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In an age where social networking and word economy reign supreme, it’s hard to find a rumor that didn’t originate or spread through Twitter. Geoff Keighley, host of Spike’s GameTrailers TV, knows this, and recently took to his Twitter to stir the rumor mill regarding a brand new LucasArts IP to be announced on GTTV this weekend.

“LucasArts will announce a brand-new original game on this week’s GTTV – with first footage. More details soon.” tweets Keighley. Keighley, you’re such a tease! Come on, give us more than that. A name, a genre, a platform- I’ll even accept a 32 x 18 screenshot! But until Thursday, when GTTV airs (at 12:30AM) I’ll just pray that you were lying about it being original. I just want a new Grim Fandango, LucasArts.

As of this point, we’ve seen almost everything The Beatles Rock Band has to offer. The beautiful trailers, the astounding opening cinematic, the gameplay, the screenshots- everything except for the setlist itself. We only know of the ten confirmed songs that played over the opening cinematic for the game, but if the information we just received is correct, then the game’s full setlist is out there- and it’s great.

The rumored setlist features all of the songs that were in the cinematic, from “I Saw Her Standing There” to “Here Comes The Sun”, but features some new Beatles classics such as “Can’t Buy Me Love”, “Help!”, and “Revolution”. There are some songs that were obviously not going to be in the game- piano heavy songs like “Hey Jude” aren’t present, but I’m still ready to plunk down $250 for the full game bundle. (Especially with my current absence of any Rock Band gear.) I’m not going to try and influence you, though- you can make your own decision after viewing the “leaked” setlist after the jump.

[Thanks tazar!]
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I was wrong. It’s not another day- another minute, another rumor. Team ICO announced that they were working on a new game for the Playstation 3 over a year ago, and as of this point, all we have got from them was a picture of a single chain hanging down a well. Not very informative, and very annoying to fans of the ICO series that demand brand new information. But today, a trailer for Project Trico supposedly leaked, courtesy of Playstation LifeStyle.

The video shows what appears to be the main character, a young Ico, running down a corridor, until an adorable, cat-rat-griffin thing comes up behind him, and saves him from certain death. The trailer’s really well done, so I assume it’s not fake, but as with the supposed Beyond Good & Evil 2 footage from earlier this month, you should still take it with a grain of salt. All I can say is that if this is truly a trailer for Project Trico (and even in the early phase as the original poster claims) then Project Trico is going to be a fantastic game.

(via Playstation Lifestyle)

The sequel to the 2003 sleeper hit Beyond Good & Evil was announced late last year, with a trailer to accompany it. It wasn’t much, though- we saw some pre-rendered footage of Jade & Pey’j lost in the desert, and that was about it. But some new footage from the game appeared online today, and I must say, it looks astounding.

Sure, Ubisoft hasn’t confirmed that this is Beyond Good & Evil 2 footage, but the shoe fits. The character running in the video has the same clothes and general facial structure as Jade, and according to some industrious viewers, the video was made using the Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed engine.

The video is obviously pre-rendered, but if this is indeed BG&E2 footage, then it’s going to be a fantastic game when it comes out… in the future. Even if it’s not footage from the game, it’s footage from something, and that’s something I need to play.

Look, nobody’s perfect. And in the world we live in, people always to focus on these imperfections, as they tend to make or break a person’s career, or product. And the gaming industry is no different. Video games get leaked almost daily. Whether it’s gameplay footage, information, or even the game itself, leaks in the videogame industry are always important- even when it’s something as small as a title.

Brian Tyree, a creative director for Ayzenberg (the PR company that works with Activision), posted his resume online, with a lengthy list of games that he’s worked on. The list is pretty textbook- games like Banjo & Kazooie, Pure, Singularity, and Afro Samurai made the cut, but there’s also a game called Tony Hawk Ride on the list that we’ve never heard of.

Activision recently teased a ‘reinvention’ of the Tony Hawk franchise, which is most likely the new skateboard perihperal we’ve heard so much about, and it seems as though Tony Hawk Ride will be the name attached to it. I hope not, though- it sounds like a boring name. Maybe if it weren’t prefixed with “Tony Hawk”, it would sound better. I’m not alone in this, I hope- what do you guys think about the name?

Usually, the tips we get at Ripten HQ have headlines crazy enough (like “Duke Nukem Forever to be released this decade”) that we have to take them with a grain of salt, but with two of the games in the above image already being rumored to arrive on Xbox Live Arcade, and one of them actually being on Xbox Live Arcade already, we can probably take this rumor with the whole can of Morton’s.

In Late March, the Pan European Game Information board listed Call of Duty for Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network, but that information has since been delisted. Last week, the ESRB listed Shinobi for the Xbox 360 as well, even though SEGA hadn’t mentioned anything about the game. No one has said anything about Transformers: Origins, and according to the internet, the game doesn’t even exist. It’s not listed anywhere, and not even rumored to exist. Come on, tri-dub- you can do better than that.

