Infinite Line director Hifumi Kouno of Nudemaker showed up at last night's Platinum Games event (fully clothed, to our surprise) to debut the studio's forthcoming sci-fi RPG for DS. The game is built around two key concepts: Players command (1) a "highly-customizable" spaceship through (2) a "large and expansive" world that encompasses two galaxies. The team has prepared over 150 ship models, as well as more than 150 potential crew members that can be stationed around the ships. The insides of the crafts are modular, so players can place the bridges, engineering rooms, fire control rooms, etc. as they see fit.

As per The Space Opera Mandate® of 1941, Infinite Line will explore "what it means to be human" in this touching adventure around the stars. Nudemaker plans to show off some actual screenshots -- that will apparently "blow you away" -- in the near future.

Bayonetta director Hideki Kamiya asks, "Have action games really progressed past what we accomplished seven years ago?" Speaking at last night's Platinum Games coming out party, Kamiya recalled his efforts to "kick start" the action genre into 3D with Devil May Cry back in 2001 and said, "we, as creators, have squandered an opportunity to make things better, smoother, more intense, more engaging" since then. Fear not, Kamiya has returned to "make good on [the] promise of seven years ago." Enter: Bayonetta -- "action to its climax."

Bayonetta is named for the game's main character, a witch reborn in the modern day to join a war against angels (apparently someone hasn't been spending her afterlife Up There). "Not only does she kick and punch, and have two guns in her hands, she actually equips guns on her feet." If that's not enough to mow down those beasts of heaven, then Bayonetta's also got her witchcraft, an arsenal of top-secret "abilities" ... And that's all we've got to go on, for now -- 'cept for the trailer after the break!

CBS will pay $1.8 billion in cash to become the proud parent of CNet and its spawn GameSpot in a deal that's expected to close in the third quarter pending shareholder and regulatory approval. The acquisition values the company at $11.50 per share, a 45% premium over CNet's closing stock price on Wednesday, reports the Associated Press. Sheesh! Well, CBS, you've just been robbed "welcome to the internets" ... but as The Washington Post puts it, you've certainly got your work cut out for you not to become known as "CNet Buy Sunk."

Little known fact: Bandai's NES "Power Pad" was known as "Family Trainer" in Japan. And so old is new again, as Atari has announced the European release of Namco Bandai's thoughtfully named Family Trainer for September (it's called Active Life in the US and hasn't been dated). These days, names like Family Trainer and Active Life certainly conjure a connection to Wii Fit, a "knockoff" if you will, though the new Family Trainer is more a resurrection of that mat from the 80s than another way to get weighed on your Wii.

This "new" Power Pad is bundled with zany feats, forgoing the track and field games that were packaged with the original peripheral for things like log jumping and mine karting in jungles and haunted mansions. Missing the mark? We think so. Price this pad at half the cost of Wii Fit, toss in a Pilates program, and Family Trainer will go platinum, like day one.

[Via Engadget]

If a picture's worth a thousand words, we'll spare you the copious blabber and lead your eyeballs right to the trailhead (just hop past the break to get started!). Be warned though, the path through Microsoft's Xbox 360 Spring Showcase is a long one (but thankfully smooth and well lit). Be sure to sit a few feet from the screen, rest your eyes between galleries and drink lots of water! Enjoy.

Microsoft and Epic dropped a quartet of Gears of War 2 screenshots today, the first, and taken from the roller coaster-like sequence featured in recent campaign videos ("Act One, Chapter Three: 'Assault,'" to be exact). We also dug through the accompanying fact sheet (actually, credit X3F for the dirty work) and uncovered this single, tasty morsel: "new weapon-specific executions." No specific details yet -- but the nasty fantasies dancing in your head right now are probably close enough.

Fable 2 is "content complete" with a measly 5,000 bugs to squash before it's completely complete, reports NeoGAF poster "Vinterbird" (aka Mikkel Vinther of Xboxlife.dk). The Danish site published a preview of Lionhead's second try today, based on a visit to the studio's headquarters in Guilford, UK last week. Vinther kindly translated the good parts, highlighting these new details in his post on NeoGAF:

• Mini-map has been replaced with a "bread crumb trail;" a dynamic golden line on the ground that directs you to a destination (read: medieval GPS)
• Magic system is divided into focused, single-foe attacks and ranged attacks; attacks can be built up into five levels using various spell combinations
  
• Speaking of spells, there'll be just eight (but remember, they can be combined)
• Every house in the game is up for sale; each house will unlock a sidequest, item or skill
• Rough estimation: 20-30 times larger than the first Fable [Microsoft says: "a world 10 times the size of the iconic Xbox game"]
• The gameworld features seasons and dynamic weather
• Cutscenes are interactive; the d-pad can be used to issue certain gestures that will steer conversations
• Sex minigame was canned; instead, screen goes dark and moaning ensues (sex can still be unprotected though! Babies, yes; STDs, unconfirmed)
• Female character was almost canned; almost.
• And finally: Three more Fable sequels are being planned. (Lionhead is currently wrapping up Fable 2 and focusing on an announced project.)

