As today is a nationally recognized day of matronly appreciation, I thought it appropriate to recognize some of the prevalent mama's in video gaming in this edition of the JHS. No, not the real-life mothers of game industry icons, though we certainly appreciate the progenial contributions that Mrs. Molyneux and Miyamoto-san have made to the planet -- we're talking about the digital mommies of our favorite video game characters.

So here's to you, Jenova. You may not have carried Sephiroth in your extraterrestrial womb (birthing that Masamune-wielding badass would have been truly uncomfortable), but here at Joystiq HQ, we count test-tube babies as actual human beings. Also, kudos to the minigun-toting Barret Wallace. Despite being of the male persuasion, Barret did have a daughter, and was, in fact, a baaaaaad mother (shut yo' mouth)! I'm only talking about Barret! (We can dig it.)

Then, of course, is the quintessential "Mom" from the Pokémon series. Provider of running shoes, setter of date and time, and in certain installments, banker -- Pokémom is certainly the most useful parent ever featured in any gaming franchise. However, there's something to be said of the biomechanical oversight provided by Metroid's Mother Brain. Many mothers have trouble managing one household -- this encapsulated vixen keeps tabs on an entire planet.

As you find yourself awash in the emerald glow of the following upward-pointers, why not take a moment to share your appreciation for your favorite digital maternal unit -- and then, of course, your own female progenitor. You know she worries.

- PSP: 100,870 8,459 (9.15%)
- Wii: 71,158 22,722 (46.57%)
- DS Lite: 52,542 10,107 (23.82%)
- PS3: 10,177 1,070 (11.75%)
- PS2: 8,802 1,694 (23.83%)
- Xbox 360: 1,725 442 (34.45%)

[Source: Media Create]

See: The matronly archives

We know that a vast majority of the gaming media consumers out there have a fairly negative outlook when it comes to pre-orders for popular titles (did anyone really have a hard time finding Halo 3 last September?), but that's not why we're writing about the recent pre-order listings on Amazon and Gamestop for the next (Barlog-less) installment in the well-received God of War franchise. What we find intriguing is the March 2 release date listed on both websites -- three quarters earlier than the last rumored launch window for the title. Is this wishful thinking from these two gaming retailers, or could the further adventures of everyone's favorite ashy Spartan hit shelves much sooner than expected?

Although the Facebreaker character trailers aren't half as amusing as the Team Fortress 2 portraits, we do have hope for the game itself. It would be nice if there was a now-gen "casual" boxing game that rekindled that fun we had while playing Punch-Out back in the '80s.

The latest Facebraker profile (above) is of Steve, your typical fat nerd cliché. We've also placed the video for Romeo after the break. With a September release as part of EA Sports' new Freestyle brand, we're looking forward to getting some hands-on time with Facebreaker at E3. Hopefully the gameplay will enhance the fun and diminish the creepiness we feel in these trailers.

Sure, there was Europe's PlayStation Day event, but our favorite Sony news of the week was PS3 Fanboy's hands-on time with the most exciting, most adorable, most user-generated, most sackboy-prevalent game coming to the PS3. Now that's a lot of mosts. Check out all of our hands-on impressions and reviews from the Joystiq Network this week:

PlayStation 3

• Haze (Demo hands-on)
• LittleBigPlanet (Hands-on)
• Super Stardust HD (Versus mode hands-on)

Shawn Fanning has been doing more than simply riding high on the Napster phenomenon and appearing in Volkswagon commercials. In 2006, he created a new social networking site called Rupture, which shares game achievements from Halo 3, WoW, Madden 08 and other games with your friends. Now, EA is purchasing Rupture in a $30 million deal, making Fanning a happy, happy man (again).

Electronic Arts will be most likely utilizing the technology behind Rupture -- which never left its closed beta phase -- to improve its own online multiplayer experiences. As for Fanning, this is his first truly successful venture, following the bankruptcy of Napster, and the modest sub-5mil acquisition of SnoCap, the young entrepreneur's second company.

[Via Massively]

Mega-publisher Activision held its Fiscal Year 2008 earnings call yesterday. While you can listen to it yourself, most of the gaming news came from an 8-minute section in over an hour-long conference call. Here are the highlights from the call:

• Activision enjoyed $2.9 billion in sales last fiscal year
• No Tony Hawk in 2008
• Guitar Hero hits 15 million song downloads
• Nintendo DS, Guitar Hero on Tour bundles coming this June
• A 'significant leap' for Guitar Hero due this holiday for consoles and DS
• Call of Duty 5 in 'new military theater', returns series to PS2 and Wii
• Bizarre Creations's new racing IP due FY09
• New Bond game Quantum of Solace runs on COD4 engine, launching with movie

Check out Activision's Family Album to learn more about the company's internal studios.