If these games do exist, I bet that they’ll concur with the releases of other games in their franchises. Transformers will probably come out when Revenge of the Fallen does, Call of Duty will probably re-release when Modern Warfare 2 comes out. And Shinobi’s advent will probably coincide with the Ninja Insurrection of 2011.

It’s coming.

Since E3 2005, there have been rumors of Devil May Cry 3 being ported to the PSP, but we have never heard anything substantial about it. The closest we ever got was when Sony accidentally listed Devil May Cry on a list of games supported by third-party companies, but they never bothered to comment on that- which is why I find it weird that a “non-existant” game just got cancelled.

In the new issue of Famitsu, a PSP version of Devil May Cry as being cancelled, even though it had never been confirmed. When contacted for questioning, Capcom said, “Devil May Cry was once listed in a long string of titles in potential development for the PSP when the system was first announced.” Turns out that the game ddi exist, it just wasn’t public. Bad news for all of the DMC fans out there, but do you think it would’ve worked? Would you have enjoyed a Devil May Cry game for the PSP?

It’s not like we didn’t see this coming, but at least now we have a 100% solid source. Harmonix’s Dan Teasdale published his full presentation from GDC, including a slide that listed every Harmonix game coming out over the next year, including Rock Band for PSP, The Beatles: Rock Band, and Lego Rock Band. Problem is- Lego Rock Band hasn’t yet been announced.

Teasdale got wise to his egregious boner and promptly fixed the PDF, but as with anything posted on the internet, nothing stays hidden. The PDF, though interested in its entirety as well, also holds a bit of information as to the future of the Guitar Hero franchise. Not only did Teasdale reinforce my theory that the Guitar Hero franchise is dead in the water (That’s about 20 games in two and a half years. Christ, Activision! Harmonix only made 3 games in two years!) but he also displayed rumored Guitar Hero games, such as GHDS 4, GHWT Backstage Pass, and Guitar Hero: BH and MC. No idea what either of those acronyms mean, but I can only hope it’s not Buckethead and Motley Crüe.

Of course, since the LEGO cat is out of the bag, what could this game possibly have regarding LEGOs? Hit the jump to find out. Read more…

Everything we’ve heard about Brütal Legend has pointed to a Xbox 360/PS3 release coming this Fall, but according to 1UP, that might not be the case anymore. When 1UP questioned Double Fine’s Tim Schafer about a pulled GoNintendo article announcing Brütal Legend for the Wii, he hesitated a bit- and then asked his handler how to properly answer the question. His response? “We are making an Xbox 360 and PS3 version of Brütal Legend.”

Though he never outright said that Brütal Legend was coming to the Wii, he also never said it wasn’t. The fact that he had to hesitate, ask for the response, and then respond without any absolutes such as ‘only’ or ‘not’. Although it’s possible that they don’t plan to make the game for the Wii and he was just trying to be careful, it’s also possible that the Wii version could be handled by a different company.

Oh, Tim. I’ve got some advice for you. Hit the jump, brah!

Source: 1UP
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When I first read the headline that said Zelda: Ocarina of Time was coming to the Nintendo Wii, my first thought was “I thought it was already on virtual console.”

It is already on virtual console and I’m just an idiot. Read more…

According to an upcoming issue of Official Playstation Magazine, Square Enix is poised to reveal a brand new action game sometime in April. Provided that this reveal doesn’t come on April 1st, you can probably bet on it being a Final Fantasy game. There’s a screenshot in the magazine as well, but as it hasn’t been released, we don’t actually have it. According to Final Fantasy Union-

The screen shows a man with long white hair dressed in black. He has a blue scarf around his waist and is said to carry a giant sword. Sephiroth perhaps? Probably not, as then it would have been quite obvious what the game was connected to.

They also mention that the system of choice (PS3, PSP, PSN, dare I say- mylo?) is still up in the air, and probably will stay that way until the announcement comes. Stay tuned to Ripten for more information on this game, whenever it’s announced.

Source: Kombo

Reports are in that US production of the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Blu-ray are complete and that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment plans to release it stateside sometime in June. Blu-ray.com also reports a slew of features, the most interesting being an “Exclusive Sneak Peek at FINAL FANTASY XIII”.

Nothing is confirmed at this point, and the “sneak peek” could end up being nothing more than another blue ball educing trailer, but if you like to hope (and who doesn’t) here’s a little more fuel for your hope powered jet pack. A Square Enix spokesperson told MCV the following back in January as a part of the Japanese announcement of Advent Children:

“At present the Final Fantasy XIII demo will only be available in Japan with the Blu-ray release of Advent Children Complete, but we hope to have further news in the coming months,”

Could this be that “further news” the representative was speaking of? Only time and profit margins will tell, but considering the rate at which units moved off the store shelves in Japan, my money says you will be seeing a demo in the US release as well.