Read - NeoGAF post
Read - Xboxlife.dk preview (translation)

Unbeknownst to us Earthdwellers, a week in Paradise is like really long. 19 days after Criterion assured us that its update to an update would be released "in around a week's time" (by May 2, at least), Burnout Paradise's "Bogart" content has been reissued for Xbox 360 and freed of any totally un-paradise-like frame rate issues. The revised update will auto-download for players connected to Xbox Live. Next up: "Cagney."

Activision asks: "What could be more fun than using the Wii Remote to swing on a vine over blood thirsty crocodiles as retro-cool Pitfall Harry?!" We wonder: Uh, and how does one swing from a Wiimote exactly? Ready or not, a "new generation of gamers" will plummet to certain doom this fall, when Activision releases Pitfall ... The Big Adventure (oh, well, now you've sold us!).

Developed by Edge of Reality, The Big Adventure features "innovative, accessible game mechanics developed specifically to take advantage of the Wii motion sensing controls," as players waggle over pits, shake up evil "shamen" (shamans?), and twist through puzzles. "It's a completely new experience for the gamer," says Binu Philip. Who? (Edge of Reality's president. Duh.)

New cities? Pfft! How about an entire state?! While rummaging through the Rockstar Social Club, a GTAForums poster uncovered the plane ticket pictured above (full view). Looks like Niko is headed to the fine state of San Andreas, famous for its lowriders and piping hot coffee. Whether it's the stuff of fan fiction or a not-so-subtle hint of content to come, your guess is as good as ours, but the ticket does rekindle last month's rumor that the exclusive GTA IV DLC for Xbox 360 will feature "new downloadable cities." What's curious is that the flight isn't destined for one of San Andreas' specific airports, but rather the state itself. What could it mean? Well, for one, that you'd need a bigger hard drive.

Alternate theory: The "San Andreas" on this plane ticket could be a reference to the original San Andreas, a top-down city based on San Francisco, from the first Grand Theft Auto.

[Via X3F]

If you're not the type of noob to simply dial up your new pal "Multiplayer" and leap blindly into a hail of bullets and screaming 12-year-olds (er, "18, right?"), then you may find Rockstar's just published -- and carefully reproduced after the break! -- Grand Theft Auto IV multiplayer guide just the sort of literature you've been pining for. Want to know how to get the "Party" started? Unlock new threads? Flip someone the bird? It's all in the details that follow.

Reports that Xbox 360's Jasper chipset will begin shipping in August continue to hum along, as China Economic News Service has named three Taiwanese companies that have been contracted to manufacture, test and package the pair of 65nm microprocessors in preparation for a summer rollout. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) will build the chips, Advanced Semiconductor Engineering will test and package them, and Nanya will supply flip-chip packaging substrates (which sure do sound important). The Jasper combo will ideally use less power, simplify cooling and, most importantly, cut back on the console's jibba jabba.

Industry analysts have also pegged TSMC as the primary candidate for Valhalla chipset production (in addition to the Jasper contract, TSMC has also built 90nm chips for an older version of Xbox 360). Valhalla is rumored to be a single super-chip that combines the properties of a 65nm CPU and 65nm GPU, and is expected to be incorporated into Xbox 360 hardware in the fall of 2009.

[Via X-bit Labs]

THQ today held its fiscal 2008 fourth quarter and year end results conference call, where CEO & President Brian J. Farrell got right to the point: "In fiscal 2008, we did not achieve our revenue and profitability goals." Ya don't say? For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008, THQ racked up a net loss of $35.3 million, compared to the prior year's net income of $68.0 million. (Peep the full report for the complete numbers game.) Farrell waved a damning finger at Juiced, Stuntman and Conan, saying these games were "simply not competitive," and lamented spending too much on marketing for these titles, which clearly did not reach sales objectives. Farrell also noted that THQ's usually strong success in the kids market was met by greater competition this past fiscal year (or, put another way, a helluva lot more lesser competition shoveled onto Wii).

Live from Sony's PlayStation Day 2008 in London, David Reeves has just announced Killzone 2 for February 2009, ending speculation that the game would arrive this fall. (See, Guerrilla said so.) The apocalyptic shooter will be playable later today at the event, so head over to PS3 Fanboy for the hands-on impression and further details.

We're contacting Sony to confirm whether the Feb. '09 date is just for the European release or a worldwide launch. Update: A Sony spokesperson told us they "haven't made any announcements for Killzone 2's release date in North
America" but, perhaps sensing our disappointment, said they'll have "more news for [us] in the next couple of weeks." You'll know when we know, you know?

Midway today held its first quarter earnings conference call, which also marked interim president and CEO Matt Booty's official introduction to investors and others (like us) listening in. Graciously, interim CFO Ryan O'Desky handled the seemingly good news that Q1 2008 revenue hit $29.9 million, up $18.8 million over Q1 2007's revenue, followed by the very bad news that Q1 '08 net losses totaled $34 million ($14.2 million more than Q1 '07 losses), before passing the mic over to Booty.

After a brief introduction, which included a shoutout to Midway's coin-op era "heyday," the 19-year company veteran set out to map a "path to profitability." While Q1 featured "no new releases in North America," and the Q2 highlight has already come and gone (what, you missed it?), Booty focused on the expected Q3 summer release of Unreal Tournament 3 for Xbox 360 as a potential starting point for getting the company back on track. (A port of last year's shooter leading your current portfolio more than halfway into 2008? Really, Midway? Really?)