile here.

Ubisoft has been busy getting a line up ready for the eventual PlayStation Vita launch. The games announced for the Vita so far are Rayman: Origins, Lumines, Asphalt, Dungeon Hunter Alliance, Michael Jackson: The Experience, and of course, Assassin’s Creed. The beefy processing power and extra control inputs, including the rear touch pad, give Ubisoft a lot of room to develop creative and fun games for Sony’s new handheld.

The popular horror series Silent Hill is coming to the PlayStation Vita with Silent Hill: Book of Memories. This new title will be a departure from the series and feature multiplayer and a top-down gameplay aspect. Players will be able to create their own character and play through a story that, while still in the Silent Hill universe, is not necessarily canon to everything else in the series.

Mojang, the creators of Minecraft and Bethesda, the creators of… lots of things, are in the middle of a legal battle over Mojang’s upcoming game Scrolls. Bethesda is threatening Mojang with a trademark lawsuit over the title, claiming that it infringes on their popular Elder Scrolls series.

Rather than dealing with a lengthy court battle, Mojang has offered an unorthodox solution to the problem. Mojang has challenged Bethesda to a Quake III deathmatch over the dispute. If Mojang wins, the lawsuit gets dropped and they can release their game. If Bethesda wins, Mojang will agree to change the name.

This is obviously a long shot by Mojang, and one that will most certainly be rejected. Still, trademark deathmatches are infinitely more interesting than long, drawn out court battles. Maybe Notch and crew are on to something…

Battlestations Pacific from Eidos long eluded modders since no official tools had been released, but thanks to several dedicated folks, MOD 2.0 has been released!

Through it, BP gamers can now enjoy some very different experiences. The Kikka without any ordnance is a perfect match to take on the P-80 in terms of speed, and can easily blast the P-80 out of the sky with its quad 30mm cannon. Kikka and P-80 spamming is reduced by the increased cost for each unit and they are a match for each other. The Kikka is now part of the fighter class and as a result any planes approaching a Kikka squad on patrol will be automatically targeted. The Kikka remains an upgrade to the Val and Judy.

Formerly, the dive angle of dive bombers made them an easy target for AA as it puts them in their effective envelope. These birds now come in higher and at a steeper angle making AA less effective. Carefully planned way-points will now ensure destruction of the target.

Would you like to know more? Check it out, now!

During a Q&A session in Japan last week, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata announced that premium DLC would be coming to the Wii U and 3DS. While it remains unclear whether the Wii U will have this capability at launch, functionality will be available to 3DS developers by the end of this year.

During the Q&A session, Iwata noted that his idea of premium DLC consists of new levels that extend a game’s life, and not just new weapons or armor that boost a player’s abilities. This could involve new tracks for the Wii U’s upcoming Mario Kart title, as well as new fighters in the eventual Smash Brothers release.

PC gamers, you may want to sit down before you read the next sentence. Diablo III will require an Internet connection at all times. This, according to Executive VP of Game Design Rob Pardo, is because of the new improvements and features that Battle.net will have in conjunction with Diablo III.

What are these fancy new improvements and features, you ask? Cross-game chat is one, allowing all Battle.net users to converse using the RealID system. Diablo III’s in-game auction house and item storage are other improvements that require a constant Internet connection. Achievements and stat-tracking also apparently cannot be done while the player is offline.

While this won’t affect most Diablo III players, it will certainly be a thorn in the side of single-player gamers who don’t always have an Internet connection. This will also affect gamers who will no longer be able to play at their in-law’s house over long weekends on a farm in the middle of nowhere where the Internet doesn’t exist.

According to Joystiq, Grasshopper Manufacture’s cheerleader-versus-zombie action game, Lollipop Chainsaw, will be released outside of Japan in 2012. This is to due to an arrangement with Warner Bros. Interactive to handle western publication. The publisher announced a new partnership with Kadokawa Games, and is using their media connections to bring in writer/director James Gunn (Slither) for his storytelling talents.