I only say “announced” with quotes because D3 hasn’t actually announced it- they’ve just announced their own rumor. Confused? Just try to follow along.

D3Publisher put out a press release today to put out their own rumor. Though it’s not an official confirmation, they pretty much said “Hey, did you hear about the classic Matt Hazard coming to XBLA and PSN?” The game will likely act as a supplement, if not just a (possibly) free advergame, for Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard.

For those of you not familiar with Matt Hazard, the developers have created a pretty big history through Matt Hazard’s viral marketing, all of which is pretty interesting if you follow it well. My description can’t do it justice, but all of the history behind Matt Hazard is just as awesome as the trailer and gameplay we’ve seen so far. After the jump is the other image Destructoid recieved with the press release to promote the ‘classic’ Matt Hazard game.

Source: Destructoid

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Ah, rumors. They are the fuel that keeps gaming journalists buzzing, and though I’ve said many times that they tend to be crazy, this one seems a bit more realistic. According to Macworld (which, in this article, refers to the eponymous expo that was held this past week, though they have no affiliation) there was a booth at the Macworld Conference and Expo this past week for Feral Interactive. Apparently, the t-shirts Feral was handing out featured the iconic Big Daddy of Bioshock on the back. When Macworld questioned the booth holders about the shirt, they confirmed that Bioshock was coming to the Mac in the first half of 2009.

If you own a Mac (of a certain spec- unfortunately, my Macbook probably can’t handle it) and haven’t yet played Bioshock, this could be good news for you, as the highly-rated game is definitely something I believe everyone should get a chance to play. Of course, this is just a rumor, since it’s from Feral Interactive and not  2K. Of course, they could just be doing the port (akin to what Aspyr does for Infinity Ward in the COD series) but until we know more, it’s just a rumor.

Man, I hope the port is called iOshock.

This rumor is like one of those things that you heard from a friend who heard it from their friend who heard if from their cousin, but it’s too juicy not to share. According to a Gamespot article, Mass Effect 2 is going to feature a five-man squad, along with five player co-op. Read more…

We have gotten a hold of several images depicting Crystal Tools in-game renders from Final Fantasy XIII, and may have visual proof that the Xbox 360 version of the game is already being developed.

Several Final Fantasy XIII in game renders utilizing the Crystal Tools engine surfaced online after apparently first appearing on the Japanese television channel TV Tokyo.

While this great news for Final Fantasy junkies like myself looking to drool over anything remotely associated to the game, the even bigger news is that a 360 controller was spotted on the desk of what appears to be one of the games developers.

Could the 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII already be underway despite Square Enix stating otherwise? Have a look at the images after the jump. Read more…

A supposed piece of sheet music titled “Killer Instinct 3 – Main Title” has surfaced on the web. The site fueling the rumor, mundorare.com, claims to have recieved the sheet music from an unamed source within Microsoft.

High res scan of the document available after the jump. Read more…

Rumors sprouted earlier this week than GTA IV’s 360-exclusive downloadable content would be ready for release this November, but now the ever-churning rumor mill is telling us that it won’t be ready until January or Feburary next year.

Citing a “source close to Rockstar,” VG247 is reporting that Microsoft is “wrong” to expect anything before winter next year. Their source reportedly said:

It’ll be in January or February

Snow might be falling when we finally get our hands on any new adventures in Liberty City.

Source: VG247

Reports have surfaced, and it appears that Sega will be announcing a new Nintendo Wii title tomorrow at Leipzig. At this point we know that the game is being developed by Headstrong, and as we reported a few days ago, Sega recently renewed the trademark on Jet Grind Radio.

JET GRIND RADIO
Standard Character claim: Yes
Current Status: Newly filed application, not yet assigned to an examining attorney.
Date of Status: 2008-07-30
Filing Date: 2008-07-24

Armed with that information, if we had to guess, we would have to lean in that direction as of now, but final word will be coming your way tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Sega has announced its Leipzig GC line-up, and they’re trying to make a song and dance out of Samba De Amigo. More interesting is the promise of the world premiere of a new title and the attendance of Headstrong Games on their booth.

Headstrong, rebranded from Kuju Entertainment at the end of July, is working on an as-yet-undisclosed Wii title for Sega, so it’s a fair bet they are not turning up to Leipzig just to soak up the atmosphere or see how it compares to E3.

So what could it be? Much as I would love it to be another Shenmue, it seems like it might be another Dreamcast classic – Jet Grind Radio. Sega filed this handy trademark, dated 24 July 2008, which gives us hope that they’re returning to the franchise.

They promise we’ll find out for sure before the event. Here’s the rest of their line-up, sadly devoid of any other Dreamcast greats begging for a resurrection: Read more…