Bring out the haters for this week's Rock Band Weekly update post. The songs are perfectly fine, but considering the amount of hate there is in any given week for really good tracks, we can only imagine what it'll be like for these songs. Come on, "Random Song Lover Defense Force," where are you?

Individual songs

• "Hanging on the Telephone" - Blondie (160 MS Points / $2)
• "Train in Vain" - The Clash (160 MS Points / $2)
• "Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth (160 MS Points / $2)

Videos for next week's tracks are after the break for people to make informed decisions on whether they actually hate the songs.The DLC will be available next Tuesday and Thursday for Xbox 360 and PS3 respectively.

The upcoming 007 game just got an ammo clip of good news.* Quantum of Solace, currently in development at Treyarch, is running on the Call of Duty 4 game engine and due out this Fall alongside the movie. "We look forward to launching Bond: Quantum of Solace in Q3 concurrent with movie. This game uses the Call of Duty 4 engine and technology to bring Bond games to a new level," said Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith in a conference call yesterday (36:20 mark).

Why does this excite us? Simply put: COD4 is one of the best multiplayer experiences currently available on consoles, and it gives us hope that this version will be able recapture the magic we felt when we first tried split-screen Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64. It also gives us an idea as to what platforms we can expect to see the game on -- likely Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and perhaps PC. Quantum of Solace, the film, is releasing October 31 in the UK, November 7 in North America.

* Note: Fear not, the writer of this joke has indeed been eliminated.

Although we still don't know definitively who's developing Call of Duty 5 (rumors suggest Treyarch), Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith said the next game will be changing settings again. In a conference call yesterday (35:00 mark), he said, "We'll bring the intensity of the recent Call of Duty: Modern Warfare title to a new military theater."

Also confirmed were plans to launch "on all four platforms we've participated on in fiscal 2008" -- that's Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows and DS -- as well as PS2 and Wii. We're hoping the "new military setting" isn't related to World War II as the recent Treyarch job listing suggested.

Activision is planning to innovate the Guitar Hero franchise. In a conference call yesterday, Publishing CEO Mike Griffith said, "For the holiday, we will provide a significant leap forward in innovation for Guitar Hero worldwide, on all platforms." That includes PlayStation 3, PS2, Xbox 360, Wii and DS. Griffith also said that more information will be provided "in the coming weeks."

We wonder if this has anything to do with those recent rumors about Guitar Hero IV going multi-instrumental. Guess we'll find out soon.

Just a reminder that while Rock Band is riding high, its older brother is still the dominant sibling. In a conference call yesterday (start at the 29-minute mark), Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith confirmed that the Guitar Hero franchise has passed the 15 million mark in individual song downloads. Last week, Harmonix owner Viacom revealed that Rock Band had surpassed the 10 million mark.

The "Team Pack" adds a Co-op Split Screen mode as well as the incredible Versus Mode. While the concept of Versus Mode remains very simple, the menus add depth and a huge amount of variety to the experience. At your disposal are several gameplay modes, similar to many other multiplayer games' gameplay arsenal, including deathmatch, king of the hill and grab-and-run. This whole mode has been built specifically with party gaming in mind.

Up to four players can play against each other on the same planet, but the "layout" of the planet can be changed before the game commences. This allows you to overlay a maze of rocks onto the planet's surface in various shapes which players will need to navigate through. These rocks can be destroyed and, depending on the options settings, can either harm players who come too close or simply ignore them. For people who prefer a less restricted battlefield, there's an option for a clear level layout too.

Gallery: Super Stardust HD

While it may seem seem like just yesterday that we first played Sony's love note to console gear heads in Gran Turismo, it was actually ten years ago ... a realization that made us feel incredibly old as Sony and developer Polyphony Digital announced that the sim, that first got its license in December 1997, has shipped more than 50 million units across the globe.

This figure, of course, includes the recently released Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, which according to Sony has shipped out more than 2 million units. The company is playing coy, though, as to whether this number includes just physical products or digital downloads over PSN as well. We'd like to extend our hand and congratulate the series for making it this far, but unfortunately it didn't stop between the two yellow lines on the pavement so it's going to have to go back to the start and try again.

GameFly has opened a new distribution center in Austin, Texas, and will begin sending out its first shipments tomorrow. Over the coming months, the new location will ramp up support for Texas and surrounding states slowly (just like other centers) while GameFly works out the kinks.

We first got word of the Austin site last summer, and a couple of months later we also got tipped off to the Tampa distribution center, which has since opened. With any luck, the opening of this fourth distribution center will cut down on the wait times for customers around the country.

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.