Week of January 22, 2006

Jolt.co.uk is reporting that Microsoft may indeed be thinking of creating a gaming handheld device.

Despite the Redwood giant previously claiming it had no intentions to enter than handheld market, Microsoft has no doubt noticed the lucrative business Apple’s iPod and the Nintendo DS have managed to drum up. However, Peter Moore recently told Business Week that if such a format was given the go ahead, Microsoft must make sure it isn’t purely “our version of the iPod.”

For those of you who think smaller and lighter is better, Nintendo has announced that the DS will receive a makeover making it lighter and a bit smaller than the current DS. Click the picture to read the announcement and see a piece of concept art.

Final Fantasy XI for the Xbox 360, Treasures of Aht Urhgan expansion for PCs, PS2s land in US in April.

One of Microsoft's big announcements at E3 2005 was the debut of the Final Fantasy series on a Microsoft console--the Xbox 360, to be exact. What wasn't known was the game's release date--until now. Square Enix today announced that Final Fantasy XI for the Xbox 360 will be available in North America on April 18. Two days later, the game will be available in Japan and Europe.

The massively multiplayer online role-playing game will be an all-in-one package, combining the original game plus the three expansion packs: Rise of the Zilart, Chains of Promathia, and the all-new Treasures of Aht Urhgan.

PlayStation 2 and PC players desperate for the expansion needn't get in an uproar. Treasures of Aht Urhgan is getting a multiplatform release, and will also ship on April 18 for the PS2 and PC.

Included in the new expansion will be new jobs, such as the Blue Mage and Corsair, new monsters and realms to explore, as well as tweaks to gameplay like those found in previous expansions.

Konami has announced The Silent Hill Experience (working title) for the PSP. The title will feature an interactive comic, behind the scenes footage of the film, interviews, and more.

Read the details

Eidos Interactive, one of the world's leading publishers and developers of entertainment software, announces that Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend will make its debut on Sony Portable (PSP) TM from spring 2006.

Created by Crystal Dynamics in conjunction with Buzz Monkey Software the game is grounded in the series' tomb raiding roots and built to challenge even the most accomplished serial adventurer.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend revives the athletic, intelligent and entertaining adventurer who won the hearts and minds of gamers worldwide. Lara comes alive with intricately animated expressions, moves and abilities. An arsenal of modern equipment, such as a magnetic grappling device, binoculars, frag grenades, personal lighting device and communications equipment, allows gamers to experience tomb raiding as never before.

Based largely on the PS2 version of the game, the PSP version of Tomb Raider: Legend also features a number of exclusive game modes together with a host of Bonus Reward Content.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend will be available on PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Xbox, PC DVD Rom and Sony PSP, for more information visit: www.tombraider.com

Bethseda released a trailer for the "Making Oblivion" video that will be included on the Bonus DVD. The bonus DVD will be included in the Oblivion Collector's version. This trailer shows some behind the scenes footage of the creation process of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Head over to the download page to grab the video.

We have a few new images of FUEL, Dreamcatcher's vehicular game for the PC and Xbox.

Today we bring you three new in-game videos of the anime-inspired MMO SEED. The videos are 3-5 megabytes in size and require the latest version of Windows Media Player to view.

Watch the videos

Game Daily is reporting that a fire ripped through a building that houses the 2K Games administrative and marketing offices. Though no serious injuries have been reported, the GPM staff wishes everyone over there the best.

Five new game reviews have been posted.

The Gamma Ray Clients Page and the Feng Zhu Design Clients Page each list The Sims 3 as one of the projects to which they are contributing, more-or-less confirming plans for a sequel to the people sim (not that there was much room for doubt in this area).

Activision released seven new images of Quake Wars: Enemy Territory, their upcoming team-based first person shooter.